by Rachel Tey
Julien stopped chewing, and Tess felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.
“So my question is: Are you soon going to change into your pajamas?”
Mrs Wilson did know something about Tea in Pajamas after all!
Tess sprang to her feet. “Thanks for the tea and biscuits, Mrs Wilson, but isn’t it about time we got back to class?”
Mrs Wilson removed her glasses and massaged her temples. “It’s awfully quiet in the teachers’ lounge, don’t you think? Monsieur Julien, see that CD player on the side table next to the potted plant? Would you be so kind as to go over and push the ‘PLAY’ button?”
Monsieur Julien? No one had ever addressed Julien in that manner before, except … he racked his brains trying to figure out why it sounded so familiar.
Meanwhile, Tess was impatient to leave. Things were going to unravel quickly if they didn’t find Belle first.
“We’ll put on the music and see you back in class, Mrs Wilson,” she said, grabbing Julien by the hand and hurrying over to activate the CD player.
A slow classical piece flooded the teachers’ lounge, and they froze at the doorway as the dreadfully seductive tune washed over them.
Mrs Wilson put down her cup and saucer and got to her feet. “Come along now, children, I think it’s time Principal Gold had a word with you.”
It struck Julien as odd that his teacher’s hair was no longer in a bun, but let loose, longer and more luxuriant than before. He also didn’t recall her looking quite this brown and feathery.
And then he heard Tess’s piercing scream.
King of the Underworld
Hades usually wore a grim, unyielding expression on his face. Not today, however. The King of the Underworld was in the company of a new arrival and her tragic tale moved him deeply.
Eurydice was undeniably beautiful, with golden eyes that matched her fair hair, alabaster complexion, and graceful long limbs. But it was also plain to see that this maiden had been through a great deal of trauma. Her bare arms were caked with a layer of dried blood and her legs were a colorful canvas of purples, blues, and greens. As she stood before Hades in her once-ivory wedding robe, she reminded him of a delicate flower that had been forcefully uprooted before it could fully bloom.
“Welcome to the Underworld and to my royal court,” he said formally, but gently. “You may speak and tell me of your demise.”
“My Lord.” There was a hard edge to her otherwise girlish voice. “It happened on the night of our nuptials. After our wedding feast, my husband Orpheus and I were walking back to our home when Aristaeus sprang upon us, with the intention to take Orpheus’s life.”
“Aristaeus the shepherd?”
“Some claim he’s a bee-keeper.”
“Ah, yes.”
The King was intrigued. He’d heard of Aristaeus’s almost legendary obsession with Eurydice but was surprised that a simple case of unrequited love might drive a man to such extremes. He himself had been guilty of his less-than-honorable means of “procuring” Persephone as his wife and Queen, but at least he hadn’t tried to kill anyone in the process.
“Aristaeus pursued us all the way into the forest,” she continued. “On and on we ran until …”
Hades remained seated upon his throne, entranced by her story. He listened as the maiden described, in vivid detail, how her husband was so single-mindedly focused on their flight to safety that he didn’t realize that her hand had slipped from his grasp, or that she’d veered off the path and unwittingly stepped into a snake pit.
Inside the deadly labyrinth, Eurydice struggled to fight off the serpents, but was no match for them in terms of strength, numbers, and ferocity. Spotting Aristaeus a short distance away, she’d cried out in agony for him to save her, but the shepherd fled in horror.
“As the vipers slithered around my ankles, licked my feet, and sank their venom into my body, I prayed that this was all just a nightmare – that I’d soon wake up, alive and well, in my husband’s arms.” Her golden eyes misted with tears. “Instead I lay paralyzed and powerless.”
Hades was aghast. “What happened next?” To his mind, Orpheus’s negligence was to blame for the fair maiden’s untimely demise. The King knew the young musician was presently in Persephone’s court petitioning to bring Eurydice back to the Overworld, but did the careless lad truly deserve the grand favor he was asking? For all his bravado, where was he when his wife was buried in a shroud of snakes?
