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It’s Saturday morning and Zeus coerced me into meeting him and Poseidon. At least this time I held out long enough to make him agree to a coffee shop rather than a strip club. The venue hasn’t really held Poseidon back, though. He’s over at the counter, chatting up the barista.
“So did you see your girl did an interview?” says Zeus.
I sigh, and put down my phone. Zeus calling Persephone “your girl” really rubs me the wrong way. I definitely want her to be mine, but he’s casually referring to her as a possession, the same as he’d say “your dog” or “your car.”
“I saw it,” I reply. There’s no point getting annoyed with him over his choice of words. It would just piss him off and make him dig in his heels.
"Did she clear it with you?"
"No. Why should she? Anyway, I thought she did a great job."
"Seems kind of presumptuous to me," he says, fiddling with his coffee cup.
"She literally prevented an armed uprising and saved me from severe injury, if not outright defeat," I say. "She can say whatever she wants to whomever she wants. I trust her."
"You trust her? She hasn't even gotten over the photographer thing, and I’m sure there's other stuff she's keeping from you."
"Oh, and you’re an expert now on trust and secrets?" I want to keep Zeus away from this topic. Persephone’s ability to raise the dead will no doubt be of great interest to him, but the dead are my domain and it’s my issue to deal with.
“I know you want this girl, but I’m just saying, you keep letting her get her own way and you’ll be regretting it for the rest of time. You need to show her who’s boss!”
Right, as if I can’t see what a fantastic job he’s doing managing a long-term relationship. “Look, I know you mean well—” I start. My phone buzzes with an incoming text. It’s from Persephone: Meet me in the park, our bench. 11:30. I look up and meet Zeus’s eye. He’s scowling. He was reading my screen and doesn’t bother to hide it.
“What, so this little wench texts you and you’re gonna go running to her, just like that? Where’s your pride?”
I’m grinning helplessly as I stand up to go. “ Screw my pride.”
***
I’m early, but Persephone is already here. I watch her for a few minutes from the edge of the park. I don’t want to overshadow the coming conversation with gawping at her.
She's wearing a sundress with flowers embroidered all over the skirt, and her hair is long and straight. She's so lovely, sitting there on the bench by that hideous centaur. Even if the statue is ugly, I love that she called it “our bench.”
I approach quietly, but she's making it easy for me, looking at her phone until I'm actually next to her. It’s been more than a week since I’ve spoken to her. I’m thrilled she wants to talk now.
She looks up. "Hi," she says. "Sit down?"
I sit next to her, and I notice that she’s had her ears pierced. She’s wearing small silver hoops, and they suit her. I draw breath to begin the apology I've prepared but she beats me to it.
"I haven't been fair to you," Persephone says. "I've let you go on thinking that I was upset with you, but that isn't true. Not really. The truth is that I've been afraid to face you."
This is so far from what I expected to hear that I hardly know what to say. "You're afraid? Of me?" That is the last thing I ever wanted.
"I'm afraid… to say the things I have to say. To see your face when I have said them."
"Kore, I can't understand this. I thought I was coming here to apologize to you."
"No, I wish you wouldn't. I think I understand better now. You had to act, if you didn't it would be an invitation for more people to commit abuses."
"Well, yes. But that doesn't change the fact that I should have consulted you. You had a right to be a part of the decision and I ignored that. I thought I was trying to protect you but really it was just arrogance."
Persephone shakes her head. "What if you had asked me, and I said do nothing, what then? It would have been wrong. You were right that it was your responsibility."
"We’ll never know if that’s what would have happened, because I didn’t even give you a chance. We could have talked about it. Your opinions matter to me. I can't make decisions for you, even when I think I know better. Because you see things that I don't. You have something that’s lacking in me. That I want to have, very much. So--”
“There’s nothing lacking in you! If anyone else said that about you, I’d make them regret it.”
This stuns me. I like the picture of her defending me. Still, it reminds me of something she said before that troubled me greatly. "You said earlier you were afraid..." I begin.
