Their small cabin was silent after the older girl finished her sentence. Phoebe glanced at Perseus and found the boy, head lowered, staring at the ground. Anthousa and Helene directed their attention to him and tried to gauge his reaction.
Phoebe moved closer to Perseus and whispered in his ear. "You okay?"
If Phoebe wasn't right next to him, she probably would've missed the motion.
"It's just……." Perseus stood up and paced around the cabin. The three girls watched on in silence as he made a few laps before he sat back down, face in his hands.
"It's all over. We did it." Perseus finally looked at Phoebe and Phoebe almost smiled seeing the boy's sea green eyes glimmering with joy and relief. Phoebe knew the pressure and stress Perseus had been shouldering during their voyage across Greece, but as inexperienced as she was there was not much she could do to help. Bandits and wild beasts were the main problems they faced on their journey, and Perseus had fended them all off by himself, vehemently disallowing Phoebe to help him at all.
Phoebe knew he did it to protect her. And now having reached the end of their journey, Phoebe knew Perseus could let go of the burden.
"You have suffered," Anthousa said softly, "But you will be safe on Chios. You have my word."
Percy nodded as he leaned into the wall, his shoulders visibly relaxing as he closed his eyes. The soft rocking of the ship, the physical exertion he went through that morning and the release of his pent up stress allowed Perseus to fall asleep almost instantly.
"He has done so much for me, even though I was partly the reason why his mother died."
"How so?" Anthousa leaned forward, lending her ear.
Phoebe recounted their experience on Demetrios' ship, and Anthousa and Helene's expressions went from angry to furious.
"It was not your fault Daphnae died," Anthousa said, placing a hand on Phoebe's shoulder as if to comfort her. "Our……. family's creed, so to speak, is to always help women and children in need. Though I am saddened to learn of her passing, knowing she died upholding our creed gladdens me."
Her words didn't serve their purpose, as the feeling of guilt all but lessened in Phoebe's heart, but the girl hid it and tried to move to another topic.
"What exactly is this family you speak of?" Phoebe asked, genuinely curious.
Anthousa and Helene whispered a few words to one another before Helene answered.
"This would be a rather……. delicate subject. One that should not be disclosed to Perseus here." She gestures to the slumbering Perseus and Phoebe frowned in response. Hiding secrets from her biggest benefactor and the person she cared most in this world was something she could never do.
"Whatever your family is, if you held Perseus' mother as dear to your heart as you say, shouldn't he at least deserve to know the truth?"
"Those are the rules we must follow. Only young maidens are allowed to be part of our family." Anthousa replied. "Our patron decrees it."
"A god leads your family?" Phoebe asked in disbelief. The last person she met that had claimed to be a god had done everything hs could with his powers to ruin the lives of innocent people, and now hearing this information from Anthousa made her wary of walking into another trap.
"Yes. But we will not tell you her name," Anthousa added the last sentence the moment she saw Phoebe about to ask for her name. "Not until you have sworn to an oath of secrecy."
Phoebe mulled over her options. She was curious about this 'family' the two girls and Perseus' mother belonged to. The girl also realised that this was her chance of being useful to Perseus. If this 'family' meant them harm, then she could forewarn Perseus.
"Very well. I agree to your terms." Phoebe said. "I swear to not disclose the existence of this family to Perseus."
If you mean us no harm. The girl added in her mind.
"On the River Styx." Helene spoke up and Phoebe looked at the girl, confused.
"That is an unbreakable oath. There will be severe reprecussions if you break an oath on the River Styx." Anthousa explained. "Our patron taught us this."
Phoebe hesitated, and the two girls seemed to sense it.
"I understand that it is hard not be wary of us. But we mean you two no harm. Both you and Perseus will be safe and well on Chios, I swear that on the River Styx." The moment Anthousa finished her sentence, thunder rumbled overheard and Phoebe widened her eyes.
"There is much more to this world than you know of, Phoebe, and we wish to share these secrets with you." Helene continued. "There are many boons that are granted unto us by our patron as a result of us being in the family."
"Yet you want me to exclude my benefactor and closest friend." Phoebe argued.
"He can remain your friend. You need only hide the existence of the family and your participation in it, if you ever join, from him."
The secrets of this world. Boons. A family.
"Why?" Phoebe asked.
