[complete/closed] Characters: Hades (ofshadows) & Persephone (anironqueen) Date/Time: Saturday, March 10th, afternoon Location: Cafe on the Lower East Side Rating: PG-13 Warnings: Some poor NPC suffers. Summary: The Underworld king and queen meet. Because Hades willed it.
Finding out where and with whom Persephone would be holding her date was easy. Hades had not even needed to be present for things to fall into place. As he made his way through the Lower East Side, the God of the Underworld could envisage how matters were playing out.
Reservations for the hour and the next had been filled with names from a random name generator. The day's waiter, easily bribed with some money wired from the bank, would behave as normally as possible. Until he "tripped", causing most of the planned meal to land all over Persephone's current plaything. The man would be spineless, Hades already assessed, and would therefore escape to save face.
Owing to aforementioned reservations, the chair the man vacated would be the only available seat remaining. Which Hades would ask his wife to give him. She would accept, naturally. Though he'd observed that no one remembered him from Zurvan, Hades remembered well enough that Persephone was willing to entertain even a seventeen year old boy. However, that hadn't been enough to mitigate her distressed response to his age.
Back in reality, Hades was nineteen. During the formative years of a human male, two years could mean a world of difference. His face was more defined by the loss of baby fat, the jaw stronger and the cheekbones sharper. And, though Hades hated to accede to even his wife's standards, he'd omitted the razor that morning. The beginnings of a beard aged Hades another few years. As a whole, Hades presented a much more comfortable sight to a grown woman than he did in Zurvan.
Her comfort was no pressing concern to him, he rationalized, but it made everything so much easier. Better to lessen her distress, to keep her more iron than spring. Turning the last corner, Hades glanced down at his watch. If all was going as planned, he just might make it in time to witness the plaything's disgrace.
There was a general caution Persephone applied to new people in her life and then there was a clashing curiosity. The latter had seized her when her current date had asked her out and she had, with some amusement, acceded.
And now she sat across from him, in a long skirt and figure-pleasing blouse, while wondering what fantastic excuse she could give for her to dash out. It'd only been five minutes since they sat and he was pleasant-looking, had a nice voice. Knew how to say 'please' and 'thank you' but she felt withdrawn, her smile near forced.
It wasn't him. It was her and she was fine with that. And her cup of tea lifted, lips forming a little 'o' to blow at the steam, just as the waiter delivered their lunch - all over her date. She jumped slightly, fortunate in not spilling any of her tea on herself but didn't move even as she watched with both surprise and fascination.
That was fantastic timing because now she wouldn't have to leave. She could stay, enjoy a meal and he'd have to go. Lifting her face to her date, who had risen, she watched him offer an agitated but flustered rambling of wanting to pick this up later and that he was sorry but he should go. It wasn't like the mess on him could be handled in the restroom. A shot of pity went through her but she offered a pink-lipped smile, the sort that relieved some men because they thought they'd gotten through to her.
In reality, she was deciding on what she wanted to have with her tea again. Maybe something sweeter. The day had turned out that way. Cup lifting again as he watched her date leave, she glanced at the waiter. "A slice of coffee cake. Don't make it small."
Hades was not given to laughter, but a chuckle rumbled low in his chest at the sight of the sorry man's fumbling. His wife had not made any move to leave - perfect. He approached a waiter, who, just as expected, told him the only available seat was with the lovely lady in the corner.
He approached, his long fingers curling around the top of the abandoned chair as soon as it was within reach. His gaze ran over her briefly. She too was slightly aged, but that was hardly enough to deter the god.
"You would not mind company, would you?" Hades said. Though phrased as a question in a nod to politeness, the words were uttered in a way that did not leave much leeway for complaint. "I'm told all the other seats are taken."
A woman so rarely enjoy being told she was 'slightly aged'. Persephone, though, might find that to be interesting with a healthy dash of dismay. Who knew how the spring goddess would handle white hairs.
