Seeds: Volume Two Read Online Free PDF Page A

powerful death-god. Death itself was mysterious, faceless. It decided when a soul would be cut off from his or her living flesh. The Greeks had a word for it, thanatos. Assigning it a name gave them a concrete concept to talk about, to identify. Hades was inevitably linked with this thanatos even though he actually had no part in people dying , making him an especially fearsome God..
         Yet all she felt was comfort and security in his arms. She let him hug her tightly, one of his hands trailing along her face.
         “Aidoneus...” she sighed as his thumb trailed along her lips.
         “Yes.” Hades sealed her lips with a kiss.
         “There is something I would like to do today.”
         “You have but to name it.”
         “I want to see Tartarus.”
         Hades stared at her for several moments. Persephone gazed back at him calmly. After her encounter with the Fates and with Hekate, she decided to be more serious about her explorations of the Underworld. She had kept herself to the safety of the library and gardens after what had happened to her in the Styx. There had been plenty of things to do – she was never bored – but she knew she couldn't just stay in Hades's Palace forever.
         “You... are certain that is what you want?” he asked. There was concern in his tone, but he wasn't at all patronizing or condescending as many others would have been.
         “I am mindful of your warning. That is why I asked you to take me.” She could have gone by herself while Hades was off performing his godly duties, but after her encounter with Styx, she was more cautious now. She didn't want to be overwhelmed and unable to respond to her surroundings, and she knew that the tortured screams she heard the other day were but a glimpse into the hell of Tartarus. She trusted Hades to keep her safe, and to also be honest with her.
         “All right then. After breakfast, we will go.”
         Persephone sighed softly, not wishing to sit through another tantalizing meal, but Hades gazed down at her steadily.
         “I will permit you to remain in your room and amuse yourself while I eat.” Hades said in a surprise concession. She maintained a placid expression to hold back the quick grin that nearly flashed across her face, not wanting to make her relief too obvious.
         “Thank you.”
         He nodded.
     
    o0o
     
         Persephone was surprised but pleased to discover that she had grown a couple more inches since the banquet. Her chest and rear end were visibly fuller even under her clothing, and she was excited to finally having a body that would match her true age. She had stopped being a child a long time ago, and if there was one reason to stay with Hades, it was that he saw and treated her as a woman. The fact that her body was finally changing was a much-welcome bonus.
         After she had chosen an outfit, she examined some of her treasures until Cloe nudged her, signaling that Hades was done with his meal and it was time to leave.
         With her destination in mind, Persephone chose a black chiton over a deep red silk tunic. On the surface world, undergarments were barely considered. Children generally wore none, and even many adults didn't wear them. But now Persephone had silk and fine linen underwear – sheaths, tunics, and finely-made undergarments that barely resembled the plain linen loincloths she had been familiar with. The rich variety of garments gave Persephone plenty of room to experiment, and she found pleasure in mixing colors sometimes. The deep red of the tunic peeked out from her chiton, which was held up by gold pins and cinched by a matching plain golden girdle. The black garment ended at her elbows, tastefully displaying her lower arms, which were free of adornment. Her hair was pinned up in a bun, swept up off her neck gracefully in a coil held by black ribbons.
         “Is Tartarus hot? Or do I need a wrap?”