For a priest, Ambelios certainly had a lot of earthly desires.
The sanctuary was very easy to navigate, and Perseus quickly found his way into the inner sanctum where the priest lay unconscious on the ground, with numerous amphorae scattered around his body.
How disgusting.
Perseus saw a golden short sword glinting in the dark on the ceremonial table behind the priest and made his way towards it. The weapon was light, as expected of a weapon made of gold, and Perseus knew that this blade wouldn't serve him for long.
Sneaking towards the sleeping man, Perseus knelt down and pressed the edge of the sword against his neck. Soon the man woke up, and after a few slow blinks, realized the situation he was in.
"This is heresy!" The priest shrieked. "To kill a priest in his god's sanctuary! Poseidon himself will smite you for this!"
Perseus applied more force to the blade and as a small drop of blood slowly flowed down the width of the blade, the priest closed his mouth and stared at his assailant.
"Did your god tell you to punish my mother?" Perseus asked coldly. Immediately after the priest shook his head, Perseus continued. "What were you planning to do with her body?"
"To act as a warning," the priest croaked. "To tell the citizens not to go against the God of the Seas."
Perseus' eyes narrowed dangerously and before Ampelios could correct himself, Perseus slid the blade across his throat. Blood flowed freely down the man's neck and pooled onto the ground, the white marble now being stained a dark crimson.
"To not go against you," Perseus spat, the venom in his words shocking the young boy himself. "That was what you meant."
Ampelios wanted to scream in pain, to yell for help, but no sound other than a gurgling noise could be produced as blood continued to spurt from his open throat. Perseus wiped the blood on the blade off onto the priest's blue robe and sent him one last withering glare before exiting the inner sanctum.
Perseus ran as fast as his legs could allow him to. The actions he had just done came rushing back into his head and they shocked him. Minutes ago, when his head was filled with rage and thoughts of revenge, killing the priest who had wanted to desecrate his mother's body was almost blissful, but now he realized that killing a defenseless man after sneaking up on him was far heavier a burden to carry than killing someone who was after your life.
The smell of blood that was left on the ceremonial blade was familiar, yet Perseus couldn't help but feel disgusted by the scent.
Mater. What have I done?
He ran along the road, not really noticing his surroundings when a gruff voice stopped him in his tracks. "Boy! What are you doing here?"
A man in armor walked towards Perseus, spear in hand. Perseus realized that he was back at the temple, and that if the guards saw the ceremonial blade in his hands, he would be in deep trouble. Hiding the blade behind his back as best as he could while not making himself look awkward, Perseus fought to calm his racing heart and nauseous stomach and tried his best to show the guard a smile befitting a boy his age.
"I was lost," Perseus said innocently, praying to the gods of Olympus that the guard would believe his poor act. The guard narrowed his eyes and Perseus almost instinctively swiped at the guard's throat with his new weapon when the guard finally let out a loud sigh.
"I'd be cursed by the gods for not helping a lone child. Stay in the temple for the night. It is dangerous to be out alone."
A spark of inspiration hit Perseus, and he swallowed his guilt before he spoke.
"The bandits that attacked my mother and I said they took this blade from the temple," Perseus showed the guard the golden blade and the guard's eyes widened. His gaze turned suspicious and he reached out for the blade. Perseus hesitantly handed it to the guard, and the guard immediately snatched it away. He studied the blade for a full minute or two before he tucked it into his belt.
"This is bad," He muttered. "You swear you got this from bandits?"
Perseus nodded as calmly as he could.
"Very well," The guard ran back into the temple and came out with 5 or 6 more guards. The guard didn't even look back as they ran off along the road, where Percy assumed was towards the sanctuary.
Perseus released a deep breath. His palms were sweaty and his head was spinning from his nerves. Gathering himself, he jogged into the temple and quickly found his mother's body laid on top of a stone slab in the middle of the building. Her naked body was laid bare, and Perseus felt rage bubble up inside him when he saw the lack of respect the guards had to her body.
Somehow hauling his mother's body over his shoulders, Perseus was about to leave when he saw the small donation box filled with drachmae. Grabbing a small handful and stuffing them into his clothes, Perseus rushed back to where he left Phoebe as quickly as he could.
When he finally arrived, the edges of the horizon were tainted with a soft orange tint.
Phoebe woke up feeling completely energized. She had the first good night's sleep in a very long time and she was grateful to the boy who saved her from her imprisonment. Glancing down towards the ground, she saw the boy in question making a pile of sticks and leaves. Deciding to check on him, she slowly climbed down the tree but slipped off with a small yelp when her fingers loosened their grip on the rough bark.
Just before she fell to the ground, she felt something cushion her fall.
"Good morning."
Realizing she was sitting on the boy who saved her life, Phoebe scrambled to get off him and blushed in embarrassment. Perseus pushed himself up and dusted the soil and sticks off his body before returning to his pile-making. Phoebe looked around curiously until her gaze fell on the gray, lifeless body that lay on the ground not far from Perseus. Recognizing that the body belonged to Perseus' mother, Phoebe felt a sense of guilt.
If she didn't rush over to save us, maybe….
Refusing to continue that train of thought, Phoebe shook her head and decided to help Perseus gather sticks and leaves from the ground. When the pile grew into a veritable mountain of combustibles, Perseus motioned for Phoebe to stop. Finally able to take a good look at the boy, Phoebe realized the boy looked exhausted. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like he was ready to collapse at any moment but knowing that this was important to him, she refrained from voicing her worries.
Perseus then took some branches and attempted to start a fire. After a few tries, a small flame came to life.
"Hold this for me," Perseus handed the branch to Phoebe and when the girl carefully received it, he walked over to Daphnae's body and gently placed it on top of the pile of branches and sticks.
