marigold
"James."
No one called Persephone by his Earth alias, unless they were a mortal or a deity that was very close to him.
The god of spring looked up to see his mother, who stood in front of him with her hand outstretched and a gentle look in her eyes. Demeter noticed that her son's bright cerulean eyes, usually so full of life, were dull from his dark mood. Her son reached up and wrapped a shaky hand around Demeter's hand.
The goddess of the harvest pulled her dearest son to an embrace and the two held on to each other for a moment.
"I know you're scared, my son," Demeter spoke after a moment. Persephone pulled away to look at his beloved mother with a glint of confusion in his eyes, "When you're ready, you'll be back home in an instant."
"...I don't know if I can handle this." Persephone whispered.
Demeter gave him a reassuring smile and placed a kiss on Persephone's forehead. The two looked into each other's eyes, seeking until the prolonged silence was interrupted by footsteps coming down the halls of the Underworld's palace.
He saw his beloved Hades, who stood at the door looking radiant, her green eyes meeting his sapphire eyes. Persephone stood up from his spot, released himself from his mother's comforting grip and walked over to his queen. As soon as Hades and Persephone were in close proximity, the god of spring lifted a hand and pulled the goddess of the underworld into an embrace, brushing his fingers through her pale golden hair.
Hades caressed Persephone's cheek, and he longed for more than a simple embrace as he looked into her emerald eyes once more.
"Goodbye, my love." She whispered.
Persephone felt a shockwave through his body and then there was darkness.
The first thing that Persephone could feel when he came to was a light breeze caressing his arms. His sapphire eyes snapped open in shock and he quickly sat up, frantically looking around only to see that he was surrounded by dandelions. His breath hitched in his throat when he realized that he was in a dark forest.
He scrambled to his feet running through the forest until he came upon a sector where the upper branches of the trees seemed to part, allowing him to see the brief outline of Mount Olympus.
"Mother?" He called to the night sky.
The silence was louder than his panicked thoughts.
"Mama!" He cried out again.
Persephone fell to his knees and unleashed a cry of melancholy that sent a shockwave more terrifying than the one that banished him to the mortal realm. It killed the flowers that surrounded him and unleashed a gust of wind that pushed over the grass and shook the leaves of the forest.
"Zeus, please," He whispered, "I need my mother. Please, please, I need her guidance."
Again, the silence followed, and Persephone realized the worst as he sobbed.
He was alone. This time, there was not a familiar face in the mortal realm to console him.
