A New Piece of Writing
I'm writing a bit more. This time with a Hades/Persephone bent. It's going to be a series of chapters from Persephone's perspective, of her time line meeting Hades (Aidoneus). Modern AU
I'm keeping MOST of the Greek Pantheon names, but I'm changing up some of the mythological relationships and timelines. Obviously, I'm avoiding the out-and-out incest. I feel when writing within the traditional structure of Greek Mythology you can keep the lines intact - because dealing with deities is not the same as dealing with people. However, when writing Modern AU we have to adapt because incest is not cool. So in this tale, Zeus has a raging dick, Hades/Aidoneus is cast as the baby brother of Zeus's BFF Poseidon (so like a brother to Zeus but not his ACTUAL brother) and the age difference between Hades/Persephone is around 17 years. In the myths, Hades and Persephone were the eldest of their respective generations. Here, they are youngest.
When I was 7 my mother took me to New York. I wasn’t entirely sure why, until we met my father at the airport.
I had never met my father in person to this point. He wrote letters, sent pictures, and called on birthdays but I had never seen him. I suppose that might have explained my un-childlike hello and the fact that I shook his hand instead of running into the wide open embrace he offered.
It unnerved him.
Then he glared at my mother.
The visit was awkward and tense. I liked my father well enough, but he seemed to be wanting to make some sudden and immediate connection. It was very hard for him to hide his disappointment that I was not as open.
But it had only ever been mom and me. We two. Living in the middle Wyoming with nothing but wide fields and open skies. Horses, wheat, snow, and chinook winds. Our small house on a large farm - the Miller’s farm, with all sorts of animals.
Three was all wrong.
The last night we were there my father called in all of our ‘family’ for a dinner; actual family members, childhood friends of theirs who had become family, and the like. Mother was not pleased. She didn't want any part of it, and there was a huge argument about mother having abandoned everyone and never coming to visit anymore.
“They can come see us in Wyoming, if they wish.” Was her tart reply.
“There’s nothing IN Wyoming except wheat and horses, Demi.” Was father’s rejoinder.
I couldn’t understand why everyone was so curious about us. Ladies of all ages gathered around and insisted on poking and prodding me like Mr. Miller did with the cows.
“Oh Demi she’s so sweet! Just like you were!”
“There’s a little bit of 'big Z' in there too - that cherubic nose, it’s going to look so cute on her as she gets older”
“Look at that smile, pure Rhea in that one.”
The men were no better.
“Aren’t you just a cute little button!”
“What a sweet little girl, and that smile - she’s going to be a little heartbreaker Demi.”
As everyone got a little too close for comfort, mother drew me in a little more. Her arms wrapped around me and she held me tight. I had never met so many people at once, let alone having all of them take an interest in me. I was scared, mother sensed it, and I was so thankful for her protection.
“Demi! Let the girl run around and play with the other kids” Father yelled from across the room. “She’s got siblings, let her meet them.”
All eyes were on us again. I could see from their looks that they were very curious how mother would respond. She knelt down beside me and whispered in my ear, “Do you want to go play?”
I looked over and saw them all in a group. There were a couple of older girls and a boy -Athena, Apollo and Artemis- who looked friendly, but I was too young for them. Athena looked around 12, the other two around 10 or 11. There was a boy younger than me, Ares, but all night he was running around out of control and he looked mean. Another, Hermes, was about 8 or 9, and while he was nice enough he had spent the whole evening finding ways to pull on my ponytail every chance he could get. It didn’t hurt, but it was very annoying.
The oldest girl, Athena, walked over to my mother. “We’ll look after her Demi. It would give you a chance...to umm…” She looked over at my father and another lady who seemed very interested in wanting to talk to my mother. Alone.
“Thank you Athena. I appreciate it. You can relax, I mean you no harm. Your mother was before us, and made her choices very clear.” Mother replied. She bent down again and spoke with a genuine smile. “This is Athena. She is your half sister. I knew her mother when I was a little girl, and we were good friends too. You can trust her.”
Athena took my hand as I asked in wonder, “Half sister?!”
She nodded. “My mother was with our father before.”
“Did father leave you too?”
Athena looked at me funny before she shook her head. “No. We left him.”
“And where do you two live?”
“I live here in New York, with father.”
I was very confused. Athena shrugged as we made our way over to the other kids. “My mom died when I was your age. Father took me in.”
