Sunlight and Storms

Dionysus and Ariadne

She was enchanting. The thought rang through Dionysus's head as he watched her dance for her new husband and his man, as he watched her dance in his name. Terpsichore was the one who told him of Ariadne and her dancing, being a god of theater, he had immediately been interested. He'd never seen anyone dance as she had into the night, dazzling the men on the island as well as the god in Olympus.

That's why when she let out the most heartbreaking of wails the following morning, he had to come down to his island to speak to her. He kneeled down on the shore where she had thrown herself down in despair, gently touching her shoulder and making her sit up quickly out of surprise. Ariadne stared wide-eyed at him, tears still streaming down her cheeks as she let out a few choked noises in an attempt to speak. Dionysus frowned before telling her gently, "My dear, people do many things on my islands– you did most of them last night– but despair like this is not allowed on my islands. So what has done this to you?"

Ariadne looks at him for a long moment, seeming to question if she should tell him. He could understand her hesitance, his family didn't put the gods in the best light, especially when it came to trusting them. However, he watched as her sapphire eyes steel, forcing the tears back so she could speak, "He left me." She breathed before going on to tell him of Theseus, the prince of Athens and everything she did for him. Theseus had wanted to slay the Minotaur, a half-man and half-bull monster her father, King Minos, kept in a labyrinth below Crete. She told him of how she had immediately fallen for Theseus upon seeing him. She taught him how she navigated the labyrinth with a ball of twine and gave it to him. In return, Theseus had promised to take her to Athens and make her his queen before he headed into the labyrinth. With his sword and Ariadne's thread, he found the Minotaur at its heart and emerged with its head.

Ariadne explained then how her father had grown fond of the power that fear of the Minotaur gave him, the fear of the people that their child would be chosen next. So when Minos had caught wind of what Theseus had done, he had been enraged. Ariadne had convinced Theseus to flee the island of Crete on his ship with her and his men. That is what brought them to Dionysus' island, where Theseus had promptly married her then abandoned her. "He left me." She choked out again as she concluded her story, this time with more anger than sadness.

Dionysus looked on her softly, a rare feeling of sympathy in his chest. Before him sat this beautiful girl with golden locks and sapphire eyes, who had danced in his name the previous night. She sat before him with stars sparkling in her eyes. She deserved so much better than the cruelty of a wannabe hero. She deserved divinity. So he made her an offer, "Come with me to Olympus and marry me." He watched as her eyes widened, breath seeming to catch in her throat as he continued, "I will give you more than he ever could. You will be more than a queen. Marry me and I will make you a goddess."

He could see the hesitance in her eyes, she was skeptical. He couldn't blame her for that, her last husband ditched her mere hours into their marriage after all. However, he wanted to prove to her he meant every word, Ariadne was more remarkable than she knew, more rare too. She was a precious gem to be admired and held onto rather than a rock to be left on the shore. "Let me show you a piece of what I would give to you." He offers before he reaches into the sky and collects a handful of stars. And in front of Ariadne, he strings them into a circlet and weaves that circlet into her hair. She deserved the stars and he would give them to her.

He met her star-like eyes, finding pearls of tears filling them. His heart quickened, panic filling him. He hadn't meant to make her cry. "Yes." She choked out, taking his hands as a smile pulled at her lips even as tears rolled down her cheeks, "I'll go with you, I'll marry you." He beamed at her words before allowing the stars to carry them to Olympus, where he marries her and she becomes a goddess of passion, labyrinths, and dancing.

Divinity suited her. Dionysus concluded after they married, looking out from a balcony on Olympus. The sun poured gold across the horizon. With the brightness behind her, Ariadne looked like she was wearing nothing but light. He wrapped his arms around her and she leaned back against his chest, a sigh of contentment leaving her mouth. Then something seems to catch her eye as she tenses in his arms, "That's his ship." She breathes, making Dionysus look past her to the ship below. He meets her gaze, wondering what she wanted him to do. He would happily sink the ship if that is what she requests, instead she tells him, "You know, Theseus had told his father that if the sails of his ship were black on his arrival, then he had not survived."

A dark look filled Dionysus' eyes as he stuck out a hand towards the ship, turning the sails to black, so that when the king of Athens looks to see his ship coming in, he sees the black sails and leaps into the ocean. This was Dionysus' punishment for Theseus, he wouldn't allow anyone to dishonor his wife. The wicked smile that crosses Ariadne's face as she relaxes back into his arms was worth the world. She was meant to be his goddess and he would worship her for eternity. My Ariadne.