XII

"Where are you taking me?" Persephone asked Minthe after another long uncomfortable pause. She walked behind Minthe cautiously while continuously tugging at the hem of the gown. Persephone kept her eyes glued to the ground to keep sight of the path she was following, and never bothered to look at her surroundings. Minthe's sighs of annoyance every now and then were the only way Persephone knew that she was following in the right direction.

Minthe rolled her eyes and tossed her pale blue/green lock over her shoulder, "If I wanted to tell you where I was taking you, I would have told you by now."

"So—you won't be telling me?" Persephone asked in confusion.

Minthe rolled eyes once more, "Precisely. My, you're as intelligent as Lady Athena." She said sarcastically.

"You can stop teasing me. Athena also says that there is no crime in curiosity." She snapped. "I shouldn't even be with you, Lord Hades m—"

"Why are you so concerned with what he thinks?" Minthe questioned.

"I am not. I'm just saying that if I'm not back when he comes for me I'll be in trouble. You must know him better than I do" She mumbled.

"I do know him better than you. The two of you have only just met." She said matter-of-factly

"How did you know?"

"Please," Minthe said while stopping in her tracks and turning to Persephone, "Any incompetent individual can figure that out." She began walking once more.

Persephone furrowed her brows and her mouth hung agape for a moment. She had never encountered such a passive nymph before. Clearly Lord Hades was right about one thing; the nymphs in the Underworld are different than the ones above.

Hades had finished on a quick briefing with the three judges in the throne room; things were running rather normal, except for the sudden increase in deaths of soldiers. It annoyed Hades to the point where he had no interest in the matter. It had little to do with the increase of souls, and more to do with his dislike for Ares. The new battle with the Phoenicians began to take its toll down in his realm, and Hades wanted no part in that.

Especially now.

Persephone's presence, along with her nativity and curiosity meant that he had one more thing to be responsible. Despite the fact that she had been down here for hardly two days, Hades learned that she was a handful. Perhaps it'd be due to the fact this was her first time away from the strangle of her Mother.

No matter, it still bothered him a tad bit that she would be leaving him soon. It was not bittersweet by any means. He hardly saw Persephone or Demeter. He preferred staying here, and Demeter was similar in that regard. Persephone's departure would be bitter. But, Hades continued to assure himself that it would be for the best.

"Persephone!" He called as he arrived at the very spot she was supposed to be at. "Persephone, let's not keep your mother waiting another day!" He heard no response.

Hades narrowed his eyes and started his round around the palace grounds. He knew she had not left. He would have felt her leave. She was not far and not alone either.

"Curse the fates." Hades muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes momentarily.

"You haven't said anything in a while." Minthe said breaking the silence.

"I don't have anything to say to you."

"And, here you are, following me." She replied haughtily.

"Well if you won't tell me." Persephone huffed, "Why are you making me follow you?"

"I'm not making you do anything." Minthe retorted.

"I could have waited back at the palace." She muttered. Minthe scoffed.

"I invited you to tag-along with me because I wanted to show you something, and I figured you'd rather look at something beautiful than wait for a grumpy old brute." Minthe snapped.

"Well then, how do you know I haven't seen it before?"

"You haven't because you're new. Now please, if you could hold your tongue for a moment longer, we're almost there."

Persephone rolled her eyes, "You're the one that spoke in the first place." She whispered under her breath to ensure that Minthe wouldn't hear.

As they walked, Persephone was able to feel a sense of brightness around her. It was an unusual sensation, almost as if a trail of warmth was tugging at her to pull her closer. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she had been in the Underworld, a cold and dark environment and was not basking under the sun outside as per usual.

"You should stop looking at your feet. Look ahead." Minthe suggested, breaking the silence once more. As annoyed as Persephone had become of her, she followed suit.

What she saw before her had surprised her immensely.

Rays of yellow and gold shone all around. It blinded Persephone at first since her eyes had become accustomed to the dark. She squinted her eyes, and without realising grabbed a hold of Minthe's cold hands so that she could be guided by her.

"Sorry, I can't see." Persephone explained, and she almost swore she heard a genuine laugh escape from Minthe's lips.

"It's all fine. C'mon this is nothing. We're not even inside yet."

Persephone kept her eyes closed as she was guided by Minthe. The farther they walked, the more pleasant she felt as the warmth began to tickle at her skin. Soon, she was able to feel the pricks of something along her ankle and calves, almost as if it was grass? Persephone was able to make out a whisper of noises distantly around her, full of laughter, such that it felt as if young children were playing.

"What is this place?" She asked softly.

Minthe giggled, "Open your eyes and see for yourself." She insisted.

Hesitantly, Persephone opened her eyes and was hit was a sudden burst of light before it slowly adjusted. What she saw was spectacular.

Her mouth hung agape as she took in her surroundings. There was grass as green as she had ever seen beneath her, tickling at her feet. Big, tall trees bearing fruit and flowers, and the sky was bright, it felt golden to her. She was able to make out souls that were hanging about around her. It was filled with a lot of young children in comparison to adults. She had never seen anything like this before, not even on Olympus. It felt like Paradise.

"What is this place?" She asked in amazement.

"The Elysian Fields," Minthe replied as she sat down with her back against the trunk of a pomegranate tree. Began to pick at the ends of her long hair, "It's where pure souls come to stay after death." She said.

"It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like this before." Persephone said as she walked towards the pomegranate tree Minthe sat under. Her eyes caught sight of the lush fruit growing in front of her. The deep color of red contrasted against the dark color of the leaves on the three. Without thinking, Persephone twisted a pomegranate loose from its branch and sat back down with Minthe.

"Oh, the pomegranates here are delicious." Minthe said as she snatched the pomegranate away from Persephone's hands, and broke it in half, causing a few of the seeds to spill out on the both of them. Minthe eyed Persephone closely as she plopped a lone seed in her mouth.

