Aphrodite stared at her then, inspecting her face intently. “Or is it something more?”
Persephone blinked, the prick of tears startling her. “No, nothing more. It is as you said. I… I have been too long without tending to those that need me.”
Aphrodite lowered her voice. “Your plants?”
She nodded.
“Nothing else?” She moved closer, placing a hand on Persephone’s forearm. “There’s a sadness in you… It is familiar. You long for something… something that has nothing to do with your plants…”
Persephone pulled her arm away, shaking her head.
“Persephone?” Demeter joined them, “Did you hear?”
“No,” she spoke quickly, if a bit breathlessly. “I was admiring your gifts. We both were.” She glanced at Aphrodite. The Goddess of Love smiled easily enough.
“Curious.” Demeter touched her forehead. “I wonder…”
Her mother looked at her. Aphrodite regarded her as well.
“You won
der what?”
Demeter wrapped an arm about her shoulder, pulling her back to the padded cushions and klines where the others sat.
“Water,” Demeter ordered, waving Hebe forward. “For Persephone.”
Persephone took the cup and drank deeply, aware that all eyes were on her. When the cup was empty she gave it back to Hebe with a small smile. “Thank you.”
Hebe smiled back.
“What did you eat while you were away?” Demeter asked.
“Away?”
“While you were in…” Hera’s voice faded.
Aphrodite’s voice was softer, gentler as she finished what Hera could not. “In the Underworld.”
“Eat?” Why did such a question seem to trouble them so?
Demeter sat beside her, taking her hands. “You’ve been so… melancholy since your return, Persephone. I’d hoped you would recover, in time.”
Recover? She clasped her hands in her lap, staring at them as pain welled up in her chest. Could one recover from a broken heart?
“But you seem to fade every day.”
Persephone sighed, a forced attempt to dismiss her mother’s concern.
“You’re not as Demeter described you,” Athena offered.
Demeter clicked again. Had she always done so? Persephone couldn’t recall, but it was a most grating habit.
Her gaze traveled from one Goddess to the next. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Your mother may not have brought you to Olympus, Persephone,” Hera spoke. “But she often spoke of you. Your laughter, your easy smile.”
“Your fondness for singing,” Aphrodite added.