Whether she was keeping her eyesockets opened or closed, it didn't matter. There was nothing to see except black. Persephone looked to her right. She squealed surprised and scared with the presence next to her, dressed in a cloak made out of what looked like black smoke and ashes. She tried to step away, but said presence was holding her by the right hand stably.

"It's me, Miss Persephone." She recognised Hades' voice beneath the hood of smoke and ashes. His eyesockets were barely visible as he stared ahead blankly.

"Where are we?! Where did you bring me?!" The woman asked agitated as she looked around.

"We're in the monster afterlife." The Renrink said calmly. He turned to look at her. "No, my intentions are not to kill you. I've stated what we're going to do. It is needed to be done for all loose ties to connect. You're in no danger, so long as you don't leave my side and my hand, or else I might not be able to retrieve you and you'll become an essence." Persephone silently gulped.

Still she tried to keep her distance as much as possible from Hades. Not a minute in the monster life however, many essences suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started approaching the skeletons, their hands stretched forward and towards Persephone, their hollow empty eyes seemingly nailed at her.

"Safe even from them?" She asked and proceeded to wrap her left arm around Hades'.

"They sense your alive aura and are attracted like some moths to the light." He said and stretched out his free right hand. His whole skull was suddenly covered too in smoke and ashes, it took the form... of a bat's head with glowing purple flames for eyes. A big scythe glowing in purple appeared in his right hand and slammed it's tip down loudly.

The essences stopped approaching and turned their attention at Hades, suddenly concerned. The purple flames for eyes on the bat head covering the necromancer's skull glowed brighter and from the ground a cyan chain jumped out, wrapping around one of the essences' neck.

The other ones turned around and floated away fast. As for the chained up one, Hades walked closer to it, with Persephone at the very last second moving alongside him and looked down at it. He started talking in such distorted voice the woman almost didn't understand anything.

From the very few words she had caught, she guessed the necromancer was threatening the essence to not approach again. When the chain dissappeared, the essence hurried to leave. The 2 skeletons then proceeded to walk a little further ahead in silence. Eventually the skeleton woman broke it first.

"No other essence has approached." She observed looking around and wrapping her arms tighter around Hades', who didn't show dissatisfaction from her holding him.

"There are certain things that travel through this whole land, in order to inform the essences. For example the visit of a necromancer, in which they know that it's better not to approach unless the visitor calls for a specific name. Some however, like those from a while ago, were whether way too brave or foolish to try and reach you, when I'm right here. They needed a little bit of a more harsh warning and just to understand whø's ın cøntrøl." Hades explained. He had kept the bat head on, until he gave a small glance at Persephone. She was constantly looking down, shaking lightly.

There was nothing for her to like in this land. Of course, there was nothing alive there, just cold and silence... oh and the most basic of all, it was full of dead monsters! Hades huffed quietly and his bat face dissappeared. Then he started monologuing in Greek. From just the first 2 seconds, Persephone proceeded to raise head slowly.

As she kept holding onto Hades' arm, she listened to him not just saying nonsense but narrating flawlessly Rhapsody λ of Homer's Odyssey, the one about the Underworld. When Hades finally felt that Persephone was calmer, he stopped narrating, slowed down his walking pace until he stopped moving completely.

"So... what now?" The woman asked. Hades looked to his left and down at her confused but relaxed expression. For now.

"Now... Now we'll finally proceed to what we came here for." Hades unsummoned his scythe and replaced it with a cyan glowing chain. He threw it ahead as if bait for fish. "Mυstæfæ!" He called. Suddenly the chain flew ahead and dissappeared in the distance. Many seconds passed like that, with Persephone staring at Hades shocked. Did he just call out a Turkish name???

"Sir Hades? Who are you bringing?!" She asked and all relaxation she had a while ago started being erased.

"Somebody which will not be able to cause you any further harm, even if he tried, bəcæυsə thən I'd gịvə hıs əssəncə pæın fœr thə rəst of hıs stæy ın hərə." Hades replied coldly. The chain suddenly stopped moving. It had caught something, as the necromancer had found resistance.

He suddenly pulled the chain towards him abruptly. Much to Persephone's shock she saw the essence of a skeleton flying fast towards them, face-planting on the dark floor of the monster afterlife a few feet away from her and Hades. Said essence stood up as if it hadn't violently being dragged while minding whatever business.

It stood up, taller than Persephone, slightly shorter than the Renrink and nailed eyesockets at her, blinking rather surprised. Persephone almost hid behind Hades, her bottom jaw shaking, even though the dead skeleton was doing no move towards her.

"Sir?" She asked, barely being heard.

"He will do nothing, except talk to you." He unsummoned the chains tying the essence. "I don't understand a word in Turkish, but I suppose you do. Just let him talk."

When not traumatised, Persephone had been taught Turkish. It wasn't just because she wanted to, it was something like an obligation for the monsters of Athens to know the language. Matter of fact she was speaking them fluently.

Then, in all her years in Valencia and until encountering her torturer again, she hadn't spoken a single word from it. Still hidden behind Hades, Persephone peeked her head and looked hesitantly at the skeleton. Who smiled at her, as if he was seeing a friend.

"Selamlar, Persephone. The necromancer told me your name. My name is Mustafa..." He spoke in Turkish, but i'm not even going to bother making them turkish because that would be a waste of time and writting space, so have english. His smile slowly dropped. "... That's what the humans named me at least. That's the name I learned responding to, having being surrounded the biggest part of my life by my kidnappers, training me to become their deadly tool." His expression became a lot sadder as he stared at the woman. "A sorry is not going to fix the pain I've caused you, remove the suffering I've given you and return the dignity I've stolen from you. It's not going to excuse the fact I harmed your daughters, almost killing the one of them, because in my life I had been taught to be an emotionless murderer, with no sympathy for anyone. Even if, for just a single moment, I felt something towards... that daughter of yours that appeared first to find you."

"Athena." Persephone said without much thought. Mustafa smiled.

"So that's the name of my little copy." Once again he went sad and serious. "But I can't say I sensed anything towards your other 2. They've inherited more from your aura, only Athena felt somewhat familiar to me, first because of appearance, then because her aura made me snap out of my apathy even a little. And while I understood that they're too the result of me, that's why I still attacked you and your girls, while choosing to cause less harm at Athena..." He paused for a moment. "... When alive, I know and admit I felt no regret doing all those things at you back at the ship, years ago. And I know I wouldn't regret it either sending your daughters in here, perhaps you too if you didn't deal to me that fatal blow..." A very small smile appeared on his face as he looked at Persephone cheerfully. "But with you sending me here, I was struck with realisation and enlightment, I found what I never had experienced and never thought I needed: Feelings! Emotions! Even the ones of regret and guilt for what I did to you. But in here, I'm free from the humans and their cruelty! I'm free from pain and suffering. You Persephone, you've gifted me with the sweet release of death. And I could never thank you enough for that." He said, ecstatic and genuinely happy. Persephone looked at him, at first surprised not seeing him angry and vengeful as she had think he would be.

"Do you... forgive me?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes, of course. If I could kiss your hands I'd do it already." Mustafa stated. "I don't recall feeling angry because you killed me. Besides, that day at the mansion, when I saw you, I remembered where I had seen you, by the aura. And it's terrifying because remembering the commands I was given then to do all those things to you, I somehow felt that I was about to repeat them." A shiver ran down Persephone's spine. "I was stuck to the command of 20 years ago, this emotionless and indifferent I was for my actions. But you released me from emptiness and suffering of 46 years. I'm reunited with the family I never met. I was told by the Ottomans that my parents had abandoned me and that I should be grateful they accepted to raise me and make me a warrior. But when I arrived on this land we are right now, they found me and they recognised me. They proved to me that they were my real family and that they never wanted to abandon me. The Ottomans had just forcefully taken me because the population control wouldn't allow my parents to have more than 2 children, the brother and sister I have and never met. They tried to hide me but failed. A few months after my kidnapping, my mom, Léfka, died from her Grief. Dad, Astérios, died actually trying to go find and save me. For years, he never stopped, until the Ottomans stopped him. But my other 2 siblings, whatever they're doing, they're still alive and hopefully they have a peaceful life."

