Stelios was thrilled that I said yes. He had picked me up and spun me around but we soon figured that we had to return to camp so no one would suspect anything of us.
Taking my hand in his, Stelios led us back to camp.
As soon as we came into view of the other men, he gently released my hand after taking one last loving look at me. I returned it before plastering a serious look on my face. My eyes scanned the crowd and I found Astinos standing in a group of Spartan men but they did not seemed fazed so I trusted that he didn't tell them. I just smiled at him and he nodded back.
The day ahead was going to be long. I could feel it in my bones. And I was right.
Xerxes sent all his forces at us, trying to be rid of the blasted Spartans. He pulled some of the most terrifying and ugly beasts from the darkest corners of the world. They let loose a short, stocky monster that had a single, giant, horn atop its snout. It charged at us be we did not falter.
Astinos simply stood at the head of the group. He threw a single spear and it landed with great accuracy. The spear pierced the beast just above the right eye and it feel to its knees before sliding through the dirt to land just before Astinos's feet.
He turned around and smiled with great pride. He quickly retrieved his spear and the second wave was sent in. Xerxes was becoming frustrated. He turned to magic since his normal forces were not working. Sorcerers dressed in dark robes threw explodingpackages at us which exploded and released little bits of sharp metal.
We hid behind our shields as they proceeded. One came close to my head and I flinched as it exploded against the hard shell of my bronze shield.
I heard a sharp cry of pain from my side and quickly looked over. Stelios had been caught in the shin by one of pieces of shrapnel. However, he showed no other sings of pain. Determination filled his eyes and I shook my head to discourage him."Stelios, no!"
He let out a loud battle cry and charged at the Persians himself. I starred in horror as he leapt over the Persian guard and he must have knocked something into the stock pile of explosives because the pile erupted in a bright light of shrapnel and fire.
"STELIOS!" I cried out, my heart being pulled from my chest. As the light faded, I sighed in relief when the form of a man rose from the ground and straightened up from his crouched position. I released I deep breath and he nodded back to me reassuringly.
The long fight continued on and Xerxes returned to using his normal forces. After a long bit of fighting, Astinos and Stelios were able to break away from the group and fought together, watching each other's backs. Soon, all the men lay dead on the battlefield and I was able to breath a sigh of relief again. But again, I was tired.
I had killed many men that day.
Blood covered my entire body, all the way from my face to my toes. I must have looked like a demon sent straight from the palace of Hades himself. Many of the Persians who faced me had turned and ran at the sight of me.
I just smirked, my blood thirst was becoming quenched. The battle had halted for a moment and all was quiet again.
"REGROUP!" My father yelled from behind me. I slowly walked back and stood at Dilios's side. He took a deep breath and nodded to me, exhaustion being shared between us. The 300 was starting to get tired.
"Astinos! My son!" The Captain called, watching as his son pulled his spear free from a corpse. The old man only smiled and looked genuinely proud of his son. Astinos smiled his boyish smile and as I looked behind him, a look of horror filled my eyes.
A man on horseback had come riding out of the fog with a huge battle ax in hand.
"ASTINOS!" I yelled trying to get his attention. His gaze turned towards me and he was still smiling. I frantically looked around having lost my spear during the fight. My eyes found the body of a dead Arcadian. He had an Immortal's short sword sticking from his gut.
I reached for the handle but found that it was covered in blood, making it slick and I couldn't grasp it. Reaching under the handle, I grabbed it by the blade, not caring about the sharp sting against my palm.
I pulled it from the body and threw it right passed Astinos's head. He watched it fly by and it landed square in the chest of the horse. It stumbled to the ground and it rolled over its, sending its rider flying through the air. Not pausing another second, I spotted my own discarded blade across the way and I stalked over and picked it up. Gripping it tightly in my palm, I ignored the pain and stalked towards the man, my eyes seeing red.
How dare he try and kill a man when he wasn't looking. Only a coward would do so.
I leapt over the body of the horse and plunged my sword deep into the chest of the rider. He let out a loud scream before it ceased and he took his last breath. I pulled my sword out triumphantly and Astinos looked at me, terror in his wide eyes.
"You... You just saved my life!" He said looking astonished. I bent over and was breathing hard. I just nodded to him and slowly regained my breathing. I tightened the grip on my sword but I felt a sharp stab of pain in my palm and I dropped the blade. I let out a hiss in pain and I looked at my hand. There were two large cuts on my hand. One covering my fingers, the other was a slice across my palm. It must have happened when I pulled the sword out of the Arcadian body.
I tried to pick up my sword again but I winced and dropped it once more. My father walked over to me, a concerned look on his features. He gently took my hand in his, examining the wound. He touched the larger cut on my palm and I winced and jolted my hand out of his. He looked at me and then smiled slightly.
"Just a small wound, you should survive..." He reassured me, patting me on the shoulder.
Stelios walked over, a piece of thick, white cloth in hand. He ripped it into three pieces and took my hand from my side. He gently laid the first piece over the larger wound and then he placed the second one on my fingers. He took the larger piece of cloth and connected the two bandages. He tied the final knot and I winced in pain, a hiss escaping through my teeth.
