"Reyna! Get up or you'll miss the meeting!"
Reyna groaned as she sat in her bed, rapidly writing notes in Latin on her forearms. Today she had to go to a meeting to see what man she would be compatible with. Problem was, Reyna didn't want to be compatible with any man in this city. She wasn't ready to be married, let alone to some guy she didn't know. Plus she had a crush on the emperor.
On top of that, Reyna was awful at being a proper lady. She had been brought up learning to fight, there was no time for ladylike lessons. Her dad had realized a little too late that most men wanted women that could cook, clean, and raise children, not fend for themselves. Reyna doubted that even if her mother had stuck around she would be proper, from her dad's stories.
"Reyna? Are you up?" her father yelled again from across the house.
"Yes, father! Be there soon!" Reyna jumped up without thought, and spilled ink all over her sheets. "Oh, Pluto!" she cursed. Sighing, Reyna picked up what was left of the ink bottle and threw her sheets on the cement floor.
Reyna but the ink bottle on her dresser, and sprinted out of her room down the narrow stone hallway. She nearly ran past the kitchen without realizing it. Reyna stopped abruptly, and quickly walked into the kitchen. Her father was holding a plate that had buttered bread on it out to Reyna.
Reyna hurriedly grabbed a slice and stuffed it in her mouth. Her father looked at her condescendingly with matching obsidian eyes.
"Reyna! Please try to be as ladylike as possible today! Already eating like a barbarian, and look at your mess of hair! And you're still in your pajamas," her father scolded. He placed the plate back on the counter. "Venus have mercy on you today," he muttered.
Reyna looked down at her clothes. Sure enough, she was still in her violet undergarments. "Sorry, I don't have any time! Plus I'm going to the beautician's before the meeting, so I'll be fine," Reyna assured. "Well, I have to go do chores! Bye, father!"
Reyna gave her father a quick kiss and sprinted out of the house. She stood on the porch step, grabbed a bag of grain, and whistled shrilly. A peanut colored horse emerged from the street stables and came walking towards her.
"Come on, Scipio! I'm in a hurry today!" Reyna urged. Scipio sensed her mood and started to gallop. Reyna swung herself over his side and grabbed his mane.
Scipio looked back expectantly. "No, Scipio. The grain is for the chickens! Now get along!" Reyna kicked his sides and they trotted along to the chicken house. Reyna quickly threw handfuls of grain at them, purposefully leaving one scoop for Scipio.
She leaned around Scipio's neck and offered him the grain in her hand. "There. Now no complaining, you hear? Let's go!"
Reyna nudged him, throwing the bag behind her. Scipio took off in a dead run towards the middle of Rome. She didn't even admire the beautiful city like usual, or stare at Emperor Jason's residence- that's how much of a hurry she was in. If she failed this meeting, things would not be good.
They clattered down the streets, and Reyna caught sight of the beautician's. She clambered off Scipio, tied him loosely to a post, and flew into the fancy shop. "Sorry I'm late!"
A beautiful foreign looking woman with pink eyeliner came into the room. "Don't worry about a thing, hon. Your mother said you'd come eventually! Now follow me," the woman instructed. "I'm Drew by the way!"
Reyna's chest tightened. "Wait, my mother is here?" she asked. Reyna didn't understand what the goddess would want with her here. Bellona already had Hylla as her prized and perfect daughter, why would she need Reyna?
Drew smiled dazzlingly. "Oh, yes, sweetheart! Today is all your day, and by the looks of it, Aphrodite better have pity on you," she said brightly.
Reyna sensed magic in her voice, she'd had plenty of association with it because of her old job with the Circe, a local sorceress. "You said Aphrodite," Reyna noticed out loud, "We say Venus around here. You're not Roman, are you?"
Drew opened a door, revealing a large bath that smelled like ten gallons of perfume were dumped in it. Reyna nearly gagged. "Rome pays better than Greece, hon. Mother doesn't care! Love is universal," Drew explained. Reyna nodded. It wasn't unusual to meet children of the gods, they had so many. "Get undressed! I thought you were in a hurry or something."
Reyna snapped out of her thoughts. "Yes! Yes, I am!" Reyna exclaimed. She quickly undressed and jumped into the sickening water. Several other astonishingly pretty girls came in and helped Reyna scrub down. When Reyna was red from all the scrubbing, they let her out. Drew handed her a towel with a disapproving look and led her to the next room.
This room was covered in dresses hanging from every inch of the wall, with chairs propped up. Unfortunately, one was occupied by her mother, who was in full battle uniform. Her imperial gold shield and spear lay against the chair, and the goddess looked ready to go to war. Juno must not want me to get married, Reyna thought bitterly.
Reyna hardened her face and acknowledged her. "Hello, mother. What brings you here?"
Bellona pushed a stray piece of dark hair that had escaped from her gold helmet. "I've come to give you something as a gift. It is a very special day for you, is it not?" the goddess demanded.
Drew came in at that moment with an absolutely horrid red dress. "Am I interrupting something, hon?"
