Stephen
Hades and Persephone's bed chambers embody the union of darkness and light, blending the ethereal beauty of the goddess with the somber majesty of the god of the Underworld. Carved from obsidian and adorned with precious jewels that gleam with a faint, otherworldly luminescence, the chambers are a testament to the divine love that binds the king and queen of the Underworld. The bed itself is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, draped in sumptuous fabrics woven from the shadows of the night and the hues of springtime blooms, symbolizing the union of Hades' realm with Persephone's realm of life and renewal. Above the bed, a canopy of interwoven branches and blossoms creates a celestial bower, casting dappled shadows across the room like patterns of moonlight filtering through a forest canopy. The walls are adorned with tapestries depicting scenes from their timeless love story, while flickering torches cast a warm, flickering glow that bathes the chamber in a soft, inviting light. Here, amidst the embrace of darkness and light, Hades and Persephone find solace in each other's arms, their love a beacon of hope and renewal in the shadowy depths of the Underworld.
Paul
Persephone's steps echoed through the hallowed halls of the Underworld as she made her way to the shared rooms. Dark vines followed in darkness beneath her steps, the muted play of shadows creating an otherworldy tapestry around their queen. In the realm of perpetual twilight, where echoes of the departed lingered, she sought a respite from the weight of her responsibilities. She sought a place she had long since claimed solace within, with the man she had claimed a quiet peaceful life with, over the gilded cage and watchful eye of Demeter. To everyone else within the presence of their king, Hades was a stern presence of unrelenting authority. To Persephone, she found a man willing to soften within her arms, and together they had found a vulnerability that was both returned and welcomed. 

She had shared in his burdens of ruling, insisted on taking the weight upon his shoulders and delegating. Stubbornly, she continued to teach the man surrounded by end that life could also be held of importance within his realm of death. It was that man that came within her sights upon the balcony, the balcony that held her most rare forms of floral she had carefully cultivated to grow within his shadows. To grow within their private space, so that he could be reminded of her when he cast his gaze upon his realm and she returned to the mortals for spring. Her feet moved with an ease that Persephone held nowhere else, her arms wrapping behind him as her head lay to rest against his warmth. 

"I was wondering where you had managed to escape to. I admit I thought I would catch you within the deep end of your work once more." 

Her hands laid to rest on the place where his chest rose and fell, where his life force thudded beneath her hands and reminded her of the truth many seemed to conveniently forget. Hades, too, was a god of warmth, of responsibility, and of a realm he fiercely cast his protection over. Her other hand moving to intertwine with his own, a current of connection

Flowing through her at his slightest touch. Transcending the eons they had spent presiding over the Underworld, their unspoken bond one that had been told amongst the people for longer than her mind could care to remember. 

"I spoke to Charon today. The ferry and docks are overwhelmed, Hades, my love. I know you wish to keep us safe down here, uninvolved with the mass extinction of Olympian your brothers are supplying... But for how long must we remain silent to this?" 

She knew the topic she approached with gentle tone was one that teetered on the edge of their bond. A recent form of argument between a man who wished to protect the only realm he had ever known, and the woman who was forever torn between his kingdom and the life she had once been loyal to. 
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Stephen
*There was little to be concealed within the sanctuary of his chambers, an enclosed space that whilst exterior walls forged of obsidian refused entry of any circumstance, a foreboding architecture of gothic and macabre nature that somehow locked fingers with regality stood proud. The hallways themselves having a chill, a soft murmuring that beckons lesser minds to succumb to their temptations only to be dragged into the clutches of the various protectors. No. It was within this confined albeit large abode that Hades wasn't Kind of the Underworld but Husband of Persephone. It was on the exterior balcony that his blackened overcoat of gothic design, intertwining itself throughout a half undone black buttoned shirt that revealed slight bits of the collarbone came the man. He watched.*

*Each morsel of this ashen landscape veiled within shadow that served as both hellish torment for the putrid filth of above and the delighted gift for those who earned it truly, his Kingdom. The Kingdom that was soon to be under pressure from the overwhelming war that constantly threatened to break out from above, did both brothers have to act like children? Could they not be content in making their own little forts and being Kings themselves? The thought caused a soft chuckle to part soft lips into an otherwise aerie eve.*

