The Dead Chronicles: Our Lady of the Underworld

Chapter 1

Therewas nothing that made Persephone feel as utterly wretched as preparing towitness her friend's complete happiness realized. She turned her facedownwards, trying to hide her own jealousy, shame and sinking despair. She hadwatched the girl's disbelieving joy with growing jealousy for many years. Godsand goddesses, the changes she'd witnessed! Eros' arrows had transformed theplain and simple maiden into a thing of splendor – an alchemy process thatsaw her friend's beauty blossom in the sunlight of her lover's faithfulness.Finally, that inevitable day arrived when marriage had been proposed to herfriend and she had accepted, the contentment bringing glad tears to herfriend's eyes. It was as though all the favor of Olympus had shone upon the blissfulcouple, illuminating all of their exquisiteness and casting out all traces offear and trepidation in their lives.

People had wept in droves; it was just too magical for mere words to express. The couple, the way they completely adored each other, their devotion to one another, the way that their lives had fused wholeheartedly into a perfect bubble of bliss and contentedness and the simple truth of finding their other half... Oh, by all the gods and goddesses, it made Persephone want to scream! Envy so boiling and complete ruined every second spent in the presence of the happy couple. It was all anyone would talk about.

That wedding. Those lovers. The joy everyone felt. The jokes, the laughter; the whole village was enraptured for them and with them. Persephone bit back bitter tears just considering it. The familiar fears – that no one could ever revere her like that and she would spend eternity alone – panicked her already thumping heart. Dread made her skin crawl with an icy coldness that seemed to stem from within the stony cavity of her stomach. 'Am I really that unlovable?' Persephone tried to crush her unreasonable pessimism with some sort of logical thinking. 'I am the only daughter of the goddess Demeter, a fierce force of nature that nurtures the entire earth. I can't be that ugly.'

But an insidious voice whispered replied to her that she was unspeakably dull and unworthy of finding her own true love, that no man would ever need her, that she would never even come close to the happiness of her friend and her new husband-to-be... Persephone hugged herself. Self-loathing continued to gnaw at her, biting away at her self-esteem and her innermost hopes and dreams. Finally, she felt herself give in to that bitter taste of loneliness and let the feeling give her feet wings. She left the room she was in without so much as a word to the others around her and took herself away for a walk. A particularly insensitive and proud girl she knew called her back for a moment.

"The bride will need fresh flowers, Kore!" she spat at Persephone spitefully, using a nickname she knew full well annoyed her. Kore simply meant maiden. It was the name for a young girl - it wasn't something you used for a woman or a beloved wife. Just for stupid, giggling little girls. It set Persephone's teeth on edge but she accepted the chore with a bob of her head and hurried away, before the acidic words could escape from her burning tongue. Once she made it out into the fields alone the afternoon breeze was deliciously cool on her limbs and especially on her hot forehead.

Grass swayed and tickled her bare feet. She walked until breath was hard to catch. She walked until there was no trace of civilisation or people behind her. She walked until the orange of sunset bled into the sky and that horrendous ache inside her didn't feel quite so bad anymore. Persephone seated herself underneath a low-slung laurel tree, tucking her long white skirts around herself. The sweet scents of honeysuckle and pollen hung thick in the air. That shroud of cloying sugariness reminded her of... Flowers. Wedding flowers. Fetch the flowers, Kore. With a sigh, Persephone dropped her clutching fingers into her lap. It wasn't fair of her to be this resentful. In fact, if she was perfectly honest with herself, it was a downright selfish way to feel. Surely this perfect union between her friend and her husband-to-be should be a source of encouragement, not heartache! Real true love was happening right in front of her eyes. Here was the proof – not in story but in flesh and blood.

If only that damn ache would go away. I'm better than this, she told herself, silently becoming furious with her attitude. I will pick the most gorgeous bouquet of blossoms and I will walk straight back to the bride-to-be and I will sincerely wish her the best of fortunes as I present her with her garland of fresh flowers. She hauled herself to her feet, determination growing as she strengthened her new resolve. I will present her with petals for her wedding bed and more blossoms to thread through her beautiful hair. I will praise her wonderful heart and pray to the heavenly beings to grant her family a glorious future together. Then I will do penitence. Persephone eyed the field. Wildflowers in many shades were clustered around her, wonderfully soft and ripe.

The gods and goddesses – Aphrodite, Hera and the all-powerful Eros – they have not sought to grant me my love yet. I will beg them. I will wish on every star. I will beseech into my mother's ears. Whatever it takes to find my intended, I will do it. With that declaration fixed in her head, even if her forlorn heart wouldn't accept it just yet, Persephone reached to pluck the first of the many flowers she required. But the thoughts were still there, distracting, intruding. How long will I have to wait until I find him? That was the last coherent thought she had before the void underneath her opened, a phenomenal gaping mouth open wide to swallow her whole into the underground. The rainbow of flowers simply dropped away into a dark nothingness. She backpedaled frantically, desperate to escape but the chasm had yawned, black and voluminous, for a long distance behind her. Before the scream could build up in her throat she was gone, taken whole and the crack that led to the Underworld had snapped shut behind her. Overhead in the sky, the sun finally set, and all was darkness.