Chapter 9: The Jealousy

After Zeus learned of Demeter from the great god Pan, he sent forth his favorite son Hermes to invite the mourning goddess back to Olympus.

There where the winged-god had been informed, Hermes found Demeter in her ragged cloak and shrunken form.

He immediately spoke to her.

"O Demeter, Father Zeus wishes you to come and join the tribes of the eternal gods," Hermes said. "Come, therefore, and let not the message I carried from him pass unobeyed."

"Did he remember what he has done to my poor child now?" Demeter's voice was cold and cynical.

"Father's wisdom is everlasting; I believe he understands your desperate wish, my lady."

"I have said it before, but I will say it again," Demeter replied, "Until I see my daughter's face emerges from the dark wretched world of Hades, I will not release the Olympians from the sorrow that has plagued me."

Hermes was alarmed to hear it.

"Demeter, the gods are in fright and chaos since the fate of the mortals laid in your hands." He tried to explain the turmoil to the goddess. "Your grief has affected us all."

Demeter simply turned her face away and ignored the plea. The messenger god tried with all his wits and cunning to persuade her, but the goddess' heart was unmoved.

After his imploring words were said to no avail, Hermes decided to fly back to Olympus and report it to his father.

The Sky Lord fingered his lightning bolt thoughtfully when Hermes finished narrating the story. He then sent forth all the blessed gods to bring back Demeter.

The Olympians came one after another to her cavern. They kept begging and offering many very beautiful gifts to the Lady of Grain and whatever right she might be pleased to choose among the deathless beings. Yet, no one was able to sway her mind and bend her will for her wrath was still burning hot within her heart.

The goddess stubbornly rejected all their gifts as she vowed that she would never set foot on the fragrant Olympus nor let fruits spring from the ground until she beheld with her own eyes the fair-faced Persephone.

At last, when the all-seeing Zeus, the loud-thunderer, heard this, he decided to pay the goddess a visit himself.

"I suppose we shall have to compromise," he said to her once they met. "I have been thinking. Perhaps I have not been quite fair to you."

"No," said Demeter curtly, "certainly not!"

"Do you still wish your daughter's return, dear Demeter?"

"Indeed, Lord Zeus," the goddess answered back. "And if you still sit back in your throne and ignore my wish, all the gods and mortals shall suffer as much as I."

"Very well then," sighed Zeus miserably. "In light of all the facts, here is my decree. Your daughter, Persephone, shall be restored to you and remain with you again. However, if any food has passed her lips during her sojourn in Erebus, then she shall remain there with Hades. This is the law older than the gods, and even I am powerless to revoke it - do you understand me?"

"You have spoken, Lord Zeus, and I shall hold you to your words," Demeter replied, feeling a surge of relief at last. "My child must have been too sad to eat anyway. No foods would have passed her lips, therefore she shall be returned to earth once again."

With that said between the two immortals, the deal on Persephone's fate was sealed.

~*~

Just past the ghostly meadow, beside the River Lethe and beneath the never-ending shade of white cypress trees, the somber palace of Hades stood tall into the black sky. From the throne room window, the royal woman would watch Persephone in her garden.

Persephone spent most of her time there now, planting and tending to her magical blooms. Hades even gave her a helper, a very clever gardener named Ascalaphus, son of the river god Acheron. He was very deft and a good company, too, although she noticed that his eyes were a bit too big for his face.

The maiden loved her garden best and that was where she found her refuge. She was so hungry she didn't know what else to do and she didn't want Hades to see how she felt.

Persephone tried not to allow herself to admit that she had felt some sort of a longing for Hades. The voice of the dark goddess still echoed softly in her ears, and the perfume of her godly scented hair still permeated her clothes. Worse of all, the lingering sensation of Hades's passionate lips on hers made her heart flutter like the wings of a moth.

Persephone pushed the thoughts aside and resumed her gardening. Her helper, Ascalaphus, went about watering and loosening the black soil. He never spoke, which was fine by the goddess.

As Persephone went under the trellis where the spiraling vines were hanging, she lifted the dark-green leaves and found new blossoming orchids with lustrous tender petals. Suddenly, a voice she had never heard before called out to her.

Persephone twirled herself around and saw a strange presence of a nymph inside her garden. The strange female had a particular look with pale skin, slightly pointed ears, and piercing coal-black eyes. Her flowing red hair brushed against the chilling breeze like flames.

"Are you truly Persephone?" the nymph asked her with an unkind look.

Persephone didn't know how to respond and simply nodded back, uncertain of the other's intention.

"I have heard plenty of you," the woman continued, "but clearly you're not as impressive as I have thought. I am fairly disappointed that Hades brought you here."

