It came as a great surprise that he had found any sleep at all after his secret meeting with Gorgo; Leonidas had been sure that Morpheus would have abandoned him, but somehow in the night he had managed a still yet restless slumber. He had dreamt, but the images had left him unsettled, a stone of dread grew heavy in his stomach and over his heart.
In dreams, Leonidas had seen Spata burn, he had seen Gorgo in chains and his father dishonored, exiled from Greece. He had seen his fellow warriors die by his side and a rain of jagged arrows falling from the sky.
He sighed as he sat up on his pallet, and looked over at his father. The older man still slept, a long dagger clutched in his hand- the warrior within could never die, not even with the advance of kingship.
Leonidas stood and looked outside the tent to see that the palace guards had maintained their perimeter watch. He caught the eye of Dilios and nodded, then nodded to the captain when he looked the king's way. His sharp eyes looked to the covered carriages, the smaller holding the helot girl and the larger containing Gorgo. His chest tightened with anticipation.
If the Ephors refuse to release her...
"Patience, my son." Leonidas turned to find his father risen beside him. As always, he had not realized his father's movements until it was too late, so great a warrior was he.
Androcles followed his son's eyes to the carriage. "We will present our case- I've asked that officer in your legion, Dilios, to assist us in speaking. He has a gift with words, I think. He might be better able to convince the Ephors than I."
Leonidas nodded. "If Dilios can convince them of the trade, I'll promote him through the ranks. Some of the men disagree with this." He said, thinking of the captain.
Androcles nodded. "Yes, but the rest of them secretly applaud you. Any man that has seen an Oracle girl would applaud you. They keep quiet only out of respect for traditional custom. Come now, the sun is soon to rise, we need to resume the journey."
Leonidas nodded and moved to assist his father in breaking down the tent, but Androcles waved him away. "I can manage the tent. Go, awaken Gorgo and the helot. They should be alert for the impending arrival- the Ephor temple is only half a day's journey from here."
The younger king smiled, understanding his father's orders perfectly.
"Gorgo?"
Again, he could hear the shift of a body against material, and there was a soft shadow against the curtain that kept her shielded from the eyes of men. The shadow moved upright, and turned at the sound of his voice. "Leonidas. Good morning,"
He smiled slightly, thinking it would be a great thing to hear her say that to him every morning while he ruled over Sparta. "We are assembling the camp, the journey will soon go on."
"And how much longer to the Ephors?" Her voice dropped at the word; she sounded miserable.
Leonidas frowned, he did not like her to be upset. "It will take half the day to get there. I...I don't want you to be afraid, Gorgo. You will return to Sparta with me."
Gorgo laughed quietly, her voice thick. "You are so sure, great king Leonidas? You speak as if Zeus himself whispered it in your ear." She was trying to tease him as she always had before, claiming he was too serious and stubborn, but he could hear the upset she was trying to hide.
Again, ignoring all custom and tradition, Leonidas reached through the veiled curtain and took her hand into his firm grip.
"I have no need of the gods' word, Gorgo. The Ephors are corrupt. We will bribe them with gold, jewels, and ten helot girls if need be."
He felt her try to pull from him but Leonidas held on to her hand. "Leonidas, you're mad to offer so much! You threaten Sparta itself with your demands. Please, abandon your plan, I'm not worth your ruin!"
Leonidas shook his head, speaking over her quiet pleas. "No, Gorgo. What man, Spartan or any other, should roll over and allow tradition to steal away his intended queen? I will not."
She went quiet, and Leonidas released her from his grip. He withdrew his hand from behind the curtains, and took a step back from the carriage. "I cannot let them take you." He said quietly.
The journey to the Ephor temple was long, but not difficult. The road through the country was smooth, the earth packed flat from generations of traveling Greeks. Some sought out council, some sought blessings from the gods for family births, deaths and harvests.
The king ruled Sparta beside the Senate, with the Ephors above them- it was they who ruled the omens, war, peace and politics. Androcles hated them- they were more akin to greedy merchants than to wise mystics. He had to buy his wife peace in the afterlife, he had to buy blessings for every son that he had sent to the agoge trials.
Each of his sons had died there- the first had been killed by one of the older boys in the training camp at nine years with a blade to his throat; the second had died after surviving the camps only to be killed by Greece's harshest winter at fifteen years.
It was Leonidas that had survived everything, and it was Leonidas alone that Androcles had refused to buy blessings for. He chose instead to pray beside Dorinda and to his great joy, it would be the third son to take the throne in less than one year.
