Persephone dreams and her heart aches in her slumber. She dreams of sunshine and bright skies, flowers rising up to meet her, of a world blooming at her feet.

She dreams of darkness, of the smell of ash and bone, of quiet halls and heavy whispers of the dead.

~

A girl wakes up in the middle of the night, confused and sad and longing for something she doesn't understand. She turns to look at the man sleeping next to her, touching his shoulder to maybe wake him.

"It's okay," he mumbles, opening one eye then the other, "It's going to be easier in the morning.

~

Yes, Hades abandoned the underworld, abandoned his kingdom and his life and his responsibilities. He hates it, all the chaos and loudness and vibrancy of everything outside the Underworld.

But Persephone never came home, lost in the world with no idea who she is or any idea of how to find her way back.

~

It's years later when she finds herself again, not the young human woman with the ghosts of memories that haunt her and a sweet but odd boyfriend. She finds herself to be a goddess, a queen, and someone who once again tried to be caged.

"Come," she says, looking to Hades with a smile nothing short of sunshine, "I think it's time to show some people how I've earned my name."