Trial of a God

Melissa's eyes widened.

Dionysus simply raised his hand, commanding silence to the crowd.

He kept staring at Lucius for a long moment.

“Hmm... an unusual wish,“ the god said softly, stroking his chin. “Has my little servant twisted your head around that much? Mortals and creatures like her don't belong together. Your hearts don't beat to the same rhythm.“

Lucius tried to speak, but Dionysus lifted a finger.

“A mortal,“ he said, stepping closer, “with my servant?“ Then he smiled, wide and wild, eyes gleaming with something dangerous. “Very well, Lucius. If you truly wish to take her, you must prove you're more than some foolish mortal swept up in ecstasy.“

He lifted both arms high, and the music faltered as every eye turned to him.

“You shall face a trial, not of blood, not of steel, but of revelation... and devotion.“

A murmur swept through the Thiasus.

“If you prevail,“ Dionysus proclaimed, “she shall be yours. But if you fail... you shall never behold her again. And Melissa, along with every joy of my realm, shall be plucked from your memory... forever!“

His gaze locked upon Lucius, eyes glinting with delight.

“Do you accept?“

Lucius did not waver.

“I do.“

“Excellent,“ the god replied with a dangerous grin. “You will learn of your trial at the first blush of dawn. Until then... drink, dance, and drown your thoughts in joy!“

His decree rolled over the clearing like thunder, and the revelers answered with a roar. And then, as if nothing had happened, the festivity resumed with laughter, music, wine, and dancing.

Only Lucius stood frozen. Behind him, Melissa.

She told me, didn’t she? We possess nothing. We love nothing but the moment. Why would she ever agree to this? I should have asked her first...

But his thoughts were cut short as Melissa grabbed his shoulder, spunning him around.

“You... you idiot,“ she hissed, her voice cracking. “Do you have any idea what you've done? Do you even understand what you're asking for?“

Her fingers dug into his shoulders, harder than she probably meant to.

“You want to face Dionysus' trial? A god's trial? You were only supposed to entertain me, not fall in love with me! It's not that I wouldn't like you, but...“

She hesitated, just for a heartbeat.

“...Look, I'm a maenad, not a wife. I could never...“ She stopped, exhaling sharply, then softer, her voice now tinged with sorrow. “This isn't a fairytale, Lucius. And I'm not your princess.“

But Lucius clenched his fists, sensing the unspoken truth buried deep within her heart.

“I love you, Melissa,“ he said, with quiet certainty, like a man ready to fight for what he loved.

Her gaze flickered, and the wild, untamed fire in her eyes flared at first, then faltered.

“It would be better if you didn’t love me,“ she finally whispered, stepping away from him. “I'm dance, and noise, and fire. Your world and mine don’t belong together.“

“I don’t care, Melissa. Even if your home were the Underworld. Even if you tried to drive me away. I would still love you. And I know you must feel something for me too, otherwise…” His voice grew softer. “Otherwise… you would have already told Dionysus no, wouldn’t you?”

For a long moment, they stood there, two worlds meeting at the edges.

Tears glimmered in Melissa’s eyes, catching the last light of the sunset. She closed them, drew in a long breath, and when she opened them again, the anger was gone. Only sorrow remained.

“Then dance, Lucius. Dance with the gods, if you think you can keep up. Because if you can’t... our dance ends forever.“

She turned and vanished into the celebrating crowd.

Lucius hesitated, then he stumbled after her.

“Melissa, wait!“

But everything around him grew louder, faster, wilder. Satyrs beat their drums, maenads whirled, the faces around him contorted in intoxication.

An overflowing cup was thrust into his hand, but in the turmoil it slipped from his grasp and spilled over his fingers.

His eyes searched the crowd, but Melissa was nowhere to be seen.

Hands brushed against his body, hot and soft, as a nymph laughed into his ear. “Why search for one heart when you could have a hundred lips?” But Lucius shook her off, fighting his way forward, through bodies, through laughter, through heat.

Everywhere there was only movement. Music. Flesh. Voices.

His legs felt heavy, and suddenly, he collided with someone.

A burly satyr lurched into him, and Lucius fell.

He tried to rise, but the world began to tilt.

