Chapter Text
She was gliding along, her belly to the earth, her scales light over the dirt. She flicked out her tongue to taste the air. She tasted familiarity, and a hand reached down. It picked her up, stroking her head with a warm fingertip. Then, she opened her mouth, smelling it. She sprang, sunk her fangs into the wrist. Pumped her venom in, and didn’t let go, didn’t let go, didn’t let go, not until it was cold.
Persephone suddenly jolted awake. Snorting, squinting out into the room. She looked around. God, left alone for only a month, and she’s waking up someplace she doesn’t recognize. How much had she drunk? Where were her shoes? That was her first thought as she put her feet on the cold ground as she read the clock. “Nine a.m.--?” And then immediately tripped.
“Shit! Stupid hair!” she said, looking at the long trail that had crept out of the room.
At the foot of the bed were her shoes, set neatly. However, she couldn’t run in heels, so she just picked them up and held them under her arm as she began creeping out of the room. Where was she, and how did she get here? The purple man had something to do with it, she was sure.
However, this place was massive. The ceilings were more than twice her height, and the dark walls created the sense of walking across the sky at night. At any moment, the floor could drop out from under her. She felt like a flower on the ocean, pink and helpless amid the endless blue-black.
It was impractical. It was unseemly, This whole place was unnecessary, and it looked hardly lived in any way. She found an indoor pool, bigger than most public pools. Maybe it had an opening to the outside, so she could leave without finding out who lived here.
“Oh, hello,” she said. A dog was sitting across the room. It stood up, and she finally saw how big it was. It towered over her. It growled, and she could feel the sound in her chest.
However, as it stalked towards her with hackles raised, she felt no fear. She had many memories of being small and defenceless in front of a canine far bigger than her. She was Spring, and the animals were all in love with Spring.
It pressed its huge wet nose into her neck, puffing hot, wet air onto her exposed skin. She reached to stroke it.
“Stop that!”
Around her head and shoulders, two hands lifted the dog’s muzzle. Persephone immediately ducked under one and began backing up to see the owner and his loyal hound at a safe distance.
He was tall, broad, with pale blue skin and gently tussled white hair. His eyes were red, but only around the iris, not into the sclera like Ares’s and hers. The dog growled. Its lean muscle shivered, as if it was restraining itself from bounding forward, held back only by the finger of its master.
“Sorry about that. He’s a little– enthusiastic about the ‘guard dog’ part. Time out, mister! Thirty minutes!” And the man lead the hound to the door, and it slunk out. Persephone watched as the massive shadow of the door walked right next to the glass walls of the pool room, its glowing blue eye fixed on her. It almost blended into the background of darkness, if not for that ominous eye.
“How did I get here? And where is here?” Persephone said. Her eyes were bloody with light in the darkness.
“Oh, that’s– well, I was leaving the party, and I only noticed you in the backseat of my car once I got here. Here, as in, the Underworld.” He cleared his throat, looking at the floor, seemingly flustered.
“And once you got here?”
“Well, you were dead to the world, so, I just put you to bed.”
“You didn’t take any pictures, did you?”
Hades looked shocked. “No! I wouldn’t– well, I can understand why you might be concerned. This is a bit of a– well, you know.”
Persephone crossed her arms, both to disapprove and warm herself. “Could you show me your phone?”
Hades sighed, pulled out his phone, and handed it to her after putting in the passcode. “Sure. Don’t text anyone or anything.”
Opening the camera, she flipped through the first few images. It was pictures of his dog, more dogs, dogs, a naked, red– She exited the app and handed the phone back to him, feeling the pop of daisies around her head as her face heated up. “Thanks! For letting me! Look!”
Then she shivered as she looked away. “I’m sorry for being suspicious, I guess.”
He smiled gently. “No, I get it, it’s– yeah. Do you like coffee?”
“Yeah,” she lied, and followed him out of the room. “Hey, do you have a jacket or blanket I could borrow? It’s pretty cold in here, and this dress isn’t ideal.”
“Oh, yes! I guess I’m just used to the Underworld climate. It’s not for everyone.” Then, he thought for a moment. His brow furrowed in a way that made him look quite handsome. Persephone was annoyed at herself for thinking that.
