Persephone

Chapter XX

When I woke up a few hours later, Hades suggested it would be good for the souls to see me around the kingdom, if I was up to it. I was ready to get out of my room, and after making sure I was steady on my feet I took off to find Cassandra. She wasn’t around the palace, so I decided to head into the suburbs.
I found Thanatos. His eyes looked so relieved when he saw me that I gave him a hug.
“You’re okay,” he whispered thankfully, hugging me back.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble—”
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
I waved to Charon as I walked along the river. He drew along beside me in his ferry.
“Want a ride?” he asked, challenge flickering in his eyes.
“Where are we going?”
“Around. I thought I’d show you the rest of your realm.”
I nodded and he helped me into the boat.
Thanatos grinned. “I’ll catch up.”
“How are you liking the palace?” Charon asked as he pushed off the shore.
“I love it here, though it’s not at all what I expected.”
He nodded. “There’s a dark side to the Underworld too.” He motioned to the water. “This river is made of the tears of the souls as they leave the living realm.”
I thought of Hades. “I know there’s a dark side.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry about the souls we used for practice. I dumped them all back in the same place—I just never expected you’d end up over there with them.”
I shrugged. “You couldn’t have known.”
“Yeah, well, Hades has put a stop to that part of our lessons.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Charon rode into the steam made by the river of fire and the river of ice meeting in the marsh. “There’s the shore. I’m not picking up any souls right now,” he said, answering my unspoken question. “Though with you in here, they may come a bit more willingly.”
My cheeks heated, and he grinned at me.
“Hades is a good guy,” Charon said after a moment’s silence. “He’s got a dark side too, but it’s nothing for you to be concerned about. He’s good. He’s not like the Olympians.”
“I know.”
He stared at me for a moment. “I think you do.”
Charon rowed me back toward shore and told one of his stories before dropping me off with Thanatos. I was still laughing as I walked into the flower shop.
The souls greeted me, expressing their concern. They all knew something had happened at the palace, just not what. I assured them I was fine and filled my flower orders. Helen dropped by at midday, pushing her way through the well-wishers to get to the counter.
“When did I get so popular?” I asked her, laughing.
“Since you became Queen of the Underworld.”
“I don’t think it’s that,” I said, pushing her behind the counter before she offended anyone. “They aren’t asking for anything.”
“I didn’t mean that. You’re our queen. When someone messes with you, they mess with all of us.”
“Oh.” I smiled. “That’s so sweet.”
“It’s going to make Hades even more obnoxious,” Cassandra said, appearing behind Helen. “Feeding his heroic ego and all.” She only sounded a little bitter.
I smiled at her, unable to find the words to apologize for what had happened.
“You need a crown,” Helen mused.
I laughed. “I’d feel ridiculous wearing a crown. Oh my gods, what if people bowed to me? I’d be so embarrassed.”
“When did you start saying that?” Helen asked.
“Oh my gods?” I shrugged. “I guess I’ve been spending too much time with Cassandra.”
“Never a bad thing.” Cassandra laughed. “Hades would die of embarrassment, too. He’s never been into the whole power-trip thing. Still, you shouldn’t be too embarrassed. You’re the queen.” Her tone was light, but I heard an undercurrent in it that made me nervous.
“That’s just a technicality. Once this Boreas thing blows over—”
“You’ll still be Queen of the Underworld.”
Wait, what? That didn’t sound temporary. This whole thing was supposed to be over when Boreas was no longer a threat. My mind flashed back to waking up next to Hades. Do I really want this to end? “What if Hades wants to marry someone else?”
“He could take a mistress, but marriage is a forever thing in the realm of the gods. You guys don’t die, so you never leave your posts.”
“He told me marriage doesn’t mean—”
“It doesn’t. Not in the sense you’re talking. You could date other people, and so can he. There could be absolutely no love involved, like Zeus and Hera. Or it could all just be political, but it’s still permanent.”
I didn’t know what to think about that. “So I’m queen…forever?”
“You’re a good match for Hades,” Helen pointed out. She hesitantly touched a white lily. “This is so pretty.” She saw me looking at her. “Oh come on, you can’t see it? You two are perfect together, aren’t they, Cassandra? Life and death. You balance one another.”
“Persephone!” A stern looking brunette called from the counter. “What happened to you? The palace has been abuzz with rumors all week!”
“Hello, Gloria,” I said with a smile, handing her an arrangement of tulips. She and her band of joggers had been my first customers. I brushed off her questions, unsure what Hades would want me to tell anyone. “How’s the husband?”
“Oh, he’s doing well, thank you. He went on a fishing trip with the rest of his group. I’m thinking of taking a baking class while he’s gone.”
“That sounds like fun! I’ve always wanted to learn how to bake.”
