***
Kore was frightened as she found herself in the Underworld at the side of Hades. It was so much different from the land she was used to walking, full of bright sunlight and the color of all the foliage created by her mother. The Underworld was the complete opposite, everything appearing so dark and dismal, she suddenly wanted to return to her mother's side. The confidence brought out by her curiosity had vanished upon their arrival and she was feeling jittery enough to run. However, Hades held her close to his body. The coldness of his hand, touching the warmth of her skin, it was an incredibly odd feeling.
She so used to the warmth of the sun, her mother keeping her protected from any harsh weather and yet, the God's touch brought about shivers to her skin. However, she didn't find them to be unpleasant. It was a new sensation, one that left her feeling a craving to feel it against her face or perhaps against the back of her neck. She did not voice such things, though as the chariot came to a halt and Hades brought her to stand next to him. Looking down the path where they had traveled, Kore was feeling torn with her decisions. She was not fond of the appearance of the Underworld, but Hades was incredibly hard to find unlikable.
Her mother continued to race through her thoughts, wondering how crazed she would become once she was notified that Kore was missing. Taking several steps in the direction to leave, she felt the coldness of Hades' fingers wrap around her wrist, keeping her in place. Glancing over her shoulder at him, she met his gaze.
"Leaving so suddenly?" He questioned as she tried to pull her hand away.
"I apologize, but I cannot stay, my mother-"
"Cannot control your life, unless you let her. I have yet to give you the tour that I promised you."
"It will not be necessary," Kore said. "I do not wish to see anymore."
Hades could tell that she was lying as she would not meet his gaze anymore as she spoke, despite earlier when she had kept his gaze with no issue. Her fear did not lie with him, but with her mother's reaction. He couldn't blame her as Demeter's controlling nature was often met with a harsh punishment if she did not get her way, one of the many reasons that Hades did not like her. Kore was merely projecting what she thought her mother would like to hear, rather than what she personally wanted.
It crushed him somewhat, leaving him slightly angered as she wasn't giving him the proper chance all because of her mother. He felt cheated out of an opportunity and he wasn't about to let her go so easily. It appeared forceful and perhaps it was, but Hades wanted to protect Kore from her mother because there was no point in the young goddess living if she was under her mother's thumb for eternity.
She would never experience such wonders unless it was permitted by Demeter and with Demeter's selfishness, it didn't seem likely.
"I want to leave," Kore told him.
"No," came his reply, he wouldn't let her leave until she gave him a chance.
"You cannot keep me here against my will!" She snapped, the innocent and delicate appearance suddenly fading, replaced with a demanding tone. He could see the fiery glare that she shot him as her eyes narrowed, yet he didn't feel intimidated, but rather excited. He wished that she would use the same attitude against her mother rather than the submissive state he had witnessed. But he was pleased to see the fire in her eyes and in her spirit. Weakness did not fair well in the Underworld, it was not meant for those that were faint of heart.
***
A shortness of breath fell upon Kore as she found herself lowered into the opening of the ground, there appeared to be a pathway with dimmed lighting brought on by dull flames. Her chest ached as she continued to hold her breath due to the fear of the unknown that awaited her. Those surrounding her appeared calm, but she was far from her. There was nothing settling about learning of her own marriage and having to attempt to reconcile things with a man she did not know. It sounded like a horrible idea even if Hades just wanted to speak with her, she couldn't guarantee that she would like what he had to say. There was no outstanding reason for her to forgive him when she didn't even have the correct understanding or emotions to deal with whatever had separated them in the first place. The others appeared confident but before she could take her first step forward down the path, she hesitated.
Instead of walking forward, she took two steps back, all the while shaking her head. It didn't feel right, she felt as though she was being set up by the strangers. They claimed to be on her side, willing to remain loyal and assist her, but what if wasn't true? And even if it was true, what if it didn't matter? She was being brought to the God of the Underworld, she truly believed that if he wished to keep her, even against her will, there wasn't much that could stop him. Once she was in his territory, he would be at the advantage and the mere thought terrified her. In just a few seconds, she was grabbing the roots of the tree that were exposed and pulling herself out of the opening.
"Persephone, what are you doing?" The one named Thanatos had caught sight of her attempted escape first, calling her out and alerting the others. But she didn't dare stop to answer his question as she pulled herself out and fell onto the cold grass. The Moirai had all their focus on her, leaving Kore to feel as though she was suddenly on display. Bruce, otherwise known as Cerberus had disappeared into the darkness, the sound of his massive paws padding down the path until it was silent.
They were waiting for her to answer, but she didn't bring herself to speak right away as she continued to watch them from higher grounds.
