LYSSANDRA

  His hands were warm now, caressing my arms and waist. I was trying to get out, but his grasp pulled me closer to his chest. Not a heartbeat. He had no heartbeat. But also, I couldn’t listen to my own heart. How long has it been since I heard that drum on my body?

  ‘’Don’t go’’He whispered with his lips, kissing my hair.

  I wanted to go. To leave this place, to leave him.

  But why? Why was I running away from him?

  The truth will change you.

  ***

  In a kingdom far away, there was a king who was gifted by Dionysus' golden hand. Each touch turned an object to gold. However, nobody knew the consequences.

  The god of messengers, the god of wine, and the god of death were now fighting at the top of a kingdom that had a mountain of golden corpses. No wonder, as no one knew if the people were alive or not, and they could not do their job properly.

  When I tried to break one of the golden hands in half, I noticed that even the inside of the once-human was now golden. The flesh, muscles, blood... everything.

  ‘’Do you think it will fetch a nice price?’’ Ariadne spoke from right behind me. She was not what I expected from the stories.

  The young princess who helped Theseus fight the minotaur and got stuck to be lord Dionysus’ bride… This woman was glowing from head to toe with her luscious dark braids tied up, as her golden lips were forming a bow for a smile. I could not stop looking at how freely she looked with her moving her beautiful dress and her hips as if no one was watching.

  Surprisingly, she and her Husband were the few gods that I enjoyed meeting, unlike the giant moth.

  Dionysus was a literal round, bright ball of light. He greeted me with respect while he was glancing with anger at Hermes.

  ‘’So, nice to meet you, my brother has talked so much about you.’’

  ‘’Interesting’’I smiled.’’He never said anything about you’’

  The god laughed and patted Hermes’s back. ‘’How dare you, brother, keep secrets from your wife?’’

  His silver face turned darker, and he tried to look away.

  ‘’I am not his wife’’I stated with my face burning.

  The god gasped in surprise. ‘’How dare you, brother?,’’

  ‘’I am already married’’He explained to his supposed younger brother. It seemed, after everything, Dionysus was his only family member to still like him. After all, from the myths that I read, Hermes raised him, so he probably owes a favor.

  The god gasped again, and his hand moved on my cheek, and I noticed how beautiful his purple eyes were.

  ‘’Would you like to be one of my wives and get away from him?’’

  ‘’Dionysus’’Shouted Hermes.

  For a moment, I thought about the offer, even if it was a joke. Staying away from Hermes did sound nice, and the god of wine as a husband sounded even better.

  ‘’I have husbands too if you are interested-’’

  ‘’She belongs to me’’Hermes explained again, and the mad god’s smile faded.

  ‘’Right’

  What was this about? Belonging? I knew that I made a deal before, but it felt like there was something more sinister behind it.

  ****

  ‘’I suppose butI hope they won’t turn back soon’’I mumbled and placed a few parts in my sack.

  ‘’And what will you do with it?’’ She asked and went on her knees to be close to our heights, even if she was as tall as any other god that I met.

  But she still looked so human compared to everyone else. Her dark eyes showed compassion and curiosity that I haven’t seen for a while.

  ‘’I suppose I can have a house, or jewels and dresses…’’She muttered.

  But where will I wear them? Why shall I have a house? What’s the use of having valuable things now that will not matter in a few centuries? It’s been decades since everything that happened in Egypt, and I still can’t accept that this would still be my faith. I tried to search for a way to get out, to escape, but each time I was trying to read, my mind was turning black and giving up fast.

  The goddess smiled at me and held my hand.

  ‘’Shall we go see another city?’’She thought and looked above, where the man that had the legs and horns of a bull looked down with a grin.

  ‘’We are leaving’’Ariadne shouted, and Hermes narrowed with suspicion. But he changed fast when Thanatos began to carry the statue of a king.

  Ariadne, a goddess and wife of a god, took a small boat and rowed far.

  ‘’When I heard about you…’’Ariadne spoke with a wince. ‘’I thought that you would be wilder.’’

