Page 2 of Orpheus
And then my father smiled. It was a relief to see those bright ivory teeth of his that I rarely saw these days.
“I’m beginning to ask that same question myself. It was a difficult decision for me to choose the sword over my harp, but it was what my heart guided me toward. But you, Orpheus, clearly, your heart is guiding you away from the sword, as you’ve stated.”
My father gripped the edge of his fine angled jaw, stroking his curved chin, deep in contemplation. I could not gather where he was going with his thoughts, but I was more determined than ever to let mine be known. “It is.” I dropped my sword into the sand, the collision causing grains to explode in the air. “My heart is pointing me in a different direction, father. My blood does not rush when I hold a sword or when I am running and punching. But it does when I hold a brush and an instrument. When I create music, poems, colorful pieces, that is when I feel most alive!” I exclaimed, feeling my heart flutter in that very moment, just speaking about my cravings.
The king placed his broad hand over my head, petting my dark brown locks into place like a dog. “Perhaps I have been mistaken, my son. I have longed for you to claim this throne as the deserving and powerful warrior I once was. Our people would respect you all the more for it. But what I did not consider was that I followed my intuition with where I wanted to go with my life. And I feel I am now doing you a disservice by not allowing you the have the same choice. The very same freedom.”
A sheet of water felt like it was glossing over my eyes. Once I blinked, I felt it trickle down the corner of my lids. I lunged forward and hugged my father with all my might, squeezing his lower back with my palms, the side of my head pressed into his wide chest. “Thank you, father! I would love nothing more than to continue to paint, write poems, and play gorgeous melodies.”
“Very well, Orpheus. I will no longer force you to have to practice your skills in battle. You are old enough now to choose whatever it is you want to leisure in,” my father granted me with. He returned the warm embrace by wrapping his enormous arms around my upper back and thin shoulders.
“I promise I will make you and our kingdom proud, my king. I will be the best musician known throughout all of Thrace… throughout all ofHellas,for that matter. Gods and goddesses will know my name for my artistic talents. I swear it!” I proclaimed.
King Oeagrus could not help but chuckle at my determination. “I have no doubt you will do splendid things, my son. After all, you are the prodigy of me and the most gifted of all muses,” he stated. “Your mother will be most pleased with your conviction for the arts. But it was that talent and that conviction that made me fall in love with her. So, I can see the value and draw to it.”
“I will take after her, father. I want to learn everything her and my aunts have to offer me,” I willfully announced, wanting nothing more than for this to actually happen.
“Then it is settled. I will no longer pressure you in having to prepare your sparring skills. Once you are finished with your morning lessons with your teachers, you may spend the remainder of your time however you wish, even if it’s all day with your mother and aunts.”
I separated from my father and bowed to him like the worthy king that he was. “Thank you, father. I could not ask for anything more.”
And so I skipped off and back inside the castle before my father could change his mind. On my way in, I passed Balthezius, who heard the entire exchange between the King and me. I immaturely stuck my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes with a grin. “Spoiled rotten to the very end,” he uttered.
“But that’s what makes a great king,” I retorted to him. “Getting your way.”
He shrugged. “I suppose it does. But do you want to be a king some day?” Balthezius asked me with skepticism.
I had to think about this for a moment before I shook my head. “No. You’re right. I don’t want to be a king.”
“Then what is it you want to be?” he inquired.
“I’m not entirely sure, but I have so much time to find that out for myself.”
I bathed in my tub before supper, washing the small grains of sand from every crevice of my body. Each speck that disintegrated into the water felt like a burden being lifted from my shoulders. My father’s unannounced meeting with me on the training grounds shocked me, to say the least. Cupping my hands in the sultry water, I lifted and splashed it in my face, as if trying to wake myself up from this dream.
Did my father really just give me the freedom to do as I please?
Would I be fully able to devote all my time to the arts now?
Why would he go against his counsel and grant me this wish?
Did my mother and aunts have an influence over him?
Did this also mean I wouldn’t have to accept the throne and be king?
So many questions raced through my mind like a blazing whirlwind, but I would leave them unanswered for now. Best not to approach the king and agitate him to the point where he changes his mind and retracts his decision to give me my new privileges.
Closing my eyes, I submerged myself in the bath, completely dunking my body in the water one last time, before I rose and got out of it. Retrieving a fine cloth, I dried my warm skin before placing on a white tunic, preparing for dinner. A surprise would await us in the dining hall tonight. A performance by the muses. It would be a rehearsal we would witness before they would sing and dance in front of the Mount Olympian gods and goddesses. It would be their final practice, their last rehearsal, before they took on a more prominent audience.
Proceeding out of my bedchamber, I strode down the dark halls. The brightly lit torches hanging on the onyx sconces on the wall guided my path. Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced out the castle windows, also noticing the other beacon serving as a light source. The moon was a pearl tonight, completely full. A blessing from Artemis. It was a sign for new beginnings and I could not help but grin once I became fully aware of it, for today was a new beginning for me as well. The start of my journey as a fully devoted musician and artist. With the blessings of both of my parents, nothing could now stop me from achieving greatness in the arts. Even the sky was not the limit, because I wanted to go above and beyond with my skills. Now that I had everyone’s support, there was nothing that could hold me back.
Once two of the night guards on duty heard my trailing footsteps approaching, they opened each dining hall door for me to make my entrance. As I entered the room, my father was seated at the head of the long cherry oak table. The fireplace behind him casting a dark glow on his figure from my vantage point. Our wine goblets were already full, but the dinner had yet to be served. I sat in my usual chair towards the middle of the table. As I took my seat, a servant came from behind and pushed my chair in.
My eyes darted about the room, noticing that it was just my father and me present. “Where is everyone else?”
The moment I asked this question, the flames on the candelabras all throughout the room shifted from a tepid orange to a mesmerizing fuchsia.
A husky voice from a seductress echoed in the hall. “Gods and goddesses, may I introduce you to the nine muses, daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus.”
