Almost three years have passed since the day Phoebe first took a man's life.
Since then, the two children have been scraping by, feeding themselves by hunting game and doing odd jobs for people who paid them for it. Perseus had also taken it upon himself to train Phoebe how to fight, and he was proud to say that she could hold her own in a tight situation.
The two had also grown close, and needless to say Perseus' mental wounds had been somewhat healed by his female companion.
Now they are sitting on a cart owned by a man known as Euaristos. Perseus looked towards the horizon and saw the sun about to dip under the mountains and voiced his worry to the owner.
"It will be night soon. Will we arrive by then?"
Euaristos turned around and smiled at Perseus. "It will not be long. Look," the man pointed at a small group of soldiers in light armor, all of which had a helmet with a blue plume. "Security is tighter, which means we are close."
Perseus nodded, accepting the response. He then turned his attention towards the girl who was sleeping soundly on his shoulder. Phoebe had kept watch last night when they camped outside town, so Perseus only smiled softly as he watched her sleep. Their journey was coming to a close. According to a map they had purchased, once they arrived at their current destination only a short boat ride separated them from Chios.
"We've arrived."
Euaristos' voice shook Perseus from his thoughts and the boy looked forward and saw a city down the road.
They had finally arrived in Athens.
"Thanks for the ride," Perseus said to Euaristos as he helped a groggy Phoebe off the carriage. The man smiled in reply and waved the two children goodbye before driving away. "We'll find a place to stay and rest up before we take a boat to Chios," Perseus whispered to the girl in question. "Hopefully the drachmae we have is enough to pay for the ride."
The two children walked around the port where the crowds were thinning and finally managed to negotiate with a man who owned a warehouse to allow them to stay the night at the expense of 15 drachmae. Perseus winced as their budget for the boat trip tightened considerably.
Resting his back against the stone wall of the warehouse, Perseus grabbed his pouch and took all the coins he had out while motioning for Phoebe to do the same. Understanding his intentions, Phoebe followed suit.
"We have 27 left." Perseus sighed after counting. Every ride they had taken by horse or carriage had cost them at least 10 drachmae each, so only considering the difference in distance, the boat trip would cost much more.
"That might not be enough," Phoebe said worriedly. Perseus nodded in affirmation. "We'll ask around tomorrow if there are ships that will take us to Chios with this drachmae."
A comfortable silence fell upon the two as they both lost themselves in their thoughts, both thinking of the events that were to come.
"Will you stay on Chios after we arrive?" Phoebe asked, hesitantly breaking the silence between them. Perseus furrowed his eyebrows and stared into empty space as he tried to weigh his options.
"I think I will," Perseus answered, though his tone sounded unsure. "Perhaps for a few winters. Then I will find Demetrios and Erasmus."
And kill them.
Though the words were left unsaid, Phoebe knew that Perseus would not allow those two men to walk away alive if they ever met again.
Thinking about parting with Perseus sent a painful pang through her chest. Phoebe glanced discreetly at Perseus and took in his side profile as the demigod in question stared off into emptiness. The past few years had not exactly been kind to them, yet Perseus somehow retained much of his kindness, even towards strangers. Laughing softly to herself, Phoebe couldn't help but wonder where she would be without the boy by her side.
Probably dead, The brunette mused. Oddly enough, despite her sufferings at the hands of Demetrios, she was glad that she went through what she did. Perseus was an unremovable part of her life now, and being with him made her indescribably happy.
Noticing her gaze, Perseus tilted his head questioningly and Phoebe immediately found the ground very interesting. She heard a small chuckle from Perseus before she heard him raking the coins back into their bags.
"I'll take a rest," Perseus leaned back and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately. "Wake me up when it's my turn to keep watch."
The boy quickly fell into deep slumber, and any onlookers may think he was dead if not for the subtle movements of his chest as he breathed in and out. Phoebe wrapped her arms around her knees, savouring the moment.
Perseus woke up to someone tugging on his drachmae pouch. At first, he thought it was Phoebe, trying to get him to wake up, but then when he opened his eyes he found himself face to face with a man with crooked teeth. The man's eyes widened before he yanked on the drachmae pouch hard, breaking the small rope that connected it to Perseus' waist and turned around to run. Perseus' groggy mind immediately cleared and the boy jumped to his feet, yelling Phoebe's name before realizing she was gone. Assuming the worst, Perseus cursed under his breath and ran after the man.
It was early in the morning, and the port was still relatively empty, but Perseus still had to weave in and out of the crowds in order to chase the man. Several times he lost him before catching a glimpse of the man's back even further ahead. The boy knew he was losing the man, his hard-earned drachmae and perhaps even his closest friend so he forced himself to run faster, no longer caring about the people around him.
"You can't catch me!" The man cackled gleefully while raising the bag of drachmae above his head to taunt Perseus. "You should know better than to sleep in an unlocked storehouse!"
The man clambered onto a pile of lumber that was almost impossible for a child of Perseus' stature to climb, and Perseus panicked as he thought he was about to lose the man for good when the soft whistle of an arrow greeted Perseus' ears, followed by the scream of the thief on top of the lumber pile.
The crowds screamed and dispersed, and Perseus saw his benefactors slowly walking towards him. Both were young women, wearing modest leather that showed no skin, and one was carrying something over her shoulder while the other held a bow in her hands. Perseus eyed them warily before bowing his head in thanks. As they neared him, Perseus voiced his gratitude.
"Thank you for your help," Perseus said respectfully, "I almost lost him."
"It was something any person with a good conscience should have done." The girl slung her bow onto her back and dismissed his words of thanks. "Besides, men like him deserve much worse than a quick death."
