IV. A Mother’s Love
⟅ Botanical Headcanons // @a-la-mort — ❝ lily : how does your muse view their mother ? (I had to) ❞ ⟆
A bittersweet sort of recollection is stirred in hand with the word “MOTHER” for Zagreus, tied firmly to memories of both joy and heartache. Although for much of his life he was unaware of the truth behind his birth, he would never consider himself to have been without a mother. To the heir, he claims to have not one, but two maternal figures in his life. One, of course, being his birth mother, Persephone, and the other, Nyx, Night Incarnate. Each is equally dear to his HEART, regardless of blood.
Due to Persephone fleeing the Underworld, Zagreus was raised by Nyx and suspected little of the truth behind his mother. In his eyes, Mother Night was without flaw — as intimidating as she was BEAUTIFUL, and all together awe-inspiring. Where his father berated him endlessly, she would soothe with kind words. Nyx quickly became his SOLACE in the face of Hades’ strict hand. She treated him no different than her three sons, thus there was little indication that he was any different than the rest. Nurturing and bearing enough love to compensate for the lack from his father, Zagreus grew up none the wiser. When the TRUTH finally came to light, reconciliation was difficult at first. A note of bitterness struck whenever the prince met that golden gaze which he once clung to so fiercely. Given time, Zagreus was eventually able to overcome the overwhelming sense of BETRAYAL — understanding that her actions came from a place of love and a desire to protect him with the guise of normalcy, rather than out of malice. Admittedly, the godling still has some difficulties breeching the subject of MOTHERHOOD with Lady Nyx, but cares for her no less. Regardless of reality, she was still the woman to raise him, therefore a mother in every sense of the word.
As his birthmother, Zagreus still has a somewhat unclear impression of Persephone. Upon learning of her existence, she became a GOAL — a drive for him to continue on against whatever trial the Underworld placed before his escape — if only for ANSWERS. In the time it took for the prince to finally meet her, he had thought up all manner of possibilities on who she truly was. Was she as KIND as Nyx or CRUEL as Hades? Did he resemble her at all? Would she eve care for his existence or had she left the Underworld because of him in the first place? Zagreus had wasted endless hours dwelling on these questions and at least a thousand more to paint a picture in his mind’s eye of this MYSTERIOUS woman. Being that she gave him life, he felt an undeniable kinship to Persephone. The bonds of BLOOD, while possible to sever, bear an undeniable connection between two souls, regardless of familiarity. However, his birthmother still presents as a bit of a stranger in his eyes. Years of nurturing lost and misunderstanding formed a sort of rift between them. While he has certainly made efforts to cross that gap, this will take TIME. But the young prince is in no rush, rather he is enjoying the slow journey to understanding his mother in the moments which they share together, though regrettably brief.
