Fire & Iris

(Part 3)

by Arabella

Chapter 2: So, we meet again...
 
       18 years later, Persephone was standing next to Artemis and talking about the latest celebration. They were standing side by side, leaning against a milky white cloud-woven balcony, and overlooking the grand room where the recent party was taking place. A flight of stairs had to be climbed to reach the second level, but it was a great place to see everything that was going on. It was also right near the ambrosia buffet. Every god and goddess was here in Zeus and Hera's home on Cloud 9 (It was a separate part of Olympus; Olympus was divided so every god had a special, private living arrangement) to honor the wedding anniversary of Hercules and his new mortal wife Meg. Hercules had given up his godly status to be with Meg and had married her soon afterward. Zeus and Hera wanted to honor the couple so they held a party in celebration.
       Cloud 9 was beautiful. Sunlight flooded the many rooms and since clouds supported everything, the grand room had a soft, opalescent glow. Sunlight and warmth emanated from every wall and smiling face in the circular room. Even the guests had a glow about them, but it was only because they were gods. There was happy chatting as the gods buzzed about laughing, talking and eating. The two people who had a special glow about them were the happy couple. Both people wore sparkling grins from ear to ear and Meg positively beamed every time someone offered congratulations. Persephone sighed and turned to her friend.
"Isn't it enchanting Artemis? Hercules gave up life on Olympus to be with Meg."
"It's so romantic," the goddess of the hunt agreed.
"I know." Persephone's eyes glazed with the thought of being in love.
"Don't worry, Percy, it'll happen. Ask Aphrodite for help if you're worried."
"Artemis!" Persephone said, snapping out of her daydream, "I'm not worried. I was only trying to agree with you. I'm only 765 years old! I have all the time in the cosmos to wait for love. And I don't need any help! Maybe you do," she regarded her friend with a laugh, "but I don't! Besides, Aphrodite isn't a dating service!"
       Both girls started to giggle uncontrollably at these words, but neither knew exactly why.  
       After a spell, they both silenced and Persephone spoke again. "Ok, I'm going to congratulate the happy couple. I haven't been able to get near them all day, and I see a chance. Save my spot, will you?"
"Sure. Unless some really cute god comes and decides to talk to me, then I'm going to dump you like spoiled broccoli."  
       Persephone laughed at her friend's weird expression. She loved Artemis as if she was her sister, but they practically were sisters. They spent A LOT of time together, (almost all of their time) and they valued each other's opinions.
"Speaking of opinions," Persephone voiced her mind, "how do you like my dress?"
"I love it! It's so pretty."              
Persephone loved the dress too. It was beautiful and brand new, or at least, it felt as if it were brand new because it wasn't supposed to be worn except for special occasions. It was simply a luminous shade of goldenrod, gossamer as butterfly wings as it floated along the floor. The trim of the dress had little flowers stitched in cream-colored thread. It had a creamy colored strap to match the thread stitching, which all together, looked beautiful against Persephone's rosy pink skin. She had had another one when she was younger (the strawberry red on with sky blue trimming) but it was old and she had out grown it.
"Thanks! I knew I loved your opinions! Especially since they're usually the same as mine! Ok, here I go! See ya!" She left her spot and weaved her way to the newlyweds.