Though, for now, she had a young man to deal with, a lovely young man. Still, apprehension came over her but politeness came afterward and she nodded, gesturing to the chair he had a hold on. "I won't be here too long, especially if you're expecting company."
Hades nodded. He might have clarified with a well-designed lie, but he had never been the type to suffer explaining himself. Quietly, strangely so, he took his seat.
Here came the complications. Was he to reveal himself as Andrus Kalda? But that led back to the community. More importantly, it was a way to trace him. He knew that, while benign now, his actions would eventually breach the bounds of legality. Should he introduce himself as Hades? That might trigger her memories of Zurvan, and that meant they would not have to go over his stance again. It would be a step forward.
But there was no guarantee he could prevent her from running off to his brother. Which would be another few steps backward.
Perhaps he should not have been so impulsive. It was rare, coming from him, but Persephone seemed to evoke all sorts of rarities. Gradual - Hades would start gradually and gauge how best to handle the situation later on. "What happened to your company was..."- he paused with a wry quirk of his lips -"unfortunate. Boyfriend?"
She had been busying herself, taking the beginning of a beard and his startling blue eyes when her ears informed her that he had spoken.
"If he was, the end just happened," she offered wryly. What sort of boyfriend of hers would just walk away with measly apologies? Tea cup set down, Persephone leaned her face into her hand, elbow on the table. "It was, as you said, unfortunate but it's no loss of mine. Plenty of other fish in the sea. Some married but those can be sorted out." And a heartbeat later: "I'm Leyla."
If Hades had his way, Persephone would be nowhere near the metaphorical sea. "You have a preference for married men?"
He nodded at her introduction, still contemplating his course of action. Normally, Hades would have been far more decisive. But this container did not yet afford him the luxury of power. He could not afford to make a misstep, lest he end up behind bars. Or worse, straitjacketed in a padded room.
"But you're not just Leyla, correct?" She could take that however way she wanted. An innocent invitation to talk more about herself, or a thinly veiled suggestion of how much he knew.
"Not in any way." She wasn't her father, who has little issue sleeping with anyone. "I rather avoid them. Life is complicated enough and to throw in a marriage is asking for sleepless nights." She had a conscience, a sense of right and wrong. Though she understand Zeus' nature, it was not hers to adopt.
When he didn't introduce himself but instead offered the odd question, her head tilted a bit to the side, curious and pondering. Yes, it did occur to her that maybe he knew something about her. But she was torn at whether to chase him away with a possibly crazy answer of 'yes, I'm also Persephone of Greek mythology and I used to deal with the dead as their queen'. "I am not just Leyla. But I am Leyla who wants to know who I'm speaking with before she indulges her surprise guest with more."
There, practical and sure. That was most definitely a glimpse of iron, if not steel. Hades drew his elbows onto the table, leaning his chin on clasped hands. "That depends. Can you shoulder your own dilemmas and face your demons with a steady gaze?" He paused, inclining his forehead toward her in a tempered imitation of her own cocked head. "Or would you hide behind someone else's skirts?"
Are you the Iron Queen of the Underworld, or still Zeus and Demeter's little spring girl?
"I would prefer to remain unknown to all but you, Persephone." His eyes were unyielding. "But first I would know if I can trust you."
So ready had she been to shoot him back a reply about it depending on who was in those shirts. But then he spoke her true name and something in her grew cautious. Pale eyes guarded, her posture grew more stiff, more formal. Aloof.
"That's a little frightening," she admitted. "For you to know me and for to be unaware of you. And trust is difficult to give as much as it is to show. I would only offer complete trust to three individuals.
"You spoke of demons and dilemmas, of facing them with a steady gaze. I wouldn't have come this far if I couldn't. To live here alone, to run my own business. It's no Underworld but Thanatos and Hypnos aren't far. Charon is here as is Pasithea. A tiny handful of Underworldlings but they are here. A start for me for when my husband arrives.
"Who are you? I know how you know who I am but I want to know why I matter to you."
