Of Lockets and Pomegranates: Chapter 6
Of Lockets and Pomegranates
A frustrated scream tore from Persephone as she threw the golden vase at the wall, the porcelain fragments shattering to the floor. In all the centuries she’d been trapped here, he always came to tell her good morning. He hadn’t appeared this morning. There had been no apology for his behavior yesterday. He was toying with her as a ploy to make her fall in love with him.
It wasn’t going to work.
Her anger had nothing to do with his absence. She was upset that he thought he could play with her emotions. Everything he wanted, he took. Even now, he was being selfish. To blame her for his misery was asinine.
Her lady-in-waiting, an easily flustered soul, screeched and pulled her from the rage that blinded her. Chimes echoed through the room, which grated on Persephone’s ears. She whirled on the soul, murderous intent in her glare that had the woman shrinking away. The chimes stopped as she stepped back from Persephone, straight onto the broken shards of the vase.
“Gods above! Stop,” Persephone scolded. “That’s a god-made vase and you’re going to cut yourself!”
Too late. Inky purple blood stained the hardwood floor, and the anger leeched from Persephone. Guiding her from the shards, she had her sit on the settee. She inspected her bare feet, sighing in relief that the cut was shallow. God-made objects were the only thing that could hurt a soul in the Underworld. Other than Hades. If anything happened to this soul, she would know his wrath, a thing she’d only seen directed towards others.
“Stay here while I go get Hades,” she snapped. She winced at the sharpness in her tone. The soul didn’t respond but remained seated as Persephone left.
Cavern air filled her nose as she exited her chambers. She turned her attention to the door leading to his office. She had no idea how to explain what happened. If she alluded to it being her fault, Hades was likely to snap. With the mood he was in, that would end poorly for her.
The sound of snoring diverted her attention from the door. It was so soft she nearly missed it. She approached quietly, worried that it was Hades, and he’d been waiting for her. Maybe he’d been too scared to come to her chambers and had dozed off.
Spinning around the throne to catch him, her face fell in defeat. Hypnos was passed out on Hades’ throne. If he was here, that meant Hades was in his chambers. She peeked around the throne at the office door. A tremor ran through her, warning her not to approach. Maybe Hypnos’ presence would work in her favor. Looking down, she decided to poke the sleeping god.
Hypnos woke with a start, his hand clamping around her wrist. She squealed in surprise, and he seemed to realize she wasn’t a threat. His red and blue eyes focused on her face, and he released her with a snarl of disgust.
“Don’t do that again,” he yawned, unconcerned that he’d nearly snapped her wrist.
“I need you to tend to a soul. Hades isn’t around, and she’s bleeding.” She wrung her fingers nervously; a tic she’d picked up that drove her mother mad. It wasn’t how proper ladies handled their emotions.
Groggily, he floated above the throne and regarded her with a bored look. “What did you do?”
“A vase broke, one of Hephaestus’, and she cut her foot.” She wasn’t going to tell him about her tantrum. He opened his mouth to respond, but she stopped him. “Stop asking questions. Help me.”
“I’m not helping you,” he said, despite floating toward her door. “This is about helping the soul. Explain to Hades when he isn’t indisposed.” He stiffened, clearly revealing something he hadn’t meant to. He hurried away before she thought to prod for more details.
Back in her room, he made quick work of bandaging the woman’s foot. The fabric was woven by one of the Underworld gods—not that Persephone knew who—and it radiated power. Before now, she was unaware they needed special bandages. He dismissed the soul when he finished, explaining that Persephone would clean her own mess. Persephone bristled but said nothing. It was the least she could do.
Now alone, she regarded Hypnos curiously. She had never spent any time studying the god. He was simply Hades’ shadow, unimportant to her purposes. Watching him now, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you so devoted to Hades? He’s an asshole.”
He lulled his head toward her, shocked anger darkening his expression. “You truly don’t know him, do you? So caught in Demeter’s narrative that you’ve forgotten to form your own opinion.”
“Excuse me,” she stuttered. “He kidnapped me!”
He huffed a laugh. “You dare lie to me, knowing I have seen both of your dreamscapes? You don’t have to be honest with yourself, but don’t insult me. You were both enamored at first sight, and you came willingly. You ate that pomegranate willingly. He regrets it, but that doesn’t change fate, does it? Then mommy dearest gets ahold of the narrative, and you can’t distinguish your truth from fiction.”
The snap of her palm against his cheek echoed through the room. His head yanked to the side, but he didn’t react. “Don’t speak ill of my mother. My well-being has only ever been her concern. No narrative has been twisted. Have you considered that Hades manipulated you to believe he’s innocent? He has a reputation for a reason.”
