Archive of Our Own

Another crack had appeared that day. 

Young Rey leaned over the edge of the dark crevice, her eyes glistening with mischievous yet genuine curiosity. These breaks in the ground had been popping up in different places all over her favorite meadow in the past few months. No one knew why. When a crack did appear, it was as if the grass around it remained in a stage between growing and withering, then simply receded into darkness. If anyone gazed too long into it, the silky blackness of the void seemed to drag one inside. Especially Rey. She felt...familiar with this darkness.

And with the eyes that stared up at her from within it. 

She couldn’t see them...not yet. She hung her head further down the dark crevice, straining to catch a glimpse of the eyes she had begun to see within the darkness each time the cracks opened. Cold, glinting, lonely eyes. She tucked back the wispy strands of her hair, honey-brown in the light of the setting sun, waiting for the eyes to appear like she knew they would. Ironic that she, a creature of such pure light, should feel so connected to this darkness—and whatever lived inside it.

A flower that had been braided into her hair came loose and floated gracefully into the darkness. Rey found a part of herself wishing she could do the same. She craved to know what—and who—existed in such a place of shadows and mysteries.

That was when she saw them. The metallic sparkle of the eyes that watched her from below. There was a hint of malevolence in that gaze, but there was also a sadness—a softness—simmering behind those eyes. She felt compassion for whoever it was that she saw in the cracks. Perhaps they were lonely...or trapped? For a moment she wondered if she would dare jump into the void and find out for herself. She leaned over the edge, hesitant. 

She had almost made up her mind to venture into the fissure when a hand gripped her arm. She turned to find Luke staring down at her angrily.

“What do you think you’re doing, Persephone? I assure you, girl, when your father and mother assigned me the honor of watching over you, I did not imagine that Demeter’s eldest daughter would be found flinging herself into portals to the Underworld.”

The Underworld? So that’s what the darkness was...

“Come along, girl,” said her guardian angrily, gently but insistently pulling her away from the crevice that led to the Underworld. 

Rey didn’t want to leave the strong but dejected-looking pair of eyes. They seemed so lonely... But she couldn’t really explain why she wanted to stay. So she stood and followed, glancing back only once in hopes of seeing those eyes again. But, by the time she looked back, they were gone.

That had been years ago now. 

But when you’re immortal, does it really matter?

Ben held the white flower in his hands, trembling at its beauty...and the beauty of the girl who had worn it. 

He had opened just a small fissure out of curiosity one day. Not that he wanted to see the light that existed above him. He was perfectly comfortable in the darkness. But he was lonely. And something told him that there was a heart above the Underworld that beat in time with his own. He just hadn’t found it yet. So he had decided to look.

And what he found took his breath away. A girl, roaming the meadows above him, gathering flowers, weaving them into her hair. She’s beautiful, he thinks to himself. And he began to watch her day after day, resigned to the fact that she would never know him. Hades, ruler of the Underworld, did not deserve someone as bright and pure as she was. 

It had all changed for him, though, on the day she had discovered him. Well, his eyes, at least. She didn’t even seem uncomfortable. Instead she leaned over the edge and stared at them kindly. Ben wanted with all his heart to speak to her, but she rendered him speechless. And, on second thought, speaking to her might startle her. So all he did was stare right back.

Until one day, she never returned. Ben supposed that she had tired of wandering the meadows. That she had moved on from the pair of painfully lonely dark eyes that looked out at her from the void every once in a while. 

That she had forgotten him. 

Maybe it is best this way, he thinks to himself. She would have never come down to meet him...not willingly. Perhaps it would have been the right thing to do to move on, to forget about her. She deserved better than a monster like him. But how could he forget her laughter, ringing out like silver bells as she ran freely about in the meadow?

The answer was simple. He couldn’t. 

It’s a foolish, selfish wish that he harbors in his heart. That she will come back to the meadow. That he will be able to watch her again, from a distance. That he will finally summon up the courage to speak to her. That’s why he keeps opening the portals. Just for the chance that she might be around when he does. 

He cradles the dying blossom in his hand. He’s used to death. That’s all he’s good for, really. But he wishes that the flower would live forever, just like the girl would. It’s all he has to remind him of her.

He thinks back to the day when he had caught the flower as it fell from her hair while she peered into his world from above. That was the last time he had seen her.

It had been years ago now.

But when you’re immortal, does it really matter?

It does, Ben thinks to himself, alone in the darkness, wallowing in solitude.

