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The first thing she noticed was his scent. The slight, intoxicating whiff of sweet wine was remarkably different from the salty sea, the sand and the flowers that grew on Naxos.
She didn’t hear him coming up to her, or sitting down by her side. He was just there, offering her food and drink.
‘Who are you?’ he asked.
‘Princess Ariadne of Crete,’ she said out of habit, before shaking her head. ‘Or no. No longer.’
‘Not princess Ariadne of Crete, then? I heard she got off of Crete. The shore of Naxos would be a strange place for her to be, but it isn’t impossible.’
‘I am no longer a princess and my father would kill himself if he heard me calling myself ‘of Crete.’’
‘That leaves Ariadne. Is that who you are? Ariadne?’ She nodded. A couple more tears came down her face. ‘I don’t think that’s bad. Ariadne seems like a wonderful person, princess or not.’ She froze when he caressed her back. Her skin tingled where he touched her. ‘How did you get here, Ariadne? Will you tell me?’
‘Stop touching me.’
The stranger obliged. He snickered. ‘You don’t have to tell me. I have no right to hear your story. Yet-’ he extended his hand, but stopped himself ‘-maybe it helps to get it out of here. Away from your body. It feels like it’s cooped up in there.’
Ariadne felt her heartrate speed up as she realised she was inclined to do it. ‘My fiancé left me here,’ she muttered. She expected a new wave of tears to wash over her, yet that didn’t happen. In an odd, twisted, horrible way, she felt calm. As if speaking it did bring it out.
The stranger put his finger close to her face. When Ariadne didn’t complain, he rubbed away the tears. ‘Enough tears for now?’
Ariadne swallowed, which felt like eating glass. She pulled a face, at which the stranger handed her a cup. ‘Here. Have some. It’ll soften your throat.’
Ariadne took a small sip. It burned, yet she had to admit her throat stopped hurting. She took a shaking breath. The stranger grabbed her hand, which she pulled back.
‘Sorry. Yet, let’s do that again. Breathe. Air has some good qualities, I must admit.’
He breathed in- and out with her. It seemed like a stupid thought, but she hadn’t realised how much she needed air until now.
‘I… he… my father…’
‘From the start, sweet. That’ll be easier.’
‘I’m trying.’
‘I’m sorry. I know. Keep going.’
Ariadne let a handful of sand run through her fingers. ‘His name was Theseus, and he came to Crete from Athens, as an offering to my father,’ she explained. ‘A couple of years ago, my brother died there. In order to stop my father from attacking the city, king Aigeus has to send seven boys and seven girls from Athens to Crete every year. They’re meant to feed the minotaur. My brother.’ She glanced at the stranger, yet he looked unsurprised. Then again he had also known that the daughter of Minos had left the island, so maybe news travelled quicker than she thought. ‘He was one of them, but he didn’t cower in fear like the others did. He looked strong. I thought… I thought, maybe this is the man that can finally end my fathers’ tyranny.’ She breathed, in and out, and took another sip of the drink. It made her feel warm inside. ‘I got to talking with him and he… was charming. I lent him my fathers’ sword, and a clue of wool, so he could slay my…’ She swallowed. ‘I thought it might be better. That’s what I told myself. The life my brother had was no life anyway.’ A couple more tears came down her cheeks. The stranger only smiled and wiped them away. ‘He promised to marry me in return. When he succeeded in slaying… we took the youths of Athens and took off.’ She dug her hands into the sand. ‘Then he told us to stop, here. We’d stock up on food, he said, and spend the night. We did.’ Her cheeks got red. ‘When I woke up, that morning, which… I think it was yesterday, but I am not sure, he was gone. He left me. I helped him, betrayed my family and my land for him, gave my body to him, and he cast me aside, broke my heart, and left me on an island to starve.’ She let out a sob.
The stranger once again put his hand on her back, and this time she didn’t push him away.
‘Poor dear.’ He pulled her into his embrace. Ariadne looked at him, expecting the stranger to still be smiling. Instead, he had a worried expression on his face, combined with a hint of sadness. ‘Oh, poor dear. I… I wouldn’t know why someone would do that.’
Ariadne cried louder. She threw her arms around the strangers’ neck and buried her face in his tunic. Whatever did it matter anyway?
He ran his hands through her loose locks, rocked her lightly, and whispered calming words. All through that she could smell the intoxicating scent. Now, pressed against his chest, it was all around her. It was nice, in a strange way.
At some point she stopped crying, yet she held her face against the fabric of Dionysus’ dress, until he moved her away. ‘You didn’t deserve all that you told me,’ he said. ‘All I can offer you as consolation is to take you with me for a while.’
Ariadne looked around. ‘Where? How? Is your ship around the corner? Or do you live on the island?’
The stranger shook his head. ‘One might say I don’t really have a home.’
Ariadne felt her heart beating faster. She looked the stranger in the eye, and noticed that the irises were vibrant purple. ‘Then what do you mean when you say you’ll take me away from here? Where will you take me?’
He grinned. ‘Where the wind takes us,’ the stranger said. ‘Although right now that would be Thrace.’
‘Thrace?’ It was one of those places she had vaguely heard off, one that laid far away. ‘How-’
‘Don’t ask,’ he answered. ‘And allow me.’ He helped her to her feet, after which he took her in his arms.
‘You’re not human.’
‘I never pretended to be.’
‘Who are you?’ She looked him in the eyes. Did she imagine it, or was he blushing?
‘They call me Dionysus,’ he said. ‘Now allow me to take you away from here. Yet, don’t think I can whisk away all your sorrow that quick. It will linger. I’ve seen grief linger in people before. Yet, maybe, you can stay with me and my company, and you’ll start to feel a little better.’
Ariadne didn’t reply. Her head ached, her limbs were heavy, and when Dionysus whisked them away she felt a nauseous tug in her stomach. Yet at least, she was away from there. That was the first step.