Diana

Most people know the story of Persephone and Hades—how he took her and the deal they made with her mother. It's not entirely accurate.

Persephone sought Hades out and made him love her. It was only once they had married that her mother tried to get her back.

Persephone went insane from the constant changing, from the world of the living to the dead and back again. It was too much to go from light vibrancy to fascinating stillness.

She wanted freedom from the deal, the curse her mother unwittingly forced upon her. A demon knew her plight and sought her out, offering her power to free herself in exchange for her shining godly soul.

Thus, Persephone became the most powerful demon there ever has been. Her newfound abilities coupled magnificently with her insanity and she reigned Hell on Earth. It was a time of great suffering for anyone not of Hell.

Hades was deeply grieved, but he went to her and forced her back into the Underworld. She convinced him it had been nothing but an episode. A loss of control due to some demon's tampering. He sired two more of her children before he learned the truth and cast her into Hell.

Those two children are the most powerful of her many, children born of a god and a demon who herself was created of a god.

I am the older of the two.

My brother and I live in the deepest part of Hell in a palace with our mother. The demons were quick to make her their queen. I grew up hearing the screams of the damned and my mother's light laughter as she talked with her friends.

I have no true form, for I have never been on Earth and was not granted form as a goddess. I am a soul. A formless demon wandering the halls. If I left Hell, I would appear in a child soon to be born.

I would get to live. I would get to be free of this monstrous world where torture is a game and cruelty is as easy as breathing must be.

Do I want to condemn some poor mother to finding her child is a demon? I don't. It might be the only way. Maybe I'll be able to hide until she's no more.

I stand in my chambers, though I have no true form, I have an image. I can touch, but only here in this spirit world. Not alive, not dead, simply waiting.

I am supposed to be vicious. My image is a pale girl with long night black hair and cold gray eyes. I am supposed to use them to meet the eyes of victims and then make them scream.

No one counted on me developing a conscience. I never had a taste for blood, never will.

My brother, Cassian, walks in. He never had any qualms with our duties. I can only hope he soon develops some.

"Mother wants to speak with you," he tells me in our demon tongue, a hissing language with little nuance.

"What for?" I ask, trying to decide if it's worth ignoring her.

"Learning that, my dear sister, would be part of the fun of going to speak with her. The point, really."

I nod and we walk together through the palace. It's stunning, truly. White, black, red marble, grand and twisting. A magnificent feat of architecture.

I'm told my mother designed it and used the power of whatever souls she could get her hands on to make it.

She sits on her black marble throne with bright white veins. It's a stark contrast to Persephone's paleness. Her once blonde hair has turned pure white, barely distinguishable from her skin. Only her black eyes and blood red lips stand out. I know that when she speaks I will see her sharp teeth.

She once was beautiful, I'm told.

"Mother," I say, allowing her a curtsy.

She waves her hand, dismissing Cassian. "Diana, I have a request of you." She stands from her throne and walks down to me, smiling an almost motherly smile.

"Ask it."

She circles me as she speaks. "You're aware of my desire to extend my kingdom once more to the mortal world?" I nod. Who isn't aware? "I wish for you to lead my armada in my quest to regain my former glory."

I look down at the red floor, refusing to meet those black, empty eyes. "I have no body, mother. I cannot do so without a body."

She laughs, high and cold, empty of true joy. "Diana, I will make you a body if you agree. It will be exactly as you desire."

How does she know I want to be alive? To feel a heartbeat and breath in my chest. I so desire to live. I know I can go into the world, give my soul a home. I fear that I will break the hearts of the parents of the child if I do. Could I do that?

This is a far better option. I want to take it. "I cannot."

"No?" Her voice is low, dangerous, as she stops in front of me, far too close for comfort.

"No." I look up to meet her eyes. They are pure black. One who looks at her would always have the impression that she was looking at them. You can't escape her gaze.

"Why?" She clenches her jaw.

"I do not believe in your vision." I hadn't intended to tell her the truth, but the words have left my mouth. They ring around the room, echoing with consequence: a life-altering, even world-altering, choice.

She slams her hand into me and I fly backwards into the wall. I would pass right through on Earth, but here, it hurts.

"My own daughter, turned traitor." She is calm as she walks towards me, her charcoal gown slithering across the floor.

I force myself to stand. "No traitor. Just not a tool, either." No, the true betrayal should come later.

She sighs. "What a shame." She has no more use for me. She draws her hand back and a deep darkness, a collection of shadows, draws around it.

This is how she destroys souls. She will destroy me, take my energy for her own purposes.

I will have no afterlife. I will cease to exist. Nothingness awaits me. Cold emptiness. I close my eyes, readying myself. I have no one to say goodbye to but my own dreams.

She throws her hand forwards and the darkness slams into me. I feel myself hit the wall again. That's just it. I feel it. I'm not gone. It didn't work.

Her eyes go wide; her lip curls into a snarl. "Your father's blood must protect you. Get out, Diana. Get out of my realm or I will have you thrown into the Flames of Hell and there you will burn."

She must believe I would be able to find my way out again eventually—so she shows me something resembling mercy.

I have no desire to endure that agony for as long as it might take me to escape. I turn and sprint from the throne room, and begin to descend through the palace.

Down, down I go until I can't hear the screams anymore and I continue downwards. The stairs spiral down until there's nothing but darkness. I am descending through the ground into a pit.

And then, there it is. There is the swirling light. This side of the Mouth of Hell. My way out.

I consider what will happen to me on Earth. I will be someone's child. I will watch them age and die while I remain immortal. I will experience heartbreak. I will find hope in small things. I could have friends and I could fall in love.

I will watch people around me die, but I may find someone who will last through it all.

A life awaits me. Maybe even a long one. Maybe even a good one.

I stand on the edge of the swirling portal, watching images of what is occurring spin past me. I wonder just where I will end up.

I jump into my future.

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