Eventually, both got angry. “You shall hear it: I’m Zeuxippe, daughter of Rheia and great leader of tribe Orcheon.” “Never heard about it,” Penthesilea stated even though she knew this was extremely rude. But the other woman had nothing to hold against and avoided her. “Actually, someone was shouting my name over there.” “Unfortunately, I have to leave you to see what they want. Please, feel free to talk to my slave if you have need to. Loneliness must be awful indeed.” A deliberate grin stole on her face mentioning Penthesilea’s non-existent tribe. “Someday you’ll recognize disrespecting your own kind leads to anything but trouble. Actually, we should ally against the men. That would be wise.” She didn’t mention the person Zeuxippe pretended had shouted her name. There was none. “Be thankful for me lending you my slave. He’s my favorite so I expect him to return safely. I still require his services.” Zeuxippe left amusedly but Penthesilea fought hard to contain herself. Evidently, the slave was worried because of his queen leaving him alone with a stranger. Penthesilea closed her eyes to control her anger. “Don’t worry. I would never touch anything that belongs to her. How could she dare to talk to me like that!” The slave got frightened, realizing she expected an answer. “Well, eh, I don’t know.” Even after thinking about punishing him for that obvious lie she decided he would be of more use if she questioned him. “Come on, you must know something if you truly are her favorite!” “Would you ever confide in a slave, my lady?” “If he had my trust and I liked him – why not? Take my advise and tell me what you do know and I’ll decide whether that will do.” For a moment, he hesitated. “It’s not much, I fear. The queen’s great-grandmother was driven here for reasons unknown to me. In those days, they were not much appreciated by the tribes who already lived here and were much more powerful than today. Her ancestors had a pretty hard time to get accepted but most of their tribe was wiped out by bad harvests and illness.” “You keep quiet about your queen’s matters, slave – what’s your name, in the first place?” “It’s Protego. Truly, I can’t tell you any more about the queen.” He was too loyal – or too afraid – and wouldn’t say another word. “So return to your creator, Protego. Surely she misses you already.” She turned on her heels and headed to the little water hole to look after Haimon and his fish. Protego gazed after her, not knowing whether he had said something wrong. He had indeed. Now, she had a starting point and would try to find out why Zeuxippe’s great-grandmother had left her home tribe. It couldn’t be any honorable reason because the other queen kept it a secret from her. Suddenly, she saw the red-haired priest adept wait for her under a tree, halfway to the water hole. “My lady, don’t be angry with queen Zeuxippe because she was rude to you. She has a hard stand among all those men here and can’t stop fighting for her voice to be heard.” “You speak kind words of her, priestess. But she had better to look for allies than to make new foes, then. Who are you? I remember seeing you but we were not properly introduced.” The young woman’s voice was soft and warm like rays of sunlight breaking through a cold morning’s air. “My name is Chandra of Arythion. But I know who you are, my lady, as I overheard your talk to the Borathions’ leader, Boras. I hope you will forgive me for this.” “Nothing to forgive. You stood next to us, so you had to hear it.” “Thank you, my lady. May I give you an advice? If you plan to settle down here you should talk to the Council of Nobles. It consists of the leaders of all tribes in this area. You could make friends there or at least prevent some of them from becoming enemies, as Zeuxippe will speak up against you anyway.” “Thank you. I will heed your advice. Where can I find this Council of Nobles?” “They will meet tomorrow in the early evening, at the council’s place.” Chandra described the way and they parted from one another with a hearty goodbye. The next day, Penthesilea’s fate was to be determined.
8 Comments
7/10/2017 02:08:05 am
That's great that not all are so unfriendly... I hope that Council of Nobles will allow Penthesilea to live and start her tribe there.
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7/21/2017 11:47:14 pm
Glad you like that. To be honest, some of them I don't even recognize any more. And I think Summer Holiday got lost somewhere on the way xD
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wagonfruit
4/13/2018 06:48:52 am
Ahh! Zeuxippe! Another great name ❤️
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4/14/2018 07:41:05 am
Zeuxippe would feel flattered if she knew... But she doesn't hehe.
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10/1/2018 08:09:37 am
Lucky not all people around Penthy are hostile or indifferent. Chandra seems nice.
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9/16/2019 06:38:55 am
Haha, yeah, EA probs wouldn't recognize them any more 😂
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