*Then did his thoughts fracture as his warmth came to slide behind him, each digit caressing and kneading into flesh, a left hand rising to meet one of her own in an interlock of intimacy. That thud of his heart increasing ever so slightly, a flush of heat that tainted skin into a groan of contentment. Persephone. The free hand came to move of its own accord, playfully moving to drag her around his form, letting the small of her back feel the obsidian railing as his heated lips screamed desperation as they interlocked with her own. Only when it broke, reluctantly did a hand move to caress her cheek.*
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"My beloved spring, I'm a little hurt you'd think I would be buried in my work when I could be granting the most precious thing of all to me attention. You. Every rose needs nurturing, though I do have a fondness for the thorns." *He claimed softly, a smirk playfully tugging at his lips only to finally respond to the statement about Charon.* "He will do his duty. Our silence isn't out of protection my beloved but of acknowledgement." *Then did his eyes trail beyond her a bit out to the vast intricacy of the Underworld.* "Should the Underworld march upon my whim then the realm of the living would be scarred, Morpheus and Hecate alone could bring about an endless sleep and horror should they place their strength into it, cascading like a brides veil upon it all. You. Darling. Could bring about endless unluck, tragedy and strife as crops go into ruination."

*A deep inhale followed before an exhale, as if to gather his thoughts.*

"It is best if the Mortals suffer at the hands of natural disasters, for that to them is conceivable. War, plague, storms, sea. These are all easily accepted by their small minds and allows their very society to keep functioning."
Paul
A soft giggle, melodic and full of life, escaped his queen as she folded back into his warmth. Her back resting against the steadfast reassurance of obsidian while his lips claimed her own. A kiss, his kiss, a fleeting dance within a symphony of desire that echoed through the silent corridors of eternity. It had never been enough for Persephone, nor would it, the way this king of the cold, the lifeless beneath the realm of the living, warmed her to the very tips of her toes with a love that went beyond sense and surpassed the boundaries of realms. 

His touch, both commanding and tender, brought her back to his gaze. His smirk met with her own in these rare moments they shared. Where the life of every undead was no longer their responsibility and they were simply... Them. Two beings who fell into bliss, and wished to remain undisturbed within it. "My thorns are simply nature's way of keeping you on your toes. We wouldn't want the King to become complacent upon his throne. A touch of mischief and whimsy does you some good, my heart." Her finger reached up in this, a playful tap against the tip of his nose before she brushed another delicate kiss against his jaw. 
_ _

So quickly did her feelings turn somber at his words, sobering thoughts of the realities he faced. He was doing what he sought was the best answer in all of this, and perhaps it was. Persephone feeling the pang of guilt from the truths she kept hidden. " I know." Her whisper was full of melancholy, a breathy surrender against his neck. "I just..." She was at a loss for words. What was one to argue against such logic? Hades was right in this, the underworld was made to be a terrifying depth of power and uncertainty. It was made for the morality of man, demigods, and gods alike, to think every action through before taking part in chaos and ruin. 

"I could also bring healing. Bring life to those that have fallen at the hands of your brethren. If you would only let me, Hades..." 

Her lips found several delicate places against his neck that had convinced him to bend to her will before. A fleeting hope that she might sway him to her understanding with the simple actions of her undying love. A desperate try to bring him within the folds of her secrets and sanctuaries, knowing the truth of it in every soft touch of lips against skin. His protective nature could never simply watch her walk into the ruins, left not knowing if she would return to his arms. "I could help them, my love." 
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Stephen
*There was a heated hitch of an exhale, a clear rasp within his voice as soft words reached deep within his ears but more so, that surgical assault of slightly wet lips meeting flesh that caused goosebumps to begin cascade across his form. It was a weakness. The weakness. Persephone knew when to tug at certain frayed threads of his willpower, though only she could pull on those strings to reveal the vulnerability beneath. Beauty and brains, a loyalty that hadn't ever been compromised, such melancholy from his ray of life harmed more than a thousand bolts from Zeus. It stung. Lingered. He despised it. It was evident to only him that she ached to bring about hope.*

"Persephone."

*Her name uttered as if the sweetest nectar, a hand raising to knead into their outer thigh with desperation only to drag and lift with an eagerness of Ceberus who found a new hunt, allowing the final resting seat to be the obsidian railing and the harsh grip that wrapped about the waist. There was another kiss, though retracting lightly after, a gentle pressure from the tip of his nose to her own. It was a sign of affection.* "I can't in good conscience let you interfere, to place you in harm's way of all that is out there and is to come would be a sentence of death. You're safe here, those who survive will need that ray of spring to bring them life through your harvest."

