destiny bound.

Persephone : Goddess of Spring Queen of the UnderworldA little bad can be a little good.

[drksprings]

[ 𝙾𝙻𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚁 ]

Oliver always felt there was an undeniable closeness between him and Persephone. Feeling as if they were made from the same cloth, it came easy when listening to her. Her wants, her needs, were one of his own. Just two lost souls trying the navigate hell on earth. “Bored of you?” He asked a bit stunned, as he inquired with an raised eyebrow. “If he ever gets bored of you he’s a fucking dumbass, and you can tell him I said that.” He replied confidently whilst pouring another shot in his glass. While Oliver didn’t know the extremities of their relationship it was something  he always wanted. Someone to come home too. “Wronged again? Don’t tell me I’m missing something here.” His voice filled with concern as he reached out and placed his hand over hers lightly. “That’s always been my motto, but I’m sure you already knew that.”

❧

Persephone found herself staring sometimes a bit too long at him. He was charming, so say the least. There was something alluring about the whole thing. He understood her and he listened, in a way Hades never had. As much as she’d found herself trapped in the Underworld by more heartstrings than chains at the end of it all she was kidnapped and made prisoner there. “Perhaps I will,” she said with an arched back before she exhaled into a smile. “I don’t wish to ruin the only place I can hide.” Persephone’s eyes met his with a softness not so often seen from the goddess. He was her safety net, always catching her when she fell from the sky. “The war between gods has always favored that of the men. Even Hades kidnapped me, breaking between the earth to get me. That was absurd but he treated me with respect, as something to not underestimated. At least he never dared lay a finger on me.” The woman felt herself begin to heat at the very thought of it, looking down at their hands she moved her hand to intertwine their fingers. Persephone felt like a flower after battling a monsoon, standing in front of him wounded. 

[drksprings]

[ 𝙷𝙰𝙳𝙴𝚂 ]

-

Hades watched her, his sharp eyes examining every detail of her face like he was trying to memorize it. “I needed only to see the look in your eyes when I came to Olympus to know you didn’t belong there,” he said in reply, raising his hand to tuck her hair behind her ear so he could run the back of his fingers down her jawline. The truth was that the moment he’d decided to take her was a selfish one, but he was glad that he was right. She belonged with him. Not Zeus. “What are you craving to do?” He paused, hesitating before he continued, almost choking over the words. “…I have time.”

❧

Persephone felt her skin crawl from beneath her epidermis. The world she was stolen from haunted her like shadows over her bed. These clouds in the sky were dark, looming over her no matter how deep she went into the ground. His face lingered in the back of her memories as more of a demon than a god. “Don’t let me go back, not ever,” she spoke quietly but her tone certain. All she knew was to lean into his touch and hope it brushed away the tainted past Olympus offered her.

Persephone only broke away to look at him, surprised at his own words. It wasn’t often he offered his time so freely to her. “Let me show you what I’ve done with the garden. Come, come.” Persephone lifted the fabric of her dress with one hand and took his with the other before pulling him down the hallway towards her latest creation in Elysium.

[drksprings]

[ 𝙷𝙰𝙳𝙴𝚂 ]

Hades physically sighed at Persephone’s touch. Her skin on his was as soft and supple as the petals of a flower, but as soft as she was, he knew she had thorns that were unforgiving if not handled with care. The allure of her dichotomy was electric, magnetic; she was impossible for him to shake from his mind. It distracted him - sometimes that was a good thing, he needed nice things to think about that weren’t oriented around dominating the cosmos and taking power from his brother. But then he worried that she was too much of a distraction.

But not today. He needed her today.

“That’s okay, the time will come when I will make them change their ideals - whether they like it or not,” Hades said firmly, flipping his hand underneath hers to grasp it tightly. He smiled at her admission to always return to him. “I would come find you if you didn’t,” he said with a simple tone, giving her a little tug of her hand to pull her in close to him. “I would break this world in half just to find you again and bring you home.”

❧

She sat comfortably between chaos and calm, her soul as impure as the others but without reason to hide it behind the facade. All of the other gods and goddesses were as mangled as these two yet only they were assumed to be the ones made of tainted goods. Persephone knew they saw what her and Hades had become, she wondered if it frightened them. For they had long doubted her but now she’d found the person who believed in her most. When the others would toss her aside as a countryside goddess now she was at the right hand of the god most accustomed to death. 

Each touch felt as electric as the first. She remembered when he stole her away from the Earth, and though she would never admit it she felt it even then. As difficult as it had been being without her mother Persephone believed her destiny lied here, with him. “If there is anything I know to be true about you it is that you take what is rightfully yours,” she said while her arms draped over his shoulder and her body drew closer to his. “You already did it once, and you hadn’t even asked my name then.” Her eyes met his, what was usually daggers softening into blooms. 

