Part 1: Chapter 9

Dionysus

It was just a few minutes after sunrise when the music finally died down. All over the ground, Maenads and satyrs lay sleeping, all completely dead-drunk and worn out from last night's wildness. It will only be a matter of hours before they would finally sober up and be back on their feet once again. The more sober ones were already performing duties throughout the camp, although they were obviously a bit dizzy in their steps.

This morning marked an occasion where I was not even drunk or high. Because I had stayed chaste with wine with Hermes, who had left just a little after midnight, I was still able to stand without swaying and talk without slurring. Even my vision was clear enough to see the first rosy fingers of Eos take over the dawn sky.

However, I had spoken too soon, for I started to realize then how very tired I was. My body was yearning for sleep, and my eyes were feeling heavy. Instead of fighting against the growing urge, I allowed myself to succumb to it and made my way to my tent, where I fell asleep the minute my head touched the pillows.

I was awoken later when I felt a rough tongue licking my face gently. Groaning, thinking that it was one of the Maenads, I opened my eyes slowly, but was washed with relief when I realized that it was just a small leopard cub.

I got out, with the baby leopard in my arms before I released it, and saw that it was afternoon, judging by the sun's position in the now bright blue sky. I could see most of my followers were up on their feet now, having finally sobered. Although, there were still a few sleeping bodies on the ground.

After taking a walk around the camp, I decided that now would be the best time to see Ariadne. Ever since what Hermes revealed all that was to be known about her to me, I started to wonder if I should go back to her. I mean, the reason I had met her in the first place was to get to know her, and now that I had all the information I needed, why should I continue the charade?

But it was then I decided against it. No, I have gone too far to go back now. Ariadne already knew about me, and I was sure that she was expecting to see more of me. Furthermore, she did tell me that she wished to trust me, since, to her, I seem to be the only person – besides 'Cynthia' – that she felt she should trust now. Trust was a big thing anyone could ever give to anyone else, and I realized that I truly did want her trust.

Call me crazy, but when Hermes asked me that question last night, I realized that something inside me was making me want to know her. Damn, I wouldn't even mind being seen as a friend in her eyes. In fact, just that very thought of her thinking of me as a friend seemed to make my heart feel light, for some strange reason.

But what was it? I wondered to myself as I made my way to the grove. "Why is it about her that makes me feel so strange?" I questioned aloud.

But the forest provided no answer.

It was a matter of time until I found the stream that separated the grove from the part of the forest I was in. The warm and bright rays of sunlight was beating down on the back of my head, and it caused the water in the stream to glisten and sparkle like diamonds.

I carefully jumped over the stream to reach the grove. To make my presence known to Ariadne, who I was sure was nearby, I called out, "Ariadne? It's me."

In no less than a few seconds, a reply came from behind the trees. I'm over here, Dion. I'm with someone at the moment."

Her statement made me become alert almost instantaneously. There was someone with her?

No wasting even a second, I quickly rushed to the trees, ducking over branches and pushing away flexible ones, in order to get to Ariadne more quickly, and even see who she was talking about. I was so certain that there was no one in this part of Naxos except me, my followers and Ariadne. Could I have been wrong?

I felt thankful that I finally managed to reach the grove. The first thing I saw was Ariadne, who was sitting against a tree. She looked over to me the minute I had stepped out. And then, I finally managed to see the person who was sitting beside her.

I discretely sighed in relief.

"Dion, this is Cynthia," Ariadne introduced. "She's the woman I have met the day before, and the one who had brought me to this grove."

I looked over to Artemis, who was once again dressed in white. But this time, it wasn't a robe she was wearing, but a simple plain full-length dress that still managed to accentuate her figure. Her wavy dark hair was pulled into a side braid, thus allowing her beautiful face to be clearly seen.

Artemis' midnight blue eyes looked up at me in curiosity, but her warning voice was suddenly heard from within my mind.

She cannot know that we know each other. Act like this is the first time you have ever seen me.

"Hello," she greeted with a smile. "So you are the one Ariadne calls 'Dion'?"

Taking a few seconds to register that she was putting up a ruse, I bowed my head and replied, "Yes, I am. And you are the one she calls 'Cynthia'?"

Artemis – or 'Cynthia' – nodded her head.

"I did not think that there would be anyone else on this part of Naxos," I remarked curiously, trying to keep the charade up while still acting natural. I came to sit beside Ariadne on the ground, my eyes holding onto Artemis'.

"So that means that you are not from Dion's village?" Ariadne asked 'Cynthia'. "Where are you from then?"

Artemis' eyes shifted over from mine to her's. "I do not reside in a village. I live by myself in the hills," she admitted.

