Part 3: Chapter 6

Ariadne

Sometimes, I would find myself gazing at Semele and just wonder about her life, her background, and just her entire story. I would constantly wonder about what her life had been like, what was her place among the people she had lived with, and what sort of person she had been before Death came upon her to whisk her away to the afterlife.

Even after however long it had been I had stayed with her in the Elysian Fields, and our relationship had come to the point where we thought of each other as family instead of friends, I did not truly know everything, for there were still some things that both us wanted to keep private, even from each other.

Today was a day with no exception, for I found myself wondering about these little things about her once again. I was sitting in the shade under a tree that was standing near our shared cottage, listening quietly as she hummed to me a lovely hymn. I had my eyes closed as I listened, feeling nothing but the warm honey tones of her sweet voice and the cooling breeze of the Elysian air.

When she had ended her hymn, she told me truthfully with a small smile, "That was one of my favourite hymns to listen to in my previous life. It reminds me of when I was still pregnant with my son. I would always feel the warmth of a new life growing within me, and the thought of motherhood makes me feel giddy with glee." But then, with a melancholic sigh, she added, "It's a shame it could not happen…"

Instantly, I placed a hand on hers and held it gently. "No need to think of painful memories, Semele," I spoke to her in a soft tone of voice. "The past is in the past, and there is no need to dwell so much on it."

"Ah, but that is quiet untrue, dear Ariadne," Semele replied with a slight smile. "Although pain still lingers in some parts, the past still holds memories that are the most fondest. To dwell on the past is not only to be reminded of pains, but is also to relive the moments that we enjoy and cherish the most."

Hearing that, I nodded my head in agreement, for her statement was very true as I also had memories of the past that I cherished so very much. That had me curious as to what was her cherished memories.

"What do you love to remember mostly, Semele?"

Semele tapped her bottom lip quizzically as she looked up at the branches of tree in deep thoughts. "Hmm…. That is a good question indeed," she mused. "There is so many memories that I cherish very much… But if I ever had to select a few out of many, it would only be two."

"And what are those two?" I asked.

Looking back to me, Semele beamed and answered, "The day I met my lover and the day I found out I was pregnant."

"Tell me of it," I beckoned.

When his sudden knocks on the door had been answered with the King's voice saying 'Enter', Thanatos immediately pushed open the doors of his master's study and entered the room with hurried steps.

Hades and Persephone had both been in the study, with him reading some old scrolls at his seat at his table while she was seated near the hearth with her fingers busy with embroidery. Both had been preoccupied with their own activities and enjoying their companionable silence until their attentions were suddenly diverted towards the sudden appearance of Thanatos.

"My lord, there is an emergency," Thanatos informed immediately, being so very urgent that he had forgotten and foregone his normal procedure of bowing to Hades when in his presence.

Alarmed by the look of urgency on his minister's face, Hades immediately rose from his seat and questioned, "What is it, Thanatos? What is happening?"

Without a second's hesitation and in heartbeat, Thanatos hurriedly answered, "There is an intruder in the Underworld."

Ariadne

"I know that I have not really told you all that is to know about my life, dear Ariadne. So I think it is time that I do, for I have grown very fond of you and had come to trust you and love you as though you are my own daughter. So I will tell you that I am actually the daughter of a mortal man and a goddess, and the princess of Thebes."

"You were?"

Semele nodded her head. "My father was Cadmus, the prince of Phoenicia and the founder-king of Thebes, and my mother was Harmonia, the Goddess of Harmony and Concord. I had inherited most of the mortal blood of my father, as I do not possess any divine powers of a goddess. My parents were present for a certain period of my life up until I had reached adulthood. At that time, I had decided to discontinue my royal duties and become a priestess."

After studying in a temple of Zeus for a few years, I was initiated as a priestess there. One day, after I had slaughtered a bull at the altar and cleansed myself in the river Asopus, I had retired to my room when I heard a voice. It came out of nowhere and there was no one in the room but me, so I naturally became terrified and thought it was some entity. But before I could fear, the voice told me to not be afraid, and that it would not harm me.

