Part 2: Chapter 5

Ariadne

From the throne I sat upon, I listened to the loud and merry music that was being played, and quietly watched the thiasus partake in the excitement and ecstasy of the feast. All were drinking, laughing, dancing, singing and mating; enjoying themselves to their heart's content and liberated of the stress that plagued their minds.

But as I cradled the half-empty chalice of wine between my fingers, I could not join them, for I was having too many burdening thoughts of what my husband must be going through right now.

The thought of not knowing what was happening to him and what was to come frightened me greatly.

Resting at my feet, my leopard nudged its head against my leg. I slid my eyes away from the sight of the revelry to it, and immediately met its shining brown eyes which were looking at me in concern. I felt my lips tilt into a half-hearten smile as I bent down to caress its head. It purred in content, rubbing its head even more against my leg as a show of mutual affection.

My attentions were suddenly pulled away when I heard high and shrill voices shouting my name.

"Lady Ariadne! Join us, Lady Ariadne!" shouted a group of young Maenads that were dancing wildly in a circle in front of me.

Kyria, who was among the dancers, broke out from her place in the circle to come up to me. She took my hands in hers – making the chalice fall to the ground and spilling the half-drunken wine in it, alarming my leopard that reacted in shock – and gently tried to pull me away as she exclaimed in drunken laughter, "Come, Lady Ariadne! This is not a night where you should sit down on your throne and watch! Dance and drink with us!"

Despite feeling the strong urge to follow them and enjoy myself to forget about my qualms, I politely pulled my hands away and stayed seated.

"Um, no… It is alright…" I told them meekly, but then feeling embarrassed by the strange looks that Kyria and the other Maenads were giving me. Strange to think that, despite being the Queen of the Bacchic revelries, I was still bashful of such looks of strangeness that I received from others.

Thankfully, I was not met with scornful reaction. Instead, Kyria asked me with a curious expression that held just a smidgen of concern, "Are you thinking about Lord Dionysus, Lady Ariadne? Wondering what is going on in the great Mount Olympus?"

With a sigh, I nodded my head. "Yes," I admitted to her truthfully. "I'm just afraid something might happen to him."

Seeming to want to comfort me, Kyria took my hand back in hers and held onto it gently, just as another Maenad picked up the fallen chalice and filled it up with rich reddish-purple wine before offering it back to me. I took it with thanks, just as Kyria exclaimed in comfort with a giddy smile, "It's okay, m'lady! I'm sure that Lord Dionysus is fine!"

I could only smile at her reassurance, grateful that she was trying her best to cheer me up. But deep inside, I was still feeling troubled with worry.

Dionysus

I was about to accept defeat and prepare myself to face the consequences that were to come.

But just then, a voice spoke up immediately, breaking through the silence that had ensued once I had ceased my tongue. It was as though she knew that I was at a losing end, and was coming in quickly to save me.

"Lord Zeus, I agree with Dionysus," Artemis announced steadfastly as she stood from her throne.

Everyone's attentions turned to her immediately, with mine included. Her eyes found mine then, and although her dark pair was calm and neutral to the eyes of the others, I could see the look of reassurance and helpfulness within them. Artemis gave me just a hint of a smile, to tell me 'It's alright because I am with you' before becoming neutral expression once again as she looked away.

Zeus was clearly quipped with interest as to why Artemis, of all people in this very council room we were in right now, would be the one to suddenly speak her opinion. Most people would think of her as the last person to agree with anything I would say, and I could see that our father was clearly one of them.

"State why this is so, Artemis," he said to her.

Without a moment's hesitation, Artemis spoke aloud with confidence, "My fellow Olympians. Do you not see that what Dionysus is doing would also be something that we would have done? To lay mishap upon a lower being who dares insult us; is that not the natural thing we would have done? Why should we not bring punishment upon a being that so blatantly think that they could speak ill of us and get away with it? Such foolish pride they have to dare even think of insulting an Olympian!"

She turned her head to the left to look at Apollo, asking him, "My brother, do you not remember your conflict with the satyr Marsyas, who dared to challenge you to a competition of music? And when you won easily, for you are the great God of Music himself, did you not punish him for his insolence by having him flayed alive, skinned of his hide, and nailed by you to a pine tree?"

