Discord & Death

Based on the characters from Disney’s “Hercules” film & TV show

Chapter 5

Dear Mom and Dad,

I’m sorry for how things have been lately, but I’ve been contained here now for six months, and it’s time for me to leave. It is clear that the Fates are angry with Zeus for trying to hold me here, and keep me from the Underworld, since they sent the Furies out to haunt him. I don't wish to cause such problems, especially if they affect the king of the gods and those around him. Therefore, I have left of my own accord.

I realise that I have disobeyed Zeus himself, but I have not disobeyed the powers mightier than him, that of the Fates, the power to which we all submit. I just want you to know that I'll be okay. Six months in the Underworld may sound awful to you but I am with the man that I love, and whether you like him or not, please accept that he will not harm me in any way - I am confident about that.

Please understand.

See you in six months, if we don’t see each other before. All my love,

Persephone

Demeter stared at the note for some time, her mouth hung open in shock and dismay. It was plain now that her daughter had gone to the Underworld - she'd just run away and left them all! “Bacchus!” she yelled, turning around and rushing into the core of their Olympian quarters.

Her plump, pink partner suddenly rushed into the room, “What?” he asked, startled by his wife’s call.

“She’s gone!” Demeter cried. “She’s gone!”

Bacchus took a long look at his wife before he took the letter from her hand and read it through himself. His reaction was less shocked, though - in fact, he just nodded to himself knowingly. It had been waiting to happen. “We saw how unhappy she was when Zeus refused to let her go back,” he said plainly, giving Demeter a grave look. “She has followed her heart back to him. I'm afraid there is nothing we can do.”

Demeter shook her head in denial. "No, I can't let this happen..."

“She’s a woman, Demeter,” Bacchus reminded her. “You know she must lead her own life, and make her on mistakes if need be.” He placed a hand onto her shoulder in a comforting gesture. “She’ll be fine. I’m sure of it.”

Demeter knew what Bacchus said was true. If truth be told, she had known for the passed six months. Her daughter was her own person, and if she wanted to do something, or be with someone, then even she, being mother or not, was powerless to stop her. And after eating those six pomegranate seeds, Persephone was technically the property of the Underworld for half a year every year. That could now never be changed.

Demeter sgave up and just leant onto Bacchus, weeping at her loss. The world again would suffer as Demeter lost her child for the next six months. The seasons of autumn and then cruel, cold winter were set to commence.

Persephone didn’t need a sundial to tell her that it was quite late in the morning when she awoke from her slumber. She slowly opened her eyes and hung her arm over Hades’ chest whilst he ehld her close with his own. She brushed some strands of her flowing pink hair back over her shoulder and then drew herself up a little, looking about the room and listening to the distant wails of the souls. Her movement roused Hades, though, and he half opened his large, yellow eyes and focused on her. He flashed her a smile and she smiled back, reaching down and embracing him once again.

“Good morning,” she said, kissing him on top of the nose.

“Morning, babe,” he yawned, stretching his arms back over his head before he embraced her in return. “And how are we today?”

“You ask stupid questions,” she countered with a poke to his chest.

“Hey, I’m jes being polite,” he retorted, rubbing the place where she'd prodded him.

“I’m great,” she said, “and you?”

“Not as great as you, but good,” he smirked, giving her a waggle of his eyebrows.

She gave him a friendly slap before laying her head back down upon his body. “My mum’s gonna kill me,” she sighed. "No doubt about it."

“Why?” he asked, “Coz yer made love to me last night?”

She ran a hand up and down his chest again and made a smirk, “Well, yeah, if she finds out about it… but more because I just ran away like that.”

“C’mon, like you had a choice?”

“Are we talking about my running away, or my sleeping with you?” she asked, propping herself up on her elbows and looking down into his eyes.

Hades grinned. “Did Seph pull a funny?”

She gave him a suggestive look.

“Hey, you know what I mean,” he continued, sitting up in bed and watching her slide off him.

She quickly sat up beside him and wrapped the bed clothes round her naked body. “I know, I know,” she concurred before adding, a little more sternly, “You're right, I didn’t have a choice. The Furies were haunting Zeus, and... well, I missed you. Your brother's done more wrong than I have.”

“And, speakin’ of the Furies,” Hades said brightly, going off on a tangent. “Guess whose advice made a load of the lil darlin’s hatch...?”

Seph pulled away and looked at him. “The Fury chicks are hatching now?”

“Indeed, they are, tuts, thanks to you. I’ve never known the GSPCC be so happy!”

“That’s great…” she said, relaxing back onto his shoulder.

A short silence.

“You’re late up, you know,” Persephone reminded Hades, brushing a finger down his chest and over his abdomen.

“Yeah, I know… hence why you were awake before me." He grinned toothily. “But, c’mon, give me some cred’. I needed the rest.”

“'Needed the rest'…” she scoffed derisively.

“Yeah. Don’t you work me so hard every night, you hear?”

She pushed him over playfully. “You’re so crude, Hades,” she said, grasping for a pillow and lightly hitting him across the head with one.

He laughed, grabbing the pillow and pulling her down over him; “Fiesty!” he smirked, grasping her about the back of her neck and holding her to him.

She giggled in his grasp. “Let go!” she said, trying to pry his hands off of her.

He released her after a few seconds and smiled fondly at her. “I love yer, babe,” he said. "Seriously, I do."

She smiled back another time, and made a quick glance to the side as he stroked her face and planted another kiss on her forehead. He then decided it was time to get up.

“Gone!” Zeus thundered, his voice resounding all around Olympus.

Demeter nodded with Bacchus stood by her side, and she handed Persephone's note to the king of the gods.

Hera looked over her husband’s shoulder as he took the note and read it with him.