What good is it to be King of the Underworld when you are so terribly lonely?

Rey could stand it no longer. She had to find the darkness again. She had to see if the young-yet-ancient eyes below had waited for her. Curiosity had been eating up at her for years.

Upon their return, Luke had told her parents all about the mysterious cracks in the meadow; and Zeus and Demeter had insisted that Rey stay away from the openings to the Underworld. 

“Her curiosity will kill her, I say!” she had overheard her mother exclaim. Luke had solemnly agreed. Later that day, they had forbidden her from visiting the meadow entirely.

 She hated them all. 

But today, finally, she had her chance. With her parents away again and her guardian Luke occupied elsewhere (she had made sure of that), she could finally return to the meadow she loved.

Ben opened another portal and sighed. He had almost given up hope that she would return, but he opened it nonetheless. He realized with embarrassment that he was pining for this girl he had never truly met. Hades, ruler of the Underworld, pining? He didn’t even want to imagine what his brothers would have said if they had known. 

A shadow obstructed the light that entered through the crack he had created. No, he thought, I’m just seeing things. But he wasn’t. She passed by again, close enough to the void that the hem of her dress brushed the opening as Ben watched. It was her. He knew even before he saw it. He could recognize her soft, fairy-like footsteps anywhere. 

There was no telling if this was the last time she would ever return to the meadow. And she hadn’t noticed the crevice this time. Ben was desperate to make himself known to her. It didn’t matter if she rejected him. He knew she would. But it would be worth that pain just to see her lovely face again. It was now or never, though. For all he knew, it would be his final chance at seeing her again.

He decided that he would take that chance.

Ben sealed the portal behind him and turned to her. She was several yards away from where he stood, sitting in the grass, facing away from him and toward the sunset. The layered folds of her gossamer cream-white dress spread out from her waist, seeming to melt right into the flowers that surrounded her. The flowers plaited into her dark brown hair, turned golden by the sun’s rays, encircled her head like a halo of sorts. He stood and watched her for a moment, his tall form casting a long shadow that he hoped would not give him away before he was ready to see her face-to-face.

Gathering up all the courage he had, he walked up behind her, knowing she would hear his footsteps approaching. She turned and stood, regarding him with surprise—and keen interest. 

“Who are you?” the girl—a young woman now—asked apprehensively, curiously. 

He was speechless. She made Hades himself speechless. 

Her eyes were just like he remembered them. Well, almost. Older, perhaps just a little less innocent and more mischievous. But they were still the same warm brownish hazel eyes that had gazed at him years ago. And now, in the last light of the sun, he notices the freckles sprinkled across her face. He swallows hard. Beautiful.

“Who are you?”

She knows who he is. 

It’s him. The boy—now a man (but does age matter when you live forever?)—who used to watch her from the Underworld. Her eyes widened. Rey was not a girl easily impressed. But that’s exactly what she was now. Impressed.

His raven cloak draped elegantly from his shoulders, trailing onto the ground. His hair was the same shade, the color of a crow’s feather. And Rey was willing to bet that his hair was just as soft as a feather was. His eyes, that had seemed so metallic, cold, and lonely in the Underworld, took on the reflection of the waning sun and became a deep, deep brown, almost warm. His cleanly-shaven handsome features stared down at her with an expression that she could have interpreted as either awe or longing. This was not what she had expected of a creature hailing from the Underworld.

She had been told all her life to avoid the Underworld and its darkness. That the Underworld was a rotten, ugly place full of death and decay and rotten, ugly creatures. 

They must have been wrong—either that, or fools. Because this man had come from the Underworld...and he was anything but ugly. She thought him quite handsome in fact. 

He seemed to regain his composure slightly after studying her for a long moment and replied, “I—I am the ruler—the king of—of the Underworld.” Ben mentally kicked himself—that had sounded so pretentious.

Her lips parted slightly in recognition. “You...you are Hades? The one they call Death?” She said this without fear in her voice. It shook him slightly. He was accustomed to being feared.

“I wouldn’t have myself called ‘Death,’ but yes, I am Hades.”

She looked him over once again and he felt as if he was being searched somehow. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in your own realm?” Her voice was so sweet to his ears that it was distracting.

“I—uh, yes, I suppose so.” Ben bit his lip, wondering why it was so hard to talk to this inquisitive, bright, beautiful young woman. “But I had been watching you, years ago—”

“I noticed,” she said straightforwardly.

