A Bloom So Deadly: Hades and Persephone Retold

The Inquest

Zeus, the God King, leaned back on his throne. His eyes, the clearest of sky blue, stared off at nothing while he stroked his beard.

"This is troubling," he finally said, addressing Hermes where he stood at the bottom of the raised platform. Zeus sat above him upon his throne and looked down at the young god. What was more troubling than a goddess living undetected was what Ares was planning on doing with, as Hermes described, a "fragile flower goddess."

"I need council," he said with a note of finality. "Fetch my brothers. And Ares. Tell them to come at once. We will get to the bottom of this."

Hermes offered a bow and was gone in the blink of an eye, broad wings stretching and soaring behind him.

"A flower goddess," said his wife darkly from the corner of the chamber. With Hermes gone, Hera made her presence known. Her face was tight, unyielding, as she swept in front of him.

Zeus rolled his eyes.

"Hera, not this right now," he said, still stroking his beard though his blue eyes dropped to focus on his wife, dressed before him in an extravagant golden gown.

"A flower goddess is a careful way of saying a fertility goddess!" she spat. "Don't think I don't know where your mind goes!"

"Enough!" he yelled, voice booming through the airy chamber.

His wife, stubborn woman, did not so much as flinch. If anything, she set her jaw.

"You will not string me from the skies again, Zeus," she said, raw fury in her voice. "If you so much as lay eyes on the girl, then you will never lay eyes on this fertility goddess again. Perhaps I'll even find a new lover and give them the strength they don't deserve."

"I said enough."

But, his anger was a weaker thing than before. They both know she had been integral in his ability to not only claim the throne, but hold his position as God King.

"Enough of this, Hera," he said again before she could even start. His voice was quiet. "I know I have wronged you, but I have no interest in this girl. I am not so young anymore, not so keen on conquest. And I have no wish to inflame tensions even more with Ares."

A dark look passed between both of their faces at the mention of their son's name. There was a certain shame they shared in having created such a monster and unleashed it upon the world.

"We cannot let Ares have a fertility goddess," he said darkly. "Surely you can agree with me on this. I can't even imagine the terrible things he could do. I mean only to find out what he wants from her and who she is. And then we'll figure out what to do with her, how to get her away from him. We'll marry her to Apollo or Hermes or anyone to keep his hands away from her."

Hera sighed, the argument drained from her, and took a seat on the smaller throne next to his. "How did we make such a beast?" she said, barely a whisper. The two did not look to each other, but rather ahead at the empty chamber.

"I don't know," he said, equally quiet, equally crestfallen. "But he is smart, he got that from you-," he said, peeking over and glad to see a soft smile on her face, though she still looked ahead. "- and cunning. He not only fans the flames of hotheadedness amongst the mortals, he plans. He puts down traps. He doesn't just revel in the war, he creates them, sometimes decades in advance."

His voice trailed off and, after a moment of silence, she looked over at him. "It worries you," she said.

"Of course it worries me," he said quietly. "As I said, I'm not young anymore. And he has never been happy with his lot in life."