The Wife of Hades
Prologue
Perhaps you are familiar with the story of The 12 Dancing Princesses. In the version I have read, the 12 princesses dance in the underworld every night. They are locked up in their room, but every night their shoes become worn because they have been dancing in the underworld. Eventually, a prince spies on them and the king rewards him. Then he marries one of the princesses and all is well.
This is my version of that tale, and mine focuses more on what happens down in Hades. And what could have happened on Earth.
Oh, dear reader, might I call you that? We've reached the doors to their room. Help me lift the bolt. Ahh, there. Now then, allow me to open the doors for you.
Chapter 1
The bolt was placed over their door and the 2 guards saluted the king as he looked sadly into through the closed doors, wondering if once again, they would go and return in the night. He sadly turned away and walked down the long hallway.
"Come now, girls, put on your slippers,'' the oldest daughter quietly told the other 11. "The door shall open soon enough."
The 12 dressed in beautiful gowns and put on their slippers. Then the clock struck 11 and the swirled flower tiles on the floor center disappeared and a round, warm, yellow shaft of light came up like the bent ribbon-like Aurora Borealis. It disappeared and revealed a staircase that spiraled downward toward the dark realm of Hades.
Vines with long, slender, delicate, tube-like, pink flowers surrounded them as they descended the marble staircase. They strolled through a dark, pretty forest on a cobblestone pathway overgrown with moss and lichen. It passed several romantic ponds and pillared marble circles and ancient marble temples overgrown with ivy and vines. It could seem impossible that this was the ever-feared kingdom of the dead. The path led to a beautiful, large, circular, stone dance floor with ancient Roman columns all around it that were clothed in vines and ivy. There was no roof, only the dark, starry sky above them and surrounding them a short wall with bronze statues and instruments and the very same vine that had surrounded the staircase.
Wispy, glossy, and handsome men (they were so glossy and wispy because they were the dead souls of young men) came out to dance and the night was filled with fun times.
The youngest sister, Serafina, was merrily dancing with the youngest soul. She had many courters, though even her great amount was not even half of the great amounts each of her sisters had. But the soul she danced with was madly in love with her.
As the dancing concluded, she and her partner went off for a walk. He asked her if she would die for him, and she replied no. Finally, he asked her if she knew her way back, which she did.
As she walked back, the other 11 were ascending the stairs. None had noticed her absence except for Panicia. Unfortunately, she was very shy and only looked worriedly over her shoulder as she ascended the first step. The opening closed behind her, and where once a beautiful marble staircase had been, there was a dark, gloomy wall of overgrown bush and vines.
Serafina was shocked when she found this and wondered if her partner had purposely kept her from leaving. In reality, he had had no idea at all that it would close to her. He had stupidly thought that it was always open to them to leave or return, just not to himself and other inhabitants of the kingdom of the dead.
Serafina ran back and found that the stage had disappeared and so she ran back to the path. She hen found a man sitting in one of the ancient columned circles. He was reading what appeared to be a very old book. he looked up and there seemed to be no emotion in his eyes.
"Hello, Serafina. Why so distressed?"
"Oh,sir!" she exclaimed. "Do you not know how stuck I am here! I am very misplaced!"
"Misplaced, oh no, Sera. Not misplaced at all. This was destined to be. I am Hades, God of the Underworld. Come sit with me in this circle. Its end is near."
"What can you mean? This is the end. The end of everything."
"This was only here for you and your sisters enjoyment. This forest glade shall disappear soon, along with this strange temper of mine. You have already discovered that the dancing arena is long gone. I believe we should leave now."
"What!?"
"I am Hades! A god, you a mere mortal! You will obey me until you are a goddess, and even then!'
He grabbed her hand and pulled her out and away. As they fled, the gardens behind them disappeared. Where they had once been was now a red dusty plain. Soon they reached the courtyard of a red palace and entered the huge doors. The throne inside was huge. Beside it was an arched doorway.
"Follow me, dear, follow me," He told her. He brought her to his own parlor like room and told her to sit on the sofa. "Eurydice!" he called "Won't you come with the prophesy of my wife!?" He sat down beside Serafina and wrapped his arms around her.
Eurydice entered and unrolled a long scroll. She then began to read,
"Many dancers come and go,
Here to dance to and fro,
He is looking through the window,
At the maidens spinning o'er,
His precious kingdom,
Stretch so far,
Then one fateful day,
A maid will come here to stay,
Accidentally left behind,
Here she is left,
To others shine,
Decide to drink of thy wine,
Understand a wife for thee,
Will not come from death's sea,
But become a goddess,
Fair and glad,
Oh dear maiden,
Do not be mad."
"A splendid prophetess wrote that," Hades told Serafina. "I doubted her for a long time, but here you are! After generations, we have found you. I have been given what was promised. Now go change into proper clothes. In a few days you will drink the ambrosia of the Gods!"
But Serafina was very unhappy. She missed her sisters and her father and the sweet scents of flowers and life. Hades looked at her sadly and said, "What is it that you long for?"
"Life," she replied "And its sweet aromas, too."
Hades held her hand tightly and took her out behind the palace to a little herd of lambs in the back that feasted on the grass that was not there.
