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THE MAN SHE HAD TALKED to was not the same one she had spoken to at dinner. It wasn’t Dionysus in disguise she could tell that much, but beyond that she didn’t know. Not knowing who was messing with her pissed Ariadne off.
She packed nothing. She had nothing. Just as when she fled Crete, she had nothing but the clothes on her back with her. It was something that made things infinitely easier and more painful. She had nothing. No worldly possessions nor lover to hold her close.
Ariadne approached Maron, checked the color of his eyes and informed him politely she was heading out. He thanked her for her company like she was someone important. She tried not to laugh at him. She did, however, warn him.
“I’m leaving because I had a truly awful conversation with someone who looked identical to you last night. I was at my room in quite a mood before I remembered you don’t have blue eyes. I’m heading out before you are drawn into this further. But still, put the word out you might have a double running around.”
Maron swallowed, going pale indeed. “Thank you.” He swallowed again, likely thinking of some of the more notorious shapeshifters among the immortals. “I will send you with money and clothes. It would do me a dishonor not to.” Even her host had realized Ariadne was without means.
Ariadne accepted because while she hated relying on charity, this at least felt like a trade of some dubious sort. “Tell Dionysus, if he comes by and wants to know where I am that I went to practice my pickling techniques. Then look at his crotch for a moment. He’ll understand.”
“Understand what?” Maron asked, looking alarmed at her implications.
“That I am very angry indeed but also want him to know where I am so we can talk.” She translated for the man who likely feared being turned into a grapevine for offending Dionysus. “If he wants to talk.” Ariadne added quietly, already planning on getting passage on a ship headed to the area closest to Demeter’s home.
* * *
SHE got kidnapped by pirates.
Pirate raids happened fairly frequently in the region, growing more prominent by the year as more discontented and frequently wronged women joined the crews. The entire ship was captured and everyone was stripped of their belongings, money and in some cases clothes if they were fine enough. Being the gifts of a king, Ariadne’s clothes were fine enough for confiscation. Unlike the other near naked nobility and merchants on the deck, she was comfortable in her near nudity. Traveling in a group known for it’s orgies had strange upsides, as it turned out.
In an odd twist of fate, it is her past as the princess of the Labyrinth that saved her. The first mate, a vaguely familiar young woman recognized her.
“Princess Ariadne.” She said, voice reverent before bowing to Ariadne. The other pirates stop harassing the passengers to stare at them. “I never took the time to thank you for saving everyone.”
Ariadne shrugged, sea wind stinging against her slowly burning skin. “I never took the time to know your name.”
“It’s Coronis.” The young woman told her promptly. “Thank you for saving my brother and I.”
“I didn’t do all that much.” Ariadne tried to demur, guilt over her failed escape attempt eating at her. She had tried to leave the tributes to their gory demise. Despite his short sightedness and lechery, Theseus had been the one to end the nightmare of the Minotaur. “Theseus was the real hero.” She admitted grudgingly.
Coronis spoke sharply, stalking forward to get into Ariadne’s face. “You took the time to guide me and my brother through the labyrinth, and comfort him when he wept in fear of the Minotaur. You took the time to ensure our escape even when you had to navigate the labyrinth alone afterwards. You are a hero.” Coronis told Ariadne, daring her to disagree.
The Captain of the now avidly eavesdropping pirates sauntered over. “All that and you still got dumped on an empty island for your trouble by the Prince. Rumor is you got picked up by a god afterwards. That true?” She inspected Ariadne who had sweat now dripping from her skin, despite standing there in nothing but her underwear.
“Yeah.” Ariadne shrugged, sun burned skin tight on her shoulders. “How’d that come out?” She risked asking, taking a deep breath from her too small lungs.
Coronis told her dryly, “When the families of the so called ‘tributes’ sent a search party for you, the island was empty. There was however, a massive grove of grapevines and ivy in the middle of the beach.” She smirked, adding, “One of the sailors was stupid enough to eat some grapes and was drunk for three days.”
“Subtle, Dionysus is not.” Ariadne agreed with a groan, rubbing the heel of her palm into her eye where a headache promised to bloom. Darkness flirted at the edge of her vision.
“Theseus’s face when he heard you were picked up by the god of orgies was hilarious.” Coronis revealed with vicious amusement, ushering her to the shade to sit down with a nod at the Captain. “Where should we be letting you off at then, Princess? Seeing as I owe you a debt and the crew doesn’t want to anger your lover.”
Ariadne went to answer but the world went dark as she finally succumbed to heatstroke.
* * *
SHE woke up back in her cabin with cold packs on her pulse points, still wearing only her underwear. Hermes sat in the chair that didn’t exist before, flipping a familiar ball of string back and forth between his hands. The last she had seen of it Theseus had it as they fled the Labyrinth.
“Can I help you?” She offered, as the god of thieves snatched the ball out of the air, clearly having been deep in thought.
“That’s what I’m here for, actually. To help you, not the other way around.” He told her cheerfully in such a way that Ariadne instinctively knew his mood was fake.
“Why would you do that?” She questioned, a cold pack sliding off her neck.
Hermes smiled wider. It looked painful. “Why wouldn’t I want to help out my baby brother’s lover?”
“You got ordered to, huh.” She placed a cold pack on her face before realizing it was warm. She took them all off and sat up on the bed to face the god across from her.
“Is it that obvious?” He grimaced, bouncing the thread ball one handed.
“Where is Dionysus? What’s his problem with me?” She asked, knowing she was talking to the god of liars and despite that he was still her best bet at a straight answer. Her life had definitely taken a few weird turns lately.
He gave her a bewildered look. “I have no idea what has happened with this situation aside from turning into a clusterfuck.”
“I had a fight with Dionysus. He didn’t come back. Someone pretended to be my host and gave me bad relationship advice. I decided to leave before Dionysus’s new favorite vintner got creamed on the sidelines.” Ariadne summed up. “Your turn, what’s going on with Dionysus?”
Hermes looked thoughtful. “That makes sense.” He drummed his fingers on his thigh before snapping them. “Right. Still have no idea.” He gave her a charming grin, as if he thought that would get him out of answering.
Ariadne got off the bed, staggered, caught her balance and then sat in his lap. The grin fell off his face. She looked up at him, slightly startled at the height difference even sitting down. “Right. I’ll ask one. more. time.” She laced her arms around his neck and pulled her face next to his ear to hiss. “What is going on?”
She could see his throat move as he swallowed. “You are a surprisingly scary woman.” Hermes shifted like he wanted to fidget and realized what it did with her in his lap. “As far as I can tell my brother has no idea how to use his words and express how he feels about you.” Ariadne’s breath stilled in her lungs. How he felt- could it be? Hermes continued on like he hadn’t felt her tense up, despite the flickering look at her and away. “He’s either sulking or pestering people for advice and ignoring all of it and beginning to panic the longer it goes on. The body double was probably Dad, he’s the worst. At romantic advice.” He tacked on distractedly.
Ariadne wrinkled her nose. “I am so glad he didn’t hit on me. Would have broke character I suppose.”
“It’s uh, actually really strange he didn’t, but meeting you I think I’m starting to get why. Dionysus likes dangerous women.” Hermes sighed. “Dad does not.” He added, trying to peel her hands off him. She obligingly let him think he could have his freedom when he wanted it.
“You seem like an intelligent person who actually knows the person I’m having trouble with.” She said instead of asking if Dionysus was in love with her like she wanted to.
“I do not like the sound of this.” Hermes picked her up bodily and sat her back on the bed, sitting down and jiggling his leg in a blur.
* * *