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From: "Jan V." <jan123@hotmail.com>
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Subject: {ASSM} {ASSTR} [sapphic] Jan V. - The triumph of the Muses
Date: Sun, 15 Sep 2002 19:10:03 -0400
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Hi there

This is my late, late entrance for the Sapphic Festival.  Sorry
about that. As you may have well guessed, this story belongs to
the Muses category. This is actually a newer version containing a
couple of minor corrections.

As always... Enjoy!

-jan

----



The Triumph of the Muses (ff, myth)

By Jan Vincent, 2002

jan123@hotmail.com http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/j/wwwan123/



1. Calliope

Apollo's carriage had passed countless times from east to west,
and my sisters and I were still on this deserted island, being
punished by our hateful father Zeus.  I had begged for mercy, to
no avail.  "It is my fault," I cried.  "I am the oldest of the
Muses.  I, Calliope, am responsible for my sisters' misdeeds and
no one else.  Please, dear father, forgive us, because we have
sinned against you."  Despite my sincerity, our father didn't
heed my plaints, my contrition, my pain.

We tried to conjure the help of Ares, as he was a mighty,
powerful warrior, whose knowledge of the martial skills could
deliver us from our undeserved prison.  He didn't heed us,
though.  He did not wish to enrage Zeus for mere nine women who
had disobeyed the Father of the Gods.

Hera would not help us either, as she had never looked upon us
with a benevolent eye.  Hera was indeed an irascible, jealous
spouse.  Hera had never forgiven her brother and husband to have
slept with our mother Mnemosyne nine times. And nine times she
gave forth a female child, one more beautiful than the other,
with strands of gold covering her heads and clear eyes.  Nine
Muses to spur the mortals on to spawning poetry, songs and
tragedies.  Nine muses so the gods would seek laughter and
knowledge of their dwellings in the sky.  Nine muses to engrave
humankind's actions onto stone or papyrus, so that no one would
forget past crimes or heroic deeds.

Our mother Mnemosyne was now a frail old woman, who had never
dared to question our father's tyranny.  Even the mortals were
afraid of Zeus, building temples to appease him, while us Muses,
the inspiration of gods and mortals alike, were forgotten and
forsaken on this wretched island.

With nostalgia I remembered the days when my sisters Euterpe,
Erato and Terpsichore sang Sappho's poems, exulting the beauty of
women, the love of women, the longing of women...  They sang it
not as seriously as the poems of the Great Poetess demanded. 
They sometimes mocked Sappho's passion by declaring each other's
devotion to Aeolus, while the windy god blew them away with false
promises of endless love.  They were young and did not know
better, I must add in their defense.  In any case, youth should
be careless and free, filled with joy and laughter, and indeed my
sisters and I were all that and much more.

The island where the Minotaur had lived, before being slain by
Theseus, was now ours alone.  We still could see the labyrinth
where the monster had dwelled and fed on young women to curb his
appetite and spare the life of the island's inhabitants.  Since
the Minotaur was no more, all the islanders had mysteriously
disappeared as if that very place had been cursed by the gods. 
Too many crimes had been committed to placate the monster.  Too
many crimes had been carried out to justify the unjustifiable.

Nowadays only wild goats and boars could be seen wandering across
the green pastures.  Sheep, horses and donkeys seemed to have
disappeared along with their wicked masters.  Struck by hunger,
Erato succeeded in improvising a bow, her green eyes filled with
pure pride, showing us what she had done with a piece of wood and
a string of her lyre.  Many attempts after, she shot her first
wild goat, making us jump for joy.  We would starve no more. Even
us Muses had to eat or we would suffer the eternal ache of an
empty stomach.  I was sure that Zeus had planned it that way, to
castigate us with starvation.  We would not die of it, oh no.  We
were as immortal as he was. His goal was to make us suffer and
endure a thousand deaths, crippling us, punishing us relentlessly
till the End of Chronos.

Indeed, our first days on the island were not simple.  Melpomene
would bring us down with her negativity, reminding us that the
life-paths of the gods were often tragic.  She filled us with
fear of what the future might have in store for us.  It soon
became obvious that to remain warm and well nourished was no
simple task for nine young women used to the instant
gratification of their needs when they lived under the roof of
the Palace of the Gods.  On this island we lacked Bacchus, who
would bring us delicious wine; Artemis, who would offer us the
product of her effortless hunting; the naiads, who would bathe
us; the dryads, who would supply us with abundant firewood for
the winter; and the other nymphs, our lovers and companions.

There was a time when we thought our situation was desperate.  We
all wished to be mortals, so we could find peace and cross the
river Styx and meet the infernal Hephaestus.  But none of that
came to pass.

