In Athens, Greece, Egeus's daughter, Hermia was with her best friend Helena. They would often always be found together. Hermia and Helena would often venture off into the woods and into town and look at all the stands on the sides of the streets. Everywhere Hermia went, Helena wasn't far behind.
Egeus had been looking for the perfect gentleman for his daughter to marry. He had found one named, Demetrius. Demetrius was in love with Hermia, but Hermia, however, didn't return the offer of love. In fact, Hermia was never in love with Demetrius. Sure, she loved him, but like a brother or a friend. She didn't care for him that way.
One day, Hermia and Helena were walking side by side down the marketplace with their arms linked together. Hermia and Helena were just having their normal chatter about nothing and what they had for dinner the previous evening.
"Oh Helena," Hermia said draping her arm over her friends shoulder, "Demetrius is so infatuated with me, it drives me insane," She said with a long sigh at the end, "Every morning I wake up, he has a new bouquet of flowers by my bedside and my breakfast sitting right by it."
"Well, I think it's awfully sweet of him to do that," Helena said gently pushing her friends arm off of her shoulder, "I don't know why you aren't in love with him, he's such a gentleman."
"It's easy for you to say," Hermia said standing up straight, "You're not being forced into a marriage with him," She said and cleared her throat and they continued walking along, "There's also the fact that you're completely in love with the man."
"Oh hush, you," Helena said lightly slapping Hermia's hand. Helena felt the warmth spread over her cheeks as the blush rose on her cheeks making her face a fiery red.
"Oh look, someone's blushing!" Hermia teased with a giggle. Helena knew that she was, indeed, blushing. Hermia was correct saying she was in love with Demetrius. The pair had exchanged a few words, but he's far too in love to see that Hermia doesn't really love him. Helena often sits in her bedroom at night dreaming about a life with Demetrius if he ever did love her.
"Now, now, Hermia," Helena said looking at her best friend, "If you don't want Demetrius, find yourself another man," Helena said placing her hands on her small waist, "Because I know a girl who would happily take your suitor," She said glancing around hoping Hermia wouldn't notice she was in fact talking about herself. Hermia knew exactly who Helena was talking about. Hermia couldn't help but let out a light laugh.
"Helena," Hermia said with a serious tone in her voice, "I know that you are talking about yourself. I know for a fact you would happily find me a man just so you can have your precious Demetrius," Hermia said frankly. The two were so serious; they were unable to take it any longer. They burst into loud laughter. As people walked past the two, strange looks were given to the women.
"Insolent young girls," One extremely grumpy man said as he passed by with his wife walking alongside him. His wife murmured a response to him and the man let out a sigh.
"I mean it, Hermia, you need to find someone else to love if you don't want to marry Demetrius," Helena said as the women stopped at a jewelry stand and looked over the hand crafted possession, "You will never be happy if you don't find true love."
"Yes I will," Hermia insisted, "I don't need love to be happy," She said to Helena, "I just need to be me to be happy, that's all I need," Hermia said letting her hand glide over the stone of a necklace. Hermia knew what she was saying wasn't entirely true, but she tried to make it believable so Helena wouldn't question her any further.
"I know that's not true, Hermia," Helena said quietly. She placed her hand on Hermia's shoulder in a caring manner. Hermia let out a long sigh and glanced at her best friend's eyes.
"I know," She said glancing at the stone she was beneath her feet, "But its okay to believe what isn't true, right?" She asked hoping the answer would be a simple yes. Helena didn't say anything to Hermia about the question she just asked. All Helena did was remove her hand from Hermia's shoulder and crossed her arms and steered her and Hermia away from the jewelry.
Hermia didn't like the silence. In fact, she despised the sudden silence between Helena and her. She wanted an answer to her question that was left unanswered. She had thoughts running through her mind trying to figure out if having beliefs about things that aren't necessarily true is okay. She knew that at times it wasn't, but at times it was. She was confusing herself with all these questions that were buzzing around her head. Out of all the questions that were buzzing around her head, only one stood out. Did she need love in her life to be happy?
As she strayed from Helena as she thought about the questions in her head, she wandered into the garden off to the side of the market. She sat down on a bench and looked at the vibrant colored flowers surrounding her. Hermia always had a fascination with the beauty of the flower. She loved how there were some of the same kind, but they were all different in their own unique ways. She especially loved roses. Her favorite rose wasn't the typical red rose, but the ones that were white with hints of pink in them: hybrids. Those were her favorite because they weren't the typical rose, they were different. They were so much prettier than the red roses, Hermia thought.
As Hermia sat on the bench in the garden with the flowers, a young man by the name of Lysander stood off to the distance admiring her. He found her beauty intriguing to him. Even though Lysander had never met the young girl before, he felt as if he had to have her and call her his. He didn't know how long he was standing there, but he never wanted to leave this spot that he had a perfect view of the perfect girl for him.
Hermia felt as if she were being watched. She knew it wasn't the uncanny stare that Demetrius would often give her, but the feeling that someone was admiring her from afar. She turned around and saw a young man standing there, leaning against one of the buildings with his arms crossed over his chest. Hermia got off the bench and made her way over to the young man.
"Excuse me," She said to Lysander, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you watching me?" She asked him batting her eyelashes. She found the young man extremely good looking. Hermia found no harm in flirting with the young man leaning against the tree.