"These are lambs that died above, and here they are. Won't you be pleased? Besides, Persephone will be here at the end of summer and with her will be the aroma of life from above. You were destined to be here, to be my wife, to become a goddess, and live eternally with me and in the dark, gloomy kingdom I have been given. Please, dear Sera, please be glad and happy," he begged, his eyes appealing to her with pity.
She bent down and scooped up a lamb in her arms and stroked its back with her soft hand. It snuggled down as if it was snuggling beside its mother on the soft grass it would have enjoyed if it were alive.
As they entered the palace, Hades offered her a tour. She accepted and they began down the corridors of the splendid palace.
He laughed and said in a jolly tone, "See here these antique pieces? Many things here I have stolen from above. Perhaps a person dies and left a cluttered attic, then I shall reach up and pull down to me the items that I like. Sometimes the things that you would lose from above are things that I took for myself. Sometimes I reach up even if that person is alive and steal it right from under their nose, literally. Not every god can enjoy that game and its glorious rewards."
Serafina nodded and he opened a door to another room. Velvet curtains hung on the windows and held the same colors that seemed to be the color theme of his palace. Cheetah skins hung as a canopy from her bed. Great gloomy armor hung on stands by a grand fireplace. A lyre sat beside a velvet recamier {look it up} ready to be strummed for her amusement. A beautifully carved door stood beside her bed that opened into a beautiful closet filled with red togas and silk dresses that she recognized more. A book lay on her bed, thick and heavy with worn pages. A cedar-like chest sat at the foot of her bed. A portrait of Zeus crowned the wall in an elaborate living gold frame. From the ceiling hung a looming and gloomy chandelier of living rubies that emitted a dark and almost ethereal glow.
Hades pulled her to his side, and, still gazing into the room, asked, "Do you like it, Sera?"
"Yes, Hades, I do like it,;'' she replied. "It's perfect."
The beauty of the dark glow filled the hallways and corridors and rooms as they walked down them in silence. Lovely sadness filled the dark realm and Eurydice's lover. The courtyards displayed red dust and the occasional red hedge.
Serafina kissed his cheek airily and left to sit in silence in her own quarters. She sat in silence on her bed and wondered if she would ever see her family again.
"No,'' she thought sadly. "I never will see them again." She sighed and began to cry. Eurydice appeared in the doorway of her room with a duster.
"What is it, Sera? Are you sad and weeping because of your fate? The poor prophetess didn't know Hades already had a wife. She found out on her deathbed, before she could change it. Zeus declared it would not be changed, he had loved this prophetess more than Hera, you see. He's not so bad anyways, Hades is." Eurydice wiped Serafina's face off and repeated to her everything she had just said, adding in,"Besides, do you think I'll ever see Orpheus again? Of course not! You're not alone! Besides, in about 50 years your sisters will be here! You can hire them to work for you!"
"Thank you, Eurydice. Do you need help with the dusting?" Serafina asked.
"No, Sera. Go cry onto Hades's shoulder. You'll be surprised." Eurydice told her.
Serafina was obedient and left the room but not to see Hades. she wandered through the hallways to a special room where she could watch the living.
"Panicia," she whispered longingly. "Panicia, Aliana, Lilianna, Bethany, Cornelia, Alia, Sarabeth, and the rest."
Onto a dark obsidian table was dropped a dark ruby table cover with golden strings on the ends and onto that a golden book. The book was from above. Its cover had been crafted by a goldsmith of dead gold. Its edges were of pure, living gold and shimmered. It hovered slightly above the table and opened by itself. Above appeared a large bubble.
Panicia was shown in a garden with high, marble pillars and vines and ivy draping down in a thick dark green curtain. It was night above and Panicia was very quiet. She sat on a marble bench. She closed her book and began calling in a ghostly, half-dead, trance-like tone, "Serafina, Serafina! Where are you? Sera, Serafina!" She began to sing in ghostly, hollow, almost dead, trance-like tone.
Serafina could not bear to hear her sister like this and covered her ears (though it did not help) and wept. but then she heard another weeping. She uncovered her ears and looked up at Panicia. Panicia was weeping and sobbing.
"Oh Panicia!" she cried, pressing her hands against the bubbles and throwing herself at it. "Oh Panicia! I'm here, I'm here. Oh Panicia..." She slid off and collapsed into the floor in a huddle. She was unconscious and grief-stricken. Hades threw open the door, he had heard her yelling for Panicia as he had been coming to watch the living as well.
"Oh, Sera," he said, lifting her up in his arms as he knelt on the floor. "Oh, Sera." He raised himself up off the ground and walked slowly to Sera's own room. He pulled back the sheets with one strong arm and held her crumpled body with the other. He set her on the bed and pulled the sheets back over her unconscious self. He reached above and pulled down a velvet armchair and set it beside her bed. He sat down and pulled on a velvety bathrobe that fit him perfectly. He sat there for several days, waiting patiently for his love.
"Tea, sir," Eurydice brought him a cup of hot tea.
"No, I will drink when she returns. Not a moment sooner. Neither will I eat, before you try."
She left him unsuccessfully as he sat by Sera. She awoke several days later and he looked tenderly at her. She saw him and asked, "How long have you been here?"
"Long, dear Sera? How long? Since I found you."
She arose and said, "Are you lying to me? Have you really cared so much?"
"Yes."
She and Hades went to enjoy a meal.
