The Kingdom of Cyrene: Ancient Greece

Lightning streaked across the grey-clouded sky with rain pelting the earth, turning the dirt and rocks under Cathenna Vasilias's sandals into mud. An icy wind laced with petrichor whipped through the air, and Cathenna hugged her cloak closer to her body for any extra warmth she might muster.A crack of thunder battered in her ears, drawing her attention to the storm. It didn't rain this time of year, nevertheless a full on thunderstorm.The gods are angry. The voice of her late mother pestered in her head.Cathenna bit her lip. This storm was an ill omen, she knew she should head back to the carriage and return home. But her mother always had called her strong willed for a reason.Cathenna pushed the oak door of the small crystal shop open, the creaking sound drawing the attention of the store's patrons. The putrid mixture of rosemary and sage filled her senses. Cathenna choked back a cough and forced her nose not to scrunch up from the scent.You need to blend in, she reminded herself, her fingers trailing the scratchy wood countertops of the table to her right.Not like there was anything blending in about her. Even with the hood of her cloak confiscating her peripheral vision, the cloak she wore was at least worth ten times then the cloaks of the patrons.Cathenna swallowed.She tilted her head; rain drummed on the shop's lone window. A small woman rifled through the array of herbs that lined the glass. The candle sconce on the wall illuminated her wrinkled face.The patrons at the middle table, sorting through the crystals, shot her an assessing glance, forcing Cathenna to turn her attention toward them. Few frequented shops such as this, and the ones who did were always the ones she had been instructed to stay far, far away from.Her palms grew clammy. People should be wary of messing with items associated with the gods. Her father consistently said that nothing good ever came out of messing with the gods. They're jealous and spiteful deities and should be left alone.Approaching a corner table; her sandals scuffed the dirt. It was taller than the others reaching almost to her breasts. The man behind the table wiped it clean of invisible dust particles. Cathenna's fingers toyed with the sleeves of her cloak."Do you need something?" He asked, his voice rough.The shop keeps gave her an assessing gaze. His dark eyes lit in the candlelight, and the corner of his mouth slightly curled. A cold shiver passed through Cathenna's body, causing her to wrap her arms around her abdomen."I am looking for a crystal," Cathenna said in an octave higher than her normal tone.He scoffed at her broad statement, "Well, look around; I have plenty."He returned to wiping the counter. Cathenna bit her lip. She was being vague, but she didn't truly know what she was looking for, either."It's a specific crystal." She pressed.He stretched his hand towards the middle table, where the other two patrons left. "What I have there is all I got."Cathenna refrained from letting out an exasperated breath. The shopkeeper wasn't intentionally being unhelpful, but she had little to go on. She had visited five crystal shops since finding out her father disposed of her mother's crystal. Her mother told her that the goddess Hecate herself blessed the crystal and would always bring her protection as long as she had it.Not like it provided much help in the end. Cathenna scornfully thought back to her mother on her deathbed.If the crystal weren't the last item she had in her possession since her mother's passing, she wouldn't have bothered searching for it. There existed a strange, almost possessive urge to find it she couldn't fight. So here she was, entangling herself in things she only half understood."It's black." She pressed. "About the size of a royal nut."He just pointed at the middle table. Cathenna sighed and walked to the table. At first glance, she assumed colors or sizes organized the crystals in the bins, but they were all mixed in with one another."Someone associated with the Royal Court recently sold it." She called to him after the last patron left the store. Leaving her and the shopkeeper alone.His eyes snapped to hers. Cathenna shifted under his assessing gaze. She returned to the bin of crystals, nervously searching through them. She shouldn't have said anything about the Royal Court; it would only raise questions. Questions that would only get back to her father.The shopkeeper rubbed his chin, and his eyes flashed toward a velvet black bag at the corner of the table-a black bag with the royal sigil of Cyrene on it. She cursed herself for not being observant, and her heart raced."I did have a man from the Royal Court sell me a crystal when I visited the palace two weeks ago." He drawled. "A black rare crystal."Cathenna returned to the table where the shopkeeper was, her hands shaking. "May I see it?"The shopkeeper produced a long, glimmering silver chain adorned with her mother's black crystal."That's it." She breathed, reaching out for it with trembling hands.The man snatched back the crystal, clicked his tongue, then returned it to its bag."It's not for sale." He said coldly."I have gold, lots of it.""It's not for sale.".The tips of Cathenna's ears grew warm. This man had a price, and she was determined to find what it was. "Everything is for sale. Name your price, and it's yours.""Do you know what this is, girl?" He spat out the last word. "This is Black Tourmaline! It is so rare you can only find worshippers of Hecate in possession of them."Cathenna swallowed. She was uncertain about how all of this worshipping of Hecate worked or what the items did. That