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It was with a heavy heart and empty soul that Hades once again boarded the railroad car that would take him and his now ex-wife aboveground. It would not be the last, both Hades and Persephone had agreed that the seasons of the world would need to be kept, for the sake of the mortals, but it would be the first of many on a new, enforced schedule, and whereupon Hades could declare himself an unmarried god. It was a title he was struggling to grow accustomed to, as his heart ached with every unnecessary breath that he took. Truly, for the past few millennia, he had lived every moment of his immortal life in dedication to his wife. She was the sole reason for every breath he took, every thought he had, every step he took, every decision was made with the hope of gaining her approval. Clearly, that had not turned out well, the two of them too strong willed, bull-headed, and independent for love to remain true. It was a dedication he could no longer adhere to. The very ichor in his veins seemed to slow in vain protest, every fiber of his inhuman being in agony over the decision, however mutual it had been.
"I can hear you moping from here, dear one," The bright, teasing lit of Persephone sounded throughout the all-too-empty train car.
Hades turned his attention away from the window, blurred with the passing landscape, and towards the subject of his musings. Undeterred by the no doubt unpleasant expression resting upon his face, the goddess of spring continued, "I haven't even left, yet you have somehow convinced yourself that you are solely the loneliest, most miserable being upon the earth." Three millennia spent in matrimony with the goddess before him had clearly given her the ability to read him all too well. Still, it would not do to 'mope' as she had so eloquently phrased it, "You will still be blessed with the joy of my company for six months out of the year, as per the mortals seasons," She grinned at him, all white teeth and dimples, but an all too familiar gleam of mischief gleaming in her eyes.
"You seem to believe me incapable of bearing time spent away from you, my dear," Hades finally remarked, the the fond affection in his voice, though true, came out as if forced, an after-effect of the pain of separation. Regardless, there was no need to tell her that he was not, in fact, capable of being away from her, as the past few centuries had proven.
She raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow, incredulity clear upon her youthful face, the golden glow of immortality resting easy upon her being, "I'm going to ignore that obvious lie in favor of offering you a solution to all of your many, many, many problems; loneliness being only the latest may I add. I've always said you should see someone for the trauma of being eaten by your father, those daddy issues have materialized pretty evidently, but I digress."
It was Hades' turn to raise an eyebrow. Truly, he had no idea how to respond to that. There was far too much to unpack there, but he would ignore the bit about his, as she had put it, 'daddy issues', and instead focus on her so-called-solution. "And how, dear, do you propose I go about solving my, as you so kindly put it, many, many, many problems?" She leaned forward in her seat, a determined glint in her eyes that made Hades, ancient as he was, want shrink back in terror. He steadfastly remained constant, though it was a near thing. That gleam could not mean anything good, it never had before. It was that same look in her eyes that has once led to him fleeing from Cerberus through the Fields of Asphodel clad in nothing more than a bathrobe and a single duck slipper.
"You, dear Hades, have the habit of fixating on a person and dedicating your entire existence around them. You spend every moment of your time thinking on them, throw every drachma and jewel at your disposal in their direction, do nothing but live in dedication to that person. Don't get me wrong, as the once object of that attention, it is extremely flattering, endearing even, but that time has come to an end. A new age has come, dear Hades," That look had yet to leave her grass green eyes, only growing stronger as she gazed at him, as if staring into his very being and perhaps finding it lacking.
"Where are you going with this, Persephone?" He could not help but ask, both curious of and dreading whatever hare-brained scheme she had come up with this time.
"The solution to this all is so very simple, I don't know how I did not think of it before!" As her excitement grew, dread bloomed larger and larger in his chest, " All we must do is find you a new wife!"
Well, he couldn't say that he was expecting that.
Persephone beamed across from him, entirely unrepentant at the heart attack that rocked through Hades, undeterred at the fact that gods do not, in fact, suffer from such maladies. In spite of the pain shooting through him and worrying Hades that perhaps Persephone had finally gone through with the assassination she had threatened him with so many times before, Hades somehow managed to speak, "What?"
The goddess of Spring was undeterred, beaming brightly at him in that charming yet manic way of hers, the same way that had gotten them both in various forms of trouble throughout the years. "You," She began, "do not deal well without someone to throw you and your entire fortune at. You're obsessive and you need a wife, a queen, a consort, to keep you grounded in reality all the whilst enjoying all that you have to offer." That devilish grin never left her misleadingly innocent face, a horrible juxtaposition of horrifying odds, yet Hades could not find it within himself to argue. She was right. Just as she usually was. A sigh left him, defeat flowing through him for but a moment before a sense of determination entered him, bolstered by the confidence his ex-wife all but exuded. She was right. He needed a queen. The only question now was, where was he going to find one?