*        *        *   

       When she reached them they were talking to Hermes. Seeing Persephone, he bowed out and said, "Ok, cool cats! I see the lovely Percy wants to chill out, so off I go! Catch you love birds later!" With that, he zoomed off on his winged shoes. Persephone took his place.
"Hi! I just wanted to say congratulations! I'm so happy for you!" She looked at the couple with a wide smile that showed almost all of her straight, white, sparkling teeth.
Meg was about to say, "Thanks Perseph..."
       Persephone cut her off. "Oh no you don't! Call me Percy. Or Seph. Almost everyone does."
"Percy! Goddess of Spring? I don't think we've ever met before!" Hercules said.
"Oh, yes we have!" Persephone said with teasing indignation. "I met you formally on your christening. But I didn't expect you to remember me; you were so young! And cute." She continued to Meg, "He had starch red-gold hair and huge blue eyes! But the funny thing was, he was so strong! He could lift a chariot when he was one! But I'm probably embarrassing him. Well, I've almost certainly wasted enough of your time, and Artemis is saving my spot, so I can't stand around."  She turned to go.
"Uh, Percy, can you really grow flowers out of thin air?" Meg asked timidly. She thought it couldn't be done; flowers grew out of the ground, not thin air.   
"What's your favorite kind of flower, Meg?" Percy asked, turning to face the couple again.
"Roses."
"Any particular color?"
"White."
"All right, then. One bouquet of white roses coming up!" Persephone interlaced he hands in a quick pattern, and instantly, two-dozen roses grew into a purple vase filled with water she manifested and held in her arms. She handed them over to Meg, who was wide eyed.
"A gift from me to you, Meg." She turned to Hercules. "I don't know of many 'manly' flowers, but let me see what I can do." A flick of her wrist and a jade green snapdragon materialized.  She looked at the flower with a slight frown. "Hmm...well, that's a start, but how about something else?" She thought and finally brought to life a blood red Venus Fly-Trap. She placed both in the vase and shrugged. "I tried."
       Meg and Hercules stood stunned, Meg holding the flowers. Meg said, "That was amazing! Thank you so much!"
"No problem!" Persephone shrugged again. "I love giving away flowers. It spreads happiness!" She looked down at the flowers lovingly. "And the best part is, they can live for a long time without water. But they do like water, so please don't neglect them. And don't worry; that Venus Fly-Trap won't attack you. It'll just rid your house of bugs. "
       Persephone looked behind her and saw a large group of gods standing there. "Ok, I'd really better get back, there's a group forming behind me. I don't want them to riot. Congratulations again! We'll see each other often, I hope, and if either of you need to talk, you know where my temple is."
       They both thanked her and she moved away from them. The next person in the group was Apollo, but Hades, lord of the dead, burst up out of nowhere and shoved Apollo out of the way so he could get the congratulations done with and go home. With this prompt shove, Hades said, "Hey! I believe the phrase is flame before beauty! Although, with a face like that, you're definitely not a sight for sore eyes."
       Apollo glared at Hades, shook his head, and stomped away. It was no use getting into a fight with the god of the dead, especially at a joyous festivity.
       Hades turned to the couple in front of him. They stared back at him negatively, him being the reason for so much trouble. But, he also brought them together, as an unexpected side effect to his 'ruling the cosmos' plan.
       He figured they weren't ones to forget and wouldn't forgive him (he had ordered Meg to die) but Zeus forced him come and congratulate them anyway.
"Hey! Wonder-breath and the Grecian vase finally tied the knot! Who saw that coming?!"
"Why are you even here? You know we despise you!" Meg said, her eyes narrowing.
   "Thanks for being frank!" Hades responded coolly. "Hundreds of people die a week, and no one tells me off, yet I kill one little insignificant person, and everyone jumps down my throat!" He clenched his fists as if to strangle something, relaxed, and then continued. "And besides, it was because of me that you two met in the first place. You should really be thanking me!"
       Meg snorted, "Ok, fine! Hades, thank you...for being the worst thing that ever came into our lives!"
"Aww, c'mon! Don't make me blush!" was the response she got.
Hercules inquired, "Did my father invite you?"
"Ya think I'd be here otherwise? I know we're flesh and blood and all, and no offense kid, but you're about as interesting as a dead fly." Hades noticed the flowers Meg was holding.
"Those flowers are even more interesting than you. At least the Venus Fly-Trap is. Who gave you those? They're not dead, but they could be..." With a wicked grin, he produced a blue, glowing orb in his hand.
"Don't you dare touch these flowers!" Meg hissed, embracing the vase even tighter. "They were a gift."
"From who?!" Hades asked, unaware people could get so emotional about something so simple. The fiery orb went out.
"Persephone," Hercules said, as Meg loosened her grip on the vase slightly.
