The Bloom of Tartarus

Author's Note:

Yep, I've jumped on the myth retelling bandwagon. It happens to the best of us. For reasons that will hopefully be clear by the end of this part, I think this story is going to weave through several different Lit categories. This one is going into BDSM, and that's not for nothing. There is some intense sado-masochism in this part, so if that's not your cup of tea, feel free to skip this one.

Probably the next part will be going into Romance, so if you end up liking this, follow me so you can follow my genre-hopping adventure here.

Anyhow, I'm putting this out because finishing things has been difficult lately and I need a small win. The speed with which I finish part 2 will probably depend heavily on how this is received, as I have several stories going now, and my brain is a sucker for meaningless internet points. So, if you like it, please rate it, heart it, all the things.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy!

~|~

Persephonie; the Botanical Gardens of Asphodel

June 13, 2175, 10:03am

It was a lovely, bright day in the botanical gardens of Asphodel, as far as Persephonie was concerned. This morning was one of the few moments she was allowed to wander alone through the gardens without the vigilant eyes of her mother scrutinizing every action. Persephonie brushed her hand along the soft green ferns as she walked slowly through the garden, savoring the sensation in her hand and the rare feeling of freedom that came with it.

The Asphodel Botanical Garden was her mother's passion project, and as much as Persephonie had mixed feelings about her mother, her feelings about the garden were as uncomplicated as it gets: spectacular. It was carefully climate controlled and under an enormous glass dome comprised of thousands of hexagonal panels. There were trees in the center of the dome that had grown over a hundred meters tall in the space of a few years. The garden was segmented into six concentric rings, each created to cultivate plant life from various climates and biomes. Persephonie was walking around the largest, outermost ring which supported a blanket of lush ferns and a smattering of tropical fruit trees.

As beautiful as the garden was, Persephonie found herself daydreaming about the life she wished she had. It wasn't anything complicated. In fact, it was a lot like this very moment. Wandering around aimlessly, following her heart, enjoying the subtle sensations of the leaves against her skin and the breeze against her face. Freedom. She longed for freedom. Freedom to feel new things, to experience new things, to become a person who knows what she wants and has the courage to pursue those things.

She felt as if her entire life was a gilded cage, each bar carefully constructed and maintained by her mother. She knew that her mother had good intentions, but with each month that passed in her 19 years of life, it was becoming more and more clear that this life of captivity was gradually crushing her soul. Moments like this almost made it worse because they forced her to remember how deeply she longed for something more.

She looked out across the garden with deep melancholy in her lovely blue eyes. A terrible sense bloomed in her chest that all this beauty existed only to torture her; to show her what she lacked; to fill her with longing for what she did not have. A tear fell from her eye, down the pale skin of her cheek, glanced across the rise of her full upper lip, and down onto her chin before falling into the damp soil beneath her.

The moment it hit the ground, she heard the sharp metallic sound of a teleportation device, and she felt the air shift behind her. She turned around to see a man, dressed from head to toe in black leather, his head covered by a sleek helmet. She only had a couple of seconds to react before the man wrapped his arms around her body and tapped a few icons on his wrist-mounted console. Before she could even gather the wits to struggle against him, she felt the nauseous lurch of the teleporter whisk them away to another place entirely.

--

Osirus; The Seat of the Seraphim, Elysium

June 8, 2175, 6:10pm

"I don't care what it costs you, brother, I want her. You're going to give her to me, or I will no longer carry out your dirty work down in the bowels of Tartarus. It's as simple as that," Osirus said, the seriousness of his threat communicated to his brother by the heat in his bright amber eyes.

"You ask too much, brother," said Xus, "you ask me to rob from Asphodel to pay Tartarus." Xus shook his head in resignation, understanding the dilemma his brother was forcing upon him, and knowing with certainty that Osirus could not be talked out of his demands. 175 years of fraternal rivalry had taught both brothers precisely what each could get away with when it came to the other.

"I've asked almost nothing of you in these interminable decades of toil, Xus." Osirus said in a quiet rage. "I'm calling in that debt. We both know you can afford to anger Demmy more than you can afford to lose my support.