  I remained silent, thinking those words for a while. Where did this wilderness go? Would it matter if they actually fought? What is my purpose now? Did I ever have a purpose? Who were the people that I once loved? Who was the man who was haunting me in my sleep?

  Compared to me, this woman had the air of life and freedom. She did not seem to be even a goddess, just a mortal who was full of…

  ‘’I expected you to be sadder,’’ I replied, and noticed that we ended up on another shore.

  ‘’How saw?’’ Ariadne asked and jumped from the boat, and I followed.

  ‘’You were taken by force. You must miss your family.’’

  Ariadne chuckled. ‘’Is this what they are taught you?’’ Her toes were digging deep into the sand, and my toe found an urchin. I tried to hold my scream and pain, but I realized soon that there was no need to shout. Because I could feel nothing.

  ‘’I saw you before, taking hemlock to drink with your water. May I ask why?’’ Ariadne kept walking deeper inside the wild forest of the island.

  ‘’I just wanted to see if it would work’’I explained to her, and she did not seem to show any sign of pity.

  ‘’Where are we going?’’ I asked with a sudden worry in my voice.

  But soon enough, there was a campsite in front of us with women dancing and drinking, or there were fabrics with the heads of bulls engraved on them, while there were furrs of leopard to the cold grass.

  A nymph found Ariadne’s presence and rushed close to her and let out a kiss on her cheek, and she tried to move close to me.

  By instinct, I moved back, and the nymph blinked in confusion. Ariadne, though, rested her hand on her shoulder and whispered something strange to her, making her leave.

  Nymphs, goddesses, and mortal women all celebrated while the men and satyrs were just a handful that I couldn’t even bear to notice.

  ‘’Is there any reason for celebration?’’ I asked and found a strange piece of meat being roasted to the blazes. It was too big to be pork but also too small for an ox, and yet it had a beautiful smell.

  ‘’Everyday is a celebration here, ’’She said and found a fountain of wine and took a cup and filled it slowly as she offered it to me.

  I stayed quiet and frozen as her golden smile faded.

  ‘’Immortality is harsh, Lyssandra’’She explained. ‘’But this can help you forget for a while, far from every worry.’’

  There was comfort and passion in her voice, and I realized how right she was. So, I took her offer and began drinking. The wine had the color of blood, and yet the taste was indescribable. One sip made me want even more. The drums and lyres made my mind heavier as I was moving with threads pulling me to their tune. My body wasn’t my own for that moment. And I loved it. That I had no worries, no emotions, with my mind becoming blank. I had no one to talk to, and I had no memories. I wanted to feel like that forever.

  But someone was kissing me. Someone did kiss me, and I let them with a vague memory now of a crimson fox. Who was that fox? Who was calling me?

  ‘’Lyssandra?’’ Ariadne’s voice woke me up, and I soon realized that I was above a pool of blood with my fingers digging deep into the flesh of a strange man.

  I should have been frightened. Why wasn’t I frightened? Why wasn’t I feeling any guilt?

  I hated it. I hated it, I hated…

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  People were coming close to me, and I was expecting something to happen. Instead, Ariadne told everyone to prepare for burial while she grabbed me by the hand and pulled me away from the crowd.

  I was expecting a scolding, but instead she made me walk to the lake. I wanted to drown at that moment. Or at least, feel like I am drowning. Maybe it could work, or make me feel anything.

  ‘’The first hundred years'’Ariadne spoke as she was washing my red hands. ‘’I tried to fall from a cliff, nothing changed though.’’

  ‘’I killed someone’’I whispered.

  ‘’Accidents like that happen very often here.’’She tried to calm me down.

  ‘’No, I don’t think that…I wanted to ….’’My lips were spitting thick saliva.

  I wanted it to happen. When he kissed me and touched me, I replied with joy. But I couldn’t bear the panic that my chest had. So I began to find a way to make him stop. Punching him, choking him, pushing his head down to the floor again and again.

  I wanted to hurt him.

  ‘’How can you all do it?’’ I asked. ‘’Move onas ife nothing happened?’’

  Ariadne’s brow arched, and she sat down next to me.

