Page 28 of Song of Memories

"I know," Pan slumped down and buried his head in his hands, muffling his voice. "I despise Orpheus. I hate that man. I know it's immature of me to despise him solely on the fact that he won Eurydice's love…"

Hermes made a tsk sound. "Well, judging off her expression all night and the way that Orpheus paid the serving girls more attention than Eurydice, it seems to me there is trouble in paradise."

"What did you say?" Pan jumped to his feet while a series of rose brushes sprung up around him. "He was disrespecting her like that all night?"

"I don't think Orpheus would call it disrespect." Hermes crossed his arms over his chest. "He'd probably say he was simply showing appreciation to Perseus's hosting skills. There were a few moments throughout the night where Eurydice really did seem to be in love with him, but they were fleeting. I got the sense she was trying to hold onto those moments, but Orpheus wasn't making it easy."

Pan didn't respond, picking his head up and propping it on his knees.

"If I were you..." Hermes continued, a familiar glimmer appearing in his eye. "I'd reckon that Orpheus is going to pass out from the amount of wine he drank tonight within minutes of getting home." Hermes looked up at the sky. "It's a full moon tonight. I'd make a wager, if I were a betting man, that Eurydice is out enjoying her garden tonight. Alone."

There was a pregnant pause as Pan looked at his father quizzically.

"Are you suggesting that I go to Orpheus's home and visit his wife under the cover of night?"

Hermes's grin stretched into a smile. He waggled his eyebrows as he held his hands out wide. "I am simply suggesting that a dear friend of yours had a bad night out and where to find them. Also..." The wings appeared on Hermes's sandals, and he began floating, ready to depart, "Moonlight is romantic."

Hermes disappeared in the blink of an eye in a cloud of golden magic before Pan even had the chance to respond. It was something that he was known for. and Pan had long grown used to his father's antics.

Is this the right thing to do? Pan's thoughts raced through his head. It's hardly ethical. I want to give her the space she needs if she wants to try this relationship with Orpheus and give it a chance...but that doesn't mean I can't go to her as a friend, right? Yes, I can go to her as a friend. Forget what Hermes said about the moonlight being romantic... It's a friendly visit. That's all.

Pan convinced himself in a record amount of time that visiting Eurydice was a good idea, as if his heart ever thought it could possibly be a bad one. He took a few deep breaths and walked over to the largest oak tree surrounding the clearing, letting his power ebb and flow through the root system beneath it. Pan's eyes fluttered closed as he slowly started to evaporate into a dark emerald cloud. All the plants that had sprung up due his influence in the clearing disappeared, leaving no trace that Pan had ever been there. He traveled through the roots and trunks of the trees, deep into the soil, breathing in the earthy scent. It grounded him, the feel of the dirt and the presence of the earth, and Pan was feeling much more settled by the time he arrived in the Underworld.

He was on the outskirts of Orpheus's property, and he had the same reaction to it that Eurydice did. It was garish and devoid of life, an utterly massive complex of stone and riches that was devoid of anything organic. The marble was shining in the bright moonlight, practically beckoning Pan to hop the garden wall. He could sense the thriving garden in the courtyard, and he identified Eurydice's influence and signature all over it. Her power and magic with everything green called to him like Pan himself was a vine, dying of thirst and stretching out towards water. Whenever he was in Eurydice's orbit, he felt like a flower turning towards the sun as it moved through the sky, and he had no problem being in her gravitational pull forever.

Pan closed his eyes and traveled through the air, only glimpses of a green hue in the sky giving him away. He landed in the walled garden without a sound, and sure enough, there was Eurydice.

The sight of her took his breath away. Pan's chest seized with a physical longing, a pain so sharp that it threatened to stop his heart. He'd welcome death if it was brought about to him through Eurydice's presence alone. He'd kiss Thanatos's feet himself if it was Eurydice's beauty that took him out.

Eurydice was sitting on one of the marble benches, overlooking one of the many fountains in the garden. The cool air was rich with the scent of roses and lilies, which he knew to be Eurydice's favorites. Her hair was free from any braids or ornaments, hanging loosely down her back. It went all the way to her waist, shining in the moonlight like bright copper. If weapons were made of copper and iron, the hue of Eurydice's hair would be the arrow that shot Pan straight through the heart.

She was dressed in a simple, short tunic, revealing her long legs and skin that glowed like stone, as if she was lit from within.

Pan's thoughts were overrun with his devotion and love for her, wondering what it would look like to have those legs wrapped around his own... His more animalistic side practically grunted in agreement, taking over Pan's thoughts with ones of lust and obsession. He wanted to find out what noises Eurydice made when his tongue was between her thighs, what magic he could coax out of her when she was feral with pleasure.

That was one of the things Pan hated most about Orpheus. He never seemed to welcome the wild side of Eurydice; he always wanted her to be 'presentable.' Pan wanted her to rip up the earth with her magic and grow a forest from the ruins of Orpheus's estate. He wanted her to run naked through the trees until the moon herself talked back. A wild Eurydice was a happy Eurydice, and Pan didn't know how to get that through Orpheus's head. He didn't know if he even wanted to.

Pan shook his head to clear it when he realized he'd been staring for far too long. He prepared to step out from the cover of the bushes when he paused. Eurydice had turned her attention to the trellis at the far end of the garden. Pan caught the tears in her eyes.

She was staring at the gift he had given her. Pan's heart threatened to beat out of his chest. Part of him wondered if Orpheus knew who'd given it to Eurydice. Orpheus probably didn't realize it was there.

Pan watched as a single tear tracked down Eurydice's cheek, creating a tragically beautiful sight that was only worthy of such a mythical figure as Eurydice. But Pan didn't care about legends or reputations; he cared that Eurydice was upset.

Pan stepped out gently from behind the walls, raising his voice only as much as he dared.

"Eurydice?"

Eurydice turned on her heel with a gasp. She quickly wiped away the tears on her cheeks while her face split into a wide smile. Eurydice's smile nearly sent Pan to his knees; he'd never get used to it and prayed he never would.

"What are you doing here?" Eurydice ran down the garden path, joining Pan underneath the vine's shadows on the trellis.

"Is it a bad time?" Pan had an adoring smile on his face, looking up at the night sky, insinuating that he was clearly aware he showed up in the middle of the night.

"No, never." Eurydice shook her head rapidly and placed her hand on his arm. Heat streaked up Pan's arm where she touched him. "Were you in the area?"

"Ha." Pan rolled his eyes. "No, I don't think I'd ever be in this area of the Underworld if you weren't here."

"I can't say that I'm partial to it either," Eurydice admitted. She glanced back to the massive house behind her. "I miss the forest."

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