Chapter 2 – Epione and the Serpent

Her laughter rang across the room. I watched as she smiled and used all her wiles to charm them. The fool, does she not know that it matters not? They are here for the dowry and, regardless of whom she preferred, in the end it would be father's choice. It would be a matter of which among those suitors could offer the best alliance.

Mylene's my half sister, pretty like her mother. I am the daughter of a mere concubine and my father does not even wish to acknowledge me as his, for I am neither beautiful nor charismatic; I cannot be offered as a prize for the sake of an alliance. Perhaps I ought to be thankful for this. My lack of beauty at least gave me a freedom that Mylene could never have.

I pulled open one of the long narrow windows and allow my eyes wander over to the gardens. The cool breeze does not bother me, nor the fact that it blew brown and red leaves into the room. I closed my eyes and listened to the soft song of lament carried over by the wind. It was almost indiscernible, but I knew that voice... I hurriedly pulled a cloak over my shoulders and whispered his name, 'Orphine.'

They ignored me as I rushed past the door; they have always ignored me.


Nicolas stared at the portrait in front of him; it was of a woman sitting in a garden. The woman was not a beauty that was for sure. Her hair was dark and dull; her eyes were too wide apart, but what he found discomfiting was not the woman's lack of physical beauty; it was the sound that emanated from this painting.

"Nathaniel. Who's this?"

The artist smiled, "That's Epione, and she has a very special ability..."

"I could tell..."


They laughed. I saw Marcus, their leader, lift a stone high in the air and throw it down onto his already broken body.

"Stop it!" I ran forward to shield him from them. I picked up his broken body off the ground and tried to soothe him. "It's all right, Orphine, I'm here." Tears flooded my eyes as I cradled my only friend in my arm.

"She's talking strangely again." Marcus lifted the stone above him and smiled evilly. "Shall we make her talk normally?"


"She's a Parselmouth!" Perenelle exclaimed.

"Yes, that ability was as rare then - as it is now." Nathaniel nodded amicably.

Nicolas frowned as he argued, "But isn't that an ability common to dark wizards?"

"Being a Parselmouth does not mean that you're evil. It is simply a magical ability passed on through generations through familial lines. Although on some rare occasions it sprouts out on an offspring where neither parents have the ability." Nathaniel explained. "Of course in those times people did not understand that ability and found it simpler to conclude that an individual such as Epione was simply mad."

Perenelle blinked in confusion. "Mad? Not evil? Are not snakes, a symbol of evil?"

Nathaniel shook his head. "Christians connote the serpent to evil, the ancient Greeks actually saw the snakes as a symbol of healing, but that was after Asclepius used one as a familiar. Before Asclepius, they were merely earthly creatures commonly found in gardens and forests."

"But do they not fear the fact that snakes are poisonous?" Nicolas asked.

Nathaniel laughed. "Nicolas, you know as well as I do that most snakes are not poisonous. Moreover, there are only four species of poisonous snakes commonly found in Europe."

Nicolas Flamel shrugged. "True, but people fear snakes just the same."

"Times were different then. Snakes found in gardens and farms were left alone; for snakes do help reduce the 'rodent' problem. Even if there were occasions where people died due to poisonous snake bites, the population was ignorant. They attributed these deaths as the will of their gods."

Nicolas nodded thoughtfully, "Indeed it was simpler times."

Nathaniel gave a knowing smile, "That's not all that was different. Spells then were not as simple as they are now, in those times most of the spells were long chants."

"Why is that?" Perenelle asked.

Nicolas answered before the artist could. "No wands. Those staffs have no cores thus the channeling of magic was harder and requires more time and concentration."

The artist nodded.


They taunted me as they usually did. They made hissing sounds and mocked 'crazy Epione', I closed my eyes tightly and braced myself for the first stone to come, but it did not come. A shadow fell over me. At first I thought it to be old Leandro, for that old steward had always tried to protect me.