[drksprings]

[ 𝙾𝙻𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚁 ]

Oliver could usually hold his liquor well, however he had started drinking long before Persephone had showed up. “It’s not your fault she’s showed up where she’s not wanted.” Letting out a rather dramatic sigh. He felt she only showed up now to toy with him mentally, but the fact that she was hanging around other gods was…terrifying to say the least. He could never read her. Oliver could think he was one step ahead but it would turn out Eris was already miles in front of him “Like you said, probably war. That’s her favorite past time.” He commented with a roll of his eyes. Pouring them both another round he sat atop his desk offering her a small warm smile. “Don’t worry flower, soon she’ll get bored of Hades and his overzealous behavior. Can’t plan a war if someone is too preoccupied with counting lost souls all day long.”

❧

It felt strange having the feeling like she could believe him, that she could trust him. He was different than the demons Hades brought about. She found herself always draw to him, from the day they met she couldn’t stop glancing at him from the corner of her eye. Something about him stuck with her. Now, he was the closest thing she could call to a friend, a confidant. “Sometimes I worry he is bored of me, I am just a prisoner in there like everyone else,” she exhaled, trying to straight herself back up into a calmness. Things were building lately. They always did when she kept it to herself. She would usually go to her garden at times like this. They would weep with her. Persephone took her shot before closing the gap between them and joining him on the desk. “I don’t want to be wronged again. I won’t.” She tightened her jaw then before exhaling and turning back to him. “Nothing a few drinks can’t help.” It always did. 

[drksprings]

[ 𝙷𝙰𝙳𝙴𝚂 ]

-

“If that change in scenery means you, then yes, I do,” Hades let his head fall in defeat, but the small smile on his face gave hint that he was less worried about his pride being damaged today. “There’s nothing quite like having one of our other toxic relatives around for me to appreciate how different you are from the rest of them.” 

“I know could be better to you. I will work on that - because you’re right, I do miss you when you’re not around,” a sigh left him, feeling safe in his own kingdom, in his palace, where no prying ears could spy on his conversation, “but I understand that it’s not really fair for me to expect you to be when I spend most of my day working.”

❧

She hated when he got beneath her skin, and even deeper than when he was annoying her to where she felt it in her heart. Like a morning glory she would feel the blossoming of her feelings. He knew the path to get in there just to see them in time. Persephone reached to him then, placing her hand gently atop his. “I could say the same about you,” she said moving her eyes up to catch his. If he only knew the crimes Apollo had done against her. The wrongs they had served to the Goddess of Spring. She knew he would ruin them. “We cannot be poisoned by their ideals, we see things how they truly are.”

Their closeness was palpable but she didn’t dare reach for it. “I don’t know what else I’d expect. The death don’t stop dying just because I miss their dealer.” Persephone tilted her head while a smile started to form for him. They always had that effect on one another. “As much as I love my adventures topside, I always come back, don’t I? I’m only a call away if you ever find yourself tired of the view in here.” Even if she wasn’t a prisoner, she’d return to him. Wouldn’t she?

[dailymysticfalls]

“I had racially prejudiced comments directed at me on different blogs. People think that just because you’re in the spotlight, you’re fair game. It’s hard, and I don’t think you’re ready at any age for it. Thankfully, I have some great fans who got me through it.” Kat Graham

[drksprings]

[ 𝙷𝙰𝙳𝙴𝚂 ]

-

One head of Cerberus with a speckle of blue in its’ right eye licked at Persephone’s hand while the center dog happily accepted her pet. Hades watched them, leaning to one side as his lips pulled back into the slightest smile. Cerberus, fierce and formidable as they could be, was soft in her hands; like master, like monster, he supposed.

“Yes, I do,” Hades said dismissively, shrugging his shoulders as he stood beside her and knelt beside Cerberus to give the dog’s back a pat. He exhaled sharply through his nostrils at her question. “I wanted to see you. That’s it. It doesn’t really matter to me if we talk, or not. I simply got tired of starring at and ash and death all day. I needed a change of scenery. You, specifically.”

❧

Persephone had grown fond of the life she’d created here. Between Cerberus and Hades she felt almost complete as strange as circumstances might be. She did miss her mother though but knew better than to try to reconnect with her. There were many memories she felt should be kept separate from her life now if she wished to ever move on. Hades releasing her didn’t seem possible anytime soon so she’d gotten comfortable. Perhaps too comfortable.  