"I don't think you understand how obsessed Demmy is with her daughter," Xus said, shaking his head in the knowledge of what would follow. "She's not just going to let this go, and I can scarcely afford to earn her wrath either."

"She's not going to know what happened, brother." Osirus said, attempting to reassure Xus.

"She is more tenacious than you give her credit for, Osirus," The older brother said, exasperated, "she's going to find out eventually. And when she does, you better be ready." It was Xus' turn to level a warning stare against his brother.

"Ready for what?" Osirus asked, eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Ready for Persephonie to make her choice." Xus said, a quiet and simple statement of fact. "The only way Demmy is ever going to be forced to accept this arranged marriage is if Persephonie herself chooses to stay with you. And maybe not even then."

Osirus looked at his brother for a long time, trying to decide if this was one of his many tricks and deceptions. Xus delt in deception as his main currency, after all, and he had become so good at it over the centuries that only a handful of people had any hope of detecting his falsehoods. But Osirus was one of those people. The two of them had been partners since before The End, before the establishment of Olympia, and long before Xus had asked his little brother to rule over the Tartarus sector.

Asked was the wrong word. Xus had long since stopped asking anyone for anything.

As far as Osirus could tell, his brother was not trying to deceive him. "Very well brother," he said, sighing deeply, "she will be ready."

Xus nodded slightly toward his brother and said, "I'm pleased we understand each other. You will need to wait until your prize is unguarded by her hovering, obsessive mother. Go back to Tartarus and prepare yourself to take her. I will turn the eyes of HELiOS upon Asphodel and send word to you when the time is right."

Osirus knew his brother well enough to know when his words were not requests, so the younger brother nodded his agreement and turned to board his ride back home: a sleek, curvaceous aircraft painted in black and metallic red, and meticulously designed to operate under the harsh conditions of the shroud of pollution that covered the surface of the earth and enveloped his home of Tartarus. He could have simply teleported up to Elysium, but he would have had to walk all the way from the Elysium exchange network receiving hub to the base of his family's tower, and he wasn't a big fan of walking, particularly amongst commoners. Unlike most of Olympia, dampening fields prevented direct teleportation to most of Elysium.

Walking or no, Osirus loved to fly, and didn't get the chance to take the Charon out for a spin very often. He loved the aircraft like a child he never had and looked upon its' curved airframe with affection as he exited the Seat of the Seraphim and walked along the narrow catwalk that led out to the platform his aircraft was parked upon. He allowed his eyes to drift over the breathtaking beauty of Elysium for a moment. There were gold and silver spires piercing the sky in every direction, lush gardens lining the walkways between them, and not a speck of filth to be seen anywhere. It could not be more different than the place he called home.

Osirus had long been fighting a deep resentment against his brother and the rest of his family for damning him to the depths of hell. To make matters worse, he had been saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the myriad of banal machines that all of Olympia depended on were kept running. He yearned for something beautiful in his life, something more than the haze and the smog and the glow of incinerators that dominated the view from his palace. He knew the moment he saw the remarkable, hidden beauty of Persephonie that she was what he had been yearning for. The toil and banality of his life would be made new and wonderful if he could share it with such a lovely woman. There was only the small matter of Persephonie's aggressively protective mother standing between Osirus and the beauty of his new life.

It was unfortunate that a kidnapping was the best solution to the problem of separating mother from daughter, but Demmy had forced his hand. A woman of 19 should be allowed to live her own life, and as far as Osirus was concerned, it was more a rescue than a kidnapping. Of course, this all depended upon one's perspective, and this was the core of Xus' final warning. If Osirus could make his new wife feel as if she had been rescued before her mother could track them down and accuse him of kidnapping, then Persephonie's residence in Tartarus would become permanent. If not... well, Osirus would have to cross that bridge when he came to it.

He climbed up into the Charon and fired up the engine. He looked back toward the Seat and saw his brother watching him intently. The brothers nodded in departing acknowledgment as Osirus guided his aircraft up off the pad and plunged the nose down toward the sickly grey cloud of pollution that enveloped his home.