"Only maidens may join." Anthousa replied. "And only maidens may learn from our patron."
"And if I am no longer a maiden?" Phoebe continued her questioning, her face blushing slightly at her own implications.
"Then you can no longer be part of the family." Helene glanced at Perseus, who was still sleeping soundly before continuing. "His mother was an important figure in our family, and we were devastated to learn of her decision to part with us, but there are no other repercussions."
"You speak the truth? I can stay with Perseus, and leave if I ever wish to?"
"We swear on the Rivee Styx that every word we have spoken was true." The two girls said at the same time as thunder rumbled above.
"I……. see. I swear upon the River Styx to never disclose the existence of this family to Perseus. I shall join this family of yours, if you will welcome me with open arms."
Anthousa and Helene smiled and wrapped Phoebe up in a hug. "All maidens are welcome. Come, let us go somewhere more private before we tell you more."
Before the three girls left, Phoebe glanced over her shoulder, a bad taste spreading across her mouth as she looked at Perseus' sleeping form.
When Perseus woke, he was not expecting to be alone. Fearing the worst, he reached for his drachmae pouch only to find it still there.
Where is Phoebe?
The two older girls came mind, and Perseus immediately burst out of the cabin to search for them.
I need to find them.
A random door burst open down the corridor, and Perseus reached for his blade, readying himself for a fight. When no one cane charging out, he slowly walked to the open cabin door and peeked inside, finding three startled girls inside. Phoebe immediately recognized her friend and gestured for him to come in.
"Why did you leave?" Perseus asked, his right hand still hovering near the hilt of his sword. "Were you forced?"
"No! You were sleeping and we had much to discuss, so we moved to another cabin, not wanting to distrub your sleep. That is all." Phoebe held her hands in front of her to prove she was not bound. Perseus nodded stiffly before relaxing and making his way next to Phoebe, sitting down next to the girl.
"You three have grown close," Perseus said dryly. Anthousa and Helene laughed good-naturedly in response.
"We were telling Phoebe about Chios," Anthousa replied. "Chios is a wonderful place. The forests are beautiful, and wildlife plentiful."
Perseus nodded. "That is good to hear." The boy sighed before he spoke what was on his mind. "What was she like?"
The three girls present immediately knew he was talking about.
Small smiles spread across the two older girls' faces as they recalled memories they shared with Daphnae.
"She was perfect. A good fighter, a good person and," Anthousa coughed, holding back tears. "Gods was she a good friend. Always looked after everyone. The moment she left the family, I knew I would lose her, but I never thought that day would come so soon."
Perseus closed his eyes, glad that someone else held his mother close to their heart. "We're almost there." He said, though how he knew that he could not explain.
Anthousa narrowed her eyes, but said nothing of it, following Perseus out of the cabin when he walked out. The four of them stepped onto the deck, and Kleitos greeted them with a hearty shout.
"Ah! Just in time! Welcome to Chios!"
"Thanks for the ride," Perseus said as he walked down the ramp onto the docks. Kleitos said nothing as he patted Perseus on the back. The boy smiled, happy to see a genuinely good person. Anthousa, Helene and Phoebe were speaking in hushed whispers behind him, and he felt confused. How exactly did they bond so much in the span of a single boat trip?
"Perseus," Phoebe tapped on Perseus' shoulder to get his attention. Perseus turned around and saw Phoebe fidgeting nervously. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"I will be spending some time with Anthousa and Helene to learn from them," She said slowly, trying to gauge Perseus' reaction. "But they said the main village is always welcoming newcomers."
The boy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Am I not coming with you?" He asked. Anthousa and Helene shook their head in response.
"We cannot take you with us, but rest assured, Phoebe will be able to visit you whenever she wishes to."
"What?" Perseus exclaimed. "You are my mother's sisters, right? She said you would provide me with shelter and help me finish my training!"
Anthousa's expression morphed into a troubled one. "Yes, we are her sisters, and as I said you are welcome to stay on Chios for as long as you like. But training I cannot provide, I'm sorry."
Perseus growled, and he turned his gaze to Phoebe. "So you are leaving me then?"
"I am not leaving you. I just……. don't want to be a burden to you. Anthousa and Helene and their sisters can change that." The girl replied, trying her hardest not to meet Perseus' eyes.