Yet there was a slight twist in her belly that told her of the three who would care the most, he could only be the remaining male. Or perhaps someone from another pantheon, of another Underworld. One never knew how people would think or behave, what they may crave.
Her rationale was competent and sound. She did not dally, but in her own way lay the framework for her limits and her concessions. She'd made it known that she was not without support, not without those whom she could rally to defend her. All without giving an inch or stooping low enough to deliver a threat in poor taste. Hades could not help a glimmer of pride - he had taught her to be so, he believed. He'd brought her from her dapples of sunshine to the cold, biting reality of what lay after life.
And she'd said the Underworld - or what little of it remained in this life - was waiting for him.
"You will not run to your father?" His tone was clinical. "Whatever I reveal to you, it will be sorted out solely between the two of us?"
"I will not promise that," she said immediately, lips pursing afterward. Who was he to ask that of her? If he was her husband, then someone. If he was from another, sniffing around her pantheon... "But I do not flee to my father with my troubles. If you know me as well as you appear to, you know I will deal with you myself because I can."
Unless he turned out to be a financially issue, in which case her father was going to get a call. She was comfortable as a single woman but she wasn't made of money. Ha, no. "I wish to know who you are right now. I've been played with before and it's not an experience I particularly enjoyed."
Hades was not given to laughter, but again a chuckle built and burst from his mouth. His smile was cutting but genuinely pleased. His wife was glorious in her cold demands, and he could not deny the flashes of himself he saw in her detached gaze.
"But I enjoyed playing with you," Hades said. "I enjoyed it tremendously. And it was good for you, too. The soft light of my world suited you much better than the harsh light of day."
Suddenly, the waiter arrived with a generous serving of coffee cake. Food would always be a weakness of his wife, Hades considered as the memory of pomegranate assailed him. Perhaps memories assailed her, as well. To give Persephone more time to stew on his words, he asked the waiter for a cup of coffee. Black, no sugar.
It had been so difficult to go that time without eating or drinking. She wasn't some waif who neglected herself, not like others who were so conscious. She liked enjoying herself, indulging a bit when she could. Not mindlessly but in satisfactory ways. Having a healthy curiosity meant trying everything and anything, too.
The waiter was offered a smile as he had done no wrong that day and she picked up her fork. And when the other man had departed with her companion's order, Persephone resisted the urge to stick Hades in the hand.
"I am not someone you play with." Her accent, ordinarily hovering in the background, seemed to thicken some. "You worry about running to my father then worry about what he'll do if he should find out at some point you have made yourself into an irritant for me." Not a suggestion that she would inform him or run to him but Zeus was still powerful, still likely able to figure out things if he wanted. "And do not tell me what is good for me. You are no one to do so."
"I have every right. You were given for me to do as I pleased, even as your father took my face and violated his promise." The evenness of his tone faltered, an eerie, chilling coldness leaking into his words. Hades had not known then, but had he, the girl Melinoe would have been cast out of his realm. Let the child stay with her grandmother or her father- Hades would not hurt her because she was, in part, Persephone. But he would have nothing to do with the result of such artless deception. Had Hades only known the truth... He would sooner have perished than had Melinoe's reeking breath sully the honor of his Underworld.
Hades did not fear Zeus himself, no. In fact, their sister Hera's fury would be a greater concern to Hades simply because it was as limitless as Zeus's lust. What Hades was factoring in was the power behind the Blackwell name. (Though Hades knew he would match it iota for iota in the years to come. Hades would found his own dynasty; there was no need to rest on the laurels of an inheritance when he had his own mettle.) And the chance that father would again leap to corrupt daughter.
That would not happen again. Zeus had given Persephone to Hades, and the Olympian King could break all his promises to Hera before Hades again allowed the promise of Persephone to be razed to dust. "Have you really not figured it out for yourself, spring child?"