Apollo looked at his sister with conflicting eyes, but I knew that he himself could not deny that what she was saying was right. Seeing him being struck by Artemis' words made me swell in pride, for I was glad he had deserved some form of comeuppance for the way he spoke to me a while ago.

When Apollo did not answer – but everyone knew that it was the truth –, Artemis then turned to Aphrodite, and asked, "And what of Cenchreis, mother of Myrrha? Aphrodite, you yourself cursed her when she proclaimed that her own daughter's beauty was one that was far more greater than yours, by having Myrrha be consumed with never-ending lust for her own father Cinryas and initiate a sexual affair with him."

Aphrodite scowled at the mention of the name 'Cenchreis' and haughtily replied in annoyance and irritation, "The wench deserved it. Good for her to suffer the sting of infidelity, and the pain of knowing that her husband's mistress was none other than her own daughter herself."

After that, Artemis turned to Athena, and said confidently, "And you yourself, Athena, had experienced such a thing. Recall Arachne, the foolish mortal girl who dared to proclaim and boast that her skills in weaving were far more greater than yours. After you had challenged her to a competition of weaving, you had cursed her to spend the rest of her sorry days as an insignificant spider, did you not?"

Athena remained neutral-faced as she heard Artemis' words. My older half-sister had always been capable to keep serious at every moment, and now was no different. But I could tell from her eyes that she was listening to what Artemis was saying and was taking it into thought.

And then, she said openly, "I myself will say that I have punished many who so daringly proclaim that their skills in hunting surpass that of my own, and also those who dare to violate the wildlands of which I rule as its goddess and caretaker. And I always make sure that their punishment would be harsh, to equate for the insolence they had committed against me."

Finally, Artemis spoke to address the whole council who were listening attentively to her words. "You see, my fellow Olympians. Dionysus' case is not a real genuine one, because we all have, at one point in time, had lower beings that dare to commit hubris against us, and we would always lay punishment upon them for their deed. It is a common thing for all of us. So why should we single out just Dionysus at this moment? What's more, a half-blood dares to threaten to wage war against him! Is that reason not enough?"

Everyone continued to remain silent, and I studied each and every one of their faces. All of them looked to be in deep thought, their minds thinking over all the words that Artemis had confidently delivered. I could see it in their eyes that they found truth in her words, and were beginning to have second thoughts about having me punished.

But just then, Hera suddenly spoke up with a tone of voice that was heavy with skepticism, "But do not forget that it is Dionysus' curse that caused the entire city of Argos to start to fall into ruin. It is a dire consequence upon the innocent lives that had no part to play in the conflict between him and Perseus. It is a result of his actions, and that we cannot simply ignore."

I scowled internally, thinking angrily to myself how it was so expected of Hera to try to find reason to prove that the entire thing was indeed my fault and heighten my chances of receiving punishment. How she would do anything to see me get in trouble!

However, Artemis seemed to have caught on to Hera's intentions. Looking at the Queen right in the eye, she confidently said, "Dionysus had no intention for the land of the city of Argos to suffer under the curse. He had placed it on just the women, and no one else. It is the mortals themselves who had harmed the lands by their own hands. They could have chosen not to, but they did."

Artemis took her seat then, having finished all that she had wanted to say. Hera opened her mouth, as to say something, but then she slowly shut it back. The pride in me swelled until it seemed to overwhelm my entire form when I saw that the Queen could not come up with any other argument.

I sighed discretely in relief that Artemis had come to my aid in the nick of time, and she must have saved me from some serious trouble.

Zeus, who had been quiet listening in attentiveness to Artemis' words, stroked his bearded jaw in careful thought as he said, "I can see very well now that Dionysus' actions had indeed been one of reason, and not of careless impulsiveness."

And then, he sat back in his seat, continuing to look deep in thought as he pointed out, "But he would still have to do something about Perseus. The demigod must be shown punishment for his crime of committing hubris, and Dionysus must do something about him that will not do harm to the entire city of Argos."

Ares did not like this idea very much. "But the action of a king would be the action of the entire city! I say that Dionysus should lay waste upon the land!"

His suggestion was only met with a look of heavy disapproval by Zeus and a look of menacing anger by Hera. The others – save for Aphrodite – eyed him hard, not seeing eye-to-eye with his wish for more destruction. To be honest, I myself did not really completely oppose to the idea. Although I knew that I did not wish to cause more harm upon Argos than necessary, the thought of destroying it just to teach Perseus a lesson really did tempt me.

