Erasmus pulled the sword out from Daphnae's chest and watched as her body fell to the ground. "I'm not as strong as Demetrios," The man said as snuck behind the door, hiding in wait for Perseus to come. "But I'm not as dumb either."
Perseus made his way below deck as quickly as he could until he saw his mother lying on the ground in the middle of a room. Without a second thought, Perseus ran towards her, immediately checking if she was still breathing. To his dismay, she wasn't. His gaze moved to the hole in her abdomen and he realized that she was attacked after the battle with Demetrios, and she was unconscious if not dead from because of the attack.
Erasmus silently walked up to the boy, wary of him after seeing the boy in action earlier and was about to swing his sword down when the ship lurched sideways. The women in the cages screamed, while Erasmus was flung into the wall of the room. The man coughed wildly as the wind was knocked out of him and Perseus, hearing the noise, whipped his head around to look at the source of it. His eyes lingered on Erasmus' face before they moved to his hands where the bronze sword was.
"You!" The young boy had never felt more enraged in his entire life. First this man forced himself on his mother, then he kills her? The urge to kill filled Perseus' mind and numbed the wrenching pain in his gut as the ocean heeded his call.
With a loud crash, the side of the ship exploded, sea water washing in and washing over everyone in the room. The girls screamed, while Erasmus frantically tried to swim out of the hole towards the surface.
You're not getting away!
Responding to his thoughts, the water pushed Erasmus back into the room until the boy and man were only an arms' length apart. Moving as quickly as he could, Erasmus threw the sword as hard as he could at the boy. With nothing to defend himself, Perseus could only raise his arms to protect his head and winced as the blade cut into the flesh of the left side of his body. Water was quickly filling the room and Perseus realized the remaining half of the ship was now sinking rapidly. Erasmus must have realized that too as he immediately made his way towards the hole.
As much as he wanted to chase after Erasmus, the girls in the cage were screaming for help, and Perseus couldn't just leave his mother here whether she was alive or not, so he closed his eyes and focused. The pain in his gut returned, and with that Perseus knew his powers had not failed him. The water started to leave the ship as the ship slowly tilted to the other side and rose out of the sea. Grabbing the sword in his mother's hands, he slowly walked over to the cage and cut the wet ropes with it. The women all rushed out immediately and thanked Perseus profusely.
"You're all welcome." Perseus squeezed these words out and promptly collapsed.
When Perseus awoke, he saw a girl staring at him.
I really have to stop getting myself into these situations.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Where am I?" He asked groggily. "And who are you?"
"A harbor in Argos," The girl replied. "And I'm one of the girls you saved on Demetrios' ship. My name's Phoebe."
Perseus slowly nodded in response.
"Where…. Is my mother?"
Phoebe fidgeted a bit before she opened her mouth to reply. "She's dead. I'm sorry." The girl looked down, trying her best not to meet Perseus' eyes.
A sense of emptiness filled Perseus' heart, and he held back a sob. The sadness slowly morphed into anger and rage, all directed towards the two men and their actions that had led to his mother's death.
"Demetrios. And Erasmus. I will avenge my mother. I swear upon the gods of Olympus I will be the one to kill the both of you." Unbeknownst to Perseus, the sea nearby started to churn violently in response to his rage, causing panic to spread across the fishermen and sailors. The boy's fingers curled up into fists and his nails dug so deep into his skin, they drew blood. Phoebe, having seen Demetrios and Perseus' powers, was unsure what to do in fear of attracting Perseus' wrath.
Several minutes later, Perseus' rage subsided and he sighed heavily. "Where is her body?" He asked quietly. "I would like to send her off properly, at the very least."
Phoebe shuffled around nervously. "A priest came and took her away. He said she was impious and had offended Poseidon, so the sea god summoned a storm to take her life."
"What?" Perseus found himself shocked at how aggressive he sounded, so he cleared his throat and asked Phoebe in a softer tone, trying his best to hold back his anger. "Where is the priest? What does he look like?"
"He wore a blue chiton, and I think he proclaimed himself to be a priest of lord Poseidon," Phoebe replied. Perseus immediately stood up and started walking towards town. "Wait! Perseus! You-"
Perseus turned around and glared at Phoebe, his sea green eyes glowing and swirling with power. "My mother was the strongest person I've ever known. I will not let her be remembered as a heretic by anyone."
"But what can you do? He's a priest; he speaks for the gods. Opposing him means opposing the gods themselves." The girl kept following the boy as he made his way out of the harbor and into the market. "I'll take her body back. By force if I have to. Why are you following me anyway?" Growing tired of her incessant questions, Perseus stopped in his tracks and stared the girl.
"…I have nowhere to go. My mother sold me to a slave trader, and the slave trader's trip was attacked by Demetrios. I have no one to rely on, and I don't want to go back to my mother." Phoebe's voice grew softer and softer as she continued talking.
"So, you want to follow me?" Perseus asked. Phoebe nodded in response. The boy crossed his arms and thought about it.
"My mother and I were making our way to Chios. She said she had family there. If they are anything like my mother, they would be more than willing to offer you food and shelter."
"I don't know how to fight," Phoebe mumbled. "I can't make the journey by myself."
Perseus sighed, feeling slightly irritated. "Fine. I will escort you to Chios, but for now I will recover my mother's body. Everything else comes next."
