Seeds Volume 3

by M. M. Kin

  Well, Persephone would have none of that. She breathed out slowly, eyeing her mother calmly.

  “Is there something you are trying to hide from me? Has Hades done something to your body?” Demeter's tone became tight. Gods! Persephone fumed inwardly. Was she going to assume the worst about Hades in everything now?

  “No! He has never harmed me.” She squared her shoulders. “I know you are angry with him, but do not think that he has ever hurt or mistreated me. I already told you that.”

  Demeter stared at her daughter for several moments. The girl didn't seem hypnotized, her gaze was clear as she stared back. The older goddess did not sense any sort of evil magic or binding spells woven around her child, but this change bothered her more deeply than she cared to admit.

  “A person who captures you and holds you prisoner can hardly be considered a good host,” Demeter sighed as she rose. “I need to discuss our living arrangements with Metaniera.” She retreated from the room, and Persephone silently bowed her head in gratitude at her small triumph. Perhaps eventually, Mother could understand...

  She removed the last of her clothing and lifted a leg, frowning to herself as she felt the warmth of the water. There was once a time where this warm temperature had been enough for her, and it was what Mother used for herself as well. But now, after having enjoyed the luxuries of hot springs and the soporific steaminess of Hades's bathtub, the water Mother had prepared for her felt downright cool. She lowered herself into the water, letting out a low groan as she glanced at the petals floating around her knees and breasts.

  Despite the early winter that had ravaged Hellas, Eleusis maintained a mild winter, many plants and even crops continuing to grow well past harvest time. Its nights did get chilly, and a crisp breeze blew in from the open window.

  Heat. Persephone knew that heat in one form or another was a gift that several gods, such as Hephaistos, Helios, or Hyperion, possessed. She wished she had such a Gift so she could heat up this water to her liking.

  She closed her eyes, staying still so she didn't feel the water. She missed the Sun and the heat it would envelop her in, giving her skin a healthy tan that her mother encouraged. Well, there's one thing Mother and I can definitely agree on, she thought wryly. The sun was a life-giver, nurturing all life in the world, even night-dwellers. From such a simple form of energy, more complex energies could gain their strength. Plants and animals alike were able to convert this into life-energy, to keep themselves happy and healthy. The flow of energy was what kept the surface world vital, each and every living creature great or small part of the same web of life.

  Now that she was back here, she was happy to feel the flow. It had been almost overwhelming being around mortals, even if her interaction with them was brief. Tomorrow, she looked forward to getting to know them better, particularly the princesses that Mother had mentioned. It had been a long time since she had had mortal peers, and she hoped that she wouldn't intimidate them too much – she saw how Metaniera had obviously deferred to Mother. She would just enjoy herself here and worry about Hades later.

  Persephone focused on the pulse of vital energy surrounding her, feeling reassured by it, almost like being wrapped in a warm blanket. Hmm. She opened her eyes, looking down at the water. All humans and animals carried warmth within themselves, and even plants. Heat was heat, and didn't she have all of that pent-up energy from not being able to use it in Hades?

  She closed her eyes, focusing on her energy. It felt almost like a kernel, tight-knotted and full of the latent energy she had to suppress before. It shouldn't take much power to heat up this much water... She imagined it radiating from her, a controlled amount of energy pulsing... Just a bit...

  Ahh! Persephone let her head loll back as steam rose from the tub, bringing with it a sweet, clean smell.

  o0o

  Since she was connected to the Earth, Demeter had been able to choke off the natural flow of energy so that plants could not grow. With her daughter returned, she undid her powerful curse. Truth be told, it felt nice letting go, because to maintain such a curse took a great amount of power and concentration. Between that and being angry at Zeus and Hades, she hadn't had much focus for anything else.

