"Sea and fire and woman; three evils."

- Ancient Greek Idiom

Hero leaned against the bow of the ship, looking over the railing to see dolphins playing in the wake of the boat. She was slowly becoming used to the rhythms of ship life and the feeling of being out on open water. She had only ever seen the crowded streets of Athens and the small, cramped town of Delphi. Being sent to the temple when she was twelve was such an adventure!

She had understood, even then, the desperately small lives Greek women were supposed to lead. Being cossetted and covered, forced to spend their days sewing or weaving, entertaining their husband's guests. It was such a boon to be granted the life of a priestess, even if she was expected to marry after. To be educated, to be regarded as worthy, to be listened to by kings and courtiers, to be involved in the rising and falling of empires around the world… indeed, it was a privilege.

But soon, she discovered that religious life could be just a tedious, with rigorous prayers, heavy robes, the endless preparations for festivals, and all other sorts of nonsense.

Thank the gods for Eudora.

When she had arrived at the sanctuary fourteen and scrawny, her parents afraid of the violent fits and mysterious prophecies, it had broken up the day to day mundanity. Suddenly, Hero had a friend. They made up their own language, played pranks on the other girls and older priestesses, imagined themselves to be princesses of a faraway land…

Eudora's frighteningly accurate visions allowed them to get away with more than they should have. With coin pouring into the temple's coffers, Media gave them a freer rein. Life was boring, but good.

'Magnificent, isn't she?' the Prince asked.

'Indeed,' Hero replied, 'I am coming to enjoy sea life, my lord.'

'Happy to hear it! We go toward Athens and will meet Alexios there. Hopefully they have uncovered more information.'

'I will pray to the gods,' Hero said with only a hint of sarcasm. It had becoming clear to her that the Prince could not detect, or would not acknowledge, her acidic attitude. He was always smiling, always amiable, and exceedingly polite. It was driving her mad.

'How kind of you!' he said. 'The weather has been very fair for us indeed! It looks like sailing will be smooth all the way to Attika.'

'Really?' Hero said. 'I wonder how our friends fare. You have displeased the gods by allowing a priestess off alone with a mercenary.'

'I sent my best apprentice with them! Kian is keen and has a good eye. He will keep them from trouble,' the Prince replied.

Hero sighed. 'It's not other people I worry about. If Eudora is unhappy… strange things tend to happen. Something in my bones tells me the journey will not be easy. I warned that Eagle-Bearer about seeing to her every comfort. For his sake, I hoped he has honoured my words.'

Alexios never considered himself to be a vain man. When he referred to himself as the greatest fighter on Greek soil, it was partly to frighten his enemies. But simply, he was telling the truth. He had yet to meet someone who could match him on the battlefield, or encounter some far-flung mercenary who could cut him down. He'd stood beside captains and kings in the thick of combat, killed men in the arena to become a champion, and even solved the riddle of the Sphinx. Three times.

For the love of Zeus, he'd been down in the bowels of the labyrinth to fight the fabled Minotaur! By all accounts, he could have been raised up high alongside other such mythical heroes like Perseus, or Heracles.

So then why was he finding this woman so… difficult?

Women were a curious breed. A species apart. And this woman seemed to not be human at all, but something else entirely. It was beginning to infuriate him.

Witch, the men had called her.

'Beautiful morning,' Alexios tried, tightening his lips into a smile.

She looked over at him demurely, ensuring her headscarf was well-fastened and modest around her golden curls.

Alexios knew she could not speak, but he could feel her anger, her disappointment, her fear, her frustration. It was as though a cloud of ill will had been hanging low around their small company for several days. And though it was the height of summer it had rained nearly every day, soaking through their clothes and waterlogging their supplies, in addition to making the seas generally more dangerous.

They were not far from Sparta, which was his only respite.

'Shall I go ahead and see what's ahead, sir?' the serving boy asked eagerly.