They walked back upstairs, but now to her host’s room, where he began looking on a shelf in his closet. It was high enough that Persephone stood a few feet back before she could see the assortment of junk that he kept up there.
“Here!” He took down a thin white box. “I bought it for Hera, but she didn’t like it. You’re petite like her, so it should fit you just fine.” He displayed a beautiful white-furred coat, pure white, in fact. Could it be mink?
“Oh, this is far too nice. How much did you pay for this?” Persephone said, aghast at the idea of wearing something so extravagant.
“Nonsense. It’s not like I’m gonna wear it. And the store had a no-returns policy,” he said with a slight grumble.
She laughed. “You’re quite the grump, aren’t you?” And then, she slipped on the coat. It was quite nice, with a silk lining that felt elegant against her skin. She felt expensive. She kind of liked it. She was being held and warmed by privilege itself.
“See, it suits you,” he murmured.
“You haven’t told me your name yet,” she said after they had gotten back downstairs, wrapping the coat around herself, and leaning her cheek against the luxuriously smooth fur.
And then, he blinked, looking up from the coffee machine. He gestured to his body. “Come on. Surely you know who I am.”
“No clue.” She smirked as if she found this funny.
And he sighed, rolled his eyes, and pulled out a business card from under his jacket. “Here. Hades, Lord of the Underworld, God of the Dead.”
“Not god of death?”
“That’s Thanatos.”
Persephone hummed as she inspected the card. Look at that subtle coal-black colouring. The tasteful thickness to it. It even had a watermark. “Very nice. Here, I made some up of my own recently,” she said, and extracted her business card from the pocket in her bra, then turned back to Hades and handed it to him.
“‘Persephone, Goddess of Spring’,” Hades read from the card as if he didn’t know it before. “Hm. The pink is an interesting choice. Did you not have– access to a printer?”
Persephone frowned, then took it back. “I’m trying to make a personal connection with the people who see it. They see I made it myself, and that makes them think twice, makes them think, ‘Oh, she made this herself,’ and it draws the mind to it. It’s not like I need to be professional yet. I’m still in college.”
“Pardon me,” Hades said. He was almost mocking, but he was surprised that she had thought it through. “I should have known you planned this thoroughly.”
“How should you? We don’t know each other,” she said, raising an eyebrow.
That shouldn’t have hurt him, but it shot Hades through the chest. “Ha, yeah, I guess we–... don’t.”
And suddenly, he was very overly aware of how little he knew about this girl. She was looking at him with an evaluating eye as if he had not yet measured up, as if she was not impressed, and the coat hung around her, not swallowing her. In fact, she looked bigger than it, the downy wool only brought out the deep red of her eyes.
Hades had eyes like that, when he was furious, when he was boiling over with rage and vitriol. And here she was, standing, smiling in complete calm, her eyes as red as blood. What kind of goddess was she, anyway? Why was Spring named ‘Bringer of Death’? The dewy softness of her sleep now seemed disgustingly fake and painted on. However, that did not drive him away. It made him wonder even more. He wanted to peel back her layers.
He had gone back to coffee when he suddenly heard.
“Minthe is calling you.”
“Wh-what?”
“Girlfriend?”
“Uh- No. She’s just a nymph… I… associate with.”
“Would she call you that?” Persephone said. “I suppose you and your brothers are known for their sordid affairs.”
Hades opened his mouth.
“Shi– shoot , I– it’s none of my business, I apologize for saying that.”
“No, it’s okay.” His stupid brothers were already messing this up for him. “The reputation precedes me. But– really, do I look like a scoundrel to you?”
“Hmm…” She pursed her lips. “Absolutely.”
“What? Why?”
“You’re rich.”
“What does that have anything to do with it?” Hades said.
Persephone smiled as if to say, ‘If you don’t get it, I’m not going to tell you.’ She sipped her coffee, kicking her feet a little against her chair. “Thanks for– sticking around with me. And for the coat and coffee. I appreciate it.”
“You’re–”
“Could I get a pair of scissors or a really sharp knife, though?”
“Why?”
“I need to cut my hair.”
