LYSSANDRA

‘’Ah’’I shouted as I fell to the river next to the temple. My entire dress fell to a drench and my short curls became flat wet from the cold liquid of the winter.

Two boys laughed behind me. ‘’I told you she is no nymph. She is a boar, '’One of them said. ‘’She did not change any form when we pushed her.’’

The other boy nodded. ‘’I suppose but then again she always pulls flowers and plants…’’

I turned back at them with a pout as I noticed them holding my bag with the herbs. Then the boy threw them at the river and let out a laugh.

I replied by digging my hands into the mud and throwing it at their faces.

‘’hey’’The boys yelled as they took the dirt to their mouths and started coughing. So it was my time to run.

‘’We won’t bother you’’One them shouted as he was running to my side.’’If you door jobs too we promise…’’

‘’No’’I turned and I stuck my tongue to them and stopped when I found an oak tree and stopped to catch a breath. I was not a good runner.

A kick to my back made me fall to the knees and someone grabbed my hair.

I gritted my teeth as I could see the boys keep laughing.’’Why did the archpriest take care of you now?’’He asked but My eyes fell to the grass where a snake was trying to rest. My eyes lifted at him and let out a big grin as an idea came to my mind.

A slap fell to my face from the Archpriest of the temple of Apollo. His bald head made the sunlight reflect to my eyes so I had to look down on my two feet as he was rumbling again.

‘’Afraid to look at me now?’’ He asked. I stayed silent as he sighed.’’I tried to ignore your rational fights…’’I could listen to the rest of the children sneaking behind me as they were hiding behind the columns but I tried to ignore them as the Archpriest was standing in front of the beautiful statue of our God. I wondered if I ever met him. He would be as charming as his pale statues.

‘’I can excuse your foul mouth I can excuse that you are not paying’’He raised his voice.’’Your attention to me now’’ I blinked and tried to look back at him.

I let out a whistle and started looking down at me as I felt my stomach ache. Did I eat something wrong today? I swallowed a molded bread by mistake as the kids tricked me but I spat it out.

‘’But today you tried to poison your own friends.’’

‘’Not my friends,’’ I corrected him.

He raised his second finger.’’Do not…’’His invisible brow twitched.’’Correct me now girl. ‘’A deep sigh as he muttered how childish .’’You tried to poison those boys,’’ He admitted. ‘’With a bare snake.’’

‘’First of all, they started it they threw me to the river’’I tried to clean up myself, showing my wet clothes as something around my body was rumbling like a worm.’’Second, the snake was not poisonous I tried to simply scare them.’’

‘’That is beside the point girl.’’He shouted and took one more deep breath to at least try to pretend he was calm. ‘’I should have sold you.’’He thought with a pout. ‘’It would be unethical but maybe someone rich would like you’’

I shrugged.’’Then who will clean up the temple?’’

‘’You do not even do that’’Complained the archpriest and fixed his‘’All these years your family has had this temple as a sanctuary. Your grandmother’’He turned his back and I started mimicking his speech as I had heard over and over again.’’Came here all alone, a simple Troyan seeking sanctuary. The previous archpriest followed the rule. When your mother came after I was in charge and I told her she could stay if she could become a priestess as people started getting suspicious of her and her grandmother. But she had to fall in love with one of the people…’’

‘’And you have me here I know’’I narrowed and I felt that I peed myself and I looked down. My eyes snapped

‘’And you are the worst trouble of all, you will…’’He paused and looked at my face.’’Lyssandra’’one deeper harsher breath.’’What are you looking now?’’

‘’Archpriest’’I let out a cry.’’Am I going to die?’’

He scoffed.’’No, Lyssandra’’Another pause with a small smile.’’I am not going to kill you…yet.’’

I shook my head and showed him my dress. He looked down and his face became paler.

‘’Oh Gods.’’ He gasped and turned to my face, which was swimming with tears.

‘’Please take care of my snakes for me. And the spiders…’’

He poked my ear.’’I will take no such a thing’’He started to become rational.’’And you are not dying.’’

‘’Then why so much blood?’’

‘’That explains the heavy attitude the past days…’’He muttered as I could feel everything now turning to pain and more tears. Is this how I would die?

‘’No, Lyssandra do not cry’’He mattered and started slapping my face softly.’’It is Artemis doing’’

‘’Is Artemis punishing me?’’I asked confused with the children laughing behind.

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‘’Get away’’He commanded and they all rushed away. One deep breath his as he got down on his knees and smiled at me.’’Unfortunately, I don’t know what is happening exactly to you but now you are a woman.’’

‘’A woman?’’I gasped. ‘’I am twelve.’’

He replied with a nod and kept facing down my dress.

‘’The bleeding will stop in a few days but it will start in the next moon.’’

‘’And when will it stop?’’I sniffed.

‘’I do not think that it stops until you die’’he answered the question calmly. I nodded and walked closer to the statute of God Apollo. With my knees down to the floor I looked up to the statute and clenched my hands tight.

‘’You can tell Haded that can take me now to the other side. I am ready to die.’’

‘’Do not mock Apollo Girl.’’The archpriest said as he hit my head.