I know it may sound strange, but I could not help but trust the voice, for I felt like it would indeed do me no harm and that it was not dangerous. Furthermore, the voice sounded so beautiful and mesmerising that I could not fight the urge to respond. When I asked him – I knew it was a man from the deepness of the voice – to show himself to me, he said that he could not. But when I asked for his name, he told me that I was his priestess."

"It was Zeus?!" I exclaimed in shock. "Your lover was Zeus?!"

Semele smiled bashfully. "I guess I did not mention it, did I?"

"No," I replied with an astonished shake of my head. "Please do continue."

Semele did as I beckoned and continued. "After a few nights, I was bedded by him for the first time. I remembered that night; my chambers were completely dark, for he had always insisted that there be no light in the room whenever he came to me. At that point, I could not deny that I had fallen for him and wanted to be his. Our relationship continued on afterwards, and it became stronger with each moment he spent with me. It was only a matter of time that I realized that I was with child."

She paused to release a sigh of content. "I remembered how ecstatic I had been at the thought that I was going to have a child. I had always wanted to be a mother, and to be the mother of the great god was indeed an honour and a blessing. When I told him, he seemed over the moon, and blessed the child to be healthy. I thought of that day as the most happiest day of my life, for I had never felt so much joy before."

Another sigh of content released, but then her features turned grave and grim, and I knew that she was delving into the memories that were the most painful.

Dionysus

When I had jumped into the waters, I had swum all the way down, deeper into the depths of the Alkyonian Lake. Indeed, it was so bottomless, for I could not see an end even with the strong sense of sight that I had possessed.

But after a long while of continuously swimming downwards with all my strength into the dark watery abyss, ignoring the overwhelming sensation of being frozen in the icy waters, I felt a sudden pull towards the deeper regions. At that moment on, I knew that I had finally reached the portal I had sought, and I let myself be pulled deeper and deeper until I was completely engulfed by complete darkness that even my sense of sight could not see through.

When the sensation of being underwater was no more, I opened my eyes and found myself in a cavernous world which was so dark and dreary that I immediately knew that it was the Underworld. I was standing on a lone isle in the middle of vast, murky waters, and on the isle was a palace so grand that it was so near to being as magnificent as the palace of Mount Olympus.

"The palace of Hades…" I breathed to myself in astonishment. "The Underworld…"

I was suddenly pulled out of my awe when I heard the grand doors of the palace start to open. My eyes flew to ahead of me, in time to see a tall, pale being approaching me.

The being, with long white hair and eyes the colour of dull ashes, bowed to me and said, "Lord Dionysus. Lord Hades awaits your presence."

Ariadne

"One day, an old woman named Beroë came seeking refuge in the temple. Be it that I do not refuse those who sought refuge, I took her in and gave her food and water. As the days passed, Beroë became my nurse, revealing that she was skilled in taking care of pregnant women. Since then, I thought of Beroë as a friend, for I could feel companionship between us. After a while, and as I was already into the sixth month of my pregnancy, I revealed to her that I was carrying the god's child."

"And then what happened?"

"Beroë did not believe me; said that I was lying so that I could get attention. I tried to protest and said that I was not, but then she questioned me if I had ever seen him myself. Be it that I was in the temple, I did not feel comfortable about lying in a place where all truths must come clean, so I admitted that I did not. However, in desperation to prove the fact that the child I bear inside was indeed Zeus', I declared that I will have him show himself to me.

That night, when he came to me, I began by asking him what he would do to prove his love for me. He told me that he would swear to do anything I asked; anything at all. So I saw my chance and asked him to reveal his form to me.

I could feel the hesitance that he was feeling, so I stood firm and told him that he had sworn to do anything I had asked. Knowing that his words could not be taken back, he finally decided to accept my request, and he revealed himself to me at that very minute."

Now getting very interested in her tale, I asked in an urge, "What happened next, Semele?"

Once again, Semele heaved a heavy melancholic smile and said, "The next thing I knew, I was dead."

Dionysus

When the pale man had led me into the palace and through hallways and corridors, we finally entered a room that had a pair of tall and mighty bronze doors.

