by Rachel Tey
“It’s been a pleasure, Belle.”
“Thank you for your help, er … Madam.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Whatever questions she had about the mysterious lady would have to wait till the next time, assuming there was even going to be a next time.
Julien, wielding the torch, was the first to descend the steps. The girls followed behind, one hand locked in the other’s, and the other placed on either side of his shoulders. The stairs were roughly hewn and uneven in height, but the glow of the torch brought light and warmth amid the dark and dank conditions.
Along the way, Belle was tempted to turn around and check if the lady was still at the entrance. But going down the irregular steps took all of her concentration and she feared a sudden shift in focus might send all three of them tumbling into the abyss. As they ventured deeper in, Mrs Candy Wilson’s question on the class whiteboard sprang to mind, along with the cautionary tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, and she resolved to keep her gaze firmly ahead.
Splash.
Water came up to their ankles when their feet finally hit level ground. Julien waved the torch around, illuminating a scene resembling Belle’s painting of an underground canal. The only difference was the absence of a boat.
“Isn’t there supposed to be a boat somewhere around here?” Tess asked.
“In the painting, it was over there.” Belle pointed at a spot to their left, a few feet away. “Right against the tunnel wall.”
The children waded across for a better look. The waters, dark as obsidian and freezing cold, came up to their knees by the time they reached the location. Julien hovered his torch above, and all three strained to see if the vessel might be submerged beneath the surface.
“No coin, no ride.”
The gruff and gravelly voice echoing down the tunnel was only half as terrifying as the character to which it belonged.
“The Grim Reaper!” Tess shrieked. “This must be hell. We’re dead, guys, we’re dead!”
Julien put an arm around her shoulders to steady her. “Calm down, Tess! We’re not dead! It’s just an old man!”
Belle felt herself go stiff with fear. She had to admit the tall and emaciated figure approaching them bore some resemblance to the legendary personification of death. Bearded and hunched over in a hooded cloak, he glided toward them on a rickety wooden vessel.
Up close, she observed that his sunken eyes looked almost entirely hollowed out, and that he had a narrow, aquiline nose and strong chin. The only exposed areas of his body – his forearms and bare feet – were speckled with age spots, wrinkly and weather-beaten. But if his haggard appearance suggested his advanced years, the firm and precise strokes of his oar spoke of an almost supernatural strength.
The vessel drew to a halt in front of the children. “Surely you weren’t expecting a free journey?”
“Wh–what’s the destination?” Julien stammered, either out of cold or fear.
The question did not strike any of them as funny, but for some reason, the boatman seemed to find it hilarious. His laugher rose to a deafening cackle and his bony shoulders shook violently under his heavy cloak.
“What’s so funny?” Tess asked, her fear morphing into annoyance.
“Forgive me, it’s just that no one’s ever thought to ask me such a thing,” he said, quickly regaining his composure. “It’s not my business to take passengers where they do not belong. I only take them where they’re meant to be.”
The answer was decidedly cryptic.
“And are you the only operator here?” asked Belle.
“Yes.” His reply was businesslike. “And I must be going. Pay up if you wish to climb aboard.”
Belle reached into her pajama pockets, hoping that by some fluke chance, she might’ve brought some money along, but her hand caught hold of Éric’s cellphone which, until this moment, she’d forgotten all about. She was loath to part with it, but no calls or texts had come in, and this was the only valuable she had on her. She’d just have to explain things to her brother later.
She held it out to the boatman. “We don’t have any coin, but would you accept this for payment instead?”
Stay or Go?
“I’m not going back with you, Orpheus.”
The musician could hardly believe what he was hearing. He’d delivered a heartrending performance of Mélodie and moved Hades’s entire court to tears, including the King and Queen who sat misty-eyed in their thrones, their hands interlocked in an unusual display of outward affection. But Eurydice? Her response was subdued at best, and impassive at worst. While he played, she’d listened, stony-faced.
