For Persephone

Chapter 44 – Strange Behavior

Niasis’ opened eyes fell upon the little goddess leaning against the window in the room. She had been trying to figure out the reason for her behavior, who seemed to be out of her mind for the past few days, but she also was discouraged because it was in vain.

‘What in the world is wrong with her?’

She stayed locked up in her room all during the day and didn’t move, but at night she avoided the nymphs and went outside. No one could guess why she behaved in such a way.

“Kore, isn’t she a bit strange these days?”

Aratusa, who held the herbs that had been scattered in the room, replied,

“Strange? She has seemed well-mannered to me.”

“I think she went out again last night.”

“Demeter hasn’t scolded her enough. But what should we do about her? We ought to be thankful that there haven’t been any mishaps. It’s not like we can lock her up so she can’t go anywhere.”

Niasis couldn’t help but agree with Aratusa.

The servants’ roles were limited as they weren’t allowed to force their masters to do anything. But at that time, Keane’s voice abruptly butted in.

“I saw her.”

Niasis and Aratusa turned around simultaneously.

Keane had a very dark face, but she seemed to be shriveled by the concern that Persephone would hear her voice. Niasis and Aratusa tried to follow Persephone a couple of times but strangely, completely lost her in the process.

“Where is it that she keeps going off to?”

“Though I’m not entirely sure of it.”

“If you’re gonna talk like that, then why did you butt in? Keane!”

“She disappeared off toward the coastal cliff.”

Persephone usually liked to stand on the cliff and stare off in the distance, so it didn’t seem too farfetched. Aratusa burst out laughing and sarcastically mocked her.

“If she jumps off, so what.”

“Aratusa!! How could you say such a thing?”

Niasis waved her hand in between the two when Keane frowned at Aratusa. However, Aratusa raised her eyes as if she were frustrated.

“Kore was the first one to change ‘like that’. She ignores us and treats us like nothing, so what if I say a few jokes about her when she isn’t around?”

“You do that because you’re frustrated.”

“What about us? We’re tied up on this island because of Kore. You think she’s the only one who’s frustrated?”

With a single sharp stroke from Aratusa, Keane’s lips closed shut.

It’s not that she didn’t understand the feelings of her fellow nymphs, but obedience to the master of service always deserved to be in a greater position.

“But still, she’s feeling better these days.”

“Well, she’s not doing that ‘certain thing’. She doesn’t seem all that well. Rather, she has become more suspicious. That’s what Niasis is worried about.”

When Demeter is on the island, Persephone was a good-hearted goddess, but that wasn’t all of her.

Would it have been a problem if she violated Demeter’s orders and left the grains unattended? Persephone didn’t hesitate to embarrass the nymphs, for example, by killing some of the already-rare island animals or destroying birds’ nests. However, they didn’t tell on her to Demeter because she always cried over it and said it was a mistake, and the nymphs also hoped it really was a mistake.

Niasis said in a low voice,

“You two, stop arguing.”

“The way she’s talking makes it sound like we’re the ones who did something wrong.”

“Aratusa, there’s no point in arguing meaninglessly between us. How about each of us one by one keep a night watch on Kore to see what she’s doing?”

Keane and Aratusa looked at each other, pondering on Niasis’ suggestion.

Rather than arguing amongst themselves, they should be trying to find out what has been distracting Persephone lately. However, they didn’t want to give the impression that they were watching Persephone’s nightly outings, so their answers were stirred. Aratusa was the first up to bat.

“Keane, I agree. How about you? It’s our duty to be concerned over Kore. Isn’t it the same thing as not wanting to be scolded by Demeter, like last time?”

Keane suppressed the annoyed feeling boiling inside her and balled her fists.

From that day, the nymphs all agreed to keep an eye out at night, one person at a time.

*

“Let’s go to bed now.”

“Sleep tight, Kore.”

Click.

Persephone closed and locked the door. After not being able to see Hekate’s night for the third night in a row, she had stopped visiting the cave every night and had been resting for the past few days. The nymphs now watched her with thoughts of hiding their intentions. A nymph who was awake somewhere nearby every night did that even when Persephone wasn’t under surveillance.

His gorgeous face couldn’t help but cross her mind. She tricked him, hence, she could no longer allow herself to visit him.