A Heart For Death

Summary: Persephone is the cold hearted queen of the underworld. That is what the other gods believe because of Zeus. Due to certain evil acts against mortals, she becomes chained to the underworld and unable to leave. After her punishment is finally laxed she's able to mingle among mortals again, and when she meets the god of spring Hades both of their worlds get turned upside down.

Author's Note #1: I'm very excited to bring you guys part three of the Oraios Greek Verse's "A Heart For Death". I really hope you guys enjoy it.

Book One: "A Heart For Death"

Part Three

For three years Persephone adamantly refused to see or speak to Zeus until he removed the curse from her completely. Zeus, however, refused to lift the curse any further until they could mend their relationship and bring Hera's strike to an end.

"Zeus, sooner or later you'll have to be the bigger man here and take that curse off for her."

The king of the gods snarled under his breath, his arms crossed tightly over his white tank top clad chest. "I do not have to be the bigger anything! She's just being so fucking spiteful and petty. She's not going to get what she wants behaving like this."

"How's it been not having sex for the past three years?" Hera asked with a lifted knowing brow.

"I went to the deepest depths of Tartarus and had a better time," he grumbled under his breath. "If I can't mend this fence this damned strike won't come to an end! How am I supposed to do that if she refuses to have anything to do with me?!"

"How about lifting the curse like she's requesting?"

"Dammit Hera, I already told you I'm not going to do that until she shows some improvement!"

"What more do you want from her?! Are you expecting her to come crawling up to you begging you to release her from hell?"

Zeus paused for a moment of thought about such a suggestion. "I won't deny that it does sound nice."

"Zeus, no! It was a rhetorical question; you're an idiot!" Hera yelled at her husband, frustrated with his attitude. Three years of strike and she still felt like she was banging her head against a brick wall with no improvement and a bigger headache. "I will never wonder if you and Poseidon are related ever again!"

"No need to get so upset. I'll just make my seven hundred thirty-eight attempt to get her to talk to me. Before I die a shriveled up husk of a man," he added dryly under his breath.

For the past three years Persephone had been leaving the underworld to visit the mortal world. To visit him. More accurately, to watch him from the shadows where he wouldn't see her. She watched him, but never spoke to him. She was determined to keep her distance from him and her walls up. She often found herself wishing he would hold her again, and tell her that her continued punishment was not her fault.

The more she watched him the more she began to care about him, which only began to break her heart because she couldn't allow herself to be with him. She felt it would be too much to ask of him and too dangerous for him. She watched as he laughed and smiled among the male and female flower nymphs he worked with, feeling a strong stab of jealousy when they pressed their palms to his chest and shoulders. Sighing quietly to herself she turned away from the heart wrenching visage and made her way back to the underworld.

Cerberus was more than happy to see her home again, giving a booming bark from all three heads as a greeting while rushing toward her. She knelt down to lift him in her arms, and no sooner did she do so that he ran past her. "Huh?" Persephone blinked a few times with some confusion to her expression. "Cerberus?"

Not far behind her was a bout of laughter that was all too familiar to her. Her heart practically stopped still as she slowly turned on her high heels. Something about seeing Hades smiling and holding Cerberus simply made her smile in earnest.

"You must be Cerberus!" Hades gave each of the three heads a few generous pets while they took turns layering his face with licks. "You know what? I thought you would actually be a lot bigger."

"Be careful," Persephone warned him. "Or he will literally grow and crush you under his butt."

Each head barked as if to agree with her. "I think I'll take it back then," Hades laughed, setting Cerberus down on the floor.

"What are you doing down here?"

"Same thing you were doing up there."

She rebelliously crossed her arms under her chest. "You have no idea what I was doing up there."

"I know you've been watching me for the past three years thinking I hadn't noticed," he smiled at her.

Her cheeks turned a bit rosy now that she'd been caught. "So you came all the way to the underworld just to watch me?"

"Well that, and maybe a little bit more," Hades admitted a little bashfully.

"Don't touch me!!" Persephone practically shrieked at him as her body jolted back a few steps, her arms crossed over her chest to hug herself, and her dark green eyes went wide in horror.

Hades's bashfulness immediately gave way to concern and worry. "N-no, I didn't mean-Persephone, it's okay! It's okay, I didn't mean it like that." His tone had turned low, soft, and calming.

"I said don't touch me!"

"It's okay, I'm not going to-"

"Persephone!" The door that led into her underworld domain burst open with a bolt of lightning ripping through it. In the midst of the blast, Zeus charged through the dust and debris, his eyes glowing white and alive with sparks, his dark blonde hair flying behind him in a curtain of static. The god came skidding to a stop between them, glaring bolts at Hades who glared daggers back at him.

"I don't care if you are Demeter's son; I will kill you for touching my sister." Zeus growled, holding a white crackling bolt at the ready.

"Now you want to act like a younger brother who cares?" Hades dared to comment before the battle ready king of the gods,

"What did you say?" Zeus practically snarled at him.

"It's not a secret to anyone that you cursed your own sister to keep her bound to the underworld. Wasn't that just so sweet of you."

"An upstart god like you would never understand! Unlike me, you would easily be replaceable."

Hades scoffed at him. "I understand that your sister is having a traumatic episode, and you're more concerned about threatening me then helping her!"

The glow from Zeus's eyes began to dim considerably and he turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. She had crouched with her knees to her chest and her back facing them. For a moment she sobbed against her knees. More and more his expression softened until he knelt down beside her.

"Perse, it's me Zeus. I'm here to protect you."

He pressed his palm to her shoulder and just as quickly she jerked away from him. "Stay away from me! I'll kill you!" She screamed at him, having fallen into a deep, dark place she couldn't bring herself back from alone.

"Persephone, snap out of it! It's me!" Zeus grabbed onto her shoulders trying to shake her back to her senses. Unable to differentiate the current moment from past moments Persephone shrieked, and the heart wrenching sound echoed in the darkness of the underworld. As the echoes began to fade, the groans and grunts of the dead began to rise. Whispering among them manifested, sending chills down the spines of all those living.

"Danger...Queen...Must protect...Kill them all..."

Author's Note #2: If you enjoyed Book One Part Three, feel free to leave a tip or pledge! It greatly helps allowing me to continue to write like this. Part Four will be up soon as well.