Blossoming Love (a Frazel Fanfic)

The River or Water Equals Instant Attraction

     Eros decided to play his mischief out the next day while Frank and Hazel were out with their herds. It had rained the night before and the ground was still damp and muddy. Combined with the summer heat, it was a balmy day and even in the early morning, moisture dotted their skin.

     Flies attacked the flocks in swarms and the goats and sheep spent a lot of time trying to escape their stinging bites. Frank and Hazel were not spared either and their exposed skin was soon covered in bug bites. Hazel looked to Frank. "Perhaps we should move the flocks to escape these swarms."

    Frank nodded in agreement and whistled like a bird to signal that his goats should follow him. Hazel spoke to her sheep and they pressed against her, walking alongside her as she followed Frank up the grassy hill. The sun was almost directly overhead now and the day was growing oppressively hot. The ground was dry underfoot now and Hazel almost wished it would rain.

One of Hazel's sheep, a young and very wooly one, darted off and headed towards a nearby copse. She went after it and found it tangled amongst the thorns of a shrub. It took her several minutes and lots of soothing words before the sheep escaped from its thorny prison, leaning tufts of soft wool on the bushes.

Hazel led her sheep back to the rest of the flock, continuing to works in gentle tones. She felt a great relief as her sheep settled down to enjoy the sweet grass, but it was short-lived. Soon, one of Frank's goats, a young male with downy grey fur, broke off from the herd and rushed towards the river.

       Just then, a half-wild dog appeared and chased after the goat. Frank hared off in hot pursuit, while Hazel circled the flocks, keeping them under her close eye.

    The feral dog was beating down on the goat. Frank withdrew his sling shot and aimed a stone at the beast's shoulder. Frank's aim was true and the dog, stilled by the pain, whimpered. Frank ran over to the dog. It was large with black fur and it looked up at him with sad brown eyes. Despite the fact it had chased his goat, Frank felt pity stir in his heart.

    He heard a bleating and decided to investigate. "Stay put," he told the dog. "If you harm my goats again, I have more stones."

    The dog stared at him and then looked away. Frank followed the sound of the bleating until he found that his goat was stuck in a a pile of mud by the stream. It was large and Frank had to wallow into it to lift his goat out. The animal's coat was covered with mud and it looked utterly miserable for its mishaps.

     Frank too was covered in mud and he would have liked to take a dip in the stream, but it wasn't fair to make Hazel watch both of their flocks. He scooped up his goat and the black dog followed him, whining until Frank patted her on the head.

When Hazel saw Frank, she ran towards him. "Frank, what happened? You're covered in mud!"

"Silenus fell into a patch of mud and I had to rescue him," Frank explained.

Hazel nodded. "I see. How about we take our herds down to the river and get you cleaned up?"

Frank smiled. "That sounds great. I wouldn't want to hear my grandmother calling me a dirty, clumsy ox."

Hazel's eyes were as big as drachmas. "She wouldn't, would she?"

    Frank shrugged and said nothing more. When they got to the river, the goats and sheep began munching on the nearby plants. Hazel looked at the state of Frank's clothes. His tunic was streaked with mud that began to crack as it dried. We'll need to wash them too," she decided.

        She went back to her house to fetch soap and when she returned, she found Frank petting a black dog. Hazel dropped to her knees beside it and gave it a scratch behind its ears. The dog wagged its tail and licked Hazel's face. "I think she likes you," Frank said.

    Hazel smiled. "Nico has been wanting a dog for ages."

      She gave the dog one last scratch behind the ears and stood up. "I brought olive oil soap with me."

      "You're the best, Hazel," Frank said.

     Hazel blushed, but it was nothing compared to when she helped him clean off. He slipped off his clothes and waded into the river before sitting down. Hazel kept her eyes firmly on his tunic as she washed it with soap and water. When she finished, she wrung out the excess water out and laid it to dry on a flat rock. A goat tried to chew it, so she shooed it away.

     Then, she handed the soap to Frank and helped him bath. The running water had already scraped much of the mud off of Frank's body and soap removed the rest. Hazel found herself feeling quite strange. She felt hot as if feverish and her heart was racing as if she had jogged uphill.

     When Frank finished, she handed him his tunic. It was still slightly damp, and the bath had left Frank feeling cool and refreshed. His thoughts were calm as idyllic. Hazel's thoughts were as far from Frank's as could be. The arrow of love was newly shot and lodged deep within her heart.

    Her mind burned with questions. She could not stop thinking of Frank — his mild manners,  bashful smiles, and the way he could imitate any animal. She found herself still feeling feverish and perturbed as they returned home for the night. Why is this happening; she wondered. It was that river water, but why? It cannot be special for I have taken baths in it and never came out as beautiful as Frank appears before my eyes.

    Up on Olympus, Eros and Aphrodite gave each other high-fives.