Blossoming Love (a Frazel Fanfic)

Hades on Matchmaking

While Frank's family harvested leeks and onions, Hazel helped her family gather olives from the few trees they had. They would keep some of the olives for the winter and press the rest into oil. Their landlord, Athena, owned a thriving olive oil business and traded as far and wide as Egypt, Libya, Thrace, and Sicily. They produced only a tiny fraction of what she exported, but it Hazel found it nice to imagine someone in a distant land enjoying the fruit of her family's labor.

       They used sticks to beat the olive trees, causing the fruit to fall to the ground. Then, they gathered the olives in clay jars where they would later be sorted according to their future use. It was one of the few things they did as a family and it was normally Hazel's favorite time of year. The weather was not chilly, but crisp and cool, so they didn't grow too hot as they worked at a leisurely pace. If Frank could be beside her, the moment would be perfect.

    "The olives are smaller than normal," Maria fretted.

     "We'll survive," Hades replied, though his eyes were dark as he imagined his family running low on food.

"We might need to go to the city to buy some food to get us through winter," Maria said.

"Father, when we visit the city, can we ask about my future?" Bianca asked.

Hades turned to her. "You still wish to be a priestess?"

Bianca nodded.

"Being a priestess will be a big change," Hades warned. "You may not face hunger or poverty any longer, but you will have a very different life from other women."

"I know," Bianca said softly, bending to pick up olives.

"You will likely take a vow of chastity and never know the joys of motherhood," Maria said. "Think about it before you make a decision."

Bianca dropped another load of olives into one of the clay jars. "I have thought about this since I was twelve and my answer is unchanged. I know there are things I will miss out on, but there are also so many opportunities if I choose this path."

   Hades smiled warmly. "You are a wise young woman. If it is your wish, then I will take you to the city during the winter."

    Bianca clapped her hands together, her brown eyes sparkling. "Thank you, father!"

     Maria and Hades exchanged twin glances of pride. Nico was the only one who seemed unhappy, his shoulders dropping more and more as the conversation went on. He didn't speak and when Hazel met his gaze, she saw sorrow there. She too would miss Bianca, but it was harder for Nico. Bianca had always been there for him like a second mother.

     "Is there a goddess you would prefer to serve?" Hades asked.

    "Artemis," Bianca answered immediately. "She protects maidens and children. She aids the hunter and brings relief to women in childbirth."

    "A wise choice," Hades said. "The temple of Artemis will be the first one we visit."

     He turned to Nico. "Would you wish to be a priest?"

    Nico looked as if his father had suggested he give up playing dice. "No, I think I'd scare the worshippers away — no matter how pious they are."

Hades inclined his head. "You can carry on the family name, then."

Nico looked down at his fists, curled around the stick. Hazel thought of how happy he seemed around Will. Didn't she feel the same about Frank and if she was in love with him was he in love with his friend too?

Hades turned to Hazel. "And do you wish to be a priestess, also?"

Hazel shook her head. Maria smiled. "When the time for your wedding comes, we will take you to the temple of Artemis — Perhaps your sister will be presiding over it as you sacrifice your toys to the goddess."

Hazel exhaled slowly. Marriage would mean the end of childhood and the beginning of womanhood. Was she ready for that yet? "Have you found a suitable match yet for your youngest daughter?" Maria asked Hades.

He shook his head and struck one of the olive trees again. "If I can only make one match, then I must make a good one."

"You've been turning down some fine men," Maria said.

Hades snorted. "Hardly so. The best of the lot — Trip — has a mind stuffed with thistledown. All he talks about is the joys of farming. It's enough to make a man jump into Tartarus just to escape it!"

     "And Michael," Hades continued, "Well, I have heard some things about him. He's a shifty one, always switching sides when things don't go his way. He's like that Athenian scoundrel Alcibiades, but without any charm to him."

     Hazel had to hide her smile as she slipped past him to dump another load of olives into the clay jar. Her father's overprotectiveness was endearing. Yet, Maria was frowning. "If you turn away every prospective suitor, she'll die a spinster."

     Frankly, Hazel was more worried that her father wouldn't consent if Frank asked for her hand in marriage. She wondered if there was anything she could do about it. She thought of it as the hours passed and the clay jars filled with olives. She thought of it when they put them away and set up for dinner. She thought of it even as they ate, tasting Frank's lips instead of the food before her.

When they finished dinner, she cleared the table and went outside. She filled an amphora with water, honey, and wine and poured it over the ground in front of one of the olive trees. Hazel knelt and bowed her head in prayer. "Hera, goddess of marriage, please join me in wedlock with the one I love. If you do this, I will pour more libations in your honor. I am just a humble shepherdess, but my love is as dear to me as Zeus is to you."

Finishing her prayer, she stood up and returned to her house to get some sleep.