Ariadne seemed shocked by that. "What? How can you possibly stay by yourself? What's more on an island as big and dense as Naxos? Isn't that scary? Or at least worrisome?"

'Cynthia' smiled and shook her head. "It is not that scary, young Ariadne. It too is not worrisome. In fact, it is very peaceful. The wildlands need my care and I can find safety in it. I do not feel tempted to leave the forests anytime soon."

"Have you ever been to the cities?" I asked, still trying to act natural and wanting to be polite by not remaining silent. "Have you ever lived in one?"

'Cynthia' shook her head in admittance, but Artemis said to me in my thoughts, You should know. I could almost hear her rolling her eyes as her words echoed through my mind.

"Cities do not appeal to me. There are too noisy, too crowded, and not at all peaceful," 'Cynthia' said with a frown. "Furthermore, they do not hold the element of natural beauty and calmness that could be easily found in the wild. Here, I can enjoy an open air and listen to the natural sounds of nature."

I sat there quietly, listening to her words, which rang very true. All those characteristics that she had stated were all the exact same reason why I avoided cities whenever my camp and I migrate to find a new revelry area. Here in the wild, we – including I – could be as wild as nature itself, with no care in the world for restrictions and proper behavior; as free as the breeze and as wild as the animals.

Ariadne looked taken aback, for some reason. "I have never thought of it that way," she said with wonder. "I've been raised in a city all my life, and all that I know of the wildlands is that it is a dangerous place."

The last bit of her sentence made me tense, and I stole a glance at 'Cynthia'. Underneath the cool façade the stranger woman wore, I could sense Artemis feeling disapproval at Ariadne's words.

"Not true," I could hear her murmur so very quietly under her breath. Ariadne did not seem to notice her words.

"But, I must admit that there is certainly beauty and freedom in the wildlands than in cities. If I were better adept in living under such conditions, I would have found everything most enjoyable," Ariadne admitted with a small smile. "Unfortunately, it is a shame that I was not."

Turning to her, I grinned and exclaimed in reassurance, "Need not fret, Ariadne! It is never too late to learn to let go of whatever burdens your shoulders and be free and wild as the wildlands themselves, where no one would be able to see you or judge you if you wish to act out of order!"

Ariadne stared at me strangely, as though not comprehending what I had said and thinking that I must be some sort of lunatic. But with a tone of uncertainty, she replied, "Maybe so."

Suddenly, we were all interrupted by a loud cawing that came from above in the tree branches. All three of us instinctively looked up, but we didn't have to look up far before whatever it was suddenly came down to land in front of us.

Whatever that had cawed so loudly was actually a raven, with beautiful, sleek and shining feathers that were as black as night, and a long beak that was of a lighter shade of grey. It stood there, looking at us with a curious glint in its beady black eyes.

"Oh, we have a guest," Ariadne commented with a smile. Inching closer, she extended a welcoming open hand to the raven, inviting it to hop onto her palm. The raven accepted the invitation gladly, starting to hop towards her exposed smooth palm.

But all of a sudden, another hand grabbed Ariadne's wrist, and 'Cynthia' pulled her hand away from the raven immediately. Both Ariadne and the raven was seemingly startled at this notion; Ariadne even more when she saw the hint of anger in the woman's eyes.

"An unwelcomed guest," 'Cynthia' muttered under her breath, but I could hear a hint of Artemis in that voice. When she had let go of Ariadne's wrist, she instead gave her own open hand to the raven. But while Ariadne had been open and inviting, she was somewhat threatening and hostile.

The raven looked frightened of 'Cynthia', backing up when her hand inched closer. But it stopped in its retreat when she leveled its frightened gaze with her dangerous narrowing eyes. For some reason, I felt as though she was giving it a warning, and demanding that it approach her.

I thought that strange, even more so when I did not know why Artemis was looking at the creature with such disapproval.

Suddenly, as though looking defeated, the raven hesitantly hopped into her opened palm, looking completely scared and nervous. 'Cynthia' then stood up, carefully balancing the small raven in her hands. Ariadne then inquired, "Where are you going, Cynthia?"

"Some matters to settle," she replied without looking at her, starting to walk away.

As she walked, I could not tear my eyes away the raven, which was slowly and almost meekly bringing its head up to look at her. Suddenly, just as a streak of sunlight shone onto it, I realized a sudden change in it.

When the sunlight had shone on its eyes, it changed into the clear and bright color of sky blue.

But it wasn't only the color change that surprised me. It was also the thought that I had seen those eyes before. Sky blue eyes that seemed so very familiar to me. I was then plunged into deep thought. Where had I seen those eyes before?

No less than a minute later, the answer hit me, and I could feel my heart racing at the clarity.

