Chapter 4

Early the next morning, a group of women gathered together in the queen's chambers to discuss the situation at hand. To the public, this group was known as the high council—a select few of high ranking officials who come together to make decisions regarding difficult affairs. To them, however, they were simply known as friends.

The high council was created in the early years of Hippolyta's transition as queen. She had quickly learned that part of her responsibility as queen was to make the tough decisions for her people. Through painful experiences, she had come to find that asking for second opinions often made making the decisions easier. As she had already been going to her closest friends and allies for help, she had decided to make them her official advisory group and gave them a name—thus the high council was created.

When the council first started, it had consisted of only a few members, each with their own special connection with the queen.

Antiope was the older sister of Hippolyta who had decided to forgo the crown in favour of living a normal life. Ever since then, she had taken on a more motherly role for the island and was the first person Hippolyta approached when faced with difficulty. She was the first to join the council.

Philippus had been Hippolyta's closest friend since childhood and still was to this day. Her realistic views kept Hippolyta grounded as she would often find herself sucked into the role as queen and would need someone to remind her that she was more than just a role in a royal hierarchy. Philippus had been an obvious choice to add to the council, especially after she had become the general of the Amazonian army.

The last member of the early high council was Penthesilea, another one of Hippolyta's childhood friends and most trusted allies. The general before Philippus, Penthesilea had fallen in the battle against Hercules and had died both bravely and honourably. After the war, she had been mourned over for weeks and was forever remembered as the one who had led the charge in the fight for Amazonian freedom.

Years later, Io would replace Penthesilea on the high council and was named the chief blacksmith and craftswoman of the island. Her architectural skills helped rebuild Themyscira following the war and solidify their defences in case of another attack.

The most recent addition to the council was Alexa, the island's chief healer and philologist. Often found with a book in her hand, Alexa was one of the most friendly and beloved people on the island. She was also one of Diana's closest friends, often helping the princess with her problems when her mother was busy dealing with something else.

Over the years, the activity of the high council has diminished more and more. Following the creation of the public council, many of the decisions could simply be made in court, with Hippolyta acting as a mediator to ensure both sides can come to an agreement. With a functional system in place, the high council is only called when a severe issue is at hand.

For years, the high council had not had to come together for a decision.

Until now.

"So, what are we thinking?" Io asked, following the discussion the group had just had an hour prior.

"I believe we have two reasonable options here. Either we kill him, or we send him back out to sea," Philippus proposed.

"We can't just kill him," Antiope immediately opposed. "He is only a child."

"Then we shall go with the second option."

"How is sending him out to sea any different than killing him?"

"What I would like to know is how he was able to pass through the barrier," Hippolyta interjected, knowing that those two could go on for hours.

"By all accounts, that act should be impossible," Io agreed. "Alexa, have you any information on that?"

She shook her head. "I've read through every text and passage we have in regards to the barrier placed around our island and none have given an explanation as to why the boy was able to pass through it. One can only surpass the barrier if they have had prior knowledge of the island, but for the boy, theoretically that is impossible."

"We should not rule out the idea that he could be a demon trying to deceive us," Philippus pointed out. "If he is a demon of Hades', he should not have a problem surpassing the barrier. Hades has deceived us before."

"Perhaps it would be best if we spent some more time investigating into the situation more," Antiope suggested.

"Unfortunately we do not have that time," Hippolyta replied. "Our sisters are already enraged that a male was able to step foot on the island, let alone stay for a night. Philippus can confirm to the outrage that took place during yesterday's meeting."

"What has the public council said?" Io asked.

The queen shook her head. "They too are quite furious. So much so that I believe that their judgement is being influenced by their anger. If it were up to them, the boy would have been hung last night. We must come to a proper, reasonable decision."

"I still fail to understand why we do not just kill him," Philippus protested. "Have we forgotten what his kind has done to us in the past? The longer we allow him to live, the more time he has to corrupt us."

"Philippus! We are amazons, not savages! Only savages turn to murder to solve their issues."

"I agree with Antiope. Male or not, he is only a boy," Alexa said, turning to Hippolyta. "'Lyta, did you know he is about the same age as Diana? Could you imagine sentencing her to death?"