"Mmm. Here," She gestured a few seeds towards Persephone, "Try one. They are so juicy." She insisted.

Persephone pushed Minthe's hands away, "No, no I shouldn't. Lord Hades told me not to eat anything that grows in the Underworld."

"Ugh, he just said that to frighten you. That doesn't really happen."

Persephone raised her brow, "How do you know? I'm sure Lord Hades knows everything about the Underworld."

"Would I lie to you?" Minthe asked as she placed another seed in her mouth.

"I don't know. We don't know each other." Persephone said, crossing her legs.

"Okay well," Minthe pushed herself closer to Persephone, "My name is Minthe and I live here in the Underworld." She raised her brow, insisting Persephone go next.

"I'm Persephone."

"Where are you from?"

"Earth. I live with my mother in a cottage, I like to garden, and I play with the nymphs." She said.

"How did you end up down here?"

Persephone shrugged, "I fell and I ended up here."

"You're a little boring Persephone." Minthe said while shaking her head slightly, Persephone shrunk in her posture only just the slightest and her smile curled downwards, "There's not much to you." She stated.

"Well, I am young." Persephone muttered.

Minthe rolled her eyes, "Here, take one," she said gesturing to the red seed.

"I won't be able to leave."

"I told you, it's not true. C'mon, be a little daring." Minthe advised. Persephone furrowed her brows and shook her head.

"No."

"Do you really think, a fruit will keep you down here forever?"

"What if it does?"

"It won't. Be a little adventurous and eat it!" Hestitantly, Persephone picked a see out of the shell and slowly started to open her mouth. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Minthe growing impatient. Soon, she felt Minthe snatch the seed from Persephone's fingers and she placed it in her mouth herself.

"All you have to do now is chew and swallow. You're halfway done." Minthe insisted.

Persephone closed her eyes and bit down on the seed. At once the juice from the seed touched her tongue. It was sweet and tangy—the best pomegranate Persephone ever had.

"Do you feel any different?" Minthe asked.

". . . No," Persephone began to touch her arms and legs, her head, her face. She opened and closed her eyes once more. Everything felt normal, "I'm fine." She assured.

"See," Minthe smirked, "I told you," She bragged. "Have another."

Persephone shrugged her shoulders, and looked at the juicy, decadent seeds once more. If she ate one and was fine, she could eat another.

And so, she ate a few more.

The last thing Hades needed was for Persephone to be wandering around aimlessly with a nymph.

Hades knew they were both in the Elysian fields. He sighed in relief; she wouldn't be able to do anything harmful there. And if anything, Persephone would be able to enjoy herself there. She'd like it there far better than the palace.

Hades took his time getting to the field. He would allow for her to enjoy the rest of her stay here as much as she could. Perhaps then, he would be able to see her every now and again.

He saw Persephone underneath a pomegranate tree with one of my nymphs. Hades narrowed his eyes. While looking at the two of them he didn't notice anything off-putting, however he still had a right to remain suspicious.

As he headed towards the both of them, the nymph caught sight of him. Rather than looking away, she gazed at his figure and watched him approach slowly, with a sly smile tugged at her lips.

Hades narrowed his dark eyes, and cleared his throat, "Persephone."

Startled, she turned towards him slowly, "Oh, Lord Hades." She said quickly, "Err- I we were just about to leave."

"I told you to wait for me," his eyes caught sight of the broken pomegranate with half of its seeds gone. Hades furrowed his brows and looked starkly at Persephone. "Did you eat the seeds?" He asked sternly.

Persephone began to fidget with her fingers, "You see, Lord Hades I—"

"She didn't eat any seeds Lord Hades, I did." Minthe said coolly.

Hades raised his brow and looked back at Persephone, "Well?"

"She didn't, Lord Hades. Honest, besides she's talking about wanting to leave constantly."

"No I wasn't!" Persephone snapped.

"It's time to leave Persephone." Hades said calmly. He shoved his hands inside the pockets of his chemise, turned around, and began to walk.

Persephone got up slowly, gave Minthe a smile and a wave, and sprinted after Hades.

She was unaware of the large smirk spread across Minthe's face.

The silence between the two of them started to itch at Persephone. It wasn't necessarily uncomfortable however she found it to be an odd goodbye. Was he mad at her for wandering off?

"Lord Hades," She waited for a response, yet he said nothing, "Is it true that if you eat food grown from the Underworld, you won't be able to leave?"

"As I recall, I remember telling you that already." He said slowly.

"So it is true?" There a faint hint of fear in her voice.

"Yes Persephone. That's why I told you not to eat anything that grown here."

"Let's say for instance, someone did eat food from the Underworld. Would it be possible to reverse the consequence?" Persephone asked.

"I wouldn't know. Mortals don't come down here for the sake of it, souls cannot leave either."

"Oh, so it only applies to mortals, not Gods?" She questioned.

"No Persephone," he let out a low chuckle, "That's not how it works."

"Well then tell me, what happens?" She insisted.

"Persephone, I wouldn't know. It's a written rule of the Underworld. I haven't come across anyone who would be dumb enough to do it." He muttered

"It's not dumb!" She exclaimed.

"What would you call it then?" He asked with his brow raised.

"I don't know. Curiosity?" She suggested with a shrug.

"Fair enough." He gave a small smile.

"So, how exactly are we leaving? I came in through falling, I don't suppose I'd be able to jump high enough." She said joked.

"Aren't you funny." He replied sarcastically, "We're taking my chariot."

Persephone dreaded just one thing as she climbed into the Hades black chariot; she hoped for the life of her that Minthe was right. If she wouldn't be able to leave the Underworld, her mother would be furious for eternity, and Lord Hades wouldn't be too happy with her either.