"I see." His face hardened and Phoebe felt her stomach drop.
"Please, Perseus, I really want this." She walked up to the boy and pleaded. "I don't want you to be the only one fighting, Perseus, not when I could be doing so much more."
Perseus gritted his teeth. He felt betrayed by Phoebe, for leaving, and for most of all, deciding on this without discussing with him.
I don't own her. He berated himself in his mind. If she wants this, then I have no right to stop her.
"If this is what you truly want." Perseus relented, stepping back to look at Anthousa and Helene. "If you are training her the same way my mother trained me, then she will be in good hands."
Anthousa and Helene nodded.
"I will be back soon." Phoebe whispered before walking off to join the two older girls. With one last nod from Anthousa, they left, walking down the road to the east. Part of Perseus wanted to follow them, but he refrained from doing so and instead walked the other way with heavy steps.
"Perseus!"
A shout from outside his small log cabin brought Perseus' attention to his visitor.
"Hermia. What brings you here?" The now 16 year old greeted his visitor with a small smile. The middle aged woman rummaged around in her clothes before procuring a pouch, from which she extracted several drachmae and held them out in front of her.
"There were wolves prowling around our farm, and we would like for you to take care of them."
Perseus nodded as he took the drachmae from her hand. "I will take care of them after I am done with my business in the morning." Hermia voiced her thanks before leaving.
The young man sighed as he walked back into his cabin. Chios was a peaceful change from his life on the road, but part of him yearned to start his hunt for the two men who were responsible for his mother's death. Phoebe, who had said she would be back, never came. Perseus knew she and his mother's 'family' resided on the west end of the island, but after a little poking and asking around, many of the locals had told him the west part of the island was occupied only by nature. Shaking his head to rid it of his thoughts, Perseus grabbed his gear he purchased using drachmae he earned by doing commissions from locals.
Slinging his bow and quiver over his back and tucking his hunting knife into his belt, Perseus headed out, smiling and nodding to locals as he passed them. He walked into the forest and slowly followed the forest trail. Noticing a pile of deer droppings neat a tree, Perseus knelt down and noted that it was still quite fresh.
The herd is nearby.
Unslinging his bow, Perseus carefully made his way further down the trail while drawing an arrow from his quiver. It took him half an hour of stalking, but soon he found the herd of deer he had been looking for. He singled out one that looked young and stout before nocking his arrow and drawing his bowstring back. The young man took a deep breath to steady his aim and fired. The arrow whistled through the air and penetrated the young deer's skull. The rest of the herd cried out in alarm and ran away in different directions, but Perseus had already finished his hunt. After securing his prey, Perseus tied the legs of the deer up and slung it over his back before slowly making his way back to the village.
"Here, one deer." Perseus handed the deer over to the resident butcher of the village. The man whistled appreciatively as he looked over the dead animal while shoving a small handful of drachmae over to Perseus.
"Clean shot as always, Perseus. We are lucky you came. Old Polis' age is catching up to him."
Perseus nodded as he counted the drachmae. "Happy to help."
After leaving the butcher's stall, Perseus followed the road to the west, passing by the dock as he did. Somedays he could fine Kleitos and his ship here, but today was not one of those days. The sea looked calm and peaceful, and Perseus felt it calling it out to him to jump in, but he quickly turned away to continue his walk.
Hermia and her husband's farm was the furthest west of any buildings on Chios, at least to Perseus' knowledge, and sometimes he would wonder if he would find Phoebe while doing jobs for the couple but he never had any luck. Soon he arrived, and he followed the edge of the farm into the forest, where the wolves were most likely hiding. Perseus tried to look for anything that might serve as a hint, but there was nothing. No tracks, no droppings, no carcasses of dead animals, nothing.
He pursed his lips. Maybe they were further west? The forest was very large, and combing through it seemed like a stupid idea.
"Maybe I'll ask Hermia to let me stay for a while," Perseus mumbled. As soon as he was about to turn away, he heard the sound of dry leaves crunching. Perseus immediately scrambled up a tree and hid there, still as a statue, waiting for something to show up.
Something stepped out from the shrubs, and Perseus' breath hitched, arrow ready to fire at moment's notice. He was almost disappointed to see a rabbit of all things to step out.
"Another day," Perseus muttered. "Another day."
Ok