“I'm not afraid of you,” she shakes her head ruefully. “I'm afraid of losing you. I’ve learned some things about myself recently that I don’t like. I was willing to hurt Thanatos to help you. I was even eager to do it, like I wanted him to give me an excuse. It scares me.”
"Did you expect that to bother me? We've talked about wrath before." I long to comfort her, but I don’t think we’ve reached that point yet.
She hesitates. “There’s something else.” She’s very tense, clenching her fists in her lap, her shoulders quivering slightly.
“Oh.” I pause, thinking. I’m pretty sure I know what she means. “Are you talking about raising the dead?”
Persephone’s shoulders hunch inwards and her arms cross over her body. She doesn’t meet my eyes. “I talked to Hermes,” I tell her gently. “We went to the Mortal Realm and found the shade you raised.”
“If you talked to Hermes, then you know--I’ve done it before.” Her voice is low and raspy, and she’s trembling all over. “Are you upset with me?”
“No, I’m not.” I turn fully to face her, place my arm on the back of the bench. I don’t think she’s ready yet for me to touch her, but I want her to know that I’m willing.
She gives me a glance, her eyes wide with surprise. “My mother said--well, she said a lot of things about this. But she said that it was very dangerous, encroaching on another god’s domain.”
I shrug. “She’s not wrong. I wouldn’t recommend you go around throwing lightning bolts, for instance. But I don’t mind. Not from you.”
“You’re sure?” She looks like she doesn’t dare believe me.
“Yes, I'm sure.” I wait, watching her. I know what I want to say but I don’t want to push. As I watch some of the tension leaks out of her shoulders, and she sits quietly, looking at the centaur statue. She knows I’m watching her. “I want to use my question. The personal question you owe me.” I pause for a moment, and she looks at me, more calm than before. “Do you really want to be an eternal maiden?”
Persephone raises her eyebrows, and leans back, still looking at me. She’s calm and thoughtful. She folds her hands and crosses her legs. “I quit,” she says firmly.
My eyes open wide as panic grips me. “What?” I cry. “But you love your job and you’re so good at it!” My heart is pounding and I’m terrified that I’ve finally driven her away. The words are just flying out of me, anything to convince her not to go. I grip the bench hard in my hand, my fingers digging in. “You’re making a huge difference here, you’ve created rebirth, and Elysium, and rewards for the shades and interns are getting paid and you stopped a rebellion!” What was I thinking, asking her something like that, when we haven’t even finished making up? How could I be so stupid, rushing her? “You’re the Hero of the Underworld! I need you!”
She’s just watching me impassively, a tiny smile playing with her lips. As I wind down, she sighs dramatically. “I don’t mean I quit my job." She shakes her head, chuckling a little at my idiocy. I start to breathe again. “I quit TGOEM. I told Hestia the other day.” She pauses. I don’t know what she sees in my face but it makes her smile. “She’s very angry with me, but honestly, I’m angry too. I’ve been manipulated and scolded and I’m done putting up with it. I paid back their scholarship and I told them to stuff it.” She smiles, rather sharply this time.
“Really?” I’m stunned.
“Well, okay, I didn’t actually tell Hestia to stuff it. I wish I had.” She slides over towards me and leans her shoulder against my chest. I can’t believe this is happening. Slowly I let my arm move from the back of the bench, touching her shoulder lightly. My other hand is sitting in my lap and Persephone reaches out, gently taking it and threading her fingers in mine. I don’t dare move.
We sit for a few minutes in silence, building a fragile bubble of companionship. She’s so close, touching me, and we’re almost embracing. I play with her hair a little, letting it run through my fingers. I watch her face. She’s gazing out at the park, with occasional glances at me from the corner of her eye. She’s smiling just a little. She seems content and it makes my heart swell.
After a while, Persephone sighs and I can feel the tension stealing back into her shoulders. “There’s another thing I have to tell you,” she says softly. Her face is set and rigid, and she swallows nervously.
I don’t want her to feel this way. “You can tell me anything you want. But I get the feeling that maybe you’re a little burnt out for one day.” I squeeze her hand gently.
She nods. “It’s not something I want to say. It’s something I have to say.”
“Okay. But I’ll bet it will keep until another day.”