Beneath the table, her knee jerked in reaction to the trick her father played on her all that time ago. Coming to her with her beloved husband's face when he knew so well she would never betray Hades. She had made a fool not just for her but of Hades as well. And, though it stung her pride, she knew to fault him for his actions would be to fault a dog for wanting to play fetch with a stick or a cat wanting to nap in the sun. It was his nature, his terrible nature.
Strangely, that sank in first before she realized who he was and then her mouth went dry, her words tangled and knotted in her throat. She had just thrust her fork into the cake but there was no craving for the treat. There was even nausea in that she had spoken that way to her husband. Her husband. Her Hades. Her king--
A hard swallow was had, the fork dropping from her hand on to the plate with a small clatter. Though her spine remained straight, her head up straight, her hands went to her lap. It was a blend of submissive and strength but she'd always had been in such a way for him. For her father, for her mother. The trio that dictated her life. The three she couldn't stand up to even if she could handle all others, from mischievous bastards to great heroes.
"That was an unkind trick, Hades."
"Chasing your company away?" The waiter arrived with the coffee. Hades gave a curt nod before returning his attention to Persephone. "It was my right. And he was not worth a quarter of your attention."
She was stronger than she had been in Mictlan, he noted. But it was unfair to compare the woman here to the one in Mictlan. In the other dimension, she'd been shocked by both reality and her husband. Here, she ruled her own world - managing her business, dealing with unsavory customers, and living all on her own. She was more queen here. His queen.
Zurvan had been a reflection of a girl who had no hardship. Here, she was herself, the woman she had become after earning her nickname in the Underworld.
"No, I don't care about him." His right. Such arrogance, so completely him. "I mean leading me while knowing I was unsure of who you were." Those locked Zurvan memories were leaking in, scene by scene, moment by moment. That conversation they had was opening up, making her stomach twist. "You hid from me. Knowing I was here, speaking to me vaguely. You hid from me even as you sat before me."
"I would not march into anything without calculation." Hades took a sip of his coffee. The bitterness was much welcomed. He might have preferred tea, but the espresso would keep him going after last night's hours of work. "I needed to know if the years had changed you or not. If you would jump at the chance to be rid of me now that you are returned to reality.
"Or if your devotion would prove as unyielding as always." No, Hades would never rally his forces blindly. He would not gamble, especially not if Persephone was in the chips.
It would be wretched to waste the cake. Another woman may have even thrown it at him but as miffed as she was, she wasn't the sort who exploded. She didn't lose her control and certainly not against him. True madness would have to consume her first and that did not mean whatever mood swings that came with her monthly cycle or when winter struck. Maybe a worm, eating her brain.
The fork was picked up again and she took away a small piece. And once the fork slid clean from between her lips, the piece swallowed down, she spoke. "I wouldn't jump at any chance to be rid of you. We were together for so long, Hades. Even if I was unhappy, getting rid of you is impossible.
"And we spoke, I remember now. Of my needing time."
"But you never quantified time." Hades watched the fork slide between her lips. It had been a long time since these small, almost-domestic pleasures. Not since the early 19th century - and that was a life he was hell-bent on forgetting. "That, and if I catch wind of your seeing another man, I will take every delight in ruining your arrangements. You were the same, as I recall."
Poor Minthe had never stood a chance.
Minthe has not suffered because of jealous but more because she did not know her place. She had boldly spoken in a way to provoke Persephone into seeing her hubris. She had known her husband wouldn't have left her to dally with the silly nymph but such outspoken ways had to be made an example of.
"Perhaps if you didn't like seeing me with another man, you should have spoken to me sooner."
"I would not cling. I would obliterate." He would not beg for Persephone's faithfulness, but he would make infidelity impossible. Hades liked to stake his claims. There were so few things he actively sought to own; he did not need the world on a platter like so many other gods. But what was his, was his. There was no issue.
"How much time, Persephone? And are we to speak to each other or not?"
"Goodness, you say that as if I didn't know. But telling me saves you the trouble. Myself as well since I could have been at work right now." But what was done was done and she took another bite of the cake, finding her appetite slowly returning.