The night was dark with the cold wind hitting my wounded face. I was tied up in the road back to a dark temple. The arch priest was holding the rest of my bindings in his hands as I could listen to the rest of the followers plotting behind him. Of what they could do to me. What they had planned but I could not speak on that moment as the arch priest was staring at them back with anger.‘’You sha;; stay here’’Said the arch priest as he tossed be down to the floor.’’Think of it as a sanctuary.’’He explained after while I kept feeling my knees burning. ‘’None will harm you here. All you have to do is clean, wash, and cook.’’

I turned back to him and I tried to run far but he caught me by the hand and pushed me to the ground. ‘’Listen girl,’’He whispered close to me.’’Everyone here is devoted to Ares so they won’t try to touch you if you are protected by him.’’His words were giving me advice with a tone filled with threats. ‘’If you try and run away, do not forget that those followers are also mortals.’’

I did not speak as he let my hand go. I turned to look at it and noticed that it was getting all red. The man was still standing tall with his armor covering his chiton as around his bearded face there were stains of blood.

Looking behind him I could see people still smiling, waiting for me to run. Behind them they were two kids near my age, with a face of pity aiming at me.

If it was only chores he wanted me to do then fine. I moved back to the room and found a broom and started swiping with it. The man kept watching me and then , the floor became crimson with one drop falling from my face.

‘’Clean yourself up’’He commanded. ‘’You begin tomorrow.’’

My room was small enough to fit only one person. But it was filled with tablets and some rotten herbs. When I tried to see the tablets I found a symbol familiar to the one that I had seen in the temple. But every other word was…nothing.

‘’The Arch priest said it will make you feel like home’’said one follower who was standing near my room. He kept looking at me and then turned to my patched wounds. He let out a whistle before he left.’’Get well soon.’’

I replied by sticking out my tongue. With that action, the result was my skin to wrinkle and my scars to itch.

‘’Ah ah ah ah ah ah’’I whined and touched my missing eye.

‘’So are you a follower of Apollo?’’A curious voice asked from behind. My gaze turned back and saw a grinning girl’s head facing from outside the window.

I blinked. She blinked back. And then I started screaming. She replied with a scream too.

Falling down to the floor the girl stopped screaming and jumped inside my room. ‘’Sorry I just wanted to meet you there are not many girls here’’She stopped talking.’’Actually I do not think that are others here.’’

Well, that explains why everyone looked at me like that.

‘’Are you hurt?’’She asked after but I couldn't think of how tall she was. Her fingers showed her own face.’’They look bad…did you fight a monster?’’Her excitement grew more and more.’’

‘’Who…’’ My lips parted as if I had forgotten how to speak.’’Who are you?’’

‘’Thais’’Another voice came up from the window and a pretty boy jumped inside the room. Will it be more crowded?

The boy had short-cut hair with a shade of raven feathers. His cloud-light eyes were looking left and right worried but he turned on me with a surprised gaze. His figure was skinny but seemed to be someone well-trained. Were these the two I saw before?

‘’I told you to not come here’’The boy said, hitting the girl’s head. Thais was it?

‘’Ouh’’She winced and replied with a slap on his chest.’’You said that she would be all alone’’She explained after with a pout. ‘’So I came’’

‘’Yes but’’He spat and the girl named Thais grinned.’’Oh, you wanted to be the first one to meet her.

His cheeks flushed red and kept looking at me with his shaking gaze. My face raised in heat as I tried to look away.

‘’That’s not true’’ The boy pouted. Cute.

Thais hit the boy’s tall head and looked at me. ‘’Anyway my name is Thais, this brute is my brother Adamantious. And you…’’

Why they were here?

‘’Lyssandra’’I sighed confused.’’And why are you here?’’

Thais blinked.’’Well, we just wanted to see you, the arch-priest never brings other followers here.’’

Oh. Great.

‘’And you seem wounded.’’Adamantious explained.’’Are you alright? What happened there they didn’t take us with them and…’’

They probably wanted to see a crying girl that lost her home but honestly, I did not feel anything about that place. The older people were ignoring me, the younger ones were making me a fool. The archpriest used to beat me up or tell me to sell me if I didn’t clean up the statues at the right time. Taking care of me or not he was still not on my side. I did not feel any sadness from them. Only that God Apollo did not respond. Wasn’t I worthy enough to be listened to?

‘’I am …’’My lips shook and I found a broom. I grabbed it fast and started kicking the tablets away with it.

I was furious. Furious that he did not listen. Or maybe he did and he did not care. Maybe it was a challenge. That’s it.

‘’Wait careful’’Thais spoke and I turned to her with a charming smile.’’Oh, I am fine now’’

They both stared at me with a dense gaze. If I acted as I should I might be heard. And he would repay me or even show up in front of me like a king.

‘’You understand that you are a captive…correct?’’Adamantious asked.

I nodded.’’Well, the chores he gave me are no strange to me, I did all of them when I was on the temple of Apollo.’’

‘’But you cannot leave.’’ He stated

‘’I can leave but I prefer to stay here.’’I lied. I did not want to stay but it seemed the best option.

My stomach started growling.

‘’Do you have any food perhaps/’’I asked them but their stomachs replied louder.

‘’We…’’Thais blushed.’’Actually, I also wanted to ask if you could make something.