Persephone was almost ready to start crying hearing all this, shaking a lot harder in her struggle to hold back the tears.

"Astérios and Léfka you said?" She asked. Mustafa nodded. "Oh, I've heard. I remember hearing about them. My village, they would often talk about such devastating news. Hearing from other monster villages. They would talk about your village especially, for long, when 5 babies were taken away. You were one of them."

"News travel fast about the parents who's babies were taken away." Another male voice was heard talking in Turkish. Suddenly 2 more skeleton essences slid and stood next to Mustafa. Assumingly the parents. "If one monster village has losses like that, the news spread to the other ones by the Ottomans, to make sure they scare the other monsters." The 2 placed hands on their son's shoulders.

"Even though you did what you did to our boy, much rather that he's here than with those filthy human skins." The mother spoke then. "You ceased his suffering while alive and brought him peace in death. Thank you for bringing back to us our little Cypross."

"Cypross?"

"That's what they named me before being taken away." Mustafa, or Cypross, said. He looked at Persephone with a sad smile. "Persephone..." He momentarily turned his head at Hades' direction. "... He searched for me and explained to me the situation. Well, after beating me up and throwing me around, since he can cause me pain, until he got convinced I regretted touching you." Persephone turned her pupils for a fleeing moment at Hades surprised before looking again at Cypross. "My parents helped to communicate, since I don't speak a single word of my real mother language. He told me about the guilt you've been drowning into, even though I completely deserved it to die by your hand. You don't have to feel guilty. You were justified to kill me. If you didn't do it, I know I'd have killed you and your daughters. I'd perhaps keep living to cause suffering to so many others, if the necromancer didn't find me first. I deeply regret all I've ever done to harm others, but I'm happy I'm here and I'm happy I've found my real origins. You've done the living a favor. You're forgiven for killing me. Please, keep living and move on..." He paused for a moment to think. "... Me and you and your daughters parted ways harshly. If you tell them about me, if you tell them you saw me here, tell them I'm sorry. For everything, for what I've done to you and for what I did to them. May they keep growing to become brilliant and succesful." He wished and nodded. Slowly Persephone nodded back, keeping her sob quiet.

"I will."

"Veda, Persephone. I hope that someday you find peace with our past and can forgive me. I don't need to hear, but I hope you can do that." Cypross said, turned around and floated away with his parents.

Persephone and Hades watched them leaving, until they both turned at the same time to look at each other. After a moment of pause, the Renrink opened his palm and an hourglass with cyan sand appeared in it. The top part had about an inch of sand left. He let the hourglass dissapear then. He closed eyesockets and he became a cloud of black.

Persephone looked at herself turning the same way too and lost her vision momentarily. Then, she opened again eyesockets and realised she was back in Hades' office. Outside however the sun had moved by a lot and it wasn't as bright as before. How much time had passed?

"Time works slower in the monster afterlife. Hours in the living world could count as minutes there." Hades said, having read the woman's confusion in her face. They were sitting on their knees facing each other, just the way they had started. Many seconds later, Persephone decided to stand up. "I wouldn't recommend doing that-." And right on cue, the skeleton woman felt dizzy, almost falling backwards.

Hades moved sharp and quickly to hold her upright. Persephone's reflexes caused her to hold onto the Renrink's arms tightly. She kept her head lowered. Only many seconds later she felt gathering her strength back and managed to support herself on her own 2 feet.

"... T-Thanks." She whispered.

"... What did the skeleton tell you in the time you speak with him and what conclusion you earned from it?" Hades asked, seemingly not hearing the woman. Persephone looked up to him and slowly and hesitantly talked about the most important parts of her conversation with Cypross. "So, did he recognise the cruelty of his actions upon you?" The Renrink asked after hearing her. Hesitantly, Persephone nodded. "Did he apologise for them?" He asked again.

"... Yes?"

"Was he holding grudges towards you for killing him?"

"... No."

"Did he forgive you?" There Persephone wrapped her arms around herself and started shaking. "Did he forgive you?" Hades asked again, a little louder.

"... I don't understand..."

He saw her tears falling down on the floor and a sob in between her words was heard.

"What is it you don't understand?"

"... He said he was happy he's dead. He said he doesn't hate me for killing him. That I did him a favor. Why-... Why do I still have to feel so guilty for it?" She asked as her sobs grew louder. "He just accepted what happened to him and even thanked me. Even so, I've done it and I can't undo it. How can I live with the burden of taking a life away, even if it was necessary?" Hades didn't respond, just listened for a while at Persephone crying. Eventually he sighed.

"It will be difficult. Given your nature especially. This one action of yours was heavy, it is one that cannot be taken back. But at least you're a parent who gives a damn for her loved ones. You, with all power and magic connected to life and light, with the threat to possibly die if abusing it didn't think much and used it to save your daughters. You, almost sacrificed your health for your family. You did what you had to. It's not an excuse, but it's justified. He would have gone for the kill first if you didn't."

"That's what he said too, but..."

"It probably means nothing that it comes from my mouth, but I'm impressed and at the same time confused. You killed without much thought for your daughters' sake with your Life powers that are not meant for killing. My own parents, having all power and mood to kill without the slightest of remorse, just cøυldn't cærə ləss to ever waste a spec of magic for my sake." He rolled his eyesockets and huffed annoyed. "But that doesn't matter now. Every time that memory comes back to you and you think that you can't bare the moment you killed that skeleton, think about or look at your daughters and ask yourself if things would really come back to normal if even one of them was gone. How much more would that affect you, regretting not doing something when you actually could? None of them was removed from your life, but a nuisance from the past did so. That one horrible part of your past found you and you killed it before it could, giving peace at the same time. He even thanked you. And since forgiveness was granted upon you, there is no need to come back to it. Cut ties, let go. Don't bring the past to your present Miss Persephone, or else you'll blind yourself for the future."

Persephone was listening with shut eyesockets, from which tears wouldn't stop escaping, shaking hard at the same time as she hugged herself tightly. She felt Hades' aura coming closer to her and then a soft cloth wiping her tears.

On the first contact she raised head up sharply and watched as the Renrink was drying her tears with a small and soft white towel, having the letter R calligraphic and purple. She silently allowed him to do that, until she stopped shaking.

"... Thank you, Sir." She said hesitantly and lowered head again.

"Cease the tears, I usually prefer my surroundings crying, but I prefer you happy and healthy." Hades said then and in contrast with what he said at the end, he sounded completely bitter. Persephone looked at him.

"Why did you help me, after the way I..." She paused.

"... You know whγ. You needed it anyways..." Hades said coldly and looked to his right. "... even if you haτə me."

So he was still with that idea stuck inside him.

The 2 stared at each other silent before Hades start dissolving in a black cloud. Seeing this Persephone hesitated, then struggled and hurried to find her words.

"I don't hate you!" The Renrink temporarily stopped dissolving but just sighed.

"If you're going to pity me like that, you'd rather not-."

