6 years later
It was going to be a hot day outside.
Underneath the covers on my bed, I began to sweat. Quickly sitting up, I threw the blankets off me. The sun was streaming in to the room from the open balcony, causing me to squint my eyes from the brightness.
The sun's rays were warming the cold tile on my floor. Slowly standing up from the soft bed, I stepped out into the sunlight and stretched. My balcony was overlooking the small courtyard were my father and younger brother would wrestle.
They were already at it this morning.
My brother was small and skinny, yet he was already a strong fighter for such a young boy. I leaned on the railing watching the two of them for a moment.
It was not so long ago when my father would play wrestle with me. It all changed after my little brother was born though.
My brother meant the world to my parents. They loved the both of us but I could tell that he was special. The first born son was the most important person in a Spartan soldier's family.
They would carry on the family name.
I sighed and walked back into my shaded room. I walked over and pulled out a white dress from the trunk and took off my night clothes. The dress wasn't really formal but it was enough to not look like a common person.
I mean, I was the daughter of King Leonidas.
Walking down the stairs to the bottom floor of the palace, I quickly ran to the court yard. My mother was watching the two men fight from the shadows.
Smiling widely, I ran down the remaining stairs and leapt into the sand in which they wrestled. I jumped on my father's back and pulled him to the ground. The large man let out a surprised yell and just stayed on the ground.
"Hurry! Brother, get him!" I commanded and started laughing. Pleistarchos was my little brother's name. The small boy jumped on our father and pretended to slice the King's throat with his small finger.
The man let out a loud choking sound and then lay still, pretending to be dead.
"FATHER!" Pleistarchos yelled out. He crawled onto our father's chest and my father suddenly awakened. He wrapped his large arms around his small body and jumped up from the ground. I had released my grip on my father and he turned to look back at me.
He swung the boy in his one arm and started to chase me.
"NO!" I screamed but started laughing. I tried crawling away but the task proved difficult for I was in a dress. I felt my father's strong arm wrap around my waist and pick me up. Struggling to remove his arm, I gritted my teeth as my fingers pried at his skin.
The other man just laughed, for my brother and I were at his mercy. The King spun us around for a minute before setting the two of us down. He turned to my brother.
"That was a good act of teamwork, my son. Your allies are your best friends on the battle field..." Everything was a lesson for my father to teach. He had told me of all this not long ago.
I just smiled at his antics before turning to my mother. She just shook her head and looked to the ground. She did not approve of me wrestling with two males. It went against the rules of how a woman was supposed to act. She was more of a traditional woman, never straying to far from traditional Spartan rules.
Leonidas, on the other hand, was very flexible with the rules. Even though women never learned the ways of the Spartan, my father had taught me almost everything.
He taught me battle strategy, how to use the traditional weapons of a Spartan, all the codes they had to follow, and how our city-state worked.
The King suddenly looked up towards the sun.
"You better go get changed, you'll be late for training if you don't leave now…" He said turning back to me.
Even though he taught me to fight, he didn't really like to be the one to beat me when I needed to learn to feel no pain. The man who was my teacher was a retired Spartan. My father had asked him to teach me and him being the King, the man accepted.
He made me go through everything a normal Spartan boy did, except I could return home at night. I was only 17 years old. I my father a strong hug and then ran back up the stone staircase to my room.
I put on a white, cotton tunic and a skirt that only went down to my calves. It was a little risky, running around Sparta without a long dress on. Most families would frown upon the fact that my ankles were showing.
I reached up underneath my bed and pulled out the sword that my father had given to me as a gift a few years ago. I hid it in a pocket of the cloak that I had slipped on over my clothes.
Walking quietly, I peered over the edge of the balcony. As if sensing my eyes upon him, my father looked up at me and nodded. He pulled my mother inside to distract her and I quickly ran out the door and out the front gates of our home.
I ran through the back streets of our home, careful not to allow anyone to see me. I was about to run around the corner of one of the buildings when I heard footsteps approaching. Skidding to a halt, I turned on my heel and ran back into the shadows.
A Spartan soldier walked passed, holding his head high.
I held my breath and cautiously stepped from the shadows after he was gone. That was close… I thought to myself.
I suddenly felt a sharp tug on my cloak. I glance over my shoulder at my attacker. The Spartan guard had returned and he had a hand entangled in my cloak. I spun around, my golden hair twirling around as I did so.
The Spartan soldier looked at me with a certain harshness in his gaze. The normal reaction I got from Spartan men was only looks of awe. However, after a moment passed, a smile crossed his face. He then remembered his place and bowed his head.
"Princess Alexandria!" He continued to bow his head.
"At ease, Spartan…" I said and couldn't help but laugh. He dared a glance up at me. His eyes shone blue silver.
"Tell, me Spartan… What is your name?" I asked quietly, a teasing clint in my eyes.
"Forgive me your highness, I am Stelios…" He said as he dropped to one knee, keeping his head bowed. I could hear the amusement in his tone and my own lips quirked.
"Really, Stelios. You can stop with the act... How many times must we do this?" The Spartan glanced up at me and I smiled down at him. The boy raised his hands to his helmet before lifting it off completely. Short, dark blonde hair fell to his shoulders in slight waves.
The scar on his jaw was very evident and she smirked as she lightly slapped it before walking passed him. I could easily remember how I gave him that scar all those years ago.
"Where are you off to at this time of day, Princess?" He called from slightly behind her. He soon jogged to catch up and they fell into step beside one another. Her temper flared slightly at the use of her title.
"Don't call me Princess!" I snapped before turning to look at him once more. He knew that he was not supposed to use it unless we were around other people. "And you know to speak none of this to my mother!" I spun around and looked at the beaming man. He only shook his head, his blue eyes sparkling.
"Farewell, Stelios!" She called and waved to him before walking around the corner. The Spartan disappeared from sight and I once again to proceeded to walk down the familiar path to my tutor's house. I took one last look over my shoulder.
He lived on the outskirts of the great city, near the woods that lined our wheat fields. He had a big tree grove behind his home and it was perfect for concealing training sessions.
I slipped in the back of the small house like I always did. The old teacher was sitting in his rocking chair, taking a nap. He was sleeping rather heavily and his mouth was open as a light snoring sound escaped his throat.
I let out a small cough. He did not move. Nudging his thigh with my foot, he startled awake. His eyes shot open and he jumped out of his chair.
"PERSIANS!" He yelled with a crazed look on his face. He still seemed to be caught up in the political activities that went on in the Council Chambers. I just laughed.
"The Persians aren't attacking! It's only me! The Lady Alexandria and your student!" He turned and looked at me, his body relaxing some.
"Please, do not sneak up on me like that again… It's not good for an old man's health…" He said smiling at me. I only smiled and nodded.
"Shall we begin training?" He asked, getting to the main point of our conversation. I nodded and we walked out of the back house to the tree grove to begin a day filled with harsh training and pain.