Narius was not a happy man. His most recent campaign had just fallen
flat, five thousand good men lost; he couldn't find a suitable sacrifice for Hera's
offering the day after next; and to top it all off, his favorite slave girl had
escaped during the night. No, Narius was very cranky indeed.
"I want to know what is taking them so long!" He bellowed from his
perch on an expensive, ornate chair. His lean face was red with rage, making the
wicked scar that ran from above his right eye to his left jaw stand out as a streak
of white. Several servants jumped in fright and stepped back hurriedly.
"M...My Lord. It has only been a day." A small man ventured timidly,
"Perhaps she has run further than anticipated?"
A fist thudded angrily on the armrest. "I sent twelve of my best men
after that little bitch. They should be back by now."
The little man bowed briefly, "If it please you, master. I will go check
again with the guards." He told the warlord. "Perhaps they have heard
something..."
The servant had not made it three paces when there was a loud
commotion outside the tent. Narius rose to his full height, having to duck
slightly to clear the roof with his head.
He brushed the terrified servant out of his way and exited the tent. He
was greeted by his captain of the guards, the one he had sent to retrieve his
slave. And yet there was no slave girl to be seen, nor could Narius hear any of
the colorful language she used in his presence. His dark eyes narrowed
dangerously as he glowered at the captain, "Where is she?"
The man before him shifted his weight nervously from foot to foot and
looked at the ground. "She escaped us, sir. We had her cornered by the river.
She was putting up a pretty good fight when we were ambushed. There must
have been at least twenty of them; they came out of the trees. We didn't stand a
chance."
A large hand closed around his throat, effectively cutting him off. "Does anyone
else support this story?" Narius asked slowly. No one spoke. "Well, perhaps we
could ask the great Hera for her version of events..." He let the threat trail off.
"It was a boy." One man spoke up quickly. The captain shot him a dirty
look but remained silent under Narius' glare.
"Continue."
"There's not much to say, sir. A boy of about 18 summers helped her
escape. He was good, might even be a student at that academy near Corinth.
They were gone by the time we could organize a chase."
Narius' face darkened several shades and he threw the captain of the
guard to the ground. The man lay still, gasping for breath and massaging his
bruised windpipe. Narius drew his sword and stood over him.
"You let one simple slave girl escape twelve trained men?" he asked,
his voice barely above a whisper. "You let her escape, then had the nerve to lie
about it. I don't allow liars or cowards in my camp. Your death will be a lesson
to all those who dare disappoint me. May the gods have mercy upon your soul."
He brought the sword crashing down, silencing the man's scream in one deft
motion.
The dark eyes roamed the remaining soldiers. He beckoned forward the
one who had spoken earlier. The young man stepped forward hesitantly,
glancing involuntarily at the headless corpse at his feet. He swallowed hard and
met the warlord's eyes.
"What is your name, boy?"
"Crylinus, Sir."
"Crylinus, I need men like you to lead my armies. Men who are willing
to admit their mistakes and who will take responsibility for their actions.
I want you to find a suitable replacement and track that girl down. She can't have
gotten far and I want her back, alive and in one piece. Understood?" The boy
nodded, "Do not fail me a second time. Dismissed."
The soldiers fled, leaving Narius alone with his servant. "Bring the new
girl to my tent, prepare her. I will be along in a moment." He told the man, who
nodded and scurried away.
The sky darkened immediately after the other man had left and Narius
turned slowly.
"You let her get away." A female voice rang out, echoing strangely in
the camp. "I went through all that trouble to arrange the perfect girl for your
needs and you just let her go."
"I am sorry, oh Great One." Narius said quietly, dropping to one knee
beneath the harsh gaze of the peacock eyes hovering in the sky. "She had help in
escaping. A cadet from the academy helped her defeat my men."
The sky crackled with lightning. "I know that, fool! What do you plan to do about it?"
"I shall make him pay for his crimes, against me and against you. And I
know just the punishment for such an offence..."
"You serve me well Narius. I will assist you this once. I have sent four
of my best archers after the pair; they will bring them to you. I leave their
punishment in your capable hands." Another flash of lightning and the glowing
eyes disappeared, leaving only a single peacock's feather lying in the dirt.
Narius knelt and kissed the feather, raising his eyes to the sky. "I thank
you for your gift, great Hera. And I promise you, the blood of the 'hero' will
flow at your alter."

"So, where'd you learn to fight like that?" Iolaus asked his red haired
companion. They had been walking for about an hour now and had yet to find
the river. So, to keep his mind off of his ever-increasing surety that they were
well and truly lost, Iolaus kept up a steady stream of conversation. It had taken
some time and a few dead ends, followed by bouts of stony silence, but Shiri was
beginning to come out of her shell. He'd told her of his adventures with Hercules,
his friends back at the academy, about Jason's coronation, Lilith and the amazons,
even some of his very own hydra jokes. Anything he could think of to keep that smile
on her face. And it had worked, until his latest question at least.
