As Melantriche spread one last glob of pitch over the basket she felt the curious eyes of Karana boring into her. She glanced up. "What?" Her eyes narrowed.
"You're in a remarkably good mood." Melantriche shrugged, taking in a sweet breath of fresh air. It was hard to wipe the smile off her face. And why should she? It was a lovely day. The birds were singing, the dew was shining, and... a certain someone was in love. Despite the horrible soreness in her loins, she could easily ignore it somehow. That was probably the "punishment" he'd had in store for her, but it didn't change the fact that she felt more happy than she'd been in a long while. Even now, her head buzzed with exciting thoughts: Apollo loved her.
Well, maybe not love. He was much more callous than she'd ever imagined him to be, but he clearly had an interest in her, and she was living here now in a dwelling of his. That had to speak of something, right? And of course, she loved him. She loved him for more than anything in her entire life. If he asked her to dedicate her life to him than she would, without any hesitation at all. An image of his naked body flashed behind her eyelids and she had to resist the urge to squeal. Well, she would! "Afterglow." Karana said absentmindedly. Melantriche focused on the tall stacks of baskets surrounding her. Unlike yesterday's incident, she was filled with so much energy now that she had finished almost as many as Karana. She was secretly pleased with herself. These baskets would be used in service to Apollo, so she absolutely had to make the most of them. She wasn't nearly as experienced as Karana, but perhaps one day, she would be.
Karana was the woman from the day before, she found. She'd come only a short while after Melantriche awoke to an empty bed, limped her way across the room and eased herself back into her clothes. She was bloody, sore, and very sticky but she felt so lighthearted she greeted Karana with a broad grin when she walked through the door. Today she brought more baskets and was clearly jilted when she saw her new cheery demeanor. At least she was concerned. Today she was teaching Melantriche how to make waterproof containers. Melantriche herself had never used hot pitch before, and now she knew why. They wore sheets on their arms to avoid getting burned as they cooked the pitch in a big pot, and they had to be careful when spreading it over the baskets because it could burn the material. Also, it was smelly and gunky, hard to spread. It would be worth it, though, when Apollo saw how hardworking Melantriche could be.
In the afternoon they finished with a scorched pot and many waterproof baskets. Karana said they would be hung up to dry, and then they would take all the dishes down to the river to wash. Melantriche jumped up to carry one of the stacks, at which Karana frowned. "You're limping."
"I've got it." She replied cheerily, more focused on if it was a preference of Apollo's on baskets over jars. She hoped with all her heart that she would see him soon. Karana only sighed deeply, rolling her eyes as they carried all the materials off the porch. The palace was surrounded by a forest and then, beyond that was the lake which surrounded the temple. The water was clear blue and the wide stretch of it met the sky, so much that if not fo the other lands that sat on both sides of the island, Melantriche would have been sure it was the ocean. Not that she would actually know what the ocean looked like until now.
There were other girls here too, all of them ethereally beautiful. Melantriche knew as soon as she met gazed with them that they weren't human. A few of them buzzed around the flowery brushes. Most of them were dark-skinned like some of the servants back in her old home. Some of them stopped to stare at her too. Then Karana grabbed her arm.
"Meliae." She muttered, hurrying them along. "Don't talk to them. They're relentlessly annoying."
"Ok." Thoughts swam in Melantriche's head on how she ever survived in Athens. Stuffy house, scraggly green-brown bushes in the gardens. The fields that led to Brauron weren't nearly as green as these ones. None of the grass was patched or overgrown, and it was all so soft under her toes. There were more plants than she had ever seen in her whole life. The fragrant smell carried on the wind was intoxicating. She was no gardener—far from it—but she could see very clearly that her lord had an eye for aesthetics. It only just occurred to her then that she might be going out everyday from then on. The idea nearly made her leap for joy, only the pot was really heavy, and if they dropped it Karana would bend her ear off.
A little bit of space on the shore was covered in brick steps, where they scrubbed out the dishes. The burnt pitch reeked and on top of that it so caked on it was hard to scrub off. Melantriche ended up with a black rag before Karana handed her a knife. Flushed, she took it gratefully and started chipping away at the mess. Meanwhile, the other woman rinsed out plate after plate while simultaneously spewing complaint after complaint. "I busted my back over those gods-forsaken pies, and what does Eedi do? He just gobbles them all up and runs off. Not even a word of thanks, can you believe? Some days, I just want to ring that stupid goat's neck, I'm telling you."
