Pluton and Persephone

"The long, bony fingers whose touch she had born before closed instead around her bruised hands with infinite gentleness and she was pulled irresistibly to her feet. At last she dared to open her eyes, and the girl saw not anger or hatred on the face of her captor, but only compassion, as if he too knew the pain of loss and fear. When he beheld the tears flowing down her face, he bent his head and turned away and his dark figure receded into the shadows of the dim kingdom."
An illustration for my friend solaric's story, Half in Love With Easeful Death. You can find the first part here: [link] The woman's dress was taken from a stock photo by lockstock, [link] That's a pomegranate tree in the background. Yup. It's a bit sketchy now, I may work it up some more, but for now, here it is!