The noise was angering Ares. He'd come to his temple for peace, quiet and rest, which involved quiet. He stepped out into the early morning scowling, the stone steps refreshingly cold beneath his bare feet. His body was weakened from the battle of Delphi though, as usual, he had been unharmed. From outside the noise sounded almost like a battle cry, a constant wailing which began to pique his interest. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Ares followed the sound down the temple steps and into the courtyard. From there it was much louder and his keen ears recognized it as crying. Then off to the left he saw it, or rather her, and in little hurry stalked over.
There, lying at the foot of his larger than life statue was a little baby girl, naked, pale and barely moving. If it weren't for the strong wailing he would have thought her not long for the world.
Ares didn't much care for children, they were weak, noisy and an all around nuisance, but there was something about this little bundle. With more gentleness than one would attribute to such a large volatile man, he scooped the infant into his arms and carried her back into the temple.
"Harmon!" he shouted for his priest, deep voice echoing across the void of his cavernous temple. "Harmon!"
Several frustrating moments later Harmon came running across the altar, hoisting up his white robes so as not to trip. He was an old man, somewhat senile, but a once accomplished warrior and still quite strong. His warrior status was the only reason Ares still kept the captain turned priest around.
"Yes my lord?" he came to a skidding halt before the god and bowed hastily.
Harmon tried to keep his eyes on his lordship, knowing that he valued the utmost focus, however his attention was arrested by the babe in his arms. It twas honestly the very last thing he'd expected to see.
"Find the proper gear to feed this child at once." he almost smiled down at her, as much smile as he could manage, the child having quieted in the warmth of his embrace. "Then find a suitable noble home to raise her."
There was something about the child, an inner strength, that called to Ares. Clearly if the newborn, so tiny and wrinkled, could survive the elements she could grow to be a strong warrior.
"I'll call you Nova, little one." the little girl gurgled in response and Ares managed a legitimate smile. "And when you're settled I feel like a hunt is in order, my vultures are hungry."
Nova opened the door of the carriage and peeked out to see if Gerold was anywhere about. She was along only because she'd pled mercilessly until the captain had finally given in, with the assurance that she was along only for the ride while the men pitched fliers. But the streets were filled to bursting with interesting people, a plethora of stands and smells that were too enticing to ignore. When she was positive Gerold wasn't about, Nova pulled up the hood of her cloak, jumped from the carriage and immediately wove herself into the crowd. She wasn't oft permitted to leave the manor and when she was it was only under strict supervision, which meant no wandering.
Nova roamed the streets aimlessly for a time, stopping at this table to look at an exotic cat or that table for fabric of the finest sort. It was a sunny afternoon, with a light breeze carrying the scents of expensive perfumes and the happy cries of children. Twas the yelling and cheering that truly caught her attention though. Curiosity getting the better of her, Nova followed the sounds down the main thoroughfare and down several blocks where it led her to a dim, questionable alleyway. She ducked and dodged her way through the crowd where it seemed the sun had second thoughts of going.
Milling around in the alley were dozens of men, with a small smattering of women and children. To Nova's sincere delight she had stumbled upon the beginning of a small archery contest, nothing fancy, just a handful of contestants. Still, no matter the elaborateness or lack thereof, she loved the game. It was one of the few sportsman type activities she was allowed to partake in. Hunting, spearing or swordplay had been deemed completely out of the question.
There was a single file line of men waiting to shoot and one lone woman and much coin changing hands. Without her bow and for fear of calling too much attention to herself Nova didn't insert herself into the line as she longed to. Instead she leaned against the brick and mortar wall to observe
The first up was a short, rotund man with a large coin purse and a larger mouth. He wore the fine clothes of a nobleman, but housed the mouth of a street urchin. He talked himself up a great deal but it was plain to see by the perspiration under his arms that he was nervous as he handed over a few coin to small, spindly looking boy to hold his velvet cloak. When he turned towards the target the boy draped the much too large cloak over his body and danced for the crowd, giving Nova a hearty laugh. The man toed the line with all the elaborateness of a professional but only just hit the target on the outer rim. He cursed and forked over a good amount of coin, receiving only laughs for his troubles. He spun quickly only to find the boy still dancing and growled angrily, he snatched his cloak back and aimed a kick at the comedian but missed.