She meets my eyes. Hers are huge and I sense that she’s holding back tears. “You shouldn’t encourage me to be a coward.”
This startles a laugh out of me. “Kore, you’re the least cowardly person I know.”
She scoffs, but it’s true. As small and vulnerable as she is, she’s unstoppable. “Okay,” she says after a while. “I guess it will wait.” She reaches her free hand into her pocket, and brings out Ione’s Eye. She puts it in my hand. “I want you to hold this for me. Will you keep it safe?”
I don’t understand, but I’m happy to do whatever Persephone asks of me. “Of course I will.”
Slowly she relaxes again, and as she does, she melts against me. She presses against my chest and I let my arm embrace her more closely. I lean down and nuzzle the top of her head. She gives a soft sigh of contentment. We stay like that for several minutes, until Persephone pulls away and stands, still holding my hand.
“Come with me,” she says, tugging gently.
I stand too. “Where are we going?”
She just smiles.
***
We enter the portal into Elysium, still holding hands. I smile at Persephone and she smiles back. It’s warm here and the artificial sun is pleasant after the coolness of the Underworld. We walk together, taking the same path we took three weeks ago, when she showed me this beautiful place for the first time. When she demonstrated her power for me.
We cross over the little stream, using the stepping stones. I turn to help her step down, and notice her earrings again.
“When did you get your ears pierced?” I ask.
“Last week. Right after I told Hestia I quit. I had a whole list of things I wanted to do,” she slants a look at me and I understand that I had a place on this list, too. I grin. I’m very familiar with her organizational skills.
“Was this list color-coded?” I tease.
“Possibly. It was very detailed.” Her mood turns a little more serious. “I had a lot of things I wanted to clear out of the way.”
“Like that interview?” I’m very curious about that. We’re entering into the forest. It’s darker under the trees, and hushed. I guess there still aren’t any animals here yet.
“No… that came up on its own. I should explain. That reporter, she’s the reason I found out about the photographer, and she’s been after me for a while to talk to her. Oh, and she’s the one who wrote that article a while ago that upset you.”
“I hadn’t made that connection.” I frown. “Why did you agree to the interview, then?”
“She offered to drop the photographer story if I would do it.”
“Oh.” I’m very surprised. I think over the implications. Did Persephone think she was doing me a favor by distracting the reporter?
“Did I do all right? In the interview?” She sounds anxious.
I smile reassuringly. “I thought you did great, even though she asked some very intrusive questions.” I stop walking, and tug on Persephone’s hand. She steps closer, looking up into my eyes.
“Did you like my answers?” she asks. She’s smiling a little. She’s fishing.
“I did. I particularly liked what you said about your complete lack of rivals.” I smile, expecting her to tease me back, but her reaction catches me off guard. She's immediately flustered: blushing deeply all the way to her neck, looking away from me, twisting her body awkwardly.
"Oh. Um. That." This sharp contrast with the cool, confident goddess who gave the interview sets off sparks of delight in me. I bend down, lowering my head to try to get her to look at me. She doesn't quite let me, but stops moving away, biting her lip instead. She glances at me, a brief nervous peek that steals my breath. Very gently I reach out and touch her chin, and she meets my eyes now. Her face is darkly flushed and her eyes are huge with alarm. She's enchanting.
"It's perfectly true. There's no reason you shouldn't say so," I whisper.
Now she can't look away. Her lips part slightly, and if anything her eyes get wider. "I know," she says softly.
I'm moving towards her--very, very slowly--but it's enough to rattle her. She grabs my arm. "I have a surprise!" she blurts.
"Okay.” I can wait.
She pulls me away, moving quickly now down the forest path. She glances back every so often. I try to think of something to talk about that won’t be agitating.
“How is Artemis taking your decision?” I ask.
“Not well at all, at first. She was very upset, but after a few days she came around, and we’re friends again.”
“That’s good.” I’m pleased for her. I wouldn’t want her to lose friends.
“I still moved out, though,” she says. “Eros and Psyche have a spare room and they offered it to me. I think it will work out well.”
