Elysian Fields

CHAPTER 6

Aydon sat in the grass and flowers among the field on the edge of town, covering his eyes while he waited for Kore to finish setting up for whatever game of pretend she had thought up this time. Unfortunately, she'd roped in some of the other kids in the area into playing with them. He doubted that they were truly interested in playing whatever she had told them to get them to agree, but that was part of the wonder of Kore. She had this way of persuading anybody to do whatever she wanted them to; her mother called it manipulative, but Aydon knew it for what it was: captivating. She was a force to be reckoned with, but nobody was quite prepared to reckon with her, even as a teenager.

"And you may now open your eyes!" She said excitedly, glee evident in her words.

Opening his eyes, Aydon looked around, surprised at the set up. Kore had set up two chairs with little signs on them that read "throne" and each had a crown resting on the seat. One crown was larger, made of woven twigs and leaves, while the other was smaller, made of flowers from her mother's garden. No doubt, Demi would have something to say to Kore later, but when Kore set her mind to something, no amount of fear of the consequences could alter her mind.

The two other teenagers from their area, one a girl from their class named Anastasia and the other a boy a few years younger by the name Alec, were draped in sheets like togas, one carrying a small ukulele and the other holding a bundle of carnations in one hand, a fake snake in the other.

"Wow," Aydon said, his voice betraying that he wasn't sure what she was going for. "Looks...intricate."

Kore laughed, grabbing the larger of the two crowns and placing one on his head, the smaller one finding a place to rest upon her own.

"You have no idea what we are playing, do you?"

Aydon shook his head and Kore rolled her eyes, taking his hand and leading him to one of the chairs labeled "throne", forcing him to sit back.

"You," she began, "are the mean, evil Lord Hades of the Underworld!" Her eyes widened in fear, a hand going to her heart while the back of her other hand met her forehead as if she were afraid and on the verge of fainting. "And I am Queen of the Underworld!"

Aydon laughed, shaking his head, "Kore, there is no Queen of the Underworld."

"Aydon, this is pretend. I can be whatever I want, and I have decided that I am the Queen of the Underworld. So you should probably listen to me."

"And who are they?" Aydon asked, sighing. There was no arguing with Kore.

"We're Orpheus and Eurydice!" Alec and Anastasia said excitedly.

"It's my favorite of our parables," Kore swooned. "I just know that if Hades had a pretty wife with him, she would have set him straight and let him release Eurydice."

***

The sun was high in the sky by the time they began another round of pretend. Kore was fascinated with the story, wanting to play it many different ways. Sometimes, Orpheus begged for Eurydice and ended up dying himself, staying in the Underworld with her forever. Other times, Orpheus was the one who died, while Eurydice was the one begging for her love's lost life, only to die and stay in the Underworld with Orpheus forever. For whatever reason, Kore felt like she could turn the story into something better than what was written in the history books. Once, Orpheus and Eurydice teamed up together and killed the queen and Hades got very angry. That was Kore's favorite one because she got to play damsel in distress.

"Alright, this time, let's have Hades let Eurydice out!"

Aydon sighed, "Do we have to keep playing this, Kore? I'm bored of being Hades."