The Daughter of Demeter
Based on the characters from Disney’s “Hercules” film & TV show
Chapter 2The day of the Harvest Festival arrived. Cloud Nine had been swiftly decorated, and Demeter was very busy making sure that everything would be going as planned. She was also making last minute alterations to the mortals’ crops down on Earth – improved respect and offerings toward her gave mortals a bountiful harvest, and for those who failed to respect her… well, let’s just say no corn for them.
Not only this, but today – finally – Demeter was allowing her daughter, Persephone, to join the Pantheon of Gods on Olympus, to be recognised in their circle. For years, she had kept her child on the isle of Sicily, and raised her lovingly and carefully (to call her over-protective was an understatement) but now Persephone had matured enough in her mother’s eyes to be allowed to take on the full responsibility of a Goddess of Olympus.
Persephone had been known to help her mother out in the fields of Corn and fertility – something they were both recognised as being associated with – but they were not things she was particularly happy about dealing with. They didn’t fit her character. Her mother failed to truly register her daughter’s individuality or her independence, and insisted on continuing to spoon feed her through life. Persephone wasn’t her mother, though, and she failed to be satisfied with this early life.
Strong willed, like her mother, Persephone had longed to be rid of the boundaries of Sicily for years now. It was beautiful, and the local nymphs were friendly enough, but it just didn’t satisfy her tenacious nature, her bounding spirit or her adventurous ways. Picking flowers all day was not her idea of fun.
She had tried for years to convey these feelings to her mother, but as always ‘mother (apparently) knew best’, and she had had to stay upon the isle longer still.
It was time for her to break free of her mother at last, and to become her own person. And to embrace her own fate…
Bacchus chewed on a leg of lamb at the white, cloud dining table. It was his brunch, before his elevenses, lunch, dinner, snacks and then finally the Harvest Festival feast. He was well known for his love of food and eating – he was, among several things, God of Parties, which came with the necessity of a big appetite. He was relaxing in his quarters of Olympus – though Olympus was a home shared by all the gods, they all had their private spaces.
Opposite him sat Persephone, toying with a thread of her hair – Bacchus couldn’t decipher whether she was nervous or just plain bored. The latter was more likely.
Demeter had gone on ahead to Cloud Nine to aid in the final preparations for the Harvest Festival.
Meanwhile, hammering could be heard in the background upon Olympus, where repairs were taking place to the recent mishaps concerning Hephaestos – whatever they may have been. Said God was actually taking care of most of the refurbishing. He felt it was his duty.
Bacchus made a final chew, then gulped down his current mouthful, “Please stop fiddling, Sephy…” he said to his daughter.
She looked up to him with her brown eyes, dropping the strand of hair. She had her mother’s eyes, it couldn’t be denied.
“It is irritating…” he sighed, smiling out the corner of his mouth. He was never overly strict with her.
She smiled back sheepishly. She had long, dark-pink hair, and a pale lilac-grey skin. Her eyes were fairly large and deep. She had a small, considerably petite nose, and was of slim build, in contrast to her buxom mother. Most of her colouring could be attributed to her father. Her image deceived one to think that she was a quiet and very feminine young Goddess… she was, however, quite the opposite: fiery, determined, and almost ready to burst had she not been allowed off the isle of Sicily sooner!
Bacchus looked fondly upon his daughter, “Persephone, is something bothering you?”
Seph looked to him, “Dad, if you can do one thing for me, please, just call me ‘Seph’… why’d you and mom give me that awful name?”
Bacchus chuckled a little to himself, “Well, I happen to think that it’s a very beautiful name, as does your mother. When you have children that grow up to hate the name you gifted them for eternity, you’ll understand.”
Persephone scoffed light-heartedly at him, “Whatever, father…”
Bacchus smiled again. She couldn’t anger him easily – she often never meant to. He for one found that anger sometimes never got you anywhere with your child.
“So, is something bothering you?” he repeated himself, placing the bone from the leg of lamb down upon the tabletop.
There was a massive thud in the background and a scream – Hephaestos must have dropped his anvil or something on his foot as he did the repairs to Olympus.
Seph briefly raised an eyebrow at the commotion in the distance, before returning to her father’s topic of conversation, “No – why should anything be bothering me? I’m finally off that island!”
“You will be back on that island until your mother’s satisfied that you have a permanent place in Olympian affairs. You’re entering the Pantheon today, yes, but your duties are still unclear,” Bacchus reminded her, giving her a gentle point.
