Page 44 of Orpheus
Instinctively, I bowed down and kneeled before them. They were a god and goddess, after all. I knew better than to be ignorant and cause disrespect. Plus, I was in their territory now, in a world that belonged to them. They held all the power, while I was nothing more than a trespasser.
“Rise mortal!” Hades coldly demanded.
I rose to my feet as he commanded. “Tell us, who are you and how did you manage to cross the River Styx?” Persephone requested as she raised a curious brow to me.
“My name is Orpheus. I am the son of King Oeagrus of Thrace and the Superior Muse, Calliope.” As I announced this, Persephone sharply turned to her husband, with a shocked expression on her face.
Hades rubbed his chin menacingly, as if deep in thought. “Themusician Orpheus, who managed to overcome the sirens?”
I was stunned to hear the King of the Underworld himself speak this information of me. How was it possible that a god of his caliber could possibly know anything about me? It was then that I was fully able to realize just how famous I truly was. Even the gods knew of me and my feat with Jason and the Argonauts.
“Yes. That is me,” I confirmed to them. “And I played a tune for Charon using my lyre. Listening to my song, he accepted it as a token of payment and allowed me to cross Styx,” I added to answer the other portion of Persephone’s question.
“I see…” Hades simply replied. It was difficult to interpret his emotions and thoughts on my presence here. He managed to hide his feelings so well.
Persephone then chimed in once again. “Clearly, you are here on some sort of mission. Why else would a living mortal step foot into this land of the dead?”
I nodded. “Yes. I have come to retrieve someone. My lover, Eurydalos, recently passed, and I have journeyed here to bring him back to the surface.”
This prompted Hades to let out a deep, low-toned belly laugh. “You fool! And you think you can just waltz right intomyworld and retrieve him? If every mortal could bring back one of their loved ones from the Underworld, I would have no one to rule over. Yet, you think you have earned the right to step foot into my kingdom and do this very thing?”
I gave a deep gulp in nervousness, fearful of his raised voice. I had agitated the King of the Underworld and I needed to mend this or else it could end terribly for me. In that moment, I reflected on what Apollo had told me earlier, before we parted ways. “I suspect that you will not need luck with your artistic skill sets. Lean on them as you journey through the Underworld, Orpheus. Use the golden lyre I gave you to soothe even the most savage of creatures with your music. I know you have it in you.”
So, I did the only thing I knew how. I pulled my golden lyre out from my tunic and began singing to Hades and his queen as if my very life depended on it, which I suspected did.
I come to this world in peace, seeking just one simple thing.
To make a dire request to you both, my queen and king.
My Earth dancer, the love of my life, passed from my world too soon.
And since then, I’ve wept everyday over him, praying to the sun and the moon.
I have been overcome with grief, wanting Eurydalos in my arms.
For I cannot stand being without his beauty, his love, his irresistible charm.
I implore you, my king and queen, offering to you my wet tears.
Please, return Eurydalos to me, even if only for a few years.
Eurydalos will eventually return to the Underworld again in his old age,
And you will be able to have his soul then, so there should be no outrage.
I just ask that you grant me some time to spend with him until then.
For the world has never seen a love so strong, than between us two men.
As I stopped stroking the cords on my lyre, there was a hush that fell over the room. Silence lingered for far too long, making me feel slightly uncomfortable. Persephone and Hades just stared at each other with what seemed like a sullen longingness. It was as if they were able to communicate with each other without even having to utter a syllable aloud.
Soon, they both turned their heads to once again face me. “I have never heard of a sound so pure in my existence,” Persephone revealed.
“Your music is incomparable, young bard. You have managed to bewitch even us Gods of the Underworld,” Hades followed up with. “We will allow you to have Eurydalos back.”
I could not contain myself. I began to jump up and down with excitement. My heart was a flutter. It burned with a wild passion, knowing I would be able to see the love of my life once again.
“But there is one condition I must warn you of, before you can have him,” Hades began to explain to me. “When you and your lover step foot out of this castle, you can never gaze upon him. You must lead Eurydalos out of the Underworld and never look back at him. For if you do lock eyes with one another before you reach the surface, Eurydalos will vanish and he will remain here in the Underworld indefinitely, and you will never be able to see him again for as long as you live. Is that understood?”