wasn't why she was here though, she was here to retrieve the last relic she had of her mother. The crystal belonged to her, and she would not leave without it. Cathenna took a sweep of the room and yanked back the hood over her head, revealing her straight black hair and pale blue eyes-features known well throughout the kingdom belonging to the Princess of Cyrene.The Shopkeeper's eyes widened."Your Highness." He bowed."Name your price."His fingers tightened on the bag. "Like I told you, Your Highness, this is not for sale."Her gaze turned towards the door again, not knowing how much longer they had. Exposing her identity was risky; if her father found out...No, she needed this crystal."I am the Princess of Cyrene. Your kingdom, Your princess. I demand this crystal. I will pay, whatever the price."The shopkeeper gritted his teeth, but the breaking glass and whipping wind interrupted him. The door burst open, and Cathenna threw her hood up. Everything happened in a blur, but her eyes never left the black velvet bag containing her mother's crystal.The shopkeeper, forgetting the crystal, shoved past her, pushing her to the floor. Cathenna sprang to her feet, snatching the velvet bag from the counter, eagerly untying it to confirm that the crystal was still inside.Cathenna let out a breath of relief. She had her mother's crystal. Cathenna put the bag into her cloak making her way out of the shop, shards of glass crunching under her steps.Bloodcurdling screams and metal clanging on metal erupted in the bustling chaos of the courtyard. Rain washed away blood that littered the ground, being taken down in streams. A man's arm floated with the blood.Bile rose in the back of Cathenna's throat. There had been fights that led to death in the courtyard of the palace outside of her chambers that caught her attention every now and again, enthralled by the adrenaline-filled men whose only goal was to kill their opponent. There was something about seeing a dismembered body part so far away from the owner that left a foul taste in her mouth.Cathenna debated on turning right, to where her carriage awaited her five alley ways down, but she stopped at the sight of the shopkeeper slouched on the outside wall of his shop. Blood spilled out of his mouth, and a sword protruded from his abdomen. From what she observed, the arm did not belong to him.He grabbed her wrist with his bloody hand and choked out the word, "Run."Cathenna needed little convincing. She pumped her legs, gaining speed with each push, quickening her pace until steps became leaps, with one hand still gripping her hood to keep her identity hidden. Her lead foot stubbed into a rock, causing her to lose her footing. Cathenna landed on her knees, letting out a gasping sound with her eyes watering and her toes throbbing. No doubt she at least broke one of her toes with the impact of the rock. Cathenna went to readjust her cloak, but stopped midway, feeling the weight of the velvet bag in the cloak's inside pocket was no longer there. Her chest tightened."No!" Cathenna breathed.Ripping her hood down, Cathenna's hands frantically searched the ground where she landed for the bag. Her nails dug into the mud and brushed over the pebbles littering the ground. Her heart rose in her throat, tears streamed down her face, only to be washed away by the rain. After two weeks of searching for it, she found it, only to lose it this time. Amidst tears, she saw a flash of black a short distance from an alley.Cathenna hesitantly rose to her feet. Setting her weight on her injured right foot, she winced in pain, shifting the majority of her weight to her left. Cathenna hobbled to the bag, trying to keep as much weight as she could off her injured foot.She bent down to pick up the bag, the feeling of relief to have her mother's crystal again washed over her body. Fingers hooked into the corner of her elbow, dragging her into the alley. Cathenna's grip tightened on the bag.She whipped her head around to reveal a broad male's chest. Cathenna tilted her head to reveal the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Despite the rain, blood covered his face, his or someone else's, but it didn't dim the gold in his eyes. His long, curly gold hair, decorated with blood, went past his shoulder blades."This is no place for a lady." He said, eyes narrowing.She shoved the bag back into her cloak. She wanted to retort she was leaving when he shoved her into the alley. He drew a dagger from his belt, and her body stiffened. Feet ran past the alley they hid in, not noticing them.Oh gods, oh gods. This is how I'm going to die. Cathenna panicked.The man let out a breath of relief. His eyes met hers, and she swore her entire body heated. The man must've felt it too, letting go of her elbow, eyes so wide that the whites showed."Wh-What's going on?" She stammered in a small breath.The man readjusted himself, assessing the alley's opening."I'm not really sure. It was a bloodbath by my arrival," he said in a low tone.Cathenna pulled her cloak around her; whatever heat had gone through her left her freezing. The man readjusted his grip on his dagger."What is a lady of your stature doing here?" He asked, not looking at her.Realizing she had never put her hood back on. She quickly pulled it back over her head. She needed to leave now.Cathenna bit her lip, "Can you help me return to my carriage?"His eyes moved back to hers, and the heat returned. "You're going to trust a stranger in the midst of a blood brawl?"Cathenna shrugged, "If you were going to kill me, you would've done it already."He gave her a small smile. "Fair enough." He gripped her hand. "Where to