"I would prefer to speak to one another. But I don't wish for any demands from you." A small pause as she decided that needed clarification. "Unreasonable ones."
"What qualifies for unreasonable?" Now this, Hades was extremely curious about. What were her limits from him? Time - fine, time, he would give her. He would eventually crack and take her away somewhere, but for now, time was granted. But what other barriers and obstacles would she throw up?
Admittedly, these wouldn't stop him if he wanted something. But it would amuse him to know.
There were few, at as far as she thought. "Demanding I live where you do, expecting me to perform wifely duties. Things of such nature would not precisely hasten me into acceptance that my husband is so youthful. Hebe would marvel looking at you."
Though she had to wonder how old he was. Last she saw him, he looked to be in his late teens. He looked a bit older now but was it the bit of facial hair or a truth? "Just how old are you? And how much do you know about me?"
Hades did not answer. His opinions on those were fairly simple. He'd take what he wanted, when he wanted it. It was by no means an acceptable mindset, and even the most skilled lawyer would not be able to justify it in a true court of law.
It was, perhaps, fortunate that Hades had no interest in having her live with him and his parents nor in taking her under his parents' roof. Especially not with his little sister ambling around nearby. Yes, Hades thought wryly. I give her time for good reason.
"Nineteen." He considered how to answer her second question. "Your name is Leyla Demir. You'll be twenty-nine in June. You work in landscaping." He did not mention anything that could not be found in the community. Hers was a vague question, to begin with. There was no feasible way of telling a person everything one knew about them.
She wondered what else he would learn eventually thought what he informed her put her at some ease. At least he hadn't told her he knew when as ovulating. How fast she would have left him with the check!
"Nineteen. Do you live in a dorm or at home then? Or are you on your own?" Nineteen. He couldn't even legally drink in this country. "What is your mortal name? Where are you from?" Ah, there was her curiosity kicking in. And he had brought up the matter of them talking.
Her barrage of questions was so like her. With a somewhat pleased sort of patience, he answered. "I live in Queens. My name--" Would he be safe with her? Ah, but he had to trust her. He despised giving an inch of weakness, but he knew it was important to her that he trust her. As it was important that she acceded to him. He had been a stranger to give and take until he'd abducted her, but let it not be said that Hades never learned. "--is Andrus Kalda. I was raised in Queens, and my parents are from Estonia."
Those were all the answers she'd sought, but he went on to make a few more matters known. "I'll share a meal with you once a week. I will always pay. I will not allow you to talk about me with your father and siblings until I am ready for the other reincarnates to be aware of my existence." You alone can know; you alone are special.
"Andrus. I like that name. Do you attend school then?" Another could have perceived it as weakness and, yes, she understood that but she saw it as his giving to her of his own free will. He could have shut his mouth and refused, could have told her to wait. This triggered a mild sense of warmth. Of the times long ago.
"Just warn me ahead of time when we'll meet for that meal. Sometimes I end up driving out of the city and may not be able to come back in time." To keep him a secret from all others, especially her father? It shouldn't be hard. What they didn't know, they couldn't ask about at all and she would never be guilty of lying to anyone. Although Hermes had a tricky way about him. Perhaps some low-cut blouses to distract him if the topic of Hades came up.
A fond smile touched her lips over that thought. "And I can do that. Keep you to myself until you wish to be revealed."
"I go to Columbia." Before she could ask, he added, "Double majoring in Computer Science and Economics."
Their discussion was beginning to sound the way their conversations did a long time ago. She'd been submissive enough, but eventually she earned her title and exchanged her flowers for leadership ability. Their marriage had been a far cry from his siblings' -- Hades soon learned that on some points, Persephone had strong opinions, and that working around them would benefit him more than crushing them. (Unless they directly opposed his will.) "That is acceptable."
Matters were proceeding well enough. Not as quickly as he would have liked, but Hades was a passive and patient god. She had accepted that she could not break free from his hold, and she had given her silence.