There was a note of resignation in her voice as Eurydice finished her tale. “By the time he found me and pulled me out from the pit, I was too far gone. He wept inconsolably until I slipped into the darkness.”
“And here you are now.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
It was truly a heart-rending story, Hades had to admit. Decades of life in the Underworld had hardened the King to the sorrowful plight of others – for if he were to dig into the back story of each soul, where would he even begin? But Eurydice’s misfortune had affected him on a deeper level.
Hades had been young once – in his youth, fairness and justice had meant something to him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have teamed up with his brothers Zeus and Poseidon to overthrow their father’s generation of Titans. What happened next, however, would always be a sore point. When the siblings drew lots for the division of the universe, fate decreed that Hades would rule the dark domain while Zeus and Poseidon got to lord over the sky and seas, respectively.
Being King of the Underworld wouldn’t have been his first choice, but it wasn’t so bad with his beautiful Queen by his side. Persephone was the only woman he’d ever desired. On her he showered undying devotion and lavished precious jewels, even if she never returned his intensity of affection.
Eurydice’s story had put Hades in a wistful mood. He tried to picture what it must be like to experience a love as deep as that between Orpheus and Eurydice – a bond so strong the lovers were inseparable even by death.
“What if I told you that your husband is here in the Underworld –”
“No,” she whispered, bringing her hands over her mouth to stifle a gasp.
“ – and that I had the power to reunite you lovers –”
“Orpheus killed himself?” Her eyes were wide with disbelief and tears were spilling from them.
“ – and that he’s alive –”
Eurydice shook her head in confusion. “Impossible! How could he be here if –”
The King had a faraway look in his eyes. “Let’s just say his music struck a chord with Charon, Cerberus, and Persephone. And your story has moved me.”
The fair maiden stood frozen on the spot, her expression blank and unreadable. This surprised Hades, for he expected her to be bursting with happiness at the prospect of returning to the mortal realm with her husband.
“Are you not eager to see Orpheus?” he asked.
“Yes, my Lord, if I were still alive. But my circumstances are much changed.” She fiddled with the shreds on her wedding robe, slipping her fingers through the punctured fabric. “I no longer belong in the land of the living, and I will not have my husband see me in this state.”
“Ah, so that is what concerns you. My dear, I assure you that your health and vitality will be restored once you exit the Underworld – and your beauty shall remain unrivaled.” Hades was confident that his kingly pledge to return her in perfect condition would finally bring cheer, but no smile appeared on that tragic face.
“Where I have gone, Orpheus should not have followed,” she insisted. “I cannot un-see the horrors I’ve seen, nor can I undo the ills that have befallen me. My Lord, I thank you for your generous offer, but even if I had my former life back, I could never again feel the same inside.”
Hades could scarcely believe what he was hearing. “Do you truly mean, fair Eurydice, that you wish to stay in the Underworld?”
She nodded, her golden eyes resolute. “Yes, my Lord, that is correct.”
“And you’ll have me send your husband home? You kn
ow, he has come a long way and overcome numerous obstacles just to fetch you.”
“I recognize that, my Lord, but that was his will, not mine.”
The King was flummoxed. The lovers weren’t getting their fairytale ending after all – not even if he himself were willing to sanction it. How could this be? Why would anyone pass up on a once-in-a-lifetime offer like this?
Cerberus’s guttural howl and the loud clanging of steel interrupted his thoughts. The fearsome guard dog was bounding into the King’s court, all three pairs of his eyes bloodshot and murderous. Drooling profusely from his fangs and ready to pounce on any soul betraying the slightest sign of vulnerability, he was restrained only by a collar of heavy chains clamped around his massive neck. Commanding the leash was his regal mistress, Queen Persephone, who made her grand entrance in a magnificent purple robe and jeweled crown.
She settled into a throne adjacent to Hades’s, her black eyes skimming over the tragic maiden before her. “This must be the beautiful bride of Orpheus.”
“My Lady.” Eurydice curtsied deferentially.
