There had once been a time when the sun grazing down upon her pale skin filled her with warmth and happiness. Youthful memories danced in her head, of a child playing amongst amber fields of wheat. A simpler time was all it was, when the duties and responsibilities didn't hang overhead. But above all else, those memories belonged to a different person. Kore.
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A child with hair as dark as the midnight sky and eyes as crystal blue as the ocean danced through the tall grass. Her hair was bound tightly to her head in braids, her mother insisted that it was to keep it clean and from her eyes, but she knew the truth. Her youth had been spent in hiding, avoiding the watchful gaze of her father and other men. Mother didn't wish for her to fret about such things, but Kore knew. The ways of the Greeks were twisted and she would not have been the first to fall trap to them.
Still, it was during two times of the year that Demeter permitted the girl with raven hair to twirl in the meadows beside the fields she worked. And in her wake, sweet-smelling flowers would bloom. Her life continued that way for years - avoiding the trouble that came from Olympus for the days of sun that would come. The land would stay warm for the crops, but over the longest break from the maiden, it would grow cool and covered with snow. Six months would pass and then she'd awaken one day with a feeling of knowing. That it was time.
And the years continued that way, with Kore's freedom ever-fleeting at the end of each harvest. For eighteen years.
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Rising to stand at the edge of the great river, the woman pulled her cloak tighter around her frame. Not for chill, but rather to protect herself from prying eyes and the bright sun overhead. Her skin was ashen now, but there was something innately beautiful about her all the same. Perhaps it was her eyes. Or the long, raven hair...
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"You are old enough now, Kore, to know your place in the world. You hold a special one and have great abilities." The maiden looked up from the book she held gently in one hand. A book she'd read a thousand times that told of adventures and a world much bigger than she could ever imagine. There had been many nights laying in her bed that she pictured that world. She imagined how it might have been to walk the earth until it's end with no one to tell her to turn back. Kore longed for that more than anything, but it was duty and loyalty that caused her to remain.
"Your eighteenth birthday, it approaches. And with it, you will be allowed to travel the world and see the sights you have wished to see." Demeter began, but the young maiden could hear the sadness in her mother's voice. "I only ask that you do not forget where you came from. The world is yours, and wherever you go on it, I am not far. But I cannot hold you here any longer. You are old enough to make your own decisions."
The raven haired girl held her mother, gently brushing back the greying locks of auburn hair that framed her golden face. Soothing the woman who had once soothed her own tears. "I will come back often, I promise you that."
It was that evening that Demeter told Kore of her place. She was to rule the Spring and travel as she saw fit to deliver it to the world. Her burden would be hers to bear, but with it would come a love from the people that she would never be able to forget. And Kore knew that to be true from her younger days when she danced in the meadows. The feeling of hope that blossomed in her chest with each flower that opened its face to the sun.
In the days that followed, leading to her eighteenth birthday, the maiden spent as much of her time as she could with her mother. She helped her prepare the seeds for harvest and worked until her hands felt raw. They both tried to pretend like things wouldn't be different, because while she was excited to see what the world had to offer, there was a twinge of fear too.
Kore fell asleep the final night at her mother's side, nestled in like a babe. They talked until she couldn't anymore and in the final hours together, Demeter sat beside her and watched the girl sleep. She knew not what would come for the happy child with raven hair, only that their lives would change. As a mother often does, she only hoped it would be for the better.
On the morning of her eighteenth birthday, Kore awakened to Demeter's face. She offered her mother a smile, tenderly kissed her cheek, and rose from the bed they'd slept on. Together, they ate in silence and prepared their items. This time, Kore held a bag full of items she thought she might need, but the most prized possession was an old, worn book. The book she'd read thousands of times before.
And as they left her childhood home, she cast one final glance over her shoulder, knowing not that it would be years before she returned again.
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The water churned at her feet, marking the border of the land she resided in now. Each spring, it was her duty to cross and fill the overworld with warmth and life. And for some reason, despite her love of the sun and her mother, each journey got harder. It felt like she was leaving a child behind to care for a sick parent. And while she loved the woman who gave her life and the duties that came with her position, there were many more to uphold in the underworld.
Crossing the thresh-hold filled her ashen skin with life and her blue eyes with purpose. The will of a new spring. Sliding her cloak down over her shoulders, it slid onto the surface of the Styx and washed ashore on the other side where it would wait for Persephone to return. "Thank you, old friend."
