Stone pathways lead up the sloping hills to the temple of Apollo. Storm clouds loamed overhead and the people of the city had all but readied themselves for the gods' anger. All but one… A young woman made her way to the temple's entrance and glanced about with stormy grey orbs. Something felt off to her, though she didn't know what. Storms were normal for the small island village and they had often had to work their lives around Poseidon's whims, but this one felt as if there was something more behind it. The woman leaned against the smooth stone pillar near the middle of the temple. She wanted to know what the feeling deep inside her meant, but at the same time she felt asking the gods would do little more than prove she was only a speck in their world.
So instead she watched the shadows play across the large statue of the God of music. She prayed that her feelings were wrong and this was little more than another storm and their lives would continue normally once it passed. Outside the temple she could hear the patter of rain as it began to fall. The sky slowly grew darker and thunder could be heard in the distance. Knowing if she waited much longer she would be stuck in the temple until the storm fully passed the woman hurried back down the path and through the town to her home. Inside the small stone hut sat her older brother and her father. They both smiled and chattered over their catch before having to come in due to the storm. Her brother smiled brightly at her as she walked in and patted the spot next to him for her to join. A fire burned in a hearth nearby to keep them warm and she could smell chamomile filled their home.
"The storm seems small. Poseidon must only be annoyed today. Nothing to freight, Celia." Her brother coed as she sat beside him before he turned back to his conversation with their father. "Once the storm passes I will head to the market for tonight's meal. I'm sure we can get a decent trade for the small catch we got this morning."
Their father said nothing more just smiled at his children. The man could talk for hours if given the chance, but he knew something his children did not and he wanted to enjoy the sight of them still together while he could. Soon water boiled over in the hearth, telling that they had forgotten about the tea that was waiting to be removed from the heat. The man rushed to the heated pottery and pulled it, removing the cloth dangled from some thread that held the herbs. He then poured the chamomile tea into three cups and set them in front of his children before sitting himself. "Let us enjoy this moment. The storm won't last long."
A few hours had passed and Celia was now sitting on a diphroi, a simple wooden stool, near an open door that lead to the courtyard of their home. Her fingers pulled at a needle and thread as she finished a tunic for her brother to replace one he had recently tattered from work. Placing the light fabric on her lap she looked up at the still grey sky. The rain had stopped, but it didn't seem like the storm was over. None the less her brother, Orien, had gone to the market and her father had headed to the shipyard to check on their family boat, leaving the girl to her own thoughts. A sigh slipped from her full lips as she once again picked up the fabric and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. This was her job, the only reason for her in societies eyes. Yet her father and brother treated her kindly, asking for her thoughts on simple things. She didn't note any other woman her age being treated like this. In fact many of them had already been married off and had children of their own.
She had once asked her dear father why he hadn't married her off yet. She had a decent dowry and could fetch him a decent son-in-law, but the man had turned down any marriage offers for either of his children. His response always the same. "I shall be stuck down where I stand if I give my beloved children before…" The words trailing off there. Celia always wondered what her father had planned. Maybe he had arranged a marriage for them both before their memories and was just waiting on the word from the other half of the bargain. Maybe he didn't see either her or Orien fit to wed. Either way didn't matter to her. She'd rather stay by her families side then be passed to someone she barely knew.
As she pulled the final loops through the fabric Celia stood, laying the finished tunic across the diphroi. Time was going by too slowly for her liking and it didn't help that she had no one to speak with except the un-answering gods. "I should be worries if you did answer, I suppose." She murmured as she walked over to the corner of her room, where a few fabrics where as well as wool and a loom. Her other chores were finished for now and so she decided to work the threads of her loom, hoping to create a tapestry for her father's room. She only got an inch into the endless weaving when she heard Orien's voice from the courtyard. Her head perked as she looked out the open door to see her brother's frame filling it, a sack of goods slung over his shoulder.
"It's finished." He exclaimed as he dropped the goods near the wall and plucked the tunic from the stool, looking it over. "It is amazing that you have been able come so far in sewing." He teased as he set it back down and walked to the doorway that connected her sunroom to the main living area. He noted their father was still gone before turning to her. "The sky has cleared up near the hills and the temple. Why don't we take a walk?"
A smile danced across her lips at his offer. "Sounds lovely, dearest brother." Happy to leave behind the tedious task of weaving before truly getting started, she stood. Of course she had already been to the temple that day, but she would never complain. Something about the temple of Apollo drew her in, though she couldn't say what it was.
Orien grabbed up the sack and quickly stored the goods in their pantry before returning to her side to escort her through the streets. Many of their neighbors had tasked to household chores like she had during the storm. Children ran the streets with their hoops and dogs, while men tended to their livestock and handworks. Most of the women would be inside at this hour, working on their domestic chores and preparing mead for their husbands. Celia was grateful she was being spared from that same mundane task at the moment. However she wasn't spared from the meek role of her gender as they were greeted by neighbors and stopped so her brother could chat about day to day work.
"Orien, dearest brother, you are loved by more than live on our humble isle." She smiled at him gently as they said farewells to the blacksmith and his youngest son.
"Only because all must eat and fish come only by a select boats." He would never admit that the people around them liked him for his winning smile and handsome features. It also helped that their family was well off in the means of the middle class. Fishing was a well held job in their home, being as the woods held very little game that they had to monitor so they didn't lose that as well.
The two siblings finished their walk to the temple, stopping at the bottom of the path. The skies seemed to part only around the hilled area of their home. Helios's light cascading around the temple and moist grounds. Orien raised a brow before looking to his sister then back at the temple. In his twenty years he had never seen the skies part in such a way. Behind and beside them was a murky grey clustered with looming clouds, while in front of them seemed to be a painting of a perfect day. Both siblings stood in almost a daze until a noise was heard from inside the temple. It almost sounded as if the statue itself had collapsed, causing Celia to rush forward in worry. Orien was close behind her more worried for his sister's safety then the wellbeing of the stone being. Once inside they both noted the article in one piece and a human form, crumpled on the floor before it.