“Ah, so even the king himself needs a change of scenery.” Her eyes looked to meet his before the head’s of the creature snuck between them. Persephone felt the moment to reach for him snap but couldn’t help but smile as one of them licked her cheek. She drew back with a soft laugh before catching his eyes again. “It’s alright to just say you missed me, you know.”

[drksprings]

@herculesvlahos​

Persephone knew of the famous Hercules, son of Zeus & Hera. He was destined for greatness according to them and yet he’d fell down to earth to be a simple human. She’d learned empathy for mortals during her own childhood there, before Demeter showed her what they were entirely capable of. That was something she had in common with the golden child was that she had a period of her own youth that was spent as close to a mortal as she could. It’s also how she came to appreciate her power and its purpose in the greater scheme of things. 

That didn’t mean she’d forgotten Hades’ plan. It was no secret to her what was the hopes for his nephew but she’d never had the pleasure of meeting him herself. She’d never thought of going out of her way to make an introduction. It was just on this day she stumbled upon him during her time in the town. Persephone couldn’t deny her curiosity as she smiled. “Come again. What was it you were looking for?” She asked, after being caught slightly off guard upon realizing who it was in front of her. 

[drksprings]

[ 𝙾𝙻𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚁 ]

He knew of Eris presence in Prentiss, she made her entrance quite well known to Oliver. Though he had never expected that name to fall on Persephone’s lips. As if he wasn’t already stressed enough. “By that name alone, gin and tonic it is.” He tried to not let the mention of his ex sour his mood. It wasn’t Persephone’s fault but god that woman seemed to follow him like the plague. It seemed it wasn’t enough that he had sold his soul for her, he had to have a daily reminder. Pouring a shot for Perse he slowly slid the glass towards her. “Cheers.” He said as he lifted his glass and quickly downed the liquor. Clearing his throat he moved to pour himself another, this was going to be a long night. “What is she doing snooping around the underworld?”

❧

She understood the stench of hearing the name of someone you hated like that. It was the same feeling she got when someone brought up Apollo and her skin would try to crawl off her skeleton. They were off to the races now as she downed the drink, its dryness burning her throat as it went. “Sorry to bring up the past but she’s nosing around where she doesn’t belong. I see even more now why you detest her,” she said sourly. The little she knew of their history was enough to dislike her but the second she stepped foot into the Underworld Persephone felt it. The woman paused only to take a drink, feeling soothed as it entered her body. It wasn’t often she drank more than wine but when she did it was always necessary. “That’s just it. I haven’t the slightest idea. Hades won’t tell me and keeps saying that she’s someone good to have in his corner. I understand war but I don’t trust her, figured you’d know that better than anyone.” 

[drksprings]

[ 𝙷𝙰𝙳𝙴𝚂 ]

-

“Couldn’t have said it better myself, really,” Hades said, his lips pulling into a half smirk. Even if there was some disdain for what he did - his work, his plans, his goals - Persephone still gave him little ounces of support and agreement that took him off guard. When he consistently expected a fight and didn’t receive it, he was honestly surprised. His faith in people was tiny and minute, barely even existing until she came into his life.

“Sometimes I think you love them more than you like me,” the king speculated as he watched her love on the pup, each head nosing impatiently at her hands for attention. “You’ve turned my fierce guardian of the Underworld into a lap dog, I want you to know that.” Cerberus was putty in her hands, much like their master was - but that he would admit it.

“There’s no reason for us to sleep. Why would I say goodnight?” He asked, hardly remembering the last time he’d ‘slept’; he wasn’t sure he ever had. Any moment spent asleep was wasted time, in his opinion. “If it makes you feel any better, I swear on my life that I hate her, and want nothing to do with her, but she is a very hard parasite to shake.”

❧

She wasn’t always blind to what must be. This many eons here and she knew the necessities of life was death. Nature taught her this but the Underworld solidified its importance. It wasn’t always needed to fight with him, as fun as it was. She knew what needed to be done to keep order. 

“They’re just so cute,” she reached out her hand for her fingertips to graze their heads. There was more to them besides their cuteness, she knew what they were created to do, but that didn’t mean she loved them any less. It was much like the same love she had for Hades. A darkly, deep cloud that had filled her when he’d stolen her that day. It was wrong to enjoy this life when she was that of a prisoner at the end of the day.

 “Must you always be so literal?”  She exhaled heavily, knowing she should’ve seen that coming. He saw many of things in life that way. It was one of the ways she remembered why it was better not to feel anything at all. “Alright,” she said with a shrug. There was nothing besides each other at the end of the day, Persephone struggled to feel truly happy here from the loneliness the Underworld offered. “Was there another reason you wanted to see me or was that it?” 

