persephone ✔

the unsupportive father

"Minthe, if I ever think about opening another club, slap me." Hades groaned and rubbed his temples.

"I wouldn't even if you asked me." Minthe giggled as she dropped his schedule onto the table.

"Put it up for sale." He stood abruptly and gathered the club's paperwork and placed it on the edge of the table.

"Are you sure?" Minthe leaned on his table and bit her lip, sweeping her dyed green hair off to reveal her bare shoulder.

"Yeah, I already have so much paperwork to deal with at home, I don't need more here." He didn't even spare her a glance.

"I could always help." She tried again and sat on the table, checking her nails.

"Don't you have a club to put up for sale?" Hades looked up.

"I can always do that later." She winked.

"Minthe," He laughed, "I don't pay you for nothing."

Huffing, she rolled her eyes and picked up all the papers and left Hades' office. She knew what had his attention - as always, his precious spring goddess. That little princess didn't even know the first thing about being queen, she was probably just a brainless flower maiden who only knew how to grow flowers and be an airhead.

Minthe wanted life to be like how it was before that brat was born - when Hades and she had been in a relationship, and he treated her like the queen that she deserved to be. When she would warm his bed often, and when they were more than just 'boss and assistant'.

Minthe vowed on the River Styx that she would get Hades to fall in love with her.

Meanwhile, Hades remained oblivious as he worked through some paperwork, occasionally glancing at his blank phone. After 20 minutes of doing that, he picked it up and called her.

"Hello?" Persephone sounded a bit overwhelmed.

"Hi Seph, since you missed lunch, what are you doing later tonight?" Hades ran his hand through his black hair.

"Oh, I don't think I'm doing anything, why?"

"I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go to dinner with me?"

There was a voice on her side of the line, a voice that Hades, unfortunately, recognised, "My little flower bud, who's that?" Hades rolled his eyes, he recognised that tone.

"It's my boyfriend." Persephone had brought the phone away from her face and her voice sounded like she was underwater - muffled.

"Really? What's his name?" Hades could imagine the vein on Demeter's face twitching.

"Hades, he's really nice, you would like him."

"Hades?" Demeter yelled, and before she could continue, Persephone quickly spoke to Hades.

"I'll go to your house around 5." and with that, she hung up quickly.

So she knew now. 

Hades didn't have to walk on eggshells around her anymore, not now that she knew hers and his true identity.

He looked at the time, 5 pm was in an hour. He stood and walked out of his office, "Hades, sir, where are you going?" Minthe stood as soon as she saw him.

"I'm leaving for the day, you can too" Hades smiled at her politely.

"Oh," Her expression fell for a second, "do you have any plans tonight?"

"Yeah." He straightened his tie.

"Tomorrow?" She asked hopefully.

"I'm not sure... I have to get going, I'll see you." Lifting a hand in a wave, he took the elevator down.

Once the elevator doors closed, Minthe let out a loud scream and childishly stomped her foot.

She blinked and brought herself back home to the freezing bay of the river Cocytus.

Sitting beside the frozen river, watching over the souls stuck in the river, was Cocytus himself, on a wicker chair, combing his grey beard.

"I take it, he has once again rejected you." The deep gravelly voice was whispered but still head over the echoing screams of the damned.

"He will see what he's missing out on," She spoke confidently as she cautiously made her way to her father.

"Which isn't much." Was all he replied, glancing at his daughter for a second.

Her heart fell and she turned her back towards him, not letting him see the pain evident on her face. Lowering herself into the cold river, she spotted her sisters making their way towards her.

"You will see," She turned back to Cocytus, green hair floating in the frozen water, "you will see how great your daughter is when she becomes the queen, your queen" Minthe scowled, at her father and her sisters who halted their progression towards her.

"Perhaps, but that queen will never be you." The old man smirked.

Meanwhile, Hades had changed into a different suit. This one was all black with a gold tie and gold cufflinks.

The three dogs sat touching shoulders to each other, watching their master fuss over his appearance, "Do I look tacky?" He turned to them, holding up the tie.

"Yeah, you kind of do." A dark-haired woman stepped out of some black mist that appeared in the corner of his room, a black dog following after her with a polecat on the dogs back.

She wore a purple layered dress that cut deep at the front and back, her skirt trailing on the black ebony floors, silver necklaces layering on top of each other and a keyring with a collection of keys hanging off each of her ears, the silver glinting in the light. Her lips were painted red and her hair trailed to her shoulders, brushing the bare collarbone.

"I thought I looked nice." He frowned looking at the tie again.

Cerberus growled at the new dog that appeared, and the dog seemed to cower and get to the furthest point away from them.

"Cerberus, play nice," Hades warned before looking at Hecate, "why are you here?"

"Heard that Persephone re-united with Demie." Hecate inspected her black nails as two thin green serpents slithered around her arms and neck, her purple eyes flashed in amusement.

"Heard?" he raised a brow.

"One of my kids is dating a child of Ditie, I think he's rubbing off on her," Hecate sighed and flopped onto Hades' bed, scowling, "at least I get inside gossip though" she shrugged and a bag of potato chips appeared in her hands.

"What about this tie?" Hades held up a black plaid tie.

"You have no taste, I wonder sometimes how you got your palace to look so nice... here too." Hecate stood and her back of potato chips turned into a black silk tie with gold embroidered flowers on the bottom, "Trust me, she'll love it."

"It won't turn back in the middle of my date right?" Hecate only smiled and handed it to him before turning back and beginning to walk towards a doorway that appeared in the black mist.

"Just thought I'd let you know!" She called out before she disappeared, her dog and polecat following.

Right at that moment, the doorbell for the building rang and Hades ran to go unlock the door so that she could go up the lift.

After a few minutes of standing there nervously and awkwardly, the door knocker broke the silence, and Cerberus - comfortably with one body and three heads - began pawing at the door and whining.

Nudging the dog aside, he opened the door and came into contact with her large forest green eyes. His lips stretched up into a smile.

There she stood, a white Dorian chiton hanging off her shoulders, her soft brown hair flowing past her shoulders, dead flowers like a halo on top of her head. On her feet, she wore sandals, a thin, chain celestial bronze anklet with small stars hanging off of it, on her ankle.

"So, King of the Underworld huh?" An eyebrow was raised and she lifted her lips up in an amused smile.