All of Sparta would flourish under the hand of Leonidas- it was the city's hope that Gorgo would rule by his side as queen.
The journey ended as the group came upon the small, rocky mountain with the large temple set atop it. Leonidas shrugged to himself as he dismounted his horse. It looked very different in the daytime than it did at night. The sky was bright and clear, no clouds to add eery shadows to every corner. The mountain was tall, with a narrow set of steps carved into the stone, spiraling up to the white temple on the very top.
Leonidas had only been to see the Ephors twice- the first time had been with his father, seeking consult over rumors of a planned helot uprising; the second he had been alone, where he had sought blessings for Gorgo's brothers Apollo and Evander as they entered their agoge trials.
Each journey to the temple had cost a great sachel of gold and given rise to his temper.
King Androcles dismounted beside him easily. "Right. You, Dilios and I will ascend to the temple, leaving five warriors behind to guard the carriages as the palace servants prepare Gorgo and the helot girl. They will follow us as soon as the women are ready, and if the Ephors are willing to listen, we will discuss terms."
Leonidas felt his chest tighten. "Thank you for this, father." As the king still in power, Androcles could have just as easily ordered Leonidas to marry another woman or even had Gorgo killed to eliminate her as a distraction, but instead, here he was with his son, ready to face down the enemy.
Androcles smiled. "You will thank me with your sons, Leonidas. Sparta always needs plenty of those."
Leonidas glanced over to Gorgo's carriage and swallowed. She would be his queen and bear his sons, it had to be her. Leonidas could imagine no other woman by his side.
The walk up to the Ephor temple was not difficult, and in fact it went quicker than Leonidas expected, but perhaps he had allowed himself to become distracted. He shook himself into alertness once they reached the entrance to the temple.
He would need to keep himself ready, prepared for whatever may occur.
"Great Ephors of Sparta, it is I, King Androcles of Sparta with my son Leonidas." Androcles announced himself. "We have come to present the next Oracle."
Leonidas tilted his head slightly- he had thought he'd heard something, perhaps a whimpering animal? He glanced over at Dilios to see that he, too, had obviously heard something but they couldn't say what.
A shadow shifted, calling away his attention. One of the Ephors was entering the room from an alcove. No one could say for sure, but it was Leonidas's understanding that when not in the main temple, there were several small hidden rooms where the Ephors retired. Either that, or they all slept together, grouped for warmth like lizards.
He thought of a lizard as the Ephor approached them, flicking his tongue. "Ah, Androcles. Where is the new girl? We've grown tired of our current Oracle- her visions are growing weak. Only new blood can revive our link with the gods." He hissed to them.
Leonidas tensed- the hideous little man hadn't even addressed his father as king!
Do they know no respect?
Androcles nodded. "They are ascending."
The Ephor looked to Leonidas, his black eyes carefully assessing. "And why have you brought the boy?"
"Leonidas has not been a boy since his agoge. What you see before you is a man, the only of my sons to have survived the wilds. He is to be king." Androcles bit out.
"And a fine king he'll make, I'm sure," the Ephor groused.
Irritated, Leonidas glanced behind them to see the warriors approach, curtained litter platforms carried between them. Again, he could not see inside, but in his heart he knew Gorgo was there. He wished to lend her his courage.
No worries, this will be over soon and we will return home...
The Ephor looked past them and seemed confused. "Why do you present two litters? What is the meaning of this?"
Leonidas looked to Dilios and nodded. His friend nodded back to him and stepped forward. "Great Ephors, we have come before you in the hopes that you will hear the cry of Aphrodite. She has spoken to Leonidas and Gorgo of Sparta and we now pray she will speak to you. Gorgo, daughter of Cadmus, the friend and advisor to our King Androcles, has been chosen by Leonidas to be the next queen of Sparta. This choice was made when he was unaware of her father's promise to the Ephors, but all the same the girl has been chosen. It is our hope and the hope of all Sparta, that you will accept a trade of a fine helot virgin in place of Gorgo."
It was a fine, articulate speech and Leonidas admitted that he had been impressed- he knew himself well enough to know that he was not so gifted as Dilios when it came to expressing himself with delicate words.
The Ephor glared at them all, from one warrior to the next, and his eyes shifted to the litters which held the women. Finally, "Allow my brothers to come forth and we will confer with the gods."
The Ephor left them then, and Leonidas let out a breath as Androcles congratulated Dilios on his fine words. He turned to thank his friend, secretly hoping, pleading to all the gods that it would be enough.