She glanced at him, a small smile on her lips. He seemed in earnest. His brown eyes were warm, if heavy-lidded, when they met hers.
“Tell me one of your favorites, so that it might become one of my favorites.” He tipped the wine skin up, emptying it before he lay back upon the grass.
“Very well,” she began. “In the years after Cronus defeated his father Uranus, the Titans prospered. But greed found him, turning Cronus into as great a tyrant as his father before him. He feared that his children might one day seek to overthrow him, as he had done with his father. Children, his own children, were his greatest threat. When his wife Rhea gave birth to their first child, Cronus swallowed it whole. On and on it went, child after child, until Rhea could bear it no more. Great with child, she hid on the isle of Crete and birthed Zeus. She returned to Cronus and fed him a stone, wrapped in a babe’s cloths. But Zeus lived and grew strong and able….”
His snores had interrupted her.
She stretched, walking briskly from the slumbering king. When she could no longer hear him, her pace slowed. Alone, amongst her mother’s cypress trees, she found peace.
Birdsong assailed her. The wind lifted the tree branches, releasing their soft welcoming whispers. The grass, too, seemed pleased by her visit. She savored such soothing companionship. Her cloak slid about her hips as she wandered through the cypress trees with soft steps, reveling in the quiet.
It had been three days since she’d arrived, and there had been precious little of it so far. Erysichthon was a loud man, as was his household. His servants, even his animals, seemed determined to out-speak the other. So much noise, for naught.
She closed her eyes. The wind slipped through the leaves on the branches overhead, begging for a song. She shook her head, placing her hand on one of the trunks to explain.
“Savor the lark’s song this day,” she whispered.
The tree grumbled in return, arguing that the bird’s simple melody could not compare to her talents.
The bird, unaware of their conversation, hopped from branch to branch, making its melody bounce too.
“I would sing for you all,” Persephone promised softly, “on another day. I will see a great deal more of you. Or so it seems.”
Her words chilled her, and she wrapped her arms about herself, rubbing her arms for warmth. She turned, angling her face towards the warm and gentle kiss of the sun. It helped, some. She sighed heavily.
###
Hades heard her words, saw the shiver that touched her. “’Tis a fine day for such a walk.”
Persephone turned towards him, her astonishment almost comical if not for the slight frown that crossed her face. Her eyes fell from his because of the tongue-lashing he’d issued at their last meeting. He’d done his job too well.
And he suffered for it, knowing he’d hurt her. She had been nothing but honest and kind in their dealings. She’d done nothing to encourage his temper, ye
t she’d suffered from it. Whatever else he felt, he respected her loyalty to duty. He hoped she could forgive him.
She glanced at him hesitantly. “It is. A lovely day.”
“Are you well?” He could not stop his eyes from traveling over her. From head to toe, he let her presence ease him.
“I am.” Her voice wavered as their eyes met, a small smile lighting her face. “But I am surprised to see you. Again… here.”
He felt the words like a blow. His behavior, his words, had been malicious. If he could explain himself, he would. How could he make her see him as he was? Empty. He had nothing to offer her.
She blinked, her smile warming.
He shook his head, but took a step closer, then another.
The curve of her face glowed in the sunlight. She spoke, watching him with her bright green eyes. “What brings you to the plains of Thessaly?”
He stepped closer still, the pull she had upon him growing stronger. His words were hoarse, “A matter of great import.”
She nodded, her smile brilliant now. Even her eyes seemed to smile at him. “Great indeed, to bring you so far from your realm.”
Had it only been days since he’d spoken to her so? Days since he’d learned of her betrothal? Her betrothal… he sucked in breath.
He inclined his head. “I suppose I should offer up my congratulations.”
“Oh?”