It did not take long for the first sunrays to break the skies when Eirene heard familiar voices up on the ship. With her heart clenched deep within her chest, she slid away from her male slave who at the time was brushing her hair to catch the sight of her dear, sweet Daphne as a blushing newlywed. Perhaps the chance of seein her as a bride was never meant for Eirene to see, but this was a moment none would take away from her. Not Daphne’s parents, not society, not even Orion – now Daphne’s husband.<br/><br/>She stayed hidden behind one of the pillars and watched their embracing figures, perfectly darkened shapes against the rising sun.  The Greek mistress saw Daphne’s fingers gently sliding across Orion’s chest and another painful tug echoed in her own chest. What was she expecting? For Daphne to behave like a spoiled child and refuse any physical closeness to the one who probably held not only her future, but also her heart in his hands? Maybe Daphne did not realize it yet, but Eirene did. She was older, had more experience in the matters of the heart and understood Daphne’s gaze whenever it met Orion’s. Eirene understood falling in love. She recognized the symptoms.<br/><br/>For a long moment, the longest moment in her life so far, Eirene watched them kiss and thought that she had made a mistake. It wasn’t her place here, despite everything she had told herself, despite Orion’s own invitation to join them on their trip. This was their honeymoon. An older lover, a woman such as herself, had no place in it.<br/>And then her blonde nymph spoke.<br/><br/><em>"You know my history, Orion, of Eirene and of the love I still have for her. I will not claim to love you so soon, that would be cruel to you and to me. But I would like to learn to... To love you that is."</em><br/>“The love I still have for her….”<br/><br/>Those words echoed in Eirene’s mind, blurring all the rest. “..still have for her.”<br/><br/>Perhaps not everything was lost. She wanted to run to them in that moment, to take Daphne’s hands in hers and tell her “I am here, my love. I am here and as long as I have life in my body, I’ll never leave you. Married or not, you first belonged to me.”<br/><br/>Yet she waited.<em>If I truly love her, I’ll let her choose. I’ll let her love freely.</em><br/><br/>Orion’s gestures betrayed his feelings for the girl. Even Eirene could see that he loved her truly, that Daphne wasn’t just a prize for him. In his own way, he had done what was best for her. He also took into account Eirene’s feelings and even if it was just to please his newly-made wife, Eirene did not care. He loved her.<em>Which is why it makes it all harder for me.</em><br/><br/>In the next moment Orion took off his clothes and revealed his upper body as it was probably meant to always be. He had the body of a god, Eirene noticed. Well built, no extra fat, good proportions. From her perspective, Orion had more to offer than herself. Perhaps she had been playing a losing game from the beginning. Daphne was too delicate, too beautiful, too young not to enjoy and experience the joys of having a male partner. Still, despite knowing all of these, there was something ticking in Eirene’s mind, constantly telling her that Daphne was hers and it will forever be hers.<br/>Then finally, her nymph was taken away from her husband. The sailor gently guided her to Orion’s cabin and once he left, Eirene took the chance to see her. Perhaps it would have been better to come to Orion first, to let him know that she accepted his invitation. But the thought of seeing her Daphne, of being able to touch her after such a long period of time was maddening. All reason was washed away from her mind the moment Eirene opened the cabin’s door and saw her standing  before her eyes, beautiful like a flower, fresh and happy as she had always been when they were together.<br/><br/>“Love…”<br/>