Page 35 of Orpheus
Despite me wanting to turn away to avoid the biting gust against me, I could not keep my eyes off of Eurydalos. I almost did not want to blink, concerned that I would miss out on something he conjured up again.
The brightness that the sun provided over Eurydalos now turned black. A dark shadow cast over him and most of the area. I tilted my head to see a barrage of leaves falling from the trees, coming down upon us. It was like viewing a group of thousands of birds migrating close together. I couldn’t help but notice a pattern in the way these green leaves were falling. It was fairly organized. They moved in a linear fashion, neatly aligned, as they approached the surface.
I thought they would touch the ground, leaving a heaping pile in the clearing, where they would be concentrated at. Instead, they swept through the air still, turning at an angle, gliding towards Eurydalos. They then rose back up, flying high towards the sky. It was a viridian whirlwind. A beautiful green storm moving about us.
It was so mesmerizing. Even with my golden lyre, I did not think I possessed such arcane skills to pull off something like this.
Then, Eurydalos suddenly opened his eyes and began dancing around. For every movement he made, the leaves changed their direction and danced with him. I began to realize why Eurydalos had us travel all the way here to Foloi Oak Forest. He had powers here. His ability to speak to nature as an Earth dancer was likely strongest here, for some reason. I would be meaning to ask him about it soon.
For now, I would just watch him, as he skipped and undulated his body with a flawless rhythm. His dancing was astounding, and the greenery floating around him only made me admire him all the more. It was at that moment that I began to see myself with Eurydalos. A future together. I wanted this man for as long as I could have him. He would be mine and I would be his.
I could watch him dance all day long. I already pictured it now. The two of us together in the wilderness for hours on end. Me playing my lyre and singing songs while he merrily danced to them. It was a future I could only dream of. I desired it even more so than the fame and recognition that came with being a world-class musician.
I continued to stare at Eurydalos as his dance came to a close. The leaves around him began to return high in the air, back to the tree branches they came from. Soon, all was restored as it once was. The wind died down. The sunlight began to peek through into this clearing as it previously did, and Eurydalos finally opened his eyes to me, smiling with pride.
I sprinted over towards him, reaching to hold his hands as we both stood in the clearing together. “What did you think? Did you enjoy it?” he asked me nervously.
“Of course, I enjoyed it!” I exclaimed. “It was breath-taking. I’ve never seen anything like it in all my life. How did you learn to do this?”
A grin graced his face as I commended him. “The Earth nymphs I grew up with taught me to dance, but it was a centaur named Chiron who taught me how to speak to the Earth and to soothe the trees and excite their leaves. For some reason, I have a difficult time communicating with trees anywhere else but here in Foloi Oak. I’m not sure if the trees just listen to me more or if we share a deeper connection, but nevertheless, it is why I brought you here. I wanted to show you this.”
“Well, I’m glad you did, Eurydalos. And now, more than ever, I want you to remain by my side. I wish for us to stay together. I’m not sure what lies ahead or what adventures await us, but as long as I have you, I can take on anything. Even the world,” I shared.
He squeezed my hands tight as I confessed this. “And I would love nothing more than to travel this world with you, Orpheus. Truly I would, but…” Eurydalos paused, glancing down towards the ground. His mood drastically changed, and he became immediately distressed, as if a huge boulder was thrown onto his shoulders.
“But what?”
“What of Aristaeus? I don’t think he would let me leave with you. I also fear he may try to hurt us if we fled together. He is a god, after all,” Eurydalos shared with worry.
I did not fully consider these circumstances. But I knew I had to keep Eurydalos away from Aristaeus. He would never touch nor harm Eurydalos ever again, so long as I was in the picture. However, there was the dilemma of how to get rid of Aristaeus so that Eurydalos was no longer in servitude to him. Running away was a risky option and might not bode so well for us. What if Aristaeus got other gods involved in this mess? Surely, they would view our actions as an act of treachery and betrayal. What would happen to us then? Would we be punished and forced to separate, never to see each other again? The only option that I saw as being a viable one was to tackle the problem head on.
“Let us pay a visit to Aristaeus,” I suggested.
“Are you serious?” Eurydalos asked with reluctancy. “You think that is the best idea?”
“Yes. I will explain to him my feelings for you and my wishes to have you with me, now and forever. He will have to come to terms with this. He may be a god and I a mortal, but I’m not just any mortal. I’m the mortal who defeated the sirens and helped King Jason of Thessaly rise to power. I will play that card if I must,” I spoke confidently.
“But Orpheus, you do not know Aristaeus as I do. He is cruel and not level-headed. He will not give me up so easily.”
“Then, I will force him to if I must. Mark my words, Eurydalos, I will not leave his home until he concedes and allows you to come with me.”
Chapter 15
Truth be told, as valiant as I seemed in front of Eurydalos with informing him that I held no worry with confronting Aristaeus to tell him that I was taking Eurydalos away, part of me was timid about the whole thing. But I could not reveal this to Eurydalos, for he was even more hesitant than me. I could not show any weakness in front of my lover, for if I did, it would only alarm him and he would likely suggest that we call off our visit with Aristaeus. And this, I could not allow to happen.
Eurydalos was now, more than ever, part of my life and I had plans for him to be in it in the future as well. Even with this resolve in my heart, the panic struck me, with wondering how Aristaeus would handle this. Based on Eurydalos’s description of the god, I could sense he was egotistical, tyrannical, and would likely try to put up a fight against me for taking his servant boy from him.
What then? Surely, he would destroy me if we got into a spar. He is a god, after all. Not only this, but suppose we settled this score amicably. The only way to sort this out fairly would be to seek the guidance of a higher power, which would be another god. Aristaeus had the connections I did not. Other gods would likely speak in his favor, in which they would demand I hand Eurydalos over to him and for me to never see him again. The only god I knew personally was Apollo, and I knew he would be damned to the Underworld before he would assist me and my new lover. It would be a huge strike to his ego if the God of the sun ever helped his former lover find love again. Seeking him out was not an option for me. Although, at this point, I wish it was.
Still, the thought of Eurydalos remaining under Aristaeus, with the god being able to hurt him while also forcing Eurydalos to make love to him, sent an earth-shattering wave of emotions throughout my body. I could not stand the thought of it. And so, these sentiments would be what would drive me to press onward and find a way to convince Aristaeus to let Eurydalos go. To allow him to be mine. As for how I would go about in doing that, I hadn’t the slightest clue. Hopefully, in the time Eurydalos and I spent traveling to where Aristaeus lived, I would manage to come up with something.
But as of now, nothing was coming to my mind. We had spent well over a day journeying back toward the northern end of Thessaly to the Vale of Tempe, a luscious green gorge located just north of Mount Ossa.
“And where are we to go, after we visit Aristaeus?” Eurydalos asked me, as he walked beside me, the two of us hiking down the slopes into the valley.
“I want to take you to my home in Thrace. You will love it there. I cannot wait for you to meet my family. You’ll especially love Terpsichore. She is the muse of dance. I’m sure you two will get along great,” I shared.
“And your father and mother will be okay with us living in their castle?”