Hades took Persephone’s hand in his and kissed it tenderly. “My Queen, I believe this young lady’s husband has found himself in your court.”
“Indeed,” she replied coolly, withdrawing her hand from the King’s lips to stroke one of Cerberus’s heads. The hound whimpered in response and curled up at her feet. “The lad plays the lyre so marvelously. In fact, he’s composed a piece just for his wife.”
“I’m intrigued,” remarked Hades. “Wouldn’t you like to hear it, Eurydice?”
“It’s called Mélodie,” Persephone went on, before the maiden had a chance to respond. “The most intoxicating piece of music I’ve ever heard. Shall we summon him in to play for us, my King?”
“Well,” Hades hesitated, finding it hard to refuse his Queen, “I’m sure Orpheus is most eager to be reunited with his love.” He turned to Eurydice, his gaze both commanding and pleading. “And she’ll be glad to see him again, won’t she?”
Her eyes were downcast, but Eurydice’s reluctance was apparent. “Yes, my Lord.”
Whatever her misgivings, she’d have to put them aside for the moment, because Persephone was fond of her new musician and Hades himself was curious about Mélodie.
Hades’s voice was thunderous. “Send Orpheus in!” he ordered.
Who Looked Back?
“Who Looked Back?” These three words were scrawled across the whiteboard when Belle stepped into her classroom.
Excited at her return, her friends had gathered like a flock of birds around her desk. Everyone was curious about her weeklong absence from school and they bombarded her with questions. Amid the frenzied chatter, Belle’s eyes searched for the two friends she was particularly anxious to see, but there was no sign of Tess or Julien.
“Settle down, children, back to your seats at once!” Mrs Wilson’s hands were on her hips and she was scowling with impatience. With reluctant groans, the kids dispersed and retreated to their respective desks.
The English teacher’s tone softened as she approached Belle. “Miss Marie, I’m glad that you’ve returned. We’ll have to catch up after class,” she said, while Belle nodded and pulled out her textbooks.
As the lesson resumed, her attention reverted to the question on the whiteboard. Mrs Wilson was introducing them to Greek mythology, in particular the tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice. It was Belle’s favorite tale for a number of reasons, one of them being the manifold twists and turns to the plot. It starts off happy (Orpheus and Eurydice wed), then it goes badly (Eurydice dies from a snake bite on their wedding night), then it seems promising (Orpheus descends into the Underworld to retrieve his bride), and it gets even more hopeful (his beautiful music moves the King and Queen of the Underworld so much they agree to free Eurydice – on condition that neither looks back on their return journey to the Overworld), and then almost predictably it ends tragically (Orpheus looks back just as they reach the surface, and the lovers are separated for good).
Belle thought hard about the question on the whiteboard. It seemed obvious to her that Orpheus was the one who looked back, his impatience sealing the lovers’ tragic fate. But could she have interpreted the tale wrongly or missed some cues? What were the odds that it was Eurydice who looked back, and as she was wrenched from Orpheus’s grasp, he too turned his head? That’d mean there was a possibility that they both had looked back!
This lesson was very interesting indeed. Belle hardly noticed it was over until her classmates shuffled out of the classroom for recess and Mrs Wilson approached her desk.
“Miss Marie, please come with me to meet Miss Brown and Mr Edgehawk. They’re both expecting you in Principal Gold’s office.”
“It’s been awhile, Miss Marie. You look well,” said Mr Ted Wong, his fingers still typing away on his computer keyboard. The sixty-year-old gentleman was the principal’s personal assistant and Lutetia Elementary’s longest-serving staff member.
“Thanks, Mr Wong, I’m very well.” Belle twitched in her seat, attempting to avoid eye contact with the elderly administrator.
The jangling of his desk phone interrupted their exchange.
“Yes, she’s here. Certainly,” he said into the receiver, as he signaled for her to proceed inside.
Belle gathered her things and approached the principal’s office door. She knocked gently and waited.
“Come in!” said a female voice from behind the door.
Taking a deep breath, Belle turned the knob and entered.