I want to ask about that, but I’m starting to hear the rush of the waterfall. Persephone pulls my hand, giving me a big grin. She’s clearly very excited. We leave the forest, entering the meadow. The waterfall is on the far side, its wide curtain of white water falling from the tall cliff that Persephone made. I wish I hadn’t been so fastidious last time we were here, but I’m guessing she wants a second try at what she was going for. I’m more than happy to give her whatever she wants.
It’s the perfect setting.
We approach the wide pool at the base of the waterfall and it’s apparent that Persephone set this up ahead of time. There’s a big blanket spread out on the grass, and a picnic basket set on its corner. She leads me to it and we sit down.
“I hope you’re hungry,” she says, starting to unpack the basket.
“I am,” I reply. She smiles widely, and then she blushes and looks away. This thing she’s doing, alternating between shy and bold, I know she can’t help it but it’s making me wild .
She’s unpacking boxes of food: little savory tarts, stuffed eggs, tiny sandwiches in triangles, dolmades, fruit and vegetables cut into pretty shapes, cheeses, olives, and pickles. She lets me open the wine. “Did you make all of this?” I ask in amazement.
“Yes.” She hands me a loaded plate.
I eat. It’s all wonderful, but I would eat it even if it wasn’t. We spend a long time munching and talking of inconsequential things, and then Persephone takes yet another box out of the basket. I’m pretty sure I know what that is. She opens it, and the lovely smell confirms it: cinnamon, honey, walnuts. I smile. For everything else, she troubled to pack tongs and forks and spoons, but the baklava she takes out with her fingers, and holds up a piece.
“Is that for me?’ I ask.
“Yes,” she says. Her voice is low and breathy. I lean forward. She holds the pastry out for me and I take a bite. I’m watching her carefully, and she’s watching me. She’s a little breathless, and biting her lip slightly.
I chew and swallow. “That’s wonderful,” I tell her.
She holds it out again and this time I take the rest of the piece, and capture her index finger for a moment between my lips. I chew again, slowly, and she doesn’t remove her hand. There are crumbs and honey still on her fingers; once I’ve swallowed I tilt my head and delicately lick one finger. Persephone gasps softly. She doesn’t move. I move on to the next finger, which is glazed with sticky honey. I take this one into my mouth and suck it clean.
I’m wondering how far she wants me to go with this. I release her finger, and gaze at her. She’s absolutely stunning. Her face is full of shock and delight, eagerness and joy. I’m overwhelmed with a sensation of utter bliss.
“Persephone,” I murmur. She’s leaning towards me, her eyes drifting closed. “I love you.” She pauses momentarily in her approach and I detect a hitch in her breathing. Then her soft lips are brushing mine and I have never, never in my life been this happy.
I cup her face with one hand and wrap my other arm around her. One of her hands is resting on my shoulder, and the other steals around to the back of my neck, giving me delicious shivers. All this while, she's been delicately, tenderly kissing me, feather-light touches of her lips. I tilt my head a bit, letting my nose slide against hers, and deepen our kiss. She responds immediately with a muffled noise, and her lips part under mine. I can barely resist this invitation, but I desperately want to go slowly. I want to savor every moment, and more importantly, I want Persephone to enjoy it.
I pull back for a moment, trailing tiny kisses slowly over her cheek, along her eyebrows and forehead. She’s breathless and greedy, pulls me in again. I’m utterly captivated by her eagerness. This kiss goes much deeper; I grasp her bottom lip gently between mine, giving her a little pressure and the slightest brush of my tongue. She inhales sharply and makes a tiny noise. She opens for me and I can’t resist this time. I probe gently, tiny strokes along her lips. Her hands are grasping my shirt, holding tight to keep me from escaping. Her intensity ignites the fire of joy in my heart.
I pull back again. I know very well I can’t ask too much too quickly from Persephone. This is all very new to her and I will need to give her a lot of time to get used to it. I rest my forehead against hers and brush my fingers over her cheek.
“I love you too,” she says, her husky voice giving me shivers.
“Oh good,” I say, teasing. “I was starting to wonder.” Persephone’s laughter sends my elation fountaining like a geyser. I laugh with her until she stops me with another kiss.