*There was a tinge of guilt from saying no to his Queen, a woman who behind closed doors would find him kneeling for certain situations. Only her. She had always enjoyed that birth of life and it felt cruel to deny this of her, yet the Underworld would have to hold fast in the times to come.* "I've never faltered-" *His forehead shifting to meet her own.* "Nor failed you before have I not? Just give it time. Engage with your subjects, tend to those who walk in the fields of Elysium. I promise it'll be over before you know it."
Paul
*"Persephone."*

"Hm?" Her voice vibrated against him in a soft declaration. Breath hitching as he played the games she dared, turning them against her with every movement of his hands against her skin. He ignited a trail of sensations along every line he drew, and she responded in such with exhales of loving pleasure. Her forehead leaned against his nose as she attempted to catch herself. To bring forth her mind and thoughts when he so easily clouded every ounce of logic with the replacement of lust. 

"Hades..." Her heart was shattered at his words. She knew that he meant well, but there was an anxious thought deep within that had begun to brew and fester. That pleading scream to break free from yet another gilded cage. Never before had she felt this way about the underworld, but never before had her King told her she was not able to leave upon her own will. "Do not cage me, my love. I beg of you." A tear escaped down her cheek, a reminder of the days when she first longed for an escape. Searched within the fields of harvest, until she found the route to the depths of his realm. Until she found home. 

A sigh escaped her now, a storm of emotions rushing within her as she attempted to remain above ground. To not be swallowed whole by the helplessness she felt within this moment. "Do not ask me to stand by and do nothing, please Hades." Her hand rested against his chest in timid gesture, her forehead resting further against him as she let another tear drop from her cheek. A shimmering jewel of life that bloomed a bud beneath them as it reached the ground. 

"Their pleas keep me awake at night, their screams haunt me. I can not sleep, yet I wish not to be awake. All I hear are the people, my people, who have chosen to worship me only to be met with silence. Do not ask me to remain this way, my heart, I beg of you. There must be something we can do." 
_ _
Stephen
*The way her palm met his chest, a soft exhale of elation running through his form of the feeling. It was beneath that ribcage, a soft thrumming, heart pumping and banging so Persephone could both feel and hear the rise. The love. It was only a touch that was necessary to bring forth a softness, crumbling obsidian into powder and pulling out a softness within the core of Hades which was often never seen or merely forgotten. By both subject and master alike. It ached to see such pleas, often preferring a different form of begging by his beloved within the confines of the bedchamber. Their space to be as to be. Lord of Undeath. Slave to love.*

*Yet it was the single tear which rolled down Persephones precious cheek that coaxed his retort, a hand raising for a thumb to collect and dismiss it with haste, there would be no such thing staining such a face. Unless it was part of some fun. The way it hurt her, was unacceptable. The soft lips parting to press into her own, hushing those desperate plea for the briefest moment, forehead placed against her own after retracting.* "Beloved, I won't allow you to feel caged... Your tears sting me more than a thousand steel curled whips,." *It was a reluctant capitulation though a necessary one for her sake.*

"There shall be a gathering and I will bring forth all those who are a part of this tantrum, within my own grounds. You may lead alongside those of our subjects willing to attempt to end this farce once and for all. It would be the Empress assuring the children cease their misbehaving." *The ragged exhale following, concern clearer than the radiance of Apollo on his features, glancing about Persephone. She held so much love for everything, yet there was an element of optimism that he felt was lost on this situation.* "Just be cautious Persephone, not all care for this idea of peace. They are as barbaric as the Gauls of old, some thirst for this violence... I doubt they would strike so brazenly on my own territory."
_ _

*Yet... It was exploitable.*

"Just make sure you do this not with the idea that any shall listen, I imagine there are some who wish to avoid outright war but I do not overthink that any of them, including those here who might wish to be released of their shackles as if the Dark days returned. Could. Would. Use it as a means to gather information." *He plea'd himself a little, though nodding firmly.* "But I have faith you will succeed, regardless of my own worry."
Paul
There was a moment of elation that rushed over her at his words, his promises. Her eyes brightened with the hope of a start. A conversation that could lead to a hush over the war torn cities she had walked far too often. "Thank you, my love." An excited pounce upon her toes as her lips met his cheek. His words of warning heard, tempered excitement leaving her to trail her lips across every surface of skin she could find. 

