Ariadne's Choice

When Deme informed Samuel that Ariadne had fled the tavern, the blacksmith sprinted after her, which made little sense because there was no trail for him to follow. Even in his emotional rage, Samuel realized that after running through the market that the city was not the same as hide and seek back in the village.

Deme couldn’t tell when Ariadne had left. She could have slipped out the moment Deme fell asleep or maybe it was early in the morning before the morning guards tapped the sleepy night watch to switch rotations.

Samuel didn’t bother with the details and resorted to shouting.

“How could you let her leave like that?” he yelled.

“I was asleep,” Deme replied. “How would you have stopped her?”

“I would have barred the door.”

“And you wonder why she’s left?”

“She’s not in the right state of mind,” Samuel barked. “We have to find her. We have to find her before she hurts herself.”

They asked the innkeeper downstairs if she had seen Ariadne slip out or noticed anything unusual that morning. Despite her earlier threats, the innkeeper turned out to be a heavy sleeper. She had no recollection or even an inkling that a terrible argument had occurred in the early hours of the morning.

“I haven’t seen anyone slip away,” the innkeeper shrugged, “but I also haven’t seen much of anything since last night.”

And so the trail ran cold before the search began. Samuel’s rage became despair. He collapsed over his wife’s empty bedroll and screamed into the sheets. 

“Calm down, Samuel, please,” said Old Calvin. “We’ll find her. We already know where she likely went, don’t we?”

“We do?” Samuel sobbed.

“Of course!” he replied. “Your wife was so enamored with those religious folk from yesterday. The Andari, they called themselves. It’s clear she must have run off to seek them out. What other possibility is there, unless she knows anyone else in the city to turn to?”

“That’s it!” Samuel cried. “She’s run off to find those bastards. We’ll search for them at once.”

“Hold on,” Deme said. “What are you going to do when you find her?”

“I will drag her with me,” the blacksmith growled. “We’ll line up and find the first ship that leaves today.”

“Samuel, I don’t think—”

“We have to leave. Now!” Samuel roared. “Every day we are here, the city will poison her mind even further. We already saw happened with just a day’s worth of exposure. No. We need to be on the next ship out of this shit hole.”

“Let it go, child,” Old Calvin said. “Sam, those men were performing at the plaza yesterday. Perhaps they will be there again? It’s a good place to start.”

Samuel departed for the plaza at once. Deme could have left the issue alone. It was technically not her business, but she chose in the end to follow Samuel alongside Old Calvin. Following the blacksmith was walking along the aftermath of a storm. Everyone cleared out of the way of such a displeasured large man.

“This isn’t right,” Deme whispered to the old man. “Samuel’s gone mad.”

“He hasn’t gone mad,” Old Calvin muttered. “He’s behaving rather mildly given that a death cult has ensnared his wife in their schemes. Can you blame him for acting so hastily?”

“If she did go to them, she went of her own accord.”

“You’re young, so you’re naive,” Old Calvin replied. “These people. They pray on your vulnerabilities. They prod you where you’re most insecure. That’s when you come begging to them for help. That’s what Ariadne is going through, Deme. We should feel sorry for her. That’s why we must find her, before we she harms herself further.”

“I can’t believe the both of you,” Deme rolled her eyes. “How is her faith any less legitimate than yours?”

“Deme, I know you identify with her because you both wish to stay in Aparthia,” Old Calvin sighed. “It blinds you to things. That’s why it would be best if you left with me. Leaving this place will pull the wool back from over your eyes. You’ll see things clearly again.”

The three of them reached the center off the market plaza. Old Calvin was right. The robed men of the Andari had returned and were setting up their platform for another day’s worth of sermons. 

Samuel barreled towards them. They didn’t notice his bullish eyes until it was too late; by then, the blacksmith had wrestled one of them to the ground and placed them in a chokehold.

“Where is Ariadne!” he screamed. ”Where is my wife! Bring her to me. Bring her to me now!”

The robed men attempted to save their compatriot, but these were skinny, otherwise powerless people. Their hands on Samuel’s beefy arms might as well have been a gust of wind or an annoying bug bite. Half a dozen men couldn’t pull Samuel’s arms that were wrangling the poor man beneath him, and the audience watched instead of trying to help.

“Samuel!” Deme cried. “Stop!”

“I”ll let him go,” Samuel shouted. “I’ll let him go if you take me to my wife.”

“We don’t even know who you are!” one of them said.

“Where do you take people?” Samuel demanded. “Take me there. Now!”

“I think he means the sanctuary,” another murmured.

“Take it easy, take it easy,” said a third. “Let him go and we’ll take you to our sanctuary.”

Samuel loosened his grip on the young man, but he did not release him. He stood up and kept his prisoner in a vice grip. With his head, he motioned for the others to start walking.

“Just so you lot don’t get any funny ideas,” he said.

Helpless, the Andari priests abandoned their sermon and asked that their morning audience wait for them later in the day. Deme rushed after the blacksmith. She tugged at his arm like the others.