"I just don't understand!" Persephone cut him off and lowered her head again, not seeing Hades, but sensing by the aura he still wasn't going anywhere. Her words and thoughts came out rather sporadic, thinking that he was just going to leave at any second if she didn't explain herself. "Don't go away, I don't understand what do all those feelings you say you have towards me mean! I've only ever seen my parents being affectionate to each other, but I just don't know or recognise the sensation of those feelings. How much different are they from the friendly or family ones? What signs or actions make them more obvious and stronger? I... I have been told very little about the bonds back at the temple of Life I was, especially about the bond of Eros. That one, since we were never meant to fall in love, it didn't feel as important to be taught. I just know that unlike the other bonds, you will get it for only one, who will be the most right you need for the rest of your life, devoting yourself more than you could ever do so to your parents or friends. And that feelings from it are mutual between 2. If you have these said feelings for me do I necessarily have them too? But am I just not realising if I have them? Do I get the wrong idea? It's also that... before even seeing you, whatever I've heard around about you had caused me to keep my guard up. I've been told to fear you. And I feel I still do. At times. But am I really scared of you and it's an illusion, or..." She took a small pause of hesitation. "... am I just unable to read my own feelings?" She sighed and raised head. Hades had stayed through this whole speech, staring at her with an unreadable expression. More hesitantly, the woman kept talking. "I lashed at you, my temper got out of hand, I hurt you and you still kept yourself together despite how I acted. I was angry, more because for my daughters' safety. But really, none of us would have been able to sense what was coming that day with the Ottomans. I don't hate you. But I don't know either how I really feel, only after all you said, I truly tried to think about it... I don't understand how to feel about you because you haven't let me get to know you. You don't have to go away after the girls are completely trained. Just please... let me understand you and what you feel about me..." Near the end her voice was becoming lower and lower, at the same time also lowering her head.

She heard Hades' steps approaching her. For a moment the woman started getting anxious again, but she managed not to step back. Hades didn't cause her on purpose to do that and simply stopped in front her, half a step away.

"Are you sure you can handle knowing more than I let out? What I've done, or all I think about you? What if I've killed more than I let to live?" The skeleton woman hesitated for a moment.

"The rumors have already said a lot about how you act in general. You could really be what the world thinks about you. But what is it... you think about me? What do these feelings of yours make you think of what you want to do to me?" She dared to ask, also raising head to look at Hades with big perked up eyesockets, clueless and curious. The Renrink pressed his teeth together and his hand crept up to hold Persephone by the chin. He saw the concern in her eyesockets.

"You can be scared of what I can do to the rest of the world butterfly. You already have the main idea of what I can cause and perhaps you're lucky you haven't seen me in action. But you can be less scared knowing that it's not what I'd ever do to you and your daughters. You want to hear what I want to do to you?" With a little bit more certaincy, Persephone nodded and Hades' thumb brushed gently against her cheek, causing the woman to shiver. "You've proven not to be weak and yet, after what happened with the Ottomans, everytime I see or think about you, I can't help but bœıl in anger. Not towards you, but upon anyone who would dare lay even a finger on you. And then I can't help but think about merciless death raining from the sky upon them, even if that would cause you actual hatred towards me." He was talking calmly both with intensively, yet Persephone kept the same expression, staring up to him with perked up eyesockets, thoughtful at the same time.

"... Is this your way of telling me you want to protect me?" She asked. Hades slowly nodded and the other thought again for a moment. "And if I asked you for mercy upon whoever hurt me because I desire no revenge... would you hold back?" She asked as she stared more intensively at the necromancer.

"From the moment I want to kill, I can barely stop. But if you asked, if I was to hear this melodic voice of yours, for your sake I could do that. I could let go, if the offender learns to not mess with you twice. For you I'd give second chances, but I couldn't say I'd do the same if you're not near. After all, that was why older human maids have been replaced by other ones throughout the years..." He said darkly at the end and Persephone felt and ugly shiver running down her spine. "It's the same I'd do for your daughters, since they're your main source of happiness. I'd kill, yes, what I know how to do best by nature, but I tell myself I don't want a repeat of what happened to you 4."

Yes all that sounded scary. Of course Hades meant every word he had said and Persephone couldn't help but feel a little more terrified. But she had asked to know, she needed to understand.

"And what else you want to do?" She asked. There, Hades let go of her chin and stepped back.

"Tomorrow. If you really want to know more, if you at least don't hate me as you say and you can still handle the truth, come back to the office. I'll let you know my intentions, come clear and let you short out your own thoughts and feelings towards me. Nothing but honesty, even if it's brutal. If you decide that you can't return the feelings, I'll just stick around until your daughters are ready, then leave. Until I do that, I'll stop persuading you. Do you agree on these terms?" He asked calmly but with an intensive look. Persephone thought. Was he really ready to go through a second soulbreak if she didn't return the feelings, if that was even possible? "And no Persephone, you will not just fake out of guilt that you feel for me too, something is telling me you're capable of attempting to do that. I want no guilt to affect your judgment, I'll simply understand it. It all will come down on your own soul's clear and pure response towards mine, determining if we are meant or simply not. Again, do you agree on the terms I presented?" He asked again. He sounded certain, he sounded ready to possibly loose. Persephone inhaled for long and quietly, eventually nodding. Then hesitating.

"Alright. But... Where will you go if I don't respond positively to your feelings?" She found herself asking. Hades huffed calmly and rolled his eyesockets.

"... For now you're free to comprehend what you've heard today from my thoughts so far... You should go. Your daughters must be worried." He said.

But instead of walking out, Persephone... walked towards him as she stared at his slightly confused expression. For once she was the one to approach him and stop very close. Her look fell from his face on his ribcage and her expression became sadder.

Against her fear towards that monster, she hesitantly raised hand and placed a palm above where the soul was located. She felt it, 2 different incompatible beats, as the soul was seperated, still broken from a month ago.

"I caused this..." She reminded herself bitterly. "I'm really sorry..." She said. "For-..." His hand held hers and Persephone looked up to him.

"And I said forgiven." He said and leaned forward to kiss the back of her hand. Persephone shivered from the cold. "Don't worry about my soul Persephone. I already feel somewhat better that... we just talked." He let go.

"... Thank you Sir Hades."

"For what?"

"... For... bringing me to face the past in the monster afterlife. At least I know he feels better where he is."

"... And I thank you too butterfly."

"For what?"

"For knowing you don't want me away yet. For giving me a second chance that way. For not hating me, at least until you make up your mind when you learn me and my thoughts completely, until you feel you can let me close to you or avoid me..."

~

On the next 6 weeks the interactions between the 2 had increased in length.

It felt strange and at times awkward. Persephone literally had in her mind the information that Hades felt for her. He was just... there, close to her, talking and even though he was speaking in a calm and stable tone most of the time, the skeleton woman just knew that. She felt awkward, because he said he felt, but did she? If she just couldn't return the feelings back?

Most of the time Hades was subtle and casual when talking, showing nothing out of his ordinary self. Even when talking his thoughts out, expressing exactly what he wanted with Persephone.

He was having a sensation of satisfaction even from the littlest of things she was doing. Casually the smiles and laughter, the only ones he wanted to see and hear. Protect them. Or her singing voice deep at nights, leaving his bedroom just to listen to her if he couldn't sleep.

To be fair, Persephone had slightly done the same, listening to Hades, not singing, but every now and then throughout the years play violin. At first it had started with her thinking she was hallucinating when she was hearing violin in the mansion, well, that was back in those days the necromancer wasn't making himself visible to her.

If she was approaching way too close to the source, the music would stop. His playing then was creepy, sharp, causing shivers down her spine. Last few years the melodies had become slower and more melancholic, at least not leaving a creepy sensation to the listener.

Upon such a melody, a week or 2 after their recent agreement, Persephone had caught him playing in the instrument room the mansion had. She had actually approached very close. She saw him moving so physically and gently as he played the instrument with grace, showing to have not a care in the world. And she had think at first he had purposely let her approach, as in the past he hadn't.