Such a reaction was a first for Orpheus, whose music was known to melt hearts of stone and tame savage beasts, Cerberus included. Music defined his entire existence and had always been his only answer out of tricky situations. He often used it to both entertain as well as persuade others to his cause. Today, however, music had no effect on the one person he’d hoped to win over.
What would Orpheus be if his music lost its universal appeal? Powerless. Who would he be if music was no longer a foolproof method to bend another to his will? A nobody. This realization shook him to the core.
As he struggled to make sense of it all, questions swirled about in his head. What was wrong with his wife? Why would anyone remain in this dark and terrible place unless they’d been condemned here for eternity? What did the Underworld possibly have to offer her that could top a blissful life with him in the Overworld?
More importantly, why was she immune to Mélodie’s seductions? When they first met, it was music that won him her love and affection. Music had accompanied their romance and been their bond. What had changed?
“I came all this way – I risked everything for you!” Orpheus’s voice was strident and he could feel his cheeks flush with indignation. He hadn’t prepared a speech, and without music to do the talking, he was at a loss for words.
“That was courageous of you,” she said softly but firmly, “but unnecessary.”
“Eurydice, listen to me. I’ve come to take you home. We can put all this behind us, like a nightmare.”
“Can we really?”
“Why not? Do you blame me for your death?”
She bristled at his question, Orpheus could tell, in the way she set her jaw and raised her chin. He thought he glimpsed anger in her golden eyes, but that was soon replaced with a cold, steely gaze.
“I do not deny that your tardiness in coming to my aid left me heartbroken,” she said, “but my demise is ultimately the act of divine providence, and I blame no one.”
“My dear, if you’ll return with me, I’ll never let such a misfortune befall you again!”
“Did you not hear me, Orpheus? This is my destiny. I belong here now.”
“No! Your destiny is with me!” he railed. “Do you no longer love me? Is that why Mélodie failed to move you? Say it isn’t so!” He sank to his knees sobbing. It was the musician’s turn to be the emotional wreck while his audience watched, captivated.
Eurydice knelt to put her arms around her husband’s shaking shoulders. “I do love you, Orpheus,” she said tenderly, “but I’m dead now, and you must let me go.”
But the musician would not be persuaded. “Then I shall remain in the Underworld with you, even if it means sacrificing my mortality! I’ll give up my life and music since you clearly don’t appreciate either anymore.”
Eurydice shook her head in disbelief. “Even until now, you’re acting like this is all about you.” She bent down to retrieve his lyre and handed it back to him. “You don’t have to give up anything. I never even asked that you come. I don’t need saving, Orpheus, at least not anymore. Go home.”
“No!” he cried, grabbing her tightly by the wrists. “You have only two options: we both stay or you go with me!”
Eurydice winced in pain, rousing Cerberus from his passive slumber. The hellish hound bounded to his feet and snarled threateningly, restrained only by the leash
in the Queen’s hand.
The royal couple had by now come out of the spell of Orpheus’s music and were watching the lovers’ tiff with a mixture of amusement and fascination. Persephone squeezed her husband’s hand as a sign for him to intervene, and the King cleared his throat loudly.
“That’s enough!” Hades commanded, his deep voice echoing down the hall. “You lovebirds seem to have forgotten you are in my court and I make the rules here.” A sparkling ruby adorned his index finger, which was raised and pointing at Orpheus. “Young lad, you will do well to remember your place as a visitor. You are in no position to make such demands on Eurydice, who is my subject, or indeed, any demands at all.”
The musician released his wife and hung his head in shame, while she hastily backed away to put more distance between them. Orpheus had crossed a great chasm to reach Eurydice, but now he had also crossed an invisible line that would divide them forever. She rubbed at her painful and reddened wrists, willing them to go numb, just as her heart had become.