Kian was around eleven years old and barely higher than Alexios's bracers. The Prince had sent him along to help with the journey. But where Eudora was silent, Kian was an endless stream of questions, anecdotes, and stories, with aspirations to also be a great warrior some day. He spoke Greek perfectly, in addition to Hebrew and Persian. Worse still, every evening he and Eudora were forming their own language using their hands. She taught him words, and when there was no word they made a new one up, Kian's laughter keeping him up well into the night.

'Yes, but be quick about it.'

Kian dashed off into the olive grove. With Ikaros still recovering, the boy had made himself useful in some respects.

Alexios was doing his best to lay low. But that with a golden haired witch, a yammering Cyrenite, and a broken eagle, that was proving to be nearly impossible. It seemed that there were rumours going around about a Prince and the Pythia escaping from Delphi after a terrible prophecy. Every shop-keeper and craftsmen were being exceedingly cautious and shrewd, while the townsfolk stared at them through narrowed eyes.

On their first day of travel Alexios quickly realized that he could not have Eudora in her priestess robes. They attracted far too much attention. He convinced a local farmer to swap out his daughter's farm clothes for those of a high priestess of Delphi. Eudora balked, then promptly refused, going so far as to march off down the road.

It was only when Alexios said that she could wear those clothes or go naked that she relented. She absolutely refused to give up a silver bangle, a snake wrapped tightly around Hermes' staff. Alexios allowed her that, at least.

And ever since then, their string of bad luck had gone from bad to positively epic.

First, the pack mule had gone lame. Alexios could not find another for two days as he hauled around the majority of their supplies. Finally, when they did find a beast, it was a great, hulking red charger from Macedonia. The mare was called Enyo, named for the goddess of chaos and destruction. She'd already used her sharp teeth to inform Alexios of her low opinion of him, twice.

The weather was either mercilessly hot or pouring down with rain. The bread and cheeses had been soaked, so they were subsisting purely off of olives and dried meat. Ikaros was becoming bad tempered from being unable to fly, and Kian's questions had drifted from 'yes' or 'no' answers to requiring more detailed responses.

But they were almost home. Not even a half a day's ride to Myrinne's doorstep. He'd sent a messenger ahead with the barest details, but one could never be sure if it would arrive in time.

Eudora had gone down to the creek for her morning ablations. The sun was shrouded by clouds again this morning, and they would not be burned off by the heat. The red mare was cropping grass, pinning her ears at Alexios as he began packing up their things.

Hearing a sound from behind him, Alexios glanced at Eudora as she picked her way up the narrow path to their campsite. She ran her fingertips over the bark of nearly every tree, sometimes reaching up to touch the leaves. Enyo nickered as she approached, pricking her ears forward.

Eudora ran her hands over the mare's red-gold coat, leaning her cheek against the soft fur.

'Witch,' he muttered under his breath.

'Alexios!'

He stood, watching Kian as he dashed in between the olive trees, kicking up small stones as he went. 'Soldiers, on the road ahead!'

'How many?' Alexios asked.

'Six!' he said, in between hulking breaths. 'Wearing red.' There was a loud crash and the three of them looked to the skies above. The sky had grown dark with thunder clouds.

'Bloody Zeus,' Alexios said, sighing heavily. 'At least it will drown out our movements. We can't have the soldiers asking any questions.'

'You there!' a voice called through the trees.

Kian and Eudora both looked to him with panicked eyes. 'Do. Not. Move,' he instructed.

'Here, captain!' Alexios replied.

The small group of soldiers, dressed in red capes and Spartan helmets crowded their small camp. 'Ah, you're Myrrine's boy,' the captain said, 'Eagle-Bearer, is it?' He was an older, stalwart sort of man, with close cropped hair and a thick, greying beard. An obvious Spartan.

'Found out again,' Alexios replied amicably. 'We are on our way to see her now.'

'Indeed! Shall we provide you with an escort?'

'That shouldn't be necessary, captain.'

The man's eyes flicked to Kian and then up to Eudora. His gaze lingered on her longer than Alexios liked. 'We insist… given the fact that you're travelling with some… vulnerable individuals.' There was another long rumble of thunder and the sky darkened further.

