Seven

Of fair skin, with shimmering hair cascading about her shoulders, the Iron Queen turns her head about. She shows no mercy. It is her duty to carry out the curses placed upon mortal men for their sins.

Tall, imposing and dark, he places his arm around his queen’s waist and they survey their dwellings. He is not as he seems, he does not desire to tip the scales in his favour. Balance is his priority, he will take the dead. Zeus can take the living for all he cares. The dead live in his abode anyway.

“Pomegranate, darling?” He whispers into Persephone’s ear and she frowns slightly. They stain her fingers much like the blood of the sinners stains her silk robes.

“I will stay without the fruit. You have seen to that,” she replies, knowing that in the realm of the living, the frost has set in and the plants wither without her.

The recently deceased sail across the river Archeron, they pull the coin out from under their tongue and pay Charon. “Welcome to the Underworld!” Charon booms joyfully, and the dead look upon him disbelievingly. “This place isn’t as gloomy as it looks!” He grins to himself as he navigates the boat along the river. “A couple of millennia here and you notice the beauty of the place,” he explains to the still unhappy dead. “After all, what is time to dead people?”

“What is time to dead people, indeed,” Hades mutters to his consort. Time is never ending for the Gods as well. He will remain here for eternity. He envies his wife, she leaves at the first possible opportunity. She hates it here. The Iron Queen is corroded by the dank, dampness of hell but she is duty bound and stays here for as long as she must. She completes her tasks with ruthless efficiency and sleeps in their loveless bed.

And wakes. And sleeps. And wakes.

When it is cold in the world of the living, Hades feels the warmth that Persephone is meant to spread. He feels it when he wakes up every morning and finds her laying next to him.

And wakes. And sleeps. And wakes.

And leaves.

When she takes her warmth to the Earth above, Hades wishes that some of it would seep into the Underworld, just so he could have a part of her with him.

He wakes. Their bed is truly loveless when she is absent.

This entry was written on June 25, 2007 by Charlotte Crown. It is about/includes mentions of love. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.