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A decision made in haste... Caught up in greed and lust, just as his youngest brother was always consumed in. It was not his way to be impulsive, and yet...
She had been so beautiful in that field of flowers. A glowing, dazzling woman, bright in the sun.
He wanted her.
She was barely a woman, really more like a child compared to him. Few still existed that were older than he. Not even Zeus, ruler of the gods could boast being older than he was…
And he let his brother's foolishness compel him, and now this creature lived with him, wilting away.
He was the fool.
Persephone rose when he entered, always scared and skittish around him and where he thought this lovely creature would bring him warmth and joy, it instead filled him with cold and dread.
For so long he had wandered his crumbling halls, wishing for a companion, and now that he had her, she was...
So unhappy.
Could he blame her? He barely knew how to communicate with her, living for too long away from the rest of the gods, forgetting all but the oldest of their languages. His brothers and sisters had trouble communicating with him, finding him old and antiquated and... Odd.
Surely, this maiden found him unbearable.
But he was a fool and he sought her out, just as he had done so many days before, finding her in her rooms, sitting and weaving.
She gasped and he hesitated grimacing and she looked all the more scared.
"Please, continue your weaving," he said, gesturing to her loom, hoping he did not come off as disinterested and bored. The works she wove were quite beautiful.
He watched her for hours in silence, even if there were other things he ought to have been doing. Watching over the dead or taking care of his lands… She was so much more interesting, however, the way her cheeks were rosy, her skin sun-kissed.
She was everything he could not be, with his pale skin and dark hair.
Her hands, so nimble, so quick as she worked the cloth, weaving it into a scene that he could not decipher just yet. The weights clacked as she moved, as if in a graceful dance. It was beautiful and just added to his want of her.
The only thing she had asked for, since he brought her to this place, was a loom, and threads to weave together. It was a simple request, easily granted and she smiled as she began her work, some months ago.
All that she wove, she seemed to give to him as gifts. A vibrant forest scene woven into a tapestry, a cloak for him to wear, a colourful rug that featured a field of flowers , and a blanket with a magnificent pomegranate tree.
He was unsure what to do with most of them, but the blanket, he treasured and held close to his breast at night.
That is not something he would tell her however, even if he knew the words.
~ ~ ~
The days passed, he tried to stay away, he tried to tend to the Underworld but...
Again he found himself heading to her quarters. Rarely did she venture out. He didn't like that, didn't like that she felt she had to confine herself to this small space in the vastness of the Underworld.
Perhaps... Perhaps instead of sitting silent in her rooms, he ought to have been making more of an effort. This was an unfamiliar place to her, and he was an unfamiliar man to her...
Still, he hesitated, waiting and watching for a moment when she rested her hands, looking over her tapestry, pulling at loose threads and making everything perfect.
"Talk..." he spoke, the word difficult and rough on his throat.
"I don't understand..." She looked at him with big eyes, her voice barely above a whisper.
He tried to smile, but he was nothing to look at, his visage grim and gruesome, face gaunt and his hair bleak and black, unlike her red and shining curls. "Speak, so I might hear your words..." He needed to slow down, choose his words more carefully, rather than reverting back to the crude, ancient language he knew much more fluently. "And learn them." It was a struggle to find the words, the ones that she might recognize and understand.
"O-oh..." Rosy cheeks became rosier as she nodded her head.
He tried to smile, his fingers twisted in the thick cloak covering his knees, a cloak she had given him. "You may..." he stopped himself, swallowing hard. It was his own fault that speaking was difficult and as much as he wanted to take himself from her rooms he took a deep breath instead and forced himself to continue. "You may say anything."
His speech was disjointed, his voice gruff, but she smiled at him.
Her words were slow to flow, but he could be patient, watching as she took herself from her weaving and sat closer to him. Warmth radiated from her and he wished she was closer, but he kept to himself, drawing back just a touch.
She hesitated once more and he cursed himself, trying to smile and look appealing to ease her nerves.
