Defying Fate

Chapter 2-p2-The Seer

Odysseus' hand went to his sword once again, but it was only a young girl, maybe... 12 or 13 by his estimate, though it was difficult to tell in the dim light. Gaunt and pale, she was maybe a head or so shorter than he was and not just thin but emaciated, as if she had never had a proper meal before in her life. Her hair was raggedly cut and uncombed, an undetermined sort of brown color, and she wore only a thin, stained, knee-length chiton that might have once been white.

She took in the room with enormous grey eyes, slightly unfocused as if she wasn't only seeing what was in front of her, but then her gaze settled on Odysseus.

"The gods spoke of you," she hissed. "They would not believe me, but I saw that you would bring about our ruin, even from the first days you stepped on our shore. You and your... friends..."

"That was the goal of our commander," Odysseus said. "Though I'm merely an underling, just following the orders of those smarter than me in the ways of war."

"You are the trickster, the deceiver," the girl whispered, her head cocked to one side like a small animal's when it hears a strange sound. "You have been in the city before... You walk with Athena. Yet you think you can defy the gods?"

"I am but their humble servant," Odysseus said, stepping slowly to one side, trying to angle a way past her toward the door. "You think you know a lot, don't you?"

"The gods have given me this *gift*," the girl said, twisting the word into something ugly. "Apollo once thought I was beautiful, and now everyone thinks that I am mad."

"You were at the gates earlier," Odysseus took another step, angling the sling away from her. "You are supposed to be in Athena's temple right now."

"I could not go willingly to my death," the girl seemed to crumple in on herself, gripping her elbows with her hands and shivering as if cold, though the night was warm. "I only wish I could warn the others, but, nobody will believe me."

"Nobody, huh?" Odysseus repeated. "Interesting. Why haven't you called the guards on me yet?"

"There are none, they have all gone to fight."

"Makes sense," Odysseus was close now, only a step away. "What will happen at the temple?"

The girl closed her eyes, and shook her head, though out of fear or pain, Odysseus couldn't tell. He left it alone. There would be a great amount of pain before the sun rose tonight. He wondered if he should kill this girl. She'd seen his face, and even if no one believed her about the future, she was still a witness to his presence tonight. She could give a description to whoever was left, and they'd know he'd taken their prince. But she was also innocent. She had not tried to attack him. It was like she'd been abandoned by her people already.

"What's your name?" He asked softly.

"Are you going to kill me?" She asked, and this close, he could see that she was trembling.

"You tell me," Odysseus' voice was low.

"I saw my death would come this night..." she said, her voice barely audible even in the silence of the room. "There are two men inside you... one, a merciless killer, and the other, kindhearted. You wish the world was different."

"We all wish that," Odysseus said, smiling crookedly, though he felt no humor in the situation. "But this is the one we live in. We can only hope to make it better for our children."

"Including Astyanax?" The girl asked, glancing down at the bump under Odysseus' cloak. "Do you really think you can defy the gods? Change the rules? The gods are not to be trifled with, and they will punish you. You will not get your men home. They will die, and you will be forgotten. Your house brought to ruin by the ones you once called friends."

"Ironic," Odysseus murmured, trying not to show the pain it caused him to think of Penelope forgetting him, but forcing himself to continue smiling, to put the girl at ease. "That's very similar to what Zeus told me would happen if I *didn't* kill the boy. You're the seer, how do I appease them?"

"But—" the girl blinked, shocked. "You believe me?"

If he were to encounter misfortune along the way no matter which path he chose, he may as well go in whole-heartedly. He chose to believe her.

"Of course I do," he said. "I'm Nobody."