But when he was done playing, when he struck the last note and let it echo in the room, before Persephone could even raise hands to start clapping, he snapped his head almost 180° around, genuinely startled and off guard seeing her. More than usual, he was deep into the moment of the melody he was playing. Honestly he hadn't even sense the woman coming.

"Where did you learn playing so beautifully?" Persephone had asked after a long pause, unable to stop smiling from excitement and awe.

"... Back at the temple I was in. They would teach us to play instruments, mainly with strings." Hades replied, rather awkwardly. The woman's smile grew more cheerful.

"If only you could let others to hear you more clearly playing like that. I'm sure they would love hearing you." The Renrink guffawed and rolled his eyesockets with a sarcastic smile.

"My mother broke my first violin because I dared play a note louder than what her headache could tolerate and she was on the other side of the mansion. Both her and my father hated music." He said bitterly.

"Well I don't and they're not here to tell you off." Persephone said that so confidently it caught both skeletons by surprise. "I-If you please that is." She stuttered looking away.

"... Adorable."

Persephone knew to play the harp and lyre, but way before joining the temple of Life, when still living with her parents. Until the day a harp was brought in the mansion for Aphrodite to learn playing it, she hadn't touched another.

At first she was rusty, but she had managed to remember playing it. Of course when no one was near and the door was locked. Hades expressing his thoughts to Persephone was one way of showing his attention to her.

Then there were the silent gestures. Like when the skeleton woman would start finding resting outside the heart of the garden mosaic flowers. No literally. The material was of plain stone, but covered in little colorful tiles carefully placed close.

They might were not real, but aside the material they did seem like it, in shape. 4 stone flowers later she eventually went ahead and asked Aphrodite if she was making them. Her shaking head left and right caused surprise. Persephone suspected Hades next, but wasn't sure. The plants knew though.

This damn necromancer has found it as sport now to leave these ugly-made wannabe flowers near the fence.

She was holding one of these flowers with her, what looked like a carnation covered in deep red tiles when she met with Hades in his office. She silently showed it to him and he saw in her expression the confusion and questions.

"One of the many things I could never offer you would be real flowers, you know, alive. That's what I could give. Of course it's not real. It's just dead stone-." He cut his sentence midway seeing Persephone's smile growing bigger.

"You made it and all previous ones?" She asked in admiration.

"... Long ago..." The Renrink said lowly, almost not heard.

"... For me? That's why you give them to me?"

"...Yes..."

His soul except from slightly more fixed almost ended up melted too when Persephone looked at the stone blossom and gently held it close to her ribcage.

"Alive or an illustration, you made it with your hands. If you put effort for something you want to give, it makes it a lot more worth it and beautiful." She said.

Long story short Persephone kept finding everyday from a different stone flower out of the heart of the garden. They were mainly white and deep red carnations. Just from that gesture she would feel a pinch of joy inside her, smiling widely when she would wake up in the morning to find a new stone flower. Deeper in the heart of the garden she had made space just for them to be placed, making a flower bed of those.

Another silent gesture of Hades' would be that everytime there was any human maid near Persephone and in the same room, said room felt more tense and cold. The skeleton woman knew he was watching and he was making sure that the human wouldn't do anything funny to her. He constantly had his eyesockets on the flesh bag with blood.

"If they act like that constantly, if you're suspicious every second that with their behavior and spite they might do something to me and generally cause trouble around the house, why haven't you kicked them out ever? Aside, well, sending them wherever it is humans go..."

"I've considered kicking the human women out of the house before because they just don't heed the first time a warning and they're constantly ungrateful, even though every now and then they are fun to kill. But also I had my silent laugh when you and your daughters would get back at them. Before killing them I mean. Now, so long as they know they can't mess with you anymore and choose to not die because they sense I'm near and choose to work, I simply won't kill. I become certain that you're alright, you stay happy and safe, they get to live another day, if lucky, long enough to die of old age, not by me."

Other times they would meet up, they wouldn't go for conversations. Just chill, most of those times sitting while facing each other and sip their coffee and tea in a blissful silence. There was another time the woman found Hades simply sitting on the small sofa in the office.

He was reading and without taking eyesockets of the book pat the spot next to him with his free hand. Hesitantly Persephone approached and sat down. The Renrink brought the book between them so she could read too.

That book was matter of fact records of observations and compares of habits, rituals and philosophy between the temples of Life and Death, written by a collaboration of priests of Death who had travelled to gather the information. And then there was that excerpt they came across after reading for long:

That's one thing.
The temples of Life teach their members to be selfless for the whole world and anything alive, in order to honor fully all surroundings. They love and restore, anything and anyone, equally and fairly, in order for balance. And for this balance to be possible, they must not get attached to anyone specifically. Never. The parents and friends only are barely above all else. But love for a special other is out of all that. The bond of Eros is barely touched in their philosophy, as despite it's the highest form of love a monster can feel it's a forbidden one, exactly because it goes above all else. For a dedicated priestess of Life, love is everything but Eros is out of order.

The temples of Death think opposite. They allow anyone despite gender to be under their philosophy and discipline, not just women, considered to be more fair, gentle and caring than the men to care for all living.
The members of Death are taught that no attachment is more important than of that towards the one for which they'll co-develop the bond of Eros. They are taught to recognise the cues and sensations inside them caused by that bond and if they find their special other. And when they do, no matter what happens, they put their other half above all else and everyone. They honor them more than themselves. And if the partner dies too early, they follow them in the monster afterlife, their final residence, where they will spend the rest of existence next to each other, with nothing able to break them apart again. And following to the monster afterlife is no difficult act for the members of Death, of course because they are taught to honor it, not fear it. The priests and priestesses of Death are taught not to be afraid to love, nor disregard it, if they find their love partner, good for them. It goes above the suppresion of feelings towards anyone else. They get rid off their duties in the temples to focus on their other half. But that love is almost entirely directed towards them only. Their parents, friends, children they might have in the future don't matter as much as having their partner by their side. Because they are who they admire the most, quite literally they are their own life and their own death if they leave first.

That quite had explained why Persephone couldn't short out her feelings towards Hades. The motherly ones she had gained them first from memories observing her parents and later with Cerdia's help. But Eros was never brought up when a priestess, what happens when you're under it and such.

The philosophies passed down to her had prevented her from gaining more than very basic understanding of that bond. So, she had no idea if whatever Hades was claiming to want from her, how he felt with her, was really touching her emotionally. Though the same book was explaining further ahead all signs to develop the bond in the soul, analysed very thoroughly.

Considered in their hours of chilling without talking were those few times the 2 skeletons would kind of find each other to the instrument room, whoever was there first. And whoever of the 2 was playing their instrument, the other wouldn't interrupt and wait.

There were the simple conversations, there were the silent gestures and the moments where the 2 opposites spend time without talking much.

And then there were those random moments Hades was challenging Persephone's limits.

As he would talk, he would just walk up to her and not stop until he had her against the wall, blocking her way and keep staring at her while casually talking. It needed many times of that habit for Persephone to stop panicking and until then she could barely hear Hades talking. After a minute or so, only then he would start asking her about their situation.

"Does that act of mine threaten you?"

"What does it really remind you of?"

"Do you believe I'll cause you harm as we are?"

"Do you believe I want to hurt you?"

"Is it in moments like these that you fear me more?"

Questions like those Persephone could barely answer them and be heard while folding her arms above her ribcage and lowering her head. Reflex of extreme fear, one that was common to the Elemental monsters in order to guard better the soul.

Fear of feeling the necromancer pressed against her. Terrified that the possible collision of her soul with his would cause her only pain. Like 20 years ago. Aside trapping her like that, Hades wasn't doing more than very faint and gentle touches with his hands and only from her neck and above.

Once Persephone was getting over enough of her fear and could stare in the Renrink's eyesockets, his fingers would draw lines on her cheeks down to her chin, gentle caressing and brushing. Of course Persephone had always her eyesockets on the movement.