Little by little our simple existence improved, our skills became
sharper, our eyes quicker, our muscles stronger.  We became
fearless hunters, able to wield the swords and shoot the bows as
any mortal man or hero.  We learned how to weave our own chitons,
himations and mantiles.  We learned how to bathe ourselves in the
running streams.  We now knew how Hephaestus produced fire, a
lesson, taught by the dryads, which Clio had recorded in her
scrolls.



2. Clio

My scrolls... I am unable to remember how many times my sisters
had poked fun at me every time I registered an adventure
experienced, a lesson learned, a song sung.

"You should live," said Thalia,  "not write your life away."

"It's my life," I replied, "and I will do as I please."

"Come and dance with us, Clio," said Terpsichore, while she waved
her body in an erotic dance with her favorite nymph.

And I would steadfastly reply, "It's my life, and I will do as I
please."

Now all my sisters, older and wiser, recognized the importance of
my scrolls and exhorted me to continue my work.  I noted down
every change in our bodies and minds since we were expelled from
Mount Olympus.  I noted down when Thalia, our youngest sister,
decided to walk and hunt naked.  I noted down when Polyhymnia and
Urania followed suit, saying that our chitons and himations were
no longer needed.

"Wait till the winter," I observed.

Euterpe turned to me and smiled.  "Clio, you're right, as always.
 But let them be.  They are young and they will learn that for
themselves."

"Foolish they are, though," I maintained.  "Hunting naked... Such
nonsense."

"You utter those words, because you don't know what love is."

I looked at Erato, puzzled.  "What do you mean?  What love has to
do with cavorting around naked?"

"Everything."  Erato kept grinning at me, as if she were mad.

"I still don't understand."

"That's my point."

"No, that's not the point.  Because I know what love is.  I was
in love once."

"With whom?" asked my sister Melpomene with eager wide eyes.

"Ares," I stated, blushing a little.

"Ares?" Melpomene said.  "But he's a man!  How can you be in love
with a man?  Don't you know that men only love young boys?  And
their toys?"

"Toys?" I was again mystified.

"Everything with pointed ends, like spears, penises and swords."

"But you are a woman, and you do like fingers and the like." 
Then I raised my hand, making my fingers move.  "Don't you see? 
Is that pointed enough?"

It was time for my sister Melpomene to gain color in her
golden-tanned cheeks.  "Yes, but that's different."

"How different?"

"Different.  I like fingers and tongues, not penises andswords."

Calliope, Erato and myself laughed at our sister's remark. 
Melpomene could be amusing at times, in spite of her love for
drama and tragedy.



3. Euterpe

If my sister Clio was in love with an unattainable man, I
certainly wasn't. Although I don't necessarily agree with
Melpomene, I can understand her dislike of men.  She had never
met a sympathetic one, whereas I had. Hercules had always been my
hero.  I admired his virility, his courage and his strength.  But
he was a mortal, and goddesses were not supposed to mate with
mortals.  Zeus, our so jealous father, had forbidden us to
approach mortals for our sexual needs.  But he was so handsome
and I was so in love with him that I couldn't resist.  We made
love... and Zeus punished not only I but all my sisters, sending
us to this island, where no wretched soul lived.

My love for Hercules diminished in strength before long.  I
forget how many times Apollo's carriage crossed the sky from east
to west while I waited for him at the beach, staring at the sea,
my eyes oblivious to the waves and the sea birds that hovered
above.  Eventually I realized Hercules was not coming; I would
not be rescued from my fate.  I cried and cried and cried. My
only solace were my sisters, who had never blamed me for our
shared fate. Their love for me had always amazed me.  It was
pure, true and simple.

From time to time I would return to the beach with Erato and
Terpsichore, my favorite sisters.  We all loved music and poetry,
so we would sit on the soft sand, and sang and played together. 
Despite Clio's cautionary words, we had joined our younger
sisters in their decision to walk around unclothed through the
island.  I felt free, unencumbered, and sexually daring.  It was
only a shame there was no one to share my sexual desire with.  Or
was there?

Unconsciously I had noticed how my sisters looked increasingly
attractive with their tanned, vigorous yet feminine bodies.  It
was impossible not to, for they had forsaken their chitons for
now.  However, we had never considered anything sexual between
us.  It was normal enough for brothers and sisters to get married
in the Palace of the Gods: Zeus and Hera, for one.  But sex
between sisters... was unheard of, I thought.  Or was I wrong?

