Page 43 of Orpheus
And so, I stand here today, singing my song, hoping you will help me.
For if I do not find my lover, I will no longer be free.
I have no coins, no riches, nothing to give you to get to him,
Except for this song of mercy, my beseeching hymn.
I opened my eyes, but still plucked at the strings of my golden lyre delicately. I tilted my head to see that Charon had turned his boat around. His creaky, elongated oar paddling against the steady flow of the pewter river.
He pulled up beside me, his onyx gaze piercing through me as he studied me closely. “That song. That music. I’ve never heard anything like it in all my years. Please, I must hear more,” Charon implored.
A smile crept up on my face as I obliged him. I played my heart out for the grim ferryman, shocked that even my music could have such an effect on a creature of the dead. After another minute of providing him exquisite melodies, he waved his arm, motioning for me to come onto his boat.
“I have been bewitched by your music, young bard,” he informed me. “Come. I will escort you across this river, to the land of the dead.”
I had enchanted Charon, the ferryman of the Underworld, with my musical talents. I could not believe I was now seated in his rickety boat as he rowed us across the murky River of Styx. As we came to a halt, I rose and stepped out of the boat. The second my foot hit the ground of the Underworld for the first time, a cold chill rushed up my spine. I shuttered at the very feeling.
I knew I did not belong in this world. I was one of the living in a world of the dead. I would not be welcomed. “Thank you, riverkeeper. I appreciate your…”
But I could not finish my praise for, as I turned around to face Charon, he was no longer there. He and his vessel were somehow gone. I had no idea how he could have departed so quickly, but he managed to. It made me realize time and other everyday normalcies would likely be altered here in the Underworld, in this occult kingdom.
I continued to move on, entranced by my surroundings as I did so. This world could not even compare to what my teachers had once told me about it. Their descriptions were gruesome, but it was far worse to actually gaze upon it. The ground was obsidian. Many of the geological and rocky features were also the same color, but some with specs of purple hues. I was so used to bright red fire on the surface; it was a bewilderment to me when I saw the multitude of ebony flames spewing from the grounds.
As I gazed out on the horizon, I could make out a tall black structure in the distance. A gargantuan castle from the looks of it. I barely made it a few steps into the Underworld when I felt a tight restriction on my wrists and ankles, preventing me from moving any further. I glanced down to see violet vines shoot forth from the dirt, tightly wrapping around my body. Frantically, I tugged against their pull on me, trying to escape from the vines’ firm grip, but it was all in vain. I was stuck, and not going anywhere.
I had barely explored the Underworld and already I was trapped. Soon a barrage of dark cloaked figures came from all angles towards me. One of them held its hand over my face and before I knew it, I had blacked out, seeing nothing but darkness overcome me.
Chapter 19
My vision was slowly coming to as I opened my eyes. Once I gained clarity, I shot right up from the reclined position I was in. Where was I?
I scanned my surroundings in a frenzy, stunned that I was in a lavish bedroom. I lay on a bed on top of pure scarlet satin sheets. Across the room from me was a chaise and a table with several bottles of wine and empty goblets. Rising to my feet, I stepped close to the chaise, running my fingers along its silky suede fabric. There was a single window in the room. As I glanced out of it, I began to realize just how high up I was. Beneath me were the black rocky terrains I remember myself in earlier, before I was entangled in the vines that sprung forth from the ground. I must have been high up in the air from the angle I stared out the window with. I estimated that the distance beneath me was very far. Was I in some sort of bedroom in a castle?
The door to my room suddenly opened, and I moved behind the chaise, wanting to separate myself from whoever was entering this room out of abundant caution. It was a hooded figure who came forth. One of the very same ones that captured me earlier.
“Who are you!? Where am I!?” I shouted at it.
“Come…” was all the mysterious dark creature instructed.
“No. Not until I get some answers,” I retorted.
“You will come now willingly, or I will force you to. The latter option will not go over well for you,” the hooded figured advised, or rather threatened me with.
I gave a heavy sigh, realizing I did not have much of a choice here. I was in no circumstance to refute anyone. I had no idea where I was and I would surely lose and likely face dire consequences if I were to fight against this adversary.
As reluctant as I was, I stepped out from behind the chaise and approached the main door to the room, allowing this shadowy, grim man to escort me wherever it was he intended to have me go.
When we stepped out of the room, we were in a vast hall. As I strode down the dark and sinister corridor following the cloaked figure, I gazed upon the black obsidian and onyx framed walls, floors and pillars I passed. I recognized that I was in some sort of creepy palace. It then hit me where I believed I was.Hades’s castle.
Why was I brought here of all places in the Underworld? And where was I being led to? I shivered at the thought of me being doomed forever to remain here in the Underworld, by whoever it was that had me captured.
After a few twists and turns down the narrow halls, we stood before a gargantuan set of doors that creaked open as we approached them. The cloaked figure moved to the side. “Now go ahead,” he stated.
I proceeded into the room, with which the doors behind me immediately closed with a loud thud that echoed off the walls. At the very end of the elongated room, I could see two people seated at tall throne chairs. A dark, long-haired man loomed in the seat to the left, scowling at me. His chest was exposed, revealing the thick curves of his muscular torso. Veins popped out of his thick arms and neck. He watched over me closely as I approached him. His facial hair was as jet black as his hair. The only thing that was not dark about him were his piercing crimson eyes. They glistened and were deeply redder than even the purest garnet.
To the man’s right sat a woman, who looked completely opposite of him. She cast a smirk at me. The woman was beguiling. She epitomized beauty and grace. Her long raven-colored hair glistened, while her crystal blue eyes glimmered as she stared my way. She seemed out of place here in the Underworld, not as cold and deadly as her counterpart husband.
Based on the descriptions I’ve heard of from tales, I easily deduced who these two regal people were that sat before me. It was Hades, King of the Underworld, and his captivating wife, Persephone.