"I will proceed with caution, my dearest King. Caution and grace." Her hands trailed from the sharp line of his jaw to the sensitive nerves along his collar until they found the hands she had tangled her fingers within and made a home. Leading him towards the siren song of their sheets with a telling flame in her eyes. 
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```....Fade to black. End Scene.```
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Stephen
*There was a haste to each step by the Lord of the Underworld, causing a mass litany of smoked torches to flicker with an intoxicating sensation that refused to relent. It was without hesitation that many a being was on alert, whispers of their Empress being injured during an assault on the surface world had decidedly made even those unspoken, unflinching armed skeletal forces even more still. It was a reckoning, Hades need only confirm that his warmth had almost grew cold by the hands of mortals armed by an unknown provider, thus a response as ruthless as it was without care. They would suffer. Suffer more. It would never be enough but for now? Persephone was his focus. Those above would be dragged below.*

*Tsk.*

*The corridors ever winding of obsidian did not dissuade their liege either, some walls even breaking apart as if brittle only to reform behind to which a chamber was in sight alongside Charon. It was a sharp dressed man, offering a kneel to a furious God who at this moment could see anything as slight. Emotions heated beyond Posideon and Zeus's own impulse. Were both of his little brothers so desperate for him to bring his ire down to the other? It was not something that any sibling wanted to consider. "How?" He muttered with concern dripping from his mouth, a glance to the large obsidian door which held a criss cross of vines that his darling designed. She loved to make everything feel warm.*
_ _

"Your Emminence, I believe the mortals somehow turned her mortal in a temporary fashion. We are still seeking to undo any dilution in her blood." *Charon restored with a haste, expecting the retort of Hades letting out a roar of rage, an ethereal fist of decay slamming into obsidian as the Underworld shook at its masters uproar. Those about witnessing this energy of necrosis corrode, spreading until a snap of thumb and finger ceased this corruption.* "They violate her so? I will not tolerate this incompetence from those who attended that Gala." *An unspoken promise.*

*Then the door creaked open.*

*Hades brought his attention to their chambers with a warmth within his smile, a hand waving to increase the temperature of the hearths to match a ray of sunshine despite the usual chill that he basked him. The mere sight of his devoted Empress being like this brought a welling of tears in his eyes, cloak falling to the floor effortlessly as he moved to be beside her, a hand caressing digits as lips pressed softly onto her forehead. *"Persephone..." *The name uttered as if any raise of his tone could break her... Or him...*
Paul
❝ ⌜Who said you can't wear a flower crown and still be a fearsome thing.⎯ ✶⌝ ❞
 
Title. [Ave Maria](
Setting. Hades' Bedchambers 
Characters. ⁠  ,  
Pings/Mentions. Mentions 
Notes: 
 
⋆.˚ ☪︎ ִ ࣪ .𖥔˚.
 
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She had sent Morpheus away, as soon as her conscious body had been placed against the familiar confines of her chambers. Insisted that he step into the safety of his realm until she was able to calm Hades of the wrath he was sure to unleash at the sight of her. Not wanting those loyal to be within the path of darkness and rage as it reached out like a whip against the light. Now she sit against the velvet of her chair, the fire warming skin as she stubbornly sparked her magic. Again. 

"Fuck!" 

It was a subconscious fear she would not admit, to lose power within herself, when she had worked so hard to gain. To gain the absence of taunting at a weak willed bird within a cage. She was the Queen, his Queen, and she would not let herself fall to the casting of glances and murmur of words once more. More so, her healing was of detriment need to those above, and she would not fail them now in her own weakness. A spark again, light emanating from the abdomen that remain torn at the cloth and bruised beyond recognition. Her breathing sounded of a ragged animal crawling for scraps of life, but one would guess she was anything but at death's door the way she still held her spark of life in the glint of those hazel eyes. 
_ _

*"Persephone."* 

Gently, the Queen raised her chin with defiance. Tears welling within her eyes as she looked upon Charon. He had always been far gentler with her than his cold nature hinted to, but his voice spoke a soothing song in this moment. "I know." Persephone responded with a slight pout to her lip and a slump within her chair. To be weak once more, for her, was perhaps a worse fate than death itself. 

*"I can hear your thoughts lil' one, you leave them plainly on your face, and you are wrong. Besides... He needs you."*

They both looked to her chamber doors as Charon moved to greet his master and long time friend. Persephone scowling in worry and attempting to lift herself from the chair to follow along. Only to find the gravity of her injuries weighing her down, and casting her against the stone flooring in a fit of wheezing and coughing, a pool of blood forming in her hands. "No..." She knew what it would do to Hades to see her this way. No corner of the mortal realm would be safe as he cast his heartbreak upon them in the form of vengeance. 

His form soon around her in a warming envelopment. Her name cast like a balm from his tongue. *"Persephone..."* A whisper against her skin as she placed a brave smile upon her cheeks. "I'm alright love. I'm alright." - but her voice cracked within this statement and she looked a blundering disaster beneath him. A handprint of her own blood left against his cheek as she reached to reassure him. "It's only a scratch." 

Though never before had Persephone looked more vulnerable. Her dress of changing floral was tattered, leaving little of the bruised and broken body to imagination. Charon had insisted in her changing but Persephone ushered him away at the thought. Settling in the compromise of the blanket that lay cast along the chair she had sat upon moments ago. 

