To his words, Demeter's first thoughts were born of anger. How dareher. How dare he present that she was the sole villain of this piece when he was he who had broken the rules set down, not once but twice. Demeter had always obeyed those hated structures but Hades was content to continuously dismiss the seasons as nothing, to keep Persephone when it was not his time. These were the things she wanted to say and, as she stood, she almost did.
But instead she turned her back on him and gathered herself, looking at the shelves of books that lined the wall but not taking any of them in.
"Cordial," Demeter considered outloud. "Is that what you call it?"
She turned to look at him, her expression hard. "If I despised you so much as you believe would I have come here today? I'm not blind, brother. I know how she feels about you. However it was you recieved her once, I know that things are not the same when winter comes around." She dropped her eyes and her expression wavered. "But I have watched her weep in the autumn for centuries. I have held her trembling body and wished that I could reshape the whole world just to make her smile."
When she met his gaze it was more sad than angry, and with a tiredness that matched his own. There was no anger in her voice now. "Don't claim that you would be entirely free of malice and hurt if you had to see your own daughter like that."