mamoru
wannabe prince
The festival was starting soon, Hades realized early one morning as he gazed out at the frozen land that was his kingdom.
If he squinted enough, he could see the faint outlines of one of few towns that dotted the snowy lands. Dark gray with cold stone buildings, the barely noticible flicker of flame that was weak warmth against the abrasive cold. There was no flurry of snow falling down from the heavens to obscure his view out into the distance, but even without obstruction it was still difficult to see past the blank white canvas. He should go talk to his people before he leaves for the festival. Deliver some much needed wool and furs, as he would be spending roughly a month out in the warmer climates of his brother's kingdom.
The festival. Hades closed the wooden window doors and secured them closed with a metal latch and it clicked closed. It would be nice to see his brothers again, nice to see a land that flourished with life and beauty that his own severely lacked. For as much as he hated Zeus and how pompous he could be, and how successful the trade and economy of Poseidon's water-encased kingdom was, he did care for his brothers. There was no point hating the only family you have left, especially when the three of them ruled all the land there was upon the earth.
Hades turned away from the now closed window, upon the chests of gifts and of his own belongings, and let out a deep sigh. Even from the enclosed castle walls, protecting him from the worst of the cold, his breath came out still in puffs. Without sparing another moment to mulling over what little he had in comparison to his brothers, he called for aide from his servants to begin loading his chests onto the carriage and to begin his trip out from the cold, empty kingdom of his to the festivities of the summit at Olympus.
---
The only reason Hades arrived so early to the festival was because Zeus insisted upon showing him around the newly renovated castle at Olympus. Though Zeus boasted that it was now more 'modernized' and showcased the new trends of the people, Hades could see just about no difference other than more flowers being presented and shown off at every corner. He didn't say it out loud though, especially when Zeus was in the middle of a spiel about the new curtains, how a brighter shade of red was more 'in style' this time of year. He wouldn't be heard over Zeus anyways.
Though, the area that seemed most new to Hades was the garden. As the roamed the expansive hallways with high, high ceilings they maneuvered deeper and deeper into the heart of the castle, where the castle gardens were encased with glass walls to allow a steady stream of sunshine in. Hades couldn't recall at all if he had ever even seen it before -- any view of a large group of flowers looked like the same bright muddle of colors to him -- but it at least looked different. The flowers were arranged by color, it seemed, or maybe it was color and breed of flower? Hades didn't know, and he had long ago tuned out Zeus' babbling. Warm sunshine filtered down from above, and instantly Hades felt that soothing warm that could lead you into a comfortable nap.
They weaved through the multitude of flowers and plants, the occasional butterfly or bee flittering away. Hades did his best not to scream and run when he heard a bee buzzing by his ear. Bugs were nonexistent in his castle. As they moved about by Zeus' lead, he noticed a girl, seeming to be busy gardening, digging into the moist dirt to plant in a few new flowers. She seemed too focused on her work to even spare a glance at the fantastical musings of Zeus, perhaps all too used to this behavior.
That would make the two of us, Hades thought to himself, watching her work. All this stuff about plants and gardening was an absolute mystery to Hades. There were large pine trees, at most, towards the warmer border of his kingdom and that was about all his knowledge on the subject. He was quite interested in the ginger care she took with digging into the ground then placing seeds or an already blossoming plant into the hole she created.
It seemed like Zeus finally picked up on Hades' focus on the girl, as his heavy arm suddenly wrapped around his shoulder and he pulled his brother in close. "Bored of your brother already, Hades?" Zeus teased, bright smile on his features.
"Persephone is her name. She enjoys working here at the gardens," He continued before Hades even thought about replying.
So, she's a servant or something, Hades thought. Though he wasn't really caring much about status or who she was right now. He just cared about the damn plants. Zeus had other ideas on his brother's thoughts, it seemed.
"Persephone! Why don't you come here and meet my brother, Hades?" Oh geez. Zeus was trying get Hades to talk to more strangers again. It was already alienating enough being on a land mass that was 99% snow. Zeus constantly babying Hades into making friends and the like was even worse.
