p e r s e p h o n e

n i n e t e e n

The sun titan Helios had long since passed the duty of watching over New York to the goddess of the moon, Selene. Crickets were chirping, singing their repetitive songs, while the diurnal animals had already gone home and were fast asleep, oblivious to the nocturnal animals that took their place.

The streets were quiet - as quiet as New York could get - and all the children had been tucked into bed. The demigods had all retired to their cabins, the Demeter cabin - filled to capacity because of the nymphs that had obediently followed Demeter were staying there - was still abuzz about seeing their mother, who paid them no mind.

While all the lights at the school had been turned off, Chiron's office light stayed on.

In the room, Chiron watched his sister warily as she paced the office, thorns beginning to grow in her hair, proceeding to tangle her light brown, almost blonde hair. The former refrained from saying anything as he just sat back, mildly frightened of the goddess of agriculture.

"She should be back by now." Demeter's strained voice showed that she was refraining from shouting, her fisted hands and occasional calming breathes proving her frustration.

"She probably got caught up with her friends." Chiron poorly attempted to calm the seething goddess - unsuccessfully.

"No. No. No." The goddess repeated sternly, her pacing coming to a halt, "Something has happened to her." making up her mind, Demeter promptly left the office, her horse legged brother following after her.

"Sister, what are you doing?" Demeter ignored her younger brother, heading to her children's cabin.

"Nymphs, we have work yet to do," she announced as she opened the door, and the nymphs, who were all tucked into the bed, all began to get out of the bunks enthusiastically, "we have somewhere to be."

Her children woke as well and Barley, the oldest, slowly approached her, "Leaving so soon, mother?"

Demeter's thorn-crowned head whipped to the young girl, who wore a green shirt with the words, 'Agriculture' bolded in black. The young girl resembled her father well, dark, sepia hair that stuck straight down, her bushy eyebrows and wide nose. Also, like her father, the girl was taller than average, big-boned, and her voice possessed the same husky tone. The only thing that she had in common to the goddess was the strict expression that seemed to be permanently on there, but currently, the girl's face looked lost as she stared after the mother that she only just met.

"Barley." Demeter simply spoke the girl's name, an acknowledgement.

The simple word was enough to bring a smile to the girl's face, her chest puffing out in pride and happiness.

"Goodbye, my children." She addressed the remainder of her offspring before swiftly turning and disappearing into the night, her nymphs promptly following their goddess.

Demeter, in her new freshly changed clothes, wore a floor-length sacramento green skirt and a white shirt as she walked the streets of the city. The tall female remained unaffected by the loud noises of the car, the drunks and the tourists as she headed to her destination, a trail of flowers growing in the most random places courtesy of her nymph followers.

They approached an apartment building and Demeter wasted no time in entering it, hastily heading to a particular apartment.

Upon arriving, she knocked thrice on the red wooden door, her indifferent expression a contrast to the happiness of the nymphs, with their pointed ears and childlike faces constantly filled with joy.

The door opened to reveal a drowsy Leanne, her hair all over the place as if she had just gotten out of bed - which she had, and she wasn't very happy about it, "What?" she groaned.

"Where is my daughter?" The strict and slightly threatening voice woke Leanne up and she looked the goddess up and down.

"I don't know who the hell you're talking about." Leanne scowled, one hand on her exposed hip and her other on the red door.

"Persephone, my daughter. Tell me where she is, or you'll regret it." Demeter seethed, horrified at the disrespect exuding from the young mortal.

"Persephone? I have no idea where she is, and it's not like I care." With those words, Leanne slammed the wooden door shut with a loud bang, leaving the goddess to scowl at the red door.

Deciding to spare the mortal her wrath, Demeter briskly walked away, her next destination in mind.

The dark alleyways had high walls surrounding them, allowing them to be coated in shadows, away from the watchful gaze of Selene. The yowl of stray cats could be heard occasionally, while the breaking of beer glasses and the drunkards' drawlings were a regular occurrence. Any sane person would steer clear of the alleyways, especially at night, as the drunkards struck fear to the hearts of women in worry of what they might do.

Unafraid of some simple mortals, Demeter walked through those alleyways, using it as a shortcut to where she wished to go.

A ragged brunet man that seemingly took swigs from a broken beer bottle, wolf-whistled at her, to which she promptly ignored.

"Oy! Woman!" The man tried again as he staggered to stand and stay balanced.

He was ignored again.

"Hey! You listen when I talk to you!" He reached forward to grasp her arm, but she swiftly turned and grasped his wrist in a hard grip, her cold eyes glaring.

"Don't you dare touch me." Demeter fumed, her jaw clenching.

"Little lady thinks she's so high and mighty huh?" Five more men appeared from the shadows, each with one or two beer bottles in their fat hands.

They all began to approach her, dropping their beer bottles as their pudgy hands reached for the goddess. The broken glass shards embedded into the soles of their shoes, but they took no notice, their raucous laughter, sinister.

"Let's see who's high and mighty once we're done with you." One of the grubby men smirked and touched her forearm.

Big mistake.

"Like Tartarus, you will." Already tense with the disappearance of her daughter, and infuriated from that mortal that her daughter had met up with today, she exploded.

She squeezed the wrist that she was already holding and his arm began greying, the dull colour beginning to travel up his arm, he screamed a high pitch sound. She turned to the man who had dared to touch her arm, her hands wrapping around his throat lightly, and a thick vine began to grow from his neck, beginning to encase his body as his frightened screams muffled from behind the wall of vines.

The other four men were taken care of by the nymphs who were laughing as they wrapped them in wheat, so much so that the men couldn't be seen. By the end of it, there were four body shaped wheat wraps, a body shaped vine wrap and a frozen grey man who had rose thorns beginning to grow on him, the thorns pricking his skin and drawing red blood, the red liquid beginning to trail down and onto the dirty floor.

Walking away as if that never happened, she finally reached her destination and knocked on the house's front door.

She heard laughing on the other side and the brown wooden door opened to reveal a dark-skinned woman with a kind smile, and a rather large man leaning back on the couch to see who was at the door.

"How can I help you?" Pat questioned the stranger at her door.

"Where is my daughter?" Demeter spoke quite rudely, in an especially bad mood.

"I'm not sure I know who you're referring to, may I have a name?" Despite the stranger's rude behaviour, Pat maintained a welcoming and polite tone.

"Persephone." Behind Demeter, the nymphs were having fun in growing crops in the front yard that would no doubt leave the couple very confused.

"Oh! You're Perse's mum? She mentioned that she met you today." Hearing who it was, the large man stopped leaning back and focused on the tv once again.

"So you know where she is?" Demeter felt the hope beginning to blossom like a flower, and she had to remain from

"No, she left the restaurant around 5:30." Pat paused before she spoke, thinking.

The hope shrivelled up, quite like how it would if her missing daughter touched it.

Demeter abruptly turned to leave, her nymphs leaving their crops and following their goddess.

Pat called after the goddess, "I'm sorry about how Leanne has begun to treat Perse!" it seemed as if her words were not paid attention to, but in reality, Demeter registered the words, her frustration and hate for Leanne growing.

She mistreated her baby? Her little flower bud? Helios failed to inform her of this and Demeter wasn't happy, but she knew how he might repay her for withholding that piece of information.