  She still needed to decide what to do about her daughter and herself. So far, she had found her stay in Eleusis to be satisfying and rewarding. The city had been struggling before, and without her intervention, it might have been wiped from history. Much as she had done for Iasion and Enna, she did for this city and its rulers. Its people were grateful, and now the city's worship belonged to Demeter much like Zeus was master in Olympia. No mortal could survive without a harvest, so the residents of this city – and the refugees that would remember and tell of the great famine – would remember her generosity and fury for centuries to come.

  The island she had previously occupied was no longer a safe place because now everybody knew of its location. Would it be prudent to hide Kora elsewhere or keep her here in this city? The princesses would be appropriate company. Hmm. Not a bad idea, really...

  Demeter returned to her room. She had already designated its adjoining chamber as her daughter's room, previously used as her private meditation room and where she would sometimes take Demophon. She would be able to keep her daughter close and ensure that Hades didn't have any lasting influence on her.

  The faint moisture of steam enveloped her face as she entered her room and closed the door, sniffing at the fragrance in the air. It bore the familiar smell of herbs, but the steam confused her. She approached the tub, seeing Kora's head lolling back in relaxation, her knees loosely spread and just above the surface of the water. Even under the warm, cheerful glow from the fire, Kora's skin still looked unnaturally pale, further emphasizing the color of her nipples and pubic triangle. Demeter quickly looked away, silently cursing her brother. Why would Hades do something like this? Did he find it amusing?

  “How did you heat up the water?” Demeter asked as she bent down to pick up the silk undergarment, amazed at the sheer softness of the fabric. Almost unnatural, really. Unbeknownst to her, Underworld silk was finer than even silk in the surface world, so she was close to correct in her thought.

  “It was not warm enough, so I decided to add a little more heat.” She shrugged as she casually crossed her arms over her chest.

  “I have always heated it up the same way for both of us.”

  “I just wanted more heat.” The younger goddess stared back at her. Irritated by this defiance, Demeter frowned, but set her jaw as she draped a towel across the stool, still holding onto the silk.

  “Do not take that away, please. I want to sleep in it,” Persephone said. Her mother stared at her as if surprised.

  “This thing comes from Hades, there is no reason for you to keep it. I have some nice things for you to wear.”

  “It is comfortable, and I like it.” Her heart was pounding, but she remained still.

  “Is it? It is too slippery, this fabric cannot be real.”

  “But it is. It comes from the cocoons of worms. The threads are very, very fine and -“

  “Kora!” Demeter always said her name in that tone when she was especially irritated, such as when her daughter kept asking her questions or insisting on going outside when she should be at the loom, weaving or spinning.

  “I have worried about you for months, and when I finally get you back, you are telling me that you want to keep something from the man who kidnapped you!”

  Persephone let out a defeated sigh. “I am sorry, Mother.” She did not want to go to bed in a fight, so she decided to simply drop the matter. She would be going back to Hades soon enough anyway.

  “There there, it's all right.” Demeter quickly changed moods, her shoulders slumping in relaxation as she smiled. “I will get you some warm and comfortable things, and you can have a snack and go to bed. Tomorrow is a new day.”

  “Yes, Mother.” Persephone was tired, so she didn't argue with her mother's bedtime command. If anything, her di
scussions – and arguments – with Hades had taught her how to deal with certain situations, and she felt better equipped to voice herself to Mother than she had ever before. There were times to fight and other times to simply be silent or retreat.

  Having grown under Demeter's power, the dates and grapes she was given after her bath tasted robust, and she could practically taste the warmth of their traces of vital energy. After starving herself for over four months, she could eat! Her obvious enthusiasm and gratitude for the food clearly improved Mother's mood, so Persephone remained cheerful, using the food as an excuse to not speak or answer Mother's questions.

  o0o

  Demeter glanced down at her sleeping daughter one last time before leaving her room. Now that Kora was safe and asleep, she felt confident about leaving Eleusis and using her Gift in other parts of Hellas. The curse was gone so that everything could grow again, but growing took time, and Hellas simply did not have the time to wait for the next harvest. She would have to cast a different sort of magic so that things could grow quickly as she brought the earth to a temporary summer.