Athena made the introductions. All of these kids were my half-siblings; Ares being the only one of the group who belonged to my father and his wife. It was hard to make sense of the situation; I thought that boys and girls grew up, fell in love, got married and stayed together. That’s what Mrs. Miller said anyway…and I said as much.
“That’s how it’s supposed to happen.” Artemis replied with a sour look on her face. “But our father isn’t like other men. I’ve already decided I’m never going to get married. All boys are the same, and they aren’t worth it.”
I played with Ares and Hermes for a bit until it got too rough. Ares liked to hit when he didn’t get his own way, and Hermes played mean tricks and said very nasty things about my mother. It wasn’t Athena’s fault that I slipped out from her watch - she had to use the washroom and left Artemis and Apollo in charge. Those twins couldn’t stop bickering for longer than a minute to pay attention to anything. With Ares chanting “cry baby cry baby” after me, I ran.
Father had a rather large house with a huge backyard. It wasn’t nearly as big as our farm, but I ran for a good long time until I couldn’t hear the boys taunting me anymore. I found a spot, underneath a large tree and I started to cry.
“Why so sad little one?” The voice was very deep, and very quiet. I knew I should have been scared, because mother warned me about strangers, but all my tiny little heart wanted to do was cry.
“Ares and Hermes are making fun of me and momma, and Apollo and Artemis are too busy fighting to notice, and father and momma have been angry all week and they do nothing but fight, and I just wanna go ho-home.” I was in full cry by the end, hiccups and all. “Who-who are you? Are you going to poke me and tell me I’m pretty too?”
“I’m going to do no such thing little one.” The gentle voice said. “I won’t touch you at all. You are very pretty, but it’s easier to just say those things and be done with it, is it not?”
“I-I guess. Th-thank you for not poking me. Or pinching my cheek.”
“You’re very welcome.”
“Where are you? I can’t see you.”
“I’m on the other side of the tree.” The voice said.
I had stopped crying, and could manage to speak clearly after a bit of a sniffle. “Can I sit with you?”
There was a pause before he answered. “Alright.”
When I came around the tree I saw a man leaning back against the trunk. He had very long legs that were sticking straight out, a book across his lap, and glasses on his face. His hair was either a dark brown or black (I couldn’t tell because it was dark out), and his eyes were a funny shade of blue. Not dark blue, like sapphires, or sky blue - but almost purple.
“Who are you?” I asked plainly.
“My name is Aidoneus. But everyone calls me Aidon.”
“Are you another of my father’s kids?”
Aidon laughed. It was a rumbly and warm sound. “No! Not at all. I’m...I’m like a brother to him. I guess.”
“You guess? You either are or aren’t.”
“Very true. I forget that small children think in black and white.” There was a pause before he continued. “My older brother is Percy. Do you know who Percy is?”
“Yes. He grew up with father. Momma says they are really close friends who treat each other like brothers.”
“Good. That is exactly it. Percy is my actual brother. Poseidon is his name - but he prefers to use Percy.”
“But you don’t look as old as father and Percy do.”
“I’m not. I’m quite a bit younger. Your father has always treated me like I was his baby brother.”
“Because…” I was struggling to understand “...you’re Percy’s actual brother?”
“Yes.”
“Father makes family very confusing.”
Aidon chuckled. “Yes, he sure does.”
“Well”, I remembered my manners to reached over with my tiny hand “nice to meet you Aidon. Father’s brother who is not a brother.”
Aidon gently returned the handshake. “Please to meet you Persephone.”
I didn’t even think of it until he said it. “Hey! I never told you my name. And my name is not Persephone, it’s Cora!” But a new feeling was introduced to me. The feeling that Persephone, as a name, felt right.
The look Aidon gave me was strange. “Ah. I forgot that argument. Never thought that she’d-”
“Never thought she’d what?” I interrupted.
“I never thought that your mother would take the argument that far.”
“What argument?”
“One of my many.”
“Momma and father do fight a lot.” It saddened me then, it saddens me now.
“Yes they do. I’m sorry you have to see it.”
“Can we talk about something different?” Talking about my parents made me uncomfortable as a child. Most of my classmates had families that were together. I saw mothers and fathers with their families looking happy and loved at church, at school, and in my activities. My parents couldn’t even talk on the phone longer than ten minutes without having a fight. Still can’t.
