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It had been her idea. Which, in hindsight, was a little strange - she couldn’t quite tell what had possessed her to suggest that particular activity to her husband. Still, she could see the logic behind the Persephone she’d been an hour ago. Back then, she hadn’t really believed Zagreus would make it anywhere near Elysium. She’d thought they’d simply watch the kings and mighty Shades clash, reliving their faded glory in the name of honor.
But the Fates, it seemed, had other plans.
She noticed Hades stiffen when the gates opened to reveal the newest challenger. Their very own son. Zagreus.
“Persephone,” Hades began, his tone edged with unease. “A few more runs, and I would have the boy fighting before my very eyes.”
Persephone wrinkled her nose in defeat. “I honestly thought we’d get a little… distraction from the work at the House.” She reached out, taking his hand between both of hers and resting it on her knees, her thumbs tracing gentle circles against his palm. “We can leave, if you’d rather not watch.”
“Nonsense.” His fingers closed around her smaller hands. “The boy would be disappointed if we fled before his grand triumph. Or his complete failure. Both are equally possible with him.” A faint, amused exhale. “Not many boons on him tonight. The Olympians seem to have grown bored of him now that Melinoë is around, and actually capable of doing their bidding on the surface.”
The little small talk between Theseus and Zagreus came to an end.
Persephone hummed softly in agreement. “I’m glad to see him back at his runs so soon,” she admitted. “I was starting to worry… with everything still so chaotic, for lack of a better word. Zagreus seemed very preoccupied with Melinoë and her move to the House. He seems… a lot more like himself again.”
“You mean utterly insolent and reckless? Yes, definitely,” the Lord of the Underworld muttered under his nose.
“Aw, stop it.” She stopped herself, her breath caught in her throat as Zagreus tried dodging Asterius’s charge. After the trick had a positive outcome, the Queen sighed.
She leaned in, brushing her shoulder lightly against his. “He reminds me of you.”
The look of shock and horror on her husband's face was almost too comical, but she managed not to laugh right in his face.
“And when exactly have I behaved even remotely like this spawn of ours, pray tell?”
“Well…” She chuckled, eyes glinting. “I wouldn’t know firsthand. But my mother always said as much about the two of you, that looking at Zagreus was like seeing you a couple of millennia younger.”
“Impossible. I think our dear old Lady Demeter has a problem with her memory. Perhaps she might’ve thought of Poseidon in my stead. That rascal was always too sure of himself.”
“Sure,” Persephone sang, savouring the rare moment of having the upper hand in their conversation, much like their son did now in the arena. She leaned a little closer to her Lord Husband, resting her temple against his arm, indulging in the closeness they’d been denied for so long.
For her, the time spent in Chronos’s prison had felt like the blink of an eye. For Hades, however… no one truly knew what it had been like. And he still refused to speak of it. Not that she would ever force him. Still, she had told him once, gently, that perhaps sharing it might ease the weight he carried, even if only a little.
“I do believe our son will, in fact, vanquish the King of Athens,” Persephone said at last, watching as Theseus remained the lone figure still standing on the battlefield.
“I do believe he will not,” Hades countered with a low grunt, shifting his weight so that he leaned back, giving her an easier place to rest her head against him. “Keep in mind, Theseus has yet to call upon Olympus.”
“And Zagreus has yet to use his Death Defiance, dear.”
“Which he ought to save for later,” he replied dryly, “or he may not prevail against me.”
“Hm.” She hummed, unconvinced. “If you say so. Though perhaps you might consider letting him go this time. He still has to water my garden.”
Hades let out a low rumble that might have been a laugh, or perhaps just the Underworld itself stirring at his amusement. “Ah, of course. How could I neglect my queen’s sacred vines?”
Persephone tilted her head to glance up at him, her smile blooming like the first green after winter. “You would do well not to.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” he said, though his tone carried the faintest smirk. Below them, the roar of the crowd swelled as Zagreus landed another strike. Hades used that moment to pour them some more Ambrosia.
“Perhaps I should just ask Melinoë to do it for my sake,” Persephone mused, a spark of mischief in her voice. “It would give the girl something to do while we all… settle into this new reality.”
“Our daughter has been rather restless of late,” Hades admitted, lifting his goblet and taking a slow sip.
“See, Hades?” she said brightly, eyes gleaming with triumph. “I knew you’d let her try doing runs with Zagreus!”
The Ambrosia nearly went the wrong way. He coughed, setting the cup down with a sharp clink. “A-absolutely not!”
Persephone couldn’t help the laugh that slipped past her lips. A sound that rang through the chamber like sunlight breaking over marble. “Oh, come now, dearest. You can’t keep her in the House forever.”
“And yet,” he muttered, straightening with a glare that failed to hide his fluster, “I fully intend to try.”
“Hades-”
“The girl can hold her own,” he interrupted, his tone firm but not unkind. “Only a fool would underestimate her. Hecate has trained her well enough. However, it is now crucial that she learn the ways of the House: its rules, its structure, the processes that sustain it. Should something happen again, curse those blasted gods, at least one of our children must be able to manage the chaos.”
