"I cannot believe that this is happening!" Michalis Laskaris had said for the umpteenth time as they all sat in his Father's study.Him at the head of the table, Orion Laskaris next to his Father who was at Leonidas' left and Charilaus, quiet ever since his arrival, was at the right."Your Father is the only high Family member that was killed that way," Orion said to Leonidas. "The other deaths are just starting from the root.""And Gerasimus?" Leonidas asked."He was murdered," Orion said with a grim expression. "Differently.""This is the reason why we do not deal with Pharmakis in the first place!" Michalis suddenly snapped, "She said that he would come after us and yet we did not listen! Now he is coming back to kill us one by one!"Leonidas did not need a Soothsayer to tell him who they were talking about. "Who is doing the killings?""We believe it to be the Ares Familia.""Led by Kostas?""No. Kostas is dead. It is led by Achilles."Leonidas blanked, the statement hanging over
"Do you think that it is alright to give the Hermes and Hestia Familias such privileges?"The meeting had ended with Leonidas asking Orion to round up the young males and Artemis Familias that would fight, saying that they would find a way to think of the other Familia women."And what exactly are this privileges you speak of?" Leonidas asked. "Food? Their own rights on their own land?""Most of the foods and vegetables had been rationed to the Familias," Orion replied, his voice holding no malice but a need to be understood. "So that they would be enough for the Gathering."The Gathering.Leonidas had forgotten about that."It would be cancelled," Leonidas said with a low sigh. "With the rate at which people are dying, I doubt that all Familias in one place would not lead to a massacre of its own. The food for the Gathering would be allotted to the Hermes and Hestia Familias then, but if need be, we would reach out to our own portion of it. They are doing us a favour that they do not
Persephone sat on the carpet, her eyes closed with the wind in the desert whistling loudly behind her, the door of the tent flapping with the wind noisily.Every part of her felt at peace for the first time in a while, her thoughts settling down finally as the wind blew through her hair.The presence of someone else quickly brought her out of her trance as she quickly wore back her mask and stood, tension rising through her before she heard the voice say, "I thought you would be here."Persephone calmed, turning as she saw the familiar face. "Cleon,"The male chuckled when he reached her, a saucer in his hand that had a piece of pie on it as he said, "Cleon is my Renatus given name, Christopher is my birth name, but you can call me whichever. Here, I brought this for you."Persephone hugged him immediately he was close enough, her hands nearly squeezing the life out of him as she said, "I missed you.""I missed you as well,"When she pulled away, she took the plate from him, her hand
Reaching Castle Eliades with her mask still on her face, she heard the sounds of the men laughing somewhere in the hall, perhaps celebrating with the rebels that had now joined them for the new food they had gotten after raiding through the houses."Lady Achlys,"She paused in her walk, turning around to look at the man behind as he knelt. "Ah only came tae pay respect."She stared down at him, saying nothing.It was no new news that the Ares Familias treated her like a goddess even though they knew who she really was and though Achilles was the new ruler, she had been the one to kill Gerasimus.Plus, she was the one who did most of the killings, something they adored her for.She hated it.Saying nothing, she turned around and kept walking down the hall only stopping at her chambers then entering, the room making her let out a small breath of relief.Persephone walked to the mirror in the place, removing her mask as she stared at her reflection.The brown of her hair was barely obvio
The swords clashed against one another, a determined look in his eyes as he let out a gruff sound, pushing the other male and making a sharp lunge before managing to deflect the sword and shoving his Caretaker to the ground, his sword at his right.Heavy pants escaped Leonidas' lips as he pointed the tip of his sword at the man, his hair wet and sticky all over his face as he heard a voice say, "He is not the enemy, Leonidas."He did not bother to turn at first, just kept staring at the male that was on the floor before throwing his sword to a side and giving him a hand.His Caretaker took it gratefully, a small grateful word leaving his lips as he stood and dusted his clothes while Leonidas finally turned, meeting an Orion holding a tray with water, a jug and fruits on it.He walked to the round table, taking a seat with Orion doing so as well, sliding the tray to Leonidas before crossing his legs and leaning on the back of his chair. "Good morning,"Leonidas did not bother to reply.
He had not been there since that night, but it did not mean that he had not wanted to go back there, he had just only feared that she would be there, waiting for him, just like she always was.Waiting for him because she knew that all roads eventually led to her.Yes, everyone believed she was dead and it was her soul hunting down Renatus but he knew that even if Persephone was killed, her soul would never kill innocent people in a rage.That's if one could call them for innocent for the stupid things they had done and said about her, the rumours themselves had made him throw his food at a guard that had been speaking next to him.He reached the Cabin early enough with the snow now less than he can remember, his eyes looking past the trees to the lake they had danced but he tore his eyes away from it, looking back at the Cabin.Everywhere looked closed and empty, but there was no iota of snow anywhere on the threshold giving him a thought that she might have remained here, possibly pr
"Do you remember what you are supposed to say?""By the gods, you remind me of my Mother, which is even a mild sentence on its own because she never even fussed around me. I do remember, thank you very much, Daddy."Orion sighed tiredly, his face looking like he was worried but defeat was the best course to follow as of now. "Alright."After he had stayed in the Cabin for a while, he returned back to the Castle at night, finding Orion waiting for him, worried that he had been serious about joining the men in the field.Which apparently he had been.Leonidas adjusted the cloak over his head as he stared up at the starlit sky, snowflakes falling gently from it. "It is a wonderful night."Orion did not seem to care. "Just so that we could be on the same page. The men do not know who you are, yes?""Yes," Leonidas replied, boredom in his speech.He knew that none of the men there would possibly claim to have seen his face partly because whatever interactions he had with them, Orion did it
Then Kynaki cleared her throat, as if realizing she had said something so out of her place for her as she continued, "On another note, tomorrow, we will not wait for them to come out of their Castle before we stop them from leaving like we always do. We shall attack first. Some of us shall stay behind so it would not be too obvious about what we are doing while the others sneak into the Castle." Aellai was sitting up now, confusion etched on her face. "Sneak? Into Castle Eliades? That is a suicide mission." "It is not like we have any choice," Kynaki said, "This battle is at a stalemate. As long as Achlys is alive, they would just keep coming. If there is one thing that makes them extremely hard to actually break, is that even though they are extremely good at combat, they have no single problem with dying." "Achlys?" Aellai asked "Not Achilles?" Kynaki shook her head. "From what I have seen and heard our whole time here, is that the person they have utmost respect for is Achlys."