Page 34 of Orpheus
I did not even have to think about his question. “Of course, I will go with you. If this place is special to you, then I definitely would like to see it.”
“Thank you. And I will make the trek worth your while,” he seductively said to me, with an added wink.
“Oh? And how do you intend to do that?”
“When we stop to rest along the way, I will make sure wewon’tbe resting at all, if you catch my drift.”
The two days we spent together on our way to Foloi Oak Forest felt like an eternity, but I was not complaining about it one bit. We spent about half of the time walking and the other half hitching a ride in a trader’s cart. Eurydalos and I held hands the entire way, getting to know more about each other. The more I learned about him, the more I wanted to learneven moreabout him.
The two of us led completely opposite lives. I was born and raised with a silver spoon in my mouth, surrounded by servants, family, and great wealth. I had the opportunity to do as I pleased and when I pleased. In hearing about Eurydalos’s childhood and how he grew up without any parents and no roof over his head, living and being raised among centaurs and Earth nymphs, it made me realize that perhaps I took all that I had in Thrace for granted.
The temper tantrums I once threw about having to spend just a few hours a day on my father’s training grounds were now trivial. At least I had the privilege of living in a castle and the chance to have many instruments, supplies, and materials at my disposal to fulfill my passion in the arts. Eurydalos had none of that. He had no means of being able to afford such items.
Eurydalos drew out this humility in me. He made me empathize with others and learn to appreciate all that I had. Another added layer to my attraction towards him.
We were only miles away from Foloi Oak Forest. Dusk had settled in and we decided to call it quits and camp for the night instead of risking the remainder of our walk to our destination without having the daylight to guide us. I started the fire and collected wood, while Eurydalos set up a small shelter for us. By the change of the wind and air, I could sense a storm was coming in. I managed to get the fire going before Eurydalos had finished prepping our awning. In feeling the drizzle of rain hit my head and back, I knew time was of the essence. We needed to pick up the pace and finish the shelter if we wanted to avoid the oncoming torrential downpour that was likely to come our way.
The drops that fell increased in volume and the rate at which they came down continued to intensify. I secured the fire closer to our shelter, enough so that it wouldn’t go out on us no matter how strong the wind. Eurydalos had finished securing the knots overhead, and we finally were able to sit close, tucked together, to avoid the chilly rain striking us.
We huddled as close together as we possibly could. He sat on top of my thighs, facing me, his legs wrapped around to my back, as our chests pressed into one another. My lips leveled with his neck as I held him into me. As intimate of a position as this was, it was also one of natural survival. The cold night air that the storm brought with it was frigid.
Besides the weak fire beside us, our body heat was our only other means of warmth, and we intended to remain close, absorbing each other’s heat for as long as possible. As much as I wanted to say that it was predominantly based on survival instinct, I would be lying to myself if I did. Having Eurydalos skin to skin with me was a fulfilled craving. I wanted him this close to me so badly. I was serving as his protector. I was his means of being able to sleep comfortably through the night, just as much as he was mine.
This dependence we were establishing with each other was unlike anything I had experienced before. I never had it with Apollo and certainly not in the short-time I spent with Calais. It made me feel as if we were inseparable, and I never wanted to go anywhere that wasn’t with Eurydalos.
I buried my face down into his chest. The hot air coming out of my mouth ricocheted off of his soft, smooth chest and back into my face. “Are you okay, Orpheus?” he asked me with a slight shiver.
“Yes. I’m not sure I’ll manage to sleep well through the night, but I’ll make it,” I admitted.
“I feel the same. Although, I pray that this weather is not a curse from the gods.”
“Hopefully it’s not,” I replied, but was truthfully unsure.
We slept for only a few hours that evening, our bodies stirring throughout the storm. But surprisingly, as we woke up, we both felt fully rejuvenated. Maybe it was the joy that swelled in us from seeing that the rain had finally passed, or perhaps we were elated that we were just a few miles away from Foloi Oak Forest. It then dawned on me why I truly felt so alive, even after coming of off a lack of sleep. Being around Eurydalos is what brought a burst of energy within me to life. We both became more upbeat when we woke up the following day, realizing that we were still in each other’s company and it really wasn’t a dream or our imagination playing tricks on us. Eurydalos was real. I was real. Our romance wasreal.
The remainder of our journey took only three more hours until we finally arrived at Foloi Oak Forest. “We’ve made it!” Eurydalos exclaimed.
He grabbed my hand and led me through the winding path. As I scanned the area, all I could see were tall, thin trees that stretched high toward the sky. There were so many around us, all bunched together. The leaves on them were full and lush, but only at their tops. No branches were found on their shafts. It made the sight above us look like an elaborate and long verdant sheath that concealed the bright blue sky.
It was a gorgeous setting, but I was unsure if it was any more spectacular than some of the forests I’ve seen on the journey here and in Thrace. I wondered what was so unique about this place that possessed Eurydalos to want us to venture all the way here to see it. Ahead of the path, I could spot a small clearing, which seemed like the direction we were headed in.
The space was round and enough to stand out since there weren’t any other locations here in the Foloi Oak Forest that had no trees sprouting from its grounds. But even as I gazed up, there was only a slight opening through the canopy of the trees. The morning sun permeated through, lighting up this forest clearing.
Eurydalos separated his hand from mine. “Stand here,” he instructed me.
I leaned my shoulder against a nearby stubbly oak tree, watching him traipse to the center of the clearing. He stood still for a moment. I could see the muscles in his back rise and fall, indicating that he was taking a deep breath. He then turned around to face me, smirking my way. “Are you ready for me to dance?”
I nodded. “Ready as ever.”
Eurydalos closed his eyes and kneeled to the ground, placing his palm down into the dirt, as if he were petting it. I scrutinized him closely, catching his lips move but no words coming out of them. He seemed to be chanting something underneath his breath. The shaking of the tree I was leaning on instantly startled me. I then glanced around, noticing that all of the oak trees within the vicinity were violently swaying back and forth. Even the ground rumbled. Panic began to strike me as I came to the conclusion that we were in the middle of some earthquake.
But before I could even react, the disturbance ceased. I was tempted to run across the clearing to check to see if Eurydalos was hurt. Him rising to his feet made me realize he was fine, so I remained in my fixed location.
His eyes stayed closed, and he raised his arms out wide, palms facing the sky. I was finally coming to my senses, realizing that it was Eurydalos that made the earth shake just now.
How was he capable of such a trick? He was merely a mortal, I thought to myself.
The wind speed picked up too. The breeze smacked me in the face, hard, leaving a cold sting as it briskly swept through the air.