The words were out of his mouth before he had time to snatch them back. 'Captain, I am bringing my new wife back to Sparta, to spend time with my family.' He lowered his voice. 'She is with child, you see. Her own mother died many years ago. She is anxious to be in the company of my mother and the gynaeceum.'

The captain considered her again for a moment, walking over to her.

'Chiare, my lady.'

Alexios could feel his chest tighten. He was holding his breath. Alexios looked down at Kian, and the boy's eyes flitted up to his. Alexios smiled through clenched teeth. 'Get ready to run,' he hissed through the smile.

Kian cocked an eyebrow at him. 'Get ready to run,' he tried again. The boy shrugged his shoulders.

Eudroa had bowed her head, looking the picture of a silent, obedient Athenian bride. Spartan women were not expected to be so obsequious, but for all they knew she was foreign born.

'Unusual looking,' the captain said. 'But well behaved. I'd say you've done nicely here, Eagle-Bearer.'

Alexios took in a deep breath of air. 'It is appreciated, sir. But she still has a lot to learn!'

The men laughed, dispelling some of the tension. Even Kian joined in.

Then the world went white. Alexios froze, the ground beneath him unsteady. There was a great, deafening clap that nearly put him on his back. He heard a high-pitch whinny, Ikaros' screech, and a scream from a man. When he opened his eyes, an olive tree was on fire.

'Z-z-zeus!' Kian shouted, grabbing Alexios' arm and dragging him away from the scene. 'Zeus!' he yelled again.

Had he been struck by lightning? There was a loud ringing in his ears. Great flames leapt from the tree, touching the branches of others, setting them alight as well. His mind was working at half its rate. We need to move, he thought, but his limbs felt thick, heavy.

Then Eudora was there as well, helping Kian move him away from the flames. She held his cheek, offering him water from a leather skin.

'We need to go,' he choked out. 'We have to leave.'

'That man went up in flames!' Kian said. 'I saw him…I saw-'

'We'll be burnt to crisps if we don't move!' Alexios bellowed, finding his strength again. The ringing was slowly leaving his ears and his vision was no longer blurred. He stood shakily to his feet, grabbing the mare's halter, ripping the picket out of the ground. She tried to nip at him, the whites of her eyes showing.

'Everyone up,' he commanded.

Eudora hesitated. She was holding Ikaros against her chest as he struggled, calling out. 'Especially you two,' Alexios said, grabbing her by the waist and hoisting her onto Enyo's back, one leg on either side. She leaned forward, shrouding the bird in her skirts.

Alexios swung up behind her in one fluid motion. He held out his hand for Kian, who grabbed it happily, clambering onto the mare behind Alexios.

Eudora was shaking, fisting her hands into the mare's red mane. Wrapping his hand around the leadrope, Alexios dug his heels into the mare's sides. With a squeal she leapt into a gallop. Alexios gave the mare her head, trusting the beast to find its way to safety.

'Hold on!' he said.

The terrain was rough, mountainous. Rain began to hammer them, obscuring everything in their path. Alexios urged the mare on.

Kian was mumbling behind him in, what Alexios assumed, was Persian. 'The gods won't save us now,' Alexios shouted over the din. 'Pray to our mare!'

She was dodging and sliding through the underbrush. 'There's a good girl,' Alexios murmured. The mare snorted, pushing on.

Eventually the rain began to abate. The appeared as though the sky had lightened enough to allow some blue patches of sky to reveal themselves. 'Praise be!' Kian called out as Alexios slowed the horse. The boy slid easily off her wet coat, feet squelching in the muck. He could have kissed the ground.

Alexios was off as well, his sandals sinking into the thick mud of a farmer's field. He gave the mare a heavy pat on the neck. She snorted, stretching her neck down as they lead her to the road. The rain had become a light patter now. It was almost pleasant.

'Eudora?' Alexios asked, looking up at her.

She was clutching Ikaros, but looked down at Alexios, only the whites of her eyes showing. 'Ask the woman you call mother,' she told him, in a stern, deep voice.

Then she slid off the mare's back, falling into the mud.