For the Love of Triton

11. Persephone and Hades

Sophia inhaled and filled her lungs with summer air and the scent of fresh flowers. The sound of birds and windchimes echoed through the breeze. Bright and subtle hues of the lush flora flowed through the garden. Their colors contrasted and complemented each other beautifully.

"I still can't believe you're able to bring to your mother's garden," Sophie spotted a cluster of bunnies burrowing below Demeter's daffodils.

"I'm glad I'm able to bring a guest to visit my mother with," Persephone wheeled Sophia back inside Demeter's temple. "You know how Hades can be whenever we bring up my mom."

"Girls, the pasteli are ready!" Sophie could smell the sweet sesame honey candy from the other side of Demeter's palace. 

Without missing a beat, Demeter shifted to their side with a plate of the sweet sticky treat. "Sophia, feel free to take some back down there with you. I always pack extra for Persephone, since she's now eating for two." 

"Thank you," Sophie pried herself up from the wooden wheelchair to pluck one of the squares off of Demeter's plate. When Asclepius discharged her, he specifically instructed her to not move around too much as she recovered. 

"You know, Triton came to visit me about a month and a half on your behalf." The right corner of Demeter's lips tugged as she watched Sophie ingest the ancient Greek treat. 

Sophie almost choked, "on my behalf?" 

"The boy was quite distraught when you were recovering. He followed Hermes here while he was making his delivery rounds, and I suggested for him to bring you a small token of sorts." Demeter gracefully sat down the plate on the white granite table next to her. 

"Oh right, the peony." Sophie fondly remembered a half-drunken Hermes giving it to her after fumbling into her room to pick up his equally drunk compatriot. 

 Demeter clicked her tongue. "Not just any peony. An immortal peony, this one can be touched by the undead. He also took forever to pick it out, and it's not like I have duties or anything as the Goddess of Harvest. Also, I only have quite a few that bloom per millennia, I wasn't going to let him have it for free." 

That explains everything. 

Why the petals glowed pink in the darkest places of hades, and most of all - why she's able to touch it without the flower wilting instantly. The sweet scent of the peony lingered throughout her new home in the underworld and it has not lost its fragrance since the day she's gotten it. 

"Mom, what did you do?" Persephone defensively pursed both hands on her hips.

The honey-blonde goddess laughed. "Let's just say it was a lot of garden work. Oh, you know - fertilizing the soil, watering the plants, plucking the weeds, sneaking into Hera's temple and smearing dirt on her statue.." Demeter went on before Sophie drowned out her voice in her own thoughts.

It's been a month since she's seen Triton and poor Diavol was out there himself filling in for Sophie. God knows how the raven managed to use her shears with those talons of his to cut through the threads of life, but he insisted that she rested and how he's got this covered. She's beginning to understand why her grandfather spoke of him so fondly. Of course, back then he just referred to him as "his pet bird growing up".

Sophie had no idea how much work Triton had to go through to get the small get-well token for her. Here she thought it was an obligatory 'I'm sorry for almost murdering you and your grandfather' token. To say that she doesn't miss Triton would be a lie. Then again, she's stuck with his pearl and was bamboozled into being the new Goddess of Death by him. 

Nevermind.

She didn't miss him at all. 

"Anyway, I thought this might be a nice pick-me-up for you since you've been cooped up in that bleak underworld of yours," Demeter shifted her tone and threw a side glance at her daughter.