But in the end, it was the side of me – most probably the 'human' side of me – that settled for no further violence that won.

It was at that moment that Athena, who had been silent throughout the entire exchange from the very start as she listened carefully and attentively to the words that were being said and exchanged, spoke up.

"Let us all not be fools and be so impulsive to do that," she said with a tone of haughtiness that was directed solely towards Ares. "I have come up with a solution to solve this dilemma."

"Ah, then speak, wise Athena," Zeus said with a relieved smile, obviously glad that his favorite daughter and most trusted adviser had finally spoken. "Enlighten us on what you suggest we do to curb this situation."

Athena stood up from her seat, and said without a moment's hesitation but with utter confidence, "I suggest that Dionysus accepts Perseus' challenge without hesitance."

A few audible gasps could be heard from here and there, shock at the wise Athena's strange words. All of us had, of course, expected words of wisdom and strategy to flow from her voice, but indeed it was strange to hear her speak words that mirrored that of Ares'.

Before anyone could ask her if she had lost her mind and such, Athena continued on without even a single hitch in her voice.

"However, limit the expanse of this challenge from a full-out war to just a personal duel between the both of you. The people of the city of Argos had nothing to do with the conflict, and thus there is no reason for them to be part of it now. Furthermore, this could save so many lives, of both the people of Argos and the followers of Dionysus."

Hearing that, many of the rest hummed in agreement, seemingly glad that Athena did not actually have the mind-set of Ares and that she was able to come up with a wise – and admittingly good – idea.

Athena maintained the neutral and nonchalant expression on her face as she continued speaking.

"Also, I suggest that Dionysus ask for something out of this fight if he were to win. Bearing in mind that Perseus did indeed commit hubris against him, the demigod must of course submit to anything he says if he lost. But do not take this duel as a way of getting revenge, Dionysus. Treat this as a noble act to protect your name and rites, to show Perseus that you would not be so very petty as he was when he decreed war upon you. But if you were to succeed, you should release the citizens of Argos from the curse, to give them reason to think of you as a fair and merciful god."

Athena sat back down on her throne, just as Demeter said, "I would agree with Athena. It is best to take this battle of conflict as a noble pursuit, to prove your right as a true god."

"I agree with Athena as well," Hermes said.

"As do I," Hephaestus added.

Poseidon, Artemis, Apollo and Aphrodite spoke of their agreements to the plan as well, and that left Ares and Hera who so clearly disagreed with it.

"I still say that we should settle this problem right here once and for all," Hera complained in annoyance, her murderous glare locked on me.

"And I say that Perseus and his precious city should be in ruins for his crimes!" Ares exclaimed demandingly, annoyed at the fact that everyone else was agreeing to his rival's idea.

Zeus was clearly unimpressed by the reasons of his wife and son, for he simply ignored them and declared, "Then it is decided. Dionysus will travel to Argos and face Perseus in a duel, and will also demand for compensation if he were to reign victorious. And the people of Argos would ultimately be released from their troubles."

I did not do anything to disagree with the declaration because I myself completely agree to it. Athena's idea did in fact seem good. I knew I could handle a duel between myself and a demigod, and it would certainly help to save more lives. I had lost quite a number of followers during the war with the Indians, and I most certainly do not want to lose any more ever again.

However, the thought of once again engaging in battle was starting to make me feel heavy on the inside; completely from dread and anxiety. And maybe the thought of not knowing what was the outcome of this upcoming duel that contributed to my growing heaviness. I do not know what I might gain out of it, or what I might lose in the process.

Zeus called out for Hermes, and my half-brother promptly stood up from his throne as our father commanded, "Send word to Perseus of our final decision, and advise him to prepare for his upcoming duel to Dionysus. I want this to be a fair fight between the both of them. But if he does not comply and does anything in retaliation, bring back word to us."

Hermes bowed down his head, saying, "Understood, Lord Zeus. I shall proceed to Argos immediately."

It was then the others had stood up from their thrones. In a late second because I was still quite deep in thought, I immediately shot up from my seat, standing with the others in respect as Zeus bowed his head to end this council meeting before walking down the steps of his dais and walking out of the room first.

One by one, the others trailed out of the room, and I waited for everyone else to leave before I got down from my dais and exited last. When I was very sure that everyone had gone their separate ways and no one would see where I was going, I followed the way Artemis had left because she was the only person I wanted to see right now.

