Forever Yours

Chapter Twenty-Two

Persephone arrived on Mt. Olympus; she had no idea where her daughter was. She knew from experience that Athena wouldn't have taken her to the chambers the goddess of wisdom lived in, but she also knew Makaria wouldn't be in the throne room. Guests weren't a thing up on the grand mountain. Actually, Persephone couldn't ever remember there being a mortal on the mountain.

Walking through the airy hallway, she listened for any sound that might let her in on where Makaria was being hidden. However, silence encircled the goddess. Sighing, she walked towards the grand throne room, her steps echoing down the corridor. The room was much different than the one she was used to being in in the Underworld. It wasn't dark or made to intimidate like the Underworld's throne room was. This one was built to welcome any and all who might have counsel with the gods. It was bright, full of light and air and an overwhelming sense of welcome warmed the soul. However, it wasn't as welcoming as they tried to make it seem. Persephone knew this from experience.

When Hades had offered her the chance to go to his realm, she jumped at it. There, she wasn't being pressured into doing things she didn't want to do. There, she could be who she wanted to be, love who she wanted, and just be her. To Persephone, it was paradise. To Demeter, it was hell.

Zeus had contacted them a few months after she'd left, pleading with his daughter to return to the land above and calm her mother. Persephone had refused, at first. It was when a farmer who had died of starvation stood before them, seeking counsel with the rulers; that Persephone saw what her mother's grief had done. It was then that the two had come up with the idea of six months on, six months off. Hades hadn't been too happy about it, but had understood once Demeter had declined his offer of a visit to see her daughter.

Stepping into the vast throne room, she stopped and looked around. The room was large, light and full of air. It shinned under the afternoon sun, the gold in the walls and pillars reflecting the light. No shadows hid there, not in the darkness nor in the light. It was the same as the last time she'd visited the gods, pleading for the life of her unborn child. When they had refused her pleas, Persephone refused to come back. Hades had attended the last meeting that involved him and his family. Even that hadn't gone well.

Twelve thrones sat in a crescent shape at the back of the room. One for each of the original gods; Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Athena, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Demeter, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hephaestus, and Hades (although Hades kept his affairs to the Underworld and did not seek counsel with the others). Each throne was like the god they represented, such as Zeus's was made of glass and lightning trapped inside while Artemis's showcased the moon while a young maiden ran with her bow and arrows through the dark forest.

Persephone walked over to the massive thrones, lightly tracing the outline of a floating scream on the chair Hades would have sat in. It was onyx marble with jewels of every color streamed throughout the design. She looked at the other eleven chairs, frowning when her eyes landed on Athena's. Large like the others, this one was a light blue color. Branches of the olive tree wove among the backing, hiding owls and snakes in the design. Persephone could feel the power coming from the chairs, like a wave of all the emotions rolled into one.

When her small hand reached out to touch the chair that was made of grain stalks, Persephone had to hold back the sob that threaten to escape. She knew that her mother was worried about her, knew that they were still on Earth and trying to control the situation from there must have taken some kind of toll on both of her parents, otherwise they'd be back on Olympus; however that didn't stop Persephone from missing them. Her relationship with Demeter wasn't the best, Persephone feeling like she had what most would call 'helicopter parent'. However, she never imagined that when she fled that autumn night so many years ago, that this was how things were going to turn out. She never knew how much she would miss her parents or the life she had before her daughter had been born. Persephone missed that life sometimes, missed just being a wild child in the forest with the other nymphs.