The Arrangement Pt.1

His majesty, Acroneos, signed the final agreement with a flourish of his quill, Ακρονεοσ. He smirked, obviously very pleased with himself. It pleased him greatly that an alliance with the most powerful kingdom in the modern world had been achieved through such simple means. No wars. No slavery. All it had cost him was the hand and dowry of one of his daughters.

She knew nothing of her upcoming marriage, as of yet. But then, you couldn't tell Athena anything without causing an uproar. Had it been any other nation, he would have chosen one of his less attractive but more compliant daughters. But this was Egypt. Nothing less than the best would do for his offering. The ambassadors of the pharaoh had all been in agreement that Athena was, indeed, the fairest of his daughters. Though her sisters were not at all unattractive, Athena was an exceptional beauty. Long, dark hair fell in natural wavy curls to her narrow waist. Her build was slender and lithe, but strong, and her eyes were a cause for whispered admiration among all who saw her, for they were an unusual deep color of green, like twin emeralds set into a fine-featured face.

Now that everything had been finalized, his servants would finish the preparations for Athena's journey south to Egypt. All of the dowery gifts had already been loaded onto two ships that would carry Athena and the entire caravan across the Mediterranean Sea to Alexandria. From there, she would be transported to the capital city of Memphis, where she would meet and marry the Pharaoh's young son, Prince Atem. He knew nothing of the prince, apart from the detail of his being young. Acroneos could only assume that this meant that the prince was still a young boy. This somewhat eased his concerns about whatever protests Athena might have about an arranged, (and, albeit, surprise) marriage. If the prince was still, indeed, only a boy, she would have at least a few years to get used to the idea before Prince Atem reached an age of maturity.

"You have no say in this matter, daughter. You will do as you are told."

"I will do no such thing!" Athena's hands were clenched into fists, and her usually perfect features were red and unpleasant with rage.

"The matter has already been settled, and there is no going back now."

"I am not some piece of chattel you can just barter off at your convenience, I am your daughter! And I refuse to go!" Athena turned to run away, but in a flash, her father's hand snapped out like a striking serpent and grabbed her arm, yanking her back and detaining her.

"You will go to Egypt, Athena." His face began to turn purple with anger, "Cease your headstrong foolishness, child. This arrangement is for the protection and peace of our people and this nation."

Athena could see the whole world crumbling around her as she stood there, horror draining the blood from her face. So this was why mother had insisted that she learn to speak Egyptian so many months ago.

Acroneos sighed and loosened his grasp on Athena's arm, which was now bruised. "May the gods protect you on your journey, my daughter." Then he nodded to the guards that had escorted her to the king's chamber, "Take her to the ships. It is time."

But Athena's momentary shock instantly dissolved the second the guards touched her arms, and she began to fight against them violently. "NO!" she screamed. Her resistance did nothing to loosen their hold on her, and as her father watched, they dragged her from the room kicking, thrashing, and screaming, "NO! NO! NOOOOO!" She was making a scene, and she knew it. But she didn't care. She didn't want to go. She hadn't even been allowed to say goodbye to her mother or her sisters. She would never again see her little dog, Basil, that had been her shadow for the past eight years.

Halfway down the steps of the palace, two of her sisters heard her cries from where they lounged on one of the terraces, and upon seeing Athena being taken by guards, they both took up the cry, "Athena!" They were soon joined by the rest of her sisters, and then they all scrambled to run to her. But more of the palace guards blocked their way and detained them. Athena watched their desperate faces and the arms they stretched past the guards to her. "Athena! Athena!" they cried hopelessly. Tears began streaming down their faces, and it was only then that Athena realized that she, herself, was weeping.

When she was hauled to the ship that would bear her across the sea, she saw her mother standing on the dock, waiting for her. "Mother!" she screamed, thrashing against the guards. With some reluctance, they temporarily released her to allow her a proper farewell. Athena threw her arms around her mother's neck, sobbing, "Mother! Don't let them take me! I beg of you!"

