🌸 The Perfect Day For Plucking Blossoms
L&W22: Kore chases a wondrous golden flower that keeps eluding her.
Previously on 6 LITTLE SEEDS:
“Perhaps it is time that sunbeams came to the Lands of the Dead,” the Goddess of Love said. “Can you imagine Kore’s brilliance reflecting off all those gemstones to pierce the Tormentor’s hardened heart as keenly as your arrows?”
The God of Love waggled his brows. “In fact, I can.”
I’ve only been devising it for eight hundred years.
The spiral of potions, herbs, spices, and more floated over to swirl around Aphrodite, each one vying for her attention. One caught her eye and she gasped. A hint of her own luxuriant villainy glinted in her gaze as she drew it forth. “Oh, yes,” she murmured. “Yes, this.”
Eros’ mouth went as round as his eyes. He flew over to examine it. It was golden. A miniature corona with a thousand rays. “What is that?”
She chuckled and floated the glowing treasure toward him.
When he held out his hand, it alighted on his palm. Upon experiencing the magnitude of its power and what sort of magic it produced, he sucked in a loud breath. “Oh, mother…oh my…”
“Yes, my dearest. I will leave the task of finding the chink in the Chthonic King’s armor to you and your darts. But for the Bringer of Blossomtime…” She floated the pretty thing up into the air to watch it dance. “Only a flower will do.”
—From: INFLAMER
—Start at the beginning
—Mature Content Warnings for this series
—Trying to remember who everybody is? Here’s the Cast of Characters.
Also. Nobody calls Persephone by her true name. They call her KORE, “the Maiden,” and it’s pronounced like “ko-ray” or “kora” not like “core of the planet.”
KORE, BRINGER OF BLOSSOMTIME
✨🌸✨
“Sweetheart,” her mother called, “don’t stray too far. I sense a storm coming.”
Kore glanced at the azure sky, strewn with only the puffiest clouds. “Don’t worry, Mama. Father seems happy today.”
The comment only darkened Demeter’s expression. Kore thought she heard Earth Mother mutter something about that “never being a good sign.”
Huffing in exasperation, the girl hurried to join the cluster of Okeanids hunting blossoms amidst the Divine Carpet. The buxom naiads welcomed her approach with kisses and fond touches, gifting her with some of their finest specimens. Pale Leukippe put a sweet blossom of wild pea behind Kore’s ear. The one Kyane chose was white, flat, and round with a protruding nub at the top. When it found a home in the cleft of Kore’s bosom, the nymphs burst into giggles.
“Look who’s grown as ripe and overflowing as her blooms,” Kyane tittered. The blue-haired nymph’s laughter burbled out like a mineral spring over rock as she gave the flower’s nub a tickle. “You know what they say about pigeonwing, don’t you?”
Kore glanced down at the flower. “That it produces tranquility when taken medicinally?”
A chorus of cackles burst up.
“More the opposite,” Admete snorted.
“At least in ripe, ready maidens,” Kyane sniggered.
"Definitely some good medicine,” Rhodeia added.
When Kore continued to stare at them, perplexed, Kyane picked another pigeonwing. “Remind you of anything?” She trailed the petals down Kore’s abdomen and stopped at her goddesshead.
Kore gasped and jumped back, her face aflame. She yanked the flower out of her neckline.
Admete lifted a lock of the goddess’ rose-gold hair and let it fall where the pigeonwing had sat. “Today is the perfect day for plucking blossoms. They say that if you gaze upon the Divine Carpet long enough, you’ll be helpless against falling in love.”
“Oh, yes!” the others said, and even Kore’s trio of handmaidens agreed. “Yes, that’s true!”
More Okeanids teased and flocked around, throwing ever more brazen comments at her. One threw a rock. It flew just shy of Kore’s head. The Bringer of Blossomtime flinched and cried out, then glared.
From the edge of the river, Styx’s black-eyed gaze went sharper than usual. She pursed her equally black lips and grinned. She was technically a chthonic deity, elevated by Zeus from common nymph to the goddess who oversaw the river that drew the boundary lines around the Underworld. As such, she couldn’t officially leave that awful, nefarious realm.
But as a river denizen she could stretch herself thin enough to keep one toe in her own riverbed, while swimming up to her father’s waters and then to this tributary for such a special occasion—another perk for being the first immortal to offer her loyalty to Zeus at the start of the Titan War.
Kore always had mixed feelings about the days when Hate Herself joined the party. Styx’s dark features slashed severe lines across her silvery skin, so her sneer was visible even from a distance. “Oh, my naive ninny, trust us. Someday soon you’ll enjoy having your nub tickled. And I for one, can’t wait to finally see you plucked. Hard.”
Ducking her head, Kore barreled through the naiads away from Styx and everything else the bitter creature would surely hurl. The chorus of waterfowl cackles faded behind her.
Only Kyane followed. As she took the pigeonwing from Kore’s hands, one of the nymph’s slender fingers traced the curving petals. “She’s right, you know, for she is bound to only speak the truth.”
Kore sniffed. “There is a distinct difference between truth and cruelty.”
“And Styxy loves both equally. Her delivery doesn’t make it any less true.” A sly glimmer swam in Kyane’s aqua eyes as she braided the flower into Kore’s hair. “What’s this about Ares?”
Kore’s breast swelled with a gasp. “Nothing happened.”
“Oh, I’m sure. Warmonger is the epitome of nothing happening. Especially all the hard nothings.”
For a long moment, Kyane’s anticipatory silence weaved nimble magic along with her fingers until Kore admitted, “H-he did kiss me. And…well…”
“And you kissed him back.”
“Yes. And I…”
“And you…” Kyane’s fingertip traced Kore’s bottom lip. “Anointed the fount of his battle lust with your precious, rosebud lips.”
