I could see her face, her eyes held so much fear in them. It was the first time my sister had been afraid in so long, and now she was dead. Her life is just done. She's gone forever. I could hear the sound of my heart shattering as the wreck sunk below me. Luna had murdered my family in cold blood. I wanted to wring her neck, to make her suffer as I have suffered. We were loyal to her, we gave her our best fish, any treasure we found, we put onto her altar. And she had spat on us. My lungs screamed for air but my heart told me to give up, to stop trying to swim to the wreck to save my family, to not swim to the surface to save myself, our possessions that had escaped the boat began to float upward. Dodging them was hard to do but I tried, something in me told me to try for them. For her. Pain radiated from the back of my head and the navy sea turned black.
Stay strong my son. Your time is coming, you will be destined for great things.
The voice had haunted my dreams for years, it wasn't my own, and it wasn't my conscience. It was something mystical, something even my mother couldn't explain. I felt hollow inside when I thought of her. They were all so innocent, they'd done nothing to warrant such wrath. Maybe I did when I was training, I had been more than rough with a few of the men for making eyes at my sister. Did that constitute killing them? I no longer felt like I was floating, perhaps I was finally in the underworld, I'd see Charon soon enough, I'd be sent to the Fields of Asphodel where I'd wander forever, wondering where everyone was. Octavia would choose reincarnation so we could see one another again. Mother and father would choose Elysium so they could spend the rest of their undead lives in heaven. What would Murphy be like? I've heard from many stories from all over that he was cold, sarcastic, unforgiving, and only caring when it came to his wife Emori. She passed more of the judgements than he did, perhaps she'd forgive me? I rolled over on a cold stone floor, it smelled like mildew, I could hear water dripping and chains shifting. I was in the underworld. I groaned as I sat up, my head throbbed. I faced a dark wall, the stonework was extraordinary, there were three small bars letting in the dim, orange light from outside.
"Here. Take this." A voice whispered. Something was pushed towards me at the other side of the room. Slowly, I turned around with my head down, I rubbed it lightly and noticed a plate of food on the ground. When I looked up a girl with light skin, dark eyes, and curly light brown hair. She was dressed in a dark pink and grey dress, a small crown rested in her hair. I looked at the plate and then up again.
"What are you?" I croaked. The girl quickly put her finger to her lips and shushed me. The sound pierced my ears and made my head hurt even more.
"I'm Gina. Princess of Mount Weather. You're in our dungeon." She whispered.
"What's that?"
"You washed up on our beaches, we don't know if you're a spy or not."
"I was a fisherman. My boat sank." I choked out. The scene flashed through my mind, their faces so scared, but then at peace.
"The Goddess of the sea sent that towards us. She's mad at my parents."
"Why?" The food on the plate looked so good, lush, purple grapes, roasted meat, vegetables, and a flaky pastry. My stomach growled loudly, Gina smiled and encouraged me to eat by pushing the plate closer.
"There will be guards here in an hour. Once they're here they'll take you to the bath house and sanitize you. They won't be gentle, and it will be extremely painful. Don't fight them it'll just make it harder for my people to trust you." Gina said quickly. I took it all in and slowly nodded. I took a bite of the pastry and groaned, it was delicious. She smiled at me and blushed, I took a bite of the meat next and noticed how pretty she was. By far one of the prettiest girls I had seen, she wore none of that white chalk that most royals wore, her skin held no blemish, her eyebrows weren't connected like in my old kingdom where that was a trend. Octavia would laugh at those girls, she would rather use the black paint to put over her eyes and hunt in the woods. She'd never do that again.
"Your family killed my family." I mumbled. The princess looked confused.
"How do you mean?"
"My boat sank from that wave, my whole family died." I whispered. Gina's head drifted to the ground, she let out a slow sigh, as if she were ashamed, or disappointed. Then she raised her head and looked him in the eye.
"I'm so sorry for your loss." She said. I finished my plate even though my stomach churned just thinking about what kind of parents she had, and how their disrespect caused the deaths of three innocent people. Not just anyone. My family.
"I will get my revenge." I said darkly.
"I hope you would spare me. I have no desire to be associated with my selfish parents. Their hunger for wealth and such, it disgusts me. I wanted to join the temple of Raven and study her ways. I don't want to be trapped here forever." She whispered. She was stuck here, held captive in her own home. Like she was a prisoner in one of these cells. Her eyes drifted to the door as she took note of my silence. Slowly she reached for the empty plate and stood up.
