The Sons of Hades

"O Mother, look! The fields seem so scorched and sad," a young girl groaned, her face was marred with distress. "They need more tending and growing. Please allow me, mother. I promise I will be quick."

The older woman sitting behind her sighed softly. She leaned forward and whispered into a small delicate ear.

"My sweet child, not today," she said, her hands were still busy braiding the girl's beautiful golden lock. "You will tend to your fields after our return."

The woman, whose blonde head was crowned with chaplets of corn, was Demeter - goddess of the cornfield, mistress of planting and harvesting, and lady of the fertile earth. With only a clap of her hands, the grapes sprung forth along the low lines of the arbor and the wheat ripened like a golden carpet. She was adored by the people of Greece. They would bow and pray, "O, Demeter, Mother of fertility, bless us with a bountiful harvest this year." They would bow and toss flowers at the feet of her statue. In her temples, sacred groves were offered on the altar.

The lovely girl on her lap was Persephone - the maiden of the beautiful ankles. Demeter loved this daughter above all things. Persephone was raised amongst flowers and looked like a flower herself. Her body was as lithe as a stem, her skin as soft as petals, and she had pansy bright green eyes. The young maiden took charge of flowers for her mother. She was adept at making up new kinds and naming them.

Persephone was growing up fast and free, always running beneath the sunshine and azure skies. Her glowing beauty was so ravishing that it attracted all sorts of gentle creatures wherever she went. She loved cavorting with rabbits, fawns, and other animals from the grotto of her favorite cousin Pan, god of the wild. Now the girl was on the verge of womanhood, being pampered even more so by the Barley-Mother herself.

The two goddesses were resting under a fragrant green bower while listening to the hum of praises and prayers from mortals through the vines. Then Demeter reached her hand over and plucked a newly-formed bud on the ground. The bud quickly blossomed into a beautiful white flower -a narcissus. Its golden pollens emitted a pleasant fragrance. Everything her mother touched came alive and beautiful. Persephone was in constant awe of her.

"Mother, you must teach me that!" Persephone exclaimed. Demeter smiled kindly as she placed the flower in her daughter's silken hair, which she had done braiding and oiling. Normally, this was the task of the Seirenes, the nymphs who had been Persephone's handmaidens since childhood. But this day was a special occasion. The earth goddess turned her child around and admired that sweet innocent beauty she saw. Demeter smiled fondly at her beloved daughter.

"In due time, my dear girl," Demeter said, "Now, we must not keep the other gods waiting."

Persephone nodded, though she had been dreading this meeting for quite some time. The young goddess mostly wanted to be left alone with her flowers. She would rather wander about with her mother's wood nymphs or play with the pups of wild wolves. She could stay in their perfect gardens, among the trees in the Immortal Forest -their home -and let the earth cradle her as its own child.

But not today.

They were readying themselves to meet the other Olympians. It was her first time entering the Pantheon of the Gods. Demeter shall present her to the King of Heaven - her father.

Zeus, the youngest son of the Titan Cronos and Rhea, was her sire. He was the King of Gods. The other gods in the Pantheon were also his children. Together, the twelve chief gods, including Demeter, had reigned for some three thousand years now.

The young goddess had never seen the Sky Lord in person, let alone the rest. She had heard tales of the king through the gossiping birds. Zeus would come down to earth in pursuit of wood nymphs. Hera couldn't provide him with pleasure, or that she simply loathed his ego too much to even care. Once or twice, Persephone even chanced upon a nymph who had just narrowly escaped his lust in her mother's wood. The incidence left her running into the arms of her mother, trembling with a kind of fear she had never known. Now the thought of going to his palace awoke deep anxiety within her heart.

Her mother, the tall green-clad goddess, rose from the bower and gazed at the brilliant blue sky.

"It's time to go, Persephone," she said. Persephone was dressed in her most beautiful white tunic. She wore a gold circlet gleaming in her hair and a woven gold belt around her dainty waist. There were also bracelets around her lovely ankles.

"I am afraid, mother," the girl spoke at last. Her hands fumbled over the edge of her flowing silk as she shifted her feet in nervousness. Demeter turned to her daughter and cupped her soft rosy cheeks in her hands.

"Don't be afraid," she said gently, "Olympus is our home, too."

"But I don't know anyone," Persephone said.

"They are your kith and kins. You shall meet them and they shall welcome you as a true Olympian," her mother replied and then embraced her. The young goddess felt the golden warmth, smelled the green, earthy scent, and she was somehow able to calm her anxious mind.

"Come now, sweet child."

They walked to the field together. The Seirenes awaited them beside a light wicker chariot drawn by a swift pair of winged serpents called drakones. Demeter ordered the nymphs to look after the forest during their absence.

"Do not let any mortal wander in," she said to them. "If I catch you trysting with one of the demigods, I will turn you into slugs."

The nymphs lowered their heads in respect. Demeter and Persephone mounted their chariot. After a sharp sound of the flicking rein, the drakones snarled and flapped their mighty wings, then sped through the field. They flew skyward, soaring above the clouds and heading towards the snow-peaks of Mount Olympus.

The clouds opened up and swallowed them.

The earth goddess steered their chariot towards the gigantic golden door.

When they landed on the grand causeway, Demeter put an encouraging hand on the small of Persephone's back, coaxing her out of the chariot. Then she guided her daughter through the courtyard. When minor gods, celestial nymphs, and satyrs who lingered around the gardens saw Demeter and her gallant daughter, they came over, bowing and welcoming them to the palace.

The majestic buildings were so contrasted to what Persephone was used to. Marble columns rose high and disappeared into the clouds. The unending space of countless constellations was the ever-changing ceiling above them.

There was noisy chattering inside. She could tell the gods were drinking nectar and feasting on ambrosia, laughing uproariously amongst themselves. Their powerful voices blended in with the songs and lyre music. It felt so particularly strange to think that they were her family. She willed her hands to stop trembling and raised her head high as befitting the daughter of an elder goddess.

Then a disembodied voice of a herald proclaimed so loudly, piercing through every ear.

"Here come Goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone!"

Once inside the court, she saw the chief gods sitting on their throne. All pairs of jewel-like eyes gleamed at her mother and her. Persephone looked back in awe at those perfect golden faces and she felt as if she was shrinking smaller from embarrassment. Then they began to gather around the two goddesses, greeting them with warm words.

"Demeter, my dear sister, welcome back home!" one of the goddesses spoke. Her mother bowed to her. Persephone recognized the kind-looking woman as Hestia, the oldest sister of the Olympians. She was dressed in a simple dress and her throne was a plain wooden throne with a white woolen cushion.

Although there were twelve gods, Persephone could only see eleven thrones in the room.

Zeus rose from his seat and came towards her. His smile was dazzling and kind. His eyes were the color of the sky. He took her delicate hand in his and kissed it. Persephone greeted her father back with a bow.

"Daughter," he said, "you are as lovely as your mother had informed me. Come meet your family."

He introduced her first to his queen, Hera, who acknowledged her with a soft grunt. Her uncle, Poseidon, the sea god, also took her hand and kissed it.

"You're even lovelier than your mother, dear child," he complimented her. Demeter gave him a sharp look, and he retreated into silence again.

Her father introduced her to Athena, the armor-clad goddess. She had piercing dark eyes, a helmet on her head, an attire with an aegis, and an extremely long spear. Her crystal shield also had the head of the Gorgon on it. Persephone had never seen this goddess before. She now realized how insignificant she was compared to her half-sister. Athena looked at her with a soft gleam in her eyes though she said nothing.