“Oh, and it can’t be Zagreus, our firstborn son, because…?”
“Because, dear,” he began dryly, “we both know what sort of relationship the boy maintains with staying in one place for a longer ti-”
“Lord Ares! Grant me your strength!” Theseus’s voice thundered from below, and the arena erupted as crimson rings flared into being.
“There he goes,” Persephone murmured, her lips curling into a proud smile as her eyes followed the crimson glow.
“We shall return to this subject later,” Hades declared at last, turning his full attention to the match below.
“We most definitely will,” Persephone replied, her gaze drifting upward as if she could glimpse his expression behind that imposing beard.
The battle ended in triumph, though Zagreus’s crimson blood streaked across his skin like war paint. He stood tall, basking in the thunderous roar of the arena.
“Thank you, good Shade!” he called out, bowing toward one of his cheering admirers. The crowd only grew louder.
“I must go,” Hades said, rising from his seat. “The boy must be met with some authority in this realm.”
“Yes, I should return to the House and-”
The words froze on her tongue as a sudden crash split the air. Everything went still. Dust and shards of marble rained down from above. And then, from the ceiling itself, someone fell.
A collective gasp rippled through the arena as a streak of orange lightning struck the ground, leaving behind a small figure amidst the smoke and dust.
“Well,” Zagreus blinked, lowering his weapon. “This is awkward. Melinoë, what are you doing here?”
“Erm, hello, Zagreus!” his sister replied, brushing ash from her shoulders, her grin both sheepish and defiant.
Hades slowly sat back down, eyebrows meeting in a deep frown. “How in the-”
“Last I recall,” Melinoë began, scratching the back of her neck, “I’d picked up some sort of… burning parchment from Charon’s shop…”
Persephone and Hades exchanged a look of pure disbelief before exhaling in unison. “Infernal Contract,” they said together.
“I… can’t exactly say I read all the fine print, I mean, there seemed an awful lot…”
“You know, dear…” Hades muttered, rubbing his forehead. “Mayhaps it is time to rethink our heir solutions.”
“Yes, most certainly…” Persephone murmured, her eyes fixed on their daughter below, still half in disbelief. “Should we intervene? Break the contract?”
“No.” Hades exhaled heavily, the sound somewhere between weariness and reluctant amusement. “Let them spar.”
“Are you certain? Putting our children against each other seems rather-”
“Completely acceptable,” he interrupted smoothly, not bothered after a moment of thought. “It’s part of being siblings. I fought with mine all the time.”
Persephone arched a brow, her lips twitching. “Yes, and look how that ended for you.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters to continue this dispute and prove, Persephone? Thought as much,” he added with arrogance after he was met with silence and an upset wife.
“Meet Princess of the Underworld, everyone!”
They sank deeper into their seats, the clash below drawing their attention again. Dust rose around the siblings as they circled each other, weapons drawn, determination in their eyes.
Persephone’s lips curled in something between a smile and a sigh. “They really are relentless.”
Hades gave a low chuckle, his eyes narrowing as he watched Zagreus launch forward.
She glanced at him, brows knitting. “And yet, I’m not sure they’ll learn anything useful before they tear each other apart.”
“Oh, don’t be absurd,” Hades replied with a smirk. “They aren’t even in their prime.”
“So,” Persephone murmured, a teasing note in her voice, “should we treat it as a morale boost?”
“Most definitely. As long as they’re not fighting in my House.”
Mellie barely managed to swing her axe before Zagreus’s Death Defiance activated, leaving him with only a fragment of the usual life boost he relied upon. The difference in their conditions was striking. Where the daughter of Hades moved with grace and barely broke a sweat, Zagreus, spent of tricks and breath, struggled to remain upright on his flaming feet.
“So he was affected by the flow of time,” Persephone murmured, her eyes narrowing as she studied him.
“Unlikely,” Hades replied softly. “It’s more the fact he’s unfamiliar with Melinoë’s fighting style. He does not meet users of magick everyday-or-night. He fights by patterns, and he has yet to learn those of his sister.”
Finally, a particular move from the Princess caught the Prince off guard, and he just managed to yelp as the blade struck right in his chest, staying there. Zagreus fell down just like his sister earlier, but without the perfect landing she had managed to pull. Another vivid reaction from the public as the blonde ran to her brother and fell to her knees right next to him.
“Hah, at least, I can return to the House for now,” Hades commented with a chuckle.
Persephone didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm as she stared daggers at his indifference about their son’s fate.
“Zagreus, are you alright?”
The siblings exchanged some whispers before Zag called louder: “I went easy on my little sister! Now, if you excuse me, I, erm, lost a little blood…” he trailed off as the Styx took him.
“Foolish boy,” Hades summarised and stood up. He took Persephone’s hand and got ready to leave, but in the last second, his gaze met with his daughter’s. “We shall speak at home,” he called for her down below and watched with hidden amusement as the girl grew even paler and teleported away momentarly.