“Absolutely little one. What would you like to talk about?”
My attention went back to the book that was on his lap. “I like books. What are you reading?”
I lost track of time under the tree with Aidon. He tried explaining his book to me, but existential philosophy isn’t something you explain easily even to the brightest of small children. He asked me about living in Wyoming, and what my favourite things were. I rambled on like any child who had the undivided attention of an adult; my riding lessons, the best places to play, the role I had in the christmas play, what 2nd grade was like, my friends and the things we did. He spoke a little bit, mainly about things he liked to eat (when the topic was food), where he lived (Louisiana) and things he did there, and what he did for a work (he didn’t - he was in law school and wasn’t done yet). Sitting there talking with him felt as easy as breathing. It wasn’t until I heard my mother that I suspected anything was wrong.
“Cora! CORA! Where are you?!!” Her voice sounded frantic.
“Cora! Cora, are you there?!” Father was with her.
“She’s here Demetria.” Aidon said as he stood up. He was very tall. Too tall almost, and my eyes grew wide as we reached down to help me up. “She’s safe.”
Mother ran and scooped me up. “Dear gods you gave me a scare child. Don’t you EVER DO THAT AGAIN!” She was relieved, but angry.
“Demi, leave the poor girl alone-” Father began, but was quickly interrupted.
“What do you know of it? You let your children run wild and-” Mother would have continued, if Aidon hadn’t cleared his voice.
“Ahem. Perhaps you could discuss this later. It’s quite late, and I’m sure it’s past Per-Cora’s bedtime.”
Mother glared at him. “She does NOT know that name. NEVER use it.”
There was a tense moment between all three adults. It would take me years to find out the root of that animosity.
“Apologies.” Aidon finally spoke. “I never intended to offend. Cora ran out here after the boys were rough-housing too much. She found the tree and I happened to be there. We’ve been having a nice little conversation.” He smiled at me and smiled back.
Mother drew me very close, and the look on her face was one of fear. “Thank you for that Aidon, but you have done quite enough. Zeus,” she turned to my father, “I wish to go back to the hotel now. Our flight leaves quite early.”
As we walked back to the house, I turned and saw that Aidon remained in the yard. I gave him a little wave, and he smiled and wave back.
I'm keeping MOST of the Greek Pantheon names, but I'm changing up some of the mythological relationships and timelines. Obviously, I'm avoiding the out-and-out incest. I feel when writing within the traditional structure of Greek Mythology you can keep the lines intact - because dealing with deities is not the same as dealing with people. However, when writing Modern AU we have to adapt because incest is not cool. So in this tale, Zeus has a raging dick, Hades/Aidoneus is cast as the baby brother of Zeus's BFF Poseidon (so like a brother to Zeus but not his ACTUAL brother) and the age difference between Hades/Persephone is around 17 years. In the myths, Hades and Persephone were the eldest of their respective generations. Here, they are youngest.
When I was 7 my mother took me to New York. I wasn’t entirely sure why, until we met my father at the airport.
I had never met my father in person to this point. He wrote letters, sent pictures, and called on birthdays but I had never seen him. I suppose that might have explained my un-childlike hello and the fact that I shook his hand instead of running into the wide open embrace he offered.
It unnerved him.
Then he glared at my mother.
The visit was awkward and tense. I liked my father well enough, but he seemed to be wanting to make some sudden and immediate connection. It was very hard for him to hide his disappointment that I was not as open.
But it had only ever been mom and me. We two. Living in the middle Wyoming with nothing but wide fields and open skies. Horses, wheat, snow, and chinook winds. Our small house on a large farm - the Miller’s farm, with all sorts of animals.
Three was all wrong.
The last night we were there my father called in all of our ‘family’ for a dinner; actual family members, childhood friends of theirs who had become family, and the like. Mother was not pleased. She didn't want any part of it, and there was a huge argument about mother having abandoned everyone and never coming to visit anymore.
“They can come see us in Wyoming, if they wish.” Was her tart reply.
“There’s nothing IN Wyoming except wheat and horses, Demi.” Was father’s rejoinder.
I couldn’t understand why everyone was so curious about us. Ladies of all ages gathered around and insisted on poking and prodding me like Mr. Miller did with the cows.
“Oh Demi she’s so sweet! Just like you were!”