Your Highness?""I-uh, I-uh." Cathenna cleared her throat and said dismally, "I'm not sure."The man laughed while tugging her through the alley and back through the courtyard. Cathenna stayed close to him while hobbling on her foot, biting back whimpers. She tried not to stare at the dead bodies and all the blood filling the courtyard. What had happened here? Cathenna had never witnessed a scale of death and carnage this intense before.Stopping suddenly, the man threw Cathenna behind him, blocking her body with his.What is going on? Her mind raced, trying to look over his shoulder.He grabbed at the hilt of a sword sheathed in a scabbard attached to his right hip, his body rigid. The sharp scent of copper stung her nose, making her eyes water. Footsteps sounded in the distance, but she still couldn't see in front of her.Cathenna pieced together the unfolding scene from the sounds around her and the movements of her escort, unsheathing his weapon and parrying his sword against an assailant. Freshly spilled blood splashed against her ankles, she closed her eyes and she battled down her reflex to heave.The man turned around, placing his thumb and finger on her chin, and tipped her face up. Her hood slipped back slightly. Cathenna opened her eyes, and she stared into his. His eyes weren't just gold; they were like a melting pot of the finest gold, accentuating his pupils. He scanned her face."You're injured." He observed.Cathenna nodded weakly, the heat blasting through her once more from his touch, making her body spring alive."My foot," she told him. "It happened back by the alley, but I'm fine."The man's mouth went into a thin, firm line, his eyes never leaving her face. He opened his mouth to say something, but the battle cries from another attacker took away his attention. The man's feet stay firmly planted even after the brute of a man barreled himself into him.The assailant in front of him preoccupied her escort so that he didn't notice the one emerging from the adjacent alley. A liquid combination of blood, rain and mud dripped off his longsword-tightly gripped in his right hand. His chestnut brown hair went to his chin, and he smiled wickedly at Cathenna.She tugged on the back of her companion's chiton. He didn't turn around, but wrapped his right arm around her, his fingers tightening on her cloak. The alley man neared, deliberate, quiet. Her eyes never left him as she tugged harder. He ignored her insistent tugging.Annoyed that he was refusing to listen to her, Cathenna braced through the pain of her injured toes on her right foot-choking back a groan-and stood on the balls of her feet.Two assailants clashed their swords against her escort, and he single-handedly held his ground. She surmised that if he hadn't felt the need to protect her, he would have effortlessly killed them."Behind you-" A hand tugged the back of Cathenna's cloak.Her companion's fingers tore away from her, and she slammed into a broad chest. Cathenna thrashed in his grip, but it didn't make a difference. The man took the hood of her cloak down and sniffed her hair. A sour tang filled Cathenna's mouth, and her skin crawled."Smells royal." He said in a husky voice.Cathenna's companion glided his sword into the abdomen of one assailant. He placed his foot on the now bent over assailant's shoulder, blood splotching through his mouth, and kicked him off the sword. He turned to face Cathenna in the large man's arms, eyes wide."Release her." Her companion hissed, his eyes never leaving hers.Sniffing her head slowly, the man wrapped his arms tighter around her. The last assailant charged after her companion, but he sliced the attacker's jugular just as soon as he got into his sword's range, and blood splashed into her companion's face."Release her."Her captor's grip tightened, crushing her diaphragm. She let out a groan. Rage flashed through her companion's face. The man also saw it and placed a cool metal blade against her neck. Her eyes pleaded at her companion to save her.She didn't want to die; she was too young to die. All she wanted was to get her mother's necklace back, and now it was going to cost her life. Cathenna should've just left well enough alone. So what if she felt as though the necklace was beckoning her, urging her to find it every moment she was awake? She should've ignored it, ignored all of it."Put the knife down." Her companion said through gritted teeth.The man pressed the knife closer to her neck. A stinging sensation pierced her skin, and something wet beaded down. Her mind went blank at the sensation, and her body went limp.This is it. The blade warmed against her skin. I'll be with you soon, Mother."I bet she would be worth her weight in gold." His lips hovered just above her scalp. "Such a pretty little young thing." He kissed her head. Cathenna tried her best not to cringe with the knife so close to her throat. "Dead or alive."Her companion lowered the sword he held pointed at the assailant. Cathenna noted the diamond sheen coating it. The wind picked up again, whipping the man's curly hair across his face."We both know she'd be worth much more if brought to the king of Cyrene alive." Her companion said.Cathenna silently cursed. If he beleived the king wanted her alive, he'd be mistaken. He'd rather see her head roll.Aegeus Vasilias once loved his daughter fiercely. Then her mother died, and a part of her father had died along with her. His gentleness turned to hardness. His once warm persona turned ice cold. The one person he couldn't stand the most was Cathenna herself. It seemed like her face, identical to her mother's, was the salt in his wound. She supposed it