This year I'm going to be working on a modern day retelling of the Hades and Persephone story. I can't wait to get into this story and share it with everyone when it's finished. This is one of my favorite mythological stories ever and I have never found a good retelling of it so I decided to write my own. On top of that, it's super fun to get to play around with Greek mythology, since there are a lot of things I've always wanted to do with the characters and I hope everyone enjoys the versions of them in this story as much as I'm sure to enjoy writing them.
Check out my Pintrest board to get a little sneak peek of what this story might be like!
And here's a little teaser excerpt to kick off the month:
Flower of the Underworld
“My lord, have you signed off on the new arrivals yet?”
I sat at my
desk, eyes closed and gripping the bridge of my nose as I attempted to fight
off the headache that had been looming since that morning. Even the ambrosia
laced coffee hadn’t done a thing. But then, what really worked when it came to
ceaseless piles of paperwork? Seriously, I was going to have to consider this a
new torment to use on the souls in Tartarus.
“My lord?”
I looked up
with a glower. “Yes, Askalaphos I heard you the first time, and no I haven’t
because I have been working systematically through all the other paperwork I
have to see to, and your constant nagging is not helping at all.”
“The new
arrivals are getting restless, my lord. You know how they are.”
“They’re
dead, they can wait a little longer to be sorted out properly, now please…” I
glanced up at Askalaphos and he gave a somewhat exasperated look before he
bowed and left my office. I took the opportunity to lean back in my chair and
groan, running my hands through my hair.
I heard a
whine and looked down at my feet to see Cerberus’ three heads all looking up at
me expectantly. I sighed and reached down to pat each head in turn.
“Sorry boy,
I can’t take you out for a walk yet. I’ve still got a ridiculous amount of work
to do.”
So, I
didn’t totally hate being Lord of the Underworld, in fact, most of the time, I
really liked it. I got to stay out of the way of the other gods and goddesses
who could be real pains in the posterior, and for the most part I was just me,
my various aides and Cerberus—the only faithful companion I ever needed. Apart
from the visits by Hermes every once in a while, I didn’t really get any
company. But I didn’t like company
either, so that was all well and good for me. But the best perk of all was that
I didn’t have to go to Olympus. If paperwork was unbearable, having to sit in
my big brother’s throne room was pure torment. I would rather sign off on a
million soul placements than have to hob-nob with Zeus any day.
I finished
most of my paperwork by mid morning—at least enough to make Askalaphos get off
my back—but by then I’d had enough. There was no way I could sit at my desk
another minute. I hadn’t been out for almost two weeks, and even I needed some
daylight once in a while.
I stood up
from the desk and Cerberus was instantly on his feet, wagging his tail as three
heads grinned and panted in anticipation.
“Come on
boy, you can go out and guard for a while.” He ran ahead of me, and I crossed
the room, grabbing my helmet of invisibility on the way out and putting it on.
No need to cause any problems by letting people see I was going topside for a
while. And I was trying to avoid the harpies—they were always having some sort
of tussle or other.
I headed
toward the River Styx where Charon was sitting on the dock, reading a new spy
thriller. He glanced up as I took off my helmet, reappearing, and stood up
straight and proper. His suit was always impeccable, tie straight. I always
wore mine with the waistcoat rumpled, sleeves rolled up, tie loosened. Zeus
said it was an offence to Armani, but it worked for me. Even Charon never said
anything about it.
“Lord
Hades,” he said in his perpetually polite butler voice. “How may I serve you
today?”
“I’m
thinking it’s time for another trip up top,” I told him.
Charon
inclined his head in acknowledgement and gave the smallest of smiles. “Of
course, my lord. Will it be the traditional rout?”
I smiled.
“Get the Bugatti.”
Charon
smiled as wide as he ever did and gave a smart nod. “Excellent choice, my
lord.”
There was
one spot I liked to go when my duties as Lord of the Dead got too stifling. As
I said before, I had nothing against the Underworld, but the dark and the gloom
and the wailing—complaining—spirits could get really wearing long term. So when
I needed an escape, I went to one place that was the exact opposite of my
realm.
I’d
actually found it quite by accident one day waiting for Zeus to show up for a
meeting. Zeus was always late, not fashionably, but rudely, like I didn’t make
the time he was wasting on me worth enough to bother showing up when he had been the one to call the meeting
anyway. But that’s not important now. What I was saying is that while I was waiting
around for my elder sibling to show up, I stumbled across this absolutely
beautiful garden center. In fact, it had looked so nice that I had thought it
was a public garden at first, but only after wandering around it for a few
hours, did I find that it belonged to a place called “Olympus Landscaping”. It
was beautiful, the gardens were always impossibly lush, and everything was put
together perfectly. But then, what would I know? The only plants in the
Underworld are in the Elysian Fields and that one pomegranate tree. But I had a
feeling the business was run by those of a godly demeanor because no one could
make plants look that good.
Of course,
there was more than one reason why I went there too. Let’s just say the plants
weren’t the only things worth looking at.
It was a
matter of minutes before we got topside and Charon skillfully wove the overcharged Bugatti between the humans’
cars on the road before we reached our destination.
“Thanks,
Charon,” I told him and tossed him a gold coin as I climbed out.
“Enjoy
yourself, my lord,” Charon told me and I looked further down the street to
where the landscaping center was.
Olympus
Landscaping was a huge, multi-million dollar business that did jobs all over
the country, especially for celebrities and the Hollywood types. And who
wouldn’t want their yards done up in such a fantastic way? I might consider it
myself if I lived in a clime that could support grass and green things. There
were several branches of it open across the country, but this was the one I
liked best…for various reasons.