"I-I don't want to offend..." started, her voice so soft, so timid.
"You will not offend me."
"Do..." Lip between her teeth, she stopped herself, looking away for a moment. "Do you enjoy the things I weave for you, husband?"
Husband...
His heart skipped a beat and he found himself staring, and she looked pensive once more. "Y-yes..." His speech was shaky and all other words escaped him for the moment.
"Is... Is there something else you should like me to make for you, husband...?" So eager to please and he just wanted to caress her smooth cheek and kiss her forehead, to feel her.
"I..." Words drifted from him and he chewed on his bottom lip, just as she did. "I wish for you to..." The burning in his throat was almost too much. Despite the pain, he pressed on. "Express yourself, freely."
"Thank you, husband!" Melodic was her laugher and it raised his spirits.
But, their moment together could not last...
Something called to him in the Underworld and he grunted as he shifted to stand. "I must take my leave of you, for now. Duties call me." It was unfortunate he had to leave, just as he asked her to speak.
Soberness came over her happy expression and she nodded. He returned her nod as he went to the door, unsure if he should stop and say something.
"Husband?"
He turned, shocked.
"I enjoy your time with me, whenever you can spare it..." head bowed, she whispered.
He smiled, before disappearing to attend to matters.
~ ~ ~
Daily, he would sit with her while she wove her magnificent works. There was much that he wanted to say, though he could not grasp just how he might say it. She spoke to him softly, and seemed to understand why he was quiet and gave less than eloquent responses.
“What… do you want?” he tried so hard not to sound gruff, but there was little use in it. Zeus, her father and Demeter, her mother, might have been Hades’ siblings, but they were nothing like him. They had grown in the sun, high in the sky, atop Mount Olympus and he… He had been given this prison, the decay and the death and…
“I don’t…” A look of what he assumed was terror came over her delicate features and Hades was filled with deep pools of regret. He wished to reach out to her, but thought better of it, withdrawing himself instead, wishing to make himself look smaller, only so that she might feel more powerful around him.
“If, hmmm…” Hades looked off, seeking a word, his thoughts fleeing from him too easily. “If it is within my vast power, I will give it to you.” The words came easier than he expected, but by the confused look on Persephone’s face, he feared his languaged had wandered down an ancient path once more. If she asked it, he would release her back to her mother, Zeus feeling slighted be damned.
“I… I want…” That hesitation once more.
Hades tried not to appear anxious, awaiting her every word, but it was difficult to calm himself when faced with the prospect of losing her. He was a fool, hasty and greedy and selfish and—
“I want a garden,” she whispered and Hades was taken aback.
He froze, unsure of what to do, what to say, his every thought had been on how to deal with the sudden loss of her and now… Now he was groaning, grunting out in pain as he fought to stand up, his body being more difficult than he rightly thought it should have been. “It… will be done.” A wave of his hand, her eyes widened and then she looked around, seeing the plants that sprung forth.
Hades was ruler of all that was the earth, and even if many, most really, of the living things required the light, there were still a curious few plants that could survive in darkness. They were beautiful, he had thought, but he was unsure of what she would think of the luminescent leaves, flowers that held an otherworldly glow to them.
“Oh…” He couldn’t be certain if her gasp was in fear or delight, but then she was running to the plants, looking them over, tending to them and she turned back, smiling at him.
Hades felt warmth bubbling up, a long forgotten sensation. A bright, soft light filled him, dulled the ache of his loneliness and for the first time since breaking from the earth in his chariot of four black horses into that field of flowers, he felt no guilt for his actions of dragging Persephone back down into the darkness with him.
“Thank you! Thank you!” she gasped out, running back to him, falling to her knees as tears stained her cheeks. Such a beautiful face should never be stained by tears, and yet, that is all he had done, it seemed. Even in this one thing, he could not make her truly happy. When she grabbed his hand, he had been too lost in his own withered thoughts to notice, and then she was pressing her soft lips to his palm, looking up at him with a smile as more tears streamed down her face.
