I will be honest with you-- I want you there for your skills and powers, I want to use you for my goal.I will be honest with you-- I want you there for your skills and powers, I want to use you for my goal." She looked away. "I cannot. Please..." "Oenone, please. Let me convince you my goal is worthwhile. Let me show how much I want you there. I..." I reached out to touch her cheek. "I think you're very beautiful." "Not so beautiful to hold him to me," she whispered. She looked up, snarling, "If you want beauty, go seek Helen." "Helen pales compared to you, Oenone. She is like mead; one cannot survive on mead, no matter how light and sweet it may be. One requires real food. Of all the women in Paris' life, who was true to him? You were. And did he reward you? He spurned you, is responsible for Korythus' death, and turned to you only because he needed you to heal him." "That is no less than what you want. You said you need me. You want to use me. Are you better than Paris again?" "No," I said sadly. "I cannot be better than Paris. I cannot measure up to the man Zeus called 'The most beautiful man in the world.' And I cannot promise you what they call 'faithfulness' here, because that won't be the faithfulness in my world." She looked at me; the IV was doing its job well, because her eyes had cleared and she looked me over with intent. "Tell me your dream." I laid it out before her, weaving with words that sometimes had no meaning to her, my entire dream of Pendor, of the people I wanted to live my life with, of the peace I wanted to know. Of the difficulties. And of the powers of a Goddess who was born with the power to make the waters do her bidding, and who had learned medicine and prophecy beyond those, and of what she could do for me. |