That was when she appeared. She twirled around me with her hair lashing against my face. I lifted my hand to touch my face. With each graceful movement of her body, it became a vessel of expression. Her arms swept gently in the air, and her feet glided across the earth as if barely touching it.
She doesn't acknowledge me because she doesn't have to. She was at one with her surroundings. One feels a sense of tranquillity watching her dance. It is a reminder of existing in harmony with oneself and the world. Persephone was the living embodiment of balance, a serene force that inspired awe and reverence without ever demanding it.
It tore at my long-forgotten wounds as sorrow filled my being, tainting my core with bitter resentment and anger. My eternal existence was mine alone to bear.
I opened my eyes but desperately closed them again to catch another glimpse of Persephone’s serenity, but it was too late.
She was gone, as was the tranquillity surrounding her.
Chapter 4
Hades
The Fields of Mourning stretched endlessly, a desolate landscape shrouded in darkness. Here, the air was heavy with the weight of unspoken grief. The lost souls wandered aimlessly, destined to reside in their sorrowful realm. Echoes of their past lives marked their eternal existence.
A mother walked around cradling her invisible infant. The longer she resided in her new home. She would eventually forget her child but never her anguish. Her shade would become translucent and fragile when the weight of her sorrow eroded her very essence.
The River Cocytus, known as the River of Lamentation, wound its way through the Fields of Mourning. The river’s whispers carried the cries of the damned, a symphony of sorrow that resonated through every wandering soul. As I walked along the river bank, it was lined with shades of those who had succumbed to their grief. These souls were lost forever. A sigh escaped me because I finally understood these shades, and in my current mood, they resonated with me.
Cerberus whined behind me, sensing my grim mood.
???
I slouched on my throne, half-listening to the proceedings of today's new shades. The three kings took care of the judgements. On a rare occasion, they needed my input between The Book of Fate, written by the Moirai, and the soul’s testimonies. The final verdict came from the three presiding kings who provided a balanced judgement with rigour, mercy and authority.
The Fates were the ancient daughters of Nyx, and they spun, weaved and cut the threads of fate for mortals and Gods alike. Clotho was the spinner who spun the thread at birth. Lachesis measured the thread’s lifespan and key events. Atropos cut the thread with her shear to end life.
A vision of Persephone teased me, lighting up my senses. I mused at the strange aura she portrayed. My fate was perpetually sealed to the Underworld, but what if I didn't need to remain alone in my dismal destiny?
“Lord Hades?”
I sat up to see the gloomy shades had left the courtyard.
“May we take our leave?” Minos asked.
I nodded as Aeacus and Rhadamanthus stood up. They looked at one another before they left. My distraction was becoming noticeable. With a wave of my hand, I lowered their seats beneath the ground before I stood up and walked to the edge of my courtyard.
I inhaled the scent of molten lava from the nearby river and looked over the brightly burning fires, which were a contrast to the surrounding black hills and rocks. The Underworld was my domain and I rightfully deserved a Queen to rule by my side.
My brothers basked in the adoration of mortals and had the camaraderie of the Gods and their progeny. Yet I was left burdened and ostracised beneath them all. My pride never allowed me to ask Zeus for anything, but I would demand his daughter from him.
I closed my eyes and called on my deathly horses. The shades would ready them for me. It was time I paid a visit to Mount Olympus.
???
I'd heard that Zeus’s palace was the grandest of all the other Gods' halls and quarters, but the gleaming marble, gold and gems were an eyesore to me, blinding me with the brilliant white surrounding me.
The towering columns were adorned with carvings of lightning bolts, eagles and females. One could imagine their divine banquets while they gorged on ambrosia and nectar. The entire place looked gaudy to me and it made me glad for the black and gold decor that I had chosen when I built my palace.
Hera’s suspicion blazed in her eyes, but she left us with a final glare at me. Zeus sighed as soon as she vanished from sight. Hera became the queen of the Gods. She rebuked Zeus’s attention at first, but his will was as stubborn as Cronus’s.
“The woman has eyes and ears everywhere,” he muttered.
From what I’d heard, Zeus needed more than one set of eyes on him. Between Goddesses and mortals, he helped himself whenever he desired. He was the supreme God and did as he pleased, but I kept my opinion to myself because his philandering ways were none of my concern.
“Tell me what brings you to Olympus, Hades,” he said, beaming while pouring some nectar into a golden goblet. “It’s good to see you.”
He handed me the goblet, but I raised my hand. The Olympians gorged themselves on nectar and ambrosia. They could keep it because the Underworld was enough to sustain me.