Her face. One of spring innocence and true beauty, was bruised with a swell of colors that made it look as if Iris' had painted the rainbow across her c

Heek. Yet still, she painted a smile across it for her love to see and a kiss against the corner of his lips where he would not see her flinch in pain. "It's alright, my love."
_ _
Stephen
*The Lord of the Underworld came across a sight that forced an abrupt halt within his core, tattered clothing that revealed pain, a vulnerability Hades himself promised would not be without repercussions nor would it occur during their wedding day. Weakness. His Empress. To hear such words fall on his ears, she was not alright. Each hand of his began to delicately trace across the bruised flesh... The fingertips gliding across each, a warm kiss that dotted the corner of his lips. Did she think he was unaware of the pain merely moving caused her?*

*Someone, a God, did this... All of them were... Guilty.*

*That fuel of emotion that flickered like a raging inferno, igniting in his stomach that raised with no intent of quelling, each arm wishing to tightly squeeze her into a safety but aware such would only elicit further pain. No. For now it was about her. A soft quiver of the lower lip falling suit as anguish that held no end at the bottom, only matched by a rage that would cast all of the mortal realm into shadow..*

"Persephone. Beloved."

*He hurriedly stated, a hand raising to caress her cheek with the thumb wiping away droplets and refusing to buckle under a pressure that begged to be released.* "You are so strong, I will spend the rest of eternity begging for forgiveness. If it was not for my ignorance to their ways, you would not be like this... Harmed..." *The word basically stuck in his throat, tightening as verbalizing such failure only enhanced the pain it caused. A delicate movement saw him lift her, raising from the stone as he tried to dismiss the existence of vermillion being from her and some poor servant who received the ire of the Queen of Curses.*
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*The woman found herself on the sheets eventually, moving grab a dressing gown, silky and smooth. It was then her hand was slowly removed from the tattered clothing, gently moving to wrap her in the safety of such fabric without issue.* "I am going to run a bath for you, there won't be any movement unless you're being catered to right now. They all say you did wonderfully in bringing them altogether my love, truly... You should be proud." *It was better to offer her warmth and reinforcement than lash out in the anger that lulled him so.*

❝ ⌜Who said you can't wear a flower crown and still be a fearsome thing.⎯ ✶⌝ ❞
 
Title. [Ave Maria](
Setting. Hades' Bedchambers 
Characters. ⁠  ,  
Pings/Mentions. 
Notes: 
 
⋆.˚ ☪︎ ִ ࣪ .𖥔˚.
 
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Paul
Persephone's emerald gaze looked up at Hades, taking note of every twitch. Every quiver within those perfect lips that had stolen her very soul and placed her upon his throne. Her finger dancing along it now, a knowing look of calm overtaking her despite the bloodied and bruised mess that was her face. Freckles danced along an array of purples and blues and the taste of metal stained her mouth still. But she could not focus on that any longer, not when she could see the torment in his eyes. The guilt that gnawed internally at the man that held the weight of the Underworld upon his shoulders. Despite her body aching in every movement, she found an ache that ran deeper at this sight. At the sight of the man she adored beyond words holding himself responsible for the attack that took place. Holding himself responsible for the way she crumbled against the unforgiving floor. 

"Hades, my love." 

There was a plea in her voice. A firm statement in his attempt to descend into rage and vengeance and guilt. "My darling darkness, you could not have predicted this, could not have predicted any humans would have been so stupid as to- and I am fine. Or I will be. With every moment my divinity comes back." A vine curled up his wrist as if in response to this, and claimed bloom upon his ring finger. "See. I am stronger every second in your presence, my love."
_ _

Wincing slightly, careful to hide it from her beloved, she allowed him to lift her. Her breathing still shallow and labored as she rested her hair of fire against the stark contrast of his vest. Life and death, they had always been the balance the Underworld and realms itself required, but what would the world face now that they threatened Hades own balance? What would he make of the threat against his Queen? Leaning into his touch, she felt a cool relief radiate from him. With every delicate brush of his fingers, the hair on her skin rose. Soon the dress, tattered and torn, was no longer and a silken robe of peach adorned her battered state. 

*"I am going to run a bath for you..."*

Her hand reached out and grasped his own. Hesitation in her voice as it squeaked in slight fear of the rage she knew him to be holding back in this moment of solitude. "What will you do, Hades?" Persephone laced her fingers within his own and squeezed slightly with what little strength she had left. "There are innocents amongst them. My love. My heart. Do not let the rage consume you. I beg of you." 
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