She didn't answer him in the normal span of time so he turned to look
back at her, a smart remark poised on his lips. Whatever he meant to say
withered away at the sight of her face. Her hazel eyes were huge, framed by
shockingly pale skin, and she was trembling. Hard. Even from several feet away
Iolaus could see she was shaking like a leaf.
"I'm sorry. Forget I said anything okay?" He said hurriedly as he
quickly took her elbow and led her to a rock. Guiding her down he looked at her
worriedly. "Sorry, that was my fault. I didn't mean to upset you...You don't
have to answer that."
"No." She looked up at him, searching out his blue-eyed gaze, "It's not
your fault, you couldn't have known." She wiped a hand across her eyes. "It's a
long story..."
Iolaus sat beside her and gently took her hand. "I said you didn't have
to tell me. I can just assume you were born with those skills it really wouldn't
hurt anything."
Shiri smiled sadly and shook her head. "I need to get this out. Just tell
someone, you know? It's been inside so long I don't think I can handle it
anymore..."
"Then I have time. Herc won't start worrying for a good hour yet."
Shiri took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Here goes...I grew up in
a little village just north of Arcadia. My father was a hunter, he taught my older
brother and me how to hunt. Said that girls needed to fend for themselves too if
they ever got caught out in the woods. My mother stayed at home; sold her
quilts and pottery. I don't remember much of that time. Our village was raided
by bandits when I was ten..." She trailed off and sniffed. Iolaus gave her hand
a small squeeze.
She smiled tearfully at him. "My parents didn't survive the raid.
Mother tried to defend her goods... they took her...When Father saw this he
went mad. He hid Thuri and me behind some firewood and attacked the bandits.
Thuri never told me what happened...He didn't let me see. When I came out of
hiding, the bandits were gone and my father was dead.
"From that day on it was just the two of us. Thuri was sixteen, a real
man he kept insisting. We lived off the land, stealing bread and water when we
couldn't support ourselves. Occasionally we would sell our services or our meat
in a village in exchange for a hot meal and a soft bed. We survived like that
for two years.
"Then one day we were walking along a quiet road somewhere, we
were ambushed by bandits, they attacked us and killed Thuri. To this day I don't
know how or why they left me alive. I woke up in a small camp full of amazons.
They had found me unconscious in the road and taken me in. I became an
official member of the Yazan amazon tribe at age twelve and lived with them for
five years. Last year our camp was attacked by slavers, they killed many who
resisted and anyone who was knocked out of the fight became a 'guest' of the
goddess Hera." She looked up slowly, taking a deep breath, shaky breath.
"That's the summary."
"I'm sorry." Was all Iolaus said, squeezing her shoulder gently.
She only nodded sadly. It felt as if a great weight had been lifted off her
chest, and for the first time in a year she could breath easily, knowing that
someone else knew all her secrets. And he hadn't turned away, he was willing to
bear her pain and share it. That in itself was enough to give her the courage
to move forward.
She looked up at the sky and drew in a quivering breath. "We'd better
keep moving if you want to find your friend before night fall." She rose slowly
and helped the hunter up. "Are you sure this is the right direction?"
"Yep. The river was on our right before, and it flows from the
northeast. So, to get back to my campsite we only have to travel upstream... No
problem."
Shiri shot him a look. "You're lost aren't you?"
"Lost? Me? Never happen. I am the greatest hunter and tracker in all of
Greece..." Iolaus trailed off when he saw that she wasn't buying it.
"Admit it, Iolaus. You're lost."
"Fine, but the river's around here somewhere. I know it is. Once we
find it we just follow it upstream. Nothing to panic about."
Shiri hid a grin behind a cough and turned to her left. "It's this way."
"How do you know that?"
"Just trust me." She said with a smile. She took his hand and led him
into the trees. "You were telling me about 'Ruff". What is a "Ruff'?"
Iolaus grinned and obligingly followed her lead. "Now there's a story
and a half...See, Jason was receiving petitioners one day when Strife and
Discord showed up in disguise. Being Strife and Discord they tried to cause
trouble. They gave Jason this rock thing that wasn't really a rock it was a
basilisk egg. So anyway...we tried to play with it, since someone had lost our
ball...and it broke. So there we were in the middle of Corinth with this baby
dragon, lizard thing. It spat goo at me and took off..."
Iolaus continued his tale as they walked, glad that Shiri hadn't drawn
back into her shell after her story. In fact, she seemed more at ease, as if a
weight had been lifted off her shoulders. That amazon thing sure explained a lot.
With an inbred distrust of men in general it was no wonder she had reacted to his
help the way she did. He told Ruff's story on autopilot, his mind preoccupied with
the way Shiri moved through the forest. He was so focused on the slender redhead
that he didn't hear the rushing of the river. It was only Shiri's amused look of
triumph that alerted him.
