It laughs. Low and rumbling. I wonder if it is the true voice of Apollo. Somehow I hope it is not. I have only known the Gods to be wicked and malevolent.
"Aah dear, I have waited for you."
My father squeezes my wrist tighter and his fingernails cut into my skin. I open my mouth to tell him it hurts but I feel like my heart has stopped beating and I have stopped breathing. No words pass my lips.
"You wonder if you will find true love, correct? I know these sorts of things."
I nod slightly. I feel it is the right thing to do.
"Well, dear, you will find a husband. Your future in love is murky at best. But, you will have a husband." The oracle's drawl is bored as it gives me my uncertain fate in love. My lips have turned to a grimace of distrust and fear. It slides its shadowy form over to my father next.
"You will take her to the highest spire in your kingdom at midnight. There she must wait. Tie her to the rocks if you must, for if she leaves before her husband arrives, you will never receive another chance."
I know tying me to a rock is not below my father. When I was 7, he tied my to the castle gate and let me sit in the dark with my imagination. I terrified myself thinking of brown bears, wolves, lynx, and wild boar. All I had done was wear the wrong shoes that day. I hate him.
Beside me, he relaxes, his hold on me lessening finally. I wonder if my bracelet of bruises will match gold or silver jewelry.
He knows everything he came to learn now. I will be married. But there is no happily ever after. I feel like there is more. It can't be so simple and unfair. The Oracle seems to be enjoying watching me on edge as the silence stretches. My father turns to leave.
The Oracle cannot be done with that! A prophecy cannot be so straightforward, can it? Something is missing.
"Wait!" I call, grinding my heel as I spin. "There has to be more!"
But my father is already gone from the cave. I turn back to the shadow on the rock. I will find out the rest myself, I suppose.
"There has to be more." I repeat, nearly a whisper.
"Clever," the shadow responds, "but are you sure you would like to know the rest?"
Once again I nod, focusing on the air in my chest as I breathe.
"You are so precious, chasing after a dream. True love is a mysterious thing. It is not as beautiful as you may think. Have you heard of Eros?"
I nod again. I know he is the deity of carnal love.
"The power of love drives humans to terrible fates. Name a love story that wasn't tragic and full of bloody hearts. Think before you wish for such a powerful force to hold you."
I feel suddenly very small, silly and discouraged even further. "Please, tell me the rest.." I whisper.
"Hmmm. Well, if you insist," it laughs again, dark and chilling. "You will marry a monster, a demon whose heart belongs caged in the underworld. A creature so hated and powerful he has never been capable of love. Your days will be dark, dear, and your husband will be your demise. Despair awaits you."
It pauses. Dramatically.
"He is a beast, so barbaric the Gods themselves fear him. On the highest spire in your Father's kingdom he will find you. But when you dress for that day, dress as you would for a funeral. The occasion will be equally as dark."
The shadow slips away with a fading chuckle as I stand, wide eyed.
A monster?
Perhaps I would rather be cursed. I swear not to tell a soul about this. My sandals are heavy as I leave, but my head is up and I do not shake any longer. I am lost in thought on the way home.
Tallest spire? Will I really go? No, absolutely not, never in a million years. To meet and marry a monster?! Father will have to drag me screaming and fighting. I would have to be crazy to go quiety. Then again, I am pretty crazy by now.
