The Wrath of a God

All the servants of the god of wine sang, danced, and celebrated around them.

“It seems… I underestimated your determination,” Dionysus finally said.

Melissa arched a brow.

“Does this mean you’ll grant our... I mean... his wish?”

Dionysus flashed an exaggerated grin and struck the ground with his staff.

“But of course! He passed the trial, after all, and I always keep my word! I merely wanted to see… if he truly deserved you.”

Melissa, however, remained skeptical.

“Here, my little one,” Dionysus said. 

His eyes sparkled with mischief as he handed Melissa a golden goblet engraved with a tiny satyr’s face.

“Frankly, you hardly deserve it, given your behavior lately. But seeing you stuck in that pathetic human body is simply too painful to watch. Drink this, and you’ll be back to your old self.”

The liquid inside smelled sweet and heavy, like dark wine.

Melissa hesitated for a moment before she drank.

Lucius watched in fascination, and a little concern, as her body transformed once more.

Her horns grew back, her hair flared wilder and brighter. Her body gained strength and her feet shifted back into the graceful hooves of a satyr.

Satisfied, Dionysus turned his gaze on Lucius.

“You love her,” Dionysus said quietly, his tone almost gentle. “But love alone is not enough, mortal. I can’t allow you to take Melissa with you. And you can't stay in my realm. At least, not as a human...”

He tilted his head toward the crowd of satyrs and maenads, all of them creatures of myth and magic, none of them remotely human.

Then Dionysus produced yet another goblet, this one engraved with a human face, and held out both cups toward Lucius, one brow raised in silent question.

“Choose.”

Lucius understood at once.

He stepped forward without hesitation, hand already reaching for the goblet marked with the satyr’s face.

If i drink this... my transformation will be permanent I suppose...

But before he could take it, Melissa seized his arm.

Her grip was gentle, yet her fingers dug into his skin like claws, her eyes flickered wildly between fear and fierce resolve.

“No, Lucius. Don't.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, hoarse with pent-up emotion. “Not like this. You’re not his servant, and that’s exactly why I... chosed you.”

He stared at her, confused, almost angry.

“Melissa, what are you talking about? You heard him, it’s the only way. I don’t mind being a satyr. Was all of this for nothing?”

“It wasn’t for nothing!” Her voice sharpened, then softened. “But you’re so much more than this, Lucius. More than revelry, dance, and ecstasy. I wanted to be with you because you’re different. Because you’re the only one who ever made me feel… truly seen. Not just my fire. Me.”

“And what does that mean? That we’ll be apart? That I should just leave and abandon you here?” 

His voice quivered.

Melissa swallowed hard, her fingers trembled against his arm.

“I… I saw what would happen if you stayed. You’d lose yourself. You’d come to hate me. You’d become something you never wanted to be.”

He tried to protest, but she lifted a hand and pressed her fingers gently to his lips.

“I don’t want to lose you, Lucius. Not the man you are. I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself for me. I want you to be free. Even if that means…”

Her voice broke off and she closed her eyes, gathering herself.

“…that I have to find another way to keep you.”

“Another way?” Lucius frowned, whispering. “Melissa… what are you planning?”

But she only shook her head, a dangerous spark flared in her eyes while her tail lashed behind her.

“Just trust me. Only this once“, she whispered back at him.

Then she spun around abruptly to face Dionysus, her voice back to normal.

“He will return to his world. Give him the human wine.”

Dionysus stared at her, first surprised, then skeptical. Then he smiled. A smile impossible to decipher.

Finally, he held out the second goblet toward Lucius.

Lucius’ fingers trembled as he closed them around the cup. He lifted his eyes to Melissa, his gaze flickered between worry and fierce trust.

Then, with one final trembling breath, he drank and a searing pain tore through him.

Lucius felt his horns vanish, his powerful muscles shrink, his hooves melting back into human feet.

When he finally straightened, Dionysus nodded curtly.

“Good,” he said coolly. “You have chosen. Now it's time for you to leave.”

With a dramatic flourish, he conjured a golden portal beside him.

Lucius glanced toward Melissa in desperation, hoping she would say something, anything. 

But she merely held his gaze calmly, almost detached.

“Farewell”, she said.

Lucius took a few halting steps toward the portal, his knees trembling. The goblet fell from his fingers, clattering to the ground.

Just as he was about to step through, he cast one final look back.

There stood Melissa.

She stood behind the contented god, her eyes glowing, her mouth curled into a mischievous grin.

Then she slowly bent her knees, her hooves pawed the ground as she pulled back...

Wait. What is she doing?

Before Lucius could even process it, Melissa charged.

Like a storm, wild and unstoppable.

She lowered her head and rammed Dionysus squarely in the hip with her horns.

Caught completely off guard, the god stumbled backward, flailing, and toppled through the portal, which snapped shut behind him with a final flash of golden light.

For a single heartbeat, absolute silence fell over the meadow.

Melissa turned to Lucius, grinning wildly.

“You should know it by now. I don’t play by the rules!“

She thrust out her hand toward him while Lucius stared at her in pure astonishment.

Then all hell broke loose.

A furious roar tore through the air like a crack of thunder, the music cut off instantly.

Satyrs leapt to their feet, maenads screamed and the ground shook beneath the pounding hooves of the dancers.

Wine goblets shattered on the ground, vines writhed like serpents, as though the thiasus itself were trying to restore order.

“Treason!” bellowed a voice. “Treason against Dionysus!”

A satyr tore a wreath from his head and hurled it furiously to the ground. Some were already charging forward, fists raised, faces twisted in rage.

But Melissa had already seized Lucius by the hand.

“Now or never! RUN!” she shouted, her eyes blazing wild and fiercely determined.

They vaulted over an overturned barrel, dodging maenads who now looked like beasts.

One hurled an amphora that exploded in shards right beside Lucius.

Vines shot up from the earth, grasping for their feet like chains.

Drums began beating again, this time not for dancing, but for the hunt.

Someone lunged to cut Lucius off, but Melissa felled him with a precise kick of her hoof.

They ran as the ground quivered under them, as though the whole world were resisting their escape.

Trees blurred past, vine tendrils lashed out from the underbrush like living ropes, but somehow left them untouched.

Finally, they burst into a clearing.

Gasping, they stopped. 

Both struggled for breath, though Melissa seemed far less exhausted, a perk of her animal strength.

Lucius could go no further.

“And… now… what?” he panted.

But before she could answer, a shadow fell across the clearing, and there he was.

Dionysus.

His eyes blazed with wrath and with a violent gesture, vines exploded from the soil, wrapping around Melissa, wrenching her into the air, constricting around her throat.

Her hooves kicked wildly as she gasped for breath.

Dionysus' voice was a deep rumble that seemed to vibrate through the earth itself.

“Traitor!” he roared. “I created you, and I will destroy you!”

Lucius hurled himself at the vines, screaming, but they only tightened further.

More shot upward, lashing out at him, but he dodged them frantically.

“Let her go, RIGHT NOW!” Lucius bellowed at the god, but Dionysus only caused the coils to squeeze tighter.

Melissa’s eyes rolled back. 

With barely a whisper of air left in her lungs, she gasped:

“Run…”

Lucius screamed in fury, as though his veins still carried satyr blood.

He charged at the god, but before he could reach Dionysus, the vines seized him too, coiling around his body like ropes of steel.

“Don’t even bother, mortal fool,” Dionysus sneered.

“You could have left with honor. Now you’ll be torn to pieces.”

Lucius shouted, thrashed, struggled, but it was useless.

The world blurred around him.

“Melissa…” he whispered, just before darkness closed in.

And it seemed, they reached the end of their journey.