Her touch was hot, her lips even hotter and Hades groaned, unsure of what to do, what to say, all speech fleeing him. He could only reach out, brushing away the wetness from her eyes as he smiled and tried to seem calm and civil to her.
"I... I will strive to make you happy." It was the ancient tongue that he spoke just then and he knew that she could not understand his words. He took solace in that as he held onto her, coaxing her to stand before kissing her curls of golden flame as he embraced her, for the first time since stealing her away from the surface world.
"Husband..."
~ ~ ~
"I am sorry..." he sighed. "The Underworld calls to me..." It seemed to be a phrase he said more often than any other.
"I hope to someday help you with the duties of the Underworld, my husband..." she whispered, coming to stand next to him. The plants were beautiful, her garden lush blooming and she had been showing him all she had cultivated.
"I would like to give you the Elysian Fields to tend to. It is an oasis of beauty in this land of dark and death,"
Wide were her eyes as she looked at him, though she did not look upset, just confused and waiting for him to...
Ah. The ancient tongue that only he knew fluently.
He bowed his head in apology. "Pardon my excitement..."
"Though I do not know your language, husband..." Persephone lowered her head. "I enjoy hearing you speak."
He was stunned, unsure of what to do or say, but Persephone had grown into a strong woman, in so short a time. She came up to him, grabbing his hand and standing on her toes to kiss him on the cheek.
"I shall await your next visit, my husband..." A bright, beautiful smile came over her face.
He shuddered, heart thudding, his body aching for more of her touch, but he knew he could not ask it of her.
Though, he allowed a small seed of hope to take root in his soul.
~ ~ ~
She grew bolder with him after that, and Hades found his fondness growing with each day, but oh, did this make it that much harder to keep himself away from her, to keep from soiling her with his deathly taint and darkness.
“Husband…” she whispered and Hades was taken aback, lost in his thoughts once more. Her cheeks were flushed, rosy and the colour competed with her fiery, lively hair.
“Yes…?” It was still a difficult word for him to form, even after all the months they had with one another, he still found her language difficult to swallow, a foreign taste on his tongue that took effort to process and decide if he understood it enough to like it.
“I… I am your wife…” Persephone whispered, looking as if she wished to kneel at his feet, and he so hated it when she did that. She was to be an equal, not beneath him.
“Yes… You are.” Was it a trick, a statement…? He didn’t quite understand, his brow knit in consternation, but she looked… She looked different, flushed more than usual, and yet more open to him, taking his hand and it was something he still wasn’t used to.
“I want to be your wife… Not appear as your wife.” She had grown quite bold, indeed.
Hades gasped, his fingers tightening around her own and a pulse went through his whole body. A pulse that he hoped she would not notice, for such a thing was quite indecent of him, lacking so much control.
“I… Persephone…” Her name always rolled off his tongue the easiest, the easiest word for him to work his mouth around and he, too, felt he might have been flushed, his pale skin attempting to mimic that of the living. Did she know just what it was she asked for?
Could he really stop himself from making her his wife, in every way?
“Intimate,” she whispered and he gasped, realizing that it was not her language she spoke in, but his own.
He swallowed hard, feeling his heart race and he was powerless, witless to stop her as she laughed and kept hold of his hand. Their steps echoed loudly as he was pulled along by her. All the strength and power he possessed, and yet… She overpowered him, easily.
It was to her bedchambers that she led him. Plants tangled around everything and he marveled at their beauty, at how much she was able to coax this garden into growing so deep within the earth, where no light from the sun could ever hope to reach them.
They stood at the foot of her bed, breathing heavily.
"I am your wife, now..." she whispered, looking away from him.
"Yes..." Hades whispered back, regret lingering and tugging at him as it often did, when he looked upon her. She was beautiful and her presence made him smile, but there was an undeniable guilt, at having snatched her away from the light.