“I hope you didn’t mind, I—”

“I watched you too.”

“I also noticed. And I—I don’t know how to say this, but I missed you all these years.”

“Well, it must be lonely, surrounded by only death...”

Ben nodded solemnly. It was the fate he was doomed to, he supposed.

“I just...I wanted to speak to you,” he continued. “Before you left the meadow again.”

“I didn’t leave of my own will. I was told to stay away from the Underworld.”

“But you didn’t listen?”

“No, of course not,” she replied, almost haughtily. He liked her even more now.

“Will—will you ever return?”

“Yes,” she said earnestly, as if she had been feeling just as alone as he had. “When I can.”

He nodded, sensing that she had to leave soon or risk getting caught.

“And, Hades?”

“Yes?”

“I didn’t know you either...but I missed you too.”

His eyes widened with delight. She—she had been lonely without him too? 

“I—I should go.”

He nodded and turned to leave before realizing something important he had neglected to ask of her. “Wait!”

She turned back toward him, the floaty folds of her dress spinning around her as she moved. “Yes?”

“I never asked your name.”

She smiled at him. It was a radiant smile, full of the life he had never been able to experience. She walked up to him tentatively, noticing just how much taller he was in comparison...and liking it. 

“Persephone. My name is Persephone.”

“Persephone,” he whispered back, nodding. 

“I do hope we meet again,” she said, rushed as if embarrassed.

“I’m sure of it,” he replied, mesmerized by the sincerity in her voice.

He stood in the meadow as the final rays of sunshine washed over the grassy expanse, watching her hurry away from him. 

Beautiful was the only word he could think of. Not just on the outside, but on the inside too. He only feared that she would not be so kind when she realized what a monster he really was. Or at least, the monster he believed himself to be. The one everybody saw him as.

But not her. She didn’t see him that way. At least...not yet.

She stares out her window, looking out longingly toward the meadow she claims as her own. It’s been weeks since she’s been out to the meadow. Weeks since she met him. There’s something about him she can’t quite place, and she needs to know more. She can’t help but long for another opportunity to visit the meadow and, most importantly, to see him again...

She’s not pining for him, she tells herself. She’s just...curious, that’s all. Right?

Then why did every passing day without seeing him make her feel more lonely? Why have hours begun to feel long without him?

But does time really matter when you’re immortal?

It does, she admits to herself for the first time. 

He stands in the meadow beside his jet-black steed, who whines and stomps in frustration.

“Patience, Silencer. She will come...one day.”

He’s been waiting out on the meadow for her, risking being seen away from the Underworld. It was a risk he had been willing to take. Anything for Persephone. He had been waiting for her each day for weeks now. Weeks since the day time had begun to matter to both of them. 

That’s when he sees her, gliding toward him through the meadow like a nymph in the rain. 

“Hades!” she calls out to him, another radiant smile on her face. He smiled in return. How could someone be such an inexhaustible source of joy?  She wore a glistening dress of pure white today, with deep purple flowers cascading down the braid in her hair. 

“Persephone,” he called back in little more than a whisper, but his deep voice carried across the field of flowers as she made her way to where he stood.

“Does he come from the Underworld like you?” Rey asked when she reached him, pointing to the muscular ebony horse that stood at attention beside him.

“Yes, he does,” Ben said.

“He’s beautiful,” she whispered, running her hand through the horse’s mane.

You are, Ben thought as he watched her.

“What is it like there? Will you—can you—show me?” she asked him.

“The—the Underworld? You want to go there?” Ben was surprised that she wished to enter his realm. Surely she had been told of the horrors within? Those outside the Underworld had no understanding of the beauty that also lay within.

Rey nodded. “Yes. Can you take me?”

His heart beat faster as he nodded and mounted his horse. “I will take you. Just let me—”

But Persephone had already begun trying to mount Silencer behind him. His intent had not been for her to ride with him. He had meant to call his other horse, Whisper, to carry her. But...she didn’t know that, did she? So he reached down and carefully helped her onto his horse, increasingly aware that her face was now close enough to his that he could measure the length of her very eyelashes. 

She looked so pure and innocent—and trusting—and he had no wish to taint her memory with the more gruesome scenes of the Underworld.

“Are you absolutely certain you wish to come with me?” he asked, the tone of his voice concerned.

“Yes. Completely certain,” Rey replied, trying not to lose herself in his eyes. They had acquired a kind of depth when he had ventured above the Underworld. 