This preoccupation made me seek Clio's advice.  Probably she
could find an example of such love in her scrolls.  On the other
hand, Clio was known to be as prude as our mother's archrival
Hera...  "What to do?" I wondered. "Would she be horrified with
me?  Would she blame me for our fate this time, for being a
wanton woman, who was unable to control her sexual hunger?  Even
if that meant to mess around with my own flesh and blood?"

After a long while, for my body and soul ached so, I decided to
unbosom myself to my wisest sister: Calliope!  Grabbing her hand
I made her come with me to the very beach where I had waited for
Hercules senselessly.

Unlike our younger sisters and myself, Calliope was fully dressed
with a clasp-fastened chiton, her long braided blond hair atop
her head.  Her serene face was intrigued, her lips set in an
undefined smile.

"So, dear Euterpe," she said, as she sat on the sand, "tell me
what is on your mind."

"I don't know how to start."

"Is this still about Hercules not coming?"

"No."  I shook my head.  "Hercules is not coming.  I know that
now."

Calliope crooked her head, widening her smile, more intrigued
than ever. "So, what's the problem then?"

"I was wondering if...  Our father has punished us because I had
sex with a mortal... But... he never... said anything about
having sex with other gods."

"No, he hasn't," she confirmed.

"Then..."  I catch my breath, unable to go on.

"Then?" she said, arching up her eyebrows.

"What if I had sex with Erato... or Terpsichore?  Would that be
wrong? Would I be punished for this?"

As soon as I said these words, I panicked.  Calliope's smile was
gone.  She seemed terribly surprised.  Minutes elapsed before she
asked, "You want to have sex with Erato and Terpsichore?"

"I... I don't know."

"Have you talked to them about it?"

"No, I wanted to know what you thought of it."

"But I am not Erato, or Terpsichore.  You have to talk to them. 
Not me.  I am not Mnemosyne or Zeus to tell you what to do.  I am
just your eldest sister."

"But what do you think about it?  Suppose that Clio comes to you
and asks you if you would make love to her.  Would you do it?"

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head gravely.  "Everything
we do with our lives is never black or white.  It depends on the
circumstances.  Every word, every sigh, every glance, every look,
every word, every body motion has a meaning.  If it all falls
into place, then that's right.  If not, then that's wrong.  So
simple is that."



4. Melpomene


When I heard it I could not believe my ears.  Euterpe wanted to
have sex with Erato and Terpsichore!  Astonishment filled my soul
and my body.  With a galloping heart I ran and looked for them. 
I had to inform them about the sensational news.  I hated for
them to know it from my mouth, but I was unable to resist the
sweet temptation to tell them what consumed Euterpe. Euterpe, the
one who said she would never lie with a woman... Euterpe,
Hercules' lover, the one to blame for our friendless, hopeless
fate, wanted to have sex with Erato and Terpsichore!

At long last I found them on Euterpe's beach, collecting shells
and singing their songs of love and discovery.

"Melpomene!" they cried in unison, surprised by my apparent
distress.

"Erato," I puffed.  "Terpsichore...  You must know this..."  And
I told them what I witnessed, word by word, sigh by sigh.

Terpsichore's eyes, as blue as the sky overhead, darkened for a
moment into a greenish hue.  Her delicate mouth opened, skeptic,
nervous.  "Melpomene, I know your love for scandal...  I know
this, for I had witnessed it so many times when we lived our
eventless, dull lives on Mount Olympus.  But what you're saying
is just plainly ridiculous."

"Believe me, it's true.  I heard it with my own ears."

"Melpomene, I didn't know you were partial to eavesdropping."  I
looked at my sister Erato and felt intense heat on my cheeks. 
She was not chastising me.  She was smiling at me, with a
teasingly slanted mouth.  I had been caught, and she was making
sure I was aware of that.  Erato took a deep breath, looked back
at the sea, and sighed.

Terpsichore's hand slid on the naked shoulder of Erato.  "Why did
you sigh, sister?"

Erato bade her time before she was able to face us both.  "I must
say that Melpomene is right."

"How so?" Terpsichore said, removing her hand from Erato's
shoulder at once.

"Didn't you see her eyes when we danced with her?  Didn't you
notice her eyes lingering on our breasts, our hips, our thighs?
I knew her hunger. She is starving... starving for affection,
because she is wounded... inside."

"Why?"

"Unrequited love.  The kind of love that hurts most."



5. Terpsichore


We left the beach and made our way back to the camp at a brisk
pace.  I was worried with my dear sister Erato, experiencing a
confusing mix of jealousy and powerlessness.  Erato and I had
always been the closest of friends, but for the first time she
had kept hidden the fact that she knew someone else yearned for
her.  I felt betrayed, deeply betrayed.  At the Palace of the
Gods there was no lover, no whisper we didn't share.  But now...
could I trust her still?  Could I?

