Twisted Up

Word spread quickly of Julia's return. As they followed the path up to Ouroboros they were joined by other Daughters, girls of all ages and stripes. Atia was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of women greeting her and Julia. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. In the Legion and even in her tribe women had never been allowed to congregate without the supervision of men, although in the Legion perhaps there had been as diverse a collection of women, as the Daughters much like the Legion seemed to be made up of people from all different tribes.

There were Daughters with intricate facial tattoos, Daughters wearing elaborate headdresses, Daughters with unusual piercings. A woman Julia called Two-Spear had nails stuck through her nose, eyebrows, and ears. There was no uniform, although everyone appeared to be dressed very, very well. Not just compared to her own sad rags, which she had been taught again and again were the clothes of a slave, but even compared to the finery of the Centurions. All of these women were wearing clothes and armor nicer and better taken care of than anything in the Legion. Every Daughter of Hecate they met on the short trip back to Ouroboros was clean, healthy, and happy. They were all beautiful, all smiling. They all loved Julia.

Atia couldn't remember the last time she'd smiled.

Julia didn't have much time to bask in the Daughter's adoration, she barely had time to be welcomed back by her own team. She had been absent for more than two weeks and she needed to check in with the Goddess. She left Atia with Gillian and the Mr. Orderly's and entered the Goddess's ziggurat.

She found The Goddess Hecate in the central atrium, a massive room surrounded by columns and the gallery where the Daughters gathered to make decisions and hear proposals. Rather than taking her usual place in the highest and grandest chair of the gallery, Hecate was instead sitting on the floor of the atrium, in the center of the circle designed into the atrium's floor.

"Siddown, michoo, mi bellichoo. Mama darcanno two altheways," the Goddess spoke to Julia in the Twisted Hair's tribal language. Julia was always caught off-guard by this familiarity the Goddess shared with her, even though she remembered the Goddess from before she was Hecate, when they were Twisted Hairs together.

"Marra you too, mother," she said. The Goddess was an interesting beauty. She had dreadlocks that fell to her feet, her proud reminder of her history as a Twisted Hair. The way she was sitting on the floor her dreadlocks obscured her body entirely. She kept incense in the dreads, the cloud of smoke they created combined with the concealing effects of her hair contributed to her aura of mystery and power. Although she was actually rather small sitting on the floor her fire filled the entire room.

"I'mmaheard two ademist altheways them gehennas aldown the Springsway, michoo," the first order of business was a report on Burham Springs, even if it was discussed informally.

"You herddittall, mama, lest anyways iunno twoan ademisathingilikke gehennas, thingslike ant vida, y'kno. Ifigirs somits like ademisen' asee, guessin gehennas got nervis somewhere bee," although she spoke it very rarely after she had left the tribe, Julia slipped naturally back into the lyrical and poetic language of her former people. She was surprised at how quickly the words came out of her mouth, and reminded herself most of the Twisted Hair language was derivative of english, which is why it had been so easy for the Twisted Hairs to communicate with Caesar's Legion so many years ago.

They continued to talk undisturbed in their tribal prose for awhile longer, discussing the events of Burham Springs and the plunder Julia's maenads had gathered from its mines. The Goddess pressed Julia on her extended absence, and scolded her for making her girls worry.

"Avata like a dog wayout for the gate, sidindown esperran poortwo," she chided.

"Altheways twisdedup, mama," Julia apologized, "My arrival was slowed by a companion."

The Goddess asked her to elaborate.

"I met a young pregnant woman on my way back, a former slave, mother. I decided to bring her to Ouroboros with me," Julia explained no further and Hecate seemed placated by this answer, either forgetting or deciding not to ask Julia why she had dismissed her maenads and returned without them in the first place. Instead she grew serious.

"Daughter, I'm glad you've returned," she spoke very gravely, in english, "I want you to remain by my side in Ouroboros, and let Daughter Bella take over your maenads."

Julia was again taken aback.

"Of course, mother, anything you say," she answered.

"Good. I want you to be the second-in-command of my Daughters," Hecate told Julia, "There are many things you can do for me here. But first, I must show you something."