A/N: Cllyyyydddeeeeee

He's not that fun of a character for me either, but I will push through this and we are going to start hittin' this plot!

Let's kick it! /game face

Tossing and turning. That's all we've been doing for the past few weeks. I can't tell you how many times I've lost my dinner over the edge of this ship and how many times we've all fallen over from temporary loss of our sea legs. This trip is becoming an unbearable request on my nerves.

"King Clyde!" someone calls to me. I turn my head and see my servant, Panos, running up towards the head of the ship to me.

"Yes?"

"Sire, I think I see Scyros right up ahead," he says hurriedly, pointing over to the east a bit. I follow his gesture and smile, nodding down to him.

"Indeed I think you're right. Go tell the men to aim for that island, we haven't much time."

He bows briskly, "of course, Sir. But...may I ask..." he trails off, clearing his throat.

"Please. Continue," I nod him on.

"Why are we going to Scyros of all places, my king?"

I stare at him for a moment before breaking out into a smile for him. "We're going for the mere purpose of picking up a shipmate."

He blinks at me confusedly. "A...a shipmate?" he repeats.

I nod. "I had an old friend come see me. He told me of the tale of an oracle who predicted what could very well be the end of a great era."

"Does he reside on this island, Sire?"

I shake my head, "No, but he knows of a warrior who does. Apparently he's the strongest man in all of Greece, perhaps even in all the world."

"And he...lives on Scyros," he raises his brow.

I chuckle, "Yes he does. Now hurry along, we haven't got the time to waste anymore."

He nods hurriedly, bowing before scurrying down below deck to order the rowers to head for the landmass. I watch the land as we near it, my brown hair flowing into my eyes in the gentle breeze.

Damien told me to have nothing but the upmost faith in this valiant fighter of his; but I'm not entirely sure if I should be all for what he says. Damien and I have known each other for quite a few years after he visited Ithaca on one of his journeys, and I know him fairly well. He's a good person, but can tend to speak louder than the truth when he feels the need. I watch as trees fall clearly into my view and take a large breath of the salty sea air. Much like Ithaca's.

"My king, we'll be coming ashore soon!" one of my men yells. I look back and nod at them, heading down and placing my hand on the mast to brace myself. The air is filled with the sounds of my men shouting about and hurrying around to prepare for the impact. I keep my eyes focused on the trees as my ship turns slightly and we start heading straight for the island. We crash upon wave after wave, the water spraying up onto our deck as my men shake the drops from the scraggly hair.

"Take it easy!" Panos shouts down to the rowers as he makes his way back up and walks over beside me. "My king, we'll be there in a matter of minutes provided these fools don't kill us first," he flickers his hazel eyes down towards the opening of the deck and I chuckle.

"Now these rowers have taken us many places and we've never had problems with them," I remind him. "You just need to calm yourself, Panos. Worry doesn't fit well with your status."

"Forgive me, my king," he bows. I chuckle lightly and shake my head. We look back out towards the quickly approaching land and I lick my lips mindlessly. The world's greatest warrior...I suppose I'll have to see it before I believe. I lean forward and curl my fingers around the railing of the side of the ship. Panos and I brace ourselves as our ship collides with the sands of the island. He lurches forward slightly over the railing and I grab the back of his chiton, holding him steady as we finally come to a stop.

"Sire, we've hit land!" one of the shipmates calls out.

"Yes, so I can see," I nod, looking down over the ship with Panos. My eyes fall on a figure standing and looking up at us with crossed arms and a smug grin.

"'Bout time, your highness," he calls up. "I told ya about this forever ago."

I smirk back and grab a rope leading down the side of the boat, hopping down quickly as my crew watches me carefully. I plop onto the sand and nod at my greeter. "Damien, not all of us can transport out of nowhere," I retort.

He chuckles, "This is true." We look up to see my men starting to prepare to hold the ship down and look back towards each other.

"Well where is this valiant warrior of yours?" I question.

"Straight to the point, aren't we?" he raises his brow.

"From what you've told me we haven't much time," I point out. "We need to get everyone aboard and head off for Troy or we'll be too late. We need to make sure that their army will trust us before we can actually do anything."

He nods. "Good thinking." He grabs my arm and winks. "Lemme take you there." I blink as the vision of my ship suddenly disappears and is replaced with the imagery of old ruins. I hear the all-too-familiar clinking of metal against metal and whip my head arond, finding two men facing off against each other with dulled swords in hand. One is a small blonde, looking as though he can barely hold the sword, let alone wield it in true combat. A glance to my left shows a broad-shouldered raven-haired man. I watch as he skillfully maneuvers the weapon in his strong hand, defending against the blonde pipsqueak without so much as a grunt.