I turned around to greet the man who was more of a father to me than my own, but instead of the familiar sun-wrinkled face that I had come to expect, I was faced with a stranger. He was a fair-haired young man, a beautiful one. I had first thought him to be a prince due to the air of nobility that he possessed, but the mended old robes that he wore told me that he clearly was not.

Those cruel children stared upon the stranger, mesmerized and unable to move as he knelt by my side and took the dying snake. I tried to protest, "He's… he's…"

"He'll be all right."

I don't know why I believed him, but I did. Despite the glaringly obvious fact that Orphine was dying, I believed him.

He laid my friend onto the ground and started to chant words of some strange language. His voice was somehow soothing. He waved his wooden staff over Orphine's broken body and continued to chant. I was amazed as I saw the broken body slowly mend itself. The children who had mocked me stared at the man in shock and awe. They then started whispered conversations amongst themselves.

"How?"

"He must be a god."

"He does look like one."

"I thought gods would have worn nicer clothes."

"He's in disguise, you idiot!"

"Hermes?"

"I think, Apollo."

"I can't move."

"Neither can I, he must have placed a spell on us."

"I don't want to die."

"Shut up, you fool!"

I smiled as Orphine lifted his head. The snake then wound himself upon the man's arm and hissed happily. The man frowned in confusion and attempted to extricate the snake.

"Don't, he won't harm you," I explained. "He's saying thanks."

"You can understand him?"

I flushed, for now I was sure that he thought me mad, just as everyone else did. I hissed for Orphine to come to me. The snake reluctantly left the man's arm and slithered towards me; then I turned to leave.

"Wait! I'm Asclepius. I was told that it is sometimes practical to imitate wolf and owl sounds but, it never occurred to me to imitate a snake; I do not understand them either. How do you do it? Your name's Epione right?"

I ignored him and turned towards the direction of my house. I heard him mutter something that sounded like 'finite', then I heard 'hissing sounds' behind my back. My eyes narrowed, handsome or not I had had enough of these mockeries. My hand clenched into fists, I whirled around and punched him in the face.

By my arm, Orphine hissed. "That is no way to treat a man who just saved my life."

"I don't care," I hissed back.

The man sat on the ground rubbing his jaw, apparently surprised by my punch. "What was that for?"

"Mock me again and there will be more where that came from."

He blinked in surprise, "I was just trying to communicate with the snake. Did I accidentally say something offensive?"

Orphine gave a snake-like laugh at this; I ordered him to keep silent.

"What did he say?" he stood up and peered at the snake.

I rolled my eyes, "He says that you're probably the biggest idiot he's ever encountered."

"I said no such thing," Orphine protested.

I hissed at him to shut up once more. Insulting a man usually angers him and thus makes him leave, but this particular man was different.

"Big? Chiron did say I'm tall, by human standards." He grinned and strode by my side, "So, how do you obtain food around here? I'm pretty sick of fruits and nuts, which is all I have eaten for the past few days."

I blinked in surprise, for my insult had just flow past him, "Do you even know what an idiot is?"

"From what I was able to discern from Chiron, I think it meant human."

My jaw dropped and I thought it best if I just ignore this strange man. By my arm, Orphine hissed his ascent. "This Chiron sounds like a very intelligent being." I ignored the snake as well.

I was relieved when he finally got the hint and left my side. That moment of silence however, did not last long... I whirled around as I heard the wheezing scream of Terencias, the town grouch.

"Are you some sort of idiot raised in the midst of the wilderness?"

Asclepius cocked his head thoughtfully, "Well, actually yes..."

I rushed to the idiot's side and attempted to remedy the situation. "Sorry Terencias, Asclepius is not from around here. You know how these foreigners are; they have the strangest sense of humour. I was wondering where he had wandered off to; thanks for finding him."

I gritted my teeth and dragged the Asclepius away. Like it or not, I could not leave him to the mercy of those town folks. My conscience would bother me to no end if this insipid idiot ended up being auctioned off as a slave. After all, he did save my best friend.

"Did I do something wrong? All I did was ask him on what's he doing and what's that thing he's carrying."

I sighed and answered. "It's a pail."

"So that's what it is. What's it for?"