  ‘’I had a family once like you. I was living in a palace with bright colors and dancing every day and night. The music and festivities were loud enough to cover the screams and cries of my cursed brother. But I could always listen. I wanted to protect him. I wanted people to love him just like I did. And I wanted people to love me just like he loved me.

  But it wasn’t long before strangers found our shores. There was a man who faced me with eyes that I had never seen before. His gaze was soft with his words, speaking and dripping sweet honey.

  He loved me, and he needed my help. He wanted to free his people from the labyrinth, and I did help him. I betrayed my family for him, but they didn't love me. Not like he did. Not like…

  I saw my brother’s headinn the man’s hands. Dripping golden blood, and I was slowly realizing what just happened. The consequences of my actions were right in front of me. I tried to run back to my house to call my father, but what was the point? He would kill me the moment that I helped someone.

  So, the man grabbed me and forced me to move to his ship.

  Every night for moons, I wanted everything to stop. Until my feet found a shore, and then I saw a man dressed in a king’s clothes.

  He asked me for my name.

  I remained silent. I know the tricks well now. I knew the cruelty of the mortals and gods. Yet, his smile was kind. His sharp horns were reflecting the threads of the sun, making the man have a frightening presence. When my vision became better, I could see now that this man had no clothes of a king, but rather a poor, loose purple fabric around his clothes. His being dressed so commonly made me less scared.

  However, I remained silent, and he held my hand calmly and led me to his secret palace. A ruined temple, with women helping me bathe and dressed as he was offering me food and wine. Slowly, I realized that the man right in front of me was a god.

  I didn’t speak for days, and away from each festivity the place had. And he simply was with me, staring at me too as I was turning drunk and maniac.

  I hit things, burnt grape vines, and tried to attack anyone. How could I be so foolish? How could I betray my family for someone who was speaking with snakes in his tongue?

  But I couldn’t stay upset. I still had a life to live, didn’t I? I tried to join the girls in their festivities, help them with every need, and they tried to give me knowledge of the place I was in. A cult, worshiping the god of wine as he was offering shelter for any lowerborn and lost soul. So they could find a new life, a new goal.

  And with a few years passing, I noticed that the god grew an actual interest in me. I tried to look far from his stare. I tried to ignore the thought that I might not be just a lost soul to him. However, in the end, we began to be closer together. He was guiding me to the strange forests, he was offering dances, meat and wine. And one day.

  Be my wife.

  He offered me a golden apple.

  I admit that I grew fond of the man with horns and so I did but immortality wasn’t easy. I felt once again that I was back on the ship with the prince, back where I saw him holding my brother’s head. Back when I was driven into madness.’’

  Her eyes snapped, and she faced me. ‘’How did-’’

  ‘’I still don’t know’’I replied as I thought of those words and her story.

  ‘’What changed again?’’ I asked.

  And Ariadne smiled. ‘’I remembered that I simply had a long life. One day, I will be forgotten and die. And that makes me happy.’’

  Right. She was a goddess. Unlike me. She was driven to madness just like me but she found her way back. I wish I could have the power to do that. She is living for her death, but what do I have to live for?

  Was there a home for me back in Egypt? But how long will it last before it’s also a vague memory? I could turn back, but if Hermes…

  There was that fox again in my mind.

  Ariadne finally placed my hair tightly above my nape and moved my head closer to her by touching my chin. She was now wincing with her painful yet joyous eyes.

  ‘’I know that your place is not here’’She admitted and showed her head back to the broken temple. ‘’And neither is where you are ‘’

  The cold room with a pet waiting for another pet. Waiting hours, reading tablets and scrolls, and forgetting the reason that I started them. Waiting for him to appear to get out or tell me something interesting about the world.

  Ariadne cupped her hands together, and light appeared inside, and when she slowly opened it, there was a feather of a peacock.

  ‘’She will help you more than you can imagine.’’

  I blinked as I took the feather and hid it between my clothes. The Queen of the gods speaking to me?

  We moved back to the dancing, and we noticed that the burial ended minutes ago, and they were now eating the roasted meat. Ariadne offered me a piece and took a better look at it before asking.

  ‘’It’s human, isn’t it?’’

  The goddess smiled.