"What the heck is that?! Sounds like some fungus." Hades scrunched up his face and thought hard, but no one he could think of matched the name. "Ok, I'll humor you and your walnut sized brain. Who is she? It is a she, right?" Hades had no idea why he was interested; truthfully, he was just trying to make conversation, as meaningless as it was.
"She's Demeter's daughter. And if you want to know, she's over there, talking to Hermes." Hercules pointed to the goddess. Hades didn't turn around.
"Wait, let me guess. I'm great at matching faces to personalities. Since she's a 'flower child', she's probably a short, golden-locked nerd with WAAAAAAAAAAY too much time on her hands. She probably has a lisp too...and really bad teeth. Ooh! And she likes to suffocate people with perky kindness." Hades began to flail in an annoying way. "Honestly, what's happening to the good name of us gods these days? Too much intermarriage. NOT GOOD!" 
 "You think she's ruining the name of the gods more than the damage you did? Well, look at her!" Hercules pointed harder. Hades turned around and found out what Persephone really looked like, but since he didn't know whom she was, it was as if he looked right through her. He turned to his nephew again; completely convinced he hadn't seen her.  
"Who am I looking at exactly? Ya know, I didn't think it was possible for a yutz to be dumb and vague, but you my enemy, are that yutz."
"The goddess in the goldenrod dress." Herc pointed harder, ignoring the insult. Hades did a double take.
"Who the heck...YOWZA! What a vision! Her? Little miss sunshine?" he pointed. Hercules nodded, lowering his pointing hand. "Did you say that's Demeter's precious daughter???? Seriously?!?! That's her?! I've met her before. But when I did meet her I didn't know who she was. I thought she was just a random yutz. Didn't know she had immortality in her veins. I mean, c'mon! She bears no resemblance to Demeter. The only thing that bears any resemblance to Demeter is an elephant."
 "You're a god and you didn't know who she was?" Meg asked, laughing. "Isn't it...like, part of the job description to know everyone else?"  
"I don't know. Besides, when I DID meet her, she looked NOTHING like that!" Hades answered without removing his eyes from Persephone. He began talking to himself, forgetting he was at a party. "The flower child really sprouted up in 18 years. And DEFINITELY for the better. I knew she'd be a pretty one, but I didn't think she'd be that pretty. Could anyone expect her to? I mean have you seen her mother?"
       Hercules¹ eyes widened and he looked knowingly at Meg who snickered. Hades forced his eyes away from Persephone, looked at them and asked, "What's so funny?!"
 "I¹ll tell you what's so funny. Somebody here caught the love bug!" Meg said in a singsong voice, folding her arms around the vase.    
       Hades looked puzzled, as if he couldn't figure out a difficult problem. "Who? I s Zeus around?"
"No, YOU!" Hercules and Meg said together. "Don't you see? You've been staring at her for five minutes." Hercules said, pointing to his sundial. "Just go talk to her."
"Nothing personal, but that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I don't even know her, well, I do, but I'll bet she doesn't remember me." Hades said defensively. He looked at her again. She looked perfect. Meg gasped.
 "There!" she pointed at Hades, flinging out her arm and almost chopping off Herc's nose and losing her grip on the vase in the process. "That's the look! The look of love! Ask Cupid! You think she's amazing and you can't deny it! Go talk to her!"
"WHAT!?!?!? WHO DIED AND MADE YOU APHRODITE?!?!" Hades asked stubbornly.
"Go talk to her!" Hercules ordered. "She's really nice, sweet, and smart. She'll like you."
"Yes, leave. PLEASE!" Meg tried not to sound desperate or pushy. It didn't work out as well as she'd hoped.
"Listen toots, you might think you have some standing of power now, with your little marriage thing and all, but you're no love goddess. Not with a face like that."
"Leave her alone." Hercules spat. He didn't want anything mean to be said to Meg.
"Are you, a mere mortal, ordering around the god of the dead? Remember, you can die now, even if you are invincible."
"My dad wouldn't let that happen! You can't kill people out of spite!"
"Wow, I knew you were never the brightest burning candle, but I didn't think you were that stupid!"
       Hercules ignored this and Meg whispered to her husband, "Do you think she'll actually like getting insulted all the time?" Hercules shushed her.
 "Trust me, Persephone will like you!" Herc told Hades. Hercules didn't want the god to stray from the main topic. This was taking longer than he'd hoped.
"Why should I care if she likes me?" Hades asked with an innocent shrug, not wanting to agree with his nephew.
 "Oh, I don't know. Do you always have to be so difficult?! Just go say 'hi'. It's the polite thing to do."
       Hades sighed, knowing they wouldn't let this go. He walked away, pretending to go over in Persephone's direction. He then immediately dumped the plan and instead went to the farthest point of the room possible, planting himself comfortably against a wall, not wanting to be there one single bit. Zeus had ordered him to come. He hadn't ordered him to have a nice time.
       Meg smiled at her husband and asked, "Who is he calling stupid! That was an excellent way to get rid of him. Good plan! Now we can actually enjoy ourselves."
"I wasn't trying to get rid of him. He is my uncle after all." Then Hercules added, "But I guess it was a good side effect."     
 

