Persephone & Hades

Chapter Four

Persephone jumped, falling backwards. She scrambled to stand upright, to protect herself from this strange man who appeared before her. She examined his face, he had a straight, Roman nose that was slightly pointed. Stubble covered his jaw and upper lip which only defined his high, angular cheekbones more. A more stunning man couldn’t even be dreamt of. “W-who are you?” Persephone stammered.

Something about him drew her in closer to him. Before she realized what she was doing, she lifted a hand and caressed his face. He backed away, taken by surprise at the sudden touch. “Why were you so upset?” he countered.

“You saw that huh?” she mumbled.

Persephone looked to the ground bashfully. She would not have let herself become so overtaken by her own emotions if she had known anyone was nearby and could potentially hear her meltdown. It was embarrassing enough to meet a man for the first time but to meet someone as beautiful as he was in this state was mortifying. He cupped her chin in his hand and lifted it so she could meet his eyes. “Is it something I could be of assistance with?” he asked.

Persephone pulled her face away from his grasp, she was ashamed of being a weak Goddess. Saying it out loud would make it true and she didn’t think she could handle any further humiliation on this day. Holding how she felt in hadn’t done her any favors yet either, perhaps it would make her feel better. She would probably never see him again. “I’m completely worthless. I’m supposed to be the Goddess of Spring but every time I try to use my powers to help anything grow, it ends up dying,” she wept. “How is it that my powers do the exact opposite of what they are supposed to do? I’m useless.”

Her eyes were glued to the ground, she didn’t want to see what could only be a look of disappointment on his face. Everyone looked at her the same way at home. “You’re still young, not even a fully a woman yet. You need patience and it would be good for those around you to remember that as well,” he reassured her. “We must all through trials and tribulations in order to become who we are meant to be.”

“I’m 17, mortal girls are considered women much younger than I am now. My powers should be fully mature,” she protested.

He smiled and lifted her chin to meet his eyes once more. “Daughter of Demeter, you can’t fully bloom until you step out of your mother’s shadow. She is a great Goddess, but you are meant for more than growing crops and being what someone else wants you to be,” he told her seriously. “An all-powerful Goddess such as yourself can not fully come to power being coddled. You need to break out on your own and find out who you are by yourself. “

His words made sense, much like ivy, her mother’s constant presence and micromanaging could be what was stifling her powers. “Even if it’s true and I get stronger with a little distance from my mother while I hone my gift, what use are flowers? Everything bloomed and grew before I was born, everything I can do, my mother can do but better,” she lamented.

Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen from weeping as she had. Persephone dabbed under her eyes with the skirt of her chiton. The man pulled a piece of cloth from a worn leather satchel with a long strap hanging across his chest, offering her the cloth. She muttered a weak thanks as she wiped the tears from her face. He placed an arm around her shoulders and leaned in close to her. Her heart raced at their proximity to one another. Was he going to kiss her? “I promise, you will be the great Goddess you wish to be,” he whispered.

His words brought comfort to her; a smile brought a light to her face he had not seen when he first encountered her. He could see the way the sun brought the green out in her eyes, and the brown that encircled the iris had golden flecks of color spattered throughout. Her eyes seemed to reflect her nature-based powers, like moss on a tree. Persephone took him by surprise by throwing her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “You have no idea how much your words have helped calm me and instilled a small bit of confidence,” she spoke into his chest.

His expression softened as he gazed down at the top of her head. Her strawberry blonde hair smelled of hyacinth. It was such a delicate, feminine smell; her scent suited her perfectly. Intoxicated by her, he returned her embrace. She had never felt such warmth from another person before. The warmth seemed to spread throughout her body and made parts of her body ache for him to touch her. Persephone was bewildered by these powerful emotions, was there something about this man specifically or would she be acting this way if any other man had stumbled across her? She tried to dismiss it as just wanton desire because she had never experienced a man before. “Persephone,” his voice was low and gravelly.

His hands traveled down her back, cupping her backside and lifting her up so they were face to face. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. One of his hands held her bottom, while the other pushed the skirt of her chiton up her leg. He rans his hands on against her skin, going higher and higher until his hand reached where the top of her thigh met her hip. His fingers gripped her flesh tightly, as he left a trail of kisses along her shoulder. They were both lost in their sudden desire for each other. Persephone could feel his lips moving up her neck. When his lips finally landed on hers it was like a shock of electricity though her. This was the best feeling she had ever experienced, and she never wanted it to stop. She wanted to stay here in this clearing with his lips all over her body and more. In this moment, she wanted all of him, for always.

He pushed her back up against a nearby ash tree. Persephone could feel that he wanted her as well. “Take me,” she gasped out between heavy breaths.

It was then that he pulled away. “I want you more than anything, but now is not the right time,” he said mournfully.

Persephone ran her fingers through his long lustrous hair, “I’ve never felt anything this strongly before. I don’t know why but I need you to take me,” she tried to explain.

He pushed her tighter against the tree, grinding his groin against hers. She tried to stifle the moan that escaped her by biting her lip but failed. She had never felt such wanton desires before. The ache inside her was so intense she just wanted this new fire inside her to be quenched. “I promise, I will be back. I must go now,” he assured her.

Persephone connected her lips to his one more time, wanting to never forget the feel of his lips or his body on hers. The hand on her hip moved down and ran his fingers over her fold. Her breathing hitched, her body jumping at the sensation. She held on to the back of his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. His lips parted and his tongue darted into her mouth, as his finger entered her elsewhere. He drew his finger in and out of her slowly, using his thumb to rub her bud. She panted and moaned into his mouth. She felt like a cup that was full, but someone kept pouring into. Any moment she was going to spill over. Her fists balled up the fabric of his cloak as she desperately held on to him. He pumped his hand faster, finally sending her over the edge. She stifled her cries of pleasure, placing a hand over her mouth. His paced quickened again sending shockwaves throughout her body. She writhed against his body as she succumbed to his fingers again and again until all she could do was whimper, and his hand was flooded with her warm juices.

Persephone collapsed against him panting. His eyes were heavy with lust. As much as she wanted him to take her, she didn’t think she could handle anymore. If he could do that with just his hands, she could only imagine what it would be like when she gave herself to him completely. He planted little kisses from her forehead, down to her cheek, then her nose and finally landed on her lips. Persephone has just met this man, but she was undoubtedly head over heels in love with him. “I never want to be without you,” Persephone said clinging to him.

“You won’t have to eventually,” he assured her. “We won’t be able to immediately. I can still visit you as often as my duties allow.”

“I fear what my mother’s reaction will be,” she admitted.

He was quiet for a moment, perhaps thinking of the right thing to say. He seemed unsure of his next words, “Your mother can’t know. At least not until we are able to marry.”

She raised her brow at his statement. “Who are you, to be so fearful of my mother?”

He regretfully told her, “I cannot tell you that either. If you were to mistakenly reveal me to her, her wrath would be momentous. She will be angry either way but if we are already married there will be nothing, she can do to stop it.”

Persephone eyed him suspiciously. “After touching me in my most intimate of places, you are not going to tell me your name?” she questioned.

He placed his hand on her cheek. He said, “I already know that I am in love with you, dear Persephone. That will need to be enough until we are officially betrothed. I will not ask you to give yourself completely until then.”

She reluctantly agreed to his nonsense, because the thought of being without him was worse than the realization she didn’t know the name of the man who made her body sing like a sparrow. They said their goodbyes to one another with the promise of him returning soon. From that day forth her heart ached for him and him alone. There was no changing the way she felt about him.