I stifled a groan and wondered why the gods were punishing me?


"It didn't take long for those children to go about town and spread the word that a god in disguise has arrived. The man is said to have revived a snake and followed Epione. This was met with skepticism for these children were known to tell tall tales, but it was also known that they do not have much of an imagination."

"He spent all his life in the company of a centaur, how was he able to cope with the sudden change?" Nicolas asked.

Nathaniel answered plainly. "Epione."

Perenelle smiled at this. "Oh, I think I'm going to like this part of the tale."

Nicolas smiled as he shook his head and muttered, "Women."

Nathaniel laughed and presented the next painting. This one depicted a young man kneeling over a boy; beside him were a couple who seemed to be the boy's parents. The room was poorly lit but Perenelle could see that Epione, another woman, and an old man at the background.

Nicolas took particular notice on the boy's wrist. "Snake bite?"

"Very observant of you Mr. Flamel," the artist smiled impishly.

"You're just amazing when it comes to details, Mr. Black." Nicolas countered.


I followed my mother into the kitchen with the empty plates. Leandro was happy to discover that Asclepius was quite knowledgeable on Astrology and the two began to discuss the constellations.

"Talkative young man, isn't he?"

I rolled my eyes. "You have no idea."

"What do you mean by that, dear?"

Before I could answer our front door shook with such a force due to frantic knocking. I opened the door. A man and a woman stood by the threshold in their arms was a young boy wrapped in old blankets.

"Please, we heard rumours that the unknown god is here. We do not have much but he can have anything that we can give. Just save our son."

My mother blinked in astonishment, "God? Who are they talking about?"

Before I could answer, Asclepius approached the couple and examined the child. The boy was sweating profusely and was extremely pale. "How long has he been like this?"

"Just a few hours ago, my lord," the woman answered nervously. "He was fine when he left the house. He was playing in the garden when I called for him to come back and eat. He came back tired but not hungry which was strange, but I dismissed it."

"Was his wrist swelling like this then?" Asclepius asked.

"I didn't notice."

"I'm no god, but I may be able to help your son."


"After Asclepius treated the boy bitten by a snake, word got around. I didn't take long for the people in Peneus valley to discover that Asclepius was the son of Coronis."

"They're highly efficient." Nicolas commented.

Nathaniel could not help but smile. "It wasn't that hard to establish. Asclepius was too talkative for his own good."

"So, they would also conclude that he's Apollo's son and therefore a half-deity," Perenelle mused. "Did that not go to his head?"

Nathaniel shook his head. "Asclepius was indeed Chiron's son. He cared neither for fame nor fortune. He just wanted to reach out and help others, but like his teacher he longed for companionship." His eyes closed as if remembering his own private pain. " Someone with whom he can discuss his dreams, feelings, the stars. A person with whom he can be himself and be treated as an equal and not an object of awe," he continued softly.

Perenelle reached out and placed a hand on the young man's arm. "Nathaniel..."

The artist shook his head and continued. "Asclepius discovered that his grandfather Phylegyas apparently went mad at the thought that he almost burned Apollo's son. The old man burned his house down with himself, and his whole family in it."

Perenelle gasped.

"This of course dashed the young healer's hope of being reunited to at least a portion of his family."


I sat by his side and knew not what to say but I had to say something. "Asclepius." He turned to face me; those green eyes reflected his misery, "Just because you came all the way here, only to find that the family you've never known is dead..."

He winced at this and I bit my lower lip for I am not used to comforting someone in this language, Orphine had been my only friend for years and we share an altogether different language. I know not the right words to comfort my new friend, but I pressed on. "This does not mean in any way that you cannot find a new one."

He turned towards me abruptly. "What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"You can start anew, your own family," I answered with a smile, admiring my own genius.

His face brightened considerably. "How do I do that?"

I stifled a sigh, for he is indeed naïve. "You get married then have children, and there you have it."

"Sounds simple enough. So how do I get married?"

I groaned, for this was going to be a long night. Thankfully Mylene interrupted us.

"Epione! Is Asclepius with you?"

I nodded.