"Have you ever played a lyre before, Serafina?" he asked.
"No, but I have played the violin," she replied.
"I shall bring the best musician in all the land to teach you, then," Hades told her "And I shall make you a violin as well.''
Then he shifted uncomfortably and added, "Today we go to Mount Olympus, Sera. The Ambrosia of the Gods is there. All of my fellow gods and goddesses will be there to gift you with love and passion. We will leave soon and be accompanied by Cerberus. You may take a lamb if you wish."
Serafina threw herself into his arms and laughed, "Oh, husband of later days, love is in those gloomy eyes of yours! It reflects onto me in your warm body!" She ran outside and scooped up the youngest lamb in the flock and rubbed it affectionately, dubbing it Thalia after a muse.{According to some sources, Thalia means lamb as well, a fitting name for the young sheep}
"Thalia, come with me as I receive eternal life from many who brew the ambrosia I seek."
She sat in Hades's chariot as he wrapped his arms around her in a loving way. They rode to Olympus in a grand and royal way. His black horse galloped across the land in graceful and mighty strokes.
When they arrived, Aphrodite hung onto Hades with love in her eyes. The ambrosia was brewed and each god/goddess spoke over it a blessing. Persephone was bid come forth. She looked shyly at Sera and then looked down into the glass and said, "May she be loved by many and others weep at her power in sorrow. But may she call down citizens she herself would delight in." She stepped back and a scroll was read from.
"You shall be a shepherdess of many. Your hair will be deep red, like the drop of blood that sprouts from a scab or scar. The shepherds shall weep because of your voice. Many a faithful lamb will hear it and journey to your flock still alive. They shall call you, 'The Goddess of the Weeping Shepherds.' You shall be the goddess of the lambs' life. You shall possess strength like a laboring mother; caring love, like a mother whose lamb is cursed; knowledge, like a sheep or ram who flees from the battle he cannot fight; and love for your husband, like a sheep who mates willingly; and you shall be humble, like a lamb being led to the slaughter; then you shall possess death and power, like a sheep whose life is rolling like a scroll.''
She drank the ambrosia and her hair began to change. As Aphrodite had wished upon it, it grew long and thick and beautiful. Her eyes showed fire like Ares had wished upon her and love as had been prophesied. Her dress became a white toga, purified and holy with stains of sheep's blood spattered across it. She picked up Thalia and raised her voice to sing and rejoice. Thalia let out a bleating cry and many laughed. Even Ares tumbled with laughter.
Chapter 2: And So The Adventure Begins
Serafina had been sitting in the parlor with Thalia bleating constantly. Hades marched in and demanded that she take Thalia out. Sera did no such thing as return her to the flock. She put Thalia in Eurydice's care. Eurydice passed her on to a servant girl, who found a mother lamb who had died in childbirth and who's babe had survived. The poor mother accepted Thalia and the 2 have roamed together ever since.
Hades had slept with Serafina ever since almost every other night and the 2 had bonded quite well. Occasionally they would call a poor little girl from her small chambers to be fetched by Eurydice to eat with them. They had "adopted" the poor girl yet they rarely did anything with her. Sometimes Sera would play the lyre for her or walk with her or call for her to find Thalia. Hades would call for her to murder someone above or perhaps haunt someone mercilessly and sometimes she was allowed to haunt those who had played parts in her murder. Her name was Mirit, which is Hebrew for bitter.
It had been a peaceful night when Hades realized the warm goddess beside him was missing. She never got up at night. He sat up and shook the house with his call, "Sssssssseeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrriiiiiiifffffffffiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!"
But Serafina was no longer in the underworld, she was clinging helplessly to Poseidon's arm to keep from falling. Even a goddess can have ripping pains from falling down.
Hades got up out of the bed and called for his chariot.
"Sir, why up at such an hour?" Eurydice appeared in his doorway holding an oil lamp and wearing a frilled nightcap and gown. She looked ridiculous. "Sir?'' She turned to watch him as he pushed through the door. She wiped her eyes and went back upstairs to tell Mirit to shut up and stop crying because her "Papa" was going away for an hour or 2 and he hadn't said goodbye.
Hades hurried away in his chariot to find his wife-to-be. The smell of life and water had been left on his sheet.
Serafina was lifted inside and set on a recamier of a light blue.
"Serafina, are you happy to smell life again?" Poseidon asked.
"I cannot smell anything in the water," she smarted.
"You need to get used to it, I understand. Nymphs!!! Escort this young goddess to her quarters!"
She was escorted to her chambers. When the door was locked, she smirked at the flaw in his plan. As long as she kept it locked, he couldn't get in. He had built the walls to his palace so that no trident could break them. He also had installed slid-able indoor shutters for his windows. Serafina sat and sat on her recamier by the window. Finally, a gloomy feeling swept over the room. Most would feel only gloom and death, but she felt warmth too because of love. She knew he was outside and she slid open the shutters. There he was, holding out his hand to scoop her up and into his chariot. She was lifted up and his black horses galloped away from Poseidon's palace.
Then she and Hades ate a delectable feast to commemorate their happy day. They feasted upon red berries, calf, pork, ham, wines of many exotic lands and flavors, beer of the dead brewery that Serafina had begun, and red meat of Madagascar. Cerberus feasted upon raw and living hog and the soul of a very naughty goat (That, dear reader, is another story though).