An idea struck him at that moment. He knew exactly where to take her. He turned to face forward and guided Silencer toward the dark portal. 

Persephone clutched at his arm suddenly, near falling. He realized that she had probably never ridden a horse before—at least not like this.

Ben wrapped one arm around her gently. “I won’t let you fall,” he whispered. Rey only nodded, distracted by how large his hand seemed in comparison to her waist. She felt strangely safer than she had felt in a long time. They entered the void, and darkness enveloped them both. 

Hades was accustomed to the darkness, but Rey found herself stumbling along the dark passages that made up this portion of the Underworld. It felt like a maze, but in some kind of semi-solid darkness. It was as if she could reach out and touch the shadow itself.

Her foot slipped again and Ben caught her arm, narrowly saving her from a fall. Almost unconsciously, protectively, he slipped his hand into hers. He marveled at the way her small, delicate, soft hand seemed to fit perfectly into his. She gripped his hand with a strength that he had not expected. It warmed his heart to know that she trusted him.

He led her forward through the endless obsidian-colored chambers, knowing precisely the path to their destination. He had lived here forever, after all. 

A soft glow began to light up the path in front of her, and Rey was astonished. She had been taught that everything down here was pure darkness. But this glow was anything but malevolent. It was bright and inviting and—she shivered. Cold. She had not expected cold.

She would never had expected what she saw next.

Snow. 

Snow in the Underworld? It was impossible...and yet, here it was. The cavern’s ceiling opened high above them, too high to be seen. And, somehow, snow fell from above, creating a glimmering pile of snowflakes on the ebony-hued ground. It was blindingly beautiful.

“Snow!” she exclaimed in a half-whisper. Hades only smiled knowingly, releasing her hand reluctantly, allowing her to run to the snow and settle in the fluffy whiteness with a exuberant smile on her face. The blush on her cheeks stood out while the flawless white of her dress melted into the snow around her. He grinned at the sight.

“I—I didn’t know you had snow here. It’s wonderful!”

You are, he thought, gazing at her fondly. No one had ever looked at her like that before, and she blushed under his gaze. 

“Not many others know of this place. We may be the only ones,” Hades looked down at his feet, avoiding her inquisitive, searching, mesmerizing gaze. “Those who live above don’t understand. They see no beauty in the darkness.”

Looking up at him, Rey wasn’t so sure.

“But I do,” she dared to whisper. His eyes met hers once again, something meaningful passing between them. Something she was unable to name. 

“Well, you’re special,” he said with a fondness no one had ever heard Hades speak with before. No one had ever found their way into the King of the Underworld’s heart—until now.

She smiled up at him as she stood, snow gracefully falling away from the folds of her dress. She stepped up to him and pushed back a loose strand of his raven hair, leaving him feeling pleasantly shaken. 

“I see beauty in this darkness.” 

He didn’t know what to say. He rejoiced in the knowledge that Persephone did not see him as a monster. She saw him for what he truly was. The true Ben he had been hiding from everyone—even himself—for so long.

He realized that they should be getting back to her meadow before her absence was noticed. He finally broke with her enchanting gaze and walked ahead of her, leading Persephone to the opening. He smiled gratefully when she slipped her hand into his own again.

Something struck him as they walked together. He turned to her, his curiosity getting the better of him. She stopped in her tracks, tilting her head as if asking why they had stopped.

“Persephone...that’s not your true name, is it?”

She looked startled. No one had ever asked her that before. Not since she had been cursed at birth. That she would be eternally Bound to whoever she revealed her real name to. If one is Bound to another, one must remain with them for all eternity. No matter how long the separation, the person who is Bound must always return to the other. And separation becomes more painful the longer it becomes. 

Rey has never told anyone her true name before. 

“I—I cannot tell you my name, Hades. I have been cursed to be eternally Bound to whomever I speak my name to.”

Ben’s eyes widened in shock. Little did she know that he had received the same curse at his own birth. It was yet another thing they had in common. 

“I understand,” he said quietly, knowing that he was not worthy for such a precious creature to be Bound to him.

Rey looked away from him, confused. She had never even considered telling anyone else her name—until now. She almost wanted to tell him...

“You couldn’t understand,” she said sadly.

“I do, Persephone. I was born into the same curse as you.”

She gasped and turned back to face him, sincerity etched on his face. She had not known that anyone else faced the same affliction as she did.