“Samuel, you have to stop this. It isn’t worth it,” she pleaded. “If Ariadne sees you like this, do you think she’ll agree to come back to you? You have to be reasonable.”

“There is nothing reasonable about any of this,” he grumbled. “I will take my wife back. That will be the end of it.”

“Deme, please,” Old Calvin caught up to her. “You should let him go.”

“Let him go? Have you gone mad, just like him?” Deme gasped. “Even if we find her, do you think she’ll agree to return to him in this state? I preferred the arguing last night over this.”

“You don’t understand,” Old Calvin said. “You don’t understand.”

The sanctuary the Andari priests alluded to was not far from the plaza. There was a small chapel down the road, hidden behind several shops and tricky alleys. A pair of guards stood at the entrance, and they unsheathed their weapons the moment they spotted Samuel carrying a hostage to the front gates.

“Let him go!” they shouted.

“My wife!” Samuel replied. “Ariadne! Ariadne! Ariadne, are you there?”

The guards repeated their order for Samuel to let the hostage go. Samuel responded by tightening his grip on the man.

“Come any closer and I’ll snap his neck!”

“Samuel? What are you doing here?”

Ariadne’s voice flowed from the other side of the gate. Deme saw her approach. Like other priests, Ariadne had donned similar looking black robes and hood. She looked tranquil, with no hint of pressure or duress. She did not even widen her eyes at the sight of Samuel choking another man. 

“Ariadne,” the blacksmith cried. “My wife. You have to stop this madness, my dear. There’s are ships moored at the harbor today. We’ll take one and finally leave this place.”

“You can leave, Samuel, if that is your wish,” she replied. “I will stay here in the sanctuary and await the Endire’s rebirth.”

“Our child, dear, think of our child!”

“Our child will undergo rebirth alongside the Endire,” Ariadne smiled. “You may leave, Samuel, if that is your wish. My wish is to remain.”

Samuel dropped the man in his arms and hurled himself at the gate. The two guards tackled the blacksmith to the ground and attempted to restrain him. Like a mad beast, Samuel threw one of them off and the other suffered a fist to the cheek.

“Guards! Call more guards!” one of the soldiers groaned at the nearest bystander. 

Samuel scrambled to the gate and curled his fists over the steel bars. Ariadne stood there, however, and did not react. It was as if the fear had been drained out of her and all that was left was an impressive certainty that Samuel could not touch her from within the confines of the sanctuary.

“You may leave, Samuel,” she repeated. “Or you may stay and witness the rebirth of this world with me. I think I would like that still.”

“I sacrificed everything for you,” Samuel grimaced. “The horse carts, the midwife, the journey here...”

“You would sacrifice me if you took the journey to The Opposing Shore,” Ariadne replied. “Or was that your goal all along? To merely go there? Now that your wife has chosen to stay, because she believes that her child will grow up strong and healthy here, will you trust her? Will you have faith in me?”

“Ariadne,” Old Calvin croaked. “Listen to your husband. Why have you decided to instead listen to the words of a death cult?”

“To you, their words are poison,” Ariadne replied. “To me, your words are the poisonous ones.”

Loud steps crunched on the pavement behind Samuel. Additional guards arrived. They asked no questions. They pounced on Samuel and dragged him from the gate.

“Ariadne!” he screeched. “Ariadne, no! The Opposing Shore! The Opposing Shore! Our child! My child!”

“I will go after him,” Old Calvin said. “I shall see you back at the inn!”

“What’s going on? Is something wrong, Ariadne?”

A man emerged from within the chapel as Old Calvin hobbled off. Deme recognized him as the orator from yesterday.

“There was a man that just came by,” Ariadne said. “I would like him freed. I would like to grant him passage across The Great Sea. He may choose his own demise if he so wishes.”

“As you wish,” the Andari priest smiled and turned around. “I’ll speak to the guards.”

“You have power over him?” Deme asked.

“A newcomer may be granted one favor before officially joining the sanctuary of the Andari,” Ariadne answered. “I have just used mine. They have already granted my greatest wish by harboring my child here.”

“You settled in pretty quickly then.”

“I already joined yesterday. I simply did not know it,” Ariadne bowed. “Do you still think we are so unalike, child? You think you are more similar to the old man, who chased after my deranged husband?”

“I don’t know,” Deme muttered. “Samuel’s love turned to madness, true, but I’m not sure you did the right thing either.”

“I only care for the survival of my child,” Ariadne shrugged. “I have now secured it. My child is innocent. Let the Endire judge me when my body petrifies and decide if I am worthy to pursue a spiritual next life.”

Deme sighed. She had mistaken sympathy for camaraderie. They were not similar after all.

“Good luck with that,” she said. “Goodbye.”

“Farewell, child,” said Ariadne. “Wherever you are on the Endire’s final day, know that your sister Ariadne remains here in Aparthia. Pray that we both join our ancestor among the stars.”