Abaddon: The Story of Persephone and Hades

Persephone: Epilogue

A/N: This is it, my lovely readers. The last chapter: the epilogue. Please enjoy!

Three years later...

There can be no life without soil. It nourishes the plants it supports, feeding the humans and animals and all forms of life.

The deep brown soil is caked under my fingernails. I can't help but grin every time I notice how messy I become while I'm working in the garden. I refuse to glance at my chiton; I promise it's smeared with soil as well.

"Mama!"

I look up from my thriving garden to spot my son and daughter, Zagreus and Makaria, chasing each other nearby. Makaria is squealing as her older brother chases her, pretending to be Kronos chasing his victims.

"Mama!" Makaria screams again. She runs in my direction, giggling and heaving for air simultaneously. 

"Yes, my darling?" I ask, pulling her into my lap as I sit cross-legged next to my garden. 

Makaria stares at the overhanging branches of the trees I've been growing with her big green eyes full of wonder and awe. "Can I have a pear?"

I bend down to kiss her forehead. "Of course." I glance up and call for Zagreus, who is getting himself dirty in the soil. "Zagreus, would you like some fruit, too?"

He jumps up and nods excitably. "Yes, mama! I want a pear, too!"

"You both need to wash up, first," I tell them, laughing at how messy they are. 

"Mama, you're covered in dirt, too! You need to wash up," Makaria tells me. I scoop her into my arms and nod my head in agreement. 

"You're right, my love. Mama is also messy," I giggle. "Come on, Zagreus. When we get washed up, we will have some fruit from the garden."

Zagreus skips ahead of Makaria and I into the castle. 

This is a normal day for us, and I treasure each moment I have with my children. Hades spends his days fulfilling his kingly duties with Thanatos while my duties vary from day-to-day. For the most part, however, I spend my days working in my garden, providing vegetation for the Underworld, and being a mother to my two children. On other days, less commonly, I sit alongside Hades and preside over the domain while Evadne cares for the children. Either way, I am proud of my accomplishments and I'm living the life I've always wanted. I have no complaints.

I never would have expected that this is how my life would eventually turn out, but life can be surprising sometimes.

I help both of my children get cleaned up, rinsing the soil from their fingers and chubby cheeks before giving each of them a plethora of kisses. 

"Mama?" Zagreus asks as I guide them to the warm kitchen. "Do you think that we could visit grandfather soon?"

Every few weeks, I rise to earth's surface with my children so that they have an opportunity to experience life outside of the Underworld. Zagreus loves visiting my father, Zeus, on Olympus. Makaria enjoys playing in the meadows with my mother, Demeter. I never wanted to deprive my children from seeing their relatives; so, I have gotten closer with both of my parents in the process. 

As long as my mother doesn't try to lecture me on how I am raising my children, I am perfectly content. 

"Of course, sweetheart." I pick my son  up from the stone floor and rest him on an unused countertop with his little sister. "Stay here. I'll be right back with the fruit."

On my way out of the kitchen, I instruct one of the kitchen servants to watch over my children while I'm away. 

I practically skip outside to my garden to pick some fresh grown fruit from the trees and bushes.