Vol. I Chapter II: The Confession

The next day, the morning sun spilled warm into the room.

The only proof Melissa hadn’t been a dream was the chaos all around Lucius: empty wine bottles, sand and water stains across the floor. A single small hoofprint was pressed into a forgotten pat of butter under the kitchen table.

But the Satyr herself was nowhere to be seen.

Was all of this real? Or did I just drink too much wine last night?

He sighed and rubbed his face. His eyes flicked toward the kitchen door as though hoping she might burst in at any moment, barefoot, dripping, a wine bottle in hand. But the house remained silent.

Slowly he stood, grabbed one of the empty bottles, sniffed it, then set it down again.

“All I wanted was a quiet life…” he muttered as he mopped up a puddle with a kitchen towel. Yet he felt a restless tingle in his chest, a quiet fear that maybe… she really wouldn’t come back.

A faint clink echoed from the hallway. Lucius spun around.

There she was, peeking in from behind the door, only her horns and one sparkling eye visible.

“Pssst!” she whispered loudly. “You’re still asleep! This is just… um… an alcohol-induced projection of your subconscious desire for me!”

Her tail flicked and twitched with laughter. Lucius crossed his arms, but couldn’t hide the relief on his face at seeing her again.

“You know… normal visitors just leave a note before disappearing.”

Melissa grinned.

“A note would be boring.”

“I have a really bad feeling about how my next week is going to go,” Lucius groaned.

For an instant, something soft flickered in Melissa’s gaze, almost like guilt. But then she shrugged and grinned again.

“Sorry, sweetheart. I’ve still got a few more parties to crash!”

Lucius flinched in surprise.

“You’re leaving again? Right now? But… what about our deal?”

Before he could say more, she tossed him a golden amulet shaped like a cluster of grapes.

“…In case you really want to see me again, and if you want me to show you my world…” she said with a sly smile. “…put this under your pillow on the next blood moon.”

With one last conspiratorial wink, she was gone, slipping out of sight behind the doorframe.

“Hey, wait!” Lucius called after her, lunging forward. But only the echo of her hooves remained.

“The next blood moon isn’t for months!“ he protested.

But she was already gone.

Five months later, summer was slowly drawing to a close. And in just a few days, the next blood moon would spill across the night sky, red as wine.

The days grew shorter, but for Lucius, they seemed to stretch endlessly. And the nights felt even longer.

He wore the amulet every day. While working. While bathing. While cooking. Even while sleeping.

He had tried to move on with his life. Focusing on his work. He’d even thrown that housewarming party, though barely a handful of people had shown up. But even amid the chatter, he kept imagining he heard Melissa’s laughter behind him.

He’d close his eyes, but the darkness brought no peace. Only images of her. Her amber eyes. Her laughing. Her fur glimmering under the moonlight.

He had tried to convince himself she’d only been a magical dream in an otherwise ordinary life. But that wasn’t true. She had left a void nothing else could fill.

And one thought clung to him like a thorn:

If she kept her promise and showed him her world… would she vanish forever afterwards?

Lucius turned the amulet between his fingers and suddenly it began to glow and a familiar voice filled the room:

“Did you miss me?” She giggled.

Lucius leapt from the bed.

“M… Melissa?” he called out, glancing frantically around the room.

“What would Dionysus say if he knew his new favorite plaything was this impatient? Well… the blood moon’s still a few days away… but who says I play by the rules?”

All at once, something yanked him forward, pulling him through a swirling portal of golden autumn leaves, that just opened right before him.

He didn’t even have time to scream, or think. His entire world dissolved around him.

Suddenly the scent of crushed grapes and wild thyme flooded the air. His feet sank softly into lush grass. He was blinded by a dazzling light, until his eyes adjusted and revealed a sunlit hillside before him.

“Welcome…” Melissa stepped out from behind an olive tree. “…to the only place where the wine never runs dry… and the fun never ends. I told you I’d keep my promise.”

Lucius stepped towards her. He wanted to say something.

I missed you. I want to keep you. I…

But all he managed to say was:

“You’re real…”

Melissa grinned and stepped closer. Then she snapped her fingers. A goblet appeared in Lucius’ hand, overflowing with something fragrant, sweet as honey and berries.

“Drink,” she commanded, knocking her own goblet against his with a sharp clink.

“You’ll need it. Dionysus is throwing a party tonight, and he’s very curious about the mortal who stole away his favorite troublemaker.”

Her tail brushed possessively against his thigh. Somewhere down the hillside, a drumbeat began to pound.