Her mother was also crying, and she embraced her daughter tightly, "I'm so sorry, Athena. I wish so much that I could stop all of this." She pulled back and drew Athena out to arm's length to look at her. "But this is the best match you could ever hope to make. At most, we had only ever dreamed you would one day become the wife of a nobleman. But now," she squeezed Athena's shoulders, "Now, you will be a queen!"

Athena almost gaped at her, "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Her mother's forced happiness fell away, and she looked down for a moment before meeting Athena's gaze again. "I did mean to speak to you before, but I knew I couldn't until your father told you the news first. I should prepare you for—" she suddenly took in the two guards still standing only a couple of feet away and faltered, her face suddenly flushing. "Oh—but....well I was told that your betrothed was still young, so perhaps he won't bother you for some time anyway."

Athena stared at her mother, not understanding what she was talking about. Voices aboard the ship called out, and suddenly her mother seemed relieved for the distraction. "It's time to go, Athena." Her mother embraced her, sniffing and squeezing her extra tight before releasing her to the guards. Athena let them lead her up the gangplank helplessly as she watched her mother wave to her. She extended her own hand in farewell.

Five days later, Athena lay miserably on the deck by the bow of the ship. The water was rough, and the boat bounced merrily along the waves, much to the extreme displeasure of her churning stomach. She hadn't eaten anything since the first day at sea, despite the advice of the captain and the ship's doctor. The two guards who had escorted her to the boat had repeatedly tried to persuade her to go below deck to rest. She had venomously told them both to go straight to Tartarus*** before pitching halfway over the rail and vomiting violently into the sea. Finally, the ship's doctor had forced her to drink some broth and nibble on a piece of bread to keep up her strength, but it had only helped a little with the seasickness, and she had vomited that up only an hour later.

Now, she lay miserable on the sun-warmed planking of the deck, the seasickness just one more reason she wanted to die. As she lay there, her mind began to wander back to her last conversation with her mother. Why had her mother been so hesitant to tell her whatever it was she had meant to say? And what had she meant about the prince not bothering her?

Suddenly, understanding hit Athena, and her eyes snapped open. Had her mother still thought that Athena didn't know where children came from? She almost smiled, realizing that her mother had wanted to warn her daughter of what to expect once she was married. Athena had learned all about that years ago when she had walked in on a pair of stallions being bred in the stables. The servants managing the process had been surprised to find her there, but at her innocent inquiry of what the horses were doing, one of the more vulgar men had stated bluntly that they were making a baby horse. She had turned red as a tomato and fled from the stables and their laughter at her embarrassment.

Then, Athena really did smile as she recalled how some days later, after turning this new knowledge over and over in her head, she had confided in one of her dearest friends, Calliope, the wife of the nobleman Thaddeus. After explaining what she had seen and heard, Calliope had laughed out loud and embraced Athena jovially. And then, she had explained the entire science of babymaking to Athena in far more intimate detail than Athena had been comfortable with. Her only question had been, "So...then it works the same with people as it does with horses?"

Calliope had considered the question, taking in the young, anxious girl before her, and then supplied gently, "The...parts and the function are the same. But it is different between a man and a woman."

At Athena's confused expression, Calliope said, "It is a way of expressing love for one another and fostering a deep connection. I imagine that's hard to believe when you only have horse breeding to use as a reference." She tilted her head thoughtfully, "But it can be very...pleasurable. And knowing you, my feisty Athena," Calliope winked, "It won't take you long at all to understand when you are married."

Athena had been so confused at the time. By the way Calliope spoke to her, she felt as though her friend had been insinuating that Athena would actually want to do such things with her future husband.

The idea no longer frightened her. But in any case, if this prince she was intended for really was still just a boy, it would be easy to evade him until she could find a way to escape. Yes, she had already decided that she wasn't going to just lie down and let her father and every other man in the world walk all over her. She was a falcon. A fearsome bird of prey, free as the wind and as fierce as a wolf. She belonged to no one, and she was already working on a plan of how she would escape the palace and run away shortly after they arrived in Memphis. She smiled secretly to herself. Yes, she was going to escape.