The Wind and the Flower

Infuriating Woman

Zephyrus felt like a complete ass for wounding the little nymph. He knew better than most the damage words could cause, and that he should be the one to inflict such pain on an innocent made him hate himself. He wished she would rage at him, hit him, anything would be better than the tears he heard in her voice. Guilt was an emotion he was intimately familiar with, he had much to atone for in his life, and now he had to add one more sin to the list. With any luck, this was one sin he could absolve himself of before they reached the island.

"My lady, I apologize for my words. It was never my intent to insult you."

Khloris kept her face turned away from his as she answered, "An apology is not worth the breath it takes to utter it if it is not sincerely meant, so please do not waste yours if you do not mean it. You merely voiced what you believe to be true, that I am a foolish nymph with loose morals. I apologize for teasing you, it will not happen again. Now if you will, it is getting late and I would like to arrive on Paxos before nightfall," she said, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"Please, my lady-"

"Eros is waiting for me. We must not keep him waiting," she cut in.

Hovering for a few more minutes, Zephyrus finally gave up when it became obvious that she would not speak to him. He resumed flying toward Paxos. The silence stretched between them like an uncomfortable stone around the neck, its weight dragging down his mood to ever-lower depths.

As they came closer to Paxos, he found himself loathed to bring Khloris to the island. He wanted to take her anywhere but to their current destination, far from the bed of Eros. His desire for her was a complication that he did not want. He served Eros, and his desire to take Khloris for himself was a betrayal. Cursing himself for hesitating to complete his duty, Zephyrus forced himself to continue on their journey.

Spying Paxos in the distance, he tried one more time to mend the breach between them. "My lady Khloris, I do not want to part with you on bad terms. I was wrong to speak to you in the manner that I did, and for that I am sincerely sorry."

Turning to face him, Khloris locked eyes with him, letting him see the hurt and anger. "I see, so you do not regret what you said to me, just how you said it. That makes everything better," she sneered sarcastically.

Flustered, he said, "That is not what I meant. You are misinterpreting what I said."

"Oh, so now I lack the intelligence to understand what you said?" She dramatically pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, looking for a brief moment a poor, retiring girl, "I fear my poor little female brain cannot fathom the many layers of the meaning of your words." Dropping her hand along with her act, she glared at him as she sneered, "It is no wonder you are a recluse, you have all the qualities of an insufferable ass."

Anger quickly replacing his remorse, he snapped, "Now see here, I am trying to apologize. I have no wish to fight with you."

"Really? Why? Are you afraid that I will tattle to Eros concerning your treatment of me? According to you, Eros will soon tire of me and will move on to the next conquest. What care would he have that you insulted one of his many forgettable bedmates? Stupid ox."

The wind around them began whipping in a frenzy, a clear indication of his agitation with her. Letting out a growl, he narrowed his eyes at her, his temper making him forget himself for a moment, "I swear I will take you across my knee and spank you if you insult me one more time katachthónios gynaíka."

Eyes narrowed in defiance, she snapped, "Lay one hand on me and you will rue the day you were born."