"Should we not... consummate our marriage...?" Persephone looked at him then, looking so young, her cheeks rosy, her blush sneaking down to her bosom.
She was Zeus' daughter, of course she would have urges toward intimacy. Hades was not without his own urges but...
But he hesitated, fingers trembling in his lap as he fought the desire to reach out and touch her.
"Do... do you not understand consummate...?" She flushed deeper and Hades sucked in a breath, unsure of what he should do, to ease her nervousness.
"I understand the word, but I..." Words left him as he looked at her. His throat felt rough, like rusted iron as he tried to seek the language he needed, but it was difficult even when he was calm, to communicate with her.
He looked around her rooms, the bed was appealing but that would be for later, to rest with one another.
“Husband…?” she whispered, anxious, pouting.
With her delicate hand in his grasp, he smiled and tugged her toward a couch, setting himself down, with her next to him. “We shall…” he paused, still unsure of himself, but as she smiled, he felt the strength to push on. “We shall consummate this marriage.”
She looked over her shoulder, toward the bed, but then she was looking at him again and he smiled as best as he could. Long had it been since he had done this, but he kept her hand in his own.
“Husband…” she gasped out.
“Relax… Close your eyes…” He waited for her eyes to flutter shut, then took both her hands in his own. In due time, they would be able to do this without touching. For now, he just let himself enjoy the feel of her hands in his own as he closed his eyes.
Energies swirled around him, strong, vibrant and he felt them all. He hoped that she, too, could feel them.
“I-I don’t…” She sounded worried but he made a soft noise to quell her nervousness.
“Relax… Feel the energies, seek mine, and I shall seek yours…” Her energies were easy to find, so full of force and life and he latched onto them, coaxing and inviting them into his body. She gasped and he gave a wry smile, knowing that she could feel it. “There, there… Focus on that feeling.”
“H-husband!” she gasped out, fingers trembling slightly in his grip and he cooed at her, feeling that she was tugging at his energies now. It was bliss and he groaned softly.
“There… You found me,” he whispered, his body tingling, vibrating, and he could only hope that she felt as good as he did.
“Oooh!” Persephone cried out and he could feel her energies growing more wild, clashing against his in a most pleasant way. Her fingers dug into his palms and he hissed out as everything came to a sudden bursting climax.
He was gasping and she was groaning softly. They were breathing heavily together, he laying against the back of the couch, and she nestled against his chest.
It may not have lasted long, but he was smiling, letting his fingers drift up to her hair and holding her close to him. In due time, they would be able to do this without touching, without needing to be in the same room. They would be able to share their energies and feel one another out across all of the Underworld.
He smiled as she panted; he looked forward to such a day.
“H-husband…” Persephone gasped out, pulling away from his chest and looking up at him with hazy eyes. “I…” Her cheeks we flushed and she reached up to press her lips to his own. He accepted her gesture, even if it wasn’t necessary. He was quite happy that they had been able to exchange their life forces.
But she…
Persephone pulled back, biting her bottom lip. “Husband…” she pouted. “I enjoyed that, I did but… I ask that we grow more... intimate…” Her cheeks were nearly as red as her gleaming, shining hair.
He was confused, looking at her. “P-Persephone…”
Did she not find their coupling satisfying…? Had he failed her as a husband…?
“I should like to see more of you…” she whispered, her hands drifting into his robes, pulling them open before her fingers pulled at the ties of her dress. The sheer silks of her dress cascaded down her body, catching on her hips, revealing her heavy breasts to him.
“P-Persephone!” he gasped.
"C-consummate!" she cried out.
He paused. That was his ancient tongue she spoke in, but it was a word nearly foreign to even his ears. He turned his gaze to her, watching the colour rising to her cheeks. Consummate...
Surely, she misspoke...
‘I ask that we grow more... intimate…’
His eyes widened, her words tumbling around in his head.
'I should like to see more of you...'
All her whispering words, her soft looks and intense eyes. Oh... What a fool he had been!
He treated her too delicate, a creature that could not know her own mind. Oh... What a fool he had been!
