Page 26 of Orpheus
“Good, because I would be crushed if you could not join us. But most importantly, I want this to be a celebration for Calais and Zetes. A celebration of life for all that they lived for and have done for us. For their great character and heroism,” Jason acknowledged.
“Then, in honor of Calais, I will drink as much wine as possible. It’s what he would want from me.” I said this in all seriousness, remembering him pleading with me to have my first sip of wine atThe Ambrosia, but it garnered a deep belly laugh from Jason, who patted me on the back.
“Yes! I will have plenty of wine. Drink to your heart’s content,” he ascertained.
My sobbing had finally stopped, and I was able to smile through all the anguish I had just displayed.
Jason and I then rose to our feet. I wiped the remaining tears from my eyes with the back of my forearm.
“Oh! I almost forgot. You cannot drink too much wine right away tomorrow night, though,” he told me.
“And why is that?” I inquired, still wiping the wetness that remained on my cheeks.
“Because I have a special request for you, now that you will be in attendance. I want you to play for us, Orpheus. I want you to not only sing about our adventure, but I want you to sing for Calais.”
It was a very big ask of him. I was not sure if I could commit myself to sharing my feelings for Calais in front of a gathering of what could be hundreds of people. But I had to remember, my feelings should not be the one taking priority in this situation. It should be about Calais and what he would want. And honestly, I had a deep inkling that he would want to hear my voice and the graceful melodies I created with my lyre. He admired my playing so much. I would have to play one last song for him.Oursong.
Chapter 11
Jason refused for me to sleep anywhere else but his castle, which was the finest place in all of Iolcus, with the most spacious and comfortable rooms for any and all guests. There were at least one-hundred different bedrooms from what I estimated, and I was likely being conservative in that count, imagining there were quite many more I had forgotten about on my long tour with one of the maidens from yesterday.
I sat in my private bedroom, alone, practicing for my performance for tonight. With parchment and a quill pen, I was jotting down and finalizing the verses I thought of that would tie together to make a wondrous masterpiece for myOde to Calais. At least that was the working title I was giving it.
A thundering knock on the bedroom door startled me, causing my pen to accidentally spread a splotch of ink across my work. “Master Orpheus! It’s time. Please make your way to the grand hall. The festivities will begin momentarily,” a deep, rugged voice informed me.
“I’ll be there in a little while,” I shouted back, hoping the answer would suffice and he would let me be just for a moment longer.
Luckily, I heard no other banging or hollering back. I glanced over my notes one last time, memorizing the lyrics to my song. I rushed to put on a new tunic that Jason’s servants placed on the chaise lounge in my room earlier in the day. It was ivory white silk with gold embroidery along the sleeves and seams, sewed intricately with splendid detail, by what I presumed was one of the finest seamstresses in the kingdom. After all, Jason was now King of all of Thessaly. Everything around here was grandiose and spectacular, including the guest’s clothing, I supposed.
I glanced at my reflection in the mirror one last time, admiring the tunic that draped over me. It made me look like a king or a god myself. But as I studied my look closely, I saw Calais standing behind me. Or at least I thought it was him. I sharply turned to see that no one was there. Just me. It must have been my mind playing tricks on me. My imagination longing for something it knew it could not have.
I shook my head, guilt rushing over me as I recounted our time together and our very first and last kiss we shared in Drepana before he departed. I would never be kissed by him ever again. I would somehow have to find a way to move on with my life, but knew that I needed to cherish his memory and our time together. I planned on carrying him with me for the rest of my life. I had no doubts about it.
Pacing across the room, I retrieved my golden lyre and left the room, following the direction that everyone else in the castle was heading towards. As I made several turns past many corridors, I finally arrived at the grand hall. There were so many people already present. Kings and queens from other lands, foreign dignitaries, as well as noblemen and women. Clearly, only those with high ranking and status received in invitation to such a glorious event.
The grand dining hall was full of stretched mahogany tables that could easily fit one-hundred seated people at each. They were lined vertically, across the room, all but one, that is. At the very front of the room, there was a risen section with a single horizontal table. A massive gold throne at its center overlooked the entire place. Instantly, I knew that was meant for Jason. Between Jason’s table and the other patrons’ tables was a large open floor, likely to be used for dancing.
However, I was unsure of where I should sit. I was unaware if there was assigned seating of if I could just pick my own spot and call it a day.
A firm hand was pressed on my shoulder and I spun around to see Jason now coming up from behind me, to my side. “You don’t get to hide in the back here,” he teased me. “I have a special table where you and the rest of the Argonauts will join me for the feast.”
That was settled then. Although a queasiness flowed through me, knowing that not only would I be giving a musical performance in front of all of these prominent attendees, but I would also catch their wandering eyes all evening, being at the very front, important table in the hall with the new, soon to be coronated King of Thessaly.
As I followed behind Jason toward the front of the room, I realized it would be a while before he would be able to get to his seat, for so many people stopped to approach him along the way, expressing their deepest praises and congratulatory remarks for him. Seeing as though I awkwardly stood behind him, remaining silent and not fitting in with those around him, I moved by them and made a clean getaway towards my assigned table.
I did not dare sit in the chairs that were directly beside the king’s throne. Instead, I took one that was about five or six spaces down from him, hoping that would suffice and not disappoint Jason, since I would still be relatively close to him.
Soon, the rest of the guests made their way into the hall and to their seats. The Argonauts joined my table one by one, patting me on the back, shocked that I managed to make it to the event. Nevertheless, they were all thrilled to see me be able to make this celebration with them. Having idle chats with them and retelling stories about our trip on theArgoat least allowed the time to pass by rather quickly. For I did not even realize nearly an hour had already flown by.
The servants were finally coming out with goblets of wine, and there were tons of food sprawled out across every table. It was enough to feed a whole kingdom, let alone several hundred guests. I glanced at the goblet of wine that was placed in front of me, nervous of even trying to taste it this evening. I could not help but think of the last time I had my first drink of wine, or rather three. It did not end well for me, to say the least. But then I recalled that it was not just the wine that left me to ache the following day, it was Calais also slipping in some of the sleeping potion into my libations that could have caused the miserable after effects.
I rationalized that the latter could possibly be the case and decided to take a few sips of it. Much to my surprise, it tasted far sweeter and better than the sour tasting liquid I had atThe Ambrosia. But I should have expected that. Of course, wine at a rich king’s feast would be far superior to cheap tavern wine.
Our conversation was then put to a halt as Jason stood up from his dining throne. A hush fell over the entire room in an instant. “Ladies and gentleman. I want to thank you all for coming tonight. This feast is not strictly meant for me. It is as equally shared with the men that sit before me at this table. Each of these men have fought courageously and braved the most dangerous trials and tribulations in order to support my cause in reigning as the new King of Thessaly.”
A cheer erupted from the entire crowd. I could not help but grin at how lively and supportive everyone was around us.
Jason then continued. “I want tonight to be a celebration for the books in Iolcus. I want every man and woman in this vicinity to be drunk and stumbling off their asses by the time they walk out of here tonight.” Many laughs and chuckles interrupted his speech following this remark.