Serafina kissed Hades's cheek and he blushed for the first time ever.
"Our wedding is in a few weeks, Serafina," he told her.
"A dress fit for the bride-to-be: 'Goddess of the Weeping Shepherds!'"she exclaimed playfully. "We will find one, right?"
"Yes, Sera, we will," Hades assured her. "We will."
"Wait a sec, haven't we been married this whole time? As soon as I got stuck down here the prophesy basically put 2 and 2 together."
"Yes."
"So why a wedding?"
"Official marriage."
"Why on't we have a small wedding here and then head to Olympus for a party. You know, like a reception. Dancing, music, good food, you know."
"Ingenious! No big attention, just marry and party!"
"That's not the end of my ingenuity. It's about time the souls here got a job. What if we got some wineries and sewing shops and bakeries and all sorts of things. You could have Zeus after it! Just imagine the wine and food. 'Spirit's Spirits,' 'Medusa's Snakes' Advice' (MSA {Medical Spirits Association}), 'Phantom Farmers Farms.' You name it, Hades! Just imagine."
Hades sighed and thought about it. He imagined Zeus sitting in the wine shops and Dionysus getting drunk on the wine of rubies and spirit grapes.
"I suppose I'll check the local census and call forth a meeting of the local vineyard participants and you and Persephone may sort out the rest," Hades said, serious look upon his face.
"Oh, Hades! Thank you!" Serafina bolted off to retrieve her lamb (Thalia) and her "mother." Then she requested a horse and was off riding sidesaddle. She hurried to find Persephone and explained everything.
"We already have an income! Ever since you showed up Hades has changed! What are you doing to him? Of course not!" Persephone was very angry and marched off.
Serafina sighed and went off to do it herself."Thalia, shall we go see the census results?"
Thalia bleated a happy reply and the three went home.
Hades was counting up the last of his local census records and was sending off his messenger spirits to what he referred as the "Outer Skirts" of his kingdom, though in reality his kingdom was an infinite realm of sorrow and gloom.
Serafina entered the room he was in and asked for his results.
"We have a total of 34,000 builders in my kingdom's inner skirts and 6,275 vineyard workers who were trained skillfully and 9,376 vineyard workers who are unskillful. We have 572 winery owners and 656 vineyard owners. The outer skirts' results should come in soon."
Serafina asked if he could bring them to a meeting and he replied, his eyes sparkling like wine, "Yes."
The next day a grand meeting took place and Serafina announced that a new economy would begin in Hades' kingdom, starting with the opening of a vineyard and winery. She asked if anyone had seen a large place of fertile land and the planting began. Hades begged Persephone to raise the vineyard for them and it grew very quickly. Soon after, Serafina brought a barrel of wine into the house of Hades.
"Hades, I brought some wine. It has been aged by death's grasp and it is brewed with spirit grapes and living rubies. I thought we could have some at dinner tonight. I will make the food tonight myself," Serafina announced proudly. "I invited Dionysus over for the wine tasting. Persephone agreed too, though I may have bribed her a bit. Anyways, should we invite Hera? I heard a rumor that she and Zeus were taking a date night to themselves and I thought maybe she might like to come over? You know, it might improve the commercializing if it goes around that the great goddess Hera drank from it from our first cask!"
"Persephone? Are you serious dear Sera? She isn't needed now! Why, she would be jealous and angry! Are you sure?" Hades asked concerned at the news.
"Well perhaps it wasn't the greatest of ideas, but as always, she is your wife!" Serafina said very bubbly.
Hades shook his head and summoned Eurydice to bring the lyre and play. She had heard Orpheus play many times and the Underworld had granted her the memory of his every flick of the finger. She played soothingly and Hades beckoned Sera to the settee he was sitting upon and wrapped his arm around her. She was lulled into the soft world of the music and calmed down significantly.
Hades sent her to her room and ordered Eurydice to make their meal and he got up to begin a work of art for Sera.
Serafina was strumming her own lyre to the rhythm of the chandeliers constant glow. The misty glow illuminated her fingers as they delicately strummed the lyre's strings. She thought of the wine and her loving husband. She thought about how she had been destined for this from birth and how she loved it. She longed for he father and sister, but knew one day she would see them again. The gorgeous room was better than any luxury she had ever experienced. She sat on her recamier, dressed in a red toga, strumming her lyre. She was content and happy. Her long red hair tumbled down her shoulder in a graceful sweep.
She got up and set the lyre back on the floor. She went to the gardens and petted young lambs that walked aimlessly through the gravel pathways o'er the red dirt. The golden and brass statues that framed the bushes and flowers arched in graceful and stunningly Greek and Roman postures. The trees bore fruit of shining reds and peach colors. Some of them bore living rubies or gold. The fruit was blemish less and perfect in every way. The red sky hung gloomily above them in despair. Serafina lifted her voice and sang, the dead birds chirped and sung in accompaniment.
The sounds reached the Over world and a young lamb ran down through the grass to her. It bleated happily and sang in merriment with her. Serafina bent down to scoop her up and breathed in the fresh scent of life.
"Life," she said. "Life is in you." She carried the lamb to her room and fed it. She called upon a servant and a familiar woman entered. "My servant you look like my sister Panicia! You please me!