"Quickly, father's hurt!"


"Peneus Valley was but a small area in Thessaly; Thessaly was near the borders of Macedonia. Noble men of Thessaly took turns in watching the borders. Unfortunately Epione and Mylene's father was one of the nobles on patrol when a small contingent of Macedonians attacked."

Nicolas shook his head. "To be wounded and then travel in such a great distance..."

Nathaniel nodded. "Yes, he was in an extremely bad shape."


He fed his solutions to my father, cleaned and stitched up those wounds, but even I knew that this was not enough. He took a step back and breathed deeply. I knew what was to come. I saw him perform the same magic for Orphine. However, Orphine was but a small snake. Can he do the same upon a grown man like my father?

He lifted his staff and started the chant:

"Profundus in meus Bone

EGO sentio vita

Profundus in meus cells quod cruor

Vita Vis est validus

Uber Vita Copiae copie of universum

flow in mihi , quod expello totus morbus

cruor , bones , cells quod somes

es curatio iam , es curatio iam."

I frowned for there was little improvement. He waved his staff over my father and tried again.

"He's tired. He need some help."

I turn around at hearing that familiar voice, "Orphine? I though you'd be asleep by now."

I hid my friend in one of the large baskets inside the house. I knew that he'd be safer here than outside.

"I would be but you humans are extremely noisy," he hissed in reply.

"How can we help?"

The little snake did not answer, he merely slithered his way towards Asclepius. The snake then started to climb up the staff and entwined himself onto it.

Asclepius was initially surprised by the snake's action. Orphine began to hiss.

"Yes, human. You feel it? I can help you."

I knew that Asclepius did not understand Orphine but he must have felt the difference as he once again lifted his staff and repeated the chant.

"Profundus in meus Bone

EGO sentio vita...


Husband and wife stood, mesmerized by the painting in front of them.

"The serpent lent itself to Asclepius. With its help, Asclepius was able to channel enough magic to heal Epione's father."

Nicolas smiled. "And thus a new chapter of history was made. The use of a familiar to strengthen one's magic."

Nathaniel nodded. "The general was grateful to Asclepius, moreover he saw an opportunity for an alliance with the gods."

"But Asclepius was neither a god nor a son of one," Perenelle protested.

Nathaniel laughed, "True, but they believe him to be one."


I cannot breathe. I did not expect this. I had expected my father to choose a nobleman for her...

He smiled brightly. "So this is how one gets married." He turned towards me, "So Epione, now that we're married, then what?"

I stared at him incredulously. My father and sister were equally shocked as well.

"Lord Asclepius, I meant my daughter Mylene. Surely you would not prefer Epione over such a beauty."

I stared down on the floor below and wished it could swallow me up.

"But I do."

"WHAT!" all three of us exclaimed our surprised at the same time.

"The man's got good taste." Orphine hissed.

I hissed at the snake to shut up.

"Beauty is but flitting," he explained. "Marriage ought to be a union of the mind and heart."

That was the moment that I knew I loved him.

"Epione understands what I want. She treats me as an equal and not some sacred relic."

I smiled at him. "A dream to strive for the betterment of human life..."

"Will you help me, Epione?"

I laughed, "With what? The school? The clinic? Or the family?"

He grinned. "All of it!"

There's no denying the fact that the man was too naïve and he could also be infuriating, but I love him. I wrapped my arms about him and whispered. "Yes ... to everything."


A/N

1. The poisonous snakes found in Europe are (1) the Common adder, (2) the Long-nosed adder, (3) Pallas Viper, and (4) Ursini's Viper.

2. I took the liberty of changing a few things. Phylegyas was said to be killed by Apollo. For Coronis' father had been angry enough at his daughter's murder (by Artemis under Apollo's order), that he tried to burn down the 'Temple of Delphi.' Changes are made mostly due to the fact that I'm avoiding active god/goddesses participation.

3. There's nothing much on Epione in the myths (just that she's Asclepius' wife), so I made her story up. Do not use this as reference in your mythology class.

Next Chapter: Children of Asclepius