Persephone looked pensive as she sat stroking all three of Cerberus’s heads. For what it was worth, she’d fallen in love with Mélodie and had revisited a very specific dream only made possible with the help of Orpheus’s music. Being able to help that red-headed little girl and her two friends was quite a satisfying ending to that dream. More significantly, Orpheus’s music had the power to bring her back to the Overworld, a place she sorely missed.
The Queen reflected on the shaky beginnings of her own marriage and her bitterness about the forced union. Like Eurydice, her present situation was not of her choosing, though unlike Orpheus, the King was never overbearing or hysterical when she disagreed with him. Hades did not express himself in grandiose ways, but he always treated Persephone with gentleness and reverence. Over time, the reluctant Queen had stopped hating her husband, and though she wouldn’t go as far as to say what she felt for him amounted to love, the couple had a deep mutual respect and admiration for each other. Studying the miserable young couple before her, Persephone was surprised to find that she no longer envied their relationship.
“My King and Queen,” Eurydice said, her head bowed in reverence, “please allow me to remain in the Underworld, where I belong.”
“Your Majesties, I entreat you!” Orpheus protested. “Grant me permanent residence to serve as your ever-faithful musician!”
What would Hades decide? He sympathized with Eurydice and had no qualms about banishing the pesky youth from his court, but he also considered that Persephone had grown quite fond of the lad and his music. Beneath the King’s stern exterior lay a peace-loving and conciliatory nature, and he always looked for a win–win solution that pleased all parties.
“What say you, my Queen?” He often sought her wise counsel, and relied on her for innovative solutions out of tricky situations.
“How about this, my Lord?” she suggested. “Perhaps what the couple needs is some private time to think things through. Have Charon take them on a boat ride along my private channel. There’s a flight of steps at the end of the canal, which leads up into the mortal realm. If they choose to disembark, they may leave the Underworld. Or if they prefer to stay, the ferryman can bring them back.”
“Excellent idea!” Hades was impressed with his Queen’s strategy to buy time and let the lovers decide upon their own fate.
Orpheus seemed extremely pleased as well. “I gladly accept!” he declared confidently.
The maiden, however, was skeptical. “Forgive me, my Lady,” she said, “but suppose one of us wants to get off, but the other prefers to stay in the boat – what happens, then?”
“Let me finish,” said Persephone, her voice low and serious. “During the entire journey, Orpheus is forbidden from communicating with Eurydice. No looking, speaking, or touching.”
Hades lifted an eyebrow. “Otherwise?”
Cerberus, who was restrained at the foot of the royal thrones, was getting restless. He growled and fidgeted with impatience, but the Queen had an iron grip on his leash. “If our young musician makes it all the way to the steps without engaging in any contact with his bride, he has our permission to return with her to the Overworld, or remain with her in the Underworld.”
“ However,” the Queen emphasized, her dark gaze on Orpheus, “if he as much as glances at her, he goes back to the Overworld alone, while she stays in the Underworld – for eternity.”
A few moments of silence passed as the couple contemplated.
“What say you, Eurydice?” came Hades’s all-important question.
The fair maiden had arrived at his court like a picture of sorrow, but she didn’t look so mournful now. As she lifted her head to meet the King’s gaze, her golden eyes were lively and determined. “My Queen’s suggestion is fair and wise. I gladly accept.”
Hades roared with delight. “Consider it settled, then!” Turning to his attendants, who stood ready and waiting for his next command, he bellowed, “Summon for Charon at once!”
Tess Comes Clean
“It all began with Tea in Pajamas.”
Tess was cold and wet, but surprisingly chatty. Huddled in between Belle and Julien on the boat, she began to recount what got them all here. She was addressing two other passengers on the boat, a handsome-looking couple who, for reasons unknown, were seated one in front of the other and not speaking. The young man looked to be about twenty, with a scruffy beard that framed his chiseled face so perfectly he could’ve been a marble bust of Adonis come to life. His partner was a young lady with remarkably pale skin and strikingly golden eyes. She had on a tattered white dress, and her limbs were marked by purple bruises and angry red scars.