“Oh, I can do that for you.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
Hades grabbed a pair of scissors and stood behind her chair. She had let the coat fall off her shoulders, and her hair flowed down over her back. He could see the shape of her shoulder blades through the gauzy part of the dress. He didn’t want to stare. “How short do you want it?” he finally said.
“As short as you can.”
“Can do. It won’t be pretty.”
“Good.”
Short, choppy snips, and the hair fell to the floor. There was still a great sleeping serpent of hair that looped around the room. He’d have to have someone clean it up before his dogs tried to chew it.
Persephone continued to sip on her coffee.
“Question?”
“About my hair?”
“Yeah. What made you lose control?”
“Well– it was stressful. There was this– guy. He was purple, and he gave me a lot to drink–...”
Hades blinked. “It wasn’t Zeus, was it?” he growled.
“No. I know what Zeus looks like. This guy looked so familiar. I could have sworn I knew him. And I was already drunk, so– I don’t know, I must have passed out. And then, I woke up here. He put me in your car, or someone else who found me did.”
It clicked for Hades. “That must have been Eros.”
“ Eros ?” Persephone blinked. That was why she thought she recognized him. Eros had his father’s face. “Why would he put me in your car, though?”
“It was my fault. I may have said that you… put Aphrodite to shame.”
Persephone stared at Hades for a good long while. She began snorting, before honking full laughter. “Holy shit, that’s so funny– But no one’s that dumb.” She flicked a tear from her eye. “To compare two goddesses like that? People want another war?”
“Ha, ha, yeah, that’s– it’s funny. Ha.” Then, his phone began ringing again, and he looked at the contact. Zeus. That cockblock. “One second,” he said to Persephone, before picking it up. “What is it? I’m in the middle of something?”
“Just checking to make sure you’re ready for Sunday brunch!” How was Zeus already so peppy in the morning, especially with what Hades had seen him take last night? How did Zeus manage to be both a morning person and a night person? Perhaps it came with ruling the sky.
“Again, I’m busy with, important business.”
“Brunch is mandatory.”
“It’s–”
“ Man . Da . Tory .”
Hades sighed, glancing back at where Persephone still cradled her coffee cup. “Fine.”
“See you there,” Zeus crooned, before hanging up. Hades cursed at his phone.
“Well, time to head out,” Hades said. He offered his arm. “May I drive you home?”
“You may,” Persephone said, and she took his arm. They walked, linked like that, to the car, and he drove her home.
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Hades was ignoring her calls. She left half a dozen messages on his phone. Telling him to pick up the damn phone and stop sulking. Eventually, she gave up. She’d make him talk to her. It was a Sunday, so he couldn’t be working, so she’d find him at his house at this hour. A night of calling meant she hadn’t slept.
Minthe didn’t need much sleep, though, she toed a foot through her river and she felt power tingling up her spine and into the crown of her head, and that was enough to survive a few days without sleep. At the early hours of the morning, she stalked Hades’sii mansion, first coming around the back to see if his car was there, but she stumbled over a photographer who was staking out the house too.
“Who are you? Get the fuck out!” Minthe hissed, and the paparazzi man scuttled away like the vermin it was. And she had driven him away just in time, too. Just then, Hades was walking out towards his car, followed by–
Who was that? A fucking flower nymph? He was ignoring her for a fucking flower nymph? She was sucking in air through her teeth, and almost cracked her phone as she took a picture. Well, now she had her answer for why. He was fucking a pretty pink bimbo who probably laughed at all his jokes and didn’t understand his job.
She wasn’t jealous. She wasn’t. He could do whoever he wanted, and she knew that whoever she was meant nothing. Minthe knew what he actually liked. He was a depressive, a masochist, he liked to be miserable, and so did she. And Minthe was his intellectual equal. They were dark romantics. It was fitting that they’d drink each other’s poison until they vomited.
Once she got home, she began digging. She looked at the party’s hashtag to see everyone’s pictures until she caught a glimpse of the pink girl in her green dress. She was posing with Artemis, but the picture was taken by one of Artemis’s maidens, but going to Artemis’s post of the same photo, she found what she needed.