Sure enough, Tess and Julien were inside. They greeted her with expectant faces, but something was amiss about Madam Gold, who was planted firmly in her office chair with her back to them all. Her principal was a statuesque lady, so it was strange that Belle could not at least see the top of her head.
She stood waiting for Madam Gold to swivel round to face her, but the black office chair remained motionless. “Please sit down, Miss Marie,” said the principal.
Obediently, Belle pulled up an empty chair right next to Tess, who reached over and squeezed her hand as if to reassure her. Julien, however, looked distracted, and was fiddling with his spiky hair.
“Very good, children,” Madam Gold continued. “Now that we’re all here, would you like to begin by telling me who looked back?”
The friends stared at one another, struggling to understand the question, but Belle immediately thought of Mrs Wilson’s lesson just minutes ago.
“If you’re referring to Orpheus and Eurydice, Madam Gold, most people assume Orpheus was the one who looked back,” she replied. “But as to who really looked back, it could very well be Eurydice, who might’ve had second thoughts about leaving the Underworld.”
As she spoke, Belle noticed that her two friends were staring at her with puzzled expressions. After all, weren’t they all summoned to the principal’s office to explain their weeklong absence from school? Why was she talking about Greek mythology?
“What about you, Miss Brown and Mr Edgehawk? Who do you think looked back?” their principal persisted.
“Uh, Orpheus, I suppose,” muttered Tess. “Eurydice might’ve asked him a question, and perhaps he forgot himself and turned around.”
“Neither looked back,” came Julien’s reply. Ever the smarty-pants and never one to go for the standard answer, he explained, “I think Hades never intended to release Eurydice from the Underworld so he must’ve just pretended to let her go, only to wrest her back at the last moment.”
Madam Gold’s next few words sounded cryptic. “Well, these are certainly plausible scenarios, aren’t they? I think you’ll discover, children, that art mirrors reality, and when thrust in a similar situation, any of us might just as easily succumb to the temptation of looking back – to the detriment of all.”
Belle began to get the feeling that the principal was indirectly referring to Tea in Pajamas, but couldn’t quite pinpoint the connection between that and “looking back.” She glanced at Tess and Julien f
or help, wondering if they caught the allusion, but her best friend wore a perplexed expression on her face, while her spiky-haired classmate sat rooted in his seat with his brows furrowed.
A sudden knock on the door broke the silence.
“Who is it?” asked Madam Gold.
“It’s me,” came the voice of Mr Ted Wong. “Everyone’s here.”
“Let them in.”
With a turn of the doorknob, in walked three characters the children instantly recognized.
The first to enter was François the Fox, still dressed as Belle’s school bus driver. Pottering behind him were Raymond the Rabbit, clad in Mr Ted Wong’s gray shirt-and-pants combo, and Nicole the Nightingale, whose chocolate brown feathers were tugged snugly beneath Mrs Candy Wilson’s pink turtleneck and tartan skirt.
“I knew it!” Tess cried. “When Mrs Wilson morphed into the Nightingale, I just knew the rest of them were going to show up!”
“Calm down, Tess,” whispered Julien, “there must be a logical explanation to all this.”
“Yes, there will be,” replied Madam Gold, swinging her chair around to address her audience. Simone the Squirrel, dressed in the principal’s signature creamcolored pantsuit, greeted everyone with a toothy grin.
Face to face with all four members of Belzerac’s infamous string quartet, Belle began to piece together the bits to this mysterious jigsaw.
“This must mean we haven’t made it all the back to Michelmont,” she said slowly.
“I still don’t follow,” Tess protested.
Julien held up his palms to get everyone’s attention. “Hold on, let’s think for a moment. Tea in Pajamas is the common thread here, so we need to go back to the beginning.”
He turned toward Belle. “You discover that by sitting down to tea every Wednesday afternoon at three o’clock, barefoot and in your PJs, it transports you into Belzerac, a magical world beyond Michelmont. Each time you typically spend a few hours there until the arrival of sunset takes you back home.”
