Past

Meliae was devastated. The man she loved was in love with another woman. She thought that after she gave birth to his daughters, they would develop a bond. That didn't happen as she had hoped. Chara and Agapa's existence created a bond between Mintha and Archon. Mintha and Archon would care for the twins as if they were their daughters.

Meliae was crying about her predicament when a handsome stranger appeared. The stranger convinced her that Archon would love her if Mintha was not there. He could take Mintha far away to help her. All she had to do was feed Mintha some berries.

Meliae offered the berries to Mintha to eat.

Mintha held the berries to her mouth but didn't eat it yet.

"I have news to tell you." said Mintha.

"Tell me after you eat." said Meliae.

Mintha swallowed the berries and instantly fell asleep. Meliaae lay Mintha on the ground. The stranger revealed himself and came to them.

"You are not going to hurt her, are you?" Meliae asked him.

Meliae was angry at Mintha about Archon but she did not wish to harm her. They have been friends for years. Mintha helped her raised her twin daughters from newborns to adulthood. The twins viewed Mintha like she was their second mother.

"She will be fine." He picked up Mintha and carried her in his arms.

"And, and you will treat her well?" she asked him.

He didn't answer her and he vanished.

Meliae was left with the task of explaining Mintha's disappearance to Archon. She would tell him that Mintha's family members arrived to take her home. He would be upset in the beginning but she would be there for him. He would see her kindness and finally love her. With her plan ready, she called her daughters to come to her. Archon had taken Chara and Agapa with him to see Atlantis. He had invited Mintha to go but she declined. Meliae anticipated his invitation but to her disappointment he didn't ask her. He was not going to dismiss her like that again since Mintha was gone.

Chara and Agapa appeared before Meliae. Being born blind, Agapa was staring blankly in front of her. Chara avoided Meliae's gaze and looked at her feet. The sisters were holding each other's hand for support. By their behavior, Meliae knew something was not right.

"What is wrong?" Meliae asked them.

"Did Mintha talk to you yet?" asked Chara.

"About Mintha, her family arrived to take her home to marry her betrothed. She won't be coming back." Meliae told them the story she rehearsed.

Chara and Agapa grip on each other's hand painfully tightened. They knew that Mintha would not leave without telling them and feared the worse. They sensed the hostility Meliae had against Mintha since they were children. Mintha was oblivious of it.

"You are lying. Where is Mintha?" asked Agapa.

"No. I told you she left on her own."

The twins caught Meliea's changing her story already. She said Mintha's family took her and now she was claiming that she left on her own.

"Mom, please. It's not Mintha's fault." Chara cried.

"If you harm Mintha, Archon won't forgive you. He might kill you." said Agapa.

"I didn't do anything to her and Archon won't kill me. Why are you two acting strange?" Meliae was becoming frustrated at them.

Noticing that Meliae was merely irritated and not grieving, Chara asked her. "Didn't Mintha tell you? Archon is getting married to another woman."

When Meliae's mind absorbed her words but her heart refuse to accept it. "What are you talking about?"

"Archon met another woman in Atlantis. He is marrying her." Agapa said cautiously. "Mintha was supposed to tell you."

Meliae remembered Mintha saying she needed to tell her something. She didn't listen to her and was pushing her to eat the berries. If only she waited to hear it. How could Archon be getting married to another woman? She thought he was in love with Mintha. Were her assumptions wrong?

"Archon's bride is his sister." said Chara.

Meliae felt like a sword had plunged into her heart. "He is marrying his sister?"

She had sold Mintha to a stranger for Archon. All she had done was for nothing.

The stranger placed Mintha on the soft grass near a bank of water. He soaked a cloth in the water and washed Mintha's face and arms. No doubt she would be hungry when she wakes up. He had to find her food and shelter. He yearned to care for her properly. It was something he should have done when Mintha was an infant. After Mintha was born, he was going to eat her flesh to spite her bitch of a mother. On that particular day, he was not hungry enough which spared her. Instead, he abandoned Mintha in the middle of a forest to die. To his surprise she survived on her own. Since then, he secretly watched her from a distance. He couldn't help but develop affection for his offspring.

Mintha was independent and carefree in her little world. He would have allowed her to continue as she was, if not for Archon. The stranger had to interfere and remove Mintha from the forest because he was worried about her. Archon was not a threat. He forgot her as soon as he found another woman worth replacing her. The nymph was the problem. Meliae was hopelessly in love with Archon, although he treated her like a common whore. The stranger saw jealous and hatred brewing inside of Meliae. It was a matter of time before she was going to snap and attack Mintha. He had to protect Mintha from danger.

The stranger panicked when Mintha stirred. How would she react when she saw him? What would she say if he told her he was her father? That he stole her from a life of luxury with her mother. He made her live like an animal in the forest. She would hate him just like her mother did. He loved Mintha. It would kill him if she said she hated him. Before she fully opened her eyes, he changed his appearance into Meliae without thinking it through.

Mintha's vision was blurry. She saw the silhouette of what she thought was a man. Once her vision cleared, she saw that she was mistaken. It was Meliae.

Mintha blinked several times. The last time she remembered was that she was supposed to tell Meliae about Archon.

"I have news to tell you. Archon is getting married."

"Is that so? Good for him."

"Are you unhappy with this news?"

"Why would I be unhappy?"

"Chara and Agapa were anxious about telling you. They said that you would be unhappy."

The stranger thought of how to respond. He regretted turning into Meliae and not someone else. After some consideration he came up with a resolution. If he was already Meliae, he might as well be Meliae. He could share his observations with her.

"I know Archon doesn't love me. He only wanted me as a substitute for you. He only went to me because of you. Do you understand what I mean?"

Mintha shook her head.

The stranger blamed himself for Mintha being naive. There was no one to explain these things to her. Instinct was what she lived by. It was a miracle she learned to speak, let alone understand languages. She was able to develop her speaking abilities because he would communicate with her through telepathy in her sleep.

"Archon wants to have sex with you. When he realized that you don't want to have sex with him, he had sex with me."

"He hits you?" Mintha asked with concern.

The stranger almost forgot the lie Meliae told Mintha about sex. He was going to have to explain sex to her.

"Oh? It's called sex? I see creatures in the forest having sex all the time." said Mintha. "Sex looks boring and repetitive."

He laughed. "Spoken like a true virgin."

"What is a virgin?"

"A person that has not has sex. You are a virgin." He became serious and changed to subject. "Listen, you have to stay away from Archon. He is getting married to a dangerous woman. You must never meet her."

"Why not?"

"Your world will collapse once you see swirling sliver eyes."

"Swirling sliver eyes?"

"Mintha!"

Mintha could hear Meliae calling her name from the distance.

"Why are you calling me from over there, when you are right here?"

"Eat!" said the stranger. He shoved a handful of berries in her mouth that would put her back to sleep.

She fell asleep as he desired. When he carried her in his arms he felt her body beginning to shrink. Cursing, he realized that he feed her the wrong berries. He flashed them further from the nymphs to a place in the north. He had to find the antidote to return her to her adult body. The antidote was in the demon world. He could not take her with him it would be a burden. He had to hid her somewhere safe until he returned. He spotted a hollowed tree and sized it up. As her body was now small she would fit perfectly. He placed her inside and conjured an invisible shield around her. While he was away her mind wondered in the dream world.

He returned a week later with the antidote. When he went to the tree he hid Mintha inside the smell of blood hit his nose. His shield was gone. There was a bloody wound on her chest. She was dead. His heart filled with grief, he up rooted the tree and carried it off with him.