Sundown

Chapter 12

Demeter sat in the sun, lazily fanning herself with her eyes closed. She hoped the mortals were enjoying these last few days of a favorable weather, since denying the Earth seemed to be the only thing she could do in protest of her daughter's absence. She tried pushing the thought from her mind, but it always managed to creep its way back in.

As if on cue, Demeter's calm meditation was broken by distant shouting. She opened her eyes to see Lily, the young nymph, sprinting towards her. When she finally approached she nearly stumbled over her own skirts, panting so hard her blubbering attempts to talk failed.

"What is it?" she demanded, annoyed and unnerved by her antics. Lily tried to take a deep breath, heart racing, knowing every second counted.

"He's hurting her!" she finally wailed. Demeter leapt to her feet, her eyes hard.

"He's what?!" Lily jumped back, frightened by the intensity of her response.

"He was h-hurting her w-with his..." Her face crumbled, eyes watering, too distraught to finish. Before she could even look up, Demeter had shoved past her. She struggled to keep up, running after her.

Meanwhile, Hades wrapped his arms around Persephone's waist, rocking slightly side to side. They had fixed their clothes and caught their breath, but he still stood behind her, resting his chin on the top of her head. As loud as they had been at the end, he was surprised they hadn't been discovered. After a few minutes of quiet, she started to walk forward out of his embrace.

"You know I think I will go check on my roses now..." Hades smiled and tightened his grip on her, pulling her back against him.

"Kore!" Both their heads both snapped up at the urgency and volume of Demeter's voice. She was running towards them, the young nymph trailing behind.

While Persephone watched with confusion, Hades' agreeable mood immediately faded. He had watched Demeter's anger and despair fade to resigned resentment, but this was fresh fury. The panicked girl behind her didn't bode well either.

Demeter came to an abrupt halt in front of the two of them. From a distance she thought she had seen Hades yank at her, but now in front of them, both of their posture seemed relaxed and warm. Persephone rested her hands on top of his, fingers interlaced, leaning into him. In the face of what seemed like nothing, Demeter suddenly lost her nerve, mentally cursing the frantic nymph who brought her here.

"Are you okay?" Demeter asked her daughter quietly, giving Hades a brief, suspicious glance.

"Yes of course," she answered, looking past her mother at the girl behind her. "Is something wrong?" Demeter scowled at Hades possessive embrace around her.

"Can I speak with you alone?" Persephone stepped out of Hades arms, giving him a quick reassuring smile before following after her mother. Hades looked over at Lily, who immediately looked down and scampered off.

After she was content they were far enough away not to be heard, Demeter turned to Persephone.

"Are you really alright dear? We're alone now, you can tell me," she added gently.

"Yes, I really am," she replied, still bewildered to what she was being asked. "I don't understand what you mean?" Demeter stared directly into her eyes.

"Lily said she found him hurting you."

"He wasn't hurting me, we were just..." Persephone caught herself. Her face flushed with embarrassment, suddenly realizing the misunderstanding. Demeter frowned and looked away. She had always suspected this had happened, but it didn't make hearing her daughter confirm it any easier.

"I know because of this arrangement he is technically your husband but that does not mean it is okay for him to force himself-"

"Mother!" she whined, embarrassed. This was the last conversation she wanted to have with her. "It's not like that, he-"

"No Kore, listen, this is important." Demeter put her hands on Persephone's shoulders, looking her in the eye. "I never expected that you would marry, but I should have had this conversation with you sooner, and I'm sorry I didn't." Demeter closed her eyes in a wince and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Just because a man is your husband does not mean he is entitled to your body or that it is okay for him to force himself on you. All these years I've tried to keep you safe from being exposed to things like this when I should have been teaching you had to defend yourself instead, and now I'm afraid I'm too late." Demeter took a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry if that means you felt you had to do things with him you didn't want to him when you were in the Underworld." Demeter's voice broke, her eyes wet with unshed tears, pulling at her daughter's heartstrings.

"Please don't cry," she insisted, taking her mother in a tight hug. "It's not like that, I promise. He would never do that to me. I even had my own room, he never came in unless I asked him to. Nothing bad happened to me there." Demeter nodded weakly, squeezing her back, but Persephone sensed she didn't believe her. She pulled away, taking her mother's hands.

"He's good to me, mama." A soft smile came across Persephone's face. "He really listens to me and wants me to rule with him. I know this isn't what you wanted, and I know you don't like him but ... I think you would if you saw how he treated me."

Demeter was stunned to hear such assertions from Kore. She had bitterly watched Kore's affectionate behavior to Hades these past few days but hadn't asked her why she felt that way, assuming he was manipulating her.

"I know everyone thinks I'm too naive to know any better, but I believe he's kind and a just king. He's thoughtful and fair and was very considerate of me when I was there. I think he cares a lot about me," she continued earnestly. "He wouldn't even kiss me if I didn't let him. So anything that happened there or that Lily might have seen ... it was because I wanted it." Persephone blushed, looking down. "I care about him too."

The Goddess of the Harvest felt like a knot deep in her gut has loosened. It didn't make sense to her, but she began to feel that maybe they were not so mismatched after all. This conversation reminded her of Hades' declarations the day before.

"I'm ... glad to hear that then, dear." Persephone's eyebrows raised in shock. "It will be miserable here without you, but it's good to know you'll be okay. You know all I want is for you to be safe and happy my sweet girl." Demeter brushed a stray hair from her face. A brilliant smile broke across her face as she embraced her mother again.

"I love you mama," she said as she rested her head against Demeter's shoulder. "Thank you for trying to understand. I'll be safe with him, I promise." She paused, this time speaking more quietly. "He makes me really happy."

More than happy, Persephone thought to herself.