The Last Ballad of Olympus: The Waltz of the Vulture and Owl

A Wistful Silver Lining

After the god of war made his procession, the people began to be at ease and so was Athena.

The silver-eyed beauty pretended nothing had happened as she returned to her wandering thoughts about the people and the possibility of her work.

And when the clouds fully covered the sun, overcasting the place with nothing but dullness and austerity, Athena finally made it to the end of the line where an old and cranky man was sitting with his scroll and his reed pen waiting to pound a name on the smooth sheet.

"And you are?" The old man asked suspiciously—looking at her with an intense eye.

"Good day, my lord, my name is uh—Thena—Thena of the north. I am Vivinna's nearest kin and here to replace her while she rests."

"Rest?" The man's ears perked up. "My, my, my—an indentured servant who rests? When I became the headmaster of these grapevines I never permitted one for a rest. Tell me, who permitted this Vivinna to rest?"

"She is heavy with child, my lord." Athena graciously responded—not one note in her voice rose despite sensing the growing tension from the headmaster.

"Ha!" He grunted. "There are also pregnant women here, but they do not complain! They are more thankful, knowing they will be rewarded with a room inside the boat when the great move begins."

"All for a room that will last for how many moons?" Athena started to retort, eyeing him like an eagle. "That is not quite a fair prize if a woman, with a growing child in her womb, also had to break her back all for such an uncertain space whether her family would even be comfortable?"

His eyes began to heat as his soul simmered like the burbling fumes of a mad volcano. He hated her confidence and assumed that Athena was disrespecting his title.

"Are you saying that the law is unjust? Are you telling me that the system here does not benefit anyone?"

Seeing his frustration, Athena remained collected. "I think I need not to answer that, my lord. I did not mean to be uncivil but I am just worried about my cousin. Anytime now she might give birth."

"That is no concern of mine unless her quota was met."

This time, Athena was equally mad by his answer. She was deeply insulted as if Vivinna was nothing but an object of no importance.

"How can you call yourself a leader when you look at your subordinates as objects?"

"These workers are no subordinates of mine!" He started to yell, matched with bloodshot eyes that one could best describe as horrendous and unflattering. "Do not equal me with these desperate nobodies! If they want to sail comfortably then they have to earn it."

"And then get nothing in the long run? Was it also included in your law to give them the same duties when we arrive in this new paradise? Because all I see are people being exploited."

Upon hearing the growing debacle, the crowds began to circle them—wanting to see that one lady who bravely stood her ground before the authoritative headmaster.

There were whispers now—talks about the mysterious woman who never bent her words as the headmaster crumbled in madness with ad hominin rebuttal. The workers secretly nodded to Athena's reasonings and were pleased to know that finally, someone had their thoughts laid candidly onto the table of the cruel man.

"This law you implemented is horrible. It is a crime against morale. Look at everyone who gathered—there are old, those who are unable, and other delicate mothers who were supposed to be resting and raising their children. This law of yours insulted their very dignity! The compensation you created has no value like an olive to stone."