  Eleusis remained cloaked under her protective magic, and Demeter went on to the nearest cities to feed their starving denizens. Other gods were at work as well, using their own Gifts to restore life to Hellas.

  o0o

  Persephone groaned softly as she stirred awake, blinking at the influx of sunlight that filled the room. It had been so long since she had woken up to light – real, actual sunlight – and she was disoriented for a moment. The linen she was on top of was coarse compared to the soft silk and velvet sheets she had grown accustomed to, and after living in a palace made of black marble, the warm hues of the clay and earth around her was jarring.

  She swung her legs over the side of the bed, feeling the slightly cool floor under her feet and looked around, her heart pounding a bit harder than usual as she took in her surroundings. When she was in the Underworld, she had ached for the surface. Yet now here she was, missing the dark surroundings to which she had grown accustomed – and even fond of. The dark and elegant architecture, the splendid wall hangings and decorations, the large and soft bed where she had spent many happy nights with Hades...

  Aidon, she reminded herself gently. Aidon, the name she whispered into his ear during their intimate times, or when they were alone, basking in one another's presence. Aidoneus, Lord of the one of the few and mighty provinces of Dis, the King of the Hellenic Underworld, and a deity that even the other gods feared. One of the proud few of the small group of chthonic deities; a group that Persephone herself was now part of. She thought of Hades's earnestly uttered promise, and let out a slow exhale.

  She rose to her feet, feeling disoriented, as if her limbs were now different. With a frown, she looked down at herself, wondering why she should feel so awkward in her own body.

  Her limbs weren't long and graceful. Her breasts and hips were gone. In fact, her body was entirely devoid of all traces of womanhood. Quickly lifting the hem of the tunic she had slept in – a considerably looser fit than the night before – her horror increased as she saw that she hadn't been mistaken. Everything she had gained in Dis was now gone. With the awareness and clarity that she had gained in her time away, she could feel her mother's magic wrapped around her, stifling her.

  It was bad enough that Demeter had blighted Hellas with her wrath to get her daughter back. Once the Harvest Goddess got her daughter back, that simply wasn't enough! No, Mother had to turn her back into the way she thought her daughter should be!

  For so long, Demeter had maintained her hold on her daughter, trimming the branches so to speak, as if Persephone was another plant to take care of and protect, like a little flower.

  Persephone remembered the pomegranate tree in Hades. She was like that tree – lush, grown, inviting yet mysterious. She had thrived in a way she had never thought she would, and Mother refused to see that. Without even asking her daughter how she felt, she had seen fit to return her to this... cursed physical state of perpetual girlhood!

  Examination of the chests along the wall revealed girlish clothing, chitons and tunics in the style that she had worn a decade ago. There was not one single womanly accoutrement to be found – no jewelry, mirrors, or other paraphernalia that she had become accustomed to in the Underworld. And more embarrassingly, in another chest were remnants of her childhood – a stuffed doll, clay toys, a little spinner, things that she had abandoned a long time ago. Now it was obvious that Mother had stored all of her daughter's castaways.

  There was also wool, various colored yarn, skeins and other things needed to do weaving. Persephone had never cared much for this, and Demeter knew it. She had spent much of her time on the island weaving and making cloth, using good linen along with soft and fine wool, using rare and vibrant dyes provided by Mother, but the quality of the material didn't increase her passion for the craft.

  Her mother was always insisting that weaving was a vital art for every woman to know and to take in with passion. A woman might have other interests, but household arts was a huge priority, even to a goddess who also loved the outdoors, and Demeter often used Nature as inspiration for her designs. Persephone saw it as it was; something to keep her obedient and occupied.

  Persephone touched her face, feeling how soft it the angles of her face were before she looked down at her flat chest.

  An outraged shriek escaped her lips.