The second contestant appeared to be of noble blood, judging by the high quality of his garb and the way he held his nose up at everyone. Though he was handsome enough Nova pretended not to see his wink as he toed the line. He looked to be the same as every other pretentious nobleman she avoided the courtship of. He was a fair margin better than the first, his green feathered arrow landing near the bulls eye at least. Though he received a hearty cheer from the crowd he still shook his head with disappointment. Finished, he sneered at the gent behind him, nearly trampling the female archer in the process and made his way over to lean beside Nova.
"Good day my lady." he greeted and kissed her hand.
The fact that he was chivalrous only to those who he assumed to be of noble blood irked her.
"Good day." she replied blandly, bowing her head slightly as he attempted to peer under her hood.
He would most assuredly recognize her and make a fuss as most people did, making it difficult to enjoy a normal day. Not that she knew what a normal day truly felt like. The next contestant, a tall, well built man, turned to peer over his shoulder in their direction. He froze for a moment before the lady archer gave him a good shove to get on with it. He was ruggedly handsome, sporting black hair down to his shoulders and if it were clean he would have looked nicer, Nova thought. He had a stubborn set jaw and a scar that zig-zagged like lightning from his cheek bone to his ear.
"A regular ruffian, that one." her companion scoffed in a haughty voice, eyebrow quirked.
Nova shrugged but said naught as she watched the archer ready himself. There was no use arguing with the man, it would take much more effort than he was worth. The contestant didn't spout off or make grand claims of his prowess. He simply put his toe to the line, took aim, pulling the string back with his perfectly sculpted arm and landed a perfect, effortless bulls eye. The crowd cheered and clapped enthusiastically, Nova included. Her companion watched the others clap but didn't join in, looking rather sour.
"Found a way to cheat, I'd bet." he groused, which she dutifully ignored.
When the archer turned from retrieving his arrow he paused and stared vacantly at her. After a moment recognition seemed to pass over his features, though Nova knew him not he must have recognized her. Then his eyes narrowed as if she were a suspicious looking character...her! Immediately he bee lined for Nova ignoring more cheers and pats on the back, his face grim and if she wasn't mistaken looking a little peeved, though she couldn't imagine why. She felt a nervous twinge in the pit of her stomach as he closed in on them, thinking perhaps she'd had made a grave error striking out on her own. Why had she left Gerold behind? Nova didn't even have a weapon on her person. He halted mayhap a foot in front of her and strung his bow over his shoulder. Her previously mouthy companion looked on but was struck dumb.
"Have you never seen a woman before?" Nova asked caustically, irritated with the audacious manner in which he was staring at her.
The archer frowned and grabbed hold of her arm pulling her off the wall. She protested loudly but he spoke over her and tugged roughly when she resisted. Her admirer was suddenly nowhere to be found and though Nova cursed him vilely no one seemed particularly fond of stepping up to help her.
"The city is no place for a lady, especially a bloody alleyway!" he admonished, pushing her now towards the thoroughfare. "He would be quite upset you know." her accoster growled and spanked her arse.
"You son of a…" Nova spun on the ruffian, ready to wallop him when she heard Gerold calling. She looked quickly over her shoulder and before she could do anything else the archer spanked her a second time and vanished into the crowd.
"Nova!" he called again.
Seething, she made my way to his side, hands curled into fists.
"My lady." he said plaintively with a tired look she knew well. Nova was endlessly testing the poor man's patience, purposely only half of the time. "You swore to stay in the carriage."
Gerold hooked her arm leading her back through the crowd, past vendors with delicious treats. Nova looked around longingly, wanting nothing more than to roam the streets and enjoy the day if only for a bit longer. She'd barely even gotten to look at the wares. That day had been the most time she'd ever spent outside the manor walls and most of it had been spent in a carriage.
"Can we not browse for just a bit?" Nova pled with the captain of the guards.
Gerold was a kind man but he took his job seriously.
"All the flyers for next week have been pitched and you've wandered quite enough already. Gods help me if Ares found out."
He hastily ushered his chargee back to the carriage where the rest of the guards awaited, and so ended her grand adventure. How oft she longed to wander the earth as Ares did.