"I'm going to guess that black-haired one is our warrior?" I murmur to Damien.

He snickers. "Yeah. The other one cooks a mean pig but he sure as hell can't kill it first." He turns and looks at the two with me, shouting, "Craig! Pip! Get up here!"

The two of them cease and look up towards us. The blonde breaks into a smile and races up the decaying steps of the architecture. "Why hello there," he grins widely to the point where I can't resist smiling back. "Are you King Clyde of Ithaca?" he asks.

"Yes," I nod briefly.

He bows sloppily but respectably nonetheless and I nod at him once more. "And you are?"

"Pip," he replies quickly.

"Nice name," I smirk, looking down as the other man stops and stares up at me.

"King, huh? Well forgive me for not bowing but I've never been too keen on royalty," he drawls before stepping up the steps beside Pip.

His attitude sets me back a bit before I raise my brow at him. "And just who may you be?"

"What? Damien didn't tell you?" he replies snidely. "I'm the man who's gonna win the war against Sparta."

I frown, "So he said. I was actually inquiring as to your name, good soldier."

"One: I can't tell you if I'm good or bad because I don't quite know the sides of this war as of yet so don't be callin' me good. Two: I'm not one of your pansy-ass soldiers. I'm a real fighter. One that trained on his own and learned everything with the bare essentials, not a training regiment."

We lock eyes and the hard coldness of his gray stare nearly pushes me back before I clear my throat and straighten up. "Listen to me," I start lowly. "I am giving you the chance to hitch a ride with my crew in order to fight for Troy and for Kyle of Sparta. I would appreciate it if you wou-"

"And just why are you so into defending this whore of a has-been prince?" he interrupts with a raised brow. "Tell me."

I furrow my own brow. "It's not polite to interrupt me," I growl.

"It ain't polite to not answer a question either." Pip looks up at him disapprovingly and shakes his head, looking at me apologetically.

I curl my fists slightly before relaxing and taking a deep breath before staring him in his stoney eyes once again. "Kyle of Sparta has little value to me. Unless we rescue him," I say firmly. "Ithaca is a wonderful kingdom, but one with few allies. Saving their leader will promote our own land and grant us the partnership of the greatest army that the world has ever seen."

"Money?" he asks.

"Not of interest to my people or myself. We have enough," I state firmly.

"Have you any knowledge of Sparta's army or Troy's for that matter?" he questions.

I take a deep breath, "All I know is that this will be one hell of a battle. And Damien has promised me that you would make a worthy addition to the battlefield if you will cooperate with myself and the Trojans."

"I'm not fighting for anyone, let's make this clear now," he says lowly. "My interests lie in the mere idea that I can get the hell off this island and I can make a name for myself as a true warrior as opposed to a deserted-land dweller who can impress passing sailors. If you betray me, I will not hesitate to turn against you," he states.

I raise my brow. "You see me as a deceitful man?"

He crosses his arms, "Many kings before you have crossed over Scyros. They promise myself and Pip a ride somewhere safer and more accessible to the rest of the world if I help them catch food. As you can tell, we have less pigs but the same amount of humans on this damnable landmass."

"Ah," I nod. "Which explains you not being 'keen on royalty' I suppose."

"Perceptive," he smirks. "Keep out of my way and I'll help you gain your allies. Listen to my judgement and we can get this royal whore out of his prison."

I nod my head slowly. "Very well, you have my word."

"Well now that we're all happy and settled, let's get a move on, hm?" Damien states, looking between the two of us.

"Oh my, yes," Pip nods excitedly. "I'm oh so ready for adventure!"

I smile at his enthusiasm. He has no idea what's happening here, does he? I look back at my black-haired counterpart and clear my throat. "You've yet to tell me your name, warrior," I look down on him.

He raises his eyes towards mine again and smirks once more. "Craig," he says sharply.

"Craig," I repeat. "I must say I was expecting something more..."

"Dramatic?" he finishes.

"Yes," I shrug. "Sorry, from the way Damien talked I half-expected to come upon you in a cape standing atop a hill with the sun glowing around you."

"A sword in one hand and a horse in the other," he chuckles. "Well I'll tell ya what, King-boy, when you find anyone like that, let me know because I want to beat the crap out of them."

"You'll have to fight me for the opportunity," I laugh with him.

"Ha ha ha ha," Damien mocks, grabbing the three of us and pulling us in towards him. "Let's get back to the ship, we need to leave."

"My, what's the rush, Damien?" Pip asks, cocking his head.

The red-eyed many looks between us and chuckles darkly, murmuring in a low tone, "Kyle escapes tonight."

A/N: Well that's set up so next chapter we're hitting the climax of the plot. Woooooo.

CHEER WITH ME.

Thanks for R&Ring!