A will of iron is what she possessed and he had been too churlish to notice, to understand that she, in fact, did know her own mind. Hades was so consumed with being nothing like his brother he had done as Zeus so often did: ignore his precious wife.
“Y-yes…” he choked on his words, shifting against her. “Yes, my wife. Do as pleases you.” This was not something he was very experienced in, to touch and share intimacy in this way.
Her lips were against him again, her hands through his robes as she peeled back the layers and settled herself into his lap. Bare was his chest, as was hers. Her dress was bunched at her hips, and his cock…
His cock was in her hand, hard and throbbing.
Her touch was like fire to his icy skin and he hissed. She gasped back and he had to take his claws from her hips, forcing himself to ease back, to let her have the control. "K-keep going," he forced out. She touched him again, pulling at his cock and he groaned. "More."
She made breathy, soft noises, and kept going, her hand light, moving over him easily. Is this act what drew his brother into breeding so many children?
“H-husband…” She sounded timid again and he was biting into his lip, trying to keep his claws from sinking into her supple flesh. “Hades,” she breathed out and he was bucking his hips, the sensations so new to him, but yet, he had distant memory of this, of what this felt like in his long past youth.
He would do well to refuse her, to pull himself away and wait until he could speak with her more fluently…
Hades did not, letting her into his lap as they sat on a couch. He knew what she wanted, or so, he thought.
“Intimacy,” he breathed out and her cheeks flushed. That much of his language, she could understand and that sent a jolt to his core. She, too, had been learning his language.
That thrilled him. It made him smile. It was something that they could grow from and that had him pulling Persephone closer to him. Hades kissed her with chaste lips; it was a bridge upon which they could build upon.
Sensations surged through him and he was gasping, looking up at Persephone with pleading eyes. So long it had been, since he had been touched like this, and he was no match for her hand on his overly hard cock, crying out and spilling already with jerking hips and ragged gasps.
Would she be upset at his quick spill?
“Hades, husband…” she whispered, laughing softly and as he opened his eyes. He saw only affection, not the disdain he feared would be there. “Won’t you touch me, husband, as your wife?”
“Y-yes,” he said, sucking in air, still trembling as he raised his hand, cupping one of her heavy breasts and drawing her down for a kiss.
She was more confident than he was, dominating the kiss and moving his hands where she wanted them, first to her hip, and then to the juncture of her thighs, smearing his seed onto his arm.
He gasped, breaking from the kiss. “P-Persephone…” Hades swallowed hard, searching her eyes and finding only want and warmth there.
“Please…” she gasped out, in his language again.
“Yes,” he hissed back in ancient tongue, moving her dress out of the way before letting his fingers drift through the wetness that was seeping from her. “Persephone…” he groaned her name, pulling her back for another kiss as he touched her, feeling her buck against him, her hand still on his wrist, still taking control of his movements.
“More…” Persephone whispered and Hades had to wonder just how many of his words she knew.
It brought warmth to his cheeks, a welling in his breast as he thought of how she might be able to speak to him in the language he knew best, one day. "More!" she gasped again and Hades captured her lips in a rough kiss.
"Persephone..." he groaned, pushing two fingers inside of her, hot and wet. She was slick, she was clenching around him as he moved slowly, stretching her. Their tongues swirled against one anothers and Hades quickly found himself losing dominance to her.
Persephone was as if iron, unmoveable in her desires and that had him bucking against her, pushing a third finger into her wetness, much to her delight. She quivered, she gasped, and she accepted all that he gave to her, with delight and abandon.
Though he has spilled just moments ago, his cock was not spent, hard and throbbing. Every movement of Persephone's brought him more pleasure, the desire to sink inside of her nearly overwhelming. There was no need for him to ask, not when she was moving on her own, canting her hips and pulling his fingers from her slick cunt.
"Take me, husband..." her voice was soft, airy as she looked at him with misty eyes.