*         *         *  

       Meanwhile, Persephone had gone back to near where she was before, only now she was standing next to Artemis on the stairs made of clouds. They were talking about this and that, nothing too important.
"Percy! Look!" Artemis rapidly and randomly pointed into the crowd, surprising Persephone completely.
"What?" Persephone spun around and turned her head toward the crowd.
"It's...it's...don't you see him?" Artemis pointed right at Hades as he was standing in the corner of the room, in the shadows.
"Oh! HEY! It's him! From 18 years ago! WOW!" Persephone smiled broadly. Finally! The god she had been waiting to see for the longest time, 18 years, in fact. She thought he was so different, so, unique. She had hoped he'd be here, and here he was!
"Do you mind if I go over and say hi?" Percy asked her friend.
"No, not at all. I just find it funny that you're always leaving me."
"Oh, Artemis! I love you like a sister. I could never leave you."
"In that case, be gone!"       
"Ok, BYE!" Persephone looked around, making sure her mother was nowhere to be found. Then she leapt off the steps and wove her way to the corner of the room where one unhappy god was standing...

       Hades was just beginning to feel comfortable with the fact that this was forever his partying status. He wasn't meant to mingle with the others; they were too boring. They had nothing interesting to say and while they thought they led interesting lives, they didn't! What important tasks did they accomplish?! They hung around Olympus all day and held meaningless meetings. In Hades' opinion, his was the one with a REAL story to tell, not that anyone would listen to him. I mean, he was the god of the dead, he had been banished to protect Tartarus since he was a kid, and he had been on his own all his life, with absolutely no family or anyone to talk to. His brothers didn't like him, they never did. And there must have been something in the ambrosia because the other gods didn't like him either.
       And, another thing. Did he ever get any recognition for doing his job so well, even though no one else in the cosmos would take it? NO! Not even a thank you from one measly little soul. Ungrateful stiffs! See how long they'd last without him. And people wondered why he was in a bad mood all the time? How would you feel if you were stuck in the dank abyss of the Underworld for all eternity with absolutely no other living human contact besides a few heroes dropping by now and again to take things from you? Yeah, odds are you wouldn't be Mr./or Ms. Sunshine at a party either...
       Hades was deep in a bitter thought when a voice from the world outside pierced it.
"Excuse me..." it said.
       Hades snapped out of his sour grudge to see a beautiful goddess standing before him. It was Persephone. Hades had no idea why she was standing in front of him, but as he studied her smiling face, trying to find one streak of anger, he realized he wasn't in trouble and she wasn't mad at him, so her reason for being there was entirely her own.
Hades raised an eyebrow. "May I help you cupcake?"
"Yeah, um, this might sound stupid, but...do you remember me?"
"Well, you're Persephone, I hear. I was told you're the goddess of spring. But I do remember you, from 18 years ago. Cake girl. But I only remember because it's kinda hard to forget cake in the face, no matter how much time passes."
"I guess, well, you know about me, but I still don't know your name."
"Hades, Lord of the dead, at your service." They shook hands.
"So, was that the only reason you came over? Or am I in need of another frosting mask? If I am I'm gonna hafta..."
"No, actually, I came over to...talk to you."
"Really?!" Hades was so surprised he actually stopped talking, which is amazing, for him. People didn't actually want to talk to him, especially not beautiful goddesses. The more he looked at her, the more dazzling she became. She was drop-dead-gorgeous! (no pun intended.)
"So, you're the god of the dead...hey! I remember hearing about you! Didn't you recently stage the overthrow of Olympus?"
"Uh, yeah," Hades said, frowning. That was not one of his finest  moments, and DEFINITELY not something he wanted to bring up in a conversation with Persephone. At the awkwardness of his voice, Persephone thought it would be best to stray away from the conversation.
"So, what's the Underworld like?"
"Ah, well, it's a little dark, a little gloomy, and always full of dead people, but whatta ya gonna do?"
"It sounds like an interesting job. Sometimes I wish I had a more interesting job. Not that being the goddess of spring doesn't benefit humankind or anything, but often I don't feel very important."
"Boy, trust me Babe, I know the feeling!"
"What are you talking about? You're the Lord of the dead. Without you, where would the souls go? The mortals need you. You're totally important!"
"Ya think so?" Not only was she smart and pretty, she valued his job! Wow, SCORE!
"Of course! So, tell me more about the Underworld. Are there a lot of creatures there?"
"What isn't there? Furies, and Harpies, and Griffons..."
   "Oh my! That sounds so cool! I've only seen mortal animals. Boring!" She paused. "And you own Cerberus, right? What's he like?" Persephone asked, genuinely curious.