  Chapter XLV

  o0o

  No! No! No! Gods, no! Persephone didn't think she could ever get any more furious than when she realized that Hades fed her the pomegranate seeds, but the seething, boiling fury that threatened to choke her off rivaled than any anger she had ever felt in the past. For so long, she had eagerly anticipated womanhood. In Enna, she had seen older girls grow into women, and had been impatient to see these changes in her own body. Becoming a woman meant she would be treated like one, so as she entered her thirteenth summer, she anticipated these changes.

  After several more unchanging summers, her envy of the nymphs grew. After a while, she just stopped paying attention to her body, and then it had all come upon her in a rush in the Underworld. It had been a bit scary but exciting. She liked how Hades looked at her blossoming curves, encouraging her body to catch up with her mind and true age all the while treating her as an adult despite how she looked.

  She felt light-headed as she considered all the progress she had made, only to have it wiped out in one night while she was not even aware of it!

  Barely a moment after she was able to fully register what had just happened to her, Mother rushed into the room, her eyes wide with concern, having heard that terrible shriek.

  “Kora, darling! What is wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”

  “Worse! Look!” She gestured to herself, tugging on the too-big tunic.

  “Have no worry, there are plenty of clothes that fit you.” She gestured to the chests her daughter had just rummaged through.

  “No! Not that! I mean, this!” She motioned to her nonexistent curves, her hands making a sweeping gesture along the sides of her body.

  “Oh, that.” Demeter flicked her hand dismissively, “I removed Hades's influence from you. You are as you were before he kidnapped you.”

  “I do not want to be a little girl!”

  “This is for the best, Kora.”

  “No, it's not! I like the way I was... the way I should be!”

  “Should be? Do not be silly. Now, get dressed, and I will get morning supper for both of us. Then I can properly introduce you to Celeus and Metaniera, and you can meet their children.”

  Ugh. She certainly didn't want to be introduced as Kora, the perpetual little girl.

  “No. I am not letting them see me like this.”

  “There is nothing wrong with the way you look.” Resolutely, Demeter turned to the chest closest to her and opened it, pulling out a few articles of clothing. All of it suited for a child, of course.

  “Yes, there is! I am not a child!”


  “You are my child. Now get dressed.”

  “No.”

  Demeter's jaw tightened visibly, but Persephone squared her shoulders.

  “Kora, I know you have been through a lot, but I will not tolerate disobedience.” She used what Persephone had always called the 'most-serious' tone, the kind that had guaranteed obedience in the past. Mother used it very rarely, so when she did, Persephone knew that she had to obey or face punishment.

  Then again, she was no longer little Kora despite what she might look like right now.

  “I will not tolerate being treated like a child,” Persephone replied calmly, in that slightly deep but lovely voice that she had grown into, managing it despite the reversal of her physical form.

  “Mother knows best.” Demeter maintained her most-serious tone, placing her fist on her hip as she glowered down at her daughter, stunned by this defiance. What had Hades done to her?

  In response, Persephone closed her eyes, balling her hands into fists as she shut out her mother's voice. She could feel the constricting magic around her tighten even more, and her heart pounded as she considered the possibility that Mother might actually make her look even younger.

  Oh hell no. That was most certainly not going to happen! She concentrated with all her might, feeling her energy pool up within and expand, her latent power surging through her veins. It filled every fiber of her being, threatening to overwhelm her, needing more room as it struggled against the confines of her small form. The pressure increased from outside as Demeter concentrated her own energy, and Persephone felt almost as if Mother was trying to squeeze her into a small package. There simply wasn't enough room, and she started to panic, feeling claustrophobic within her own body.

  Make room! With a fresh surge of energy, she pushed against the invisible force trying to restrain her, allowing her power to fill the small form she inhabited. Make everything bigger. More room! She imagined it pulsing under her skin, filling her almost as instantaneously as an explosion, and a pained cry tore itself from her throat as she collapsed to her knees.