Persephone frowned at her words.

"Who are you?" the young goddess asked. "Are you one of the palace maids?"

"No!" the nymph growled, feeling offended. "I'm Minthe, daughter of the Underworld river god Cocytus and a beloved of Hades."

Persephone immediately felt that she did not like the nymph. Now she was surprised even more to find out that this was Hades' lover. The maiden felt her empty stomach churn. It was like the sting of a thousand bees had pierced her being. Persephone had never known this kind of anguish before, and that confused and enraged her all at once.

"What business do you have in my garden?" the goddess spoke, keeping her voice from cracking with anger.

"I just want to see for myself why Hades took interest in the like of you," Minthe said, glaring at Persephone in detest.

Then the Cocythian nymph began to complain loudly in overweening words and raved foolishly in jealousy. She went on to say that she was nobler in form and more excellent in beauty than the bright-eyed Persephone. She boasted that Hades would return to her and banish the other from her palace.

Of course, Persephone should have expected it. It was normal for the gods and goddesses to take on lovers, but she found it unbearable to hear what Minthe claimed. Her anger started to rise from the depth of her chest.

"Go away!" Persephone finally cried out in fury, "I have no need to speak to you! Just leave me alone!"

"No, you took Hades away from me! I despise you and your innocent face," Minthe sneered back, stomping towards the young goddess unafraid. "You are the one who should leave! Go back to your mother; go back to where you belong!"

The nymph, wild with envy, reached her hands out in an attempt to strangle the goddess, but before she could lay a hand on Persephone, a cloud of black mist burst between them. There emerged the Mistress of Death herself. Hades had one of her hands curved around Persephone's dainty form protectively.

"Hades?" Minthe squeaked.

The Goddess of the Underworld turned her face to the scornful nymph, who stumbled back and fell to the ground at the fearsome sight of her.

"Begone with you!" Hades shouted, eyes ablaze with rage. "And never let me see your face again!"

Minthe's face went white and then she burst into tears.

"Hades!" she cried, "Did you forget that I have laid in bed with you?"

"I will hear none of that! You have upset my queen." The dark goddess growled. "Leave now before I banish you from my realm, or worse, fling you down the pit of Tartarus and let you suffer forever!"

Minthe bit back her tongue. She still feared Hades's wrath. The nymph picked herself up and swallowed her pride. Before she turned to leave, she lanced a dark hateful glance at Persephone. The young goddess was too shocked by this wild behavior and only stood there riveted to the spot. She had never been treated with such hostility in all her life.

After Minthe stumbled away with a hurtful look and was gone, Hades turned to her darling maiden with concern marring her face. When the dark goddess reached out to her, Persephone pushed her away and took a step back.

"Didn't you just dismiss the wrong person?" the maiden asked with a strong hint of resentment. Her eyes pierced Hades's.

"Why did you say that, Persephone?"

"You know what I meant," the girl said. "If you already have a lover, why did you bring me down here?"

"I do not love Minthe the way I love you, Persephone," Hades explained, "Having passed this stage, I can boldly say that you now took her place eternally."

"I don't want to be the target of her disdain," the younger goddess said, "You should go back to her and leave me alone."

Hades arched her elegant brows in distraught.

"Believe me, there is no one I should go to but you," she said, "Even with all my sorrow pent up in this heart of mine, you're still the one I truly desire."

The tall goddess came forward and brought her hand to cup Persephone's lovely cheek. Hades's touch calmed the maiden's anger with its gentleness.

"Forgive me, my lovely one," the dark goddess whispered, "You're the light of my world. I long for you since the day I saw you. You do not know how much it aches me."

"I know what is stirring in that heart of yours, for I, too, feel the same anguish," Persephone said in a low tired voice, "I had hoped by keeping away from you, I might cease to long for you and escape my feelings."

Hades was taken aback upon hearing these words. It was the first time the young maiden had shown her suppressed desire towards her. She had not expected this event to lead to Persephone revealing her hidden emotions.

"Oh, sweet Persephone..." Hades whispered. The taller goddess then closed the short distance between them. She tilted her head and brought Persephone's lips to her own. The young girl opened her mouth willingly and let Hades's tongue cherish hers with warmth and passion. There were no words in the world to convey their feelings.

Persephone ran her hand through the silken strands of Hades's wind-blown hair. And as they shared their ardent kisses, she found herself falling and falling slowly into an abyss deeper than the Underworld itself.

The wind blew gently through the dense foliage, and there, in the glowing garden, the two goddesses stood with their arms around one another and their mouths explored each other in tandem with the beating of their immortal hearts.