“I can’t believe that child!” Zeus snapped, slamming the note down onto the arm of his throne. A mighty crack of thunder rumbled across the skies in the same moment.

Hera sighed at Zeus’ short temper. “You said that you and Persephone had had a little talk yesterday that went none too well. This was probably waiting to happen.”

Bacchuse nodded in silent concurrence.

“But how’d she get out with no one seeing her?” Zeus continued. “Artemis, or Morpheus, or someone must have seen something!”

“It’s easy for a deity not to be seen or heard when they wish,” Hera reminded him, “I don’t want to take sides, Zeus, but it is probably for the best.”

“For the best?”

“Come off it, Zeus. The girl loves your brother. Let’s just get on with life and let her be with him.”

Zeus pursed his lips in a childish manner; he didn’t like it when he didn't get his own way. “But, Hera…?” he said more softly.

“No buts!” Hera said abruptly. She then turned to Demeter and Bacchus and said, “This just proves the desperation your daughter must have felt to be with Hades. Now whether we approve or not is not important - we must let her live her life. Unless she is in any danger whilst in Hades’ domain, I think it best we leave her be for now. Our meddling in her life will only make things worse. I'm sure you'll agree?”

Demeter looked down, defeated. She knew that she could do nothing about it. Bacchus, meanwhile, just nodded to Hera, pleased at her clear-minded approach to everything.

Hera turned back to Zeus. “Persephone has also done you a favour. By returning to Hades, she has taken the Furies off of your back, thank the heavens. You’re a rough enough sleeper as it is…”

Zeus just pouted moodily, knowing when his wife had won over him. And when the Fates had, too.

“I’m sorry for this messy situation,” Hera said again to Persephone’s parents, “But I think, as I said, that what has happened has been in your daughter’s best interests. She’s happy, at least, which is important, and she will be returning to us again in six months. And perhaps it will be she who may finally be able to change Hades’ ways for the better. I think that it should all turn out fine.”

“She has returned, mistress…”

Hecate turned to her wolf as it spoke, interupted as she preened her eyelashes in the mirror. “I beg your pardon?” she asked the winged hound, turning to face it.

The wolf gave her a devilish grin. “Persephone, mistress. She has returned to Hades,” he repeated, licking his lips and trotting to Hecate's side, where he sat down neatly and folded his wings over his back. “Her six months upon Olympus have passed and she has broken free of Zeus’ commands, and come back to the Nether World.”

Hecate’s lips widened into an evil grin. “Ahh, so the first six months have passed,” she chortled, stroking the wolf’s muzzle before rising onto her feet. She took a small walk about her cave whilst she mused on the implications of this. “So if six months have passed, that leaves nine.”

The witch looked out into Tartarus through the entrance to her home whilst she recounted the words of the Fates:

'Love has taken hold of Persephone,
And in 15 months at least, a mother she’ll be.
The offspring she’ll yield, we have foretold,
Will be sired by the Lord of the Underworld.
A new Bond this is in the chain they share,
And a weakness too, we do declare.
Breaking a bond will end victoriously this tale,
But choose the wrong bond to break, and you will fail…'

“When did she return?” Hecate asked her wolf.

“Last night, my lady,” he replied. “She went straight to Hades as he slept.”

Hecate chuckled to herself. “Then I presume it is done,” she said.

The wolf cocked its head to one side. “I’m sorry, mistress, I do not follow.”

Hecate looked down at the lupe. “I didn’t think you would,” she sneered, then looked back out into the Land of the Shades. “I believe that this child of theirs is now conceived. Another nine months and the brat will be born, this 'bond in the chain they share'. We then have to work upon breaking this bond, which will in turn give us the key to overthrowing the Lord of the Nether World himself.”

The wolf nodded. “Ahh, I understand now, mistress,” he smiled.

Hecate ignored him. She was too busy thinking matters through. “But how to break this bond…?” she pondered, putting a hand to her chin and thinking on it. “We could do as Hades did with young Hercules, I suppose - take the child and turn it mortal. I do still have Hades’ precious scroll, with the instructions of how to make this mortal potion inscribed upon it. I’m sure that would prove most effective.”

“Indeed, it would, my lady,” the wolf agreed.

But then, a sudden fire lit in Hecate’s eyes. “And yet, I think there may be alternative courses of action to take.”

The wolf was miffed for a second time.. He didn’t bother asking his mistress what she had in mind – he was sure he was going to hear it now anyway.

“This child will be born a god!” Hecate stated as if it had only just occured to her. "A god!"

‘No d’oh’ the wolf thought, not daring to say the words aloud.

“A god!” Hecate repeated again, rubbing her hands together. “Oh, of course! Why didn’t I think about this before?” She turned about and waltzed back into her home, taking a seat in the central lounge. Her wolf followed, and lay obediently before her.

“We will not kill this child, no - we will use this child against the parents! Think of it! Oh, think of the power this child will inherit! It will be the spawn of Hades, one of the three brothers who, between them, own the world! A son or daughter of Hades will inherit some of his immense power. Oh, it is delicious! We take this child when it is young, and I will raise it to hate its parents, and to hate from whence it has come, and then we will later topple the Lord and Lady of the Dead with their own flesh and blood. It’s genius!” She allowed herself a snicker, one which was so cold, it sent a chill up the wolf’s spine.

“The mighty Cronus overthrew his father, Uranus, and then Zeus later overthrew his father, Cronus. It would only be right that the child that has yet to develop within Persephone’s womb will grow to overthrow his or her own father, Hades. It is a divine tradition, a vicious circle from which no god can escape. It cannot fail!”

The wolf watched Hecate with caution as her eyes took on that terribly callous glow.

“And the Underworld," the witch hissed, "will then finally be mine!”

To be continued…