"Does that remind you of what you've felt once?"

"Do I cause you pain?"

The kind of questions he would do while acting, to assess the depth of her fears.

Just like how Persephone knew Hades had his feelings for her and she didn't know how to comprehend them yet, he was acknowledging well her shame and fear from the past and making no dramas out of it. Treating it with no disgust or condemn.

Just simply reintroducing Persephone to another kind of touch, nor violent, nor extreme and provocative. And because he didn't seem to care about it, had caused the woman to overthink. She felt she still feared him but at the same time pitying him.

"Aren't you disgusted touching me?" She had asked him while Hades had asked her first if the cold of his touch was too much for her, which matter of fact it was actually, even though he was wearing gloves, but Persephone didn't answer that. Hades took a half step back with a questioning look.

"You mean if I feel disgust because what I'm doing feels simply way too inappropriate to you-?"

"You do nothing like that! I mean, touching me. Touching someone like me..." She had started tearing up. Was he really not bothered she was tainted, or was he simply hiding his deeper thoughts in his mind? "From all monsters out there you had to have feelings for, as you claim, is me?"

For what was done to her, she just couldn't get rid of the shame. She heard the Renrink huffing and then his hands were placed to cup her face. She looked at his expression, serious and cold once again as he brushed away the first tear that dared to escape her eyesocket.

"I can see your shame being affected by the morals you've been taught to keep and were destroyed. It means something to you, but if you think that being harshly touched years ago and killing that other skeleton makes you feel dirty and worthless, then what's there to say for me and the far more messed up things I've commited? You didn't want this, while I want to hear my enemies scream. You killed, but you did it because you were given no choice to save yourself and your daughters and you weren't happy. And I am the one who gives choices to my victims about how do they prefer their death if they wrong me. It was out of your control in both cases. You didn't want to be touched and couldn't avoid it, you killed because you would have been killed. So no, butterfly, I'm not disgusted to the slightest. I admire your courage, the light you managed to keep inside your soul in those 20 years to keep living mainly for the sake of your girls, before I just go ahead and threaten it with my actions. Now, to try and make up for it, what I wish, is manage to keep this light of yours in your soul safe, so no one ever again challenges it further, even if I drown deeper in my already existing darkness."

Calm passion is what could be called having in his statement. Persephone was so caught up hearing him, not once she realised just how much closer he was. Maybe half a step more than the usual, even when having her against the wall, he wasn't that close.

Now? As he kept looking at her, so was his face closer, practically she could feel the cold exhaled from him. She could sense a discreet smell of something like... myrrh?

"S-Sir?" Her mouth formed the word, but it was questionable if she was heard. As Hades was focused, he suddenly flinched. Then... he let go of her face and stepped back as his expression was turning calm again.

"Tanta calor. Aquesta llum. L'única calor que voldria sentir mai i l'única llum que vull contemplar. Em fa preguntar-me com serà el teu pet-." Knocks on the door were heard, barely not finishing his sentence. His head snapped to look there, sensing who was going to di- uuuh, who interrupted the vibe of the moment. "Què?!" He asked and in just this one word he sounded nothing like before.

He went ahead and opened the door, hiding Persephone as she was to the right side of the office and the door opened towards that direction. A few seconds later Hades dismissed the maid who had simply come to ask him what he wanted to have for dinner.

Despite impatient and annoyed, he didn't lash out at the poor woman who was just doing her job. When she turned around and he saw her leaving, only then Hades stepped back to look at Persephone. He sighed quietly and signed her to take her leave.

Just while the coast was still clear, from what they could both sense. Persephone simply obeyed and walked out with her head lowered, almost buried on her ribcage. Because if she was raising it, Hades, or anyone would see the explosion of pink and cyan on her cheeks.

~

One week had passed from that day. None of the 2 brought this up again, but Persephone was bringing it upon herself in her thoughts. And then it was almost impossible to relax. Sweet stars he was closer than ever!

And now? Did she really need to know that he smelled like myrrh? Seriously??? Of course it wasn't a bad smell, in fact it had caused her to almost go numb, overwhelm her senses, it was so nice she was about take a step forward to-...

"... Τι μου συμβαίνει;;;"

She was scolding herself for the thoughts she was making, feeling inappropriate. No word to her daughters about that of course. Thank the stars the monster head maid was thinking she had caught some flu with the way her face was bright in colors and allowing her to go rest. As for the human maids they probably thought the same because they avoided her like the plague, not wanting to catch her 'illness'.

From that day forward Hades had stopped 'challenging her limits'. No making her back up against the wall, no touch, nada. Just talking with her. And while Persephone wouldn't have to feel threatened, she felt instead bewildered and confused. If she feared him when doing that, why wonder and trouble her mind about why he wasn't doing it anymore?

And then Hades was gone.

No one in the mansion knew where had he gone to. There was no warning, no announcement, though some maids believed that he was still here, just more subtle and quiet to catch off guard and red-handed any maids doing something out of the ordinary. Persephone however couldn't feel his aura.

And that concerned her.

The triplets couldn't sense him either and seemed to have no clue too about his whereabouts. However they had been instructed long time now by Hades that if he was ever out of the house, they should put up their defence system. And so, when the death was out of the house, life was taking care.

The girls, combining their powers, had learned to raise walls of spiky vines from the ground, around the perimeter of the house. That way they could keep out any unwanted visitors and also listen to the plants about who was on the other side. If it was somebody working for the Renrink, they would leave an opening to let them pass.

Persephone simply felt strange. His absence caused her to feel empty. More than ever he was visiting her mind even as she worked, even as she was going to sleep. Her thoughts towards that man were very conflicting.

There was the icon he was letting out to the whole world and it was an unpleasant, uneasy one. Her too was feeling uneasy many times with him. That was the same man however who was so patient and gentle only with her, showing a far calmer side of himself.

Showing the whatever little sensitivities he had. Perhaps there was little from that side of his. Especially compared to his bigger corrupted and dangerous side which he didn't seem to care showing. But it was there, it existed and it was hidden from anyone, showing itself only to Persephone.

The triplets? Had they ever seen anything more than he was showing? What did they think of him?

And then, on the 5th day of Hades' absence, she gathered her daughters around as they had returned to the heart of the garden to rest. Confused and curious, the triplets waited to hear what their mother wanted to say.

"Girls, in those past 5 years, all this time you've been training so far, what do you make out of Sir Hades?"

Persephone had done that question hesitantly, not sure how would it come out. But then, as if waiting for that exact question to drop, the triplets looked at each other for a few seconds a little intensively. Artemis started first.

"Sir Hades is a man most are afraid of. He has a cruel reputation and he recognises that people and monsters despise him. He has admitted openly to me and Athena and Aphrodite that he has done bad things. But while he is always ready to recognise all bad and evil he has done and says he is, he has always completely disregarded and ignored the slightest good. Whatever good he has done for us by giving us time and education to rise, he calls it as nothing. He always says that he acts for motives and benefits, but from what I've observed and know, I don't think he can recognise if he actually does something good. He might not see it, but all he has ever been for me personally is the greatest and wisest mentor, another kind of great teacher with his own knowledge and advice to share when we would talk from time to time. And... if there were times I was upset or uncertain, he has always been present to get me back together patiently, making me a better and more improved monster than before, even by little."

It was Athena's turn.