The queen looked away, feeling slightly ashamed that the idea of killing a child was quite prominent in her mind. But Alexa was right, she couldn't begin to imagine how she would feel if it were Diana rather than the boy.

Just then, the door to the chamber swung open and all heads turned to see none other than Diana run into the room. Behind her, one of the royal maids appeared, looking tired and disheveled. Clearly the princess has been keeping her busy.

"Mother!" Diana giggled, running into her mother's arms. Hippolyta noticed the dirt her daughter was covered in and immediately stepped back.

"I'm sorry your majesty. I tried to get her to take a bath first but she ran up here before I could prepare it for her," the maid apologized, bowing her head.

"That's alright Myrrha," Hippolyta said, turning to her daughter. "Now, how is my little sun and stars?"

"Mother I did it! I finally taught Achilles a trick!" Diana happily exclaimed.

"Did you now?" Hippolyta smiled, knowing how much her daughter has been trying to teach her horse something new.

"I did! We went on a ride through the woods and I got her to jump over things!"

"That sounds wonderful."

"Maybe you can show your auntie Achilles' new trick," Antiope said, ruffling her hair.

"Ok! I can show you right now!" Diana jumped excitedly, grabbing her aunt's hand to lead her out. She was stopped by her mother touching her shoulder.

"Not right now my little sun and stars. We are currently in a meeting right now about something very important," Hippolyta said.

Diana looked around the room at the other members of the high council, giving them a little wave before turning back to her mother.

"Is it about that boy?"

Hippolyta was startled slightly but quickly recovered. "Yes, it is about the boy. He is very dangerous so we are trying to figure out what to do with him."

"But mother, he looked like a nice boy when I met him," she said innocently.

Hippolyta's eyes widened and she shared a look with the others. Crouching down, she took Diana's hands and looked her in the eye.

"Diana, listen to me. People like him might look harmless but their kind is full of violence, hatred, and cruelty. Never trust a male like him or he will trick you and corrupt you."

"But mother-"

"No buts Diana," her mother said sternly, changing her tone so she knew she was serious. "Do not go near him, do you hear me?"

Diana nodded her head. "Yes mother."

"Good," Hippolyta smiled, lightly kissing her daughter on the forehead. "Now go and clean up and I will see you later this evening."

"Ok," Diana said, quickly saying goodbye to everyone in the room before walking to the waiting maid outside.

"And don't keep troubling Myrrha!" Hippolyta shouted as her daughter stepped outside into the hallway. Diana only giggled and then suddenly turned and ran the other way. Myrrha sighed before quickly running after the princess as the door closed behind her.

"She's become quite the handful hasn't she?" Philippus commented afterwards.

Hippolyta simply sighed with a small smile on her face. "Yes, she certainly has."

"Shall we continue the meeting?" Antiope suggested.

"Oh yes, of course. Before my daughter interrupted us, I was going to say that we have a third option we can carry out if we cannot come to a consensus."

"What would that be?" Io asked.

"We can seek the advice of the Gods."

"The Gods? The Gods rarely answer our prayers directly," Philippus pointed out. "Are you sure they will answer to this matter?"

"Perhaps," Hippolyta answered simply. "No mere mortal, nevertheless a small boy should be able to pass through the barrier. If there is anyone who can give us an answer, it is the Gods."

"I think we may as well try. We can't seem to agree on anything at the moment," Alexa said.

"I agree, maybe the Gods will help us determine the correct way of dealing with this boy," Antiope concurred.

Io nodded. "Me as well."

Hippolyta turned to Philippus, who looked at everyone else before letting out a small grunt.

"Fine," she begrudgingly agreed. "The boy did speak Athena's name so maybe talking to the source will help us figure out who he is."

Hippolyta nodded, standing up.

"Very well, I shall seek an audience with the Gods immediately."

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the island a little girl was running through the forest, weaving between trees and jumping over stones. She hoped she had managed to escape Myrrha's watchful eye because she knew she would be in a lot of trouble if she was caught.

Following the path through the trees for the purpose of not being spotted, Diana saw the end of the path up ahead and slowed to a walk. Quietly she snuck her way forward until she reached the edge of the forest and crouched.

