"You don't say much do you?"

"My brother said I shouldn't talk to ghosts."

Dioscuri smiled at the little girl. She was six years old. He wasn't sure why his master kept buying child slaves, but as a loyal servant he wouldn't question it.

"Well, I won't tell anyone if you don't."

The girl's eyes furrowed. She asked, "Are you going to eat me?"

Dioscuri shrugged. His glistened white hair and dark red eyes were off-putting to most. People often mistook him as an animal, believing he was a spirit whenever he walked by. "Of course not, children aren't exactly tasty."

The girl's mouth shrank. Instead of saying something more, she began whistling as they walked up toward the hill. The grass rustled on their way up as they reached the cottage at the top of the hill. In front of them, two teenagers aged fifteen were tending to the vegetable gardens at the front of the building. They looked back at Dioscuri and the little girl. "Aw, that's adorable."

The twin brother walked up to the two of them. "Hello there little one, and what's your name?"

The little girl only whistled, too afraid to answer. He placed a hand on the girl's head. His smile was kind, but his aesthetic was unkind. Like Dioscuri, the twins had silver hair and red eyes. From the little girl's perspective, they all seemed like a race of strange people.

"You're safe now," the boy lead her inside, "I've got a nice stew set up and ready just for you."

The girl perked up at the mention of food. He lead her inside after taking her by the hand. Castor, his sister, told Dioscuri, "you look glum."

Dioscuri rubbed at his eyes. He turned around to not face her, "glum? Why would I be glum? Life is wonderful. Life is spectacular! The sky isn't bloody and the birds still chirp whenever they see me. I'm a handsome fiend and I've all the money and wine a man could ask for. Why would I be glum?"

"You're rambling," Castor said simply.

Dioscuri rubbed at his eyes again. He didn't want to tell them. Their brother, Pollux, came out of the cottage, "alright, the kitty is asleep. Any news I missed?"

Dioscuri asked, "if the entire ocean rushed at you at once, what would you do to breathe?"

The twins glanced at each other. Castor answered, "I wouldn't even try. I'd just drop dead and die like the wretch that I am."

Dioscuri chuckled. Pollux rubbed at his chin and said, "I'd just swallow the ocean. It wouldn't be the hardest thing I've swallowed this week."

Castor groaned aloud. "When I said we should take things head-on, that is not what I meant."

"Only because you're not imaginative enough."

"You disgust me."

Dioscuri let out a sigh, "the Spartans claimed war on Persia."

Both twins froze. "What?"

"A merchant told me. The Spartan king pushed a Persian emissary down a well. He lived, but has promised the wrath of the Gods to befall on Sparta."

Castor tugged at her hair, "that can't be true, how could the Spartans be so stupid?"

Pollux crossed his arms, "then again, that is pretty Spartan-like. Would you expect any less?"

"Ugh!" Castor shot her arms in the air. "What happens to us when master finds out? He'll toss us aside like used up cattle."

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Dioscuri rubbed at his chin, "I'll tell master, let him take out his anger on me instead of you both."

"Dioscuri..." Pollux said with his eyes furrowed. "Don't do that again."

A silhouette of a figure came their way. The three turned in its direction. Dioscuri said, "someone has to pay the cost."

The twins dropped to their knees and bowed. Only Dioscuri stayed standing, smiling at the approaching figure. The person standing before them was a tall man. Wearing a cloak wherein their face was never revealed. A cloth covering his mouth muffled his voice, and an eye was also covered giving him more mystery.

The cloak itself was black. Leather underneath the cloak gave their master a more masculine look. His true body was as much a mystery to them as it was to anyone who saw him. The master stared at Dioscuri, scanned him from head to toe and said, "what's the bad news?"

"Bad news? Says who? I'm just happy to see you."

"You kneel at the sight of me when you have good news, but stand and irritate me when there's bad news. What's the occasion?"

Dioscuri's grin fell crooked. Was it that obvious? The master said, "I only want the truth and nothing more. I won't flail if I have no reason to."

Dioscuri cleared his throat, "sometimes I think you know yourself less than you do."

Master back slapped Dioscuri across the face. Dioscuri was taller than him, so it looked like it didn't hurt. But it was the other punishments that Master could inflict that truly terrified them. Dioscuri smiled as he felt up his cheek, "the Spartans have claimed war with Persia."

Master took a step back, "what?"

"Funny, these two reacted the same way."

Master grabbed him by the shoulders, "how? Are you sure?"

"Yes, well. When you push the emissary down a well, I'm pretty sure that constitutes a declaration of war."

Master stepped back from him. He covered his face, "those imbeciles. They had everything in their favor, and they fucked it up for their pride!?"

Dioscuri parroted, "which is actually pretty Spartan-like, when you think about it."

Pollux held his breath to hold in his chuckle. The twins were still on the ground kneeling in silence, staying patient as the talk took place. Master gritted his teeth. He took out a black knife from beneath her sleeve. He raised it over his head, ready to release it into Dioscuri's flesh. But a thought occurred to him.

"Then again...A Greco-Persian war... A drawn-out campaign has its own benefits..." Master twirled his obsidian knife between his fingers. "Yes, more networks can be formed in times of desperation. Death becomes more trivial, and wealth can expand with the right profiteering..."

Master put the blade away. "It won't be a peaceful time, but it might just be a prosperous thing for a creature like me."

Dioscuri blinked at him, "you're not angry?"

"Quite the contrary. In fact," Master raised his hands for the twins to stand up. He pulled out a crystalline necklace from his cloak. "I'll reward you. If war is coming to Greece, I must leave Athens to prepare. I have no use for an inept servant. "

With a wave of the necklace, Dioscuri's body glowed in a white aurora light. The tattoo behind his neck spiked in heat, and then disappeared altogether. His hand touched at the back of his neck, "you've... Lifted my seal?"

"This was long overdue anyway. You were a terrible servant, I should've killed you long ago. Now that I'll be leaving, you can simply be free." Dioscuri looked at his siblings. The master said, "they'll remain here. Binded to this hilltop, protecting my home and my belongings while I'm gone. If they leave the periphery of this hill, the seal will kill them, as it has been for the last year."

Dioscuri clenched his fist. He couldn't just leave them. Even freed, he wouldn't abandon his family. The master knew this. By unshackling him but keeping his siblings bounded, Master could rest easy knowing that Dioscuri wouldn't leave Pollux and Castor defenseless.

"Permission to speak," Castor and Pollux said in unison. Dioscuri hated when they spoke like that. Master conditioned them to talk as one being instead of two.

"Granted."

"If our boundaries are expanded to Athens, we can better protect your belongings. We can scout more widely, and keep an eye out for your enemies better."

Master bit his lip. For the last year, the Master had kept them bound tight to keep them under control. It was a dynamic where the twins would act as the last line of defense and Dioscuri would scout the city for all of them. Largely to keep them compliant, Master always emphasized control rather than efficiency.

But with him leaving, he would need them more efficient than kept under control. They all knew it was only mentioned because they yearned for freedom. "This is my last gift to the both of you." With a wave of the crystal, a light passed through their bodies. "I may never come back. But if I die, your seals will remain. Never forget that you'll die if you leave outside the boundaries of Athens."

The twins stayed quiet, only nodding in acknowledgment. Dioscuri still hated the deal. With Master going off and their remaining seals intact, any chance they had of true freedom was tethered.

How long would Master be gone for? Weeks? Years? Forever? The seals could outlive him if he died on his travel, shackling the twins to the city forever. "I swear to you," Dioscuri said softly, "the Gods will make you pay for this."

Master was already walking away when he said that. "You have no idea how many others have said those same words to me."