The Bride Of War God [English] HIATUS

Chapter 6 - The Vulture

The sun was too hot today. Jill felt the ground she was stepped on was rock that had just been spit out by Vesuvius. Luckily her soft soles and heels are protected by wild cowhide footwear so she still felt comfortable. It was just a little difficult for her to found shelter. She was reluctant to go inside because the air was like in a sauna room.

Even though they tried to deal with the heat by installed cool marble and designed every room with tall columns and high ceiling—it didn't really help.

Jill chose to sat under a large, shady olive tree and wrote something on papyrus. She noticed when her maid peeked at her business and only frowned. She did not wrote Greek but Latin letters in English. Of course it was not something the ancient Greeks could understand. Especially a servant like her. Jill felt safe wrote anything even if she idly complained about the Spartan royals she doesn't like.

The girl has a new, exciting business. Jill almost went crazy because she couldn't found anything interesting to do at Sparta's court. She made nicknames for those around her. like his servants whom she called 'fussy pumpkins' or the king that she called 'crybaby fathers' and his sisters whom he calls 'pug-faced dogs' or 'bitter mouths'.

The 'fussy pumpkins' only grimly felt neglected when Jill scribbled on her paper with jokes about the Spartans and laughed occasionally. Sometimes the princess felt guilty but all of that helped her stay sane while lived in a world without electricity and technology as She was today. so Jill would think of it as harmless psychiatric therapy.

"Get more papyrus, I'm out of paper," the princess of sparta ordered her servant.

"Princess, that thing is rarer than gold in Sparta. It's not easy to get. I don't know if the librarians will still give it to you," the servant shook her head.

Papyrus can only be obtained through transactions with the ancient Egyptians. it also goes through months of voyages and usually only poets, healers, priests and philosophers use it.

In the court of Sparta, papyrus was used when kings made important decisions, regulations or announcements. But Jill wasted it on made diaries and many less  meaningful doodles.

"The king won't mind it. Why should they be stingy with a princess who will be sacrificed to Olympus?" Jill objected.

The servant's face turned cloudy even though Helios the sun god was very excited today. The servant sobbed.

"Princess, you should just run away." She said sympathetically.

"I don't know, we've tried buying a horse and having someone put it at the foot of Mount Olympus. We've also asked if any mercenaries would help me escape but no one is willing." Complained the princess.

"Because they are all afraid of dealing with the god Ares."

"I'm almost certain that this is all fake. There is no such thing as a god!" Jill said it a little emotional because of regreted her fate.

"Princess Portia! Aren't you afraid of being cursed by the gods?" the servant was trying to stop Jill from spoke further.

"Oh my, my life is cursed enough right now. What could be worse than this?" Said the princess a little sarcastically.

The fussy pumpkins saw Jill a little confused. Does the snake bite also change her nature? portia is a very religious girl. But now she could said some insolent words about the god olympus.

For Jill at this time, her current life was really frustrating. No good food. There was no internet and she can't drink cola with ice cubes.

"Alright princess, I'll get a new papyrus. I hope you'll be nice while I'm away," the servant changed the topic and left her.

The thought of ice cubes made her nervous. Her throat was dry but she refused to drink from the earthenware jars in the palace. Because the hot temperature had made the water warm. She also saw a stream that sounded gurgling not far from the olive tree she was in.

The girl dipped her palms into the water to felt the coolness. She would not dare to do so in the modern era. But this was ancient Greece. There was no factory waste or pollution. Jill slightly moistened her mouth and throat with clear water and then she heard a strange sound behind her.

A large vulture had just flown down nearby. He carried something sparkling in his beak. The girl immediately became alert. Vultures don't bode well in whatever era he's in. Spartan warriors used to see them on the battlefield. when dead bodies lay strewn, severed hands, guts spilled and blood that flooded after war covered the field — the bird would fly over the corpses and feast.

But Jill knew the bird didn't hunt like an eagle. Even more suspicious—they shouldn't wanted to get that close to a living human. Vultures are not commonly domesticated birds. They can't be trained to send mail like a carrier pigeon or look beautiful in a cage.

But the great vulture was walked towards her and looked at her with its eyes that looked friendly. Jill looked around. She's alone. There were probably several guards watching her from afar. But the bird only focused on her.

"Do you have any business with me?" Jill asked and immediately felt stupid about it. It was a vulture, not a chimpanzee.

The princess was afraid because the bird now spread its wings wide as if to hug and kidnap her away. Although not a hunting bird, it had claws and a deadly beak. But she didn't run away because the bird dropped a shiny object on the ground before the bird backed and flew away.

Jill picked it up when she saw several guards running toward her.

"Princess Portia are you all right?" said one of them.

"You guys are slow, I could get hurt right now." Jill didn't seriously mad.

She could had screamed for help from the start. But somehow she was also interested in what the vulture would do. It didn't look like it meant to hurt her.

Jill covered her ears from the regretful expressions of the guards who came late. She was much more interested in the shiny object the bird had dropped. Are vultures similar to crows who like to steal and collect shiny things?

It was like a silver bracelet with engraved letters on one side.

For the Princess of Sparta,
we will meet soon.

The girl furrowed her brow in confusion. She was sure that the jewelry was deliberately given to her. The tame vulture is indeed someone's pet.

"Princess!" The servant looked worried. She was carried a papyrus scroll in her left hand.

"I heard that a vulture is approaching you! The guard told about it. are you hurt?” said the 'fussy pumpkins' worriedly.

"I'm fine," Jill hid the bracelet under her shawl.

"Gosh, I knew that this was all true."

"What do you mean?"

"That vulture, have you forgotten what the priests taught you? it's one of God Ares' pets!" said the servant again.

"Impossible," Jill immediately objected, laughing disdainfully at the maid. But this time there was doubt in her words. Did the god Ares really exist? Then Jill was dealing with a real god now?