Calliope - In The Arms Of Morpheus

Prologue

The ancient Greek sun burnt down on the mainland. It was a hot summer's day with a slight breeze from the sea. Further upstream, at the spring of the Hippocrene, Teleute could spot Mnemosyne's bronze ornaments, glittering through lush tufts of grass, further up in the middle of a sunny glade. Teleute stepped through the trees, and inhaled the mix of grass, lavender and pine sap.
What a peaceful place. The spring, of which the legend said, that it sprung, because the first pegasos struck its hoof against the volcanic boulders, gurgled in its flower-fringed river bed. Butterflies fluttered where the warm sun filtered through the pine trees and the crickets sang a hymn to the spring goddesses.
The closer Teleute came, the more Mnemosyne's soft and calming words rose above the gurgling of the well.
"It is a blessing, that you are here with him." Teleute said softly, as not to startle them with her arrival.
Mnemosyne looked up from where she sat and caressed the violet neck of her four-hooved friend. Ios opened her long-lashed eyes and looked at Teleute, then closed them, placing her head in Mnemosyne's lap.
"I know Ios. I am here." Mnemosyne whispered to the pegasos, "she shall not forget you, I swear it! But so much has happened. So much bitterness lingers between them. So much sorrow. You are a reminder. That is why she can not face you..."
Ios snuffled softly, and Teleute knelt beside them, caressing the soft neck of the creature from the other side.
To Teleute's surprise, Mnemosyne said, "It's good that we meet, my friend."
"Why? You speak the truth, but..."
"I wanted to say farewell to you too." Mnemosyne looked up, a bronze curl falling into her brown eyes.
Instead of asking, Teleute rose an eyebrow.
"It is time for me to leave this place and embark upon a quest." Mnemosyne sighed softly.
Mnemosyne, wasn't going to do anything foolish, was she?
"My daughter needs protection, and my lost grandson must be found."
"Do you understand the foolishness of this endeavor?" Mnemosyne must be out of her mind to meddle in affairs that were out of her hands. She risked her life, if she did this. "If you are not careful, we may meet sooner than we thought; and this time for serious business." Teleute reminded her.
Mnemosyne nodded, her hand following the lines of Ios' nose. "I will be careful. But I feel that I can not leave my beloved child unguarded."
Teleute nodded. Under her hands, Ios' breath slowed. Soon, it would be over.
"I will miss you. I love to meet with you once a year, on this day, when I walk among the living."
Mnemosyne smiled softly, her eyes staring into the distance. "But we will meet again. You will come back to this time, from a distant future."
Was that one of her little prophecies? "You know that I have not the power to journey through time. Ios will be the last of its kind, to travel among the ages."
Mnemosyne nodded. "True. Yet, the future has been revealed to me. Your brother Dream will help you. He posesses the device to accomplish such a task."
And then, Ios inhaled, and opened her eyes. She looked at Teleute and nodded softly. She was ready. Ios exhaled for the last time and Teleute rose to her feet. "Goodbye Menemosyne," she told her old friend, "fare ye well."
"Fare ye well." Mnemosyne whispered through her tears.
Then, Teleute clicked her tongue and trusted Ios to follow her down the path, a few steps. Teleute spread her wings, and off they went to the trusted animal's afterlife.

(If you want to know how Teleute is related to the grim reaper, vote for this chapter and read the next one.)