"Sir Hades keeps a lot to himself, he is calm and collected because he knows his capabilities which are higher than most. He is mostly ready to use his power and knowledge against anyone and cause upon them despair. Whoever he finds of little importance he barely aknowledges them. And I think he acts like that because he has no reason to do so otherwise. He has no one worthy of his calm, attentive and non-threatening self. He never had, considering what I've heard about his relationship with his parents in the past. Not even with them. Most of the time he sounds and acts typical, but us 3 have have been helped by him in his own way. I've seen all the times he has helped Artemis to short out her insecurities and feelings, he has and shows patience to hear Aphrodite talking to him about her ideas and he has defended me the most from the human maids' disrespect, even after I started caring enough to defend myself and was not having it. I guess he has killed them for that. And while that's cruel, he prefers the disrespect to be upon him as he doesn't care who likes him or not, but has none of it when it's directed to any of us 3. If anything, Sir Hades has always tried in his own ways to defend our feelings and give us confidence to do what we chose to strive for."

Aphrodite stayed quiet for a few seconds thoughtful and crossed her arms.

"... Sir Hades never had shown to really care about anyone. He didn't care who suffered and who didn't. But that doesn't make him incapable for really caring, even for very few. He just had no one to do that until... we arrived in Valencia. He gave us all that training and privilege and we enjoy it. For him to get out of his way and give us all this, while we worked for it too, for him to advice and encourage us to aim for greatness and support us without pressuring or ever insulting us, that is a way of caring. But it's not me, or Artemis, or Athena who he cares about the most..." 3 pairs of surprised and  confused eyesockets turned to look at Aphrodite smiling calmly while she stared at Persephone. "... You mother, you are the one not just caring the most about, but loves you."

Until that moment Persephone had refused to even think about the word love and accept to name what Hades had towards her, simply feelings. Aphrodite saying that so easily caught her off guard.

"What are you saying Aphrodite?!"

"Since when?!"

"Did he tell you?!"

"How do you know?!"

The other 2 sisters were bombardising Aphrodite in questions. She proceeded to explain. She had found him after a week the Ottomans left so harshly, in his office, but most of it was covered in a black cloud where nothing could be seen.

Against the possible danger, she understood Hades didn't feel well and stepped into it. She found him sitting in darkness and looking down with a very lost expression. Her instict told her to simply sit next to him. No matter what she said and asked, Hades wouldn't respond.

Until Aphrodite stared inside his soul, trying to figure out what was causing him to be like that. She had gotten greatly concerned seeing the crack surrounding it, seperating it in 2 parts. He had understood she was looking at his soul and finally turned to look at her.

"You've been told many times you look the most like your mother?"

He had asked. Before Aphrodite could answer that he was looking down and away from her, gripping his ribcage. The young skeleton woman didn't give up and went around to see his expression. Well... from his wide open and hollow eyesockets purple tears were running down. She asked him to tell her what was wrong and...

He actually kind of started by saying that she hated him.

Before the female could comprehend who he was talking about, he proceeded to talk about the next days after the fiasco with the guests, how it had affected his butterfly and that he was to blame for all, deserving the inner suffering he was in. Slowly Aphrodite had put the pieces together. Or, well, most of them.

"Sir Hades... Do you care for my mother?"

"Care? No child..." He had turned to look forward. "... If it was just that. In her I've found all the feelings I never thought I'd find and didn't want, but got them. And now I suffer the consequences for having them after failing her, crushing my soul little by little everyday. I deserve the pain. I don't deserve her, I never did in reality. Why would I..."

The softeness in his voice, the pain he expressed and the damage in him left no doubt to Aphrodite that he was truthful. All those years interacting with him, like the happy cheerful nature she was, she had tried to find any good inside him, see behind the cloak of ice and darkness he was covered with. That ice had broken down and that darkness had scattered as Aphrodite had him next to her expressing himself.

"After all, if you can feel like that towards my mother, doesn't make you as cruel and evil as you claim to be." She started and then smiled. "You might have done horrible things you've said to have caused. But you're not souless Sir Hades. You saying that you love my mother, so much that she got you to be like this, wouldn't come out of someone who doesn't care. You've done a lot for me and my sisters, but you've done a lot for mother too, silently. I saw it in your soul too, I actually have studied to recognise the states of the soul for my healing course." Her smile dissapeared. "... I don't know if my words are of any consolation to you. But I don't think mother was as mad at you as much as she was worried for mine and my sisters' safety. And personally I'm not mad for what happened then, even though I could have died first. I don't blame you for it." She was ready to stand up.

And then, Hades revealed to her all of his plans about what he prepared the triplets for. What he was going to do once they were ready. Bluntly saying that alongside all that preparation he was using them to get to Persephone.

"Do you still dare to think I have or am any good?"

"Even like that, feeling like you're using us or not, you've changed our lives towards the better. You've genuinely helped us become greater and you've been there for us. All that, even so just for mother to live comfortably. You're thinking again for her. If you were really using me and my sisters, you would have done so as excuse so mother would be in debt to you because you're doing all this for us. But you're not and you accept to feel hurt instead of proceeding with such 'plan' if it can be called that. But even if you think you're the worst one in this world, I don't like that you say you'll take your leave when our training is over. Me and my sisters value your knowledge and guidance. We... want you here."

"You might want me to stay, but if she doesn't, then there is no other real reason for me. It will just hurt me worse to stay here, my consciousness suffering further..." Aphrodite pressed her teeth together. "Just leave Miss Aphrodite."

"... I hear her at nights walking around, whispering about what she did... to who would be called our father. And she comes back to the garden at the ends of the days and I see that she has cried, pretending she's calm. Is there any way to help her Sir Hades? Maybe... if there was any way to help her stop feeling so guilty, if you know, would you help..."

"There might be a way, but if she doesn't want me near her, then I can't." Hades stated. Finally he raised head to look at Aphrodite stably. "... Thank you for the company Miss Aphrodite, but leave. Let me think."

Artemis and Athena started rumbling again towards Aphrodite for what she had just revealed. For him having feelings towards their mother, for his future plans with the 3 of them... Persephone listened shocked and feeling even more horrible.

So that was what Aphrodite had seen by Hades trying to cope with the soulbreak. Then again it was probably how it had happened and he appeared to Persephone to help her with the guilt. She sighed sad.

"Don't be sad mother! From what I observe, you seem to be better, same as Sir Hades!" Aphrodite smiled wider. "He's changing all those years because of you! Well, perhaps only for you, but he tries! He has already changed a lot!"

"How much more is he willing to change towards me when I still can't understand..." The woman whispered not finishing her sentence, but it reached her daughters.

"A lot! This man is ready to do anything for you, even go by the rest of his life not killing! Even carry your illne-!" Aphrodite stopped abruptly talking and tried to smile casually. Persephone's eyesockets went empty as she nailed them at her.

"What illness Aphrodite?" She asked slowly. Her daughter looked away.

"... I... Oh no... I forgot, I wasn't supposed to say that..." She murmured as now her sisters were stabbing her with their stares too. She suddenly turned around and skedaddled.

"Αφροδίτη Σωφρόνου, γύρνα πίσω αμέσως αυτή τη στιγμή και εξήγησε αυτό που πήγαινες να πεις!"

"No parlo grec!" Aphrodite said as she tried to get away. But Athena stopped her and held her back stably.

"You messed up already, might as well you complete the full story."

"What full story?!" Persephone asked even more confused and agitated. Athena turned to look at her. And she revealed that those 3 days back she was unconscious and fighting for her life after killing... him, Hades would come once every one of those days.

Somehow his presence by itself instead of worsening Persephone's state, made her feel actually better than all the healing her daughters would do. However once he would leave, she would be back to feel pain. The triplets had understood from the first of those 3 days he had visited.

But they had thought he was attracted to her slow death, you know, necromantic nature stuff. But seeing their mother relaxing by his presence and touch, her pain a lot more eased and her aura not weakened but almost back to the physical way it was emitted, they were letting him do whatever it was he was doing.