“What? No!”
The nymph smirked. “You didn’t give his spearhead a good polishing?”
“I did no such thing! Whoever said that?”
“Hah! Everyone.”
Kore’s arms crossed. “Well, I didn’t. I only…I only touched him. A-a little. And he touched me. Barely. And we only kissed that once.”
Kyane chuckled. “With the might surging behind that tongue, I’m sure once was enough.”
Over the pounding of her heart, Kore’s voice barely came as a whisper. “Not nearly enough.”
“Oooh, you are ready to mate. Such fierce hunger in that tone. Better not let Mama-kins hear you.”
Kore glanced at where Demeter stood in the shade of the fig trees with Akaste, nodding and replying to whatever the nymph was babbling. When mother’s eyes locked onto daughter’s, Kore’s smile grew tense. She hoped her mother hadn’t seen the display with the pigeonwing. More so, she hoped that Demeter had forgotten all about Ares.
And his kiss.
His hands.
His heat.
By the vigilant focus of those amber eyes, Watchful Mother obviously hadn’t.
Try as she might, Kore hadn’t been able to forget either.
“Oooh, look at the carpet!” Molpe cried. “See how thick it’s grown!” As one of Kore’s triplet of handmaidens, of course she would notice first.
“Let’s see how far it’s spread,” Thelxiope said, scampering down the hillside with her two identical sisters and some other nymphs in tow.
“To produce that kind of proliferation,” Styx sneered, “someone must be talking about ARES.” She invoked the name so loudly that Demeter’s eyes flew open, then snapped onto Kore.
The girl cringed, glanced over, tried to grin.
The ground rumbled beneath Earth Mother’s feet.
Grateful to have the excuse to leave Demeter’s glowers and Kyane’s teasing behind, Kore darted after her handmaidens. “Wait for me!” The sea of bluish-violet blooms spread all down the hillside and up the other, beyond the crest of the next ridge.
Shutting out the chattering of her friends, she lost herself in the search for flawless stems, just at the peak of their beauty. If she returned with the most glorious garlands, perhaps it might make up for the troublesome reminders of her afternoon in the Temple of War.
Kore collected stem after stem from the Divine Carpet, accentuating them with wild pea, lantern flowers, orchids, and yes—even some pigeonwing. Only the best would do for her mother’s adornments.
And then she saw it.
It was as golden as the Sun God’s corona. Spouting a thousand petals, it sang amidst the purple carpet. As far as the eye could see, there was no other like it.
Perfection! It would be the centerpiece of the garland, hanging right over Earth Mother’s heart.
Kore scampered down the hillside to the bottom of the valley, but when she arrived, she saw that it grew on the other side of a sharp ravine. She transpired there, but no—it was farther away, on the first side. She appeared before it, but again the flower eluded her. She growled. Down along the ridge she ran, keeping the bloom firmly in sight.
Behind her, Kyane’s cries nipped at her heels. “Kore, wait! Where are you going?”
Blossomtime paid no heed, searching for the best spot to cross.
“Slow down! You know I can’t stray so far from the water. Every drop I perspire sheds my vitality out here. Please!” Kyane bent over, panting, streaming sweat down her body. It sparkled cerulean in the sunlight. “Oh! Girl. If I lose sight of you...your mother will flay me!”
Kore couldn’t comprehend how that could have anything to do with her. Nothing mattered but this garland. This flower. This one!
“Wait!” When the nymph tripped and sprawled nose-first into the Divine Carpet, Kore glanced back—almost lost sight of the golden bloom. Kyane rolled onto her back. Her mouth worked, but no words would come. No matter.
Too slow. Must go!
Leaving her chaperone behind, Kore picked up speed and strength with every step. A swineherd on the far side looked up from his grunting charges. He called to her—sounded like a warning. Not her business either.
She clasped some dangling roots to swing herself down. Her feet struck bare earth with a resounding thud. On the opposite embankment, as if the landscape had been sculpted to provide a ramp directly to her treasure, the incline was gentle and free from rocks that could twist her ankles.
When she arrived before the golden wonder, she leaned in to behold it. Such flawless beauty. Such a contrast to the purple, white, and pink flowers she held. She couldn’t keep her eyes off it!
Couldn’t keep her nose from poking into its petals either. The delicate fragrance called her closer. Shutting her eyes, she inhaled. Euphoria! And a rapturous moan. The flower drew her in. Closer. Yes, closer. No other thought encroached. Only this moment. This golden wonder. This heaven. No one and nothing mattered but this flower and she had to have it and so she reached down to caress the petals and oh, how the ground shuddered as if in ecstasy at her touch!
Slowly, like fading into slumber, the thousand-petaled bloom sank into the grass.
Her fingertips followed.
The earth cracked open. The flower tumbled into the black. She made a low cry of dismay, then reached—stretched, yearned. Need. She had to have it! The chasm spread toward her feet. Spread outward. Crumbled the sides of the ravine. Her drowsy lids—slow to close, slow to open. Kyane’s voice drifted across the plains. Sharp. Strident. A pig squealed. Another voice cried out. Faded. Flowers spilled into the deep. An immense, armored hand reached up out of the dark. It encircled her wrist and cinched tight. Eyes followed. Blacker than the abyss. Sunlight struck them. They squinted, then glinted. Such ravenous mirth. So, too, the ravenous teeth, revealed when two perfectly shaped lips drew back from them. “Good morning,” came the voice, deep and earth-trembling. His grin was pure victory when he murmured, “My Kore.”
She gasped.
With a violent yank, he dragged her into the chasm.
And thus concludes Season 2 of 6 LITTLE SEEDS.
Up Next: The 3rd Seed - CHAINED & SPLAYED
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