Page 19 of Orpheus
All I could do was watch the sirens hovering above us take rein. But as my gaze faced the ladybirds in the sky, I looked beyond them at the blazing sun. I may have been hallucinating from the pain spreading through me, but I watched as it pulsated. And with each beat it gave, I felt more relief wash over me.
Was it Apollo? Was he helping me?
It was as if the sun’s radiance was rejuvenating me. I felt a tingling sensation in my fingers. I was able to voluntarily move them again on my own accord. Without giving it a second thought, I reached for my lyre and began my song once more. This time, I aimed at each of the sirens as I rendered the harmony from the instrument.
My music played loudly, drowning their shrieks out. I had no time to even look overboard to see if I was altering the movement of the waves back to their origin. I just continued to produce the most charming melodies for as long as I could.
Soon, the sirens flew off, their cries became a faint echo in the background.Sirenum scopuliwas now far behind us, seeming lost forever. I stopped my song and rushed to the ship’s helm, where Jason was still gripping the wheel tightly. He laughed with a brightly lit smile on his face. “You did it, Orpheus! We made it!”
I scratched the back of my head with nervousness, not sure how to handle the praise. It was an overwhelming feeling. I could not believe what I had just done. I had no time to process any of it. “We did, didn’t we!” I gleefully yelled back to him.
“Watch the wheel for me. I’m going to let everyone else out now,” he instructed.
And so I did. The crew came up to the deck one by one, chanting and giving cheers. They all ran to me, giving me hugs, patting me on the back with laudatory remarks. Calais was the last to sprint up to me. His arms wrapped around me in a longer hug compared to anyone else. We held the embrace for several seconds. The side of my head squeezed into his chest, never wanting to release myself from him. But I knew holding onto him any longer would only create awkwardness for the rest of the Argonauts, who were clapping and dancing around us.
“In a few hours, we will dock at the port city of Drepana. There, we will rest and celebrate for the evening. A proper cheers will be in order for Orpheus!” Jason announced.
I did not know how to react to these many people who were raving over me and my performance. Yes, I received so many compliments from the muses, my mother, and Apollo for my music, but never to the extent that these men were praising me. And for some reason, the admiration I was receiving now seemed much more meaningful to me than any other I’ve earned before.
Drepana was one elongated harbor city. Countless ships continued to come in and out of its ports. Needless to say, it was a very lively town, which meant there were plenty of inns and taverns for those passing by, including our crew.
Once theArgodocked, our men rolled off it, joking and laughing about. “Come,” Jason stated, patting me on the back. “I’m sure there are plenty of inns calling our names.”
I followed him, with Calais striding beside me, his wings once again concealed inside his sage tunic. I wondered why he chose to hide the magnificence of his wings. Was it to avoid attention? Or perhaps he did not want strangers to know he had godly blood flowing through his veins. I would be meaning to ask him his reasons before the night was over. That was for sure.
Jason proceeded to enter a bustling inn. I could smell the beer reeking from the place, even though we were still standing outside its entrance. Above me hung a wooden sign for the establishment, with the wordsTHEAMBROSIAinscribed on it. I could not help but roll my eyes at the irony in the name of this inn. It was certainly no nectar of the gods. That was for sure.
We were led to a large table where eight of us could sit. The crew would have to break up for tonight, since this tavern was too busy to have all of us seated in the same area. We were a large bunch, andThe Ambrosiastood no chance at accommodating our numbers.
Eight of us took a seat at the table. Calais and I sat next to each other, with Jason across from us. He immediately requested mugs of ale and goblets of wine for all of us, with which one of the tavern girls brought them over to our table promptly. Jason ordered everyone to raise our mugs and cups in the air once they were in our grasp. “Drinks are all on me tonight, boys! We are celebrating all on behalf of Orpheus, one of the few mortals to ever encounter the sirens and live to tell the day!” he roared so that the entire inn could hear him. Everyone clinked their drinks with each other. Even occupants in the tavern that did not even know us perked up their ears and had their eyes wander over to us when they heard the intriguing congratulatory announcement.
I smiled to everyone, but placed my goblet of wine down on the table in front of me, choosing not to drink any of it. Once Calais downed his mug full of ale, he eyed me suspiciously. “Do you not like wine? I thought you told me your family worships Dionysus’s deity?”
I shrugged. “We do. I’ve just never tried it before. I cannot stand the smell of it, so I never really got around to tasting it.”
“Ahhh. I see. Well, you are really missing out. I promise it does taste much better than it smells. You must try it,” Calais practically begged me.
And truth be told, it was hard for me to repudiate anything Calais suggested, especially when he held those piercing silver eyes of his on me. “Why not? There have been so manyfirstsfor me on this adventure. Might as well make another,” I reasoned.
Jason then chimed in, listening in on our conversation. “There you go. That’s the spirit!”
I gave a deep gulp, a bit nervous about imbibing on alcohol for the first time. I was unsure of what to expect. The uncertainty of not only the taste but the mind-altering effects I’ve seen it have on others is what frightened me most. I could not imagine having a lack of control over my thoughts, my actions, and my decisions. But the festivity of everyone around me did put a slight pressure on my back. I brought the goblet to my lips, taking a very small sip of the crimson liquid.
I swished it around in my mouth before swallowing. It was aromatic, and quite sweet. Nothing like I had pictured. So, the goblet was brought to my lips once more, with which I took a far more generous sip.
“Well, that pretty much tells me what you think of it,” Calais joked.
“Yeah. It’s not bad at all,” I admitted.
Jason’s attention was drifted in a different direction by another Argonaut, which left Calais and me alone at our end of the table, able to have a more private discussion.
“I still cannot believe the sirens actually made an appearance just over our ship. I’ve never heard them to ever wander from their island,” Calais educated me with.
“They must have known they were losing the battle. The waves were flowing in our favor, to my music. Seeing that they were out of other options, they became desperate and flew directly over to theArgo, trying to drown my melodies out with their own,” I rationalized aloud.
“And how did you handle them when they were that close to you?” Calais inquired, his eyes gleaming at me with interest.
“I had almost given up, to be honest. I could not withstand the pain and the numbness they invoked with their shrieks. But I gave one look at the sun and it was as if Apollo poured his power and strength into me. It gave me courage to fight the agony away and to outplay the sirens at their own game.”