“There’s a little bit of 'big Z' in there too - that cherubic nose, it’s going to look so cute on her as she gets older”
“Look at that smile, pure Rhea in that one.”
The men were no better.
“Aren’t you just a cute little button!”
“What a sweet little girl, and that smile - she’s going to be a little heartbreaker Demi.”
As everyone got a little too close for comfort, mother drew me in a little more. Her arms wrapped around me and she held me tight. I had never met so many people at once, let alone having all of them take an interest in me. I was scared, mother sensed it, and I was so thankful for her protection.
“Demi! Let the girl run around and play with the other kids” Father yelled from across the room. “She’s got siblings, let her meet them.”
All eyes were on us again. I could see from their looks that they were very curious how mother would respond. She knelt down beside me and whispered in my ear, “Do you want to go play?”
I looked over and saw them all in a group. There were a couple of older girls and a boy -Athena, Apollo and Artemis- who looked friendly, but I was too young for them. Athena looked around 12, the other two around 10 or 11. There was a boy younger than me, Ares, but all night he was running around out of control and he looked mean. Another, Hermes, was about 8 or 9, and while he was nice enough he had spent the whole evening finding ways to pull on my ponytail every chance he could get. It didn’t hurt, but it was very annoying.
The oldest girl, Athena, walked over to my mother. “We’ll look after her Demi. It would give you a chance...to umm…” She looked over at my father and another lady who seemed very interested in wanting to talk to my mother. Alone.
“Thank you Athena. I appreciate it. You can relax, I mean you no harm. Your mother was before us, and made her choices very clear.” Mother replied. She bent down again and spoke with a genuine smile. “This is Athena. She is your half sister. I knew her mother when I was a little girl, and we were good friends too. You can trust her.”
Athena took my hand as I asked in wonder, “Half sister?!”
She nodded. “My mother was with our father before.”
“Did father leave you too?”
Athena looked at me funny before she shook her head. “No. We left him.”
“And where do you two live?”
“I live here in New York, with father.”
I was very confused. Athena shrugged as we made our way over to the other kids. “My mom died when I was your age. Father took me in.”
Athena made the introductions. All of these kids were my half-siblings; Ares being the only one of the group who belonged to my father and his wife. It was hard to make sense of the situation; I thought that boys and girls grew up, fell in love, got married and stayed together. That’s what Mrs. Miller said anyway…and I said as much.
“That’s how it’s supposed to happen.” Artemis replied with a sour look on her face. “But our father isn’t like other men. I’ve already decided I’m never going to get married. All boys are the same, and they aren’t worth it.”
I played with Ares and Hermes for a bit until it got too rough. Ares liked to hit when he didn’t get his own way, and Hermes played mean tricks and said very nasty things about my mother. It wasn’t Athena’s fault that I slipped out from her watch - she had to use the washroom and left Artemis and Apollo in charge. Those twins couldn’t stop bickering for longer than a minute to pay attention to anything. With Ares chanting “cry baby cry baby” after me, I ran.
Father had a rather large house with a huge backyard. It wasn’t nearly as big as our farm, but I ran for a good long time until I couldn’t hear the boys taunting me anymore. I found a spot, underneath a large tree and I started to cry.
“Why so sad little one?” The voice was very deep, and very quiet. I knew I should have been scared, because mother warned me about strangers, but all my tiny little heart wanted to do was cry.
“Ares and Hermes are making fun of me and momma, and Apollo and Artemis are too busy fighting to notice, and father and momma have been angry all week and they do nothing but fight, and I just wanna go ho-home.” I was in full cry by the end, hiccups and all. “Who-who are you? Are you going to poke me and tell me I’m pretty too?”
“I’m going to do no such thing little one.” The gentle voice said. “I won’t touch you at all. You are very pretty, but it’s easier to just say those things and be done with it, is it not?”
“I-I guess. Th-thank you for not poking me. Or pinching my cheek.”
“You’re very welcome.”
“Where are you? I can’t see you.”
“I’m on the other side of the tree.” The voice said.
I had stopped crying, and could manage to speak clearly after a bit of a sniffle. “Can I sit with you?”
There was a pause before he answered. “Alright.”
When I came around the tree I saw a man leaning back against the trunk. He had very long legs that were sticking straight out, a book across his lap, and glasses on his face. His hair was either a dark brown or black (I couldn’t tell because it was dark out), and his eyes were a funny shade of blue. Not dark blue, like sapphires, or sky blue - but almost purple.