"What happened to her?" Ariadne commented in confusion. "She seemed so angry when the raven came."

I half-listened to her words, internally fidgeting and itching to go after Artemis and confront her on what had happened. But I did not want to give Ariadne the suspicion that something may be going on.

Unfortunately, I could not fight that urge for long.

"Excuse me, Ariadne," I said to her in sincere apology as I got up, noting the way her eyes suddenly darted over to me. "I must go… relieve myself."

Argh! I felt so stupid for saying that! Me, a god, relieving myself?! What an absolutely stupid thing to say! But I couldn't help but agree that it may be the right excuse to give under the guise of a normal mortal.

Ariadne blushed at my answer (must to my utter embarrassment) and said, "Oh. Of course. Go ahead."

I bowed my head to her and told her that I will be back shortly before heading towards the direction of the stream. When I had reached it and was out of Ariadne's sight, I quietly searched for wherever Artemis had gone to.

It hadn't taken me long. I could hear her voice from the other side of the stream in the thicket of trees, sounding very annoyed and disapproving. As I jumped over the stream and approached her area, it was then I realized that she was actually talking, and to someone.

"…The nerve of you! Honestly!"

After she had finished voice her words, another voice sounded. The voice was that of a male's, and it sounded so very argumentative and pleading.

"Come on now, Artemis! Of course, I'd be curious as to why you would go to her. And now that I realized Dionysus is in this as well…"

The new voice did not manage to finish his words, because I have already made myself known.

Standing in front of Artemis was a male god, who had graceful waves of golden hair and eyes that was the color of the bright blue sky. He was taller than the goddess by a few inches, but I could immediately see some form of similarity in the both of them.

"Apollo," I muttered his name under my breath. "No wonder there was something strange about that raven."

Apollo, God of the Sun and my older half-brother, and Artemis' younger twin, smiled at me and moved away from his older sister to approach me. "Dionysus. It has been quite a long time," he greeted me with a bright smile.

Channeling a friendly smile as well in return, I replied, "Well, I had a lot to do down here in the mortal lands. I guess I have been too busy to realize how long I have not been back to Mount Olympus."

Suddenly, Artemis' disapproving voice came from behind us. "I ask you again, Apollo. What were your intentions towards Ariadne?"

My attentions were quickly torn away from Apollo's friendly eyes to Artemis', which were narrowed in disapproval. I became curious about her question. So was that why Apollo was here? What exactly were his intentions towards Ariadne?

Apollo groaned and turned his head slightly to the side to look at her. "Really, sister? Must you be so agitated about this? It's not like you've ever disapproved me of doing this before."

To his words, Artemis snapped haughtily, "I would be if I know that you would have the nerve of taking advantage of a helpless girl."

At that admittance, I gasped in shock under my breath.

Heaving a long, dreaded sigh, Apollo turned to me and replied to her, "Well, she was too beautiful. How was I not supposed to take notice of her? What's more, I feel obliged to give her some 'company', after having seen what had happened between her and the son of our uncle."

"What?" I suddenly questioned, my anxiety rising up a notch. "You know about that? How?" Indeed, I would like to know. Apollo was the last person in my mind that I would have guessed to know such things.

Apollo focused his full attentions on me and smirked. "Interested, Dionysus?" he asked musingly, but stopped when he heard a low warning growl emanating from Artemis. However, he continued on in a slightly more serious voice, "Remember that I hold patronage over Helios' Sun, and therefore I am All-Seeing. I know everything that goes on in the mortal lands."

Of course. How could I have forgotten that simple fact? Apollo was indeed the All-Seeing One. With the Sun up in the sky during the time of day, he could see everything, regardless of distance.

"How much do you know about her and Theseus?" I inquired, cautiously taking a step closer.

Bringing his hand to rub his smooth chin lazily yet thoughtfully, he answered, "I know of the Labyrinth, the slaying of the Minotaur, her escape from Crete and her abandonment by him on this very island we stand upon. I also know of Theseus now having taken her younger sister Phaedra as his new lover and him now grieving over his father's death, all because of his stupid carelessness."

"Why's that?" I questioned him. Artemis, who was visibly interested in our conversation, came to Apollo's side, eyes on him as she waited to hear what he was about to say.

Apollo quirked his eyebrows in amusement as he answered, "Oh, the Prince of Athens reached his homeland last night, with his ship still bearing black sails instead of white ones!"

"And then?" Artemis prompted, eyebrows furrowing curiously.

Her younger brother let out a chuckle, and explained, "If Theseus' ship bore white sails when it had returned to Athens, it meant that he had survived the Labyrinth and the Minotaur and had come home safe and sound. But if it returned to Athens still bearing the black sails it wore when it left, that is a sign that the Prince had perished. Theseus was indeed alive, but when his ship had been seen in the distance still bearing the black sails, his dear father Aegeus assumed the worst, and out of grief, ended his life by throwing himself off a cliff and into the sea."