"Well, he's a big, three headed pain in the caboose. But he makes a good watchdog."
"I¹m sure...and you have employees, right? Like Charon? He works for you?"
"Sure does. He's a little long in the tooth, or he would be, if he had any teeth. But, he's a good employee all the same." This was amazing! He'd never impressed someone with his job before.
"I wish I were as important. I have three employees, three! Three irritating dryads. They love to run and skip, and it's so annoying! They never listen to me and they manage to mess up even the simplest order. I mean, how hard is it, really, to grow one fig tree?"
"I'm guessing not that hard?"
"OF COURSE NOT! The hardest thing to grow is a pomegranate tree. But, that's another subject altogether."
"Well, I know what annoying employees are like. I have the two most annoying little imps..." Hades was just about to tell her about Pain and Panic, when she looked around and dashed behind a column.
"What's-a-matter?" Hades asked, confused by the strange turn of events.
"SHH!" came the response from behind the column.
"Am I really that boring?" he asked her, "Because if I am, I'll go away. You don't have to hide." From a distance, it appeared he was talking to a column.
"NO! It's not you! I just don't want her to see me." Persephone stuck her head out from the shadows.
"Who?" Hades looked around. No one was even close to the pair.
"Demeter! If she sees me, I'll have to leave. Can you see her?" Hades squinted into the crowd of deities. "Yep. I see her. She's looking for someone, I think."
"Shoot! She's looking for me! I just have to lay low until she leaves. Pretend I'm not here." At once her head disappeared to the shadows behind the column. After a few minutes, Persephone stuck her head out again.
"Is she gone?" She whispered.
Hades looked around once more. "Yep. Coast's clear."
"GOOD. I was afraid she'd notice me. I wouldn't want that."
"May I ask you why doll face?"
"Well, for some reason, my mother is convinced I'm a child and can't even tie my own sandals. Now, let me ask you, do I look like a child?!" She folded her arms across her chest and waited for a response.
       Hades looked her up and down carefully, not wanting to stare at her figure and somewhat failing miserably. "Nope. I can see you're not."
"Thank you. But, for some reason, she treats me like I'm 5."
"Why? I see you're an adult, the other gods must see it. Why can't she?"
"That's what I'd like to know. You know Hades; you're the only one who gets it. Who gets me." She smiled broadly.
"Thanks. But, you're very insightful yourself. I think you're the only goddess I've ever met who actually seems interested in my job."
"Oh, I can't believe that! Your job is so..." Just then, a voice slashed through Persephone's current comment.
"PERSEPHONE!!!!" Demeter spotted her and practically flew over to her. Persephone winced at the volume of her mother's voice. "What ARE you doing?!?!?!?!?"
        Persephone had half a mind to tell her mother to get permanently lost, but decided to be well mannered. "Oh, hello Mother. I'm...having an...intellectual conversation with..." She was about to answer politely when her mother cut her off.
"I specifically told you that you could talk to Artemis or the happy couple; no one, I repeat, NO ONE else!"
"Sorry, but I met someone new. His name is Hades. And he's the Lord of..."
"I KNOW WHO HE IS!" Demeter said through clenched teeth. "He's bad business! Now come along. We have to leave anyway."
"Oh. Um, You can go, I could catch a ride with Artemis." Persephone wanted to stay at the party and hoped her mother would get the point.
"No, come along. We're leaving...NOW.' Demeter took Persephone by the wrist as if she were a schoolgirl and Persephone shot Hades a 'what did I tell you?' look. Demeter began to drag Persephone back along the crowd and Persephone said over her shoulder to Hades "Well, it was nice talking to you."
"Same here Babe."
 "What did you call her?!?!" Demeter whirled around and was under Hades' nose in less than three seconds, leaving Persephone a few feet away, scowling at the scene her mother was creating.
"Huh?" Hades had no idea what he¹d just done.
"Listen here, Percy is my baby! She is a child! And you have no business whatsoever talking to her. Never call her that again!"
"Listen. Demeter, it's a figure of speech. I call everyone that. Lighten up."
       Bad move. Never tell Demeter to lighten up!
"Hades, I am only going to say this once. Leave Persephone alone! She doesn't need someone like you messing up her outlook on life!"
"Someone like me?!" Hades fumed. He was so close to giving Demeter a piece of his mind, but when you're in a verbal fight with the mother of the girl you think is 100% hot, you usually let said mother win. "Well...fine...whatever." Hades backed off.
"That¹s right!" Demeter snapped her fingers and an apple appeared in Hades mouth. "And maybe that will keep you quiet." A few of the onlookers snickered as Hades took it out of his mouth in surprise. Demeter then turned on her heel and grabbed Persephone's arm again, this time leading her out of the party. Persephone tried with increasing difficulty to not look at the other gods but she managed to roll her eyes at Artemis as she passed by.              
 