"Yes... Take me, as I take you, wife," he said, voice nearly snatched away as he pulled her in for another kiss as he took his cock at the root, steadying himself for her.
There was only a moment of hesitation, as she poised herself over the head of his cock, his foreskin rolled back. They looked at one another and she seemed to be seeking his approval. Hades nodded and Persephone smiled, sinking down, taking his entire length in one delightfully shocking movement.
His cries were certainly louder than hers, echoing off the walls of her bedchamber.
"H-husband!" Persephone gasped, her hands on his broad shoulders, digging into his thick robes, the cloak she wove for him barely clinging to him as they moved against one another.
He slowed her movements, forcing her to adjust to his length and girth. Coupling like this may not have been something he was terribly familiar with, but he knew enough and he did not wish to hurt her.
She groaned, her toes curling, her hips jerking, even as he tried to get her to calm herself. She looked at him with pleading eyes, reaching up to grab his face. "Feel me, husband!"
And he did, he felt all of her, her warmth, her kindness, her energy...
Oh... She was reaching out, feeling for his energies, just as he had done earlier. Though they could learn to share their life forces without even needing to touch, this was much better. To share touch and energies.
Hades groaned, pulling her down atop him more, sliding down the couch and grinding up into her heat, over and over and over again. Delicate fingers pressed into his temples and he could only gasp, looking into Persephone’s shining eyes, watching as her irises fluttered as he thrust into her. Pleasure twisted her features, pleasure made her gasp, and pleasure made her all the more beautiful to him.
It was overwhelming and he felt a knot growing low in his gut, once more. This was much less sudden, however, and he could be thankful for that.
She clenched around him, grabbing one of his hands and pushing it between them. Unrelenting she was, as if iron and Hades licked his lips at that. A strong woman, an immovable woman.
“Touch me!” Persephone cried out, desperate, needy.
It took him a moment to understand what she wanted, but then he felt her gasping breaths against his cheek, her need conveyed to him through their connection and he knew just how she wanted to be touched.
He could feel his cock stretching her open, her wetness coating his fingers easily as he began to rub against her swollen hardness, bringing her even greater waves of pleasure that he felt as much as he heard.
Everything was a swirling mass of energy and lust and want. Persephone was gasping even as he felt her slipping, her energies starting to come to their climax once more. He wanted to bring her to that climax, to feel her quivering against him, to feel her releasing all that she had in one gratifying moment.
Sharp nails dug into his shoulder, but he endured, watching as the sensations played out over her features, the way her eyes disappeared behind thick lashes, her head falling back as she gave a shout of rapture. She shuddered, she shook, and he held her in one arm, his fingers on her clit pushing her into shuddering bliss until she was whimpering and limp.
He allowed her to rest, smiling, holding onto her as he felt her shivering, wracked with pleasure. Their connection was still there, though weak and he didn’t mind it so much, even as he lamented not being able to spill with her in the same way.
And then… She took a deep gasp, looking into his eyes.
“Make me your queen!” His words were shared with her through their connection and that was all it took.
He threw his head back, feeling himself slipping, spilling inside of her, filling her full of his seed. His hips continued to pump, Persephone’s cunt milking him of all he had left, until, she too, was left exhausted and gasping against his chest.
Somehow, he found the strength to draw her into his arms, his cock slipping free of her cunt, much to his chagrin. Persephone shuddered, but she was too boneless to fuss as he carried her over to the bed. Clothing clung to them still and Hades did what he could to arrange themselves comfortably in her bed.
"Persephone, my queen..." he whispered her title and she smiled at him, barely able to keep her eyes open. She looked so happy.
"Hades, my king..." Her voice was fading, but she spoke in his language once more and he bent down to kiss her, keeping her close to his breast as he laid with her.
It had been a decision made in haste, to steal her from that field of flowers... Persephone was a resilient woman, however, blooming even in this place of darkness, her will that of iron, and Hades found himself enamored with her all the more as she asserted herself and grew into his Iron Queen.