Disenchantment 25

*****

 

 

 

 

Perry had lived for weeks in the meadow before she had moved to the throne room, or she thought it was weeks. Time had a way of not making much sense to her recently. She wasn’t exactly in a stupor, but a very dull euphoria hung about in her mind, clouding her thoughts. She could concentrate on things for a few seconds, but she had to try quite hard to do so. If she let her concentration slip, the thoughts would begin to fade.

 

She had been mostly in the meadow, but sometimes the scenery changed. If she really wanted to see the ocean, all she needed to do was to climb the nearest hill and there were beautiful sandy beaches on the other side. Yet if she had tried it again, wanting a change of scenery different to the ocean, it could be that as well: a pine forest, a waterfall in a tropical paradise, a shimmering lake with a beautiful sunset far off in the background, one time it even seemed to be a recreation of a beautiful Greek village, perhaps Mykanos Town or Oia, clustered with quaint white and blue houses.

 

Hayden was there on occasion too. He would bathe with her in the pool below the waterfall or walk the footpaths of beautiful forests while holding her hand. He was also incredibly lustful. She had had more carnal relations in such a short span of time, than she had ever had before in her life, and he always left her entirely fulfilled and desperately yearning for their next encounter at the same time.

 

But after a time, Hayden showed her the throne room. She was allowed to sit on the Queen’s Throne whenever she wanted, and she was also encouraged to do so. Hayden had repeatedly told her that she could remain there forever. The throne felt stiff and hard and somehow dead, whenever she would first sit upon it, eventually softening after a few moments to become comfortable. However, that initial blunt and unforgiving time it took to adjust often made her reluctant to sit.

 

The throne room itself was in a palace of marble, smooth, white pillars reached up high into the vaulted ceiling that was painted with elaborate frescoes depicting what she thought were ancient Greek myths. There seemed to be one with Perseus slaying Medusa, another with Theseus and the Minotaur. But this room in all its bright, white beauty, seemed to shimmer at times, lose its façade. Persephone couldn’t help but feel there was a darkness beneath it.

 

She did not have to remain in the throne room at all times, although Hayden did encourage her to spend much time in the place, there were two doors she could choose to leave the throne room. One, was an ornately carved, circular door that led back to the meadow and all those other beautiful place. The other, a simple worn and wooden door led to her chambers, her suite of rooms, where she could have anything she wanted, save the nectar and ambrosia. Hayden always reminded her she could have those if she chose to stay. Other than that, she could eat whatever she wanted. All she need do was speak of her desired food choice aloud into the empty room, and it would be brought by a servant within a few seconds.

 

There were other areas of comfort in her quarters as well, a huge, silky bed that she and Hayden regularly used to join bodies. There was also what she thought of as a TV room. There was a large screen on a wall, and again, all she had to do was to speak of what she wished to view and it would appear on her screen. Her favorite television show had always been Friends, and she would repeatedly watch those old episodes, as there were nine seasons worth. However, she had seen all the episodes before, yet when she watched them, they seemed new, and fresh, and different than she remembered. She could also rewatch all her favorite films with new eyes and see them again for the first time.

 

After a time, her humanity forced her to get lonely, with erratic visits from Hayden excluded, she was often alone. The servants who brought her food never spoke and she wasn’t even sure that they could, just entering the room, dressed in what she thought were togas, then disappearing after setting a platter of food on an intricately designed, stone table near the doorway.

 

This loneliness was slow to come, but the urge for human contact got stronger by the day, to the point where it even started to depress her through her fugue. On Hayden’s occasional visits, she would often ask him not to leave. He always did end up leaving, but he would stay a bit longer after sex, comforting her, until the first time she cried. Hayden seemed to smile, but then told her she would soon have a companion.

 

Some time later, Persephone was not sure how much time had gone by and guessed that it was perhaps a day or two, Daeira came to her quarters. The girl was extraordinarily beautiful with skin of the purest of alabaster and hair that came down to her ankles when it wasn’t wildly flowing through the air of its own accord.

 

“Who are you?” Persephone had asked.

 

“I am Daeira,” was the only reply that she received.

 

“Why are you here?”

 

“I am to be... your friend.”

 

“My friend?”

 

“Don’t ever think me a servant.” For a brief second she seemed on the verge of a fury. “Whatever Hayden may want, I am above your station.” Her eyes seemed to bore into Persephone’s very soul. “I miss your predecessor immensely, and regardless of how hard you try, you can never replace her.”

 

“I’m not trying to replace anyone.” Persephone’s mind was too muddled to be offended, but she had been slightly confused.

 

“I know of things such as loyalty,” she said as she seemed to sum up Persephone, glancind her entire body over, but permitting her eyes to come to rest midway through, allowing Persephone to believe that she was staring at her vagina, through her clothes.

 

The girl was cold at first, and with Perry’s mind gone, it took time for the two to warm to each other. Over a period of time that might have been a week, Persphone would shoot off random thoughts to Daeira. She learned that she was nymph and had been Persephone’s confidant and best of friends.

 

On a later day, Daeira asked, “Is there anyone you miss in the above world?” A twinkle was in her eye as she spoke.

 

Persephone had to concentrate. “Above world?”

 

“Where you came from. Any friends, family...lover?”

 

“I...miss my parents, and my friends.”

 

“Think harder. Is that all?”

 

Perry did have to think harder. It wasn’t easy. The more she tried to concentrate on something, the more it seemed parts of her mind were trying to pull her away from it. I... Oren?”

 

“Who is Oren?”

 

A slight pain was invading her mind, and the longer she tried to think on the name of Oren, the more it hurt, becoming more than slight, a sharpness that seemed to tear into her physical brain. “My husband?”

 

“Do you miss Oren?”

 

“Why do you ask these things? I miss my parents. I miss my friends.”

 

“I ask these things because you don’t belong here. You are not one of us. I want things to go back as they once were. For centuries I dedicated myself to Persephone, the true queen of the Underworld, not some mortal harlot that lust has made the Dark Lord want to entertain. Your world is also suffering for this.”

 

Perry was confused and the pain was becoming unbearable as it slowly increased. “I don’t know, should I miss him?” She thought of her wedding day, of first meeting him, joyous occasions. Then she remembered his drinking, his constant sarcasm and childish behavior that built up to too much on occasion.

 

“Do you miss your husband? Do you miss Oren?”

 

Perry finally released her thought on the man. The pain was too much. As the memory of her husband faded, she spoke a single word: “No.”

 

Daeira sighed and shook her head.