The breath caught in Myron's throat and his heart stopped beating in his chest, as he saw the creature holding tightly to Gabriel's arm. With a sigh, he realised it wasn't her. For a moment he was sure he'd seen his fated one clinging to the commander's arm. But she wasn't her, she did look very similar, with tanned skin, golden horns and a facial structure so similar they had to have been related. But it wasn't his hind.

Realising he'd dropped his basket and his bread had fallen to the floor he bent to retrieve it.

"Have you seen?" Cadmus raced up to him and grabbed the basket up from the floor, handing it to his friend.

"Seen?" asked the centaur numbly. He felt like his soul, never mind his heart, was breaking in two.

"Commander Gabriel, he has a woman with him." Said the satry excitedly pointing across the square. "Did you not see them? She could be your hind, the one you've been waiting for. She has golden horns."

"She's not." Said Myron in a tone of utter despair. Without waiting on his friend's reply the centaur turned and galloped as fast as he could towards his forge. Cadmus stood frozen for a moment as he watched his friend weave in and out of the crowds and disappear around the back of his forge.

"Oh shit!" Exclaimed the little satyr and started to run as fast as he could to the forge. Following his friend, round the back, he pushed on the back door that led to Myron's home and for the first time found it locked to him. The centaur must have slammed the bar down. Scratching at his tawny curls Cadmus bit his lip, then knocked hard at the door.

"Myron? It's just me." He called and waited but no sound of hooves came from inside. "Myron?" He called again but still, there was no sound. This couldn't be good, seeing the possible hind had clearly shaken the old centaur and Cadmus had no idea what to do.

Days passed and several creatures started to notice the forge hadn't opened. Several times a day Cadmus had gone to knock on Myron's door but he never received an answer. Getting out of bed he decided that if he couldn't get Myron to come to the door this morning he was going to get Commander Gabriel and ask him for help. He didn't know what else he could do. Looking at his reflection in his little mirror he ran his fingers through his curly locks and took a breath before leaving his home and trotting across the square to the forge. As he raised his hand to hammer on the door it opened and there stood a tired-looking Myron. The centaur looked as though he hadn't slept in days.

"Myron?" He asked as the centaur turned from the door and trotted to the rug where he sat down and gestured to the satyr's favourite chair.

"I feel old." Cadmus laughed nervously as he took his seat.

"You are old my friend, you must be two thousand if you're a day." The centaur snorted.

"I know, but I feel old now, I haven't before."

"The hind...?" Cadmus trailed off not sure what he was asking.

"She must be my hind's sister."

"So the whispers are wrong, she's a hind, not a demon?"

"If mine was a hind then yes, Gabriel's bride, which I assume by the way he held her hand and couldn't stop looking at her. Is also a golden hind."

"Myron, I don't know what to say." Cadmus had never seen his friend look so morose. Myron had always been huge and powerful, with a smile on his face and a quip on his tongue. Now he looked worn and broken, like his centuries of life had finally caught up with him.

"There is nothing to say, my friend. I built my life on a glimpse of something that was clearly never truly meant to be mine. It's time I started to build my life on what I have, good friends and a thriving business. Want to help me set up the shop? It's been closed for days, that's not good for business." Rising to his feet, the centaur glanced at the statues of the Fates on the oak beam that served as his mantlepiece, for centuries he'd prayed to them to return his fated to him. They were never going to answer those prayers. He swiped the statues off the mantle, letting them drop to the floor as he trotted towards the door of his forge.

Cadmus' eyes bulged as he looked at the statues of the Fates, he knew Myron was hurting but to disrespect the Gods? He quickly righted the statues beside the fireplace and raced after his friend to help him with his shop.

***

"How are you, my friend?" Myron looked up to see Gabriel standing beside one of his sword racks.

"Gabriel, I haven't seen you in a while, I hear congratulations are in order."

"Umm, yeah." Said the vampire rubbing his face. The centaur stifled a grin, he had known the vampire since he had been a young lad and rubbing his face was a mask of stress. "It seems to be the talk of the square."

"You must have known that if the town folk saw the famously reclusive Gabriel with a woman it would be all over within moments, especially taking her to Sisoa's. Her brood of daughters would have told the square before you even spoke to their mother."

"She needed clothes, I don't know where else to go for women's garments." The centaur shrugged, equally as unknowing on such a subject.

"So you found yourself a hind." Gabriel froze, his hand midway to picking up one of the swords on the rack.

"How? How did you know?" He whispered back at the centaur. "We haven't corrected anyone who assumed demon hybrid."

"I'm sure Cadmus has told you the story of how I got to glimpse my fated only to lose her."

"Yes," said Gabriel slowly, "she was an Amazon. She was killed at the battle of the Oracle."

"The hinds were at that battle, I saw one before the temple vanished." He almost told the vampire, but it was private and he didn't need to know he was fated to one of the sisters of his own lost fated.  "Anyway, you didn't come by my shop to chat about your bride."

"Umm, I actually did." Myron frowned, what could the lad be coming to him about in connection to his fated bride? Myron was not exactly a renowned lover.

"Look Gabriel, I'm really not the one to ask, Cadmus. Cadmus will happily tell you everything you want to know. That randy little goat has been with more nymphs than that equally randy baby brother of yours."

"Oh by the gods, no. That's not what I meant. I wanted you to build her a crossbow." Myron burst into a belly laugh, it was the first time he had laughed since he'd seen Gabriels hind. It felt good to laugh, to not feel the loss weighing down on him. Maybe he didn't have his fated. But he did have his forge and his skills. From now on he would focus on being the best smith in the known worlds. Gabriel looked mortified which only made Myron laugh harder. Cadmus came trotting over and looked from Gabriel's mortified face to Myron with tears starting to fall down his face.

"What did I miss?" Asked the baffled satyr, that change in Myron was like night and day. From morose and silent to belly laughing like his old self after a few ales.

"Gabriel wants help with his bride." Cadmus looked at the vampire and burst into laughter like his old friend.

"I told you he was a virgin." Cried out the little goat as he clutched his belly and laughed.

"What? You two thought. No! That's not... What? I wasn't a virgin. By the Gods, you two are touched." The horrified, stammering rambling of the vampire only served to make the pair of ancient creatures laugh harder. "Oh by the Gods. This Is why I don't drink with you two. You're unbelievable. All I wanted was a crossbow."