Page 25 of Orpheus
“His royal highness is ready to see you, Sir Orpheus. Please. Come with me,” he instructed.
Finally!I thought to myself.
I honestly believed in the back of my mind that I would have to wait until nightfall, or even the following day, just to get my meeting in with Jason at this point.
I trailed behind the elder, as he glacially led me into the throne room. As the doors flung open by the posted guards, I saw a long royal blue carpet extending from the entrance to the massive throne at the very end of the elongated throne room.
I cautiously ambled across the floor, unsure of what to expect. But as I closed the distance between me and the throne, I was able to recognize Jason sitting on it. A bejeweled golden crown sat atop his head. The garment he wore over his body looked as if it belonged to a fierce lion, based on the fur color and its immense size. Even with all of this ostentatious attire, I was able to see that it was Jason, the same humble captain who steered theArgoacross the undulating seas. Or at least Ibelievedhim to be humble at the time. Now, I was not so sure.
“Orpheus!” he called out to me as I approached him. “I am so glad to see you are well, my dear friend,” he enthusiastically declared.
But I could not return the same ardor he had given me. It would go unreciprocated for now. “You assume wrongly, Jason. For I am far from well,” I argued, not even bothering to bow before him or refer to him as king, his majesty or his royal highness. I was nowhere near ready to give him any sort of respect. After all, he had yet to show me how he has earned said respect from me in any way, based on his previous greedy actions.
“Oh? I am sorry you are unwell,” he spoke with sincerity. “Although I am unsure as to why.”
This unsympathetic comment put me over the edge. No longer could I restrain my anger and the harboring resentment I held over him. I was outraged and he would hear all that I had to ay, no matter how vile the words were that would come out of my mouth.
“You are ‘unsure as to why!?’” I repeated him, now yelling. “How could you be so oblivious, Jason!? How could you possibly have the impudence to even ask such a question?”
I paused, trying to regain my composure. I softened my voice, just slightly, but still stood my ground. “You used me to get past the sirens, then lied and deceived me. How could you not tell me about Calais and what was bound to happen to him? You just let it go. Lethimgo.”
This made Jason rise to his feet. “I never used you, Orpheus. You joined our crew of your own free-will. You wanted the fame and the recognition that came with conquering the sirens. Even as we stand here, your name and story are already spreading throughout all the lands for your courage and bravery. Everyone in the world will soon know your name,” he informed me. “And as for Calais. I am deeply sorry that he died. His sacrifice is not in vain and not a day will go by in my life where I won’t ever not think about him.”
“If you were as sorry as you claim to be, you would have never let it happen,” I rebuked.
Jason gave a deep and sorrowful sigh. “Listen Orpheus, I expressed the same worry and hysteria to Calais that you are giving me now. I was the one that told him not to go on with this. I was willing to put a halt to our adventure. I never wanted to be a king if it meant having to lose my dearest friends and comrades in the process. But Calais remained steadfast and set in his ways. He had already given in to his destiny. No words or actions I could have said or done would make him do otherwise. He was bent on riding our journey out, all the way to Crete, knowing the fate that was bound for him.”
“But why did you all have to keep me in the dark on this? I, too, should have been told what I was getting myself into and what would happen to Calais. You had no right to withhold that information from me,” I contested.
“It was not my information to withhold from you, Orpheus. Nor was it my business to tell you about the prophecy the Fates had for Calais, either. He, andonly he,should have been the one to reveal that to you. It was not my place. I did, however, tell him he was making a huge mistake by not filling you in on everything. But he begged me not to inform you. It was difficult for him to confess it to the man he…” Jason paused.
“The man he what?” I questioned.
“The man he obviously had a strong connection with,” Jason elaborated. “You two were becoming so close. No one could deny the bond you both developed with one another in such a short amount of time. Yet at the same time, Calais knew that continuing to only grow your relationship with each other would make you hurt far worse in the end. He could not rest peacefully in the Underworld knowing he would have dragged you along, only to break your heart in the end.”
“Well, it’s too late to think that,” I countered. “My heart has already cracked from all this.”
“Yes. But it would be completely shattered if you remained on the journey with us, further developing feelings for Calais and catching witness to him and Zetes being dragged to their deaths along with the harpies. Believe me, Orpheus, you may be resentful towards he and I for our decision to not include you for the remainder of the ride. But in the long run, I hope you can see that it was only for your benefit. It would have been completely selfish of us to put you through that.”
I was not sure what to feel after all this. I had every intention of coming to Iolcus and confronting Jason just as I did. I wanted to shout non-stop, to be angry with him, to hate him for the rest of my life. I wanted to react this way so badly, but it was not how I was feeling now. Yes, anger still stirred within me, but grief, remorse, compassion, and even understanding were also added ingredients in this recipe for chaos that ate at me. I could not bring myself to fully fault Jason for all that had happened. I realized it was a cruel fate that was brought upon all of us. We all had to suffer from it. There should be no pointing fingers and blame at anyone. Everyone acted unselfishly given the circumstances and tried to find the best way to make everyone hurt less in a loathsome situation that we were all put into.
But I could not shake Calais’ sacrifice off my mind. He was truly a wonderful man. A man that I could finally admit that I did begin to fall in love with. If only the Fates had given us a more prosperous vision, we could have had a bright future together, forever.
I fell to the ground in front of Jason. Another torrential downpour overcame my eyes. Jason leaped forward, kneeling on his royal blue carpet that I was now staining with my tears. His arm wrapped around me, pushing me into him to hold me tight. “Let it out, Orpheus,” he encouraged me. “I too have cried every night since the day he went. It was recently that my night terrors have occurred sporadically and not every single time I go to bed. Only I never had the courage to show my vulnerability in public, just as you have. But I keep telling myself that it is strictly because I am now a king and have a certain image and portrayal of strength I need to uphold for my people as their new leader,” Jason admitted, which was ironic, because he was showing me a vulnerable side to him in this confession.
“I understand, Jason.” It was now my turn to console him. “Just because you choose to let your emotions and tears out behind closed doors does not make you any less strong.”
“I suppose you are right, but I must apologize to you once more. I am so sorry for my part in all of this.”
I interrupted him. “No. It is I who should be sorry. I admit that I thought the worst of you for the past month. My judgment was clouded. I honestly assumed you used Calais and the Argonauts to get your claim to the throne. That you honestly could care less about their well-being and whether or not they died, so long as you became King of Thessaly. But it was foolish of me to think that. I cannot believe that I, being a friend of yours, could think such ill-will of you. I am not worthy of your friendship, Jason.”
More tears dripped to the floor. Jason’s grip around me tightened. “Yes, you are, Orpheus. You will forever be my friend and worthy of my friendship. We have endured the adventure of a lifetime together. We both have now cried in each other’s arms and understand the value and the commonality we have in cherishing another dear friend of ours that has now gone to the Underworld. Only lifelong friends can undergo such events with one another.”
Any and all animosity I had buried within had now dissipated. It melted away with the very tears that were escaping from me. I was grateful to have Jason go through this with me. He truly was a friend of mine. One of the few ones I ever had. I needed him during this time of grief and mourning and it seemed as though he needed me as well, along his side.
“We will be hosting a huge feast tomorrow,” Jason then changed the subject with. “I would really appreciate if you would take part in it. It would mean so much to me. The event will be extravagant, not only to recognize my coronation but to also honor the other heroes involved, both who have fallen and those that are alive and can be present. All of the Argonauts will be here.”
I simply nodded. “Yes. I would be glad to participate.”