--

Xus; Seat of the Seraphim, Elysium

June 8, 2175, 6:45pm

Xus watched his brother's beloved plane disappear from view, shaking his head in a tightly controlled rage. How dare Osirus put him in this position? The Saraphim family's control of Olympia had never been more perfect than the moment just before Osirus began whinging about Persephonie and Demeter and his storehouse full of discontent. This was exactly the sort of thing that could destabilize the meticulous structure of power that he had constructed bit by bit over these long decades of toil.

Whether or not Xus wanted to admit it, Osirus was critical to the stability of his power, and nothing made Xus angrier than having to confront the fact that his power was not absolute. As the decades of his rule wore on, he resented his dependence on the rest of his family more and more. He was the almighty Xus, ruler of all Olympia, and preserver of the legacy of the Old World. He should not be pushed around by anyone, not even his own brother.

He was not so far gone down the path of megalomania, however, that he could not see the reality of his situation. He had no choice but to cave to Osirus' demands. No other person alive could keep Tartarus running as smoothly as his little brother. He was a profoundly gifted administrator and had a knack for understanding all the minutiae of operating the colossal, disparate machines of the underworld.

Xus had a tried-and-true method of excising his anger in these moments, and he took a deep, calming breath as he pressed the button on his wrist console that opened a communication channel to his Viceroy.

"Yes, great one?" A voice sounded over the device.

"Send one of my concubines to the Erotrium immediately. From the Omega Group." He commanded.

"As you command, Lord of Olympia." The voice of his Viceroy responded.

Xus' concubines were beautiful women plucked from the stock of every stratum of Olympia. He had long ago appointed a manager to stock and maintain his harem which was housed in the adjoining tower. This Minister of Pleasure was charged with assessing every daughter of Olympia when she came of age and selecting the most beautiful among them to join the ranks of Xus' harem. Many of the women were subjected to genetic and surgical modification to enhance their physical attributes to be closer to Xus' preferences, and all of them underwent extensive training to ensure they were ready to please the Lord of Olympia when they were called to do so.

The Omega Group was a small cohort of the harem that received special training and enhancements to cater to the Lord's most extreme proclivities. Unlike most of the Harem, the women of the Omega Group knew in advance what Xus planned to do to them, and for that reason only the most psychologically resilient women were allowed to join the group. These women received special compensation, often lifting their entire families out of the horrors of poverty, and were granted access to the most closely guarded technology in Olympia: The Sarcophagus of Phanes, which allowed those granted access to be reincarnated when their bodies were deprived of life.

Xus walked to the elevator at the far end of his private office and pressed the call button. When the lift arrived, he stepped into it and pressed the "E" button, sending him hurting down to the Erotrium. It was a room designed and built for Xus to enjoy his concubines, which connected the main tower of the Seat of the Seraphim with the tower that housed his harem. It was coded so that only Xus and whichever woman he had summoned could gain access, and it was one of the few places in Olympia that was completely free from surveillance.

When the elevator doors opened, Xus stepped into the antechamber that restricted access to his most private chamber. He stepped onto the platform before the door, allowing the computer to assess his biological indicators before it opened the door before him.

He stepped inside and found a short, red-haired beauty walking toward the center of the room from the other entrance. When the ginger concubine saw her Lord walk through the opposite door, she immediately dropped to her knees and bowed her head as she had been trained. She waited statue still in this position until Xus commanded her to do otherwise.

The Erotrium was a magnificent room. A vaulted ceiling was covered with opaque glass which let in soft and welcoming daylight while the sun shone in the sky. Numerous species of flowers, shrubs and trees grew in planters scattered across the room, giving the room a garden-like quality. Most of the floor was covered in a very soft, spongy material which was comfortable to kneel or lay upon for hours on end.