Persephone sighed with exasperation, laying her head upon the table, “Don’t remind me! What have I done to deserve this? Imprisonment on an island…”
“You can’t always have your way in life…”
“I never said that– I just want some freedom, some independence!”
“Your mother just cares for you deeply – we both do – and we want what’s best for you. Once you have a place on Olympus, a purpose, it’s yours for life. And we don’t want you to get the wrong one, or the one you don’t want…”
“But I’m an adult now! I’ve been an adult for ages! Why can’t I choose my own path?”
Bacchus took a breath and again looked at her fondly, “You’re already taking a path, Persephone –“
“Seph” she interrupted.
Bacchus continued, “– just don’t rush and make an irrational decision. You’re very lucky that you are getting so long to decide upon your fate as a Goddess. Some Gods have been thrown in at the deep end, with jobs that they didn’t necessarily want…”
“Curse you, Cronus!” Hades snarled, raising a fist above as he snubbed his father’s name.
He suddenly remembered that his father had been banished into the pits of Tartarus, in the darkest, deepest depths of his domain. He shook his fist to his feet, “I mean, curse you Cronus!” he repeated, now shaking his fist in the correct direction, “Your blasted power-mad struggle started a chain reaction which gave your youngest son a life sentence of Underworld maintenance… oy…”
Pain and Panic looked at one another warily, reigning up Hades griffin to his black chariot. Hades frequently damned his father’s name; he hated his father, for one, but it had been faintly due to his father that he had been landed with Underworld duty forever.
The story was complex:
The Fates had foretold that one of Cronus’ children would overthrow him. Learning of this certain doom, Cronus, in a blind rage and a lust for eternal power, proceeded to try and devour all of his children. And he managed this, except for the fact that he failed to consume Zeus, who had been hidden from his mad father by his mother, Rhea. Zeus later returned, rescued his siblings from the bowels of his sire, and together with the future Gods of Olympus, fought a war against the mighty Cronus and his Titan allies.
They won, and Cronus was banished to the depths of Tartarus, and the Titans were imprisoned in their underwater stronghold.
Following this, the Olympians now took control of the Earth from their home upon Mount Olympus, where it was swiftly decided that the three domains of the world should be divided between Cronus’ three sons. The three domains were the Seas, the Heavens & Earth, and the Underworld. Disproving of rock-paper-scissors to decide who would rule which, and the less than original coin toss being no good without having 3 sides, it was finally agreed that the three would draw straws.
Hades drew the short straw. It had decided his Fate for the rest of his life.
And that fatal decision, that stroke of pure misfortune, had haunted Hades ever since.
“If only I’d picked one of the other straws,” he mumbled to himself, looking into space.
Pain and Panic shrugged off Hades one-man conversation, and struggled to pull the bridle over the Griffin’s face. It screamed in its high-pitched voice, spreading its wings out to stretch them, and throwing the two imps off. The chains rattled where it was connected to the chariot as it settled back down onto its four legs.
Hades snorted to himself in irritation. He frequently had these ‘If only I’d…’ spells – who wouldn’t, if you’d been damned to life down in the Underworld for eternity? Blinking back to reality and coming out of his personal trance, he turned to see his Griffin reigned up and ready - and in bonus time, he might add!
“Boys, I’m impressed…” he said with a smooth grin, placing the palms of his hands together, “If I paid you, I’d give you a rise… but, hey, I don’t, so tough cheese, huh?”
Pain and Panic picked themselves up from off the floor where the Griffin had tossed them. They brushed themselves off, sighing. It’d be nice to get paid, or even get a little tip, once in a while.
Hades walked onto his chariot and pulled the reigns tight, tugging the Griffin back a bit to establish who was boss. It squawked loudly, but refused to defy its master, and settled down steadily again into place.
“Right, Mister Pain and Mister Panic,” he said in a slightly less cheerful tone, “I want no parties or get-togethers whilst I’m at this little celebration, and I certainly don’t want to find you turned to stone by the Gorgon sisters like last time, okay?”
The two Imps suddenly stood erect, and placed their hands to their foreheads in a salute, “Yes, Sir!” they said in stereo.
Hades laughed weakly, “Cute…” he sighed. He was more annoyed by the fact he had to attend a party he didn’t want to than the fact he had to leave Pain and Panic in charge of the Underworld for a while...
Whipping his griffin into action, Hades sped away on his chariot. The griffin spread its wings and glided rapidly through the air, heading toward the outside world, then onto the skies above.
To be continued…