"These were the last of them, sire. Their leader has been captured for interrogation, the rest have been driven to the sea."

Leonidas turned to face the captain, his expression grim with purpose. "Good. Then we can begin the return journey to Sparta at once." It had been many days, over a hundred, since he had first left his city and his wife. The rebels had been clever in evading them, but no chase lasted forever. They had been caught when Dilios noticed their pattern of hiding during the day and moving along the foothills at night.

All of the men had been eager to get back to Sparta, and so they had been eager to cut through the raiders all the more quickly. Leonidas had led the attacks, each strike of his sword leading them closer to home and closer to their wives' embrace. The raiders had been a strange assembled group of insurgents, all of them hailing from different nations.

Obviously, the legends of Sparta's warriors had somehow escaped them and they had had no idea what they had been facing.

They stood on this plain and taunted us. I've never before seen such fools, Leonidas thought as he wiped the blade of his sword free of blood. Smiling slightly beneath his beard, he glanced around and saw that taking ten other warriors had indeed been unnecessary. One lone Spartan would have been enough to rid the countryside of these raiders. As it happened, Leonidas and each of his warriors had made a few kills, but the battle (such as it was) had been over in a matter of minutes.

The raiders were young, poorly trained and despite having robbed so many families, they had been far too ill-equipt to even hope facing off with true warriors. They had been lambs sent to the slaughter, a clear warning to any others that might think to attack Sparta's country farms. No matter now, Leonidas thought. The raiders have been taken care of. No warriors of mine have been lost. It is time to return to our city.

The journey back to Sparta was not no long. Indeed, most of their time had been spent in pursuit of the rebels but now that the warriors were headed back home, the days passed with ease.

The warriors even marched late into the night, greatly aided by the pale silver light of the full moon that hung above them in the midnight sky. He thought of Gorgo again at seeing the moon's perfect round shape. He knew that by the time he returned to Sparta and was presented to her, she would have grown much larger than the last time he had seen her. Their last night together, he had felt their child move beneath his hand.

Surely by now their babe was moving constantly, eager to be born and claim its birthright as the future king or queen of Sparta. Leonidas smiled softly at the thought, hoping that their child born would be a son. He anticipated fighting with this future king, sparring, teaching the boy how best to hold a spear and how to hunt for deer in the wilds. All would be useful for when the time came for the boy to take to his agoge trials.

Yes, Leonidas hoped for a son; he wouldn't know what to do with a daughter. What could he possibly do? He could not fight with a girl, he might injure her upon sparring. He knew nothing of female customs and had no true interest in such things. All a princess would be required to learn was how to present herself correctly to courts and then take in lessons of Spartan law and philosophy when she came of age. Until then, all a princess did was play with her precious pet animals and toys. Sparta would fall if its king began to play with weaved silk dolls!

Please, Zeus, a beg you for a son...I would be lost with a daughter!

Days passed and finally the men came over a hill and saw Sparta. Leonidas allowed them to cheer as they moved down the road leading to the city, their horses' hooves beating the earth like thunder. Dilios followed Leonidas to the palace once the other soliders were dismissed to their homes. The rebel leader was taken away to be questioned and then killed; there was no room for mercy in Sparta.

"Why do you not return to your wife, Dilios? I'm sure you must miss Halcyone's cooking," Leonidas had joked to him as they'd made their way up the palace steps.

Dilios nodded. "I admit that I do, sire. Halcyone has been staying close to the midwife who resides within your palace; I wish to see if she is here before checking our house."

Leonidas nodded. "No bother. Perhaps you might wish to bathe before seeing her?" The king suggested, gesturing to the both of them. The battle and the journey had made them filthy- dust and dirt clung to their exposed, sweaty skin. Their hair had grown as matted as their beards, the dried blood of their enemy clung both to their clothes and to their skin.

Dilios glanced down at himself as if noticing his appearance for the first time. "Perhaps you are right, sire."

Servants had been called forward to bathe the king; they washed his body, oiled his skin and attended to his hair and beard. Gorgo had been told of his return, and despite his eagerness to see her, Leonidas was reluctant to allow her to see him as filthy as a common dog. He wished to embrace and kiss her, but no woman would have allowed him to touch her as filthy as he had been!

Once he had dismissed the attending servants, Leonidas had felt refreshed and more than ready to see his queen. He went directly to their chambers, but she was not within, wiating for him as he had expected. He stood in their rooms for a moment, absorbing her delicate female scent.

Gorgo, Gorgo, my wife and queen...

He left their chambers to go down into the gardens; that was a place that had held private meaning to them for years, even before they were married, back when they had had their first meeting. Leonidas ran a hand through his newly cut hair and headed through the courtyard, instinct carrying him toward her.

As Leonidas moved, he tilted his head. He had thought he had heard...no, he had heard something. He paused to listen. It was a sweet sound, taking on form and lyrics. A woman was singing. Smiling, Leonidas followed the sound, not at all surprised to find Gorgo sitting on the stone bench before the fountain; this was the place where he had told her of his intention to take her as his wife.

Her back was facing him, and Leonidas almost felt content to listen to her for a while more, but could not stand aside from her much longer. "I have never heard you sing,"

Gorgo turned to face him, her face lighting up as he had never seen before. "Husband!"

Leonidas moved to her side and embraced her tightly, surprised and somehow pleased to see how large her womb had grown in the time he was away chasing the rebels. Gorgo smiled at him and rested a hand over the large bump of her body. "Yes, didn't I tell you? As round as a sphere and as swollen as a melon!"

He laughed and carefully touched her, hoping to feel the babe move within. He felt nothing, but did not show disappointment. How could he, now that he was back in Sparta?

"I thought of you and our child every night that I could see the moon," he told her. "Its shape made me think of you, being so round and perfect."

Gorgo laughed, kissing him. "I am glad that you have come back, for I have been told that it is only a few days more before our child will come forth. I am ready, but also afraid." She confessed, holding him as close to her as she was able.

He held her. "You need not be afraid, wife. This child will come, and will be my heir to the throne."

She nodded. "Yes, I know. It is only that...while it lives within me, we share the same life. I can protect it. When she-"

"Or he!"

"Or he, is born, we will be separate. Anything could go wrong."

Leonidas shook his head. "Nothing will."

"That is not a promise you can make, my love."

Leonidas nodded. "I know it is not. Gorgo, this child will have everything, I promise you. I will lay down my life to protect you and all the rest of Sparta."

"And if you die? What will become of us then?"

Leonidas thought for a moment. "Then I will rage through Hades to come back to you both."