A smile crept onto her face after she took a few minutes to look around from her hidden position. Just like she had thought, no one had bothered to watch the prison. After all, who of her man-hating sisters would want to break a boy out of jail?

Coming out from the trees, Diana made her way to the entrance of the prison, seeing a flight of stairs that led down to the cells. With a deep breath and curiosity practically tingling on her fingertips, Diana slowly made her way down into the dark jailhouse.

When her sandal touched down from the last stair, Diana looked forward at the dark hallway with cells all along the sides. Down here it was very and smelt of dust and rusted metal. She couldn't remember a time anyone was put here in her lifetime. Usually when an Amazon was found guilty of a fault, they would be sentenced to manual labour instead of jail.

Walking forward, Diana peered into each empty cell she passed by. This was also the first time she was down here so naturally she was curious as to how everything looked. All the cells looked the same with the same small and lonely feel to them. She couldn't imagine what it would be like if she were put in one of these. As she walked, she continued to look into each empty cell until she came to the last one; the only one that was not empty.

There, in the middle of the room was the boy. The same one she had seen yesterday in the forest and the same one she had made eye-contact with and immediately felt a connection with. Truthfully, while curiosity has always been her weakness, the real reason she was here was to find out just who this boy was and why he was so… interesting.

Currently this boy was doing push-ups and didn't appear to have noticed her standing outside his cell. She thought about saying something to get his attention but couldn't help but watch him as he went up and down at a constant rhythm. His shirt was off and she could see every bit of muscle he was using. For a male, he certainly had quite a bit of muscle definition, reminding her of the male god statues and paintings she has seen.

For a few minutes, she simply stood there watching him, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other. He still hadn't looked her way yet so she only assumed that he had no idea he had an audience. When she was finally about to clear her throat to get his attention, he suddenly bolted up and stood up tall, wiping the sweat from his forehand with the back of his hand. He walked over to the sink and began washing his hands and face.

"What do you want?"

Diana was caught off guard with his harsh acknowledgement and became flustered. "Uh… um…I-"

"You've been standing there watching me for the past five minutes," he said, turning off the tap and patting down his hands and face with his shirt. He turned around and faced her, glowering at her darkly. "What? Did they send you to watch me or are you here to stone me again?"

"Stone you?" she asked, confused, until she noticed the dark bruises all over his chest and arms. "Who… who did that to you?"

He scoffed. "Who do you think? Your people aren't too fond of people like me."

Realization dawned over her and her eyes widened. Guilt immediately welled up inside her as she lowered her eyes to the ground. "I'm sorry."

The boy seemed surprised by her apology and the glower disappeared on his face. He went silent, looking at her for a few seconds before walking right up to the bar directly in front of her. He looked much more different up close than at a distance and she didn't notice it before but he was about half a head taller than her. His body frame was larger than she had thought and she found herself drawn in by his deep blue eyes. Gulping quietly, she also felt her heartbeat increase suddenly for some reason.

"Diana. The princess." It wasn't a question but rather a statement.

She was once again caught off guard. "Yes, how did you know?"

"Your name and status happened to come up right before I was knocked out by your bodyguard."

Oh. Right.

"I'm sorry, Philippus tends to be a little intense sometimes, but that's why she's the general," she said apologetically.

He looked at her again, as if studying her. "You're different than the others. Why are you here?"

Diana shuffled her feet. "I'm… curious. I've never met a male before. I'm the youngest on the island and I've only ever heard stories from my sisters but I've never met one in person, especially one from Man's World."

"What do you want to know?"

"Well first… what's your name?" Diana asked.

"Bruce Wayne."

"You have two names?" she asked in confusion.

He shook his head. "We use first names and last names, and sometimes middle names to differentiate everyone. 'Wayne' is my last name and 'Bruce' is my first name. Usually you only address someone with their first name."

"Ok, Bruce," she said, smiling. Bruce. She liked that name. It fit him.

"Anything else you wanted to ask?"

She thought for a moment. There was so much she wanted to know, about him and about Man's World. But there was one thing she wanted to know most of all.