However, to say that it was a room was such an understatement. It was more like a hall, and very grand one at that. Despite its dark themes and colours, there was still an air of regality and luxuriousness that added to the ambience.

But my attentions were not on the décor for long, as it was then directed to the King and Queen that were seated upon their respective thrones on the top of the dais ahead of the room.

As of late, I had not seen my half-sister Persephone or my uncle Hades for quite a long time, for both of them were quite a solitary couple. Even when it was the sixth months of warmth and sunshine when they were parted from each other, I still would not see them so often, as Persephone was kept away from others on Mount Olympus by her (over-)protective mother Demeter – unless they were needed to be in the company of the others on the great mountain – while Hades was too occupied with ruling his own chthonic kingdom.

But even if they were my family, they were still royalty, and I had to treat them as such instead of giving them a friendly familial greeting.

"King Hades and Queen Persephone; I give you my most humblest of greetings," I said aloud as I bowed deeply to them.

"My nephew Dionysus, what has you entering into my realm unannounced?" Hades questioned instantly.

Looking back up, I saw that the face of Hades was marked with a frown and a downwards tilt of the corner of his lips. The piercing gaze of his pitch black eyes on me was so hard that it felt as though he was looking right into my soul, making me shudder in discomfort. However, I did not want to display weakness, so I sucked up my discomfort and stood tall and firm.

With a deep breath, I told him, "My lord, I have come here, standing before you and your Queen, to seek an appeal."

Ariadne

"Oh my goodness…" I breathed in shock.

Semele's hazel brown eyes remained casted downwards, her sights focused on her loosely entwined hands.

"When I stood before Hades, he revealed to me that my nightly lover was indeed Zeus, and that Beroë was actually his wife Hera in disguise. He told me that Hera had come to me seeking revenge, for she despised me for being another one of her husband's many mistresses. He told me that it was her intention to plant the seed of doubt inside me, and that she knew what would have happened had Zeus revealed to me his true godly form.

When I heard the truth, I cried so very much. But the pain of the truth could not compare to the pain I had felt when I realized that there was no more life in my womb. The protruding swell of my stomach had disappeared, along with the baby that had been growing inside me. When I questioned about my child, Hades said that he did not know whether or not it was still alive, for its soul did not enter the Underworld nor was there an indication that it was still living on the Aboveworld.

I was sentenced to live my afterlife in the Elysian Fields, for Hades had said that my soul was a pure soul that was kind and humane. But even when I had first stepped foot upon this beautiful realm that was far more beautiful that any parts of Earth, I still could not forget about the harbouring feeling of emptiness within me. Despite the fact that I had learned to let go of my sadness after a while and I had come to see this place as a home, the emptiness never fails to make me feel a wrenching pain in my heart."

Finally, Semele stopped talking, silent as she wallowed in sadness. Her hands came to rest upon her heart, and I could hear her take small shallow breaths that seemed to be holding back a cry.

Instinctively, I moved closer to her and wrapped my arms around her to pull her into a gentle embrace. She did not resist and allowed me to pull her closer, her hands reaching to grab hold of mine. In companionable silence, I caressed her hands gently, hoping to give her comfort.

"Like I have said, Semele… There is no need to wallow in the past… No need to suffer old pains…"

Semele inhaled another shaky breath before nodding her head in agreement. "You are right, dear Ariadne… I am so glad that I now have someone like you… Someone that I could actually confide in as a true friend and love like a child… I hope that you would never part from me…"

Hugging her tighter in response, I told her, "I will always be with you, Semele… Always…"

Dionysus

"That is completely unheard of," Hades said in a hard voice of disapproval.

I fought back the sting of disappointment and remained persistent. "Please, my lord uncle. I would do anything to have my wife return to me," I pleaded with him. "I would forever be in your debt, doing anything that you would wish for me to do. So long as I can have Ariadne back."

Hades continued to level a hard, emotionless stare at me. "Pray tell, why would you want this?" he questioned me in a voice as scrutinising as his gaze. "You would go through the trouble of descending into the Underworld – a feat that no one else would even dare to think about – just for the life of your mortal bride. Had you not known that her imminent death was a consequence when you married her?"

