A/N: Chapter 9! Yeah! Like, review, and comment any ideas for the story that you may have. Right now I’m basically just winging it (like I did so very often back in school).
Enjoy!
Persephone’s resolution to find Hades and ask him if he ever felt guilty didn’t last long. Of course her mother was right. He was going to guess which answer she preferred and answer her that. His words weren’t trustworthy and so Persephone was forced to find a different way to learn if her husband ever regretted marrying her or not.
For many days she kept changing her mind on whether or not she wanted to hide out in her chambers or wander the halls in the hope of running into Hades and simply improvise after that.
As the days went by she started to feel uncomfortable whenever she left her chambers. She felt watched and often the thought made return to her chambers.
Perhaps she was merely being paranoid. She was a daughter of Zeus. Few would dare to truly harm her. In fact, the only ones who could get away with it was her father, her husband and finally Poseidon, though she couldn’t imagine any use he might have of her.
Ultimately the feeling was unpleasant enough that she decided to tell her mother. She knew that Demeter would take even the suggestion of a possible threat to Persephone deadly serious. She was the only one Persephone was sure wouldn’t merely brush her off.
“It’s probably nothing,” Demeter said, proving Persephone entirely wrong.
“Mother, I don’t understand. You’re not worried?”
“Of course not.” Demeter smiled at her. “Kore dear, you worry too much. Not that I can blame you after that horrible experience with that man. But I’m sure that you’re just imagining things. I wouldn’t think much of it if I was you. You’re being a bit paranoid that’s all.”
Persephone could only stare at her mother in shock. No one exaggerated danger like Demeter did, nor was anyone as paranoid.
Every man who looked at Persephone was a potential rapist, every kind word was nothing but a sweet lie. There was no way that Persephone had just told her mother that she felt someone was watching her and Demeter just brushed her off. She wouldn’t do that.
Unless… Persephone froze at the thought. Unless it was her mother, who was watching her. For a second she could hardly see for the rage that filled her. How dared Demeter to do so! It was insane, and it stole what little privacy Persephone had finally gotten from her mother.
Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself not to jump to conclusions. Though Demeter was her best bet, there could be other possibilities. It wouldn’t do to just accuse her mother on nothing but a hunch. Well, a hunch and a lot of past experiences that was. Still, she didn’t really know anything.
But there was a very simple way to remedy that.
Setting a trap was easy enough, though harder to execute than Persephone had anticipated. All she had to do was to act in a way that would make whoever was watching her step out into the light.
She couldn’t imagine Demeter telling them to merely watch if Persephone did something Demeter disapproved of. Which meant there was quite the few things to pick from. Demeter disapproved of an awful lot of things.
Men was the most pronounced one, meaning all Persephone had to do was flirt with someone. Her first thought was Hades, but she quickly dismissed the idea. Partly because the mere thought of attempting a flirtation with him scared her witless, and partly because it just felt wrong.
Besides flirting with a man who was so clearly in love with her probably wasn’t the best way to let him know that his feelings weren’t reciprocated.
Not to mention that just about any man would do.
The first God Persephone ran into was Hephaestus, but she couldn’t bring herself to pick him. Even she had heard the mocking stories about his hideous appearance as well as his wife’s many affairs, and if someone flirted with him only to get back on her mother… Persephone could only imagine the mocking he would be forced to endure.
Instead she chose Ares. Partly because she wasn’t as concerned with the thought of taking advantage of him, and partly because of the smile he gave her as she came nearer.
He certainly didn’t seem like he would mind a bit of flirting.
“Lord Ares,” Persephone said in a low voice, wishing she had more experience with this. How did one flirt? She tried looking at him from under her lashes like she’d seen Aphrodite do.
“Lady Persephone.” He bend over her offered hand and kissed it, before he turned it over and kissed her pulse point as well. Persephone had to stop herself from wiping her hand.
“You become more beautiful by the day,” Ares told her with a winning smile, and Persephone forced herself to smile back.
“Thank you, Lord Ares. Though I am afraid I still look so dreadfully dull next to you.”
Ares smiled. “Certainly a pleasant change from your husband?” he asked with a laugh, and Persephone felt irrationally irritated.
“You certainly look different than Lord Hades,” she allowed, though unable to keep herself from thinking that Hades’ pale skin and regal looks certainly didn’t look any worse than Ares tan skin and winning smile.
Ares laughed. “Yes, it’s really quite the tragedy that the prettiest goddesses are forced into marriages with the worse of the Gods. Though Aphrodite certainly has found her pleasure outside of her matrimonial bed.”
Persephone winced, displeased with this mockery of Hephaestus. She’d always felt he deserved better than Aphrodite, though she knew that many disagreed with her.
She forced herself to smile once again. “And it seems she has found that pleasure with you,” she said, and Ares grinned down at her as he lay an arm around her waist and pulled her close.
He was warm and hard and smelled of metal and Persephone desperately wanted to pull away, but she knew that she needed to see this to an end. It wasn’t like she had to sleep with him. She just needed to go far enough that whoever was watching would step forward.
“So can you,” Ares said, before he leaned down and kissed her.
It was disgusting. His tongue demanded entrance in her mouth, and Persephone felt violated as he forced his way past her lips. She made a move to push him away. She couldn’t do this.
“Let her go,” a voice said, and both Persephone and Ares turned towards the voice. It was Eirene, one of her mother’s servant girls. Persephone had been right.
“What did you say?!” Ares asked in a furious voice, and the girl let out a terrified little shriek.
Persephone pulled herself lose. “Let her be, Ares,” she said. “She’s merely following my mother’s orders. It’s my mother we should be angry with, not her.”
Ares’ grin returned. “So she’s a spy for your mother? I say we really give her something to talk about then.”
He kissed her again, and Persephone pulled back as far as his arms allowed her.
“Let me go,” she told him.
“Now don’t be a tease,” he answered, annoyance clear in his voice, and for the first time Persephone became frightened.
“I do not wish to find my pleasure with you,” she said clearly, leaving no room for interpretation. “And if you force me to, I shall tell my husband.”
Ares released her immediately, pushing her away with a nervous expression. Hades couldn’t do much if Persephone decided to willingly cheat on him, but to rape a wife of one of the three greatest gods? It was a death sentence and Ares knew it.
“Now, let’s just calm down here,” he said, taking a step back. “No reason to get so worked up. You just wanted to tease a bit. I get it. But now you’re going your way and I’m going mine and no one needs to know.”
Persephone nodded slowly, watching him tensely as he walked away. Only after he was gone she turned towards Eirene.
“Is Mother in the palace?” she asked the terrified nymph, who nodded nervously.
“Then take me to her!” Persephone ordered. “Mother and I have quite a few things to discuss.”
She’d been right all along. Demeter hadn’t allowed her the privacy Persephone had demanded and run as far as Olympus in order to get.
And for once it wasn’t a nervous, little child who walked towards Demeter, but a ferocious lioness full of indignant rage.
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