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“ARIADNE? MOTHER SENT me to check on you.” Persephone’s voice came through the closed door, sounding deeply awkward. “I’ll-” She stopped talking abruptly and the door opened.
Dionysus was already up and halfway to the door, but the goddess of the Underworld had already came in with a deeply concerned expression that was rapidly turning horrified at the wreckage of the room.
“Did you kill her?” She asked Dionysus incredulously before seeming to fall into speechlessness.
Ariadne crept out from behind Dionysus. “No, no, I’m fine.” She gave Persephone a tremulous smile. “This looks bad, but we were actually getting on really well last night.”
Persephone shot her a look. “You’ve been damn close to dying within the last few hours. I’m the Queen of the Underworld, I can tell.” She glanced around the room at the shredded bedding and blackened blood and metallic gold ichor. “Not that the evidence doesn’t speak for itself.”
“We just got carried away.” She wouldn’t have bothered defending what she and her lover did in the bedroom, but Dionysus seemed crushed at Persephone’s lowered opinion.
“Doing what exactly, beating the shit out of each other?” Persephone ran a hand through her hair in a gesture remarkably similar to Dionysus and then held it in front of her like it had answers.
“I used my powers.” Dionysus admitted, looking at Ariadne with a guilty expression.
Persephone seemed lost. “You got both of you drunk?” Something crossed her face like a shadow. “No, you couldn’t have brought madness into the bedroom.” She almost seemed to be begging.
Ariadne wrinkled her nose. “I didn’t even think of it like that.” She admitted.
Dionysus gave an uncomfortable shrug. “It was an extension of the religious ecstasy and such.”
“Religious ecstasy.” Persephone repeated, closing her eyes. “And what is more religious or ecstasy inducing than having sex with a god. Of course.”
“He’s also the god of a few other, related things.” Ariadne didn’t clarify but waited for Persephone to make the connections herself. When she gave a faint grimace, Ariadne knew she had come to the right conclusions.
Being a god of erections made for divine stamina and recovery periods unseen outside other fertility deities. Being the god of intoxication and religious frenzied ecstasy and bringing the combination into the bedroom... Ariadne had enjoyed her near death experience immensely. Until her near death experience, so had Dionysus.
Persephone opened her eyes to give Dionysus the most judgmental look she had seen. “I thought better of you.” She sounded disappointed.
Dionysus didn’t even defend himself, hunching inwards.
“I’m not dead.” Ariadne pointed out, irritated.
“You are very lucky to have survived that.” Persephone rolled her eyes at Ariadne’s mulish shrug. “You’re both idiots. I’ll be in the kitchen pouring all of Mother’s alcohol out.” She grumbled, stomping out of the room, muttering something under her breath that sounded like complaints.
Ariadne heaved a sigh, glancing at a downcast Dionysus. She struggled to think of something to say but nothing came to mind.
* * *
ARIADNE emerged from the guest bedroom holding Dionysus’s hand, chin thrust up defiantly.
Persephone handed them each a flower crown. Letting go of Dionysus’s hand, Ariadne examined the gift. It was a tightly woven crown of blooming, fragrant roses bordered by laurel leaves. It was an exact match for Dionysus’s except for the color of the roses.
“What is this?” He asked, glancing from his flower crown to Ariadne’s. “Only gods wear laurel leaves Persephone.”
Persephone gestured for them to follow her and walked out of the house to her waiting chariot. It gleamed, the dark yellow of pure gold, a sharp contrast to the pitch black horses harnessed to it. She gathered the reigns in one hand before turning to address them, expression grave. “I know what you asked Zeus for. All of Olympus probably knows by now.”
“Father agreed to my request.” Dionysus reached over and squeezed Ariadne’s hand. “He had no problem with making Ariadne immortal.”
Persephone shook her head. “But he doesn’t approve, little one. Like he didn’t approve of Endymion or of Tithonus. He doesn’t like mortals on Olympus or even former mortals.”
“Who?” Dionysus is frowning, but Ariadne’s heart began to race at the names of her two great aunt’s formerly mortal lovers.
She explained, “Tithonus was granted immortality, but not eternal youth. Endymion was granted immortality and eternal youth but was kept in an eternal sleep.” Ariadne unclenched her fingers from where she had crushed her wreath in her free hand, scattering the petals in the morning breeze.
Dionysus inhaled sharply. Persephone nodded. “I am fond of you Dionysus and proud of the way you took responsibility for yourself by working to control your powers with Mother’s help. You are a kind, gentle man and that means more than what you could possibly imagine in my realm. I would hate to see your happiness and stability destroyed by Zeus’s pride.”
“So. I will make you and your future bride an offer.” Ariadne started at the title, thrilled that it referred to her.
“Come with me to the Underworld this year and show me your love fore each other. At the end of winter I’ll offer to turn Ariadne into a goddess as a wedding present. Zeus won’t want to be one upped and he’ll do it himself.” Persephone finished her offer and explanation, stepping into her waiting chariot with the grace of the Queen she was.
Ariadne had only half a moment to process the shock of the offer before Dionysus was dragging her onboard the chariot.
“Don’t I get as say in this?” She demanded crankily, but didn’t let go of his hand.
His smile was huge. “What, you don’t want to go?”
* * *