"Eedi is a goat?"
"No, a satyr. I'm just saying... why do you look so shocked? Oh, right, I keep forgetting you're mortal." Melantriche shrugged nonchalantly, but inside she was quivering at the prospect of seeing a real satyr. So those were real, too.
"Maybe he was busy?" She offered. Karana scoffed.
"Yeah, like that would ever be the case. The only thing he's busy doing is kissing at Lord Apollo's heels. He's supposed to be the steward, but he just lords that title over us. Remember that. Just don't go near him if you can help it." Melantriche nodded.
"Speaking of which, I wonder when he'll be back. L-lord Apollo, I mean."
"Try not to get your hopes up. He hops from place to place faster than a frog. Most of the time, he's living the dream life on Olympus. I don't see any reason as to why he should come here." Feeling ruddy-faced, Melantriche looked down into her lap. She couldn't suppress her disappointment.
"I guess so."
"Hurry up and get that damned pot clean."
By late afternoon it was clean, and Melantriche's hands felt raw from all the unfamiliar labor. Sweat clinging to her neck, she stared at them. Ugly blisters! Karana just shrugged. "Pray you get callouses soon." But Melantriche was just glad the task was over and done with. There wasn't even a speck of pitch left. A faint mellow sound broke the air. Karana stiffened in the way a doe does and looked towards the top of the hill. It was a horn sounding. "That's unusual."
"What? What is it?" She sighed loudly.
"Well, I suppose you've got your wish. Here comes Lord Apollo now. We have to be in attendance, or else Eedi will bite off my ear again." Joy surged through every vein in Melantriche's tiny body. Suddenly she had renewed energy to run after Karana. When they crested she saw others rushing to the streets, too. That gave her even more of a reason to get there fast. If she wasn't in front then he wouldn't see her! She pushed her way through the crowd, ignoring Karana's calls after her. Everyone here was superhuman. She heard an annoyed grunt as she inched to the front. She was sure they would think she had no business being here. Embarrassment crept up on her, but she decided as long as she could see him then it would be worth it. She saw 3 figures coming up the left side of the street, but only one head was discernible from the rest, ignited fire in the sunset. A bubble of emotion swelled in her as she began to shout, hoping he would be able to notice her above all the other din.
"My Lord! Lord Apollo!" The shorter figure beside him had all his attention, seeming to speak passionately even though Melantriche couldn't hear him. He was a handsome man, if you liked stout fellows with small faces and beady eyes. He had a wreath on his head, and he wore no tunic. At first she thought he was wearing strange tights, but then she saw they were made of fur and were shaped very oddly. And there were hooves where his feet should have been. Satyr.
A hand clamped over her shoulder. She looked up and saw Karana's scowling face. "Don't go running off without me!"
"Is that Eedi?"
"Yes. Looking as big-lipped as ever." It was true, it looked as if he didn't even take the time to breathe, he was talking so much. But at that moment the eyes of the sun god glanced up and met her gaze. Heat rushed to Melantriche's face and she beamed, unable to control her fidgeting.
"Apollo, I'm here!" A bit of emotion passed his face. For a split second Melantriche hoped to believe that some warmth had been there, but it changed to discontent so fast she couldn't be sure it really was there. His face hardened into something cold as he looked away. Eedi has followed his gaze and was staring at her too. Melantriche could only stand there, still fidgeting but no longer in a good way. He didn't even smile at her. From her right side, she heard laughter. She turned around. A group of nymphs stood behind them. They were giggling behind their hands, particularly one girl. She was the most beautiful girl Melantriche had seen all day. She was tall, generously portioned and had pure ivory skin. Her long hair was fair blond and curled into ringlets, the kind of hair all the girls at home would have killed to have. She wore an ivy wreath on her head, and even though she was laughing, there was no good nature in her eyes as she glared Melantrich down. Her entire body heated in humiliation. She stared hard at her wringing hands.
"Don't pay any mind to them." Karana hissed. Even softer, she said, "he's an Olympian Prince. He must be very busy..." Melantriche nodded, even though she wasn't feeling it.
"I guess so."