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The land was filled with curiosities and admittedly, it overwhelmed the young maiden. She was but a child with no knowledge of the world and its workings. She didn't know how to survive, but she knew her duty and that was enough. In her heart, Kore knew that she had her mother's strength and guidance. That should she ever need it, she need only but to call. But there was determination and will in her eyes that made her push on.
As the days turned into weeks, Spring touched the land, turning the dirt and snow to colorful flowers and green grass. It spread like wildfire, erupting from her soul. And while she once had tried to control it, now she allowed the powers to flow freely. Word spread that a maiden with flowers woven into her hair was spreading life across the land.
Spring slowly became summer and it marked the end of her reign, something that the young woman found unsettling. Her entire journey had been focused around that one thing and now she had true freedom. For nearly a year, she'd be allowed to live her life how she saw fit. And yet, when the time came, it was not her decision to make.
Summer began and the warmth from Apollo's golden rays showered down upon her. Her skin glistened with sweat from the warmth, but she continued on her journey. Toward a place she'd never been before with the hope of seeing something new. She passed strangers along the way, each chastising her for such a foolish dream and recommended she return back to her mother's side. She would have, too. Had she not heard the crying.
It'd been a lonely night, one that Kore often filled with tales from her old, worn book. Curled up by a warm fire and tucked away from the cities, she chose to live solely in the wilderness. Afterall, she had nothing to fear. With a mother like Demeter and the ability to bring plants to life with a touch of her fingertips, she was capable.
But the sound she heard was unlike anything she'd ever experienced.
There was an eeriness to the night as it was and she could hear the lulling of a river in the distance. That river was one she'd heard stories of but had never been able to get close enough to see for herself. Marked on her list of places to go, the girl had already decided that was her next destination. But it seemed that there were others who had weight to that plan.
A soft crying pulled Kore from the book she read for comfort and she called out into the night. "Hello?" But there was no reply. The crying continued, unaffected by her soft calls to aid them. The crying carried a sadness, one that washed over her soul and brought the maiden to her feet. In the darkness, she carried herself toward the sound and the closer she got, the more it pained her. The sound grew louder and soon she was able to distinguish it was not one person's cries, but multiple.
The ache in her chest grew stronger.
Daylight broke when she reached the edge of the river, but her heart found no joy in doing so. The sound she'd followed all night… it came from the other side of the river. And foolishly, she dipped a foot in, preparing to cross.
"Turn back, Kore."
A voice babbled from the depths of the water and fear settled in the girls' stomach. Craning on her toes at the water's edge to see the ones who were crying, she was dissatisfied to find that they were not in plain sight. Vegetation and fog acted like a wall against the other side of the river and despite all of that in her way, she could still hear their cries.
She could still feel their pain.
"Let me help them." She pleaded to the bodiless voice, daring to step into the gray murky water to cross the distance again. The river bubbled back a response but still, she saw no lips for the words to escape from. "It is not your duty." Still, the young woman made no effort to change her course. Settling her hands on her hips with her feet in the water, she glared about, attempting to challenge whomever might tell her otherwise. "Let me ease their pain."
Her voice was softer this time, one of desperation as the cries across the river continued. With each sob, she felt the lump in her chest grow heavier. Blinking her misty eyes, tears fell into the murky water. The river calmed and fell silent, leaving Kore to make a decision. It took only a moment longer for her to splash across the river's surface and onto the other side.
"Thank you, friend." She whispered, climbing up onto the riverbank and making her way past the vegetation. The plants bowed at her touch, giving light to the scene before her.
On the other side of the river sat the Underworld. And in it, it's inhabitants cried for their losses. Losses of their lives, loves, children, parents, and everything in between. But Kore wasted no time and fell to her knees beside the first soul she encountered. It was an old woman who looked like she'd lived to see the birth of Zeus. The maiden held her close and soothed her gray hair.
And she traveled from soul to soul, gently reassuring them and bringing them peace. For children, she brushed her fingertips along the rotted grass to spring flowers to life. For mothers, she offered lilies. For sons, she offered violets. And she offered each spirit their own flower, easing their tears and bringing smiles to saddened faces. In the land of the dead, she became life.