Year: 804 BC Place: Sparta, Greece
The first time he saw her, she was sitting by the commons fountain. If he hadn't had proper schooling, he would have thought she was a goddess. Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and love. She wore rubies around her neck, a clear sign of wealth.
It startled him, a wealthy woman playing with common children. Laughing, smiling. Enjoying herself.
"Brother, we have work to do." His younger brother appeared beside him. Demetrius nodded. His brother was right. The monster, the demon creature from Hades, was running loose and it was their job to stop it. "We are expected at King Titus' palace before sundown. Let us go now, Demetrius. I am sure if we arrive late, the king will find a replacement for us."
He knew that Simeon was right. Simeon was always right. But he couldn't take his eyes away from the woman at the fountain. Now, she was holding a young girl, braiding her hair as the child sat on her knee.
"Demetrius." Simeon said tightly.
Demetrius nodded. "Come, brother. We've work to do, like you said." They passed by the fountain as they went. The woman was singing. He could hear her singing.
For a moment, he wanted to stop. Wanted to speak to her. But then he saw the rubies on her neck. A sign of wealth. And he kept going.
"My lady, dinner will be soon. Shall I draw a bath for you?" The lady-in-waiting was nice, she supposed. The third one within the past moon. Her father never approved of them. "My lady?"
Cirila looked up from the scroll. It was Homer. The Odyssey. It was her favorite. "Yes, please. But just a quick one. We apparently have special guests tonight. I want to look nice, I believe." The lady-in-waiting disappeared into the bathing room. Cirila looked down at the scroll again and then put it away safely.
Soon after, her bath was ready. The tub was made by being carved into the floor, lined in marble. The water was causing the room to be covered in a hazy steam, a comforting steam.
When her bath was over, the lady-in-waiting clad her in a dress made of gold and dark red silk. A dress fit for a princess. She escorted Cirila to the dining hall.
Cirila's father was already there, along with their guests. Her mother was in Athens visiting her father, who was on his deathbed. Cirila would have been there as well, if her grandfather approved of her.
Her father stood when he saw her, the guests rising in his suit. "This is my daughter, Cirila. Princess of Sparta. My princess, these are the guests I told you about. The hunters."
Hunters. Her heart stopped at the mere mention of the word. But she kept herself. By now, she knew better. The shorter one was staring at her. She left her lady at the door and strode into the hall. "You're here for the lamia, I suppose." She said, taking her seat.
The men all sat down after she took her place beside her father. The two hunters looked at her blankly, clearly surprised that she even knew about hunters.
"It is difficult, I have learned over the years, to keep a secret from my daughter." The king laughed.
"I find out everything, in time." Cirila smiled at the hunters. "But I will repeat my earlier question. You are here for the lamia?"
The taller one nodded. "Your father summoned for us a week ago. We've just had the fortune of arriving here earlier today."
"From what was said in the message, you lose one person every month?" The shorter one asked.
The king nodded solemnly. "Every new moon. Last month, it was a child."
Cirila looked up from her empty plate. "A younger heart. It keeps the beast in better health." She couldn't stop herself from saying it. The two hunters looked at each other. "I've been reading up on them. It's hard not to, when your city is plagued by one. You want to know everything about the creature killing your people. The book said that sometimes the lamia feed on children because the hearts are so young and pure that it keeps the beast in better health." She explained.
The king beamed. "My daughter is quite the scholar. Smart enough, one would assume she is an Athenian. But she fights like a Spartan, that much I can assure you of."
The food arrived, steaming hot and fresh enough, Cirila was sure it had been killed only hours earlier. Wine was poured and old hunting stories were told by the two mysterious, handsome hunters across the table.
Cirila sipped her wine quietly, listening contently as the shorter- and handsomer- hunter told of how he killed a siren off the coast of Crete. She put her glass down. "I have a question for you." She said to the hunters.
Instinctively, they leaned forward. "Yes, my lady?" The shorter one asked, his green eyes sparkling.
"I will allow you access to my private library if you allow me to accompany you with your research." She propositioned.
They looked at each other, the hunters. Cirila made eye contact with her father. "The offer is made of gold, my hunting friends." The king told them. "My daughter has an extensive library. Even I, the king and her father, am not allowed inside of it. You would be wise to accept her offer."
