Orpheus and the Succubus: A Tale of Temptation and Desire

It was a hot summer afternoon, and the sun was beating down on the grassy hills of Aventura. The sky was clear and blue, with not a cloud in sight. The day had been warm, but as the day went on, it became extremely hot for such a time of year. The air was still and quiet, save for the buzzing of mosquitoes that were feasting on my ankles. My clothes were drenched in sweat; my tunic clung to my back and chest like a second skin. I had been walking for hours now, trying to return home from the village of Pravus.

*Pravus*, I thought bitterly. *I haven't heard anyone call it that in years.* In fact, I hadn't visited the place in many years either. My family had fallen out of favor with the village long ago, after my father caused an accident that injured nearly ten people in town, including the village mayor's son. After being exiled from Pravus, we put our house up for sale, packed what we could into two carts, and left for a new life about two weeks later.

It was difficult at first; we were just a poor family living off the land with no trade skills to speak of. We tried growing different fruits and vegetables, but nothing seemed to grow properly in our new environment; the soil just wasn't the same. Eventually we turned to hunting and fishing to feed ourselves and pay our taxes. I was never good at hunting though, which is why I ended up walking all this way back to Pravus today. Supposedly there was someone there who could fix my crossbow so that it would work properly again. It had been broken since last week when I accidentally shot myself in the leg while trying to shoot a deer.

Lost in thought as I was, I didn't notice anything until I suddenly stumbled upon them: Two people lying on a blanket together in some tall grasses by a riverbank. The man was sitting up with his back against a tree trunk, while the woman lay prone on top of him kissing him passionately on his neck. He didn't seem to mind her actions though; his eyes were closed and he looked like he was enjoying himself immensely. The strange thing was that both of them looked like they were wearing sailor uniforms from hundreds of years in the past-the woman wore dark blue pants and red top made from tightly woven linen cloth tied at her waist with a white satin belt; she wore yellow boots with black soles that rose high above her ankles up to her knees. Her hair fell over her shoulders in long brown waves tied into two small braids near her ears, held together by gold rings she wore on her fingers instead of rings she might find on most women nowadays. The man wore bright red pants and matching shirt underneath a short tan jacket tied around his waist with a burgundy sash; he also wore black knee-high boots and kept his brown hair short around his ears where it turned into long bangs that hung low across his face before being tied back into a ponytail at his nape by another colorful bandana. When they finally broke their kiss, she sat up and rested back against him sideways as he played with her braids absentmindedly with one hand while resting his other arm across her stomach lovingly; she smiled happily at him and began talking to him softly as he listened intently to every word she said while gazing down at her lovingly before kissing her again gently on top of her head before looking up toward me with an apologetic look on his face when I finally came closer towards them slowly after tripping over some large roots sticking out from under my feet causing me to trip over myself several times until I finally approached them warily only to stop dead in my tracks when I recognized who it was that lay sprawled out across that blanket beneath me panting heavily as she nuzzled deeper into their lover's chest unable to meet my eyes or even speak due to embarrassment as she hid her face beneath both hands while trying desperately not to laugh herself silly at what just happened while not noticing me standing there frozen in place too shocked by who it actually was laying underneath this stranger dressed like this who watched me carefully as he leaned down under those glasses he always wore in order to get a better look at who stood there staring back at him wide-eyed as if someone had hit me over the head with an iron bar leaving me unable to move or speak as he whispered into her ear without moving away from where he lay comfortable against her "Hello Orpheus."