“Come along, my little wizard. I promised I’d show you my world.”

She led him over grassy slopes, through corridors of vines where golden grapes hung in clusters.

Before him sprawled an endless celebration.

Satyrs, dryads, nymphs — they all danced around towering bonfires, drinking from horns, singing in languages that felt like wind and waves.

“This is my home,” Melissa whispered beside him, her voice soft, almost reverent.

“The Thiasos of Dionysus.” She met his gaze. “And tonight… you’re a part of it.”

She placed a hand on his shoulder and guided him forward. The wine he drank tasted of memories, of longing, of things he’d never known but had somehow always missed.

Then he turned to Melissa, grasping her hands.

“Melissa…” he began.

She shot him a mischievous grin.

“Can’t wait, can you? Be patient. A few months felt long for you, but for me...”

“I love you.”

He interrupted her. Melissa’s eyes went wide.

“I love you. And I want to be with you.”

For a heartbeat, she seemed utterly thrown.

Silence fell between them. She trembled slightly, eyes shining with a strange light.

Then she burst into exaggerated laughter.

“Oh, you sweet, foolish human!” she gasped between giggles.

“Love? Together?”

She wiped away an imaginary tear.

“I’m a Maenad, darling. We don’t belong to anyone except our god. We possess nothing, and we love nothing, just the moment. We rage, we drink, we come together under the moon, but we don’t make promises like you mortals do.”

Lucius’ cheeks burned. For a moment, he wanted to turn away, to say something angry.

What did you expect, idiot? That she’d simply stay with you?

Melissa saw the disappointment on his face, and her laughter softened. She took his hand, and her usually playful nails pressed gently into his flesh.

“Hey.” Her voice dropped low, for him alone.

“You know what really lasts forever?” She guided his hand to her chest and he felt her heartbeat.

“No promises. No vows. Just this. Always. Hold on to this feeling, to this moment. Because for us… for me… that’s all there can ever be.”

Then she tossed her head back and grinned again, but this time, something was different. Lucius caught a fleeting glimpse of sadness in her eyes.

“Now come on! Before Dionysus starts thinking you’re afraid!”

“Hey, wait a second…” he called after her, because he wasn’t done saying what he needed to say.

She shot him an impatient look, and he hesitated.

“What now?” she demanded.

Lucius stammered:

“Uh… I… I can’t just meet a god dressed like this…”

He gestured to his loose trousers and his wine-stained, rumpled shirt.

Melissa giggled, stamping her hooves into the grass.

“As if anyone here cares about clothes!”

She spun around, her tail flicking in amusement. She scratched theatrically at her horn, then snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, Lucius felt something tickling his skin. He looked down and saw leaves and grapevines winding around his hips, weaving into a garment that managed to cover his body.

“Perfect!” Melissa cried, surveying him critically.

Then a booming voice thundered from afar:

“MELISSA! Bring me that mortal. I want to see him!”

She rolled her eyes. Then she shoved Lucius forward, straight into a roaring circle of Satyrs, nymphs, and the god perched atop a massive barrel, already lifting his goblet in greeting.

The god wasn’t particularly tall or imposing. No lightning. No divine thunder. He wore a crown of vine leaves. His skin gleamed a dark golden bronze. His violet eyes sparkled with delight. In his hand, he held the Thyrsus staff.

He looked Lucius up and down. Then he smiled.

“Ah! THERE HE IS!” Dionysus bellowed.

“My Melissa has told me so much about you… Tell me, mortal,” Dionysus said, as if asking a casual question, “how do you like my realm?”

He knew he should answer carefully. But he spoke without hesitation, truth on his tongue:

“It’s like a dream. Like a song you can never forget. Full of beauty… and a yearning that hurts.”

Dionysus raised an eyebrow.

“Pah. Pretty deep for someone who just wanted to summon a housemaid!”

A ripple of laughter swept through the crowd.

“But!” Dionysus continued, raising his voice. “Because you treated my servant Melissa with respect in the mortal world, rather than causing her harm, I shall grant you a gift. One wish, as free as the wine flowing tonight.”

A collective murmur surged through the Thiasos. Lucius met Dionysus’ gaze. This was his moment, now or never. His heart pounded.

“I wish… to take Melissa as my wife!”

A gasp swept through the crowd like a sudden wind. Goblets tipped over. Satyrs froze mid-dance. Maenads stared. A flute trailed off mid-note.

And everyone just stared at him in disbelief.