"Perseph-"
"My name is Kore!" She replied sternly to Klotho, who had attempted to call out to her again. "Stop calling me, Persephone. I'm not going down...there. Whatever you told me, it might be true, I can believe all of it, but I'm not going down there. Why should I? I have a life here...I have commitments. I can't just leave my shop and I certainly can't leave Mark, he depends on me."
"Is Mark a lover?" Thanatos whispered to Atropos. "Hades will not like that."
"No," Atropos informed him. "It is a mortal boy that assists her with her work. She is very fond of him, though, in a sense of family rather than a lover."
"I'm staying here," Kore said, wrapping her arms around her legs and scooting away from the opening.
"I'm not going to risk going down there, only to be held against my will. You claim to be on my side now, but I don't know the three of you very well or you for that matter," she looked over at Thanatos. "I won't go."
"This is certainly trouble, did you three perhaps come up with another plan in case this one fell through?" Thanatos turned to the three, batting his eyelashes to appear innocent. However, the three noted the entertained look in his eyes, not to mention the smirk that was pulling at the corners of his mouth. Of course, he was entertained by the idea of the three failing in their plan, the Moirai often gave him grief over foolish matters and now he was able to relish in the fact that they had failed with their first attempt.
"Go ahead and laugh, Thanatos," Lakhesis scoffed with an eye roll. "You may get satisfaction over the matter now, but it will be you who returns to Hades and when he asks where she is, you will be the one delivering the bad news. Attempt to laugh then when Hades loses his temper."
All signs and traces of the smirk, quickly disappeared from Thanatos' expression before he looked over at Kore, the woman was still watching the three.
"Well, when you put it like that," Thanatos sighed.
"Listen here," Kore called out to the three. "If he wishes to speak with me, I will allow it, but it will be on my terms. It will be in my house, not in the Underworld and if at anytime I ask him to leave, he must go. Those are my terms, if he does not agree to it, I'll run...again. And this time, you'll never find me...ever."
The threat loomed over them, as they had a message to deliver to Hades, although none of them appeared to want to be the one that delivered it to the God. Without waiting for their answer, Kore pushed herself up, her legs wobbling slightly as she attempted to keep herself looking strong and composed. With a small nod of her head, she walked back to her home, but she would not remain there for the evening as she grabbed her keys and left to her car to return to the hotel.
There weren't many hours let in the night but she needed some sleep because she refused to leave Mark hanging, not matter how tired she was. The group was left with no choice but to return to the Underworld and inform Hades of the conditions that were to be met in order for him to speak to his wife again. They were hoping for a positive reaction as Persephone's demanding nature and tone had worked in the past, it was something that Hades enjoyed. They hoped that was still the case.
***
After such an eventful night, Kore awoke in the hotel, wondering if everything she experienced was a dream, a very bizarre dream. However, as she sat up in the bed after sleeping what felt like only a few minutes, she could see her clothes lying on the ground, covered in dirt. The memories from the evening flashed before her very eyes, leaving her wanting to use the complimentary hotel pen to gouge them out. As much as she didn't want to get out of the bed, she knew Mark would be waiting on her and she didn't want to do it to the boy a second time. She would have to put a brave face on because while Mark sometimes didn't catch onto the facial expressions of some of the customers, he knew her all too well from all the time he had spent around her. Normally, he could easily detect if anything was wrong and she didn't want to even try to explain to him. Kore knew she couldn't lie because the boy was like a human lie detector.
She wondered if the group was still back at hr home, discussing things over, or if they had met with Hades. If so, she wondered what his answer was to her requests? But Kore couldn't dwell on that as she wanted to get to the shop before Mark did.
Her plants were being neglected, raising the question of, what kind of Goddess of Spring was she when she wasn't tending to her own creations?
Luckily, she did arrive before the shop was set to open and Mark was not there yet, waiting on her. She felt somewhat relieved as she walked in after unlocking the door and finding the shop nice and quiet. Her plants and flowers seemed to greet her happily as the petals shivered in their full bloom. She showed a few of them a little attention before she could hear the annoying beep of the answering machine coming from her office to alert her that she had a few missed calls.
"I'll be right back," she whispered to the flowers. "Then I'll show you some guys a little TLC."
Walking back to her office, she could see the reflection in the window, noting her hair was a true mess. She quickly began to wrap it up in a ponytail. She reached one hand out to turn the doorknob and kicked the door open lightly before entering her office, still fumbling with her hair. The irritating beep continued, making her become frustrated as she passed her desk, but she suddenly came to a stop when she realized that someone was sitting at it. Glancing over, she spotted the man from before, making himself quite comfortable in her chair.
"What was the significance of meeting in your kitchen when your office is so spacious?"