“If anyone touches my ‘Sephone I’ll gut them! Love you, guurrrrl!” read the caption. No account tagged. She wasn’t on social media? But in this picture, Minthe could clearly see the rounded ear tips. Not a nymph, a goddess. That narrowed it down immediately. The Domain Registery documented all official gods and their domains, as a public resource. One of the newest gods registered was Persephone, Goddess of Spring. That had to be her.
Persephone. Persephone .
What a stupid, flowery name. It had a sinister meaning, but the name itself was clunky. No good nicknames or ways to shorten it. Minthe hated it. Hated the way it sat in her mind as she curled up in bed, scrolling on her phone.
She found some articles about spelling bees, homeschool awards, from very small co-op newspaper. These weren’t recent, but they weren’t exactly old. Then, she found her name in the OPU class list. She was in college now.
She immediately sent the picture and the class list to the one person she knew could and would help her.
Thetis immediately called her.
“Minthe, what’s this?”
“I took that picture of her as she was coming out of the house. And Hades had been ignoring my calls.”
Thetis made a disapproving humming sound. “Sounds like trouble. I always doubted your ‘treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em keen’ approach.”
Minthe sighed, flopping back on her bed. “Don’t rub it in. Can you see what you can dig up? Like–”
“Like what?”
“Like, push through an FOIA? I didn’t find any scholarship mentions. Demeter is rich, but not that rich, so if she has a loan, we could definitely get our fingers into that.”
“Good idea. Especially since OPU is a government-funded university.” Minthe could hear rapid clicking through the phone. There was a pause. “A nymph “And I am the government. It’ll be a few hours, but I’ll send you anything I find when I get it.”
“Thank you so much, Thetis.”
“This is dangerous, you know. I’m risking for you.”
“It’s mostly me risking. You’ve got Zeus’s ear.”
“But when nymphs stand up to gods, it’s always going to be you taking the fall.”
“I know.”
“So you owe me big time.”
“I know.”
“You should buy me dinner,” Thetis said, in her soft tinkling voice.
Minthe laughed. “Alright. I’ll see what I can do.”
She went about her day as usual after that, although she kept thinking about Hades, and then spiraling into all-consuming anger and betrayal. She was tempted to break shit, but she always regretted that later. She tried to get some cleaning done.
But, suddenly, Thetis was calling, and Minthe instantly picked up.
“Holy shit, holy shit, Mint , you’re not gonna believe this.”
“What?” She felt her heart leap in her chest.
“Okay, so– I found out that Persephone is being sponsered by a private, independant foundation. It’s called the Protection Foundation, which I found to be a weird name, so I did some digging. They don’t give out scholarships or anything like that, it’s more of like, a foundation that gives money for legal representation for nymphs that are victims of assault, and like– stuff like that. Good deal, right? Did some more digging, it’s actually mostly used to– you know how you can’t use mortal gold without feeding it through taxes and getting it registered through– well you know the deal.”
Thetis took a breath from her speech. She enjoyed talking about finances, so Minthe was usually happy to hear her ramble, but she wished Thetis would get to the point. “If everyone could use mortal gold, the economy would be destroyed in nanoseconds. But PF is one of the number one sources of mortal gold through means of charitable donations because, get this– It’s how Ares processes his warspoils.”
Minthe felt her stomach drop into her feet. “ WHAT? ”
“Yeah! And Ares personally controls the foundation. She’s being sponsered by Ares .”
“He’s been gone for years, though?”
“Yeah! That’s the thing! I found out from Zeus that he was exiled to the mortal realm, to Demeter’s grove!”
“That little minx!”
“Exactly! She’s a fucking plant from Ares!”
“Holy shit. Holy shit. This is huge. What should I do?”
“Well, we don’t know anything for sure. All we know is Ares is behind it and connected somehow, but he’s coming back in a week or so, so I’m sure whenever he comes back it’ll be out of the bag. So, lie low until then.”
“You think I shouldn’t warn him?”
“If she’s gonna betray him like that, it doesn’t matter how hot he thought she was. He’ll be so burned by that I’ll be surprised if he even looks at another woman for years.”
Minthe laughed at the idea, warming at the idea. “God. Wow. This is a lot to work with. Thanks, Thetis. You’re the best.”
“Of course I am. Get at it.”
Minthe hung up, and sat back down, leaning back into her chair to just process what had just happened.