[ Finally, the chapter is finished! Sorry it took so long! ]
"... And those stars that connect to look kind of wavy? That's the constellation of Draco. He's the dragon that 'wraps' himself around the North Pole—" Maisie stops herself midsentence. "I'm boring you, aren't I?" She laughs with chagrin.
"Not in the least. I understand why you have such interest in these stories; they're fascinating."
Edward smiles, still looking up at the stars Maisie had pointed out. They lie side by side on the damp grass, hands behind their heads. The sound of the flowing river rushing against the rocks is peaceful and fitting in the woods.
"Which one's your favorite?" Edward asks.
Grinning, Maisie answers, "The Orion. You see those three stars lined up right there? That's 'Orion's Belt'... and the four stars around that is his body and head. The myth is really interesting. My dad never got tired of telling me the same story over and over again."
"What's the myth?"
"You won't fall asleep? Metaphorically," She adds.
Edward chuckles. "No, I'm actually curious."
With another grin, Maisie begins her story.
* ~ * ~ *
Orion was a man whom everyone honored. He was a skillful hunter, a brave and strong fighter, and incredibly handsome.
The story begins when he fell in love with the princess of Chios, Merope, and asked her father for her hand in marriage. The king of Chios agreed to let Orion marry his daughter if he destroyed the beasts that plagued his kingdom.
Orion easily defeated these beasts, and proudly went back to Chios to marry Merope, only to have the king denying his agreement. Angered, Orion tried to take the princess by force, breaking into her room. The guards caught him, and as ordered by the king, threw him into the sea.
The next day, the goddess Artemis found the handsome man washed up on the shore, and fell in love with him instantly. Caring for him in her home, her love for him grew deeper and deeper until she decided to marry him.
Apollo, Artemis's brother, however did not approve of their love, and could not allow them to marry. He sent a deadly scorpion to kill the man in his sleep.
Orion was hunting that night on the shore when the black scorpion suddenly attacked him. He fought the monster for hours until he felt the need to retreat. He thought about running back to his home, where plenty of deadly weapons were hidden—deadly weapons that could kill this beast.
But he remembered the goddess who cared for him and loved him, resting peacefully in the room next to his own. Despising the thought of leading such a dangerous threat anywhere near her, he instead retreated to the sea, swimming away. The scorpion followed.
Early in the morning, Apollo somehow knew that Orion was not yet dead. He took Artemis to the coast to hunt, making sure that she wouldn't recognize the absence of her soon-to-be-husband. At the beach, he saw a figure in the water, moving. Realizing that it was Orion swimming, he challenged his sister to hit the 'whale' in the distance, knowing she never missed a single target in her life. Proving herself to her brother, Artemis released the arrow, hitting the target perfectly.
As she waited for the dead carcass to slowly make its way towards her, she saw the face of her lover. While mourning Orion's death, another dead body washed up on the shore: the black poisonous scorpion that had drowned, trying to swim after its enemy.
Artemis put Orion's beautiful image up in the dark heavens that night. Every day of eternity, however, Orion runs from the black scorpion, always keeping a distance away...
* ~ * ~ *
"...And so the constellation for the Scorpio is always on the other side of the earth from Orion. That's the whole myth," Maisie ends the story with a sigh.
"Wow," Edward murmurs. "That's... Wow."
Maisie laughs. "Yeah. I think my dad tells it better, though. Every time he told me the story, it was different."
"Do you..." Edward closes his eyes. "Do you think he's up there?"
Both Maisie and I know that he's not really asking about her father specifically.
"Yeah, I do," She answers slowly, careful not to let anything slip. "I mean, there has to be something out there for all of us. I don't want to believe that it just ends right here when time is up, you know?"
"Right," Edward whispers. Pain and confusion strangles his voice, making him almost inaudible. "I don't really know what to believe anymore. I don't want to."
"Edward..." Maisie hesitates.
Don't do it, Maisie. I plead her angrily, miserably. Don't.
She exhales deeply and squeezes her eyes shut, long seconds passing by.
"Look, she's out there, Edward. You have to believe that. And I really do think that there's something waiting for our kind, too. Something that could be better than this world. You never know. But that's just the thing—once the time comes for that, there's nothing you could do about it anyways. So you do what I do: live for the moment."
Edward pushes himself up to his feet slowly, not meeting Maisie's eyes when she props herself up on her elbow to look at him. "Yes, Maisie, maybe you're right. But it's far too late for that now. For me, anyway."
With that, he turns and tiredly darts back into the trees, out of the small meadow.
That was just great, I grumble to Maisie. I thought we agreed not to tell him.
She falls back onto the grass, running her hands through her red hair. "Yeah, well, when do you plan to surprise him with the big newsflash?" She mutters sarcastically.
Just watch what you say, I warn her.
* ~ * ~ *
Edward, in the middle of the forest, sinks down by a large tree, leaning his back on it. He ran for a long time now, passing the house and then going further north, needing to escape for a while. It's completely dark out here. The tall trees above block any moonlight that is out tonight.
Did I 'live for the moment' when I was with her? Could I admit to that?
Yes. Yes, I did. I cherished ever minute of every day she was by my side, and every minute of every night when I watched her sleep so peacefully. I did live for the moment, and I never took it for granted.
What about now? Now, when I'm not really living at all; no real moments to live for.
The myth about Orion and the goddess who loved him, Artemis... Artemis, who killed her lover without any knowledge of his identity. And Orion, who risked his life to save the one he loved.
I suddenly realize who he compares the characters to, and to what situation.
If Artemis knew how Orion would die before taking him to her home, would she have just left him there, on the shores, even if she fell in love with him that instant? Would she have cared for him, and kept loving him still?
And would Orion have led the scorpion to the ocean even if he knew his deathly fate? Would he have risked his life anyways, just to save his loved one?
Edward was so buried in his own thoughts that he didn't hear rapid footsteps dashing towards him.
"Edward?" Alice's voice calls out. "Maisie!"
Breaking out of his agonized reverie, Edward gets up, hearing the panicked tone in her voice.
Alice runs up to him, a worried expression on her face. "Edward! Where's Maisie?"
Instead of waiting for an answer, she darts off again. Edward follows behind on her heels.
"Alice, what's wrong? Did you see something?"
She nods once. "There's a human near her. She's going to lose control."
[ I will try to have the next chapter up by tomorrow or the day after that. Thanks for reading. Please, please review! I would really love that. Thanks! ]