Marcus squeezed his eyes shut as he plummeted off of the roof.
He pulled Seyda towards himself, tucking her into his arms with his back to the canal.
What a nice last moment, the young man thought, squeezing his eyes shut before slipping into cool darkness.
Instead of dying from the drop, however, the two teens landed with a soft thud on the deck of a passing ship, their fall broken by a pile of tarps thrown into a disorganized pile on the boats' quiet upper deck.
Slowly blinking his eyes, Marcus looked up at Seyda's face peering down at his.
"Um... Marcus. You can let go of my hand now," she said.
"Ah. Oh. Sorry." Marcus's cheeks glowed red.
"Seyda... you had that jump planned right?"
They had done some dangerous things before, but that leap was on a whole other level.
"Yeaaaaah I was pretty sure this was a pile of cloth, like 50/50."
Marcus began to reconsider marrying this girl.
His mind snapping to their pursuer, Marcus peered back at the rapidly shrinking rooftop they had jumped off of.
Squinting his eyes, Marcus stared at the Spartans' silhouette, standing atop that roof like a gargoyle. Despite them being hundreds of feet apart, Marcus felt like the spartan was staring into his soul, sending shivers down his spine.
The pair hastily climbed onto a bridge the as boat sailed under, before making their way back home.
As they walked, a thought poked at the corner of Marcus's mind: How did that Spartan know my name? He decided not to worry about it for now, his father could straighten out any real trouble.
"Seyda, come stay for dinner, my mother is making Porchetta," Marcus offered.
Seyda glanced at the sun, which was close to setting, "I really do have to be home before sundown..." she said, looking down.
However, after a bit more persuasion Seyda accepted the offer. She loved Porchetta, and adrenaline was still blasting through her veins from that jump, so she didn't think much about it.
They made their way to Marcus's house where they were welcomed by a servant.
"Master Marcus and Lady Seyda, please come in. Dinner is almost ready," the servant, named Sally, was a nurse who had known Marcus for as long as he could remember.
After kissing Sally on both cheeks in greeting, the pair set off towards the dining room, following the scent of roasting meat.
Marcus lived in a common upper-middle class villa. Situated around a central courtyard, the home had two stories, with living and dining rooms on the ground floor and bedrooms on the upper level.
In the middle of the courtyard lay twelve small shires dedicated to the gods of the Greek and Italian Pantheon.
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The Arium family made their fortune off of Marcus's father, Joseph. Joseph had a lucrative job as a translator, so they prayed and made to most sacrifices to Hermes, the god of travel and language.
It was common for people to develop relationships with gods related to their fields, for example, fishermen prayed to Poseidon, god of the sea, musicians prayed to Apollo, and judges and leaders prayed to Zeus.
Marcus's glanced at the smallest statue in their little home temple. It showed a tall woman running forward, with a bow gripped in her hand. Despite having no relation to Artemis, the god of the Hunt and chastity, Marcus's mother, Esmeralda kept this statue perfectly clean.
Seyda was busy petting Fang, their old guard dog, as Marcus pulled her into the dining room, where his parents waited for the two to sit down before eating.
"Oh, my dear Seyda! So good of you to join us for dinner!" Esmeralda, Marcus's mother, smiled warmly at the sight of the young woman, pulling her into a tight hug.
As they sat down, Joseph gave Marcus's shoulder a squeeze. watching the two women happily chat at the dinner table.
"She's beautiful son. Such good manners. You two remind me of your mother and I."
Marcus sheepishly replied, "Um. thank you?"
"Give if a few more years and I'll be happy to give you two my blessing," Joseph proudly stated in a loud voice.
Seyda and Esmeralda, overhearing the father-son conversation, burst into another fit of whispering.
The dinner progressed, and the Arium family made lively conversation, dining on fresh crops from the spring harvest.
Once the table was cleared, Joseph stood up, preparing to give an announcement.
"Now onto some business," he boomed. "Marcus, I'm now confident enough in your linguistic skills to officially name you a Journeyman level translator!"
A wide grin broke Marcus's formal facade, as excitement bloomed in his chest.
Joseph continued, "Four years ago, at the age of eleven, you reached Apprentice status. Now, three days before your fifteenth birthday, I feel ready, as a Master level translator, to name you a Journeyman! You are truly a prodigy."
The dining room exploded with applause, with every servant and family member in the house stopping to congratulate Marcus.
"In seven days, you will report to the Blue Palace to learn from the Martino family's Grandmaster Translator. Under his guidance, you will witness his majesty Lord Tacitus Martino's negotiations with the leaders of powerful foreign countries."
While Joseph spoke, Marcus looked at Seyda, who, upon the mentioning of the Blue Palace and the Martino family, paled. She always seemed to shrink into her chair whenever something related to the Martinos was brought up.
I'll have to ask how she's feeling after dinner.
After the discussion had calmed down to a low murmur, and every family member and servant had congratulated Marcus, the pair retreated to a spot near the warm central hearth: a staple of all Italian households.
They talked for hours about their escape from the angry Spartan, and Marcus's new life as a Journeyman.
"It's getting late, I'd better start a few lamps," Marcus remarked, absentmindedly lighting a lantern near them.
"Yeah, good idea."
Seyda froze as a realization dawned on her.
"Wait, the Sun's gone down! I'm supposed to be home," she gasped, her green eyes widening.
"Oh yeah. No big deal, I'll call the family carriage for you," Marcus replied.
"No, you don't get it." Seyda leapt to her feet, frantically gathering her things.
"Seyda dear, what's got you all riled up?" Esmeralda called from the other side of the room.
"I'm sorry Lady Arium, I have to go. Immediately," Seyda said, dashing for the door.
"You don't need to rush its fine-" Joseph was interrupted as a thunderous noise droned out his voice.
Seyda, stopped, standing in the middle of the courtyard, and looked up.
Following his friend's gaze, Marcus peered up into the night sky.
Where there would normally be a clear view of the Milky Way, hovered five monstrous creatures. Their enormous wings hummed, sending bursts of wind down into the courtyard below,
The beasts' turquoise scaled bodies were supported by two massive wings. Their four clawed limbs hummed with electric power.
Marcus commonly saw these creatures at a distance, but he had never seen the Martino family's' famous lightning Drakes up close.
I heard they were a gift from Zeus himself.
Perched atop the drakes were five knights clad in full golden plate armor.
One of the Drakes descended, its rider elegantly dismounting the beast. The golden knight stepped gracefully into the center of the villa's courtyard.
In a deep, chilling tone that seemed to ring in Marcus's ears the knight spoke:
"You are all under arrest for the kidnapping of her highness Seyda Martino, eldest daughter of his Majesty Tacitus Martino and heir to the throne of Italy.