Tess, who was not good with awkward silences, took the duo’s polite silence as a sign of encouragement, and was presently doing her best to fill the vacuum with conversation.
“On a whim, Belle decided to have afternoon tea in her pajamas, and because she couldn’t find her bedroom slippers, she went barefoot. Next thing you know – BAM! She found herself transported into a world beyond her wildest imagination. Talking animals, woodland musicians, winding river, blue forest – all set in a quaint little town called BEL-zerac!” Tess said it with particular emphasis on “BEL,” which made Belle herself wonder about her personal connection with this wondrous place. Would Belzerac still be accessible without her in the equation? The thought hadn’t crossed her mind until then.
“She befriended a grizzly called Cheesy Bear, who obviously loves his fromage, as well as the town mayor and his wife, a pig couple called Monsieur and Madame DuPorc. They’re AWESOME people – I mean, animals – and I should know, because Belle soon let me in on the secret of Tea in Pajamas, and the following Wednesday I entered Belzerac the same way she did!”
Tess paused to adjust the blue headband on her head. “Have to admit I was skeptical – oh so skeptical – in the beginning. But curiosity eventually got the better of me. So I put on my favorite nightdress, snuck down to the kitchen barefoot, warmed up some scones, and put the kettle on. I hardly had the time to enjoy my treats, though, because before I knew it, the clock struck three, and BAM! Hel-lo Belzerac!”
The handsome lad raised his eyebrows to express amazement, but his head remained very still, as if afraid to unwittingly catch a glimpse of the young maiden behind him. Belle wondered for a moment if they might not be together at all, but even strangers smiled at appropriate moments, especially in common situations such as being on the same boat. Instead, their stiff body language and avoidant gaze hinted that these two were more than meets the eye.
The flimsy wooden vessel bobbed down the canal waters, the air punctuated with Tess’s lilting voice. She was approaching the exciting part of the story.
“Belzerac became our secret hideaway every Wednesday after school. For the first couple of weeks, the arrival of sunset would zip us back home, so we naturally assumed that that would happen every single time. Easy peasy lemon squeezy – or so we thought.”
The boatman, who’d bee
n listening all this while, was intrigued. He set his oar aside and settled down at the boat’s edge with a grunt. “You will permit this old man a five-minute break from rowing,” he muttered.
Tess shrugged and continued. “Belle and I always appeared at random locations, but Belzerac is a small place and you’re never too far from the town square. So the town square became our usual meeting spot.”
Her voice got quieter. “But two Wednesdays ago, I made a spur-of-themoment decision to deviate from the plan. I should’ve told you this earlier, Belle, especially since I knew you felt responsible for ‘losing’ me. But it was actually my fault that things went awry.”
“What do you mean?” Belle had not been expecting this sudden plot twist. Up until that point, her mind had been on her brother’s cellphone, which she’d traded as payment for the boat ride. The boatman had slipped it into the pocket of his cloak, but she could see the shape of the device from the way the fabric drooped under its weight.
“It was really all on a silly whim,” Tess reasoned, her eyes lowered. “If I hadn’t been curious about the Sapphire Forest and thought to pop in for a second, none of this would’ve happened.”
This confession came as a surprise, but Belle could understand her best friend’s reasons for withholding this detail. Tess had been afraid her friends would be angry with her, especially Belle, who had led herself to believe she was the sole architect of their series of misadventures.
Belle smiled. “Could’ve spared me a lot of grief, but I still love you.”
Tess sighed with relief. “It was only meant to be a quick detour, and I was going to hurry back to the town square to meet you.”
“But you lost track of time in the woods, didn’t you?” Julien had a predictable habit of interjecting whenever he had a Eureka moment. “This proves my theory that the Sapphire Forest is immune to sunset, and explains why you weren’t transported back to Michelmont even after nightfall.”
