*******Here's an update! Again, please leave reviews! I hope everyone enjoys! This chapter isn't so long. This is going to be an ongoing and continuous story. So, look out for updates. *******
Merina looked out the chariot window. She was amazed at how blue the water was. Coming from Egypt, the only water she ever saw was the Nile water, unless she went to Alexandria to gaze at the Mediterranean. She wanted to jump in it. She wanted to feel the warmth of the ocean that appeared before her.
"Are we still in Phthia?" Merina asked Patroclus. They had been traveling for two hours.
"Yes. We are. Phthia is quite huge. Its one of the biggest regions in all of Thessaly." Patroclus replied.
"I see." Merina went back to gazing at the sea. "We've been traveling for quite some time."
"My father had to be extravagant. He had to place his home on the opposite side of the Phthia mountains. He built his abode near water." Achilles chimed in.
"Why?" Merina asked.
"I assume my mother. I haven't a clue." Achilles shrugged his shoulders.
"Are we almost there?" Neoptolemus questioned. Achilles looked out the window and replied:
"Yes. We are. Look." Merina and Neoptolemus saw a huge building in the distance. It was on top of a very tall hill. There were some clouds in the way, so they couldn't see the building clearly. They could only see a vague figure.
"I hope grandpa has yummy cookies!" Neoptolemus said enthusiastically. Merina smiled at Neoptolemus. The chariot slowed down and came to a halt.
"What now?" Achilles said exiting his chariot. The horse neighed loudly and refused to move forward. "Why won't he go?" Achilles asked his charioteer.
"Something startled him. I'm not sure sir." The charioteer replied. Achilles began to walk forward and quickly became drenched with water. He yelled:
"DAMN IT! MOTHER!" Merina and Patroclus stuck their head out of the chariot.
"You ok?" Patroclus asked Achilles.
"Yea. For some reason my mother decided to place some sort of magical barrier here. We can't get through."
"Are you serious? What are we going to do now?" Patroclus sighed.
"I need to find my mother."
"Where is she?" Merina asked.
"That's the thing. I have no clue. She could be at the palace with my father or she could be somewhere else. Maybe at her abode under the sea." Merina sighed.
"There's so many delays. So, are we going to the sea?"
"NOPE!" A wave of water splashed Achilles in his face. Merina giggled.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" Achilles yelled pushing his now soaked goldish-green strands away from his eyes.
"Sorry. I didn't realize it was you." In front of Achilles stood a short woman. She had silver hair with sea-green strands. It was tied into a messy braid. She wore a pair of light sea green pants and a white halter top that wrapped around her neck. She had big blue eyes and a slender frame.
"Let me guess. She's another one of Achilles's play toys." Merina began.
"Wrong." Patroclus replied.
"Huh? Who is she?" Patroclus pointed.
"Watch."
"It's been a while Achilles! My, look at how strapping you are!" The woman said as she grabbed Achilles by his neck. Achilles looked frustrated.
"Yes Auntie. It has been a while. Hasn't it? But do you mind letting me go? I can't breathe."
"Oops. Sorry." The woman apologized.
"Auntie?" Merina asked. "She looks younger than both me, you and Achilles."
"Don't let that fool you. That's Erato. She's the sister of Achilles's mother. She's quite old but, she likes to retain a youthful appearance." Patroclus explained.
"Oh?"
"My nephew, have you brought back a wife?"
"Have you found a husband?" Achilles shot back. Erato laughed loudly.
"As witty as ever Achilles." Erato punched Achilles in his gut and he went flying past the chariot. Neoptolemus's, Merina's and Patroclus's eyes widened.
"She's strong." Merina noted.
"That she is. Out of all 50 sisters', she's probably the 2nd strongest of them all." Patroclus said watching in amusement as Achilles groaned from the pain in his gut.
"50?!" Merina raised her eyebrow.
"Yup. 50. Achilles has exactly 50 aunts." Patroclus pushed his dark hair away from his eyes.
"That is a lot. Would that make them my aunt's too?" Neoptolemus asked.
"Your great-aunt's." Patroclus responded. He continued to watch Achilles and Erato. Erato was looking to fight Achilles. Achilles didn't feel like sparring with her. He didn't want to be embarrassed. Besides Chiron and his father, Peleus, Erato could easily beat Achilles in hand to hand combat.
"You see. Achilles's mother, Thetis and his aunt, Erato are Nereids. They all dwell under the Aegean Sea in a beautiful golden palace. Sometimes, they come to the surface. The Nereids are the daughter's of Nereus. Nereus is the son of Pontus. Pontus is a primordial god or in other words one of the first gods born from the void of Chaos."
"What's Chaos?" Merina asked slightly confused.
"Chaos is said to be the void state preceding the creation of the universe and Cosmo's. It's basically the start of humanity as we know it. Anyways, Erato is a goddess just like Thetis. Their father is Nereus; son of primordial Pontus and their mother is Doris, a sea nymph. She is the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. Oceanus is one of the mighty Titans and Tethys is a daughter of the Titan's Uranus and Gaia. Nereids have all kinds of abilities. Even ones that keep them youthful."
"Wow. Greek history is a lot to take in."
"It's not that bad." Patroclus said shrugging his shoulders.
"Enough Erato. I don't want to spar. I would like to see my father. Please, remove the barrier I'm assuming you put in place." Achilles begged. Erato laughed.
"Come on nephew! I've been dying to fight against you for a while." Achilles sighed.
"Fine. I will spar against you in my father's gym." Erato looked at Achilles sideways. "I swear."
"Fine. I'll take you by your word." Erato said. Erato waved her hand and a pink light flashed. "I've removed it."