His vision blurred.

Everything flickered.

Then it went dark.

᯽᯽᯽

When Lucius opened his eyes again, he found himself back in his bed.

He slowly pushed himself up and noticed that he was still wearing the garment of entwined vines that Melissa had conjured for him.

Lucius tugged at it once before his thoughts drifted back to his confession and her reaction.

“Melissa…,” he whispered softly, his expression that of someone who feared he had made a terrible mistake.

Then there was a knock.

Three times.

Lucius leapt to his feet at once and hurried to the front door, but when he opened it, no one was there.

Only a letter on the threshold. Heavy, wine-red paper, sealed with a golden grape. No sender. No name.

He tore it open hastily and read:

In the name of the Many-Named, the Roaring One, the Foxlike, the Breaker of Sorrows and Crusher of Men, you are summoned to the Masquerade of the Maenads.

Find the one who holds your heart. For only if you love the true self will you recognize it, even behind masks.

Beneath it stood a place and a time.

Lucius folded the paper and took a deep breath.

“Well, I guess this is my trial…” He scratched his head thoughtfully. “A masquerade ball, then…”

Not knowing what awaited him, he selected his finest suit. Gray jacket, white shirt, tie.

It's a ball, after all, isn’t it?

Then, when the time was nearly upon him, he set out.

The place was not far, yet it lay far from any ordinary road, along a dirt track lined with meter-high stalks of grain.

There, at the end of the path, an ancient palace now rose. A marble giant entwined with ivy, as though it had slept for centuries only to awaken tonight. Music drifted from within the palace, a mingling of flutes, drums, and voices.

“Strange… When did I cross the border into Melissa’s realm? Or… am I still in my own world?”

As Lucius thoughts raced, the great doors suddenly swung open of their own accord.

Hesitantly, he stepped inside.

The hall was vast, and the muted light of oil lamps, whose flickering flames danced across the mosaic floors, illuminated the central ballroom, surrounded by open colonnades.

Amphorae filled with wine stood everywhere, ready for the guests. And all of them were already in full splendor.

Laughing Maenads, with chestnut-brown fur, curved horns, and long tails, just like Melissa.

Some danced in slow, circling movements, others whirled around in wild ecstasy. Some reclined upon large silk cushions, touching one another in sensual delight, while others ate and drank greedily whatever they could find.

And soon enough, the first of them noticed him…

“Lucius…”

A maenad wearing a lion mask drifted toward him, her tail flicking, her chest glistening with scented oils.

“Ah, there you are at last! Come dance, drink, and join me as we did by the lake!”

She tapped his chest lightly with one finger, but Lucius didn’t even need to see her face.

“You’re not Melissa,” he said softly. Her voice was too sweet, too gentle.

She recoiled slightly.

“Pah, fine then,” she muttered, pouting, and disappeared back into the throng.

Lucius moved deeper into the reveling crowd, and more of them turned their attention toward him.

It wasn’t long before another Melissa appeared.

“Hey, little wizard! Still drawing your summoning circles all crooked?”

She gave him a mischievous wink and poked him in the chest with her horns. Her voice was rough and melodic, exactly like Melissa’s. But it wasn’t her scent. He shook his head firmly and pushed her gently aside.

And so it continued for a while. As he moved through the grand halls, new contenders kept appearing. One had Melissa’s voice, another her walk. But everytime, something important was missing.

Suddenly a voice boomed, rich and thunderous.

“Well? Are you still searching?”

Dionysus sat on the edge of the dance circle’s steps, a grin on his face. “You have until sunrise, mortal. And dawn is not far off. After that, you must choose, or you will lose her forever.”

Lucius nodded. “I'm trying...“

“Well, try harder!“, he answered laughing.

With a heavy heart, Lucius continued searching, but he simply couldn’t find her anywhere.

After some time, the masquerade had shifted around him. The music grew sharper, more shrill, voices buzzed around and he knew he was running out of time.

Everything was too loud, too hot. He pulled away from the masquerade’s center, stepped toward one of the high arched windows, and stared outside, trying to think of how he could possibly find the real Melissa.

Outside, dawn already tinged the horizon with its first glow.

And slowly, he felt hope fading.