  Well, she might still be mad but I couldn’t say no to food. Whoever it was, it tasted terrible.

  The nymphs now seemed to actually enjoy my company as I was braiding their hair with flowers and was then dancing with them.

  For a while, I could almost think about smiling. But there was that fox again. His eyes were facing me with anticipation, waiting for a valley. Who was that fox?

  ‘’May I?’’ Hermes’ voice whispered right behind me, and I felt a sharp pain in my chest. He was offering his hand once again, with drums and lyres stopping at the presence of this god. And Ariadne jumped in front of him and began pushing him.

  ‘’You are not welcome here,’’ She shouted, and Hermes sneered.

  His covered eyes were deeply facing me, so I knew it was time for me to go.

  ‘’Thank you for everything’’I told Ariad,ne and she hugged me tight. If I could die, it would have been from her suffocating embrace.

  ‘’You can come whenever you need here’’She said and offered now the god of messages two jugs of wine.

  ***

  Back in the room, the god sat right next to my bed and was staring at me. ‘’How was it?’’He smiled and pointed at my braided hair.

  I touchea d few of my locks and I didn’realizeed the poppies that were placed on my braids. I could still embrace everyone, mortal or not. They were driven to the madness of freedom, but they knew how to live. They had goals of worship, goals to live a life with no shackles. For a second, I was with them. And now I envied them.

  I must get out. I will get out and find a place like this. I have a place like this. That I can protect, that I can help, and I will help-

  Who was the blonde man in my mind?

  ‘’It was nice'’I said, smiling, and Hermes turned to the pup.

  ‘’I will come back soon’’He showed me the jags and vanished with his staff.

  One, two, three. Three seconds passed, and I went to the closed doors. He once told me he would know that I would be out. But how true was it?

  I took a deep breath and opened the doors, only to find nothing. The room ended, and there was no floor. I was surrounded by clouds that were far from me, other buildings, and ruins.

  Cold sweat showered on my face. There was that worry again.

  The wind was cold and rough, brushing the poppies of my hair far from me, scatterinthem g to oblivion.

  One wrong slip and I would be down. How far was it? Could I actually survive it?

  I shook my head. It was now or never. I noticed slowly that the sound of the door was also a part of the cloud. I tested another cloud near me by reaching one hand to it while the other was holding myself from the door.

  Thin air. It evaporated.

  So I couldn’t jump to each cloud, but I might be able to to the ones that had objects. There was one twenty feet away from me, with an old, broken statue.

  I could wait for it to move closer, but how long would it take?

  Now or never. I returned back to my room, took a deep breath, and began running.

  Well, if I end up like pulp, it won’t be me who will do the cleaning.

  At the edge of the room, I took the jump. For a second, I felt that I was flying. The clouds all around the sky surrounded me, while there was none outside as I was moving freely.

  My feet ended up shakily on the cloud. And I stayed perfectly there.

  My lips quivered as I tried not to smile from relief, and I turned to the next cloud, which was fifty feet away.

  I swallowed hard as I thought that it would be impossible to jump. But that cloud had a house. It might belong to Hera or any other god.

  Hey, it’s me, your fellow god who has captured me for the past hundreds of years…

  Wait, how long has it passed? Why was I there anyway?

  Think of that later.

  One deep breath and one big jump. The gravity failed on me as I was two feet away from ending up in the cloud.

  No, No no.

  I cannot die.

  Wait, what was that?

  I reached my hand at the cloud and grabbed it tight, leaving me hanging in the void.

  There was that fox again and a familiar woman on its side. No, that was me.

  How could that be me? She looked so…

  Where was I? The forest felt so familiar with people surrounding them with joy. I knew them, I once knew them.

  How could I ever forget them? Was I actually losing my mind?

  My fingers began sweating as I was holding myself by four of my fingertips.

  Three.

  Two.

  ‘’No’’I shouted.

  One.

  Someone grabbed my hand.

  I looked up and saw a pair of feathers.

  Fear found my chest as the thought of being Hermes made me shake. That was it. He would…

  What would he do? Why can’t I…

  Forget Lyssandra.

  ‘’I was waiting for you Lyssandra’’Aphrodite answered.