was due to his undying love for her mother that she could remain at the palace. She doubted her death would deter her father."Mmm." Hummed her captor. "Cyrene, is it?""Release her," Cathenna's companion persisted once more. "And we could split the profit."Everything in Cathenna halted. Of course, of course. How foolish and naïve she was to trust a stranger she met in an alley way. He intended to take her captive and hold her for ransom."I was taking her to my carriage." He dropped his sword and held his left hand up; his right hand slowly dropped lower to his weapon belt. "You appear to be an intelligent man; You'd be dumb to ignore my offer."Her captor contimplated the offer over, adjusting his grip on the knife. "Or I could just slit her throat now and take the gold I'd get for her head for myself."The man before her shrugged. "You could, but what would stop me from killing you as soon as you had?"Her former companion went to meet her eyes, but she avoided his gaze. Fooled, she was a fool. His gorgeous golden looks convinced her she could trust him.Cathenna's captor laughed. "And what's stopping me from killing you-"The man before her moved fast and swiftly, unsheathing a dagger at his belt and throwing it at Cathenna's captor's face. The captor fell backward, and the knife at her throat went limp. Her knees gave out, and she slammed into the blood and rained streamed cobblestone, throwing her arms out to catch herself. Cathenna's breathing became uneven. This time, when copper filled her senses, she emptied the contents of her stomach."Get up." The man said, attempting to pull her up by her underarms.Cathenna shook him off. Her eyes darted to the knife lying to her right. Only inches away."You lied." Cathenna gasped.He tried lifting her, she shrugged him off."I am not your enemy." He insisted."That's not what you told him."She subtly shifted her hand toward the knife."I lied."Her eyes snapped up to his. "How do I know you're not lying now?""As you pointed out earlier. If I wanted you dead, I would've done it already." The gold in his eyes softened."Convincing."Her fingers curved around the hilt of the knife. It wasn't a high-quality blade; judging by the hilt, a low-class blacksmith crafted it.He went to lift her up again, and this time, she let him. Cupping her face in his hand, she brought the knife to his neck. His eyes widened in shock for a milisecond and then amusement spread across his face, his grip tightening on her upper bicep."Put the knife down." He said.She adjusted her grip, and the handle of the blade rubbed rough against her uncallused hands."Why should I?" Cathenna hissed. "You plan on using me as ransom!"The man in front of her moved his arm in a circular motion, conveying to her she should observe her surroundings. "I saved your life."Cathenna pressed the knife to his neck, eliciting a grunt; however, no blood appeared."How do I know you didn't stage all of this?" Cathenna asked.The man gritted his teeth. "I told you, it was a bloodbath when I arrived.""Why are you here?"The man lifted his eyebrows. "Why are you here, Princess?"Cathenna put pressure on the knife again. "That's none of your concern."The man's right hand wrapped around her wrist holding the knife. Her free hand trembled. "Put down the knife, Princess."The heat she had felt earlier encased her body. What was that? It wasn't uncomfortable, but it felt familiar. She was sure she had never met this man before.A small persistence nagged in her head. Telling her she could trust him, to put the knife down, and he would get her out of here, unharmed and safe. Granted, it wasn't like she had very many options at the current moment.His eyes darted from Cathenna's to behind her. In a swift motion, the man's left hand gripped Cathenna's hand that held the knife and pressed his pointer and middle finger against the inside of her wrist, causing her to drop the weapon. He caught the dagger with his free hand, extending his arm backward, he threw the dagger past her. She turned around to a brute of a man tumbling forward with a knife in his head."Trust me now?" The man hissed.Dazed, Cathenna nodded her head. The man picked up his sword behind him and wiped the blood off it with his chlamys. Cathenna flicked the hood of her cloak over her head, and the man grabbed her wrist and ran.The aroma of blood and death was pungent. Cathenna placed her free hand on the bag tucked safely away in her cloak and focused on that. She had achieved her goal she set off to-and for the first time in years; it felt like her mother was with her.The man came to an abrupt halt, causing Cathenna to collide with him. Her eyes scanned the ornate carriage standing before them. Gold lavishly coated the carriage, from wheels to roof. White embroidered it in Lyre patterns, surrounded by a laurel wreath. The wheels towered over the man, reaching an impressive height.Cathenna examined the symbol on the carriage. Recent events numbed her, preventing comprehension of its meaning."Get in." He told her while opening the carriage door and helped lift her in, half-shoving her.Cathenna tugged her cloak to her body once more because as soon as his hands left her, cold nipped at Cathenna's skin."Take her to the Palace in Cyrene." He told the driver.He reached to shut the carriage, but Cathenna's touch stopped him in his tracks."Wait." Cathenna breathed. "Who are you?"The man smirked, ignoring her question, and shut the door. The carriage immediately moved, giving her no chance to inquire anything else. It wasn't until she arrived at her bedchambers in the palace that she realized the velvet bag containing her mother's crystal was gone.