I could feel a silent gasp escape from my parted lips. Partially, I was glad at the thought that Theseus was now grieving over the loss of his father. I thought of it as payback for what he had done to Ariadne. But yet, I felt so sorry for that Aegeus, who had to suffer because of Theseus' stupid mistake of forgetting to change the damn sails.

"Gods above…" I could hear Artemis mutter pitifully.

Apollo, however, did not have a reaction similar to ours. "I don't know about you, but I think he deserved it," he remarked with a snort. "Serves him right for taking advantage of a pretty girl like her, and then just leaving her all alone on an island."

I had to agree with Apollo's word on that. If only I could find a shred of sympathy for the demigod of our discussion. Unfortunately, I could not, and I don't think I even intend to do so.

"Anyway, enough about that demigod. Now, let us discuss about you," Apollo said with a new smirk tugging on his lips. "What exactly are you doing here, Dionysus? Are you after Ariadne?"

Hearing that, I immediately replied indignantly, "No, I am not. In fact, I had been the one who had found her. I was the first she saw on this island."

Apollo cocked a perfect brow. "Really now?" he said. "And with what intentions?"

I wanted to give a good answer to quash the insolence in his question, but Artemis suddenly stepped forward and stood in front of Apollo, acting as a sort of barrier between me and him. She interjected firmly, "Dionysus intends to help her. And he wouldn't have asked me to aid him if he had planned to do something else to her."

Suddenly, Apollo seemed to cringe from the sight of Artemis' eyes on him. If there was one thing I knew very well about Apollo was that the only person that could ever tame him and put him into place would be Artemis.

"Okay then", he muttered under his breath, slowly looking away from her to me. "Then I wish you luck in helping her. I can only advise to you to have care in what you do with her. Mortal females are very sensitive."

As if I did not know that already.

"Alright," I answered him in a neutral voice. "I will take heed."

And then, without another word, I turned away from the twins and made my way back to Ariadne. However, I had met her halfway, on the opposite side of the stream. She looked like she was about to jump over, but stopped short when she saw me.

"Oh, Dion! There you are," she exclaimed. "You were taking too long. I thought you had…" she hesitated, and then said meekly, "problems."

The memory of the stupid excuse I had given to her suddenly flashed back in my mind, and I had to resist from slapping myself on the forehead in embarrassment.

Clearing my throat to extinguish the awkwardness that hung between us, I said immediately, "Well, no worries." Silence ensued for a few more seconds, and before it could get even more awkward, I asked, "Would you like to go to the lake?"

Ariadne looked at me blankly for a while, before she smiled and nodded her head.

Ariadne

"Dion? Can I tell you something?"

He was gazing at the sparkling waters in the lake, looking very deep in thought. But then he turned to me and said, "Yes?"

With a deep breath and thinking over my thoughts again, I told him, "Last night, I think around midnight or later, I heard screaming and shouting near the grove. I thought it was someone getting hurt, but when I heard it closely, I realized that it sounded like drunken people who had too much alcohol. Maybe it is, maybe it wasn't."

For some reason, I noticed Dion tensing. It was such a small change that I would not have been able to notice it if I had not been concentrating. But I did notice it, and I wondered why he tensed.

"Do you think they were from your… cult?" I asked him, remembering the fact that he had told me that he was not from a village but from a cult.

Dion turned his head away and his hazel eyes resumed gazing out at the lake. Instead of answering my question, he simply asked, "Did you leave the grove when you heard it?"

I was taken aback by his question, wondering why he would want to ask me that. Nonetheless, I replied, "No, I didn't."

He nodded his head in understanding. "Good. Remember my words; regardless of what you hear or see, you are never to leave the grove by yourself. Especially in the night."

I did remember his words, but that was not at the front of my mind now. Now, I was wondering why he could not simply asked my question, and why he made me feel more at suspense.

"What are you not telling me, Dion?" I questioned in a murmur under my breath, knowing that he could hear me.

Dion turned his head to look at me again. With a smirk, he replied musingly, "Things that you shouldn't know as of yet."

That certainly did not help me in my suspense.

Author's Note:

Well, well, well! Apollo came to do something to Ariadne! That cheeky Sun God! But it's a good thing Artemis was there to put her little brother in place! So Dionysus is still safe!

Also, Apollo was disguised as a raven, which is his sacred animal.

Anyway! Slowly, and slowly, Ariadne starts to get more and more curious about 'Dion'? Will she ever find out more?

Until Monday!

Muse of Fanfiction