Part V

She touched the rough, grainy surface of the cavern walls. "I never realized the Underworld could be so beautiful."

They were standing side-by-side deep in the heart of the Underworld. Hades was showing Perseph around his home, explaining each area in his calm, quiet voice. She liked his voice; its low timbre held power but remained unpretentious, unlike many gods she knew who seemed to always boom out words in capital letters. Poseidon was one of these. She personally found him an egotistical power maniac, but everyone knew not to criticize the short-tempered god to his face. After all, look at how he treated Ulysses. The god could hold a grudge.

The corner of Hades's lips twisted in half-amusement. "'Beautiful.' No one's ever associated that word with us before. We are more in the dark and evil category."

"Don't mock me, my lord Hades. You are far from evil. And you are not always dark; you have a glittering cloak, after all."

Hades glanced down at himself. Perseph thought she heard him mutter an oath.

She studied at the inner folds curiously, then lifted a hem to examine it closer. Hades nearly jumped, so startled was he by her actions. He obviously wasn't as familiar with contact as she was. And neither did he look comfortable with the stars winking from beneath his cloak.

She looked up at him. "Do you mean the stars had never been here before?"

"No," he answered. "Never until I. . ."

He stopped then. His eyes were wide, and he looked as if he'd just been struck by a blow. Perseph felt alarm -- she had never seen that look on Hades before. Granted, she did not know him well, but she had a feeling he was not the type to be easily thrown off-guard. Plus his reputation preceeded him by at least a seventeen-mile radius. He did not easily betray his expressions.

She straightened and stepped back, sensing that he needed time to recover. In private. She turned away and gazed at the quiet stillness around her. It was different than what she was used to -- the fields, the gardens, even the very air above. They were always full of noise, full of motion. Full of life. The silence in the Underworld was almost overwhelming in comparison. Deafening.

She turned and looked up at the tall god. "Do you ever get lonely down here?"

He looked down at her. A somber expression crossed his face, but when he spoke his voice was as soft as ever. "All the time."

Perseph gazed into Hades's eyes and wondered how anyone could ever think of him as cruel.

Until I met you, he'd been about to say. Never had stars until I met you. And then it clicked. The party. His first look of her. His watching her in the gardens, and then returning to the Underworld each time, wondering why the stars would not go away.

And then she had looked at him just then, just as he had realized this, and his heart had constricted. She wore no pretenses behind those eyes, he realized. There was no mask of deceit, or even of little white lies. She was as she was. Not the daughter of Demeter. Not the daughter of harvest. Not the bringer of life. Just simply Perseph.

She needed no title or adornments to grace her form. Her spirit was enough to blind him and everyone else around her. Her small hands, so easily fragile and crushable in his, were enough to steal what beat below his left breastbone.

It's you, he thought. It's been you all this time.

And he could have struck someone dead at that moment. He could have bellowed in rage. He could have turned away to quickly blink away whatever it was in his eyes. For the Fates had rallied against him and played their cruel trick on the unfeeling god, the lord who ruled all that was dark and miserable. The god who could have lived alone -- would have lived alone, for he had expected it ever since his ascension -- for all eternity, if it wasn't for this. The Fates, those cruel beings, taunted him now, he knew.

He had fallen in love with the lady Persephone.

"Where do you bring dead souls after you've retrieved them?" Perseph asked on her fourth day there, as they strolled through yet another set of caverns. The Underworld was larger than she had imagined -- bigger than even Olympus itself. She supposed it had to be, to hold so many mortal souls.

Hades shook his head. "I do not retrieve them. Thanatos does. He is the one mortals fear as death."

Perseph looked surprised. "Thanatos? But I thought you. . ."

"I merely rule the Underworld," Hades said quietly. "I make sure everything runs smoothly and that the beings carry out their duties. Thanatos is the one who frees the souls from their mortal confinement. Then Hermes, messenger of the gods, guides them down to the Styx, where Charon will ferry them over here." His lips twisted in amusement. "Mortals always say that Charon demands a fee for his services, which is why they place a few gold coins in the hands of the dead before burying them, but that is not true. For if Charon were to be so greedy and turn away those who have no money, where would those go?"

Perseph shook her head. "I never knew that. Or that you do not 'free the souls,' as you call it. Your name has always been associated with death. . ."

"My reputation precedes me."

She tilted her head and squinted at him, then to his surprise, linked her arm with his. They began walking once more.

"How about the torture pits?" she asked. "Is that just a rumor too?"

Hades hesitated. "For the majority of souls we receive, they are satisfied with their new accommodations. We do not confine them to these caves, rather, we bring them to a meadow where they can build their own homes and live a new life. Almost similar to the mortal world, but with more freedom. A slightly similar version of the Elysian Fields, although not as perfect."

Perseph nodded. The Elysian Fields was the paradise where humans chosen by gods were sent to. Only the best and most favored were sent there, so there were not many of them; sometimes retired gods themselves went to rest in this splendid paradise.

"There are some mortals who arrive with grave sins on their heads," Hades said softly. "They are the ones who stay here under our watch, until I have decided that their stay is enough. The punishment given is according to the sincerity of their regret."

Perseph ducked her head. She shivered, and knew that he felt her shiver too. She couldn't help it. She had been born and raised to love life, to preserve it. Still, that did not mean she was blind to the ways of mortals. Or of immortals. She knew how heartless both parties could be.

She patted his arm. "It's all right," she said. "I know it has to be done." She paused. "I know you are not overly cruel or unjust in meting out punishment."

He looked at her with an unreadable look in his eyes. "You trust my judgment so easily?"

She smiled at him and leaned her head on his tall shoulder. "Of course, my lord Hades," she said. "How could I not?"

She felt him stiffen for a moment, hesitating. Then, slowly, he placed his hand over hers and bent over her head.

They heard a crunching thud behind them and whirled around. Ahro was staggering from having run into one of the cavern walls. He clutched his head but still tried to weave his way towards the gods.

"Ahro?" Hades straightened, his brows furrowing in concern. "What is the matter?"

The demon was panting hard. "Came here. . . as fast as I could. . . master. Charon is. . . doing his best. . . to buy us more time. . . delaying her. . ."

"What are you talking about? Speak!"

"Demeter," Ahro gasped. "The lady Persephone's mother. She is here. And she has brought reinforcements."

Hades and Perseph looked at each other before they started running in the direction Ahro had just come from. A sense of foreboding swept over them like the black wings of a bat.

Check out what Junkie the wonderful drew me! In case you didn't know, she gave me a chibi-Hades for my birthday recently. Now check out the rest she's sent me! :D

      * Perseph, whose sassyness Junkie has helped inspire through feedback. See, I do take your comments into account! ;)
      * Hades & Perseph. Don't they look so romantic together? (*swoon*) And LOOK! Hades is wearing a ring!! :D
      * Perseph again, looking very feminine and sweet. :)
      * Perseph running towards/after somebody. Junkie says she has no idea who she's running towards/after, but then it led to some ideas on both our parts of. . . See what I mean when I say you guys inspire me? ;)

Aren't they wonderful? And isn't Junkie awesome? Please tell her so! :D