Snake Charmer

Chapter twenty three

Ancient Greece

There was a lot of pain he experienced after his fight with Jessica. But it wasn't his cheek that hurt from where he had gotten slapped, it was a broken heart. Seeing the light leave her eyes and how upset she was made him feverous. He wanted nothing more than to see her and tell her that Pyrrah meant nothing to him. But she never answered his letters or even talked to him when she was around. Last he heard she had left to become a priestess at Athena's temple. Today he had a pit in his stomach so he needed to leave by tonight.

"Dear please don't go to that temple you should stay home." Pyrrah said. "I get so bored when you leave me to work.
She pulled on him as he tried to pack his bags.
"Thats because I have to work so I can't stay." He responded. Her face went red as her demeanor changed from nice to possessive.
"Yeah well I'm bored and we have a reputation to fix!" She yelled. He pushed her hands away and went back to his task. If he had one wish apart from getting out of this miserable marriage it would be that she wasn't always blaming him for things.
"If you want nicer things then you can go out and buy them but we need money for that." He argued.

"It would be easier if you worked faster and harder then I wouldn't be stuck waiting for you all day." Pyrrah spat. He walked away from her not wanting to hear any of her prissy complaints. She then tried to gaslight him into staying by claiming his instincts were off.
"You said that when I thought the candles went out so you could rob a corpse." He fought back.
"You have no proof I did that you are just too dim witted and clumsy to understand that you imagined it all." She responded. Iphicles looked at her with a mixture of hurt and anger. She snapped her fingers then crossed her arms when he tried to leave the room.

"I'm not staying and I'm not crazy Pyrrah, you just want me to think I am." He argued.
"Your not supposed to think I'm your wife." She brawled.
He pushed past her and swong his bag over his shoulder. She screamed at him to come back and called him a bad husband. Even while covering his ears he could still her words.
"Even now when its too late to admit that you've done everything wrong and should lay down like a dog. You run away like a coward no wonder your brother is favored over you!" She exclaimed. These words hurt him deeply and make him walk faster to stay out of trouble.

After his unfortunate marriage to Pyrrah, Iphicles did all he could to avoid her. She was always invading his space by touching his chest and trying to 'charm' him. Whatever he did she would blame him for things that weren't his faults. He had none of it and spent his time with his twin to avoid seeing her. His parents were no help as they wanted him to forget all about Jessica and move on.
'There is no way I'm living with her for another day let alone the rest of my life.' He Thought to himself.
It was a long way to Athena's temple and he must have walked for hours. By the time he saw the temple in the distance he could barely stand. Plus a ton of scratches from all the roots or sticks he had tripped on. When he thought his legs were going to give out, he heard a cry for help.

"Jessica?!" He called out. Iphicles forgot all about his exhaustion and ran up the hill. He would recognize her voice anywhere, and his mind wandered to terrible places. Was there a monster chasing after her? What if she was hurt or was stuck inside the temple? When he got to the temple he saw Jessica running away from someone. "Jessica!" He called out a second time. She heard him and ran to him in tears. He asked her multiple times what was wrong but she choked on every word.
"Iphicles....he's coming..." She cried.
"Who's coming?" He responded. Before he could ask more questions in the corner of his eye he saw the sea god. Poseidon had a bloody lip and Iphicles recognized the lustful look.