NEWS OF HER MOTHER’S SUMMONS PIQUES THE MAIDEN GODDESS’ CURIOSITY. rare , are the moments where demeter calls upon the gods of olympus ————— and even rarer still , those chthonic beings who dwell in the lands beneath the earth. gaze follows him as he moves to stand in the cover of the shade , as the leaves above his head whisper to her of the elder god’s quickening pulse , of the slight furrow in his brow as he stands before her now. ❛ nestor. ❜
eyes narrow , jaw clenches. ❛ yes , i knew of a mortal once called nestor. IS HE DEAD ? SHAME. ❜ a slow , deliberate smirk tugs at the edges of pursed lips , as though news of the man’s death pleases her.
did he suffer ? she does not ask. was his death slow , and long , and drawn out for the gods and the nymphs and the satyrs to see ? and if not his death , certainly his after - life could be filled with suffering , she thinks to herself.
( should she be the one to dole out his punishments , it certainly would ! )
❛ come with me , hades. ❜
chin raised , harvest’s daughter guides the god of the dead through her gardens , through demeter’s uniform blossoms , each flower - bed spaced perfectly apart from one another , meticulously placed —————— to an area which resembles more a wild , over - grown forest , than a garden. and in the distance , A TREE STUMP , FRESHLY CUT DOWN. kore tenses , nearly growls as she speaks.
❛ when i was born , mother planted a fig tree in that spot … which is now part of my garden , here on the earth. nestor , like all mortals , was drawn to its sweet fruit & lovely scent. like all mortals , he was filled with a desire to possess what the gods bestow as a blessing. ❜
❛ HE CUT DOWN MY FIG TREE , AND STOLE ALL ITS FRUIT. ❜
❛ if you are to judge him , hades. i hope you find him guilty of treason towards the gods. ❜
HER REACTION IS ELECTRIC , AND IT BLINDS HIM IN A WAY NO SUN EVER COULD. even the shade from the tree under which he has taken shelter cannot protect him from something so dazzling. she is so young , to be filled with such ferocity. for a moment . he forgets himself , drawn in by her fire , but he must quickly recover.
❛ so you have both been wronged by him , ❜ he murmurs , more to himself than to the young goddess. slowly , deliberately , he moves toward the rotting stump. he does not ask permission. after all , does it not belong to him now ? death’s embassy , in the middle of all this vibrant && noisy life. he reaches out long , skeletal fingers and runs them over the bark. he can feel it all : nestor’s craving , his hunger , his desperation. the mortal had lost all control. hades feels a pang of envy wash over him. he has never experienced this kind of hunger. he has never needed anything so desperately that he lost all control. nothing has ever pulled him outside of himself , in quite the same way.
what must it be like , to surrender completely to one’s appetite ?
distractions. he has become too quick to follow distractions , of late. he draws in a deep breath and , as the whites of his eyes become a smoky black , he feels the cold wisdom of eternity begin to flow through his veins once more.
❛ TREASON. THEFT. SACRILEGE. ❜ a voice much older than hades himself lists out nestor’s charges. though one could watch as it leaves hades’ lips , it seems to come from everywhere && nowhere at once , a voice so deeply , so terrifyingly unnatural that all the birds take flight , and all the creatures who live in the trees or beneath the soil scurry off to take shelter in their woodland homes. ❛ he will be charged , yes , and he will pay a heavy price. ❜
slowly , he pulls his hands away from the tree stump and turns back to kore. ❛ I will speak with your mother , ❜ he begins , wearily , ❛ and then my horses && I will be gone. I would not wish to trouble you , little goddess , any longer than I must. ❜