The red and blue split of his eyes rippled eerily. “Lie all you want, Persephone. It’s impossible to lie in Slumber. Dreams have no reason to be dishonest, unlike a goddess with a vendetta.”
Her hands trembled and her lip quivered. In truth, she hadn’t always hated Hades, but Demeter had given her every reason to. Her mother’s powers waned every time the portal separated them. For six months of the year, the Upperworld phased through stages of decay before returning to life upon her return. Every year that passed, the decay was harder to drive back. For that alone, it was easier to agree with Demeter.
“That’s no reason to keep me locked away.”
“A gilded cage of your design, Persephone,” he said, exhaustion tempering the anger on his face. “It might be easier to blame him to escape your real feelings, but that doesn’t make him an asshole. Being confined to the Underworld does not mean you’re locked in this room. When was the last time you socialized outside of these walls? You can’t even understand the souls when they speak.”
That was true. It took a lot of work to understand the chiming of the souls, and not everyone could. Hades told her it was designed to keep souls forming deep bonds that made them want to stay.
She wanted to argue with him. Before she could, he disappeared. Slumber Sand lazily drifted from his now vacant seat, mixing with the broken shards of vase. Anger and sorrow warred inside her mind, and she wrapped her arms around her midsection.
What if Hypnos was right?
What if she’d played the perfect pawn?
She stared at the Slumber Sand for a long time. There were so many things she could do with it. So many things. Snapping her fingers, the sand gathered into a vial she conjured, and her lips curved in satisfaction.
****
If Hypnos wasn’t his closest friend, Hades would have killed him. Instead, he would fantasize about it. He had interrupted his time with Pandora, and that deserved at least fictional punishment.
“Make this worth my time,” he snapped as he sprawled on one of his plush leather office chairs. “I was preoccupied.”
Hypnos smirked in a way that told Hades he wasn’t surprised. “Persephone was looking for you after an incident with a soul. I healed the soul, but didn’t think you wanted Persephone to come to find you. Not when you were with the other woman.” His teasing tone made Hades itch to strangle him.
This wasn’t worth leaving Pandora. He bit back the snarl that threatened to release from his throat. Shoving his hand into his hair, he counted to three in his head. That was supposed to help, right? It didn’t.
“If all is well, why interrupt me? This could have waited.”
Hypnos shrugged. “It could have waited, but…” he paused, tilting his head toward the closed office door. “Ah, right on time.”
Persephone barged in. When she spotted Hypnos, she became flustered. “Whatever he told you is a lie! I didn’t mean to hurt her. She stepped into the shards before I could stop her!”
He watched as her hands flew about. She was rambling, but he’d stopped listening. The situation would be amusing if he could focus on anything but his irritation. Hypnos snorted at something Persephone said, and Hades snapped his attention to him. At least someone was getting amusement from this.
“Would you shut up for a second?” he snapped after another minute. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she stopped talking. “Is the soul alive?”
“Yes,” she said and nodded curtly.
“Nothing is on fire that shouldn’t be?”
Another nod.
“Then, respectfully, I don’t give a fuck.” He steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “The whys and whats don’t concern me. I told you that yesterday. I apologize that you’re stuck in the Underworld. I have begged the Fates to break the bond to no avail. Find other ways of occupying yourself that don’t involve broken vases and damaged souls.”
She stiffened, eyes scanning his face like he was about to hit the punchline. He’d never spoken so sharply to her, and it must be driving her insane. “What changed?” she asked after a beat.
“None of your business, Persephone.” He inhaled deeply, his mind back on Pandora. “Every six months, I begged forgiveness, praying to gods—no, family—that abandoned me. No more. Now, I pray that you can find something that will bring you happiness.”
He would never tell her about Pandora. Not out of guilt. She would only leverage her against him. Every modicum of happiness he had, she was there to remind him he didn’t deserve it. He wouldn’t let Pandora become a plaything for Persephone to destroy.
She placed well-manicured hands against the dark wood of his desk and leaned closer to him. Her golden eyes were molten as she scoured his face. “I wish you all the happiness, Hades,” she sneered, menace distorting her voice.
As she spun away, she spared a withering glare towards Hypnos. The door slammed behind her. They sat in anticipation, waiting to see if she’d return. When she didn’t, Hypnos broke the silence.
“If I didn’t summon you, she was liable to barge into your chambers,” he said with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “This was probably preferable.”
Hades turned away from his friend, looking out the window that overlooked Tartarus. Hellscape demons were busy far below, punishing those who had been deemed worthy of eternal damnation. He found a hint of solace whenever he caught himself looking upon the pits.
“I have a favor to ask of you, Hypnos.” He didn’t bother to look at his friend. Hypnos wasn’t going to like his request, but he would accept anyway.
“Anything for you, Hades.”
Editor: Shannon Hensley