"What… what's it like? Out there, in Man's World?" Diana asked hesitantly.

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "That's kind of hard to answer. Is there anything specific you want to know about it?"

"Uh…" she twirled her finger in her hair nervously. "Um… is it as cruel and violent as they say it is?"

She could tell her question had struck a chord in him from the look on his face. It was gone as soon as it had appeared but she had seen it. And it made her all the more interested.

Bruce didn't respond for a while, and for a second, she thought that perhaps he had lost interest in her. But then quietly, his voice had returned.

"Where I come from, people are free to do what they want," he started in a low, solemn tone. "The problem with freedom is that when people think they can do whatever they want, they start to do horrible things. Things that shouldn't be done, and things that hurt other people."

"Oh," she said in a disappointed tone. For some reason, she had hoped that Man's World wasn't as bad as that.

Bruce seemed to have sensed this and quickly changed his tone. "But," he started again, getting her attention, "there are good people out there. I saw it before and it makes me believe everything can get better. People aren't born evil or anything like that, they just lost their way. They just need someone to help bring them to a good and better future."

Diana nodded, understanding him. A better future… Did she have a better future? Did she too need someone to bring her there or… could she be the one to help others get there? Could she be the one to bring good to the people of Man's World who had lost their way?

They both had gotten so lost in their thoughts that they didn't realize they had begun to lean in closer to the bars to the point where they were inches away from each other. Diana was the first to notice their closeness and immediately jumped back, blushing heavily. Bruce too looked slightly embarrassed and took a step back.

"I, uh, think I should get going," she said quickly, not used to feeling so vulnerable. She had been here long enough anyways. Myrrha must be looking everywhere for her.

"Ok," he simply responded, picking up his shirt and putting it on.

"It was nice meeting you Bruce. I hope we see each other again," she said truthfully.

"That's not really up to us," he replied coldly. And she knew he was right.

"Goodbye Diana."

She looked in his eyes and tried to memorize its shade of blue.

"Goodbye Bruce," she said sadly before turning around and walking away.

She hoped that wasn't the last time she saw him.

Hippolyta walked down the path towards one of the larger temples that had been constructed millennia ago. In her hands she held items of offerings: wine, olives, and herbs with a sweet smell to them. Hopefully it would be enough to coax this specific goddess out to talk.

She had thought long and hard about which goddess she should approach for aid in this matter. She could have went to Artemis to find out how dangerous the boy could be, or Aphrodite to gain advice on how to deal with him the most compassionately. Hera was also put into consideration as she was a queen as well and would be able to tell her what was best for her people.

But in the end, she had chosen Athena as the goddess she would give her offerings to. She could certainly use the wisdom of the wise one to make a smartest decision. She also wished to know why the boy claimed to have spoken to her on his first day on the island.

Entering the grand temple of the goddess of wisdom, Hippolyta removed her sandals and gently settled her offerings on the altar. She then went around lighting each candle that surrounded the altar in a semi-circular shape before settling on the carpet directly in front of her offerings.

"Oh mighty Athena, goddess of wisdom and patron of Themyscira, I have brought offerings of wine, olives, and herbs for your presence. I pray to thee for your wisdom and aid in the situation at hand."

Hippolyta waited for a few moments, hoping to hear some sort of response from Athena. She waited, and waited, and after many minutes of waiting all she got was silence.

Barely catching herself from cursing in the goddess' temple, Hippolyta stood up and crossed her arms, staring at the offerings. Of course the gods wouldn't answer her prayers, just as they hadn't in the past decade. Perhaps it was naïve of her to think they would have answered this time.

Part of her wondered what had caused this sudden broken link between the amazons and the gods. When they had first separated from Man's World, she and Athena used to speak on a daily basis. She didn't even need to use an offering to talk with her goddess friend. Athena used to just appear whenever she said her name. What had changed?

"Damn it Athena! I need your help!" Hippolyta called out in frustration. "There is a boy on the island. I'm not sure how he got here but he claims that you had helped him. I need your wisdom in deciding what to do with him."

She waited.

All she got was silence.

"Athena!"

And then it hit her.