"I will spare you. So long as you run off before I see your parents." I said. Gina looked scared but she nodded and rushed out the door, leaving me in the stagnant room, ruminating on my escape plan. Somehow I felt like I wouldn't be able to be free after this even if they let me back into the world. I'd be trapped in my own head, remembering their deaths everyday. Their faces would haunt me, I couldn't be free until I was with them again. I didn't cry, warriors never cried, but my throat constricted, I clenched my jaw until I felt as if my teeth would break from the force. Time passed, the sun got lower, the light in the cell grew dimmer. That's when the guards came in, shouting for me to stay down. I did as I was told, they hit my back with a cane and barked at me to stand up. I did. Then they clamped chains on me and ushered me out of my cell and to the dungeon door. There were many other men laying on their sides, withering away to nothing. Their faces were gaunt and their cries reverberated all around the dungeon as they saw me being forced out. My back was straight, I puffed my chest out, to make me look stronger than I was. My chiton was still wet, it stuck to me and irritated my skin as I walked, my sandals no longer bothered my calloused feet but they did rub me the wrong way. The guards held my arms and chains tightly as they waited for further instruction.
"Hod op." One of the guards said. He turned around and glared at me, his blue eyes were full of hatred and anger.
"Nou sen yu fut daun nowe." He spat before turning around to whisper to the man behind the door. They were speaking a different language. One I'd never heard before, my father had said there were places that spoke a strange tongue, one that was reserved for savages. This must be it, but they seemed to be civilized to an extent. Not like the woods people we had encountered years ago, even then they accepted our trade, and began to teach Octavia the ways of the Hunt. They'd all been apart of Echo's Hunt, all had fallen during battle or given up due to age, but they were amazing people. They gave my sister more purpose than beading and fishing. Sure she could hold her breath for what seemed like hours, ut what good would that have done her if she couldn't fight? My heart thudded harder as I remembered how long she could hold her breath, it wasn't enough to save her. To spare her time to get her free from the sinking boat. I adjusted my arms to be more comfortable in my restraints. They rattled loudly.
"Teik emo hod op!" Their head guard snapped. The men held me tighter, I rolled my eyes.
"Hod op." The head guard said. I stared him in the eye, meeting his gaze with the same amount of animosity as he held, until the back of his hand struck me across the face. I didn't fall, but I did stumble. The door opened and I was pushed forwards, we traveled in the dark passageway, I listened to their strange chatter while we headed towards the unknown. I could hear water roaring in the distance as we continued down the hall, we reached some stairs and climbed them, the guards still holding tight to my arms. Torches began to light our way until we reached a wooden door.
"Hod op'ya. Gon wo." The leader said. They shoved me against the wall, the stone was cold against my cheek, their feet shuffled as they moved around behind me.
"Dou-de au." He commanded. The door opened, the water roared loudly, then stopped suddenly, steam drifted outside and hit me. That water could burn ones skin, and I knew this was going to be painful. I could hear women's voices drifting in the background.
"Yu gon woda klin laudnes-se kom." The guard holding my right arm mumbled.
"What are you saying?" I asked. I didn't get a response, they pulled me from the wall and shoved me through the door, where a pool made of marble and lined in gold lay, steaming. The ladies in there held cloth, brushes, and bottles of liquids that could hold oils to clean me off. They wore himations and veils over their heads to hide their hair and faces. Usually that would mean shame or emotion, but this was most likely out of tradition, or they were slaves.
"Kep yo woda in." One of the ladies said softly. The guards let go of me but hooked the chains keeping my wrists prisoner to the wall. They tightened them, so the cuffs bit my wrists, then they left. The women inside the room untied the chiton I wore, they almost seemed embarrassed, one of the women touched my hand and led me into the water, it stung at first. Then it got hotter and hotter, burning my skin until it turned pink. The women scrubbed my skin, the oils only worsened the pain, but I wouldn't scream. Gina had warned me about struggling, so I stayed still granted it felt like my flesh was burning off.
