𝕮𝖗𝖔𝖜𝖓 𝖔𝖋 𝕱𝖑𝖔𝖜𝖊𝖗𝖘

𝐈

there was..something.

something to do.

it was important.

very important.

but what was it?

the yellow-haired man sat up and looked around himself. he was on the shore of a river, clothes damp and uncomfortable. what had happened?

there was no one around but children certainly too small to haul him from the waters.

"who are you?"

he whipped around to see a girl. she hadn't been there before, right?

yes, for certain, he had not seen her because there was no way he could miss someone like her. she glowed—not in the way the sun did that he could not look upon her, but in the way stars glowed that he could not look away.

her skin was dark and her hair was a few shades lighter. he could not tell the color of her eyes from his distance but he wanted to.

"sir, did you not hear, who are you?"

"i do not know."

she furrowed her brow, "you are not dead, and you are not a god, so who are you?"

"truly, i only just found myself by the shores of this water and—"

"water? the river!" she gasped. "you must've fallen in! this is the river lethe, to drink means to forget your mortal life."

"why would anyone do that?"

"to be granted an eternity in paradise means nothing if you're doomed to dream about the horrors you faced on earth. a few heroes in elysium chose to forget," she gestured to the giggling children running over the hills. "and the little ones died so young, you can imagine the things they don't want to think about."

"do you think that's why i'm here? to forget my mortal life?"

"i'm much more interested in how you got here. i prided myself on updating my father's security system, and here you are, making me look bad."

"my apologies, my lady."

"you're strange," her head tilted to the left. "those who drink from the lethe never retain manners or speech patterns. they have to be retaught."

"perhaps, i was special in my mortal life."

"i doubt it." her jewelry adorned hand was offered out to him. "come, we will find a place for you. if you can remember some things, your other memories may return."

slowly, his memory recovered. the girl—actually, the princess, he learned, placed him in charge of picking and cutting fruit for the children. three times a day, everyday, this was his job. the princess would visit him three times a day, every day, which was not part of her job.

she was as drawn to him as he was to her. some days they conversed, both trying to find out more about the other. some days, the princess did the talking, teaching him about where he was, the underworld, and how the kingdom was run.

he was in the elysian fields, where young ones who died in certain circumstances were allowed by zeus to roam for eternity. it was a beautiful place with grassy hills and flower meadows and tall trees that grew the sweetest fruit.

the princess told him that the fruit was precious as food wasn't something granted to all the dead in the underworld, and his seemingly menial job was quite important.

he couldn't help the fluttering feeling in his stomach when she told him he was personally given an important job.

but their favorite days were when neither of them spoke and only the sound of the children's laughter filled the air. it was peaceful and from his scattered memory, he could tell his life above ground wasn't so calm.

"you say there was something important?" the princess laid on the grass next to her companion, who was picking berries into a basket.

"urgent," he nodded. "i can only hope no one's in trouble because of my failure."

"i'm sure your family is safe."

"thank you, princess."

"bluebelle."

"pardon?"

she smiles, "my name is bluebelle. at least, that's what i'm called. my given name is greek and ancient and powerful, or so say they say."

"they?"

"my mother and father."

"the king and queen."

"yes, they say the names of the gods have so much power that they had to adopt lesser ones so that the humans could worship properly."

"you're a goddess?"

"a minor one, truth be told, but yes."

"what do you reign over?"

"i watch over these children, guard their fields from outsiders, keep the outskirts of the elysian island beautiful with flowers and green things."

bluebelle waved her hand over a bare leaf and simultaneously, a bright flower bloomed before their eyes.

"how beautiful," the man said in awe. she was ready to agree, but he wasn't looking at the plant. his eyes were trained on her face, following her movements and seemingly entranced.

dwaza-she coughed, "it's time to send the children to rest for a few hours."

"will you rest as well, princess?"

"no, there's work to be done."

"there will always be work, bluebelle, but we must make time for pleasure, yes?"

never in her years had the princess become so flustered as she was being a breath away from this man. his green eyes became heavy, fixing on hers.

his purple-stained fingertips came to brush against her lips, "mustn't we, love?"

she gasped slightly at his words, allowing his thumb to hook on her bottom lip. the taste of the blueberry juice on her tongue only made her wonder if his lips were as sweet.

"won't you answer me?"

the princess' mind raced between her desire and logic—there was none in loving a mortal. more than the physical barriers of age and development, what if someone was waiting for him return form this journey? if there was a small child waiting for their father, or brother?

she briefly, horribly, thought that in the eight months he's been gone, they ought to have given up and pronounced him dead. if they were already grieving, such a shock would be almost cruel, right?

then she thought again.

that there are things even gods cannot experience but humans can. earth, while filled with pain and strife, was full of joy and wonder. to love him was to keep him from that, and she could not find it in herself to do it.

"i must put the little ones to rest."

with that, she vanished, leaving behind a flourish of bluish-purple petals.