Perseus nodded in agreement, but he quickly remembered the other pressing matter on his mind.
"My friend," Perseus said, hesitating to ask when he realized asking strangers for help wasn't exactly a good idea but as the two girls raised an eyebrow in response he was forced to continue. "I think she might have been abducted by his accomplices." Perseus motioned to the dead man on top of the lumber pile.
The girl carrying something suddenly walked in front of Perseus and set the thing down in front of Perseus. Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, Perseus knelt down and unwrapped the cloth bundle to find Phoebe breathing softly while unconscious. Almost immediately his hand went to the blade on his waist, but the two girls raised their hands to show that they had no ill intent.
"We thought she was abducted while traveling alone," the girl who was carrying Phoebe explained. "We were about to return to our ship when we saw you chasing the man."
Perseus nodded in understanding, accepting their explanation before he continued to check on Phoebe. He forced his anger back when he saw a welt on Phoebe's temple.
"Thank you, for both helping me and saving my friend." Perseus bowed his head once more. The two girls nodded and turned to leave when Perseus stopped them.
"Sorry, but you mentioned a ship." Perseus winced as he tried to garner his confidence to ask for the favor. "My friend and I are looking to travel to Chios. Would you happen to be traveling in that direction?"
The two girls shared a look before the one with the bow opened her mouth to respond.
"Well, we are traveling to Chios, but you will have to ask the captain of the ship if you are allowed to join us. We're only here in Athens to do some errands."
Perseus nodded. "I understand. Thank you truly for your kindness."
The girl with the bow motioned for Perseus to follow, and after slinging Phoebe onto his back and refusing help from the other girl, Perseus followed the mysterious archer through the streets of the port of Athens.
"What is your name, boy?" The girl asked, perhaps finding the silence uncomfortable. "Perseus," The boy responded. "My friend is Phoebe."
"I see. I am Anthousa, and this is my sister, Helene." The girl replied. Perseus found it odd that the girls were sisters. Anthousa, the one with the bow, had raven black hair while Helene's hair had more of a brownish tinge to it, but out of respect he chose to keep his mouth shut.
"The ship is up ahead. My sister and I have to pick up some wares, so we will join you afterwards, if the captain allows you on the ship." Anthousa said before leading Helene away from the children. Perseus watched them disappear into the crowd before he turned towards the ship in front of him.
People were moving crates onto the ship, and Perseus had no choice but to assume the person who was doing the least was the captain. His assumption was correct, as when he walked up to the stout man and asked for the captain, the man named himself to be Kleitos, captain of the Surfing Eagle.
"How may I help you two young people?" Kleitos asked in a friendly tone and Perseus couldn't help but remember his encounter with Demetrios but shook his head to rid his mind of that incident. Anthousa and Helene seemed reliable, though Perseus could not really explain why, but if they trusted the man then he would too.
"We'd like to take this boat to Chios. An…. acquaintance told me that this boat was heading for the island, am I correct?"
Kleitos nodded. "That you are. Sure, you can come on my ship." Perseus gently placed Phoebe on the ground and procured his pouch of drachmae. "How much for two?"
Kleitos raised his eyebrows before asking. "How much do you have?"
"27," Perseus replied, dreading the captain's refusal. To his surprise, Kleitos nodded and offered his open palm to Perseus. "I'll charge you 7 drachmae each for the trip. Just make yourself useful."
Perseus gladly gave the man 14 drachmae, and after getting Phoebe onto the ship into a safe place, Perseus went to help Kleitos move his cargo onto the ship. By the time his work was done, the sun was nearing its peak in the sky. Almost as if on cue, Anthousa and Helene returned, both nodding at Perseus when they passed.
"Alright, I'd say with the effort you've put in, I should be the one paying you." Kleitos said to Perseus as he ushered the people onto the ship. Perseus only smiled in response while wishing for a bath to wash away his sweat. As he made his way below deck, Perseus found Phoebe awake and chatting with Anthousa and Helene.
"Ah, Perseus. We've been waiting for you." Anthousa motioned for Perseus to join them. Perseus sat next to Phoebe and looked at the two older girls expectantly.
"Your friend here said that you're looking for family on Chios?" Helene asked. Perseus affirmed the older girl, replying, "My mother and I left Sparta to look for her sisters in Chios."
Anthousa nodded. "Has she ever mentioned her sisters' names?" Helene leaned forward, as if looking forward to Perseus' answer.
Perseus narrowed his eyes, feeling slightly uncomfortable with revealing too much to the two girls after noticing Helene's reaction "No, none that I can recall."
"Well, what is your mother's name?" Anthousa pressed on and Perseus crossed his arms while thinking of ways to dodge the question.
"Daphnae." Phoebe replied, and Perseus almost choked on his breath. He glared at his companion who shrugged in response. "They seem reliable," Phoebe replied. "And they said that Chios is small; they know most of the people that reside there. They might be able to help us."
Anthousa and Helene both gasped, something that didn't escape Perseus' notice.
"Do you know my mother?" Perseus asked, deciding to poke around and see what he could find since the figurative cat was out of the bag anyways. Helene whispered something into Anthousa's ear and Perseus felt slightly irritated at their secrecy.
"Did your mom ever have a dagger like this?" Anthousa reached into her clothes and pulled a silver dagger out. Perseus was shocked to see a dagger so similar to the one his mother gave him and he nodded his head slowly in response.
Smiles blossomed on the two older girls' faces the moment Perseus nodded. Anthousa looked into Perseus' eyes before she spoke words filled with joy.
"Perseus, I think that we are the sisters you are looking for."
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