Perhaps you are familiar with the story of The 12 Dancing Princesses. In the version I have read, the 12 princesses dance in the underworld every night. They are locked up in their room, but every night their shoes become worn because they have been dancing in the underworld. Eventually, a prince spies on them and the king rewards him. Then he marries one of the princesses and all is well.
This is my version of that tale, and mine focuses more on what happens down in Hades. And what could have happened on Earth.
Oh, dear reader, might I call you that? We've reached the doors to their room. Help me lift the bolt. Ahh, there. Now then, allow me to open the doors for you.
Chapter 1
The bolt was placed over their door and the 2 guards saluted the king as he looked sadly into through the closed doors, wondering if once again, they would go and return in the night. He sadly turned away and walked down the long hallway.
"Come now, girls, put on your slippers,'' the oldest daughter quietly told the other 11. "The door shall open soon enough."
The 12 dressed in beautiful gowns and put on their slippers. Then the clock struck 11 and the swirled flower tiles on the floor center disappeared and a round, warm, yellow shaft of light came up like the bent ribbon-like Aurora Borealis. It disappeared and revealed a staircase that spiraled downward toward the dark realm of Hades.
Vines with long, slender, delicate, tube-like, pink flowers surrounded them as they descended the marble staircase. They strolled through a dark, pretty forest on a cobblestone pathway overgrown with moss and lichen. It passed several romantic ponds and pillared marble circles and ancient marble temples overgrown with ivy and vines. It could seem impossible that this was the ever-feared kingdom of the dead. The path led to a beautiful, large, circular, stone dance floor with ancient Roman columns all around it that were clothed in vines and ivy. There was no roof, only the dark, starry sky above them and surrounding them a short wall with bronze statues and instruments and the very same vine that had surrounded the staircase.
Wispy, glossy, and handsome men (they were so glossy and wispy because they were the dead souls of young men) came out to dance and the night was filled with fun times.
The youngest sister, Serafina, was merrily dancing with the youngest soul. She had many courters, though even her great amount was not even half of the great amounts each of her sisters had. But the soul she danced with was madly in love with her.
As the dancing concluded, she and her partner went off for a walk. He asked her if she would die for him, and she replied no. Finally, he asked her if she knew her way back, which she did.
As she walked back, the other 11 were ascending the stairs. None had noticed her absence except for Panicia. Unfortunately, she was very shy and only looked worriedly over her shoulder as she ascended the first step. The opening closed behind her, and where once a beautiful marble staircase had been, there was a dark, gloomy wall of overgrown bush and vines.
Serafina was shocked when she found this and wondered if her partner had purposely kept her from leaving. In reality, he had had no idea at all that it would close to her. He had stupidly thought that it was always open to them to leave or return, just not to himself and other inhabitants of the kingdom of the dead.
Serafina ran back and found that the stage had disappeared and so she ran back to the path. She hen found a man sitting in one of the ancient columned circles. He was reading what appeared to be a very old book. he looked up and there seemed to be no emotion in his eyes.
"Hello, Serafina. Why so distressed?"
"Oh,sir!" she exclaimed. "Do you not know how stuck I am here! I am very misplaced!"
"Misplaced, oh no, Sera. Not misplaced at all. This was destined to be. I am Hades, God of the Underworld. Come sit with me in this circle. Its end is near."
"What can you mean? This is the end. The end of everything."
"This was only here for you and your sisters enjoyment. This forest glade shall disappear soon, along with this strange temper of mine. You have already discovered that the dancing arena is long gone. I believe we should leave now."
"What!?"
"I am Hades! A god, you a mere mortal! You will obey me until you are a goddess, and even then!'
He grabbed her hand and pulled her out and away. As they fled, the gardens behind them disappeared. Where they had once been was now a red dusty plain. Soon they reached the courtyard of a red palace and entered the huge doors. The throne inside was huge. Beside it was an arched doorway.
"Follow me, dear, follow me," He told her. He brought her to his own parlor like room and told her to sit on the sofa. "Eurydice!" he called "Won't you come with the prophesy of my wife!?" He sat down beside Serafina and wrapped his arms around her.
Eurydice entered and unrolled a long scroll. She then began to read,
"Many dancers come and go,
Here to dance to and fro,
He is looking through the window,
At the maidens spinning o'er,
His precious kingdom,
Stretch so far,
Then one fateful day,
A maid will come here to stay,
Accidentally left behind,
Here she is left,
To others shine,
Decide to drink of thy wine,
Understand a wife for thee,
Will not come from death's sea,
But become a goddess,
Fair and glad,
Oh dear maiden,
Do not be mad."
"A splendid prophetess wrote that," Hades told Serafina. "I doubted her for a long time, but here you are! After generations, we have found you. I have been given what was promised. Now go change into proper clothes. In a few days you will drink the ambrosia of the Gods!"
But Serafina was very unhappy. She missed her sisters and her father and the sweet scents of flowers and life. Hades looked at her sadly and said, "What is it that you long for?"
"Life," she replied "And its sweet aromas, too."
Hades held her hand tightly and took her out behind the palace to a little herd of lambs in the back that feasted on the grass that was not there.