“Who are you?” I asked plainly.
“My name is Aidoneus. But everyone calls me Aidon.”
“Are you another of my father’s kids?”
Aidon laughed. It was a rumbly and warm sound. “No! Not at all. I’m...I’m like a brother to him. I guess.”
“You guess? You either are or aren’t.”
“Very true. I forget that small children think in black and white.” There was a pause before he continued. “My older brother is Percy. Do you know who Percy is?”
“Yes. He grew up with father. Momma says they are really close friends who treat each other like brothers.”
“Good. That is exactly it. Percy is my actual brother. Poseidon is his name - but he prefers to use Percy.”
“But you don’t look as old as father and Percy do.”
“I’m not. I’m quite a bit younger. Your father has always treated me like I was his baby brother.”
“Because…” I was struggling to understand “...you’re Percy’s actual brother?”
“Yes.”
“Father makes family very confusing.”
Aidon chuckled. “Yes, he sure does.”
“Well”, I remembered my manners to reached over with my tiny hand “nice to meet you Aidon. Father’s brother who is not a brother.”
Aidon gently returned the handshake. “Please to meet you Persephone.”
I didn’t even think of it until he said it. “Hey! I never told you my name. And my name is not Persephone, it’s Cora!” But a new feeling was introduced to me. The feeling that Persephone, as a name, felt right.
The look Aidon gave me was strange. “Ah. I forgot that argument. Never thought that she’d-”
“Never thought she’d what?” I interrupted.
“I never thought that your mother would take the argument that far.”
“What argument?”
“One of my many.”
“Momma and father do fight a lot.” It saddened me then, it saddens me now.
“Yes they do. I’m sorry you have to see it.”
“Can we talk about something different?” Talking about my parents made me uncomfortable as a child. Most of my classmates had families that were together. I saw mothers and fathers with their families looking happy and loved at church, at school, and in my activities. My parents couldn’t even talk on the phone longer than ten minutes without having a fight. Still can’t.
“Absolutely little one. What would you like to talk about?”
My attention went back to the book that was on his lap. “I like books. What are you reading?”
I lost track of time under the tree with Aidon. He tried explaining his book to me, but existential philosophy isn’t something you explain easily even to the brightest of small children. He asked me about living in Wyoming, and what my favourite things were. I rambled on like any child who had the undivided attention of an adult; my riding lessons, the best places to play, the role I had in the christmas play, what 2nd grade was like, my friends and the things we did. He spoke a little bit, mainly about things he liked to eat (when the topic was food), where he lived (Louisiana) and things he did there, and what he did for a work (he didn’t - he was in law school and wasn’t done yet). Sitting there talking with him felt as easy as breathing. It wasn’t until I heard my mother that I suspected anything was wrong.
“Cora! CORA! Where are you?!!” Her voice sounded frantic.
“Cora! Cora, are you there?!” Father was with her.
“She’s here Demetria.” Aidon said as he stood up. He was very tall. Too tall almost, and my eyes grew wide as we reached down to help me up. “She’s safe.”
Mother ran and scooped me up. “Dear gods you gave me a scare child. Don’t you EVER DO THAT AGAIN!” She was relieved, but angry.
“Demi, leave the poor girl alone-” Father began, but was quickly interrupted.
“What do you know of it? You let your children run wild and-” Mother would have continued, if Aidon hadn’t cleared his voice.
“Ahem. Perhaps you could discuss this later. It’s quite late, and I’m sure it’s past Per-Cora’s bedtime.”
Mother glared at him. “She does NOT know that name. NEVER use it.”
There was a tense moment between all three adults. It would take me years to find out the root of that animosity.
“Apologies.” Aidon finally spoke. “I never intended to offend. Cora ran out here after the boys were rough-housing too much. She found the tree and I happened to be there. We’ve been having a nice little conversation.” He smiled at me and smiled back.
Mother drew me very close, and the look on her face was one of fear. “Thank you for that Aidon, but you have done quite enough. Zeus,” she turned to my father, “I wish to go back to the hotel now. Our flight leaves quite early.”
As we walked back to the house, I turned and saw that Aidon remained in the yard. I gave him a little wave, and he smiled and wave back.