~ via tumblr.

yes,

∞

crocuses, irises, hyacinths.

crushed olives, gold honey, and wine.

hips, hands, shoulder blades.

distant torches and distant shouts.

running, running, running into the dark.

his warm, chapped lips skim over her pulse and in the name of every deathless god, she is hungry.

only if you wish, he says. i would never try to bind you down here.

she gazes at him. the tire in her eyes is a burnished red, like her mother's spring-damp roses. of course, she says, and pulls out her carving knife to slice the fruit open.

~ a tender riot.

∞

I've been enchanted by the idea of Hades and Persephone since ages. More so since I started reading all these beautiful poems written by amazing poets on the topic. These two gods' story has been a magical fairytale for me since years. I've always wanted to write a dark, flowery saga about Hades and Persephone, well, here it is. I'll try to work along the original storyline but I'll put my own twist to it.

Thank you for choosing to read this. I love you.

My brain has worked up a grand plan to write a trilogy on Zeus and Hera, Poseidon and Amphitrite, Hades and Persephone. I had this story fleshed out since quite a while, so I'll do this one first. The other two may come next year.

∞

This work is a mix of the original plot line and my own twist. However, I'll be using several beautiful poems on Hades and Persephone within this work. Credit goes to those poets.

Spring And Death | Eira C. Briallen

Death Season | Segovia Amil

Prayer To Persephone | Edna St. Vincent Millay

From Hades To Persephone | Lee Ann Schaffer

Persephone Speaks | Daniella Michallen

A Lie Called Rapere, A Lie Called Rex | c.ruth

Three Poems | Ron Koertge

Letter From Hades To Persephone | Clementine von Radics

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Some of you may not be very familiar with Greek mythology and background. However, I don't want your reading experience to be spoiled, and so, I'll explain the basic background here :)

For the amazing readers who followed me here from Crown Of Glass to Queen Of Death, there might be a little confusion. Mainly due to some characters in both stories having the same name. For example, Apollo, Helios and Thanatos are gods who appear in both the books, however, they are completely different people.

Apollo in COG is a sun god, but in QOD, he is one of the major gods with many talents. Thanatos in COG is the god of death himself, for there is no Hades there. In QOD, Hades is the supreme lord of the Underworld and Thanatos is merely one of his advisors or helpers. In COG, Helios the Lord of the morning, or the god who brings day into the world. But in QOD, his role is much more superior, for he is the sun god who travels over the skies every day and sees all that occurs on the earth.

COG and QOD, are, basically, set in two entirely different universes. There is no connection whatsoever between them, except for resemblance of some names.

Now, for the other readers, coming to Greek mythology, I'll try to briefly explain it without giving you spoilers. Basically, there are six gods who are siblings, who are the major ones: Zeus, god of sky, his brother Poseidon, god of the sea, and the youngest brother Hades, the god of the dead. Zeus is the King of gods, married to his sister Hera, the Queen and goddess of marriage. The other two siblings are goddesses called Hestia and Demeter.

However, Zeus is a god who sleeps around with a lot of women. As a result, he has children with his wife and sister, Hera, but also with others. One of his many affairs is with his second sister, Demeter, the goddess of growth and agriculture.

The result of their union is a very lovely maiden whose name is Persephone, the goddess of Spring. She is more radiant than the sun, and her mother, Demeter, has a strange obsession to keep her daughter safe from the eyes of men. That is why Persephone is always hidden from other gods, her mother guarding her every move. Cursed be the one who dares touch her, because Demeter would not leave them alive. The very idea of a man touching her child makes her fear for her safety.

The myth of Hades and Persephone goes by a particular theme. In short, it revolves around the fact that Hades sees Persephone in her lovely glory and decides that he wants her to himself. Zeus gives his younger brother permission to marry his daughter, but warns him that Demeter will not be happy. I won't go into further detail to avoid spoilers, but the story deals with how Demeter and Hades both want her with them.

Many versions often say that Hades raped Persephone when he abducted her, but I do not romanticize abuse, hence such events will be changed in my retelling. Other parts will be changed too, for I want to write this story differently than my other book. Bear with me, because I'm trying a new style of writing here :)

Some other gods may make appearances in the story, so I'll briefly list them here.

Aphrodite, the goddess of love and desire.

Hephaestus, the god of the forge, her husband. However, he is a cripple, and she usually resorts to other lovers in his place.

Apollo, the god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry, and more.

Artemis, Apollo's twin sister, the goddess of the hunt, the moon, and nature.

Athena, the goddess of intelligence.

Ares, the god of war, a god who has his eyes set on Persephone and tries to woo her.

Hermes, the messenger of gods. He too tries to court Persephone, and flocks to her everytime Demeter lets her out.

Hecate, a goddess who lives in a temple in the underworld. She is a sort of witch, and does magic and brews potions and other things.

I do hope that this clears up some confusion for those who may not be very familiar with Greek tales. If you'd like to suggest an addition or ask anything, feel free and I will try my best to answer without revealing much of the plot line! Hope you enjoy :)

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These were made for me by the lovely ! Thank you once again.

hades

demeter

hera

∞

This was made for me by the amazing bitteur !

Animals • Maroon 5

Born To Die • Lana Del Rey

Devil's Taken Her Man • Miss Li

Earned It • The Weeknd

Good For You • Selena Gomez

Hold Me Down • Halsey

I Don't Wanna Live Forever • ZAYN feat. Taylor Swift Not Afraid Anymore • Halsey

Lies In The Dark • Tove Lo

Sinful Nature • Bear In Heaven

Strange Love • Halsey

The Hills • The Weeknd

Undiscovered • Laura Welsh

Young And Beautiful • Lana Del Rey

Pillowtalk • ZAYN

∞

Kindly do not plagiarize this. I've had my work plagiarized before and it really hurts. Just don't.