"These are lambs that died above, and here they are. Won't you be pleased? Besides, Persephone will be here at the end of summer and with her will be the aroma of life from above. You were destined to be here, to be my wife, to become a goddess, and live eternally with me and in the dark, gloomy kingdom I have been given. Please, dear Sera, please be glad and happy," he begged, his eyes appealing to her with pity.
She bent down and scooped up a lamb in her arms and stroked its back with her soft hand. It snuggled down as if it was snuggling beside its mother on the soft grass it would have enjoyed if it were alive.
As they entered the palace, Hades offered her a tour. She accepted and they began down the corridors of the splendid palace.
He laughed and said in a jolly tone, "See here these antique pieces? Many things here I have stolen from above. Perhaps a person dies and left a cluttered attic, then I shall reach up and pull down to me the items that I like. Sometimes the things that you would lose from above are things that I took for myself. Sometimes I reach up even if that person is alive and steal it right from under their nose, literally. Not every god can enjoy that game and its glorious rewards."
Serafina nodded and he opened a door to another room. Velvet curtains hung on the windows and held the same colors that seemed to be the color theme of his palace. Cheetah skins hung as a canopy from her bed. Great gloomy armor hung on stands by a grand fireplace. A lyre sat beside a velvet recamier {look it up} ready to be strummed for her amusement. A beautifully carved door stood beside her bed that opened into a beautiful closet filled with red togas and silk dresses that she recognized more. A book lay on her bed, thick and heavy with worn pages. A cedar-like chest sat at the foot of her bed. A portrait of Zeus crowned the wall in an elaborate living gold frame. From the ceiling hung a looming and gloomy chandelier of living rubies that emitted a dark and almost ethereal glow.
Hades pulled her to his side, and, still gazing into the room, asked, "Do you like it, Sera?"
"Yes, Hades, I do like it,;'' she replied. "It's perfect."
The beauty of the dark glow filled the hallways and corridors and rooms as they walked down them in silence. Lovely sadness filled the dark realm and Eurydice's lover. The courtyards displayed red dust and the occasional red hedge.
Serafina kissed his cheek airily and left to sit in silence in her own quarters. She sat in silence on her bed and wondered if she would ever see her family again.
"No,'' she thought sadly. "I never will see them again." She sighed and began to cry. Eurydice appeared in the doorway of her room with a duster.
"What is it, Sera? Are you sad and weeping because of your fate? The poor prophetess didn't know Hades already had a wife. She found out on her deathbed, before she could change it. Zeus declared it would not be changed, he had loved this prophetess more than Hera, you see. He's not so bad anyways, Hades is." Eurydice wiped Serafina's face off and repeated to her everything she had just said, adding in,"Besides, do you think I'll ever see Orpheus again? Of course not! You're not alone! Besides, in about 50 years your sisters will be here! You can hire them to work for you!"
"Thank you, Eurydice. Do you need help with the dusting?" Serafina asked.
"No, Sera. Go cry onto Hades's shoulder. You'll be surprised." Eurydice told her.
Serafina was obedient and left the room but not to see Hades. she wandered through the hallways to a special room where she could watch the living.
"Panicia," she whispered longingly. "Panicia, Aliana, Lilianna, Bethany, Cornelia, Alia, Sarabeth, and the rest."
Onto a dark obsidian table was dropped a dark ruby table cover with golden strings on the ends and onto that a golden book. The book was from above. Its cover had been crafted by a goldsmith of dead gold. Its edges were of pure, living gold and shimmered. It hovered slightly above the table and opened by itself. Above appeared a large bubble.
Panicia was shown in a garden with high, marble pillars and vines and ivy draping down in a thick dark green curtain. It was night above and Panicia was very quiet. She sat on a marble bench. She closed her book and began calling in a ghostly, half-dead, trance-like tone, "Serafina, Serafina! Where are you? Sera, Serafina!" She began to sing in ghostly, hollow, almost dead, trance-like tone.
Serafina could not bear to hear her sister like this and covered her ears (though it did not help) and wept. but then she heard another weeping. She uncovered her ears and looked up at Panicia. Panicia was weeping and sobbing.
"Oh Panicia!" she cried, pressing her hands against the bubbles and throwing herself at it. "Oh Panicia! I'm here, I'm here. Oh Panicia..." She slid off and collapsed into the floor in a huddle. She was unconscious and grief-stricken. Hades threw open the door, he had heard her yelling for Panicia as he had been coming to watch the living as well.
"Oh, Sera," he said, lifting her up in his arms as he knelt on the floor. "Oh, Sera." He raised himself up off the ground and walked slowly to Sera's own room. He pulled back the sheets with one strong arm and held her crumpled body with the other. He set her on the bed and pulled the sheets back over her unconscious self. He reached above and pulled down a velvet armchair and set it beside her bed. He sat down and pulled on a velvety bathrobe that fit him perfectly. He sat there for several days, waiting patiently for his love.
"Tea, sir," Eurydice brought him a cup of hot tea.
"No, I will drink when she returns. Not a moment sooner. Neither will I eat, before you try."
She left him unsuccessfully as he sat by Sera. She awoke several days later and he looked tenderly at her. She saw him and asked, "How long have you been here?"
"Long, dear Sera? How long? Since I found you."
She arose and said, "Are you lying to me? Have you really cared so much?"
"Yes."
She and Hades went to enjoy a meal.
