“We are so excited, Lady Persephone!”
“Congratulations, Lady Persephone!”
“We cannot wait to call you queen!”
She smiled and laughed with them until Yuri approached, throwing her arms around Persephone.
“What do you think?” she asked, smiling so wide, Persephone was certain she hadn’t seen the soul this happy since meeting her.
“It is truly beautiful, Yuri,” Persephone said. “You outdid yourself.”
“If you think this is beautiful, you have to see the meadow!”
Yuri took Persephone’s hand and guided her down the long road, past homes and flowers and lanterns to the emerald green of the Asphodel Meadow. From the center of town, she’d seen orbs of light in the distance, but now that she approached, she saw what they really were. The lampades hovered a few feet from the ground, their unearthly light igniting the whole, narcissus-covered meadow where white blankets were arranged. Each space had a picnic basket decorated with the white delphiniums from the bouquets she’d seen in town.
“Oh, Yuri, it’s perfect,” Persephone said.
“I thought of it because you like picnics,” she said and beside her, Hecate snorted.
Persephone arched a brow at the Goddess. “What? I do like picnics.”
“You like picnics alone. With Hades. You like Hades,” she said.
“So? This is my engagement party.”
Hecate threw her head back, laughing.
“Do you like it?” Yuri asked. She seemed to take Hecate’s words to mean Persephone might not like the décor.
“I love it, Yuri. Thank you so much.”
The soul beamed. “Come! We have so much planned—dancing and games and feasts!”
They returned to the crowded center of town and Persephone found herself marveling at the diversity of the souls—there were people here from all walks of life, and she wanted to learn from each. They were all dressed differently, had different skin tones and accents, cooked different food and made different tea, had different customs and beliefs, they’d lived different lives, some without advancement and others with, some only a few years and others, long lives—and yet here they were, at the end of all things, sharing their eternity with no hint of anger or animosity.
“Look who’s arrived—and in new robes, too,” Hecate said, pulling Persephone out of her thoughts. She turned, eyes connecting with Hades’ who had manifested at the end of the road—the entrance to Asphodel. His presence halted her steps and made her heart drum painfully in her chest.
He was stunning, a King of Darkness, cloaked in shadow. His robes were the color of midnight, trimmed in silver, and draped over only one shoulder, leaving part of his muscled chest and bicep exposed. She tracked his bronzed skin, the contours and the veins that trailed up his arm and disappeared beneath his long, silken hair. This time, he wore half of it up, and his black horns were crowned with iron spikes.
Standing on opposite ends of the road, Persephone was struck by how similar they were—not in appearance, but something deeper—something that threaded through their hearts and bones and souls. They’d began in two very different worlds but wanted the same thing in the end—acceptance and love and solace—and they’d found it in each other’s eyes and arms and mouths.
This was power, she thought as her body flushed and fluttered with a chaotic tangle of emotion—the passion and pain of loving someone more than the air in her lungs and the glimmer of stars in the night sky.
“Lord Hades!” A chorus of voices rang out as several children rushed toward him, hugging his legs. Others hung back, too shy to approach. “Play with us!”
He grinned and it hit her hard in the chest, the laugh that followed shook her lungs. He bent and swept a small girl named Lily into his arms.
“What shall we play?” He asked.
There were several voices all at once.
“Hide and Seek!”
“Blind man’s bluff!”
“Ostrakinda!”
It was strange, almost heart-wrenching, to hear their requests, mostly because Persephone could tell how long they’d been in the Underworld by their choices.
“Well, I suppose it’s just a matter of which we shall play first,” Hades replied.
Then he looked up and met Persephone’s gaze. That smile—the one that made her heart stir because it was so rare and yet so genuine—remained in place.
With his gaze, came many others. Some of the children who had been too shy to approach Hades, came to her, taking each of her hands.
“Lady Persephone, please play!”
“Of course,” she laughed. “Hecate? Yuri?”
“No,” Hecate said. “But I shall watch and drink wine from the sidelines.”
They moved to an open space close to the picnic area Yuri and the souls had arranged and played most of the games the children had suggested—hide and seek—which was far too easy for Hades as he liked to turn invisible just as he was about to be found which meant by the time they moved on to playing Blind Man’s Bluff, Persephone had declared that Hades could not be ‘it’ as he would use his powers to find them on the field. Their final game was Ostrakinda, an Ancient Greek game where they split into teams—one representing night and one representing day which corresponded with the white and black colors on a shell that was tossed into the air. Depending on which side turned upward, one team would chase the other.
Persephone had never played the game before, but it was simple enough. The biggest challenge would be escaping Hades—because as he stood opposite her on team night, she knew he had his sights set upon her.
Between them, a boy named Elias held a giant shell in his hand. He bent his knees and jumped, sending it flipping into the air. It landed with a thud in the grass, white side up, and there was chaos as the children dispersed. For a second, Persephone and Hades remained in place, eyes locked. Then, a predatory grin crossed the god’s face and the Goddess of Spring whirled. As she did, she felt Hades finger’s ghost across her arm—he’d already been so close to capturing her.
She sprinted—the grass was cool beneath her feet and her hair breezed behind her, she felt free and reckless as she turned to glance over her shoulder at Hades who was gaining on her, and she suddenly recalled that she had not felt this way since before Lexa’s accident. The thought faltered her steps, and she came to a stop, altogether—her high crushed beneath the weight of guilt.
How could she have forgotten? Her face heated and a thickness gathered in her throat that brought tears to her eyes.
Hades came to her side. Recognizing something was wrong, he asked, “Are you well?”
It took her a moment to answer—a moment where she worked to swallow the tears gathering behind her eyes and suppress the tremble in her throat.
“I just remembered that Lexa was not here.” She looked at Hades. “How could I have forgotten?”
Hades’ expression was grim, his eyes pained.
“Oh, darling,” he said, and pressed his lips to her forehead. It was enough because it was comfort. He took her hand and lead her to the picnic area where the souls had now gathered to feast. Yuri showed them where they were to sit—at the very edge of the field upon a blanket that was weighted down with the same lanterns and bouquets that decorated the road. The basket was full of foods and wineskins, offering a sampling of the culture in Asphodel.