I felt a hand holding my hand, slim fingers intertwining mine.
"Terpsichore?"

"Yes?" said I, raising my head and facing my beloved sister
Erato.

"Don't be sad.  It'll be all right.  Euterpe just needs a little
loving, and then everything will turn out fine."

Despite myself I smiled at her and gave her cheek a kiss,
pressing my palm against hers.

"Come," she said, springing forward, "let's run."

Melpomene, Erato and I tore up the hill, where our camp was
situated, giggling and screaming and daring each other.  That was
the reason why I loved Erato so. After all, she sang of love, and
nothing else but love, I reminded myself, as my heart hammered in
my chest, leaving me dizzy and slightly distressed.

All of our sisters were back at the camp, a rare event at this
Apollo's carriage height, as it was too soon for our evening
meal.  Euterpe was the last one to face us, and then, to my great
shock, I saw her eyes, sparkling with tears.  I thought Apollo
was playing tricks on my eyes, but eventually I had to give in
and accept our fate, whatever that may be.

Erato kneeled before Euterpe and hugged her lovingly.  "Shh,
sister.  We'll take care of you.  We will love you and protect
you, until you feel no pain, just joy in your heart."

Euterpe embraced her, sobbing for the longest time.  Speechless,
we remained seated in a half circle, watching Apollo's carriage
approaching the sea's divide, setting off their embracing
silhouettes.  Sometimes I felt I could not breathe, as I watched
Euterpe sleeping quietly in our sister's lap.  The pain was gone
for precious moments, too precious to be told.



6. Erato


Tonight Euterpe and I made love...  for the first time.  She kept
her eyes shut, as if she didn't want to let go of her pain.  I
kissed her disrobed body, who smelled and tasted like the sea we
knew so well.  My tongue found the smallest crevices, my hands
searched for her nipples, my fingers for her gaping pleasure. 
Her wetness convinced me I was healing her, until her sobbing
stopped.  Silent she remained as I caressed her and cradled her
in my arms, as if she had become more than a sister: a baby, my
baby, my lover.

When Apollo's carriage appeared in the east, I awoke, sensing her
hands on my breasts, her head on my shoulder, her thigh between
mine.  I could feel her sex still moist, another proof that the
healing had started.

When Euterpe woke I had her meal ready, which she accepted with a
content smile.  We didn't talk, because no words were needed; it
seemed as though my presence was enough to calm her down, to
appease her still aching heart. Hand in hand we left the camp
after seeing to our daily duties.  I knew where she wanted to go,
so I led her to her preferred beach.  We hugged, feeling each
other's naked bodies, engulfed in each other's hair, light as
Apollo's carriage and soft as sheep's wool.

She kissed me with passion, her hands feeling my breasts with
unmatched eagerness.  Again I sensed her hunger as she wetted my
breasts and my stomach with her skilled tongue.  She kneeled on
the sand, paying her dues, pressing me hard against her mouth, so
that her relentless tongue was able to invade me, rape me, and
bring me to ecstasy.

I screamed my pleasure out, like a mad woman, a free spirit,
naked to her appetite.   I let myself fall to the sand and heaved
a deep sigh.  I looked at her lovely, pretty face, full of
longing, longing for me, her sister, her lover.  We held each
other again until we rolled on the humid sand and a wave washed
over us.  She laughed, but didn't let go of me, kissing me
instead, her tongue searching mine in a game of hide and seek.  I
made love to her again and again, until her pain was gone, until
she screamed my name with bliss in her eyes, her pleasure oozing
in my fingers.

"Erato."

"Euterpe."

"Let's stay like this forever."

"Yes, let's stay," I agreed, burying my fingers deep in her,
feeling her pulsating womb, until her body arched up again, her
eyes went shut, and her mouth gaped to scream.

When she came down from Aphrodite's embrace, she brought me to
her arms and said, "I know what love is now."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

I kissed her and smiled, wondering whether she really did know
what love was.



7. Polyhymnia


"Euterpe's and Erato's union is unholy."

"Why do you say that, Polyhymnia?"

I observed my sister Calliope and asked myself whether she had
gone mad. "Isn't that obvious?"

This time she really looked at me, actually seeing what I meant.
"You're too young to understand it."

"I am not too young.  I am older than any mortal who has ever
walked on Terra, and you say that I am young."

"For a goddess you are young.  You're not a mortal, so don't
behave like one."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Mortals are quick to judge and quick to punish.  They seldom
think, so busy are they with their own lives."