[drksprings]

[ 𝙾𝙻𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚁 ]

Oliver was known as the boogie man to most, and friend to little. He was very particular who he let enter his space and Persephone was one of those few exceptions. “A little, can’t hide anything behind those big sad doe eyes of yours.” He smiled slightly, his curiosity getting the better of him. “Then you came to the right guy.” Offering his hand for her take, he led her through the crowd towards his office door. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out an array of keys and pushed the door open once the key locked into place. Immediately heading towards his desk to pour them both a drink. “Pick your poison, I have mostly everything back here.” He offered as he took out two glasses and poured himself a shot of whiskey. “Someone I’m familiar with eh? Something tells me you don’t mean Hades, right? I hope you don’t mean the stoker siblings, I know they can be little shits but they mean well.”

❧

This wasn’t the first time she’d needed to clear her head and found herself in this casino. It was just far enough away and close enough to sin for her to feel at home. “Ah, you caught me,” she joked in return as her smile grew. As if she didn’t already know where to go when she was upset. Persephone took his hand, pulling her arm around his as she followed with him through the people. It was a walk she knew on her own but it was always nice getting an escort. Once inside she joined him for a drink, looking at his selection before speaking. “I guess it depends on the night we’re having,” she said while learning down onto the side of the desk. “Is it a red night or a gin and tonic kind of night?” Persephone gave a small huff from behind him as he guessed who it may be. “Somehow, even more disliked by you. It’s Eris,” she said coldly. 

[drksprings]

[ 𝙾𝙻𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚁 ]

Seeing Persephone was a bit of fresh air, something he desperately needed after running into his ex. It would’ve been fine if his ex hadn’t been the goddess of chaos and the torture to his own demise. To the say the least he was extremely stressed. “You know me well enough.” He retorted with a small smirk. “Sounds like you should join the living more often. My place is always open to you.” He trailed off, moving to join her on the opposite side of the table. “I could, or we could take the party somewhere else. Besides looks like you wanna’ talk, I’ll be your shoulder, I don’t mind.”

❧

Persephone had few places she felt safe to run to and against all odds one of those was Oliver’s place. He wasn’t everyones kind of company but for a girl who was used to the dead it was a good fit. It was only all the better that she also enjoyed his company. They played a game too, similar to the one her and Hades did but this one was a dead end. It was all for fun but they both knew it. “That obvious I have something to say?” She quirked an eyebrow up and a small smile finding her lips. "It’s about someone you’re all too familiar with. Perhaps you’re right. Somewhere more private and with drinks is a better idea.”

[drksprings]

[ 𝙷𝙰𝙳𝙴𝚂 ]

-

Hades knitted his arms across his chest, guarding himself from the shear force of her sass. “Always,” he repeated assuredly, a half smile on his face. “the end justifies the means.”

The god was just as abrasive as she was, a nerve pricked at her last comment. He didn’t take her ignoring him to go pet cerberus well, closing the gap between them with an aggressive pace. “I’m sorry, is me maintaining the balance of the world too boring for you?” he quipped back in a sharp, high pitched tone, “Shall I let thousands of dead souls escape because I selfishly want to be with you instead? I would never hear the end of it.”

❧

Persephone felt his closure like a whisper to the back of her neck. They were always at odds like this, even if it was just in regards to expressing their feelings.  She was too stubborn to admit her entanglement with him was deeper than when he came to her from the earth. If he did release her, she wasn’t entirely sure if she would want to leave. “I know, for it is better to be one step ahead than two behind,” she exhaled. 

Her hands grabbed at the cheeks of the animal, coming to him so that he could press his face to hers. Even though she was abruptly met by Hades it was still nice to say hello to the animal. Persephone would bring him into her room at night when Hades was away so he could sleep in the bed with her. After all that happened, she felt safer when Cerberus was there. A safety she’d forgotten, until Hades. When Hades went away on business that feeling would creep up again. Cerberus was her protector when his master was out, and not to mention he was the best to cuddle with. Hades’ approach caused her to turn to him and with each breath she would almost graze him. “You could at least say goodnight,” she spat back, her jaw tightening. After she said it she hated the taste of her speaking on her true feelings. Sometimes their games were easier. “It’s not the dead I mind. I don’t like you being gone, especially not with her.” This was their kingdom.

