Arcadian Nights by Marie Medina

and
smiled. “Am I underdressed?”
    His gaze moved over her slowly, and
she tried not to blush. It didn’t work though. “You look
beautiful.” He straightened his tie. “You disapprove?”
    She looked up and thought she saw a
mischievous gleam in his eye. “No. I just wasn’t expecting
it.”
    “ At least it got you to
smile. I can’t say you smile much.” He offered his arm. “Shall we
go?”
    She took his arm as they walked down
the hall. “Isn’t that what everyone says about you?”
    “ You know, it is. We must
be perfect for each other.” He looked at her as if he was
serious.
    “ Are you playing with me?”
She felt he would tell her the truth, but he kept surprising
her.
    He touched her hand as it rested on
his arm. “Maybe just a little. I want you to feel at
ease.”
    “ So you can learn all my
secrets?”
    He opened the front door for her. “Do
you have secrets?”
    She felt very warm under his candid
gaze. “Yes. I do.”
    He looked down at her for a long
moment and then leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “You aren’t
the only one.”
    As they walked down her front path,
Eris began to wonder what she’d gotten herself into.
    * * * *
    Hermes watched Eris as she listened to
the young man reciting a poem to his sweetheart at the next table.
She had just said yes to a marriage proposal, and he’d asked for
everyone’s attention so he could read a poem he’d written for her.
Everyone clapped when he finished and the young couple
kissed.
    “ What did you think?” he
asked when she turned back to him.
    “ Very nice. Too
sentimental for me, but it had excellent rhythm. He’s got a natural
talent.”
    Hermes nodded. “Are you having a good
time?”
    She looked down and smiled, and then
met his gaze. “Did you really just ask me that?”
    He sighed. “Will you forgive me if I
humble myself and admit that I can’t tell?”
    “ Perhaps.”
    “ Good. I’ve been thinking
about what you said about the Fates.”
    “ Yes?”
    “ I think it’s
interesting.”
    “ And?”
    “ Like Aphrodite, you were
created, not born.”
    Eris tensed at the goddess’ name. “I
think that’s the only thing we have in common.” She scowled down at
her plate.
    He pushed forward to distract her from
the association with Aphrodite. “That makes you special. Don’t you
think you must be important if the universe didn’t simply wait for
you to be born?”
    She looked up. “I suppose. I’ve never
thought of it. I don’t do anything another couldn’t. How am I then
special?”
    “ I can’t really say. It’s
why I wanted to see you again. I think we’re very
alike.”
    “ How?”
    He sighed again. “You aren’t going to
make this easy, are you?”
    “ It’s in my
nature.”
    He shrugged. “Maybe it is. I mean our
belief in the Fates. You know more about them than anyone else, it
seems.”
    “ I do. No one else ever
visits them anymore. Olympus forgets them until some tidbit of
knowledge is needed.”
    “ You think so?”
    “ Aphrodite went to ask if
Poseidon and Layla had met through the work of the Fates. Lachesis
said it was the first time she’d seen Aphrodite in over one hundred
years. Zeus pops in every decade or so to pursue his periodic
affair with Clotho. Their advice and guidance is rarely sought
anymore.”
    “ I suppose that’s
true.”
    “ You seem to put faith in
them though. I like that.”
    “ So you like me?” He held
his breath, wondering how she would take the question.
    “ I’ve made it clear how I
feel about you.”
    “ But you care too much to
only want me for that. I wouldn’t annoy you so easily if it were
only that.”
    Her eyes flashed at him. “Maybe you’re
just that annoying.”
    “ Maybe.” He leaned back as
dessert arrived. “You do like chocolate?”
    She smiled. “Of course.”
    The dessert was enormous. Chocolate
ice cream covered in chocolate syrup and chocolate chips with
chocolate wafers and shavings arranged all around it. He looked