We made small talk for a few more minutes. I couldn’t believe I’d ever been intimidated by the Underworld. It was just like the living realm. Life went on, so to speak. People were still people, and they continued to do the things that made them happy.
I handed an arrangement of daisies to a Reaper. She smiled and thanked me, leaving the shop with a quick glare in Cassandra’s direction. Cassandra narrowed her eyes, then turned pointedly away to talk to Helen.
I rejoined Helen and Cassandra, who were looking at me with amusement. “Baking?”
“What? I think it would be fun. I could make pretty cakes and—”
“Ah, more decorating.” Helen laughed.
“You know all of their names,” Cassandra observed, after watching me talk to a few more customers.
I shrugged. “It’s a flower shop. People talk when they place orders, and you learn a lot about them.”
“We need to go to court,” Cassandra said. Her voice made it clear she was dreading seeing Hades.
I wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulders. “It’ll be fine. He’s in a much better mood now.” I yelled a quick goodbye to the souls and waved to Helen before walking back to the palace with Cassandra.
“Hi, Moirae.” I headed over to my throne. Cassandra took her seat. Hades hadn’t arrived yet.
“How are you?” Moirae asked me. Her voice was too close.
I turned my head and jumped when I saw her eyes a hairsbreadth away from mine. “Good, thank you.” I smiled at her, unsure whether I was more surprised by her presence or her sudden kindness.
“You handled Orpheus well. The souls could use a compassionate touch.”
“Th-thank you,” I stammered, looking at Cassandra in surprise. She looked just as shocked as I did but flashed me a discreet thumbs up. Moirae smiled at me and took her seat. A moment later the door opened and Hades walked in, followed by Aeacus and Rhad.
“Ladies,” Hades said with a nod.
I smiled at him as he sat beside me. He inclined his head at the judges, and the doors opened, revealing the souls who had recently finished with Orientation.
“Now we’re back to the throne room,” Minos said cheerfully. “You’ve met Moirae, of course, but now allow me to present the rulers of the Underworld: Lord Hades and Queen Persephone.”
We stood, and the souls awkwardly chose whether they would bow or nod. Modern day customs didn’t allow for much exposure to royal etiquette. I grinned at them and they relaxed visibly.
“Welcome,” Hades greeted them in his booming voice. “We wish you a happy afterlife.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He’d taken my corny sendoff from my first nerve-wracking day at court and run with it, using it at every court.
“If anyone has any questions or concerns, my fellow judges and I would be more than happy to assist you while we get you settled.”
“May I speak to the queen?” a woman called from the back of the crowd.
“Of course.”
Minos led the remaining souls from the room. Only a handful chose to stay and have concerns addressed by Hades or me. I was intrigued by this woman and leaned forward as Hades motioned her to the floor.
“Miss—er, Your Majesty—”
“Persephone is fine,” I assured her.
She nodded. “I died in my sleep.” She paused as the gravity of that statement caught up with her. “I, um, died in the middle of the night.” She blinked back tears as I murmured my condolences. “I had a baby three weeks ago, and she’s still in my house. No one knows that I’m—” Her voice caught. “She’s all alone. Please, is there some way I could go back?”
Hades shook his head solemnly. “No. I’m sorry.”
“Please! I don’t have family in the area, and I don’t have many friends. Her father was killed during his deployment, and if I don’t get back she could die before anyone finds me!”
I nodded. This was exactly the sort of situation I could handle. “Moirae will take all your information down. We need your address, phone number, and if you have a spare key hidden anywhere that would be helpful. I will send someone—”
The woman blanched and I hurriedly continued. “Alive. In the living realm, to collect your daughter immediately. We will get her to your family safely.”
“There’s no one else.” She broke down sobbing.
“That’s okay. She’ll be in good hands.” I told her about my mother and her priestesses, ending with, “She may even get a chance to be blessed with immortal life.”
The woman took a second to process this. “I would never see her again?”
“That will be up to her.”
“She won’t remember me,” she said, blinking back tears. “I want what’s best for my daughter, but I just wish I could hold her again. Why was I taken from her! We had three weeks—” She broke off as the tears overwhelmed her.
I wanted to hug her, or offer some sort of condolences, but what could be said in a situation like this? It sucked beyond description.
The woman collected herself and gave Moirae the pertinent information. Then she left to be reunited with her husband.
“How bittersweet,” Hades said after we contacted my mother. “Reunited with one love while another lost forever.”
I nodded, blinking back my own tears. What right did I have to cry over this?
“Is that why gods view immortality as a curse?”
Hades shrugged. “Mostly when people were cursed with immortality, it was done in anger. The cursed would live, alone, and watch everyone they came to care for die over time. No one used it like your mother does. She formed a community. She’s always been different from the others.” He smiled at me. “Come on. It’s time to go to dinner, and then do your training.”