[hope-of-luxuryy]

[drksprings]

[ 𝙷𝙰𝙳𝙴𝚂 ]

-

“The dead are better company than that bag of bugs,” Hades said, his tone short and dismissive as he waved away his paperwork to stop for the moment. He sighed heavily, nostrils flaring as he rolled his eyes and leaned to one side of his mahogany desk chair with his elbow comfortably resting against the smooth dark leather ran down the chair’s arm. “Even if I didn’t, Eris is going to factor herself in one way or another. Better to be on my side than my enemy’s,” the god sighed twice as hard, his fingers drumming across the beveled wood in a similar tick-tick rhythm as his wrist watch. Her own impatience with him only heightened his. “I just did, didn’t I? I had business meetings to attend to, untempered souls to smite, a 3-headed monster dog to feed. I’m doing the best I can here, Perse.”

❧

Persephone’s eyes slipped into daggers for a moment. A woman always on the edge of fury was what separated her from the other goddesses. She wasn’t driven by her sadness, it was her jealously and her craving for power. Hades had given her an opportunity for something beyond just being the goddess of Spring but a woman to not be crossed. The Underworld stood behind her. That’s how it started but now her vines had grown intertwined with his. “Always thinking ahead,” she said taking another step forward towards Cerberus. Her attention was with him and not on that of his master. He was grinding on her today, knowing precisely how to push her. “Then I don’t think you can make any comments about who I decide to spend my time with if you’re busy with business.” She gave him a poison smile. “The dead come first.” 

[drksprings]

[ 𝙾𝙻𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚁 ]

Oliver was working on the floor tonight. If you called drinking and gambling with the patrons ‘work’. He needed to take his mind off things and while he wasn’t human he could still delve into normal mortal pleasures. Feeling a bit buzzed Oliver hovered over a game of blackjack, observing everyone as they dealt their cards. It was entertaining to watch how easily mortals could get agitated by the slightest wrong hand. Looking up when a familiar voice rang through his ears he found none other than the goddess of spring herself. Flashing a devilish smile, Oliver perked up straightening his posture. “Are you sure about that flower? I’m not so sure if doom and gloom would be so happy that you stopped by.”

❧

She couldn’t help but find herself smiling at his inquiry. He wasn’t wrong but she didn’t have it in her to care all the time. Hades didn’t like lots of things. Persephone couldn’t help it sometimes, she got lonely as anyone else would. Oliver knew how to keep her company. “Ah, don’t act like you don’t want a paying customer,” she said lifting up another chip. “I get bored, you know I do.” He had always seemed to be the place she escaped to when she needed a distraction. It just so happened his residence was the place so easy to make mistakes. “So, you gonna take my money and deal me in?” 

[drksprings]

[ 𝙷𝙰𝙳𝙴𝚂 ]

-

Nothing could ever just be easy, could it? No, not when Eris was here. He was not thrilled, to say the least, to have to maneuver around another immortal. It could play to his advantage, but she was not something he had factored into his meticulously crafted plan. But of course, that was her trademark, after all. Chaos couldn’t be planned - and she was right, there was no war without case.

But that still didn’t mean he was thrilled about it.

He expected Persephone to wander from his kingdom from time to time; he was a busy man and most of the hours of his day were spent filing away thousands upon thousands of incoming, freshly deceased souls. It was who she was choosing to spend her time with that made his skin crawl. Hades had no real issue with Olivander, but he’d lost a bet to him and the the god had never let it go.

The faintest creak of a floor board alerted him to her presence. He didn’t look up from paperwork at his desk, finishing up his evaluation of a soul when the soft smell of hyacinths and honeysuckles tickled his nose. A nod of his head with a hand pressed against his lips lead to a quick snap of his fingers. The paper in front of him sparked up in blue flames and disintegrated, sealing another fate with his decision.

“And I thought you had better taste in company,” Hades responded shortly, standing up from his desk to the liquor cabinet to the right of his desk. “Her showing up unannounced on my battlefield is hardly a meeting. More like an unpleasant, random happenstance - which is very on the nose for her character.”

❧

Oh the games had begun. Persephone should’ve known better than to think she’d be able to get away with that. That’s what drew her to him as it also drove her away; that pull. He challenged her, made her think, but also never ceased to forget her worth. She was able to be strong, and the neck that turned the head of the king himself. People underestimated her but he never did. 

The female kept her hands folded in front of her as she stood before him. She wasn’t one for sitting, unless it was on the corner of his desk but she kept her distance today. It felt hotter thank normal being close to him right now. “Is that was this is about? Who I keep as company? I live with the dead,” she said flatly. His distaste seemed genuine but that didn’t mean she wanted him to be in the company of immortal women, especially not pretty ones. She wondered if he’d back pocketed her, until she was useful to him. “As if she isn’t already being factored into the plan if you need her.” 

“I don’t like it when you don’t call for me,” Persephone jumped to the point. If she was anything it was confident enough to say when she was unhappy. He felt buried behind bodies and now this one had curves.