I strolled
straight out to the garden, hands in my pockets, enjoying the afternoon sun
while I could. I did get tired of the sun easily, but when you hadn’t seen it
for weeks on end, even I could be really appreciative of stuff like that.
The garden
was so lush and green. Trees gave shade, and flowers spilled out onto the
sidewalks in perfectly constructed disarray. The garden culminated into a small
courtyard, which was my favorite part, because it had a pond in the middle with
a bunch of happy goldfish. I imagined having one of these in the Underworld but
figured they would be happier in the sun.
I sat down
on the bench near the pond with a contented sigh, and simply closed my eyes and
turned my face up toward the sun. Of course, my whole pale body could use some
sunlight, but it would look a little strange coming back to the Underworld with
a tan. And it wasn’t like I had time to go to the beach either.
I was just
enjoying soaking up the sun when I heard a voice.
“Oh, hello.
I haven’t seen you around for a while.”
My eyes
flew open and saw the girl standing in front of me. She had honey blond hair
and green eyes, and a pleasant smile that told of good nature but also seemed
to hold a good sense of humor. She was dressed in a light sundress with green
leggings and short fashionable boots with the tops turned down to show her
chunky knitted socks. She was also holding a pot of bright pink flowers,
completing the breath of fresh air she always was.
Yeah, so I
did say that I had other reasons for coming here than to just enjoy the fishpond.
I smiled
back a bit awkwardly. I know I only ever came just to sit in the garden and
never bought anything, but the girl never seemed to mind and she was the only
employee I had ever seen. I began to realize I probably looked a little out of
place there with my unkempt charcoal grey suit, minus the jacket and my red
shirt rolled up to the elbows, but I didn’t really care either.
“Yeah, I’ve
been busy,” I told her. I was not the best conversationalist. One of the main
reasons I stayed as far away from Olympus as possible. The good thing about the
dead was that they didn’t much care for conversation anyway, and the other
denizens of the Underworld weren’t much better. “But the garden here is a nice
place to sit and just relax for a while.”
She put the
pot she was carrying down on the edge of the pond. “I like to think it is. Have
you ever thought about starting a garden at home? It provides a nice place to
relax, and gardening is a good form of stress relief.”
“Hm,” I
replied regrettably. “Don’t know how well that would work out.”
“Well,” she said and looked me up and down. “I’m going to take a guess at office job?”
I raised an eyebrow but nodded in confirmation. “How about a plant for your desk?” she asked. “It really does make a room brighter.”
“Well,” she said and looked me up and down. “I’m going to take a guess at office job?”
I raised an eyebrow but nodded in confirmation. “How about a plant for your desk?” she asked. “It really does make a room brighter.”
I smiled
but shook my head. “I’d like to, but I really don’t live in a good climate for
plants in general.”
“Where are
you from?” she asked.
“Er…down
south.”
“Florida?”
She asked knowingly.
I shrugged,
considering. “Close enough.”
“In that
case,” she said, beckoning me forward toward the garden center portion of
Olympus Landscaping. “I think I might have the perfect plant for you.”
Curious, I
followed her inside, again marveling at how beautiful everything looked. There
were no half-dead hardware store plants here. They were all as fresh as they
could be.
She went
over to a shelf and plucked a tiny pot from it, and handed it to me. “I would
say start with an air plant. It’s almost impossible to kill, and they do well in
practically any environment.”
I took the
tiny pot and stared down at the little green plant, which kind of looked like
grass, but had a sort of velvety feel to it.
“Thank you,”
I told the girl, smiling at her. “I think I will like to keep this on my desk.”
“He should
be a good first plant for you,” she told me. “His name is George.”
I cocked an
eyebrow. “George? Do you name all your plants?”
“Of
course.” She smiled, and I honestly couldn’t tell whether she was teasing or
not.
“Okay
then,” I nodded, thoughtfully looking down at my new green friend. “And how
much do I owe you for George?”
“Oh, he’s a
gift,” she insisted and stopped me before I could protest. “Just take good care
of him.”
“Well, I
shall certainly endeavor to do so,” I promised. “By the way, I never caught
your name.”
“Oh, it’s
Persephone,” the girl said with a smile. “What about you?”
I
hesitated. I never went by my actual name when I was among mortals. It kinda
got a bad rap. “Oh, well, you can just call me H,” I told her.
“H,” she
said, seeming to consider it as her eyes narrowed. “So, you’re a man of mystery;
I suppose I can deal with that.”
The sparkle
in her green eyes made me unable to keep from smiling and Persephone smiled
back. “Well, I’m glad to hear that,” I told her. “But I’m afraid I have to go
for now. I will take care of George, and, thank you for him, by the way.”
“You’re
welcome,” she replied. “I hope to see you again soon.”
“Me too,” I
replied and with a great reluctance left the landscaping center and headed back
toward the spot Charon had parked the Bugatti. I didn’t want to go back to the
Underworld but business was business, and I couldn’t very well just slack off
because I wanted to sit in a garden and talk to a pretty girl.
Persephone.
I felt a warmth inside at the thought of knowing her name.
And now I
even had something to remember her by. George.
Charon was
ready for me as soon as he saw me coming. I saw him glance with some interest
at the tiny pot with George in it as I got into the car, but he didn’t make any
mention of it either.
Not that I
would have cared. I had an air plant named George from a pretty girl. That was
the best thing that had happened to me for a long time.
Unfortunately,
so few good things tend to last, as I was about to find out very soon.
***
