Entombment to the Myth
By Haley Wartalski
Some think I was taken, stolen against my will but that’s not accurate. A king doesn’t ask for permission from his prize but I’m no concubine. I came willingly, as a Queen should. A Queen does not bow nor recede in the game of chess, a Queen uses her moves expertly and with strategy until finally, she captures the King. I made him run to me, he saw beneath my skin and flesh, he saw what others were too afraid to, he saw that I was part sunshine and death incarnate.
My beauty didn’t draw him near like many assume, he felt danger and darkness in the air. Not an ounce of innocence but bitter warmth and calculation. Darkness was his realm, his prowess and when he saw me, he felt an affinity. He saw my strength and shadows and it matched his own demons, like calling to like.
When he offered me his palm, I took it with intention and willingness. He never once forced the union as many like to assume. Because why would sweet and naive Persephone ever willingly enter the realm of death with the king of death himself, a monster. Yet, no one realized I was a monster all along, manipulated and man-made from You, the gods. Sweet and naive Persephone could never be what you all so desperately try to hide behind your timeless exterior.
He offered me his kingdom but I would’ve seized it nevertheless. I knew I belonged alongside him and his subjects, subjects with everything and nothing to lose. Sound familiar? At least in this case, I was the one to choose because I had nothing to lose. If I didn’t, then I’d lose the possibility of everything.
The sweet song of death called to something deep inside of me, welcoming me with girlish whispers and a loving embrace. Calling to power to bring life to the dead and death to the living. I pulled out my carving knife and sliced the fruit, shredding each individual Seed out with intention and hunger. I willingly ate those Crimson Seeds, devouring all six of them with a feral smile, glistening like drops of blood flowing relentlessly down my chin. The Crimson Seeds that kept me among the dead for six months of the year, giving them beauty and life while death prowled up above for those sixth months amidst the living. More than aware of the consequences, I chose to rule this path knowing exactly what it entailed.
I became the Queen of nothing and everything, life and death, not a path for the bleeding heart which I never once claimed to be despite the common misconception that I’m weak and needed saving. I gave steel to my name. I willed it in the form of a curse, daring only the willing and the wicked to utter its epic.
Haley Wartalski(she/her) has a BA in Classics and English from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and is currently a graduate student at Emerson College for Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing. This is her very first piece for publication! She specializes in writing mythology retellings and fantasy romance—her current WIP is a dark academia fantasy romance. Follow Haley on Twitter at @hwartalskii and Instagram at haley__w.