"You are the apple of my eye," He said rather smoothly. Hermia rolled her eyes at the young man. She didn't find being smooth attractive. In fact, she loathed men who acted smooth in front of her, to her.
"I hate men who think they're smooth," Hermia said bluntly. Lysander let out a sigh thinking that he now has absolutely no chances of being with the young woman standing in front of him. Lysander loved how sweet and innocent she looked. Her voice, in his mind, rang like sweet Christmas bells, through his ears. It was a sound he could listen to for hours upon hours.
"I'm not smooth, I try, but I end up failing quite miserably," Lysander said hoping that this statement would help him get back into the game. Hermia smiled lightly and twirled some of her hair ringlets around her finger. She watched him seeing if he was making this up. She didn't see any evidence if he were lying so she gave a soft smile to the young man.
"Really, now?" She questioned circling around him and looking him over as she went around him in an easy circle, "Or are you lying?" She asked trailing her finger along his back. Lysander let out a nervous cough and cleared his throat.
"N-n-no, of course not," Lysander stuttered avoiding eye contact with Hermia.
"What's your name, boy?" Hermia asked lifting his chin to make him look at her. He avoided looking at her face and he let out a quick sigh and looked at Hermia.
"Lysander," He said loudly, "What is your name, fair maiden?" He asked her taking her hand in his and running his thumb over the top of her pale skin. She swallowed the lake of spit that was sitting in her throat and then opened her mouth to say her name.
"Hermia, my name is Hermia," She said repeating herself. Hermia couldn't believe how stupid she sounded repeating her name. Lysander didn't think that her saying her name twice was brainless, he thought it was adorable. Of course, he is being blinded by some sort of love.
"Your name is beautiful," He said to her. Lysander bent down and picked up a beautiful yellow flower and put the flower behind Hermia's ear, "There, it completes your look," Lysander said with a smile on his face. Hermia let out a soft sigh and looked at Lysander's ocean blue eyes and felt something. She felt love for him.
"Thank you, Lysander, that was very thoughtful of you to do that," Hermia said and Lysander gave Hermia a sweet smile. She looked down and noticed his hand was still holding her own pale hand. She pulled out of his grasp and crossed her arms and looked at Lysander.
"Where might I meet you if I wanted to speak with you, Hermia?" Lysander asked. Hermia smiled and blushed at the thought that Lysander wanted to speak with her once again.
"My house," She spoke sweetly and with a happy smile on her face, "It's down the hill over there and it's the large home with a gate in front," She said and saw Helena walking around in the orange lit area of the market.
"Hermia? Where are you?" Helena called to her best friend. Helena was frustrated with her best friend. She had just disappeared as if she had vanished during a magic trick done by a magician who had no idea what he was doing.
"I'll see you tomorrow at dawn," Hermia whispered standing on her tip toes and pressing her gentle lips to Lysander's cheek giving him a sweet kiss, "Remember, Lysander, dawn."
"Dawn," Lysander repeated with a smile, "I shall see you tomorrow in the morn, my fair Hermia," He said and kissed her hand and she walked off towards her perplexed friend who was still calling her name.
"Helena," Hermia said with an airy tone to her voice, "Will you quiet down, people are beginning to stare. You and I both know it's not always the best thing when people begin to look at you," Hermia said. Helena spun around quickly, wide-eyed, and her mouth was slightly ajar with a look of surprise.
"Where have you been, Hermia? Do you know frightened I have been?" Helena asked placing her hand over her chest, "You had me worried about you. What if someone had taken you? Your father would have murdered me!"
"Okay, mother," Hermia said with a slight giggle, "Besides, I'm fine, aren't I?" Hermia asked spinning herself around. She took the yellow flower that Lysander had given her out from behind her ear. She brought the flower up to her nose and smelled the sweet smell of the flower.
"Are you okay?" Helena asked, "You're not completely insane, are you?" She asked seriously, "Before you had wandered off, you were going on a rant about how you don't need love. What happened in that small time period where you were gone?" Helena asked. Hermia glanced around her and cleared her throat and looked at her best friend.
"Not here. Let's go back to my house and speak," Hermia said and grabbed Helena's hand and dragged her back to her home. Hermia quickly swung the Iron Gate open and ran inside pulling Helena with her. Hermia ran quickly past her father and Demetrius.
"Hey! I didn't even get to look at Demetrius!" Helena whined. Hermia threw her a glare and pulled her up to her bedroom and closed the large, wooden door behind them and locked it. She turned to Helena and smiled looking at the golden flower.
"So, what happened?" Helena said kicking her golden shoes off her feet and looking at Hermia with an expectant look on her face. Hermia just smiled widely and held the flower to her chest.
"I'm in love," Hermia said rather dreamily. Helena, however, was rather confused with when she fell and love and with whom.
"With who? That flower?" Helena asked. Hermia shook her head with a light laugh and lay on her bed staring at the beautiful flower in her hand. She looked at the flower, then at her friend.
"No," She said softly, "His name is Lysander. He's meeting me here at dawn," She said with a smile on her face. She was in a whole different world than she was before. She was in a world full of bliss and happiness. Hermia wasn't going to let anyone take her off of cloud nine.