"Not at all. Just get me dressed so I can get this thing over with!" Reyna bossed grumpily. She was in no mood to deal with the war goddess and this at the same time. What did the gods have against her today? She made a mental note to give them an offering later.
Drew shoved the dress on Reyna while Bellona stared expectantly. Reyna hated it when she did that, it made her feel self-conscious, which was an unfamiliar feeling for Reyna. She usually didn't care at all what other people thought. But then again Bellona wasn't exactly a person.
A few other Venus girls finished strapping on the dress while Drew examined her and tsked. Reyna looked down at the overly fancy red dress. "What?" she asked sharply.
"You're a hopeless mess, sweetheart! Better fix that face and hair, hon," Drew stated smoothly. Reyna rolled her eyes and bit back a retort. She let Drew apply her makeup and put up her hair, curling the strands that fell loose.
After what seemed like forever, Drew was done. "Well, that's as good as you will get! Go on now, I have more customers to attend to, darling," Drew urged cheerfully.
Reyna nodded numbly. There was so much makeup on her face that she felt like any expression would make it crack and fall off. Drew pushed Reyna out the door, and Reyna caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
For one thing, she looked like she had spent her whole life in the sun from the fake coloring that Drew had applied. Other than that, her hair was wrapped tightly in a braided bun on the top of her head, the hanging strands curled elegantly. Somehow, Drew had accented Reyna's obsidian eyes perfectly, so that they stood out beautifully. Reyna's lips stood out prominently in such a deep red that it resembled the dress.
Reyna didn't like it. It didn't feel like her. She looked like some perfect daughter of Venus, who was proper and ladylike in every way. Reyna was the daughter of a war goddess. She'd rather spend her time learning how to attack people more efficiently.
Reyna felt the cold morning air hit her bare arms as she was shoved out the door. Roman guards barking orders at slaves filled the her ears, and Reyna tried her best to override their voices so that her whistle to Scipio could be heard. His post was empty, so he must have went for a walk.
Scipio came trotting down the street looking satisfied. Some children must have taken pity on him and fed him. Reyna snorted. Pathetic horse. Reyna was about to jump on him when she heard a stern voice.
"Reyna."
Reyna put her foot down and faced her mother. "Yes, Bellona?"
Bellona was no longer in full battle uniform, her spear, shield, and helmet were absent. The goddess held out an imperial gold dagger to Reyna. "Use it well. And do not worry about this meeting too much. Your destiny lies elsewhere," she said.
Reyna took the dagger and bowed to Bellona. "Thank you. This means a lot to me," Reyna said even though she didn't mean it. It was just a small lie. And Reyna didn't really feel like being incinerated right now.
Bellona didn't answer, which Reyna thought odd. Reyna raised her gaze and saw that the goddess was nowhere in sight. Typical. Reyna was surprised that she had showed up in the first place. Roman gods didn't usually visit their children. In fact, they only really associated with mortals unless it was romantically.
Reyna swung herself onto Scipio the best she could without ruining her dress, and took off in a dead run towards the matchmaker's. Romans swerved in all directions, trying to avoid Scipio. Reyna heard a lot of cussing and yelling directed towards her, but now that her mother was gone she was back to not caring.
The matchmaker's white stone villa came into view, as did all the nervous girls waiting outside. Reyna jumped off Scipio and came jogging over to the group. Some of the higher class girls gasped and gave her dirty looks from the front. Reyna searched for familiar faces.
"Reyna! Get over here!" A familiar voice said from behind her.
Reyna turned around to face Gwen, a neighbor girl and one of her good friends. Her almost white hair was styled identical to Reyna's, and her hazel eyes gleamed excitedly. "Gwen! I'm sorry about being late," Reyna apologized.
Gwen looked her over. "Had a rough morning? Is that why you wrote your lines on your arm?"
Reyna crossed her arms, hiding the Latin ink. "No, I couldn't remember those anyway, even if I'd been on time. And do I really look that bad?"
Before Gwen had a chance to answer, the doors swung open, revealing a large woman dressed in a yellow toga. She examined the girls, and pulled out a scroll.
"Today is the day of your future," the woman said in a nasally voice, "I will call out your name, and you will follow me into the villa. There, I will test your skills, and decide which man you shall belong with. To be in your place is great honor, so use it well," the woman warned. "I will begin with Aquila. Come, now."
One of the higher class girls stepped up in a teal dress, her red hair blowing confidently in the light breeze. She gave the crowd one last smirk and walked gracefully through the door.
The girl never came back, but the large woman came out announced another name. This happened repeatedly, and Reyna assumed that the girls exited through another door. City people were beginning to gather curiously so that they could see the matches for this year when the meetings were over.
The girls slowly went in one by one, so that soon only Reyna, Gwen, and a few high-class girls were left. The woman opened the door again and looked over her list. "Reyna." she announced firmly.
This story is in no way historically accurate. I just used the names, because I didn't feel like making up my own.. It's not actually Greece and Rome.
Disclaimer: Don't own.
Thanks for reading my newest story! The other story will be up in a few days!