She had left the council room alongside Apollo, but she was alone when I caught up her walking down one of the corridors. Thank Mount Olympus.

I called out to her immediately, and she turned to face me. When I was standing in front of her, I said graciously, "Thank you, for coming to my aid. Zeus would have placed a heavy punishment upon me if it had not been for you."

I took Artemis' hand in mine and brought it to my lips to place a small kiss on her knuckles, as a way to show her how absolutely thankful I was for what she had done. Athena may have come up with the plan to my predicament, but Artemis was the one who saved my skin from trouble in the first place.

Artemis accepted it without word, not making any form of refusal as I gave her my thanks. "It is not a problem, Dionysus," she said. "I'm just glad that something had been thought up to face this issue."

"As am I," I sighed in relief, managing a small smile to come to my lips. "Now all I have to do is just face Perseus in a duel, and win."

But then, I noticed her eyes being clouded with a troubled expression. She looked at me in deep thought, clearly being bothered by something that was going on in her head.

Gulping down an uncomfortable lump that was starting to form in my throat, I asked, "What are you thinking?"

Artemis let out a long and heavy sigh that she had clearly been holding in, before asking, "How do you think Ariadne would react to this?"

The burdening feeling that had been harbored from deep within my gut became very unbearable at this very moment at the thought of Ariadne. For the past while, she had not been on the forefront of my mind, having been pushed aside by thoughts of Perseus, getting in trouble as a consequence, and having to travel to Argos to challenge him in a fight to prove my rights as a god.

Most unfortunately, Artemis was quick to detect the hesitance that suddenly overcame me, and she frowned in suspicion as she looked at me hard in the eye. "Dionysus, you did tell Ariadne about all this, didn't you?" she questioned me.

I did not answer, ashamed of the truth.

"Dionysus," she said my name in a mixture of a groan of annoyance and a sigh of frustration, looking at me deep in the eye in disappointment. Artemis shook her head, saying in exasperation, "Ariadne cannot not now about this. What would she think of?"

I turned my head away from here, feeling completely shameful and afraid for not telling my wife about this. It was true; I had not told Ariadne about any of this at all since the very beginning I heard about it from Artemis. I had placed the curse upon the women of Argos without the knowledge of my wife, and had kept it a secret from her.

From Artemis' question, I was very sure that overall, once Ariadne had found out, she would be absolutely furious.

Lean, spidery fingers took hold of my chin firmly yet gently, turning my head so that I was once again facing my older half-sister. I could not look away from her eyes which were boring into mine. In her midnight blue orbs, there was still disappointment, but there was also reassurance.

With a sigh, Artemis told me calmly, "Dionysus, you have to tell her. She needs to know."

Oh, but I do plan to tell her. With every feeling of dread and anxiety that burdened my heart at the thought, I will most certainly tell her.

Author's Note:

A serious and unhealthy haze of smoke is now clouding over Singapore, having been caused by many heavy forest fires in Indonesia. It is so thick that we can't see things outside clearly, and it irritates the eyes and causes coughing fits; it was even worse for those with asthma and breathing problems. The main problem is that it makes the whole country entirely hot no matter what time it was or where were you (I'm serious... it's 12.26 am here and I'm sweating like hell right now in my bedroom, which has the air-conditioner turned on at FULL BLAST) and the smell is horrible (the 'lovely' scent of ash, smoke and chemicals...)

Apparently, its the worse haze we had in years. As a result, I, along with many others, have been advised to stay inside until it passes. So, unable to spend my vacation outside, I stayed inside and continuously watched The Avengers, BBC Sherlock and The Hobbit (ugh, so many fangirl feels T~T)...

And I completely forgot to complete this chapter, which had just been finished up about a minute before publication on this website.

Seriously guys. This haze is seriously getting to me right now. I don't mind having my vision fogged up, but its the heat I can't stand. Singapore's already a hot place on its own before, but now it feels like I'm being cooked alive in a baking oven. I can't go a few seconds without sweating. As a result, I can't get the mood and the drive to do things.

But thank goodness I managed to finish this chapter. At least it helped to distract me for a while. I don't even know if it's good, but it's the best I can do right now.

So see you on Friday, guys. Sorry if I seem like a drag today :(

Muse of Fanfiction