{Mount Olympus, Dawn}

“And we are gathered today,” Zeus sighs warily.  “To decide upon an agreeable solution in which has plagued our thoughts and our stomachs for the longest times.” 

From his throne, the hurler of thunderbolts looks around at his fellow gods and goddesses, most of whom are solemn and merely waiting for the next lines of his speech.  No one dares to say a word.  Zeus groans inwardly, wishing that he didn’t have to summon this conference. 

But it’s pointless arguing against Demeter, Zeus grumbles in his head. 

Deciding that he could no longer run away from the situation, he speaks.  “Are there any suggestions as to how we could solve Persephone’s problem?”

Demeter raises from her seat.

“What do you mean, problem?”  she says, narrowing her eyes at the king himself. 

“Of course Kore is to stay with me!  I am her mother and I only wish to do what’s best for her!”  The harvest goddess confidently tells the others, her deep green eyes challenging any god to contradict her.    

The silence is broken by a high-pitched gasp from Persephone, and suddenly all eyes turn to the dark-cloaked figure gliding into the room.

“Hades!”  Zeus’s face brightens up a bit as he stands up from his throne. 

“I’m glad you could make it, my brother!”

Hades gives a curt nod, but does not acknowledge anyone else.  Slowly, he pulls back the fabric of his hood just a little bit so that his eyes meet Demeter’s.  They sparkle with a cold fury that makes every god and goddess shiver in the room, even if they are beyond his peripheral vision.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Demeter,” Hades whispers, his voice soft like a child’s but practically bleeding with venomous acid, “My brother Zeus is Lady Persephone’s father and by ancient laws, a guardian who also has the right to decide what is best for her.”

He pauses.

“And that decision is to give her to me.”

Demeter’s face contorts. 

“More like you kidnapped her!”  she bellows angrily.  “Forcing my daughter to partake on your disgusting slops and then brainwashing her to think that she holds even a speck of affection for you!”

The result is immediate.  The air surrounding them grows so thick that one can cut it with a knife, while dark clouds thunders above the marble-domed halls.  In a split second, the temperature drops at an alarming rate, making Zeus shudder in his toga.  He tries to speak, but Hera beats him to it.

“Enough!”  Hera commands in a booming voice. 

She steps down from her throne, each step clear and resonating with authority of her role as queen of the skies.  She walks past Hades, whose eyes are raging with an unspoken wrath, and past Demeter, whose jawbone is working furiously despite her order to stay silent, until she reaches the pillar where Persephone sits, her face tearful and her orbs widen with dread.

“Come, child.” 

Hera says in a soothing voice, her own pink eyes and heart softening when she sees the raw fear in the girl’s eyes.  Doing so, Hera begins to think back. 

Years ago, when Zeus’s affair with their sister had produced a child, she was angry beyond words and had detested the offspring right from the moment she was born.  Hera couldn’t banish the child in any way, due to Demeter’s protection and her husband’s plead to let it go, but remained firm that she has nothing to do with her. 

Now, seeing Persephone’s emotional state and her turmoil of being stuck between the two sides, brings sympathy and kindness to Hera’s heart. 

“Answer this truthfully, Persephone.” Hera bends down to the crouched maiden and holds her hands with surprising gentleness.  “How many pomegran