Only on the 3rd day he finally spoke to the girls. And he told them bluntly that no healing was going to save their mother. If that went on, she would enter the Fallen Down state and eventually die, at most in 2 days. Her aura was weakening, the fever wouldn't go away and she wasn't opening eyesockets at all.

Of course the girls were devastated, ready to start lamenting. But Hades had prevented them, saying there was one way to save Persephone and he could perform it, but if it all went well, the girls had to promise to not ever thank him and never tell their mother he was here in the hut of the garden's heart.

What else could they do? The triplets agreed. Lastly, the necromancer asked them to not enter their mother's room while he was performing that savior method he had said he had. Again they agreed and not even 10 minutes later, the girls... stopped feeling the Renrink's presence in the room.

They hurried to enter and he was nowhere to be seen and found. Then they checked Persephone's condition. She was still unconscious, but she was less pale than before, she didn't seem to be in pain, the fever had dropped, her soul was beating slow and steady... she looked like she was typically sleeping!

Her expression was peaceful. The girls' happiness could barely be contained. Their mother would live! They wanted so badly to find Sir Hades and thank him even though he forbade them from doing that, alongside telling anything about his visits to Persephone.

And that was all the triplets knew. Or so Athena and Artemis did.

"Sir Hades had never told us what he did to you that day. He refused to answer when any of us 3 asked him. Only the day I found him sitting alone in his own dark space and I saw his soul I understood what had happened..." Aphrodite exhaled quietly. "... When we checked at your soul mother, it was free off the penalty markings caused by your action of taking a life. That time then, all 3 of us had understood Sir Hades managed to somehow remove them, but we had no idea what kind of magical technique could do such thing. Well, he really did remove them off you completely. But he didn't eliminate them. The thing is... they went on him. He deliberately took upon himself the penalty so you could go back to health. Mother, please don't be mad. He told me to not say anything about it, he didn't want you to feel bad, or guilty. He only wanted to help."

~

2 days later, marking a week of absence, the maids around the house started feeling the familiar cold of their Master's aura. He was back. And first and better, without even knocking, Persephone burst in his office sensing him there, causing him to raise head surprised as he was sitting behind his desk.

He too had sensed her coming, but the way she entered had caught him off guard. She stared at him slightly shaking and with wide open eyesockets, he stared at her at first surprised, then with slight concern. He stood up and walked around his desk to approach her.

"Something wron-?" He didn't see it coming, with her walking towards him too and then start pushing him with both hands on his ribcage. Momentarily off guard, Hades took 2 steps back until he stood his ground. He held her by the wrists, not understanding her game. "What do you think you're doi-?"

Until the moment he realised, it was too late. Until the moment he took her hands off his ribcage she was staring at him with big wide open, now empty eyesockets, her bottom jaw shaking. A look of realisation.

"That's why I felt healthy, that's what happened to the markings. So it's true..." She whispered. Hades sighed slightly frustrated.

"Are there females in this world capable to keep a secret?" He murmured.

"... Give them back." She demanded calmly.

"I can't reverse what I did."

"It's my burden to bare, not yours."

"This burden would have killed you."

"So instead you're going to kill yourself?" Persephone asked and the tears started forming up. Hades looked at her slightly surprised. "... You don't deserve all this trouble, you- don't interfere to take upon yourself my mistakes, don't face the consequences of my actions..." A sob escaped her as she lowered her head. "... Just... stop... It's not worth getting yourself into all this fuss." She felt his hand on her cheek, but she didn't react.

"You are worth everything to me. Even this. Don't worry butterfly, it doesn't kill me. It could, but it's balanced with my nature. Doctor Caninto's daughter who specifies in the conditions of souls told me that so long I don't kill anyone and anything with soul, I won't be at risk. Strange situation for me, but I can try get used to this." He raised her head and his ribcage silently ached seeing her tears again. "Don't cry Persephone. Even if this was killing me, no one would miss me. But your friends and more over your daughters need their loving mother."

Something broke inside Persephone's soul that day. Not in a bad way. Rather as if something she never payed attention to was revealed to her more clearly. She couldn't identify it, but it broke off her fear towards the skeleton man.

And matter of fact, it would erase that fear forever. Both her hands were placed at his ribcage gently, as she stared up to him. Then, many seconds later, much to Hades' surprise, Persephone dared, became the first again to do a move towards the other and hugged him.

"I don't want you to go away." She whispered as she hid her face on him.

The absolute sweetest melody, that's what that sentence almost sounded like for surprised Hades as he stared down at her. There was genuinity, concern, care. His hands very slowly and rather uncertainly went and wrapped around her. And... Persephone didn't try to break free.

His soul was going crazy by how fast it was beating.

Her soul almost felt as if hesitantly beating.

But both were almost beating in the same rhythm.

~

The change had become clear between them.

There was a bigger level of comfort, especially for Persephone. She didn't fear Hades anymore. She didn't feel uneasy by his aura and appearance. She felt safe. She felt that no harm would be caused to her with him close. She felt...

She felt.

Over the next week, they kept meeting up, doing whatever they were doing in the previous 6 weeks. Except the skeleton woman didn't feel uncomfortable near the Renrink. She was relaxed and looking at him in the eyesockets more happily. In such state she realised more clearly what she was seeing in his expression.

Around anyone else his look always was tough, a glare. With her there was nothing but calm and genuine tenderness. If she was finding him with a grim expression on his face as he was in his own thoughts, that same expression would lit up the moment he saw her.

Still serious, but a lot more welcoming. It had almost become a habit for Persephone everytime they were alone, with some hesitation and shyly, to place her hand in the middle of his ribcage. Then place her other hand on her own.

Reading it from that one book mentioned before, that was one method to check how the souls were beating beetween 2 bind by the bond of Eros. She could feel the beats going at first on their own pace. But a few seconds later she could feel them going almost in the same rhythm.

It felt impressive for her, but after a while she was taking her hand off Hades and proceeding to look away slightly flustered. She was happy to sense that his soul was almost healed, from the emotional impact at least. So long as the penalty markings were doing nothing to him...

And Hades was finding Persephone not only avoiding his touch, but letting him do it while staring at him with an expression of full trust. He liked cupping her face and gently caress her cheeks, he enjoyed the warmth of her aura if she leaned towards him, herself not finding his cold overwhelming with his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

But they hadn't done one of the most important things for their bond to seal completely. Yet.

Matter of fact, for a second time it was almost done at the end of the week.

Again Hades had Persephone against the wall. But unlike all previous times, Persephone felt calm. She had been reassured so many times, she was certain Hades wouldn't hurt her. So many times he had proved otherwise. Even though she was silently telling herself she would deserve it for hurting him in the past...

He had cupped her face, their eyesockets were locked at each other's and... well, Persephone felt the nervousness coursing through her, as she could guess what was about to come. She wasn't sure if she felt ready for the kiss, their first real one that would be their final genuine proof they were for each other.

And when their mouths were only inches away from each other's, as if waken up abruptly from a dream that was only now getting good, the door knocked.

Hades slowly let go of Persephone, placed his hands together close to his mouth, inhaled and exhaled definitely calmly and snapped his head at the door's direction.

"Sí?" He asked, also definitely calmly and with a smile that was saying murder. But he proceeded to hold Persephone's hands and kiss them both, slightly becoming more definitely calm.

But perhaps, the reason why the kiss failed twice to happen wasn't only because it was at time easier for somebody or something to interrupt.

It was because stereotypically it wasn't romantic enough. 😂🤣

2 days later, the moment had finally come.

Under the cover of the oh so calm and peaceful night for lovey dovey shenanigans to happen. With a full moon and stars of course on the clear dark blue sky.

But enough satire and mockery.

After all, when most sleep, the few can act.