"En's ku. En's ku." One of them whispered lightly. I shut my eyes tightly as they scrubbed my skin raw. I tried to focus on the smell of the oils, they smelled of bay laurel and lavender, my mother always liked using lavender oils when we were younger, she always smelled of it, regardless. She would tell me it was never a good thing to smell foul, to always bathe every other day if possible. If we couldn't, she would rub saffron oil in our hair, or peppermint if we could afford it. Octavia had always preferred the scent of thyme or saffron to the mint. I personally chose mint over anything else, it was the one thing we would argue over. Thinking of them helped take my mind off of the immense pain being inflicted on me, I wanted to laugh just thinking of one night when she was a toddler, she pushed a whole bottle of peppermint oil on herself, she was trying to get a fig down from the kitchen table, so she pulled on the cloth my mom draped over it to keep it clean. She pulled on it, the bottle tipped over and spilled over her head, she hated the stuff ever since. Called it the trickster, since she thought she was getting a treat instead. The brushes cut into my skin, they finished with epsom salt which made my skin tingle. When they were done, they helped me stand up, new clothes lay on a chair nearby, pristine white robes, perizoma, and a kolpos. The women ushered me closer.
"Step op en. Brana bakkova gon honon." They giggled as they dressed me, no longer embarrassed. They helped me into the clothes, and fastened the kolpos snugly before stepping away and turning their backs to me.
"Ogeda odon. Ba em ste os." The girl who scrubbed with the brush said. The guards came flooding back in and loosened my restraints from the wall.
"Diz'ei" The guard said tugging on the chain. I took it as 'come on' and began to walk. The guards were whispering amongst themselves in their language. Something about it didn't sit well with me. We continued up the stairs to what I could only assume was the ground level of the palace I was being held in. A servant walked towards us and stopped the guard.
"Teik em gon osir haihefa." They said, and then they were gone. Walking off as quickly as they had come to us. The guards moved me down some more of the grand halls. Rich fabrics draped over the windows, they had dark wooden floors that reflected the light off the torches, polished wood was a novelty my family couldn't afford, it was always cold stone floors, this floor held red rugs. People were exiting doors and heading towards the end of the hall like us. Draperies hid the room that stood before us, embroidered, but not as nice as my mother and sister could have done. The cloth pulled back and revealed an enormous throne room, reds and gold glittered, a long thin pool of water that looked turquoise, the marble pillars even gleamed with gold streaming inside of the cracks. There was a man with dark, slicked back hair, his dark eyes glared at me, he wore a red peplos with a gold circlet with a green jewel in the center holding it together, his queen sat by his side, dressed in the finest, red gown I had ever seen, her hair was in multiple braids, and piled onto her head, woven in was a golden kotinos signifying her triumph and strength. They screamed power and control, the guests in the room wore reds and whites with golden accents. Wealth and stature is what mattered in this kingdom. They stopped drinking their wine and eating their food when we stepped onto the glittering floor. All heads turned towards me.
"Ai don lid yu hondon in." The head guard said, pushing me forward.
"Chon yu bilaik?" The king asked, he rested his head in his hand looking uninterested. I gave him a blank stare not understanding him. I knew it was a question or demand but I couldn't respond. The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves, wondering why I could not respond no doubt.
"Chit yu goda chich Trigedasleng? O no?" The king snapped. I squared my shoulders and said nothing. He mentioned something that sounded vaguely like a language. Trigedasleng.
"I do not speak your language." I said finally. My voice echoed off of the grand walls, my response made the king smile mercilessly. He waved over a small, pale girl, with dark eyes and wild black curls.
"Yu chich op kom em." He said rolling his eyes.
"Sha, haihefa." The girl squeaked. She turned towards me and took a deep breath.
"My name is Maya, I will be translating for you." She said softly.
"Chich op!" He roared.
"Moba, ai haihefa." She said louder, he gave her a sickening grin as if he took pleasure in scaring her. It disgusted me.
"What is your name?" She asked loud and clear.
"Bellamy Blake. Where am I?" I responded. She closed her eyes and smiled.
"Dison Belomi Bleik. Belomi gaf gon weron du laik." She said, she turned to look at her king waiting for a response. The king seemed so bored of this already, I knew I was growing impatient in my shackles.
"Tel em du laik Maun-de." The king said.
"You're in Mount Weather. Our kingdom." Maya said. She shifted on her feet ever so slightly, her chiton was a pink, like Gina's dress had been. I was assuming she was her attendant. Gina wasn't present, perhaps she had escaped like I had warned her. If her family was to blame for my family's death, I was going to avenge them the best I could. And then sacrifice them to Luna to make amends.