"Have you ever played a lyre before, Serafina?" he asked.
"No, but I have played the violin," she replied.
"I shall bring the best musician in all the land to teach you, then," Hades told her "And I shall make you a violin as well.''
Then he shifted uncomfortably and added, "Today we go to Mount Olympus, Sera. The Ambrosia of the Gods is there. All of my fellow gods and goddesses will be there to gift you with love and passion. We will leave soon and be accompanied by Cerberus. You may take a lamb if you wish."
Serafina threw herself into his arms and laughed, "Oh, husband of later days, love is in those gloomy eyes of yours! It reflects onto me in your warm body!" She ran outside and scooped up the youngest lamb in the flock and rubbed it affectionately, dubbing it Thalia after a muse.{According to some sources, Thalia means lamb as well, a fitting name for the young sheep}
"Thalia, come with me as I receive eternal life from many who brew the ambrosia I seek."
She sat in Hades's chariot as he wrapped his arms around her in a loving way. They rode to Olympus in a grand and royal way. His black horse galloped across the land in graceful and mighty strokes.
When they arrived, Aphrodite hung onto Hades with love in her eyes. The ambrosia was brewed and each god/goddess spoke over it a blessing. Persephone was bid come forth. She looked shyly at Sera and then looked down into the glass and said, "May she be loved by many and others weep at her power in sorrow. But may she call down citizens she herself would delight in." She stepped back and a scroll was read from.
"You shall be a shepherdess of many. Your hair will be deep red, like the drop of blood that sprouts from a scab or scar. The shepherds shall weep because of your voice. Many a faithful lamb will hear it and journey to your flock still alive. They shall call you, 'The Goddess of the Weeping Shepherds.' You shall be the goddess of the lambs' life. You shall possess strength like a laboring mother; caring love, like a mother whose lamb is cursed; knowledge, like a sheep or ram who flees from the battle he cannot fight; and love for your husband, like a sheep who mates willingly; and you shall be humble, like a lamb being led to the slaughter; then you shall possess death and power, like a sheep whose life is rolling like a scroll.''
She drank the ambrosia and her hair began to change. As Aphrodite had wished upon it, it grew long and thick and beautiful. Her eyes showed fire like Ares had wished upon her and love as had been prophesied. Her dress became a white toga, purified and holy with stains of sheep's blood spattered across it. She picked up Thalia and raised her voice to sing and rejoice. Thalia let out a bleating cry and many laughed. Even Ares tumbled with laughter.
Chapter 2: And So The Adventure Begins
Serafina had been sitting in the parlor with Thalia bleating constantly. Hades marched in and demanded that she take Thalia out. Sera did no such thing as return her to the flock. She put Thalia in Eurydice's care. Eurydice passed her on to a servant girl, who found a mother lamb who had died in childbirth and who's babe had survived. The poor mother accepted Thalia and the 2 have roamed together ever since.
Hades had slept with Serafina ever since almost every other night and the 2 had bonded quite well. Occasionally they would call a poor little girl from her small chambers to be fetched by Eurydice to eat with them. They had "adopted" the poor girl yet they rarely did anything with her. Sometimes Sera would play the lyre for her or walk with her or call for her to find Thalia. Hades would call for her to murder someone above or perhaps haunt someone mercilessly and sometimes she was allowed to haunt those who had played parts in her murder. Her name was Mirit, which is Hebrew for bitter.
It had been a peaceful night when Hades realized the warm goddess beside him was missing. She never got up at night. He sat up and shook the house with his call, "Sssssssseeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrriiiiiiifffffffffiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!"
But Serafina was no longer in the underworld, she was clinging helplessly to Poseidon's arm to keep from falling. Even a goddess can have ripping pains from falling down.
Hades got up out of the bed and called for his chariot.
"Sir, why up at such an hour?" Eurydice appeared in his doorway holding an oil lamp and wearing a frilled nightcap and gown. She looked ridiculous. "Sir?'' She turned to watch him as he pushed through the door. She wiped her eyes and went back upstairs to tell Mirit to shut up and stop crying because her "Papa" was going away for an hour or 2 and he hadn't said goodbye.
Hades hurried away in his chariot to find his wife-to-be. The smell of life and water had been left on his sheet.
Serafina was lifted inside and set on a recamier of a light blue.
"Serafina, are you happy to smell life again?" Poseidon asked.
"I cannot smell anything in the water," she smarted.
"You need to get used to it, I understand. Nymphs!!! Escort this young goddess to her quarters!"
She was escorted to her chambers. When the door was locked, she smirked at the flaw in his plan. As long as she kept it locked, he couldn't get in. He had built the walls to his palace so that no trident could break them. He also had installed slid-able indoor shutters for his windows. Serafina sat and sat on her recamier by the window. Finally, a gloomy feeling swept over the room. Most would feel only gloom and death, but she felt warmth too because of love. She knew he was outside and she slid open the shutters. There he was, holding out his hand to scoop her up and into his chariot. She was lifted up and his black horses galloped away from Poseidon's palace.
Then she and Hades ate a delectable feast to commemorate their happy day. They feasted upon red berries, calf, pork, ham, wines of many exotic lands and flavors, beer of the dead brewery that Serafina had begun, and red meat of Madagascar. Cerberus feasted upon raw and living hog and the soul of a very naughty goat (That, dear reader, is another story though).