"Thank you." Achilles said as he regained his posture. Erato looked past Achilles and saw his chariot. She saw Patroclus, but she didn't recognize Merina and Neoptolemus.
"Who's that?" Erato asked.
"She's a friend." Achilles replied.
"You? A female friend? Please." Erato laughed. She ran over to the chariot. She ignored Patroclus and Neoptolemus and inched her face closer to Merina's.
"Hmmm." Erato said scanning Merina's face. Merina blinked her golden eyes. "You're not Greek, are you?
"I am not." Merina replied.
"You speak Greek. Where are you from?" Erato asked. She was making Merina slightly uncomfortable.
"E-egypt."
"Cool! Nice to meet you. I'm Erato and you are?" Erato said extending a hand. Merina accepted Erato's handshake.
"I'm Merina." Erato was amused that Merina spoke the Greek language so well.
"Are you royalty?" Merina shook her head no.
"I am not."
"Your hands are so soft, and your skin is blemish free."
"That doesn't mean I'm royalty."
"You're right." Erato said folding her arms.
"Aunt Erato, there's no way Mimi is royalty. She's way too mouthy." Achilles said walking back inside of his chariot. Erato followed behind Achilles into the chariot. Merina stuck her tongue at him.
"That's not my name." Achilles ignored Merina although he heard her and signaled his charioteer to move forward.
"Oh yea, what are you doing here?" Achilles asked his aunt.
"Visiting your mother." Erato answered as she laid on her side. "I haven't seen Thetis in a while, so I figured I'd drop by and pay her and Peleus a visit. I was going to leave early but when she told me my favorite nephew was coming home, I decided to stay longer."
"My father is ok with that?" Achilles said raising his eyebrow. He knew his father and Erato hardly saw eye to eye.
"Yea kind of sort of." Erato replied. She looked to her left and saw a cute boy with eyes like Achilles. She sat up and stared at the boy.
"Why are you staring at me?" Neoptolemus asked feeling uncomfortable.
"Manners Neo." Achilles said.
"Sorry father." Neoptolemus said holding his head down.
"THIS IS YOUR SON!?" Erato yelled. Merina and Patroclus held their ears.
"Yes." Achilles replied.
"Wow! Your mother never told me she became a grandmother. He looks like you a lot."
"Eh. It's a long story." Achilles laughed nervously. Patroclus chimed in and said:
"Well hello to you Erato."
"Oh, hello Pat." Erato was still fixated on Neoptolemus. She extended her hands and pinched Neoptolemus's cheeks.
"OOOOWWW!" Neoptolemus yelled.
"You're so adorable! I'm your great auntie Erato! It's so nice to meet you! He's precious!" Erato laughed as she continued to pull his cheeks. Achilles cocked his head to the side.
"He is my son."
The chariot pulled towards Achilles father's home. Merina's mouth dropped when she saw the size of his home. She expected Peleus's home to be around the size of Achilles's home. Achilles's home was big, but nothing compared to the vast fortress in front of her. It was beautiful. The white pillars were huge. She gazed at the gold trim in the pillars. Looking at the palace, Merina assumed there was at least 15 rooms or more. The architecture was beautiful. It was different from Egypt. Merina admired the servants watering the flowers and plants in the garden. The chariot stopped at the entrance of the palace. There were two men dressed in white chitons. One opened the chariot door and the other laid a red silk cloth on the floor. Achilles exited the chariot first with Neoptolemus behind him. After Neoptolemus exited the chariot, Patroclus followed, then Merina and finally Erato. The two servant men went to get the luggage from out the chariot. Merina looked at the tall white pillars closer. She saw a man with a bow and arrow engraved in it and a woman pouring water out of a gourd. The pillar to the right had a flower engraved into it.
"Prince Achilles!" Merina turned around and saw a vast number of women run towards him. They seemed to be servants. There was at least 9 of them. Not to Merina's surprise, they were young.
"Hello everyone. It's been a while." The women bowed down to Achilles except one. She was beautiful. She had fair skin and black hair. Her hair was braided into a neat bun. It was held by a white ribbon and pins. She was average height and wore a light blue chiton. The woman was very slender. Her face looked kind and gentle. She had pouty lips and high cheek bones. Her brown eyes were big and almond shaped. Her thick eyelashes accented her eye shape. Looking at her, any man would be amazed by her beauty. Patroclus smiled when he saw the woman. Achilles saw the look on his friend's face.
"Achilles!" Achilles heard a familiar voice yell.
"Mother!" Achilles said as he wrapped his arms around Thetis. "Where's father?"
"He's inside the gymnasium." Thetis replied. "I see my sister found you. You just couldn't wait for him to get here Erato."
"Nope!" Erato replied. Thetis laughed.
"Hi grandmother." Neoptolemus said jumping into his grandmothers' arms.
"Hello Neo!" Thetis said kissing her grandson's forehead. She wrapped her purple shawl around Neoptolemus. While everyone was conversing, Patroclus snuck off. Merina noticed and watched Patroclus. The beautiful servant girl disappeared. Merina looked around for her. She saw her walk behind a pillar. Merina backed up slowly and went to follow the girl. Merina tip toed silently. When Merina finally reached the pillar, the woman had disappeared behind, she heard voices.
"I've missed you Patroclus." Merina heard the girl say.
"I've missed you too." Patroclus replied. Merina peeked from behind the pillar and saw the look in Patroclus's eyes. His face was red, and he seemed to be happy. Patroclus leaned in to kiss the woman. Merina awed to herself. They were kind of cute together. The way he had his arms around her was adorable. Merina smiled then thought:
"Why are they hiding behind a pillar? Are they keeping this a secret?"