There was no question after that.
"Simeon, the princess, she was the woman I saw at the commons fountain this afternoon." Demetrius told his brother as they dressed for bed. By kindness of the king, the two brothers were lodging in the palace.
Simeon said nothing as he took a drink of wine. "I very much doubt that the Princess of Sparta would be sitting at the commons fountain, playing with common children. She doesn't seem the type."
Demetrius disagreed. Princess Cirila was not like any woman he had ever encountered. She was…empowered. Sure of herself. She acted like a king. He knew she was the woman from the fountain. He felt it.
There was a knock on the door. Demetrius opened it. A woman was standing before him. "My lady, Princess Cirila, has invited you to eat your breakfast with her in the morning, in her library. If you so wish to accept, I will need your answer now."
Demetrius glanced back at Simeon, who shrugged his shoulders. He looked back at the princess' lady-in-waiting. "We say yes."
The lady nodded once and disappeared down the hallway. He shut the door softly. Breakfast with the princess. In her private library.
Maybe, for once, Simeon could sleep in and Demetrius could do the research…
A knock on the door woke him from his slumber. He vaguely remembered seeing the princess in his dream. He went to the door quietly, hopeful not to wake his younger brother. When he opened it, expecting the lady-in-waiting, his chest swelled.
The princess.
Her olive skin was complimented by the dark maroon gown she wore, her dark black hair flowing down her back. "Demetrius. It seems I woke you. My dearest apologies." But she didn't sound very sincere about it. In fact, she looked quite amused.
"It is not a problem, my lady. Is the sun up?" His body knew it was early, too early to be awake.
She looked around the dim hallway before her eyes settled on him again. "No. I like to watch it rise. It helps remind me of the beautiful things in the world, especially when there is so much bad." Her eyes were a bright mixture of greens, golds and browns. "You said you wished to accompany me for breakfast. Is your brother awake as well?"
Demetrius shook his head slowly. "My brother sleeps like the dead. But when he wakes, he will know to join us in the library."
Cirila nodded. "Dress yourself quickly then. I won't let the rising go unseen today." He shut the door softly and changed into day clothes and then joined her in the hall. They walked in silence to the library tower. Getting there was a seemingly endless series of winding steps, brief gusts of wind and barely any lighting.
But the library was worth it. Scrolls covered the several tables, ancient tables were on pedestals and portraits lined the walls. The wall opposite the entry was, in its entirety, a window to the outside world. The balcony extended, intricate black railing encasing it.
"Come. The sun will rise soon." She beckoned him to the balcony. He following willingly. Her arms stretched out above her and fell slowly, her hands resting on the railing. Demetrius could see the beginning edges of the sun coming up, bright rays of hope at the edge of the earth. "My father had the library built for me when I was young. I always made my way into his important scrolls. I loved to read, to learn new things. Maybe that's why I find out secrets so well." She laughed quietly.
"Princess-." He started to say but the look he got from her made him close his mouth.
The grin that spread across her lips was infectious. "Cirila. Call me Cirila. We'll be spending quite a bit of time together, after all." She instructed him.
"Cirila." The name felt like honey coming from his lips.
She smiled again, much more sad this time. "The lamia, you have to stop it. You must kill it. I'm afraid of what will happen to our city if the beast lives. The people will riot, I believe." Her melancholy voice made him want to jump from the balcony, even though he knew the fall would kill him.
"That's why we're here. We will kill the beast." He assured her. Her smile was hopeful, but small. She said she believed in him.
They watched the sun rise together, an overwhelming sight of beauty. "I remember you. From the commons fountain." She said, no invitation for a beginning to her statement. His gaze slid over to her quickly. So she had seen him watching her? "The children I sat with, they lost their mother to the beast two moons ago. They need a mother, Demetrius. I understand I can't do that, but I know I can help kill the monster that took her from them."
She did not own the stifling bravery that her people did. Hers was a calm courage, a courage held deep in her soul. She was not reckless with it, but patient and strong. "You aren't like any person I've ever met before, Cirila."
She snorted. The princess snorted. "That isn't a very original line, Demetrius."
He looked at the horizon. It seemed as if the world ended when the sky met the ground. He hoped not. Demetrius wanted there to be so much more in the world. He wanted to see everything, do everything.