“Let’s get you home,” he said kindly, taking her hand again. She followed, lost in thought.

Persephone ran over the moonlit meadow, her pale blue dress swirling behind her as she made her way to where she knew Hades would be awaiting her arrival. 

Over the past few weeks, her secret visits to the Underworld had become more and more frequent. She loved seeing the beautiful and astonishing things that had been hidden in that darkness for so long. Rey still couldn’t understand why those around her had always been so repelled by the Underworld. She felt right at home there. It was as if she was made for the dark rather than the light and life she was supposed to represent. Sometimes she wondered if fate had misplaced her.

Or perhaps what made her feel at home in the Underworld was Hades. The more she spoke to him, the more she was confused by the misconceptions that surrounded him. While everyone around Rey had always called him a monster, a dark and merciless killer, that was not what she saw. She saw a kind-hearted, lonely man who was trapped in the illusion of his own shadow.

 And the more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to stay. Every time she had to leave him, she felt a pain that had nothing to do with being Bound to him. She hadn’t told him her name...not yet. But she had become so emotionally attached to him that being away too long hurt nonetheless. She almost wished that she was Bound to him...the thought of hearing her true name on his lips made her feel things that didn’t even make sense. It made her feel like she belonged to him already...as if she wanted to stay with him forever. 

He hadn’t said anything of the sort...not yet. But she knew...she knew he always longed for her to stay. She knew that each time she left the Underworld, Hades would stand and watch her leave until he could see her no more.

But now, as she reached the spot where she was accustomed to meet him, all she found was the dark fissure that marked yet another portal into the Underworld. She felt panicked only for a second until she realized, with a sigh of relief, that she had arrived much earlier than he would have been expecting her. She leaned down over the edge.

“Hades?” she half-whispered into the void that she now knew so well.

“I’m here Persephone,” he called out to her from within. “You’re early.” She could hear the warm smile in his voice. She treasured that smile, for it was rare. She knew that he smiled only when she was on his mind. It pleased her so much to be the one to bring that smile to his face. 

“Can I come down?”

“Yes. Jump, and I’ll catch you.”

She didn’t hesitate; she trusted him far too well. The opening was just wide enough to admit her, and she hopped down lightly, falling slowly for a moment before landing softly into his arms. He smiled fondly down at her before setting her down onto her feet.

“What would you like me to show you tonight, Persephone?” he asked, holding both of her hands in his own, gazing at her as if trying to memorize her every detail. 

Ben wanted nothing more than to please her. Her joy was his own. “Do you want to see the precious stones of obsidian? The chamber with the black diamonds? Anything for you, Persephone.” It had felt like such a long time since he had heard her light-hearted laughter. 

Rey considered, then looked up into his eyes. “Anything?” 

Hades nodded, leaning close.

“You know what I really want to see?” she said with a grin. “Flowers.”

Ben laughed. “Flowers? In the Underworld?” he chuckled. “You have expensive taste, my dear.”

“Are flowers rare down here?”

“Very much so. But I did promise you anything,” he said, smiling.

He took her hand and led her quickly along the now-familiar shadowy corridors. She laughed as she ran along with him. Ben stopped her at the entry of a small grotto.

“Close your eyes, now,” he whispered. She giggled as she did, clutching his hand trustfully. 

He led her forward, making sure that she wasn’t peeking. 

“Okay, you may look now, Persephone.”

Rey opened her eyes to a iridescent glow. When she became accustomed to the sudden brightness, she realized that the ground was covered in a blanket of glowing flowers of every color, pale but emanating light. She gasped at their beauty. It was unlike anything she had seen before.

“They are called Moonflowers, Persephone. They are very rare. I believe that only our eyes alone have seen them.”

“...thank you” she whispered in awe. 

He expected her to run into the flowers alone, leaving him to pleasure in watching her revel among them, just as she had done in the snow on her first visit. Instead, she gripped his hand tightly and led him into the flowers along with her. She pulled him down to sit beside her and began gathering the flowers in her arms. He smiled at her. She smiled back, her freckles standing out in the pale illumination.

Ben awoke later, unaware how much time had passed since they had entered the grotto. He found himself with his head on her lap, Persephone’s hand running gently though his hair. He must have fallen asleep—he had no idea how they had ended up in this position. He shifted his head slightly to look up at her as she realized he was no longer asleep.

“Did you rest well, Hades?” she said in her sweet, compassionate voice. 