"Zeus is a god and he has punished us... on account of Euterpe's
disobedience."

"Our father is a god who has bedded many mortals...  Only Zeus
knows how many diseases he caught from the mortals.  I think the
deadliest of them all was fear itself."

"Fear?"

"Yes, fear.  Fear of the unknown.  And apparently he passed it on
to you."

"That is not true," I protested, leaping to my feet.  I ran,
being overcome by intense anger.  Calliope was not being fair.  I
was not as childish as she claimed.  I hated for it and for
having defended Euterpe and Erato.  And I was not afraid.  And I
was not as Zeus, our merciless father... although I had been his
favorite Muse.

"Polyhymnia!" I heard someone call.  I came to a halt and
searched for a face.  I saw Urania and Thalia waving at me.  They
beckoned me to come closer and keep my silence.

"What?" I whispered, hunkering down where they kneeled.

"Look," said Urania, giggling.

I craned my neck and what I saw left me breathless, again.  Erato
and Euterpe were making love in a close-by field, where goats
used to come and eat the tall green grass.  I heard Euterpe moan
Erato's name, murmuring her love for our sister, the one who sang
love songs, so the mortals could fall in love.

"They really are so lovely together," Thalia snickered.

"Yes, by the Muses, they are, indeed," said Urania with visible
longing in her eyes.  "They are two Virgos in one.  I wished I
were one of them, and feel what they feel for each other."

"Do you wish that?" Thalia looked serious for once.

"Indeed.  With all my heart.  I think to be in love is the best
thing a Muse can hope for, long for, pine for."

"Even if that hurts you no end?" I said, a trifle disgusted with
their desire.

"Yes," Urania said.  "If your heart doesn't hurt, then your love
is not pure enough.  That is written in the sky.  Look at the
stars and you will see it."

"I don't understand," I said, shaking my head.

Suddenly we fell silent.  Erato's beautiful face was drawn tight,
as if in pain, as if in intense agony...  But I knew better; she
was in the arms of Aphrodite, feeling the goddess' embrace.  She
exhaled deeply, then opened her shining, loving eyes, sitting up
and covering Euterpe with gentle kisses.

Urania's face, so similar to mine, turned to me and smiled
graciously.  She said, "Don't worry, sister.  One day you will."



8. Urania


Seeing Euterpe's and Erato's love for each other made me want the
same.  I wavered a long time before I had the courage, the nerve
to go and tell them what I felt.  I wanted them to teach me what
they had learned with each other.  It was true we had already
been loved by the nymphs, but somehow I felt that the love of a
Muse for another would be unlike any other love we had
experienced.

Maybe because we had known each other since we were born... 
Maybe because we trusted each other with our lives...  All I knew
was that I did not know nor did I comprehend this longing.

I looked for answers in the sky, but the stars and the planets
remained silent.  I knew Zeus had a hand in it.  Even Ares,
Aphrodite, and Hermes, so close to Apollo's' carriage, did not
answer me.  I cursed my hideous father. I cursed him with all my
strength.

One day I saw Euterpe and Erato walking hand in hand through the
fields, their naked bodies merging into one in a long embrace. 
Their long, resplendent hair becoming one as they kissed and felt
each other's breasts, while sighing against each other's mouths.
My whole body tingled, experiencing exquisite giddiness.  I could
no longer resist, and so I darted across the field and joined
them, breathless.

"Urania!"  They watched me as I closed in, my hands shaking, my
legs weak.

"Sisters, forgive me.  I love you both... so much.  I want to
learn.  I want to feel... the same."

"Is that all, sister?" Erato asked with a mischievous smile.

"Yes!  I swear!"

"Then come with us.  We'll teach you."



9. Thalia


"Avenged!" I said.  "We are avenged!"

"Avenged?" Clio asked, holding her scroll, where she set down our
sisters' lovemaking, describing in detail all the tongue-flicks
and moans they were experiencing at each other's hands.

"Don't you see, Clio?  We are happy now!  Even on this
god-forsaken island. We have each other, and Zeus' punishment is
actually a blessing."

I shut my eyes, feeling another powerful wave of pleasure rushing
over me. I gave an intense kiss to Urania's mouth.  Urania, my
dearest sister, my so beautiful lover, who kept her very deft,
very wet hand inside me.

And on that very moment, Zeus saw how wrong he had been.  We had
been stronger than his punishment, and our triumph over tyranny
was as clear as the Greek sky.

He freed us from our destiny, allowing our return to Mount
Olympus.  We resumed our duties, and to this day we keep mortals
and gods inspired till the End of Chronos.

This is our story.  The Muses have spoken.


THE END



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