Duty and Honour (a 300 fan fiction)

The Return

Today is the day they bring back the warriors. It seems like all of Sparta is holding its breath. The air is thick with tension and it is so silent that you can hear a needle drop. Filomela's Father was nice enough to let her see the whole ordeal of the return. He said that she could see and meet the guy she will marry, but Filo does not even listen to him, she just concentrates on the wagons coming towards them. Her eyes are fixated on the warriors leaving the wagons and scanning their faces in search of Dilios. Her despair grew as more and more Men left the wagons, but she could not see him anywhere, he did not make it. But not only Filo was devastated, the entire city was mourning, because the young king also did not come back. 

It was a bad year. A heavy snowstorm killed many young men and made it nearly impossible for the remaining to survive. This also was the case for the young warrior that was her husband to be. The teachers said that they found him not even 10 meters from the point they dropped him of frozen to death against a tree. Filos only solace was that they never found Dilios body as well as the body of the young Leonidas. And so the citizens of Sparta were still hoping for the young warriors to return.

A week after the tests ended, and Filo already lost most of here hope, a big ruckus went through the city. "The king is back!", "Our king Leonidas came back from the dead!" these screams echoed throughout the entire city until they reached Filo. As soon as he heard the screams, Filos brother grabbed his little sister and dragged her towards the city gate. "Come on! We have to see this!", he ushered her on. They were running straight towards the huge group of people that gathered in front of the gate and tried to get a glimpse of what was happening. "I can not see a thing!", her brother complains. Filo tries to get a better view through the masses of bodies blocking the view. She catches a glimpse of the man standing there, he has the pelt of a black wolf draped over his shoulder and has a menacing way about him. Filo does not care that she is staring right at king Leonidas, but that very familiar blue eyes are flashing behind him. 

She can feel her heart skipping a beat. Dilios! Those are without a doubt Dilios eyes that are scanning through the masses. Filo runs towards an entranceway of a house with speed she did not know she was capable of. She lets her gaze wander until she spots Dilios again. He is looking right at her and a tiny smile plays on his pale lips. He looks frail and beaten up, he lost a lot of weight during those few weeks out in the wilderness. "There you are! You can not just run off like that!" her brother scolds her as soon as he reaches the place she is standing at. "We have to head back. Father will surely get angry if he notices us missing", he grabs her arm and pulls her along without waiting for a response from her.

As soon as they approach their home, they can see their father waiting for them at the entrance, and he does not look happy. "Where were you?", he angrily demands to know. "The young king returned, and we just wanted to take a look at him. Half the city gathered in front of the gate to welcome him back." Their father does not seem satisfied with her brother's answer and just shakes his head in disappointment. "You know exactly that you are not supposed to just run around, Filomela! Come, I want to have a word with you!" he barks towards her. She reluctantly follows him into the house and into the small kitchen. She sits down at the kitchen table without uttering a single word and awaits the talk about how important marriage and her duties are that is sure to follow.