He sat up reluctantly, distinctly aware that she would have to leave him soon. He had, in fact, slept well. Better than he had in as long as he could remember. He nodded, letting her push a stray piece of his hair back off his face. 

“Yes. Thank you,” he said, wishing he could summon to courage to say so much more.

He stood, extending his hand to her to help her up. He was vividly conscious of how close they were standing to each other. He stooped to pick up one of the phosphorescent flowers and tenderly placed it into her hair, never breaking his gaze from hers. 

“Thank you,” he whispered softly, “for spending time here with me. Thank you...for seeing beauty in my darkness.”

She smiled. “It was my pleasure,” she whispered back, her hand reaching for his face. His eyes widened as she raised herself onto her tiptoes and planted a light kiss on his cheek. She pulled back, blushing deeply but smiling softly at him. It was the greatest gift he had ever received—to know that she felt the same way about him as he had felt about her for so long. 

He reached for her face tentatively, afraid to startle her, but knowing she wanted this just as much as he did. Ben leaned down and kissed her, finally meeting her lips with his own for the first time, gently holding the side of her face in one hand and wrapping the other around her waist. She kissed him back, finally freeing the emotions they had both held back from each other for so long.

They pulled back, their hearts pounding with excitement. When he finally found his voice again, he admitted what he had known in his heart for weeks now. 

“I—I love you, Persephone.”

But she turned away, looking down, avoiding his gaze. “Don’t, Hades...”

His heart sank. He had known this would happen. He had known that she would reject him in the end. For a moment he had thought that she loved him, but he had just been deceiving himself—

With alarm, Rey noticed the distraught look on his face. “No, I didn’t mean—Hades, listen. I meant...don’t call me Persephone. That’s not my real name.”

He was suddenly full of hope again—but he knew the consequences behind what she was about to do.“But...then you will be Bound. You’ll have to stay with me...forever.” 

She turned to him, her gaze longing. “I know. And I want that. I really do. Please, let me tell you my true name.”

“You must be absolutely certain that this is what you want,” he said, his eyes imploring her not to take this decision lightly. “It cannot be undone.”

“I am certain. I never want to be parted from you again.” 

She took a slow breath, looking deep into his eyes.

“Rey,” she whispered. “My true name is Rey.”

“Rey,” he whispered back, enjoying the way her true name felt on his lips. He liked it much better than Persephone.

“We are Bound, then?” she asked hesitantly, her eyes full of hope. He nodded solemnly; then a smile broke out on each of their faces. Acknowledging their love for each other had bound them more than their curse ever could. Or should they call it a blessing now? They didn’t know quite yet. All they knew now was that they belonged to each other. Or, at least, they would, when Ben told her his own true name.

“My turn now,” he said, leaning close.

But suddenly, a distant voice reached them from above. It called for Persephone. Rey turned to him, her eyes wide with fear.

“Who is it?” Ben asked, feeling half-panicked at the look on her face.

“It’s Luke...he—he must have noticed I was gone. I need to go back—”

Ben caught her arm as she turned to leave. “Wait! If you leave now you may not return for a long while. Such a long separation will cause you much pain.” His face was full of concern. “And—I still haven’t told you my own name. It isn’t right for you to be Bound to me and not I to you.”

Rey calmly took his hands in her own. “Tell me when I return. I promise, I won’t be gone long.”

Ben wanted to argue, but he understood by the look of determination on her face that she would not be swayed.  He reached into his cloak for something and held it out to her. 

“Please, at least take this with you,” he said. “Use it if you are in any danger.”

She looked down at his hands, which held an obsidian dagger that he always carried with him. She breathed in deeply and nodded, accepting it from him. In that moment, Rey decided that nothing would ever stand between them again. 

“I will come back to you, I promise,” she said before sprinting toward the opening.

He watched her leave, already in pain although he was not yet Bound.

Rey hauled herself back into the meadow. It was still night. And the first thing she encountered was Luke, staring down at her in fear and distrust. She could see the anger in his eyes.

“Persephone, what happened? Were you—were you in the Underworld? How dare you! I told you to stay away from the meadow. No, your parents told you. Commanded you! Just wait until I tell Demeter about this!”

Her grip on the obsidian blade tightened. If Luke was allowed to tell her mother what had happened, she knew exactly what would come to pass. She would be kept away from Hades forever—or forced to life some kind of double existence between their two worlds. Rey could not let that happen...