Phoebe, knowing that she had no more room to argue, nodded in acceptance.
"Excuse me sir, would you mind telling me where the temple of Poseidon is? We wish to seek guidance from the god of the seas," Perseus asked a nearby man.
"It's down that road," The man pointed to a road that split off from the main road leading to the city. "Follow that road and go up the hill. It should not be hard to find."
"Thank you, sir. May the gods of Olympus bless you." Perseus wished the man well and quickly made his way down the road with Phoebe in tow.
"What young travelers," The man mused. "Too bad that the winds of war are starting to blow. Their journey will not be easy."
The young boy and girl walked in silence, one with thousands of thoughts running through his head while the other simple too shy and nervous to start a conversation.
"I need a weapon." Perseus finally broke the silence between them. "Even if we won't need to take my mother's body back with force, travelling unarmed is dangerous, especially since I have to protect you."
"I have no drachmae," Phoebe replied, happy that the silence was gone. "But I've heard of being able to earn drachmae by being a misthios."
Perseus raised an eyebrow. "Who would want to hire a child as a sell-sword?"
"But you are no child, right Perseus? After all, you have the same powers as Demetrios, a god."
Perseus scoffed. "A self-proclaimed one. I have no intention of using these powers of mine unless I absolutely have to."
The girl replied with a confused tone. "But the powers are yours to wield! Even if you are not a god, you are still chosen by the gods! Demetrios may have used his powers for evil, but I believe in the Perseus who risked his life to save me and the other women Demetrios held captive."
Perseus waved his hand as if to dismiss the topic. "I'll decide what to do later. We're inland; my powers won't be of use here anyways. For now, we need to find a weapon. Preferably two, one for me and one for you."
Phoebe shook her head and hands desperately. "I have no interest in fighting. I…. I'm scared."
"It is much safer for you to learn how to fight as well. I may have to leave your side for extended durations during our journey, and with me gone you will have to know how to defend yourself or at the very least, have the means to defend yourself."
Seeing the logic in Perseus' words, Phoebe nodded. "I will try my best."
Perseus smiled softly. "Good," He patted the girl on her head softly. "As my mater always said, 'All one can do is try their best. The rest is up to the will of the gods.'"
Phoebe shook her head and shooed Perseus' hands away, her face slightly red from embarrassment. "You are the same age as me," She grumbled. "Please don't treat me like a child."
Perseus laughed, and the boy found himself now not minding having to spend time on the road with his new travel companion as much as before.
The two children travelled for a few hours before Perseus stopped.
"What is it…. Perseus?" Phoebe said between breaths.
"We'll stop here for today. You are too worn out from your time on the ship." Perseus led Phoebe off the road and into the forest. The girl cautiously followed the boy, wary of the bushes that may hide predators. They walked around in the forest, and just before Phoebe wanted to ask why exactly they were wasting time here, Perseus stopped and stared at a large tree.
"This should be good enough."
With surprising grace and fluidity, Perseus scaled the tree and disappeared into its canopy. Phoebe suddenly felt very alone and very unsafe in the unfamiliar forest, but her fears were dispersed when Perseus fell out of the tree and landed softly next to Phoebe.
"There shouldn't be any snakes or poisonous bugs on the tree, so come. Follow what I do," Perseus scaled the tree again, this time doing it slowly so Phoebe could see where to place her hands and feet. After several minutes of climbing, they finally made it to the upper parts of the tree.
"Just find a spot that looks stable enough to lay down on and head to bed," Perseus shuffled around on the tree, poking and jumping on some of the branches until he found a spot he was satisfied with.
"Here." He pointed at the area he was standing on. Phoebe carefully scrambled over to him and laid down. Her eyes widened when she saw how much beautiful the starry night sky looked. Realizing that she was finally free of her nightmare that went on for only the gods know how many days, Phoebe felt the strength leave her and she let her tears flow as she fell asleep.
Perseus watched over the girl for a bit, slightly worried about her but ultimately deciding that since she was already asleep, there was no point in worrying. He then slowly made his way down the tree, feeling slightly apologetic about not telling Phoebe about his plan.
She doesn't have to a part of this.
Perseus had actually long since decided that the priest was going to die. On what basis did the priest declare that his mother was impious?
The boy swiftly ran along the road as the sun finally dipped below the distant mountain peaks completely. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and he also focused more on his hearing.
I hear talking.
Soon, Perseus found the temple of Poseidon he was looking for. The flames in braziers lit the surrounding area, and Perseus saw only a few guards patrolling the area without a single priest in sight. Two of the guards were talking, and Perseus strained his ears to listen in on their conversation.
"-ell is horrible! Does that Ambelios not understand how disgusting the smell is?" The other guard replied. "Of course not. He only ever sleeps in that sanctuary up there despite him saying it's a 'holy place only the gods may enter'. Bah! I've never seen a priest as fake as he is!"
Having acquired the info he needed, Perseus looked up and barely managed to see a marble building sitting on the top of the hill.
I guess that is where he sleeps. He will regret not having guards there.
The boy continued running along the road up the hill and finally found himself in front of a statue of Poseidon. "The sanctuary." He faltered a bit, having second thoughts about desecrating a holy place but then steeled his heart and walked towards the building.
Sorry for the late update (is it really late if i dont have a schedule?) but anyways here you go