"...So we had to find him before..." he trailed off, "What?"
"Listen, mountain man." She told him. Iolaus stopped talking and
concentrated on the surroundings. Immediately he could hear the rushing of the
water from the river.
"Great." Iolaus mumbled, feeling himself start to blush, "This is all I
need, first you save my life, twice. Now you've embarrassed the greatest tracker
in all of Greece. There's only one thing left for me to do..."
"And that is?"
Iolaus looked up from the ground with a mischievous glint in his eye,
"Make sure you don't tell a soul, of course." He told her as he picked her up.
Caught off guard the young Amazon didn't react. Her eyes widened in surprise
as Iolaus sprinted for the river.
"What are you..."
She never got a chance to finish her sentence as her head was suddenly
submerged in ice cold river water. Immediately she felt Iolaus' arms release her
and she pushed herself to the surface sputtering wildly. "Why you little..."She
shot a spray of water right into Iolaus' laughing face.
The hunter stopped laughing and glowered at her, "You realize this
means war?" he warned her.
"Hey you started it, big guy. If you can't handle the heat stay out of the
fire." And she shot another spray into his face. With a growl Iolaus kicked his
feet, drenching her in a tidal wave of frigid water. Shiri retaliated and the war
continued for several minutes, the two of them laughing uncontrollably the whole time.
Eventually the cold water and exertion caught up to them and them
dragged themselves, dripping, from the river. Shiri flopped tiredly onto her
back and regarded Iolaus with a smile. "I haven't done that in years." She admitted.
"It's one of the perks of a misspent youth." The hunter replied,
dropping to the grass beside her, "At least you remember how, though you're
dunking leaves something to be desired."
"Hey, I kicked your sorry ass."
"Sure you did..."
"I did so."
"Not from where I was standing. You barely got me under."
"And held you there for a good minute. Admit it Iolaus, you got beat by
a girl!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Not!"
"Too!"
Iolaus burst out laughing suddenly and Shiri found his laughter
infectious. Soon they were both panting from the effort of laughing so hard. By
the end neither could remember just what they were laughing about, and they
didn't care.
A twig snapped behind them and they froze. Iolaus spun quickly to face
the intruder, Shiri scrambling quickly to her feet at his side. The sight they
saw did nothing to quell their fear. Four women stepped out of the foliage; they
wore identical leather skirts and halter-tops. A golden bow in each of their hands,
arrows nocked and ready to fly, all of them aiming at the two teenagers. But what
made Iolaus' heart skip a beat was the peacock feathers that adorned their clothing.
The mark of Hera. Which meant that these women were, more likely than not, four of
Hera's archers. _If they're anything like Nemesis I really don't want to be here._
Iolaus thought ruefully as he mustered a smile.
"Hel-lo ladies. What can I do for you?" He asked as nonchalantly as he
could. Immensely proud that his voice didn't crack or waver. At sideways
glance at Shiri's pale face told him that she had also recognized the divine
power behind these four archers.
One woman stepped forward, her gray eyes boring into Iolaus, sizing
him up. "We have been ordered to retrieve you. Do not resist."
Iolaus rolled his eyes. "Right. Look lady. You've obviously got the
wrong people. I'm here with my girlfriend, just took her out for a stroll. We
heard some people further downstream. They might be who you're looking for."
The archers exchanged looks, apparently unimpressed by Iolaus' story.
A blonde in the back spoke up. "We don't have time for this." Their leader
nodded and without warning an arrow imbedded itself into Iolaus' shoulder.
"Hey! Ow!" Iolaus protested, reaching to pull the arrow out. He
stopped suddenly as a wave of dizziness swept over him. Swaying slightly he
turned to the frightened girl at his side. "Shiri..." Then darkness closed in
and he fell into her arms.
"Iolaus!" Shiri caught the boy as he fell towards her, preventing him
from hitting the ground. She turned on the women, rage and defiance glittering
in her eyes. "You didn't have to do that."
"He was not co-operating."
"Yeah, well he's not the one you want. Leave him be and I'll go
quietly."
"You are in no position to make demands, mortal. The great one has
demanded that he come along as well."
"He hasn't done anything!"
"He defied Hera by defying Narius. For that he must pay." The archer
flicked her wrist and an arrow embedded itself into Shiri's thigh. Before the
drugs could do their work Shiri did the only thing she could think of. She
screamed as loud as she could, Iolaus' friend was around somewhere, if he
heard her he would bring help. _Please, Artemis. Help us._ Then the darkness
claimed her as well.
The four women regarded the unmoving mortals in distaste before
moving to pick them up. "I'll never understand why Hera sent four of us for
these little brats." One of them muttered as she slung Iolaus over her shoulder.
None of them answered her. They simply disappeared in a flash of light leaving
behind the sopping patchwork vest and a discarded dagger as the only reminders
that anyone had been there.