"My name is Cage. You may call me your highness." He said lazily.
"Oh honey, don't be so pompous." His wife cackled. Her beautiful face turned sour once she realized no one was laughing, when she shot the crowd a glare, they did so nervously. Cage stood up and began to pace around the room, twiliring a small dagger in his hands.
"You speak english?" I asked incredulously.
"I do believe my daughter visited you while you were in your cell did she not?" He said ignoring my revelation. I didn't respond. Maya began to wring her hands.
"Did she?" He demanded. He stopped in front of me, he tucked his blade under my chin and forced my head up. His eyes held no sympathy, they had no remorse. He'd seen his demons, he'd slain them all and yet, he felt the need to torture me. To think he was going to break me more than I already was. I stared him down and said nothing, it seemed to piss him off sufficiently. He pressed his knife closer to my skin, almost drawing blood.
"I asked you a question." He growled.
"No. No one saw me in my cell." I replied. My voice dripped with disdain. Cage's face contorted with anger, he removed his knife and for a moment I thought everything was fine, until he backhanded me. The queen stood up and moved towards us with all of the poise and grace as the queen of the Gods, Diana. She whispered to one of the guards who nodded and then quickly left the room. She crossed the room and sighed loudly.
"Ha osir na wich yu in?" She said finally. Her gaze met mine and it was even more fierce than her husbands.
"She's asking why we should believe you." Maya whispered in his ear. Cage snapped his head towards her, she squeaked and moved back.
"Why would I lie to you?" I blatantly lied. The two looked at each other and then back at me.
"Lok ai op mou sawajus." She snapped at one of the servants. They quickly ran to a table and grabbed her a golden goblet filled with wine. She twirled it around for a minute, sniffed it, then took a sip, only to throw it back at the servant.
"Because. Your our prisoner." Cage said. He laughed as the guards came in with Gina in their arms, her hair was messed up and her dress was torn, her face was bruising, a small cut existed above her brow. They threw her on the floor, she whimpered as she tried to sit up again. But the guard grabbed her by the hair and jerked her upwards.
"What did you do to her!?" I screamed, struggling in my shackles. The queen cackled again, only this time it felt more sinister. Who could do this to their own child. She sauntered over to Gina who now had tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Isn't my step-daughter beautiful?" The queen said. So she could speak english as well! She stroked Gina's cheek lightly, and then patted her head. Gina looked terrified.
"Her beauty surpasses all mortal women, and even so, she could rival the Goddess of the seas beauty. Her nereids, mermaids, even Luna herself could not compare to this child." She sneered. I realized what they were doing, they were trying to bait me into agreeing so Luna could hate me too. She was trying to turn the Gods against me so I could live in as much fear as their people did. How many more came before me? How many still stayed in this room. Afraid they would be smitten down when they took a step outside the palace walls. How many?
"I won't fall for your tricks. I know all about your rivalry with the Goddess and I won't have any part of it." I snarled.
"Oh so you did speak to Gina." Cage said. Then he threw his dagger and hit her in the chest. She screamed in pain as the knife buried itself in her heart. Her blood spilled on the fine floors, staining them the color of their kingdom. Her chest rose and fell quickly, there was no hope. The queen grabbed her step child's head, removed the knife from her chest, and slashed her throat with the same knife. No mercy. Whatever humanity was left inside of me was gone. These people were mad. They were sick, disgusting people. I struggled not to vomit as my stomach turned on itself. Gina had fed me, she had warned me about the treatment I would receive, she told me about her parents feud and tried to help. She was going to escape. I told her to run off. Then they caught her, tortured her, they tortured their own flesh and blood. Then they tricked me into giving her up and they killed her. Her blood continued to flow on the ground, it was pooling now. This was all my fault. All of my fault.
"Now Bellamy. I have a proposition for you." Cage said, he walked towards his wife and took the bloodied knife from her. Wiping it off on his peplos.
"You can torture me. Or kill me. But I won't do anything for you." I snarled. Cage raised an eyebrow at me.
"Lus em au." He said to the guards. They came to me and unlocked the shackles, I rubbed my wrists which were bright red and raw. It stung.
"We've sent three hundred warriors to her, but she killed them all." The queen mumbled.
"We will give you your freedom, if you do one thing. Bring us the head of the Gorgon Wanheda."