(no subject)

[novelling]

Jade,

My name isn't a gemstone, and even if it were, I couldn't afford anything that precious. I only have this small token for you, which I hope is worth enough in sentimentality and cleverness to make up for it.

I told you Ariadne was a goddess of snakes, but she was born a mortal girl in the city of Crete. Her father, the king, kept a terrible monster for a pet. It lived in the heart of a great Labyrinth built beneath the palace. Each year, the King of Crete would feed his monstrous Minotaur seven boys and seven girls, whom he stole from the city of Athens.

One year, Prince Theseus of Athens swore that no more children would die in the Minotaur's maze. He would go himself as tribute and slay the beast. He told his father, the King of Athens. "You will die," said his father. "Still, I will go," said Theseus. And he went.

When the seven boys and seven girls arrived in Crete, the king asked which of them would first go into the Labyrinth. Theseus stood and told him he would go first, and slay the Minotaur. "You will die," said the king. "Still, I will go first," said Theseus. And he went.

At the gate of the Labyrinth, he was met by Princess Ariadne. He stood before her and asked her please move, for he was going to slay the Minotaur. "How will you get out?" asked Ariadne. Theseus had no answer for her, as slaying the beast was his only end; he'd put no thought to escaping.

She gave him a ball of fine red thread of her own weaving, a length well long enough to guide him safely out of the maze. And when the beast was slain, he found his way back to her easily. *

All this to say I've made you a bracelet and I hope you have a lovely day.

Yours, on the end of a string,
Ari

* In truth, this story ends with petty betrayal, divine intervention, and a needless death. I know that will intrigue you much more than any thinly drawn romance. But it's your birthday, and I know a few stories much more grotesque than that one, so it'll have to wait for another time. One in particular is so stomach turning that I hope it may even secure my spot as your favourite.

Comments

[odder]

Jade is never taking this off.
And when she sees Ari in the hall next, she’s tugging her into a classroom so that she can kiss her thanks and implore her to “Tell me another story?”

It’s a little more forward than usual, but today is her birthday.

sob this is so romantic

[iliya]