Serafina kissed Hades's cheek and he blushed for the first time ever.
"Our wedding is in a few weeks, Serafina," he told her.
"A dress fit for the bride-to-be: 'Goddess of the Weeping Shepherds!'"she exclaimed playfully. "We will find one, right?"
"Yes, Sera, we will," Hades assured her. "We will."
"Wait a sec, haven't we been married this whole time? As soon as I got stuck down here the prophesy basically put 2 and 2 together."
"Yes."
"So why a wedding?"
"Official marriage."
"Why on't we have a small wedding here and then head to Olympus for a party. You know, like a reception. Dancing, music, good food, you know."
"Ingenious! No big attention, just marry and party!"
"That's not the end of my ingenuity. It's about time the souls here got a job. What if we got some wineries and sewing shops and bakeries and all sorts of things. You could have Zeus after it! Just imagine the wine and food. 'Spirit's Spirits,' 'Medusa's Snakes' Advice' (MSA {Medical Spirits Association}), 'Phantom Farmers Farms.' You name it, Hades! Just imagine."
Hades sighed and thought about it. He imagined Zeus sitting in the wine shops and Dionysus getting drunk on the wine of rubies and spirit grapes.
"I suppose I'll check the local census and call forth a meeting of the local vineyard participants and you and Persephone may sort out the rest," Hades said, serious look upon his face.
"Oh, Hades! Thank you!" Serafina bolted off to retrieve her lamb (Thalia) and her "mother." Then she requested a horse and was off riding sidesaddle. She hurried to find Persephone and explained everything.
"We already have an income! Ever since you showed up Hades has changed! What are you doing to him? Of course not!" Persephone was very angry and marched off.
Serafina sighed and went off to do it herself."Thalia, shall we go see the census results?"
Thalia bleated a happy reply and the three went home.
Hades was counting up the last of his local census records and was sending off his messenger spirits to what he referred as the "Outer Skirts" of his kingdom, though in reality his kingdom was an infinite realm of sorrow and gloom.
Serafina entered the room he was in and asked for his results.
"We have a total of 34,000 builders in my kingdom's inner skirts and 6,275 vineyard workers who were trained skillfully and 9,376 vineyard workers who are unskillful. We have 572 winery owners and 656 vineyard owners. The outer skirts' results should come in soon."
Serafina asked if he could bring them to a meeting and he replied, his eyes sparkling like wine, "Yes."
The next day a grand meeting took place and Serafina announced that a new economy would begin in Hades' kingdom, starting with the opening of a vineyard and winery. She asked if anyone had seen a large place of fertile land and the planting began. Hades begged Persephone to raise the vineyard for them and it grew very quickly. Soon after, Serafina brought a barrel of wine into the house of Hades.
"Hades, I brought some wine. It has been aged by death's grasp and it is brewed with spirit grapes and living rubies. I thought we could have some at dinner tonight. I will make the food tonight myself," Serafina announced proudly. "I invited Dionysus over for the wine tasting. Persephone agreed too, though I may have bribed her a bit. Anyways, should we invite Hera? I heard a rumor that she and Zeus were taking a date night to themselves and I thought maybe she might like to come over? You know, it might improve the commercializing if it goes around that the great goddess Hera drank from it from our first cask!"
"Persephone? Are you serious dear Sera? She isn't needed now! Why, she would be jealous and angry! Are you sure?" Hades asked concerned at the news.
"Well perhaps it wasn't the greatest of ideas, but as always, she is your wife!" Serafina said very bubbly.
Hades shook his head and summoned Eurydice to bring the lyre and play. She had heard Orpheus play many times and the Underworld had granted her the memory of his every flick of the finger. She played soothingly and Hades beckoned Sera to the settee he was sitting upon and wrapped his arm around her. She was lulled into the soft world of the music and calmed down significantly.
Hades sent her to her room and ordered Eurydice to make their meal and he got up to begin a work of art for Sera.
Serafina was strumming her own lyre to the rhythm of the chandeliers constant glow. The misty glow illuminated her fingers as they delicately strummed the lyre's strings. She thought of the wine and her loving husband. She thought about how she had been destined for this from birth and how she loved it. She longed for he father and sister, but knew one day she would see them again. The gorgeous room was better than any luxury she had ever experienced. She sat on her recamier, dressed in a red toga, strumming her lyre. She was content and happy. Her long red hair tumbled down her shoulder in a graceful sweep.
She got up and set the lyre back on the floor. She went to the gardens and petted young lambs that walked aimlessly through the gravel pathways o'er the red dirt. The golden and brass statues that framed the bushes and flowers arched in graceful and stunningly Greek and Roman postures. The trees bore fruit of shining reds and peach colors. Some of them bore living rubies or gold. The fruit was blemish less and perfect in every way. The red sky hung gloomily above them in despair. Serafina lifted her voice and sang, the dead birds chirped and sung in accompaniment.
The sounds reached the Over world and a young lamb ran down through the grass to her. It bleated happily and sang in merriment with her. Serafina bent down to scoop her up and breathed in the fresh scent of life.
"Life," she said. "Life is in you." She carried the lamb to her room and fed it. She called upon a servant and a familiar woman entered. "My servant you look like my sister Panicia! You please me!
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