Well, maybe he'll get to learn about the plants at least. It couldn't be that bad, right?
If he squinted enough, he could see the faint outlines of one of few towns that dotted the snowy lands. Dark gray with cold stone buildings, the barely noticible flicker of flame that was weak warmth against the abrasive cold. There was no flurry of snow falling down from the heavens to obscure his view out into the distance, but even without obstruction it was still difficult to see past the blank white canvas. He should go talk to his people before he leaves for the festival. Deliver some much needed wool and furs, as he would be spending roughly a month out in the warmer climates of his brother's kingdom.
The festival. Hades closed the wooden window doors and secured them closed with a metal latch and it clicked closed. It would be nice to see his brothers again, nice to see a land that flourished with life and beauty that his own severely lacked. For as much as he hated Zeus and how pompous he could be, and how successful the trade and economy of Poseidon's water-encased kingdom was, he did care for his brothers. There was no point hating the only family you have left, especially when the three of them ruled all the land there was upon the earth.
Hades turned away from the now closed window, upon the chests of gifts and of his own belongings, and let out a deep sigh. Even from the enclosed castle walls, protecting him from the worst of the cold, his breath came out still in puffs. Without sparing another moment to mulling over what little he had in comparison to his brothers, he called for aide from his servants to begin loading his chests onto the carriage and to begin his trip out from the cold, empty kingdom of his to the festivities of the summit at Olympus.
---
The only reason Hades arrived so early to the festival was because Zeus insisted upon showing him around the newly renovated castle at Olympus. Though Zeus boasted that it was now more 'modernized' and showcased the new trends of the people, Hades could see just about no difference other than more flowers being presented and shown off at every corner. He didn't say it out loud though, especially when Zeus was in the middle of a spiel about the new curtains, how a brighter shade of red was more 'in style' this time of year. He wouldn't be heard over Zeus anyways.
Though, the area that seemed most new to Hades was the garden. As the roamed the expansive hallways with high, high ceilings they maneuvered deeper and deeper into the heart of the castle, where the castle gardens were encased with glass walls to allow a steady stream of sunshine in. Hades couldn't recall at all if he had ever even seen it before -- any view of a large group of flowers looked like the same bright muddle of colors to him -- but it at least looked different. The flowers were arranged by color, it seemed, or maybe it was color and breed of flower? Hades didn't know, and he had long ago tuned out Zeus' babbling. Warm sunshine filtered down from above, and instantly Hades felt that soothing warm that could lead you into a comfortable nap.
They weaved through the multitude of flowers and plants, the occasional butterfly or bee flittering away. Hades did his best not to scream and run when he heard a bee buzzing by his ear. Bugs were nonexistent in his castle. As they moved about by Zeus' lead, he noticed a girl, seeming to be busy gardening, digging into the moist dirt to plant in a few new flowers. She seemed too focused on her work to even spare a glance at the fantastical musings of Zeus, perhaps all too used to this behavior.
That would make the two of us, Hades thought to himself, watching her work. All this stuff about plants and gardening was an absolute mystery to Hades. There were large pine trees, at most, towards the warmer border of his kingdom and that was about all his knowledge on the subject. He was quite interested in the ginger care she took with digging into the ground then placing seeds or an already blossoming plant into the hole she created.
It seemed like Zeus finally picked up on Hades' focus on the girl, as his heavy arm suddenly wrapped around his shoulder and he pulled his brother in close. "Bored of your brother already, Hades?" Zeus teased, bright smile on his features.
"Persephone is her name. She enjoys working here at the gardens," He continued before Hades even thought about replying.
So, she's a servant or something, Hades thought. Though he wasn't really caring much about status or who she was right now. He just cared about the damn plants. Zeus had other ideas on his brother's thoughts, it seemed.
"Persephone! Why don't you come here and meet my brother, Hades?" Oh geez. Zeus was trying get Hades to talk to more strangers again. It was already alienating enough being on a land mass that was 99% snow. Zeus constantly babying Hades into making friends and the like was even worse.
Well, maybe he'll get to learn about the plants at least. It couldn't be that bad, right?