He smiled an apologetic smile. "I think you'll recover in no time!" He said, glancing around. He gently took my other hand in his and bent down to kiss my temple. I nudged him with my shoulder and he released my hand.
"That's dangerous to do when we are at war!" I whispered, my eyes quickly scanning the surrounding area to check for any of our men.
"I like danger..." He whispered back. I smiled at him and he chuckled before nudging me back with his shoulder.
Night fell over the Spartan camp. It was a long day and there are more injuries than yesterday. The Immortals proved to be fearsome foes.
I quietly watched as Stelios burned a wound shut on a man's shoulder. He hissed in pain before standing up and leaving, a burn now in his skin but the wound was cauterized shut.
There was a small line waiting to be treated.
I leaned back, enjoying the warmth of the fire on my cold skin. Simply letting my eyes close, I dosed off and the next thing I knew, Astinos was prodding me in the ribs with his foot. I looked up at him and he squatted down to my level.
"How is your hand?" He asked quietly as he picked up my hand from my side. He carefully looked at the bandages and I noticed that they were bled through. My bandages were soiled and needed them changed.
I figured that I should probably do something about it so I walked over to the water's edge and unwrapped my bandages from around my hand.
I submerged my hand in the cold ocean water and at first, it relieved the pain. It was soon replaced and I pulled my hand out of the water, cursing loudly. The salt from the ocean had gotten into the wound and was burning with pain.
I ran back up the beach into the camp to look for a clean bandage. I found one and quickly wiped the salty water off when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up expectantly to find Stelios, a small smile on his face.
He lead me over to his work area and set his spear into the fire, heating it up so he could burn the wound shut.
"If you want to be able to fight, we have to close the wound or else you won't be able to hold a sword..." He said as he examined my hand. I watched the spear become red hot and I held out my hand that was still oozing some blood.
For Sparta... I thought as I shut my eyes tightly. Heat went shooting up my arm and I tried pulling my hand back, only for a wrist to close around it. I groaned in pain but soon relief came.
Stelios placed the spear back into the fire. We still had to do the second wound on my fingers. I closed my eyes once more and fire went radiating up from my hand. I hissed once more and he pulled away the spear, humor filling his eyes.
"Oh, you think it's so funny?" I asked, becoming slightly annoyed. I closely examined the wound and found that it had stopped bleeding. It was still a bright shade of red and it was . Hopefully, it wouldn't scar but it was highly unlikely. Wrapping another clean bandage around my hand, Stelios tied it in place before rubbing my shoulder in an affectionate way.
I looked over and saw my father talking to Dilios by the other fire. I thought nothing of it and continued to let Stelios burn the rest of my wounds shut. "Don't worry, almost done..." Stelios said with a smile as he pressed the hot spear to a small cut on my forearm.
Suddenly, Daxos came thundering into the camp on a horse.
"Leonidas! We are undone! A hunchback traitor has led Xerxes's forces to the hidden goat path and they have circled behind us. This battle is over, Leonidas!" Daxos said in a hurried tone, fear clouding both his eyes and his judgement.
"This battle is over when I say it is over!" My father replied, his tone becoming angry.
"The Immortals will surround us! The Hot Gates will fall!" Daxos explained as he tried to convince my father otherwise. Leonidas grew silent for a moment before he turned to his waiting men.
"SPARTANS, PREPARE FOR GLORY!" He yelled, his voice deep and loud.
"Glory? Have you gone mad? There is no glory to have had now! Only retreat, or surrender… or death!" Daxos replied as his horse snorted loudly beside him.
"Well that's an easy choice for us, Arcadian! Spartans, never retreat! Spartans never surrender! Go... Spread the word! Let every Greek know the truth of this! Let each of them search their own soul... And while you're at it, search your own..." My father said the last part very quietly so only Daxos could really hear.
He turned away from my father, an uncertain look upon his face.
"My men will leave with me!" He insisted as he walked back over to his horse. "God speed, Leonidas!" He said before mounting his steed. He rode away and everyone watched him go.
"Children... Children... Gather around! No retreat, no surrender! That is Spartan law... And by Spartan law, we will stand and fight and die!" He spread his arms out wide, his dark eyes sparkling with excitement. "A new age has come! An age of freedom! And all will know that 300 Spartans gave their last breath to defend it!" He said, exciting the men further.
"AWHO! AWHO! AWHO!" Our battle cry rang out clearly in the night air, our fists sill raised above our heads. It was tense for another moment before everyone settled down and went back to whatever they were doing.
"Dilios, let us take a walk..." My father said as he began to walk away, Dilios a few steps behind him. I sadly looked around.
Tomorrow, all these brave men would lay dead on the battle field. Including myself. I was proud to be among them. I wasn't quite ready to die yet.
For I would have given anything to be able to return to Sparta, Stelios at my side, so we could wed. My father would hand me off to Stelios when the time was right...
That dream suddenly came crashing down. My father returned with Dilios at his side, a grave expression on his face. Meeting my dark gaze, he nodded and I received his silent request.
I got up from my spot and walked over to the waiting king.