*        *        *

       On the chariot ride home, Persephone was sulking in the back seat. (That in it of itself is sad; Demeter wouldn't even let her sit in the front seat, even though she had owned a chariot license for 699 years.) How could her mother embarrass her like that? She was just having an innocent conversation. It was no big deal. What was Demeter's problem?! Hades was a nice guy who respecter her.
       Demeter was thinking to herself as well. She had nicely saved her daughter from creating yet another crush for herself. Oh, the turmoil of adolescence hadn't directly dealt with Persephone, but it had dealt with Demeter. You see, Persephone was so gorgeous, that whenever she met a man that man would fall into a deep well of attraction for her. It was said she was more beautiful than Aphrodite. They'd send her flowers and candy, write her poetry, or do anything else they could do to prove their devotion. Persephone had no knowledge of this. Aside from preventing her daughter from going anywhere, Demeter had also dealt with all the crushes, gotten rid of the pursuers, and broken hearts, all so Percy wouldn't have to do it. The worst part of it was, the men that chased Persephone had no idea what she was like. They only saw her beauty. Fortunately, it was usually the mortals that this happened to, because while she was really pretty, this didn't affect the gods much. But, Demeter also had an ulterior motive for keeping Persephone single. It was beneficial to the goddess to keep her daughter by her side because then love would never claim her. She'd be bound to her mother forever, and in Demeter's opinion, that was just fine, because then she'd always have her darling daughter to keep her company.       
 

*        *        *
               
        Hades left Mt. Olympus without a word and headed back to the Underworld in a daze. He was still thinking about Persephone and how beautiful she was. She was so awesome and she was the nicest goddess he had ever met (none of the goddesses were especially nice to him) She actually liked his job, and respected him for it. And to think, he almost didn't go to this party.

...Back to Part 2

Continue to Part 4...

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