To hear that put out so bluntly was such a stab to my heart and I internally cringed. But yet, I maintained my composure and spoke in reply calmly.

"My lord, before I state any other reason, I would bluntly put out that I love my wife with all of my heart. Now, I know you are probably thinking, 'So what?', so please do let me explain first. Before I had met her, I was like my father, bedding so many women that I had gained my notorious name as a womanizer. I almost did not have a care in the world for what those I have bedded thought; to me, they were nothing but easy trysts and there were many more to come. I never found the need to have an established relationship, for I knew that there was no perfect woman for me. However, I was proven wrong when I first met Ariadne."

I paused for a while just as the memory of our first meeting appeared in my mind. As all my inner thoughts consisted only of Ariadne, I smiled to myself.

"I do not know why, but I felt drawn to her. No, not drawn to her because I was attracted to her, but because I was fascinated by her. Of course, I would wonder why there was a mortal girl alone on a beach and looking so very lost. Ah, and the fact that she looked so very lost and confused was what made me want to help her so much. And so help her I did, and save her was what I did as well. I saved her by giving her a refuge in Artemis' grove, and I saved her from being ravaged by an insolent satyr.

Over time, she had come to know of my identity as a god. As always, be it that she was a mortal, I assumed that she would take advantage of me and ask me to return her home. However, she instead requested that she stayed with me, and indeed it was suggested by Artemis that she be bound to me for she has already come across a god and goddess.

And so she became a follower of my revelries, and a devout follower at that. Of course, then the Love God Eros decided that both of us are to be soul mates, and shot us with his arrows of love. And fall in love we did, and marriage occurred later."

When I took a pause, I glanced at Hades and saw that he was simply staring back at me neutrally with a raised eyebrow.

"Forgive me, my lord," I apologised with a bow of my head. "I realize now that I have been babbling."

Hades did not say anything and just looked at me with indifference. I realized now that I had to come up with a better appeal than my mindless chatter from previously, or else he would never see reason. And so I took a deep breath and collected my thoughts.

"The point is, my lord, is that Ariadne has changed me in ways I did not even think could be possibly. For a long time, I had taken the mind-set of my father, seeing love as fleeting and only bringing the good of lustful pleasures. But when Ariadne graced into my life, she had given me a love that I never thought I would have. She gave me a love that was true, compassionate and intimate. I knew then that she was the only one for me, for my heart started to beat for her and only her. Our love exists in the form of the twelve sons that were borne from our union; the twelve sons who I love more than any other child I had sired from other women, because they are my sons by her. But when she was torn away from me, I felt like my heart had stopped beating so suddenly. I felt a pain so unbearable that I saw no point in continuing my immortal existence. The period of time that she was gone from me, I had done nothing but drown my sorrows in wine, for I wanted to numb the intense pain of my loss. But now I know that I cannot continue in this foolish act of destroying myself, and now I know that I would be willing to stand before you right now to seek an appeal for there is nothing else in this entire universe that I want so much more than having my wife by my side once again."

At this point, I had sank to my knees on the carpeted floor, leaning forward so that my body was in a prostration position to signify my submissiveness to Hades. But I kept my head up, so that I would be able to maintain eye contact with Hades, as a show of my firm stand.

"Lord Hades, please do see reason," I pleaded of him. "Would you not have been in my position had it been Persephone that had been taken away from you forever?"

Only silence ensued afterwards.

Author's Note:

I will admit to everyone right now that I feel quite ashamed for the author's note in the last chapter, but I really felt the need to let it out. But whatever it is, what is done has been done, and I cannot erase it.

So anyway, in this chapter, Ariadne learns more about her (unknown) mother-in-law and Dionysus is at an end as he attempts to plead Hades to approve of his appeal. But would Dionysus get what he wish? Would there be something that might come in at the very last minute to save him? Would Dionysus and Ariadne be one step closer to being reunited, or have all chances destroyed at this crucial moment?

Find out in the next chapter on Friday!

Muse of Fanfiction