A/N

I was in a hurry to get this chapter out, so please excuse any grammatical errors you see. Feel free to point them out in reviews, however. Enjoy!

Persephone's POV

I sat back down on the bed, fuming. How could my mother not tell me that Hades was coming? Was she honestly that selfish to never allow her daughter to enjoy life without her? Did she honestly think that I would never want to be somewhere on my own? Whatever her reasoning, my mother's actions were as of then unforgivable.

I pushed my hair out of my face and sighed, lying back on the bed. If my mother wasn't here by now after a couple hours, I was obviously meant to stay here for a little while. I remembered Hades telling me that dinner was in an hour and sat up.

I looked down at my clothes. My white tunic was wrinkled and dirty; I knew I couldn't wear it to dinner with Hades. I looked around the room, hoping to find something.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a door that I knew hadn't been there earlier. Feeling bold, I walked over to it and turned the handle. What I found shocked me enough to cause my hands to fly to my mouth again. Inside were dozens upon dozens of the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen. Below them were shoes that ranged in color and style, much like the dresses.

I decided I did not want to appear too eager to use the resources Hades had provided. I chose one of the less formal-looking dresses and the pair of shoes that appeared to match.

I closed the closet door and was just about to change when I remembered my hair. I ran my fingers through it and could tell it was a mess.

What I wouldn't give for a place to clean up a bit, I found myself thinking.

A light flashed from under the closet door. My jaw went slack. What was going on? Cautiously this time, I opened the closet door and discovered that it was no longer a closet. Instead, it was the most beautiful bathroom I had ever seen. I walked inside and looked at the sink. On its counter top was a small silver comb. I smiled, thinking that I was definitely going to enjoy my time in the Underworld. I combed and styled my hair as best I could, checking to make sure it was perfect in the gold-trimmed mirror above the sink.

Leaving the door open, I went back into the main room, grabbed the dress, and hurried back into the bathroom. I stuffed myself into the dress as quickly as I could. I was checking my reflection in the mirror one last time when I heard a knock at the door. As quickly as I could, I shut the bathroom door and pulled on my forgotten shoes. I crossed the room to the door, taking a moment to situate myself.

I opened the door, revealing an elderly goddess waiting patiently outside the threshold.

"Good evening, Persephone. I am Hecate, Goddess of Witchcraft. I am here to escort you to the dining hall, seeing as this is your first visit to the Underworld." I nodded, following the elder goddess down the many hallways and numerous flights of stairs to the dining hall.

Hades POV

It took all of my willpower to sit still at the round table the shades had prepared for Persephone and myself that evening. I had spent half an hour pacing the length of the dining hall before Hecate appeared, telling me that she was going to get Persephone. I had urged myself to sit down, telling myself that Persephone would be here in a matter of moments.

The door opened suddenly. Thanatos entered the hall, stiffening and averting his eyes upon seeing me. He stood just beyond the threshold, his gaze focused on the wall behind me.

"The Lady Hecate, Goddess of Witchcraft escorting the Lady Persephone, daughter of Demeter." He addressed no one in particular, keeping his eyes away from me, as was custom when announcing visitors. He bowed and exited the room as my stomach did back flips. She was just outside the door, waiting to come in to see me. I stared at the door, waiting eagerly for her to enter. I focused all of my attention on the door Persephone would enter through in just a moment. In fact, I was so preoccupied with waiting for her to enter, it took me a moment to realize that she had already entered.

Embarrassed, I rose from my seat, never taking my eyes off of the beautiful goddess that was Persephone.

She had dressed herself in a long, silk, jade green gown, with numerous emeralds on the bodice and skirt. Her black hair hung down her back in gentle waves and framed her gentle face to perfection. Her bright brown eyes shone with excitement as she walked towards her seat opposite me.

I lowered myself back into my seat as I watched her stare around the hall in amazement. The food hadn't been served yet, giving us an opportunity to speak.

"Persephone, you look enchanting," I said, struggling to keep my voice calm. For some reason her presence made me uneasy.

"Thank you, My Lord," she said, not quite meeting my gaze.

"Please, call me Hades." Smirking slightly, I noticed a faint blush come across her cheeks as she nodded. She had seemed very confident just a moment ago. Then again, so had I.

An uncomfortable silence followed. Fortunately, the food arrived, giving us something something to do.

I was very anxious to have Persephone eat. By Zeus' law, anyone who ate the food of the Underworld would be forever bound to it. I have no idea why my dear brother made that law, but as of then I was very grateful for it. Persephone would always have to return to me, even if by some chance her mother took her. Zeus himself would not be able to undo this, his first law.

Hecate's POV

I was watching the whole affair from my quarters. Long ago, the Fates had given me an orb of psychic energy with which I could keep an eye on our young king. Then, I had no idea why this precious gift was bestowed upon me. Now, it couldn't have been clearer.

I knew why Hades wanted Persephone to dine with him, and I was appalled by his actions. While trickery and deceit was by no means new to him, one would think that he would try to hide that particular nature of his from the goddess he wanted as his queen. As it was, I also knew that if Persephone found out that he had both lied to her about her mother, and tricking her into eating the food of the Underworld, she would hate us all. Hades in particular. He would be devastated at even the possibility that Persephone hated him.

Which was why I had switched Persephone's meal from the Underworld with imported food from Olympus.

I knew that Hades would be able to tell the difference and that he would be positively furious with me for "tampering in business that did not concern me in the least," as he liked to say. He would storm around and fume and perhaps blast a shade or two with the fire of his wrath, but in the end he would thank me. In then end, he would realize that everything I meddled in was for him.