The Colour Of Pomegranates

Chapter 62

Even though Persephone was carrying a pair of twins, she could feel one of them was Hades' and the other was Zeus'. She could feel by the way they moved, one excitedly bold and the other blissfully calm. She wondered about their nature, how they would be the same, yet different.

Neither Hades nor Persephone had heard anything from the Supreme God, except for his extended congratulations on the wedding, which Hades burnt to a crisp before shattering the ashes over Tartarus grounds.

The newly weds were spending their last days on the Elysium Isles. On one of the thousands of islands there stood a house nothing short of a temple. It was two storeys high and contained two bedrooms, a sulfur spa swimming pool, black marble bathrooms, a greenhouse even Demeter would be envious of and a cosy parlour a lot like the one at the castle, the one she once referred to as sinful. Tall columns surrounded the house, carrying the frieze and tympanum.

Elysium was peaceful. Thousands of islands floated in the sky and could only be reach by tiny flying boats. They say once you are sent to Elysium your soul becomes so light you can reach your final destination - all other souls are too heavy to make the boats float upwards. Everything about Elysium felt light, heavenly, blissful, from the wine you drank to the foods you ate, from the air you sucked into your lungs to the thoughts occupying your mind. It was more like a drug than anything.

Persephone sat on the North side of the island, legs dangling over the edge. She hummed the lullaby Demeter used to sing for her. It wouldn't be long until she would see her mother again. She missed Apollo and Artemis, and the heavy honeysuckle scent of late Spring exploding into Summer. She missed the carefree breezes of Winter breaking into Spring, just as much as the hot rays of Helios. She wondered about the tiny divinities growing in her uterus, and the way they would affect the world Above. Grandma Demeter. The thought alone made her snicker.

'What's so funny?' Hades murmured. They sat back to back, he was reading a book too thick to tickle Persephone's curiosity.

'A lot of things. One, have you ever wondered about Demeter being a grandmother? Or Apollo being a godfather?'

Hades grunted. 'Really? You want that dimwitted turdwinkle for a godfather?'

'I think he'd be great, actually. He is very lovable and loyal, next to being dimwitted and arrogant.'

'When will you come back to me?' Hades asked after the silence lay thick in the air.

'Within six months. Earlier if the babes want to come out before then. I want you with me, if you don't mind.' She glanced over her shoulder, not seeing him because he sat directly in her blind spot. He put his hand over hers and smiled.

'Of course I want to be with you when it happens. Will they grow up Down here or Above?'

'Why would they need to choose? They have a mother who roams the Earth half the time and a father who lives Beneath.'

'Don't forget the other father, who oversees the assholes Up.' She chuckled.

'He won't have anything to say about them. They are mine and yours. However... they are free to go Up and Above as well. They have the wild card, it's true. And I hope that when they do, they'll wreak havoc. Destroy the place.' Hades closed the book and leaned his head back.

'You think those stupid mortal heroes are enjoying themselves?' he wondered out loud. Persephone cackled.

'They must have great dreams between the shrieks and cries from Tartarus, or the hissing snakes, the scurrying demons and their like. O, it won't be boring where they are.'

'I feel like they got off easy. I'm great at torturing, you know. I mean, I know you wouldn't know but I have quite the track record.'

'Yeah, no, let them sit and wallow in self-pity. They get hardly any sleep, no drink or food at all, and no hope. It's the best I could come up with. Your company would only lift their spirits.'

'There will be a time a hero comes for them,' Hades murmured.

'That time is still far away and when he does I'll tell him my mind. That perverted turdwinkle Pirithous won't ever leave this place, or so help me gods.' Hades snickered.

'Come on,' he said, 'it doesn't mean anything, I randomly came up with that word. In fact, it was the first thing that sprang to mind thinking of Apollo's face.'

'It's a beautiful word and I will remind you of its existence every once in a while.' Smiling the God of the Dead climbed to his feet, offering Persephone his hand.

'If my wife wants to dance with me? We haven't done so this Winter. Tomorrow you'll be leaving me again.' A smile curled her pink lips.

'If my King likes it so, I will dance with him.' She got up and he placed one hand on the small of her back and the other took hers.

'He likes it so. But only with his queen.' She rested her cheek against his shoulder.

'I'll miss you,' she whispered.

'I'll miss you, too. But I love you more.'

And thus the movement between Summer and Winter was set into motion. Like the ocean tides being pulled by the cycle of the moon, Persephone's love for Hades would freeze over the Earth every time again. She'd always resurface to melt the snow and make the trees and flowers bloom, but she would always go back for him, as she was bound to his heart.