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English
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Part 3 of Hades Fics
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Published:
2021-02-18
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942
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1/1
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God of Life Even In Death

Summary:

The Underworld notices that flowers are blooming in places where Zagreus dies, where the God of Life has accidently grown the products of his emotions against all odds.
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Alternatively: The Underworld uses flower language to read Zagreus' emotions.

Work Text:

Persephone looks at the place where her son had disappeared- where his last raspy words had come from before he was absorbed into the ground, fated to return to the river Styx in his father’s realm- and she notices that in his place, flowers have bloomed, beautiful buds that make her heart melt and pang in unison. Carnations of yellow, which she knows to mean disappointment, litter the ground, and she understands these, for he must have traveled far, and to know that he is doomed to die regardless must have been quite the let-down, but next to the Carnations are blooms of Baby’s Breath, a flower that stands for everlasting love, and oh, does that fill her with feelings of sorrow and yearning. After all this time, he still loves her, still misses her, and that makes the pain worth it.
She knows she’ll see him again, and she awaits it eagerly.
----
Zagreus is still lost in his thoughts when he returns for the first time in a natural way, and Hypnos does not bother him as he normally does, noticing his expression, and the glaze over his eyes. Zagreus sets out again, and is taken down by Megaera in no time flat, her disappointed ‘tsk’ drowned out by the roar in his ears, the shock that still remains in his mind.

Megaera finds her disdain fading rather quickly, replaced with confusion. There are flowers left on the ground, ones she is sure neither of them had gained possession of, and yet, here they were, sprouting from cracks that hadn’t been in the ground before, their brilliance shining through. She doesn’t understand them, but she takes note of them anyway, and when she looks them up later in a book the Queen left behind, she identifies the ones left behind as Forget-me-nots, flowers that symbolize memory.
She is no less confused, but at least she knows what they mean.
----
He sets off yet again, and finally makes it past Meg, though he dies later to the Hydra, who looks at the little buds left behind with confusion, gathering a clump of them to bring to the only one it knows will recognize them. Eurydice takes one look at the flowers and smiles. “Jasmine,” she tells it. “It means cheerfulness and grace.”

The Hydra knows immediately what this is, understands that the flowers that are left in Zagreus’ wake must have something to do with the expression of delirious joy on the prince’s face, and secretly hopes the boy will keep up such spirits as his journeys to the surface continue. Alas, it cannot speak, and as a result, it can’t dampen the confusion other members of the House feel when they notice more and more reports of flowers such as this, always a mix of Jasmine and Zinnia, a mixture of cheerfulness, and the thought of absent friends. Many wonder who these ‘friends’ could be.
Lord Hades is suspiciously silent.
----
He dies a few times to those in Elysium, who report more Zinnia, though there is less Jasmine to be told of as the deaths rack up. When he finally reaches Theseus and Asterius, Jasmine is all but gone. When he dies to them, the Zinnia remains, paired with Mums of yellow, which Theseus immediately feels the need to apologize for, since he knows that the flowers- which means slighted- are caused by his disparaging comments on the field.

As more time goes on, the Jasmine fades completely, and all that is left is Zinnia, and now, smaller buds of Queen Anne’s Lace (Fantasy), and Anemone (Unfading Love). He gets past Theseus, through all other obstacles, and he finally arrives in the wintery wasteland of his father. He fights with all his might, and he is vanquished, and while the Zinnia, Queen Anne’s Lace, and Anemone remain, they are paired now with orange Lilies that Hades feels offended by as soon as he looks them up.
Orange Lilies, after all, mean hatred.
----
The other flowers are overwhelmed by the orange Lilies that only Hades receives. While other places report the same flowers, he knows these are specifically for him, and part of him wonders what these flowers are. Why are they left behind when his son dies? What do they signify? His thoughts and feelings?
If so, Hades has been worse than he thought he’d been.

When he is finally beaten, he almost hopes Zagreus will be able to stay in the surface realm this time, but he knows when his son’s form rises from the river Styx that it wasn’t meant to be that way. And by the look on Zagreus’ face, his hopes had been dashed too.

From then on, alongside the flowers those in the Underworld have grown used to, there are others, ones that make many an Underworld dweller weep. Pink Carnations (Remembrance), Chrysanthemums (Death), and Cyclamens (All good things must end). It is when these flowers appear, and many of the House notice the solemn look in Zagreus’ eyes, that they realize that these flowers are indeed representations of their prince’s emotions.
----
When Persephone finally returned to the underworld, the orange Lilies faded. The Pink Carnations, Chrysanthemums, and Cyclamens also disappeared, Zinnia notably absent too, until all that remained were Jasmine and Baby’s Breath, as well as Red Roses (Passionate love) and Alstroemeria (Devotion and friendship).

When a new, unfamiliar flower appeared next to the others, it was reported back to the Queen, who identified it with a teary-eyed smile, one that was always directed at Zagreus, filled with the love a mother held for her child.

“Lily of the Valley,” she whispered. “Return of happiness.”

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