The Labyrinth

4: Kleio

Peter gasped for air. He woke up, drenched in his own sweat, looking around the Xenia frantically. The Xenia was the living quarters for the Trident. The Trident recruits, separated from their families at an early age, had been born and raised as fighters. They had each been stripped of sentimental family value, for Aegeus was afraid that they might flee and return to their families. Instead, the fighters were taught the values of teamwork and strong military friendships - never to leave one man behind or run away from a risky situation, but face all problems headstrong. Discipline. Control. Obedience. Drilled into every Trident-raised child were these qualities, and they held the greatest honour across all of Athens.

Of course, not every child has to be a Trident. It was the decision of the parents whether to prepare their child to fight the Minotaur, or send them into a rigid education. Here the children would learn rhetoric (public-speaking), philosophy, natural science, geometry, astronomy and meteorology. In the Odyssey, both boys and girls were sent to school, and it was Athens that brought the best politicians, scientists, musicians and artists to Greece.

It had been a nightmare that had woke Peter with a start. In his nightmare, he had been battling against the lion, clashing with brawny claws, struggling to find his feet. Scratched and scarred, the lion crushed Peter, roaring with all his might. That was when Peter woke up. He looked around the Xenia, which was separated into a boys' dormitory and a girls' dormitory. In the room, twenty beds were lined up against the walls, each with matching bedspreads and pillows and blankets. Nobody, not even the King's son, was given special treatment, and they all lay still and silent beneath the blankets. But Peter could not sleep. Knowing his brother was safe next to Theseus' bed, he crept silently out of the room and into the olive garden outside. The trees, withered and thin, craned their necks as flowers do when they are weighed down by rain. Its leaves were shriveled and shrewd, like paper that had been scrunched into a ball. A great fountain stood in the middle of the garden, spewing out water from the mouth of the stone statue inside the great basin.  A girl's voice called out, "It's lovely, isn't it?"

Peter, shocked, spun round. He had not expected anybody to be here, and he certainly had not been expecting a female voice. "Yes," He replied, "It's very lovely indeed."

"That God there is Poseidon," The girl said, walking down the path to join Peter at the fountain, "He's God of the Sea." The girl must have been of a similar age to Peter, for she was tall and slim, but lean and muscular too. Long chestnut hair flowed all the way down her back, which she curled behind her ears. Her smile bowed in a beautiful curve, and Peter noticed the silver ring on the little finger of her left hand. He could not distract his eyes from her, ignoring the wonderful statue of Poseidon in the fountain. Poseidon was an enormous God, with short wavy hair and a great beard.

"Aegeus loves Poseidon so much that he named the Trident after him." The girl carried on, pointing at Poseidon's trident, which he flourished in his right hand. The water flowed out of his mouth and the arrowheads of the trident, gushing loudly into the murky bottom of the basin beneath. "You're one of the boys from Earth, aren't you?" She asked.

"That's right," He nodded.

"Ah, Leda was talking about you — she mentioned that you and your brother flew in from the Earth. I'm Kleio, by the way." Kleio held out her hand for Peter to shake.

"Peter, and we didn't quite fly in." He laughed, and shook her hand.

"I see Theseus has been showing you around the place — today must be your first day!"

"Unfortunately." Peter grumbled, still unsure over the idea, "Theseus is a little crazy, don't you think?"

Kleio shrugged and looked at how the clear water misted once it touched the stone, "He can be wild, but he's a great warrior. I guess it must be very different here than up in the Earth."