Piper Square - Chapter 8 - Gyges and Teodora

Betrayal - Art by Jacob Hair

She is pushing her head into the groove of my arm, trying hard to find comfort in her sleep. My hands play with loose strands of her hair. I stare up into the darkness and let it swallow me. Constructs begin to form and begin to move. They float in front of me, beyond my grasp, figures, faces, places, shapes. This a glimpse of things to come that do not yet understand.

The coldness of this place begins to grow. Even in light, it is void of life. The blankets provide no warmth either, and my legs are the first to feel. She is the coldest of all, her skin like frost, this place a reflection of her.

She shifts once more and her cold body presses against my flesh. I spasm from the shock and it wakes her. She lets out a little yawn and I try to shush her back to sleep. I fail. She whispers loudly, “What are you thinking.” I try to answer, having wondered that myself, but my thoughts fail to coalesce into words and I disappear into myself.

I visit a world untouched and unseen, where no human foot has stepped upon, beyond the reach of men. I travel along their light, flying through through the emptiness of the cosmos, revealing myself a star amidst the night sky. I carry the story of this long dead world, retelling it in a vernacular of luminescence, the last spark before darkness.

I will never see them. Not fully. neither that world, nor any other. One lifetime is not enough to experience the beauty of the universe. Too soon we turn to the black.

My mind returns, but I tell her none of this.

Instead I pull my arm out from under her and prop my my body above her. I stare into her eyes, tracking their confused movement. A smile forms as I enter her.

“The only thing I think of is you.”

This only partly untrue. I consider us, our expiration date, that empty pit that consumes us all, needing to be filled. There is only so much we can give of ourselves, and soon either she or I will not be enough for the other. Even as the truth sets in, I cannot leave, I do not want to further hurt this damaged creature.

We move together.

We caress.

We moan.

I watch her collapse, pleasure and exhaustion overtaking her.

I lay by her side and give her a soft kiss.

She asks me to tell her a story.

“Do you know the story of King Candaules?” I ask.

“No,” she says her eyes blinking slowly.

“Candaules was the king of Lydia, very proud and prone to boast. Particularly about his wife, Teodora, whose beauty was hidden to the world. She was a chaste and proper woman, wearing veils and baggy clothes to keep her beauty pure for her husband.

“So it was that Candaules’ boasts were often mixed with uncertainty, as no one could say with certainty that he spoke the truth.”
Her eyes come alive, demanding that I continue.

“Eventually the inability to prove his claims ate at his soul. Candaules became bitter and forceful, arguing his claim with anyone who would listen. Determined to prove himself, Candaules made an offer to Gyges, the head of the guards and close friend, a man whose word was like iron and would remove any doubts.

"The King demanded Gyges to hide behind a curtain within his bed chamber and spy Teodora’s naked form. Though reluctant, Gyges could not refuse his king.”

She runs her hand down the corridor of my thighs gently, her cool touch spurring me on.

“That night Gyges hid as instructed and waited for Teodora to return from the baths. Soon entering the room and disrobed, the whole of her beauty overwhelming Gyges, causing him to shuffle his feet.

“Teodora heard Gyges, spying him from the corner of her eyes. Fed up with her husband’s obsession, Teodora made toward the curtain and revealed Gyges.

“Having seen her naked, she could have him executed, but instead offered him a chance at redemption. Gyges was reluctant to accept, but his desire to live and his newfound love of Teodora convinced him otherwise.”

I pause for a moment, checking to see if she has fallen asleep. Wide eyed, she looks at me and asks, “What happened next?”

“That following night, Gyges hid behind the same curtain and waited. This time Candaules entered the bedchamber, none the wiser, and lay down ready for a nights rest.

“As soon as Candaules laid his head on the pillow Gyges revealed himself, pushing a sword through the throat of his king.

“Teodora, emerged from behind and offered Gyges Candaules’ fallen crown. With his bloody hands he took the crown and placed it on his head, becoming king and taking his new queen in deep embrace.”

She begs me to tell her another, but exhaustion overtakes me. "Tomorrow," I promise her.

My thoughts overtake me, there’s always a price for a stolen crown, the price for the one I stole yet unknown to me.

I must learn to fear.

I pull Mary Ann close to me, her icy cool skin calming my fevered thoughts.

“Would you kill for me?” she asks “Would you be my Gyges?”

I close my eyes, pretending not to hear her. The answer is no, never again, no woman is worth what’s left of my soul.