A bright light appeared around her, blinding her temporarily. Hippolyta raised her hands to her eyes to cover them from the painful light. As she did so, she heard a gust of wind enter the temple and blow towards her, passing right by her ear. Though almost incoherent, she was able to make out one word.

Μυστικó

Secret.

What secret?

Suddenly the blinding light disappeared and images began to appear in her head, answering her question.

The first image was of the boy fighting against… Diana? They appeared to be on the Amazonian training ground with Philippus watching over them and a group of amazons crowding around to view the spectacle of the clashing of swords between the two children.

The next was the picture of a darkened sky which covered Themyscira in a black shadow. Indistinguishable shadow figures seemed to emerge from the darkness, surrounding the royal castle. She hadn't seen so much darkness in so long that it frightened her as to what this meant.

The last image was what surprised her the most. It was a picture of a battlefield, with the sky tinted with a hue of red, signifying the bloodshed to come. She could see her Amazonian army ready and prepared to fight, with their shields held in place and swords lifted in the air in a battle cry.

What was shocking, however, was the person who led them. It was not her, nor was it Philippus but instead it was the boy, grown up and dressed in what appeared to be a strange black suit of armor. Also to his right stood Diana, grown up as well into a beautiful woman, wearing none other than the champion armor along with the lasso of truth attached on her waist. Together, they appeared to be leading the Amazonian army into battle.

These three images continuously cycled through her mind as if they were on a loop. They only lasted for a few seconds but it was long enough for Hippolyta to memorize them and understand the message that was being sent to her.

As soon as the images disappeared and she found herself back in the temple, Hippolyta immediately bowed down to the altar which no longer held the offerings she had brought.

"Thank you Athena. I understand what I must do."

Then swiftly, she left the temple to call an emergency meeting.

For the second time in the past 24 hours, Bruce felt himself being dragged around like a rag doll as two guards pulled him along into a building. When they had first come to his cell he knew that it only meant that a decision had finally been made. There were really only two plausible options. Either kill him or let him go. And it would be wishful thinking to believe the latter was a real possibility.

As the guards pulled him through a door, Bruce let out a groan when he realized they were taking him back to the court house from yesterday. At that moment, he was pulled into the familiar room and as soon as the amazons saw him, they began to curse and yell at him from the stands.

At least they weren't trying to stone him to death again… yet.

Hooking his chains back up to the same little platform he was chained to yesterday, Bruce faced the empty throne in front of him as he waited for whatever was to come. A moment later, everyone in the courtroom stood as the queen entered. Behind her followed the highest ranking officials of the amazons, which included Philippus who eyed him with a fierce look, and they took their place next to the throne as the queen stood before it.

Bruce noticed the uneasiness within the group of women and found that to be very strange. He didn't get a chance to really indulge into his thoughts however, because the queen began to speak.

"Amazons, I have called this emergency meeting because we have finally come to a decision regarding the fate of the boy before us," Hippolyta announced.

Immediately the crowd broke into cheers, many of which were calling for his head and others demanding they burn him alive. The queen raised her hand to quiet the crowd while Bruce let out a sigh, prepared to hear the words that would seal his fate.

"This decision is irreversible and cannot be argued, as it is my decree, as well as that of the high council."

All the amazons in the stands waited on the edge of their seats for the obvious verdict as Bruce lowered his head in preparation for the inevitable.

"As of this moment, this boy is to be accepted in as one of our own. He is to live among us and learn our Amazonian ways as the first male Amazon."

Everyone in the room fell silent in shock. Nobody could believe what they had just heard. One person had even fainted while others stared with their jaws hung open.

Bruce too was in a similar state and at that moment, only one thought came to mind.

WHAT?

Author's Note:

I would like to thank everyone for the encouraging reviews and the great advice.

To give some insight on my plan moving forward, I do not wish to implement a specific schedule in regards to updating this story. In my past writing experiences, setting a schedule only puts more pressure on my writing when it should really only be a hobby and nothing more. As such, this time around I won't be following a deadline or anything like that. Chapters will usually come out every week or so but depending on how busy I am, this may not always happen.

Anyways, thanks again for the awesome support. I hope you enjoyed.