Phoebe silently handed the burning stick to Perseus and took a step back, sending a prayer to the gods hoping that the woman would manage to find her way to Elysium. Perseus closed his eyes and tossed the stick into the pile of branches.
The fire spread quickly, and soon the gray carcass was completely engulfed within the flames. Phoebe noticed the smoke turn from a dull gray into a goldenish yellow but decided it was just a trick of the light.
When the fire finally died down, Daphnae's body was gone.
Perseus kept staring at the pile of ash in front of him, memories of the time he had spent with his mother flitting across the surface of his mind. When he finally looked away, he saw Phoebe looking at him worriedly.
"I'll be fine," his voice was hoarse and he sounded anything but, but Phoebe only replied with a small nod. "Let me get some rest. Help me keep watch, there might be guards looking for me."
Phoebe nodded in affirmation and the two of them climbed back onto the tree, where Perseus finally closed his eyes and rested.
"Wake up!" Percy jolted awake when Phoebe shook him roughly. "Guards are nearby."
Perseus cursed his stupidness. They should have relocated and hidden somewhere else after burning the body, but he was so tired that it hadn't even crossed his mind.
"Search the trees! He can't be far!" A man's gruff voice shouted. Perseus recognized it as the same man who stopped him earlier. Peeping through the branches, Perseus saw a few guards grouped up under a nearby tree, torches in their hands. They quickly dispersed and Perseus retracted his head.
"Stay here," Perseus briefly wondered if they could negotiate their way out but decided it wasn't worth the risk. "I will…... find some way to get us out of this."
When the guards were scattered, Perseus leapt from the tree they were on to the one the leader was standing under. Wincing when he brushed against the leaves, he kept as still as he could when the guard looked up and stared at the canopy. Reaching his hand out to a nearby branch, he carefully and slowly snapped it off and jumped off the tree. The guard's eyes widened, maybe from the shock, maybe from recognizing Perseus. Perseus steeled his heart and aimed at the man's left eye. Crashing into the man, Perseus stabbed his makeshift weapon into the man's eye and covered his mouth when they crumpled to the ground.
The guard's scream was muffled by Perseus' palm, but the boy remained calm as he pulled the stick out and stabbed it into the guard's throat. Wasting no time, Perseus grabbed the man's sword and dropped into a battle stance.
As expected, despite Perseus' best efforts to muffle the scream, their brief scuffle drew the attention of the rest of the guards. Perseus eyed the rest of the guards warily when they slowly made their way towards Perseus.
Suddenly, a guard charged forwards and swung his sword down. Perseus raised his sword and successfully blocked the attack but was blown back when the man kicked him in the stomach. The man kept charging, taking advantage of the fact that Perseus was on the ground and tried to stab him in the face. With a quick roll, Perseus managed to avoid the blade and using that window of opportunity, Perseus scrambled to get onto his feet. Another guard had charged forwards and Perseus found himself struggling to defend against the coordinated attack of two grown men. There were three other guards that were watching their fight and Perseus knew he was stuck in a tough situation. This fight might've been winnable had Perseus been in top condition, but his fatigue more than halved his fighting capabilities.
Phoebe was terrified. As the two guards kept pressuring Perseus, the young girl's mind raced as she contemplated what her next action should be. She had to help. If she abandoned Perseus here, the gods would surely smite her for that.
But what can I do?
Phoebe closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing.
I have to try my best.
Remembering the promise she had made to Perseus, she steeled her heart and leapt off the tree.
A girlish scream filled the forest as Phoebe fell on a guard, sending both of them to the ground in a heap. The unexpected appearance of the girl made Perseus and all of the guards stop in their tracks, but Perseus quickly shook off his surprise, cutting the throat of one guard cleanly and stabbing the other in the face. One of the guards managed to realize that Phoebe was helping Perseus and drew his sword, ready to strike her down.
Praying his aim was true, Perseus threw the sword as hard as he could. For a split second it seemed like he had put too much strength into his throw, but the blade sailed true and impaled itself into the guard's face.
While Phoebe tried her best to grapple with and occupy the guard she was on, Perseus sprinted towards the final guard and ducked under his attack before tackling him. While on the ground Perseus reached for a nearby stone and started to slam the rock onto the man's head. The guard screamed in pain and tried to push Perseus off but Perseus utilized the training his mother gave him and somehow kept the guard pinned onto the ground until Perseus' blows rendered the guard unconscious.
The guard Phoebe was on finally managed to kick the girl off him, and when Perseus chuckled his bloody stone at the guard the guard clicked his tongue before swatting it away with his sword. Keeping his eyes on the guard, Perseus cautiously took the sword from the fallen guard at his feet.
"You are a bastard," the guard spat. "Poseidon will curse you for what you have done."
"What I have done? I killed a priest who falsely accused my mother, who sacrificed herself to save me and a dozen slaves from a tyrant, of impiety. I brought justice to the priest." Perseus snarled. "If Poseidon truly insists my mother is a heretic, then the gods have fallen far from grace."
After finishing his sentence, Perseus ran towards the guard, anger tainting his vision red.
What did not expect was a blade to sprout from the left side of the man's chest.
The guard fell to the ground, revealing a frozen Phoebe standing right behind where he stood. The girl stared at the fallen man in front of her, blood pooling around the body, and she covered her mouth in horror.
Perseus walked over to the girl and wrapped her tight in an embrace.
"I killed someone, Perseus," Phoebe whispered shakily. "I have taken the life of someone…. I-"
Perseus squeezed the girl in his arms tightly. "I know."
As the girl in his arms cried, Perseus swore to himself that he would bloody his hands as much as he needed to in order to prevent this girl from bloodying hers.
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