Persephone walked out of the heart of the garden, in her long and airy night gown in the shades of cyan. The sleep couldn't convince her to shut her eyesockets, but not because of nightmares. She didn't know what it was exactly that had awoken her. An instict? A premonition? Whatever it was had gotten her to slowly wander around the beginning area of the garden.

While taking in the full view of the moon's silver light falling all over the trees and flowers. A few lonely crickets were playing their monotonous melody, the soft wind was passing through the yews' leaves and the fountain's water was running gently. That was all it was heard. Persephone sat on the fountain and kept staring at the moon.

Distant moon, so big and bright
softest silver glowing through the night
High atop the mountain gold
sun unseen the world is cold

She sang quietly. Her head turned to look at the statue on top of the fountain. She smiled softly. And then placed her hand where her soul was beating. She was suddenly filled with longing. The same longing she had felt when Hades had left for a whole week, but she hadn't understand it then.

She was feeling it in the nights stronger, her soul ached for that man, her body felt a lot warmer than her natural, only calming down feeling his aura near her. They were complete opposites. Truly. But Persephone felt he balanced her, helping her feel safe and calm...

She had make him suffer for so long while he waited, waited to freely dedicate the love he was developing for her and hoped to find the love he had never felt from others in his existence. He was hurt and she had hurt him further. She hugged herself tightly and sighed sad.

But not long after... she raised head and looked around. Then at the door leading back inside the mansion. She hopped off the fountain and before she could realise it herself, her legs were leading her towards the house. While a shady figure was approaching to her direction, slowly taking form. His form! He was here!

Persephone stopped walking and allowed Hades approach until he was a step away from her. He was wearing a long man gown, black with purple seams. The 2 skeletons looked at each other. Without saying a single word, they had both understood for the other that the sleep wasn't coming because each had the other in their mind.

Hades' hand moved, his fingers caressed Persephone on her cheek. She smiled wider with the contact and lowered head a little flustered. They both turned to look up to the moon. First their fingers hesitantly, then their hands held each other's, clasped together. For long they stared up to the sky. Until Persephone realised Hades was staring at her. She looked at him with a questioning look.

"Ets la vista més preciosa que veig aquí." Hades said calm. The woman blushed, she looked down and away. "I es va fer molt més bonic." The necromancer kept going.

Persephone let go of his hand to cover her face with both. She looked at him expecting to see him smiling at her teasingly or something. Instead he kept staring at her absolutely serious and focused on her. She turned her back again to cover her embarrasment, her soul basically pounding wildly in her ribcage.

She felt a rush of cold running down her spine and at first thought Hades was right behind her. But when she raised head, she realised a big part of the garden and the sky was covered by what looked like a transparent dark cloud. She could still see her surroundings. And then, she heard a familiar melody which she had learn to play once with the harp. But how-?

(and of course, the stereotypical melody that will give a sense of love and tranquility couldn't be missing from such a romantic scenario. so, just let the gorgeous but tragic melody play while reading or something)

https://youtu.be/GBFRwS62krQ

Persephone turned around. She saw Hades holding what looked like a glowing purple orb in the palm of his hand. From it, it seemed the colors were swirling in the rhythm of the music! A mnimoria orb, like an Echo flower it could remember whatever it heard, but for much longer.

It was holding in it the sound of Persephone playing in the harp that melody! Her look met Hades' who let down carefully the orb. He walked closer to her and after a few seconds, he held her hands gently.

Still surprised Persephone kept staring up to him. The man moved her one hand so it was placed on his shoulder. He held the other out. As for his hand that had moved Persephone's on his shoulder, the woman felt it placed on her back.

She froze for just a moment, not moving. But when she fully assessed what was going on, she smiled and started following Hades' lead, who was fighting back from going ahead to kiss her seeing her like that, right here and now.

But he kept himself together, not yet. The 2 slowly and gracefully moved and spinned around the garden, stepping on the big tiles. Never taking their eyesockets off each other. They didn't even need to see where were they stepping to.

Persephone felt that her ribcage was going to explode in happiness. For a moment she got scared because all that was so beautiful, it felt like a very good dream and somebody would wake her up. Never once that happened and she kept dancing gracefully with Hades.

When the music reached an end, when the silence surrounded them both completely, they stayed motionless, still staring at each other. Tenderly, calmly, lovingly. Hades let go of Persephone, only to place his right hand on her cheek.

Persephone closed eyesockets and leaned into his hand. She placed her hand above his. Then brought it in front of her. And without removing her look from the other's, she removed the glove he was wearing all this time.

He was telling her that his cold might be unbearable for her, that was one reason why he was still wearing gloves around her. Persephone could already feel how much cold there was surrounding Hades. Well, it was time she truly felt it. And she did.

She shivered, but that only made her proceed to remove the other glove too. She held his hands in hers. She studied the holes in their middle, her fingers brushed against his. The more she felt his touch, the more she was finding herself to like it, already erasing some of her extra warmth.

Then, she held his hand and gently placed it on her ribcage. Hades took her free hand and placed it on his ribcage. They focused on each other's soul beating, so so close to reach perfect sync. Then, Hades' hands moved again and they both went to cup Persephone's face.

"L'única calor que vull sentir mai." He said quietly, enjoying the sensation of her warmth.

Persephone's face was filled again in pink and cyan colors, but when the necromancer focused his attention again on her, she got slightly concerned by his expression, all heavily serious suddenly.

"... Sir?" She asked hesitantly. Even after the moments they shared all those weeks back, especially the latest one knowing well their feelings were mutual, out of respect and uncertaincy she was still calling him Sir. The man closed the gap almost completely.

"... I want to hear you saying my name butterfly. When like this, when alone..." He let go of her face, but the fingertips of his left hand moved to gently stroke the edges of Persephone's mouth, then go down her chin. "... Call my name, Persephone." He said as after running his fingers down her neck, a palm rested on her shoulder.

"... H-Hades?" Persephone rather asked, feeling a sudden wave of nervousness rushing through her.

Hades' hand resting on the woman's shoulder went on the back of her neck while the other arm wrapped around her waist. In that movement Persephone prevented to place both hands against the man's ribcage. More embarrased or nervous for what was about to happen?

"Again. And look at me Persephone." Hades demanded calmly, his mouth only inches away from Persephone's. The scent of myrrh almost numbed the female completely, it made her feel hypnotised. She raised head slightly shaking to meet the other's eyesockets. Her mouth opened trying to form his name.

"... Hades..." She managed to say before Hades went ahead for the kiss.

A kiss which caused almost instant paralysis for the woman, the man's arms holding her upright and stably. But it was shock of only just a moment, it was the last of hesitation Persephone felt inside her, causing herself to ask just what she had been missing all this time.

As quickly as her hands had been placed on Hades's chest to stop him from being completely pressed against her, they slid up and wrapped around his shoulders, allowing her ribcage to gently hit against the other's. And Persephone could feel it in her whole being.

The combination of hers and Hades' soul beating at the same time and sending waves. The perfect sync was finally achieved. She felt shivering as she felt his arms gently and tenderly caressing her body from the middle and above and at the same time melting into the powerful and loving kiss, softly moaning from the opposite sensations.

This, didn't feel wrong at all. This, felt divine. The time had stopped completely. Nothing and no one mattered right now. It was just them, given into each other's embrace and touch, overflowing their senses so much Persephone almost felt ready to tear up from all those emotions.

"Persephone..." Hades whispered as he gently attacked her jawline.

"Hades!" Persephone cried out.

20 years might had passed, but that one night had erased them all.

WOOO! FINALLY!

so? how were the chapters?

*turns to look at the readers laying on the floor like snakes who have fattened up to shed skin*

... ah well!

14000 words. hope you enjoyed the preaching in this chapter too. please vote, it is greatly appreciated. goodbye. *pat pat pat pat pat*