“I told you it was dangerous!” Luke went on. “Tell me, girl, did you fall into the Underworld?”

His voice made her blood boil, and she raised her own in defiance. 

“I didn’t fall... I jumped.”

Luke stopped in his tracks and turned to her, shock written all over his face. “You went there...willingly?”

Rey nodded fiercely, her knuckles now white on the hilt of the dagger.

“How could you... how dare you? I will tell your parents, I assure you! Outrageous...”

Rey’s boiling blood suddenly ran cold in fear that Luke would tell her mother. She would not—could not—let him stand between them. She would not lose Hades to anyone, especially Luke. 

“...Demeter will kill me for this!” Luke was saying.

In a burst of anger, Rey grabbed him and held the ebony dagger to his throat, the waning moonlight reflecting off its razor-edged blade. “You will not stand in my way. You will not stand between me and Hades. I love him and you will not take him away from me!” she whispered, menacing and near tears all at once. 

Luke’s eyes widened even further. “You—love him? Persephone, what have you done?”

Rey held the dagger even closer to him, her anger—and the pain she was already experiencing because of being away from Hades—overwhelming her. “I will not let you tell my mother. I will not let you keep me away from him.” 

She paused, her heartbeat increasing with along with her rage. 

“And you’re wrong. My mother won’t be the one to kill you...”

Hades was already beside himself with worry, knowing he should have gone up with her, when Rey reappeared. Her delicately braided hair was beginning to fall in wispy strands around her face, but she looked entirely unharmed. He had not expected her to be able to return so soon, however. He was sure the sun was only just beginning to rise on the meadow above the Underworld.

“Rey! What—what happened?”

Out of breath, Rey jumped down to him once more, landing in his arms. He set her down, unsure of whether to be worried or relieved. She looked up at him, trying to reassure him with her steady gaze.

“It’s—it’s okay now. I don’t have to leave you anymore, Hades.”

His brows furrowed it concern. “But—your parents?”

“They’ll never find out,” she said confidently.

“But what about your guardian, Luke? Won’t he tell them?”

Rey shook her head meaningfully. “I promise, he won’t bother us ever again.”

For the first time, Ben noticed the object she held in her hands. It was the dagger he had given her—still dripping with something dark and viscous. His eyes widened in surprise. 

“Rey...what did you do?”

“Nothing...” she said, looking away.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Nothing the King of the Underworld wouldn’t approve of.”

He smiled in spite of himself, but...he still wondered. Had bringing her to the Underworld with him changed her? He was afraid that spending time with him had brought out a darkness in her. He had never meant to corrupt her in any way...

“No, Hades...it freed me,” she said earnestly, as if somehow sensing his thoughts. “When I lived above the Underworld, I was always told that I had to represent life and light, but that isn’t me. And, with you, I’m able to be myself. I belong here...with you.”

He knew she was telling the truth. 

She put away the blade and hugged him tightly, tears springing to both of their eyes. The thought that they would never have to be apart again overwhelmed them with joy. Hades forgot his doubts and fears, knowing that he would always keep her safe in his arms.

“Now it’s your turn,” she whispered, smiling.

He smiled back. Wrapping his arms around her, he began to carefully unbraid her hair as she rested her head on his chest. 

“My true name is Ben,” he said softly. 

Ben. She liked that name. It suited him much better than any other. She pulled back, her loosened hair falling around her face. Now he was Bound to her—inseparable for eternity. There was nothing they could’ve wished for more than this.

“I love you, Ben,” she said, her eyes shining.

“I know,” he whispered gently. 

He smiled down at her, wondering what he had done to deserve her love. He hadn’t done anything, he knew. She had chosen him just as he had chosen her.  

“So...will you show me to your throne now?” she asked suddenly.

“My...throne?” he asked, a bit surprised by her question.

“Well, if you’re a king, you must have a throne,” she said with a mischievous grin. “And how will I be your queen if I don’t know where the throne room is?”

They laughed together. “All right, my queen. I’ll take you.”

He knew there was darkness in Rey. A darkness natural to her that was perhaps even greater than his own. Perhaps she would have made a better ruler of the Underworld in the first place. But even if fate had chosen to switch their positions, Ben knew that they still would have found each other. They had been meant for each other all along.

Their love shone in the shadows, lighting up the Underworld more than anything ever had before.

He led her down yet another corridor to the place they would now call their home, his arm around her, keeping her close.

Ben, a shadowy light.

Rey, a radiant darkness.