There were various pieces of furniture scattered across the space. In the center was an enormous bed, which was veiled in sheer fabric along the perimeter. Around the bed were several varieties of couches and chairs, as well as a cabinet which contained every imaginable sex toy and accessory such as lubricant and massage oils. Further from the bed, arrayed in a circle around the room, were a variety of bondage-related pieces, allowing him to restrain his lovers in any configuration. Some of the flooring around these pieces was replaced with a very hard, textured concrete which quickly dug into and irritated the skin.

Xus walked over to the redhead slowly. Part of his ritual of release was engendering as much fear and uncertainty in the woman as possible. He stopped so that his feet were only inches from the small woman kneeling before him.

"You may stand and present yourself to me." Xus said in an intimidating tone.

The much smaller woman rose to her feet and looked up into the Lord's eyes before slowly turning around in a circle to present her body to him. Xus was surprised and a little disappointed to see the lack of fear in her eyes.

She was a picture of perfection. Her green eyes were set into a round face of perfect symmetry. Her bright red hair was held in an intricate braid which hung down to the small of her back. Her milky white skin was unblemished and soft. Her large breasts were covered in a red bralette with a lace fringe that concealed part of her midriff. Her waist was narrow and her belly flat, and the flare of her hips and ass were remarkable. She wore matching red G-string panties and a lace garter belt that held up the pale white stockings which covered her legs.

"What is your name?" Xus asked her, his tone distant and only vaguely interested.

"Nadia, my Lord." She answered. Her tone was respectful but confident. Her apparent lack of fear for him was beginning to irk him.

This was also the first time Nadia had seen the Lord of Olympia in the flesh. His form was extremely imposing over her slight and short frame. He stood more than a foot taller than her. His body was covered in bulging muscles, and nowhere more so than his limbs. His arms looked as if they each weighed more than she did, and his legs were like tree trunks planting him on the ground. She had heard many stories of how large and impressive her Lord was, but nothing could prepare her for seeing him in the flesh. He was certainly intimidating, but she would not allow herself to show signs of fear. At least not while he wasn't doing much beyond standing over her leering at her body.

Xus suddenly reached out with one of his enormous hands and seized Nadia by the throat. Her lizard brain signaled the rest of her to panic as she found that she could not breathe. The panic finally reached her eyes as he forced her to look into the sadistic smile on his face.

"Your Lord is very angry tonight, Nadia, and you are going to help him release this anger." Xus snarled in her face.

"Yes, Lord..." Nadia managed to force the words out against his hand, muffled and broken. Her training had theoretically prepared her to endure this sort of thing but being manhandled by a man so large she feared he could rip her clean in half was a type of fear that she simply could not have been prepared for. She thought back to her family, now living safely in Asphodel, pulled from the hell of Tartarus by her agreement to become an Omega. She thought of the mission she had been entrusted with. She steeled herself for his abuse.

He released her throat and she nearly collapsed on the ground, choking, and trying to catch her breath.

"Good. Now, remove your bra and panties and go wait for me over there." He pointed toward a large, metal St. Andrew's Cross about 20 meters from where they were standing.

She did as he asked immediately, even as she continued to struggle catching her breath. She pulled her bra over her head and let it drop onto the floor as she walked over to the imposing cross. She slid her panties around her hips and off her legs, kicking them out of the way and coming to rest next to the cross. The rough, hard concrete that surrounded the cross was a little alarming on her bare feet after the plush warmth of the rest of the room.

Xus walked over to the cabinet that contained all his bondage and punishment implements. He selected a whip from the rack, a ball gag from a drawer, and a large bottle of lubricant from the shelf. With all the tools in hand, he walked over to Nadia, smiling for a moment in appreciation of her nakedness.

He set the tools down on a small table next to the cross and picked up the gag.

"I have no interest in hearing anything from you except your moans and screams, Nadia," he held up the gag for her to see it, "open your mouth."

She did as he asked and felt the ball being pressed between her teeth. He walked behind her and attached the strap behind her head, tightening the restraint very tightly so that she had no hope at all getting it out of her mouth. It pulled against her jaw, forcing her lips apart in a way that made her feel extremely vulnerable.