Chapter Eight Volume Two: Shackles of Fate (II)

(A/N: Cringed a bit while writing Persephone, I tried to write her character as she is depicted in Percy Jackson before her kidnapping)

As Hades disappeared from her sight, Demeter stood up, her body visibly aching, her face covered with ichor, but this was nothing compared to the pain her daughter must feel being locked away from her mother, she thought, ignoring her pain

She took a deep breath, trying to ease her anger, *boom*, she kicked the ground full of wrath. She could not contain her blinding rage toward her three brothers.

She rushed toward a near tree and punched it, completely annihilating the innocent tree. Even after destroying it, she continued punching the air, creating gigantic wind waves, the ground was destroyed under the pressure of her strength. After a few minutes, living the earth ruined, she calmed herself.

Suddenly, she was gone from the destroyed landscape, standing before golden gates that glowed like the sun. On the sides stood two stone statues representing Zeus with his sparkling, thundery eyes looking down on the mortal world.

She took a step, and the gates were opened without the interference of anyone. As she took a walk through the white corridors with the blue lightning marks of Olympus, her anger grew even bigger as she clearly viewed all the details in the temple. It all showed Zeus's narcissism.

Crossing many luxurious rooms, she found herself in front of a thick silver door with Δόξα στον Όλυμπο, meaning glory to Olympus, engraved in it. She placed her hand on the door boom, under the pressure of her divine aura. It exploded.

Step her steps echoed throughout Olympus. Zeus, from his high throne, looked at her. He smiled before saying, “Sister, welcome!”.

The strength with which she gripped her hands turned her knuckles white. She took another step, but the impact was so strong the floor cracked. She looked at him in the eyes, her gaze full of hatred. “What have you done to my daughter?!” The sound of the mother's scream was so powerful that it made sonic waves sweep the high mountain and rumble down the hillside.

“Your daughter?” he asked, feigning ignorance. His divinity of justice erupted from his body, making him look like a “nice” person.

This, however, did not work on Demeter. She knew all about Zeus and his cruelty. She herself suffered from it. “DO. NOT. LIE. TO. ME!” Her roar made the whole Olympus shake. The more time passed, the more monstrous plants grew from the ground.

Zeus looked at her angrily because of the tone she had used. "You dare?!” he shouted, lightning bolts flickered on his body.

The goddess of harvest’s gaze didn’t waver, but her wrath became so suffocating that the Greek mortals felt their doom coming.

Minutes passed, and the tension rose to unimaginable heights. None dared to come in between them. Lightning bolts thundered in the starry sky, thousands of deadly poisonous leaves surrounded the mountain, and the seasons passed extremely quickly.

The absence of Hestia could be felt. She would normally have calmed both of them. A fight that would ravage the world was nigh.

This was, however, stopped by golden strings that attached themselves to Zeus and Demeter and manipulated them like marionettes.

Seeing his sister's angry face, Zeus sighed. He took a deep breath and sat on his throne before asking his sister to sit on hers. Several seconds later, she also sat down, but with enough grip to damage a bit her divine throne

“Fine,” said the god of the sky before continuing. “Dionysus has your daughter”.

“I’m going to kill him” screamed the mother, her eyes full of madness and her thought fleeing to endless possibilities of torture.   

“Wait!” “Don’t you think they make a great couple, Dionysus is powerful, handsome, and my son.” Seeing that this did not appease the goddess he continued “Beside Persephone is a goddess of harvest while he is the god of grape harvest.”

This still did not calm Demeter, so that she doesn’t just provoke a war with his son, Zeus called “Hermes!”, a silver-haired teen with small white wings on his foot and ears arrived.

He bowed a bit before asking, “Yes, Lord Zeus?”, “Bring Persephone back to her mother. She is with Dionysus.” Responded the god-king,

“As you wish,” said the ‘young’ god before disappearing in a blur. In an instant, he found himself in front of a large temple, surrounded by the sound of music and unrhythmic voices. Outside of the temple were also people making the devil’s tango while others consumed litters of alcohol.

He stepped into the crowded fest and his hands found themselves in the ‘pockets’ of many of the participants. He wasn’t the god of thieves for no reason. Hermes then quickly found his way to a magnificent chamber.

In the middle of the bedroom was a gigantic purple bed with two people lying on it. In their hand was a wine glass. They both seemed drunk and laughing.

*Hum hum* Hermes stared at them impassively, the two people's gaze turning to him. “What is it, Hermes?” demanded Dionysus, his eyes glowing red with tints of madness.

“I have been ordered to return Persephone to her mother by Zeus.” Declared the god of thieves, Persephone’s face quickly became sad, “Mother wouldn’t understand” she incoherently cried while she started hugging the god of ecstasy.

“Unfortunately for you, this is not my problem. I have orders and I am here to follow them.” Responded the god of roads. This angered Dionysus. Vines grew from the ground and tried to strangle Hermes, who took a step and suddenly appeared near them.

Hermes simply looked at him and said, “if you want to protest, then go talk to Demeter and Zeus in Olympus”. Persephone became fearful but unaware of this, the god of wine nodded.

The three of them teleported to the throne room on the highest mountain in Greece. Seeing her lovely daughter, Demeter rushed at her and hugged her with monstrous strength. When she saw Dionysus behind her daughter, her gaze became wrathful, and she ‘protected’ her daughter.

“YOU!” she screamed before Persephone cried “No, please don’t”.  

“What??” inquired the mother . "He didn't kidnap me; I agreed to go with him." She sobbed.

“We love each other,” she continued…

Demeter didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want her daughter to be with someone else than her. Nevertheless, she was also aware of the fact that if she refused, Persephone would distance herself from her. Her eyes lost their color for a moment, the silence was tense before she asked with a quiet voice “Do you really?”