Foretold

Chapter 18

"Queen Kyrene!" A woman with braided, dark brown hair came running up. "My Lady!"

Kyrene stopped and gazed stolidly at the young woman, who was gasping to recover her breath from the long run. "What is it, Achaia?"

Achaia took a deep breath, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, my Lady. We can't find them. They've disappeared."

Kyrene sighed, shaping her face into a disappointed expression, but inside, she was glad because her daughter had escaped and would be living free of restriction and happy.

Achaia didn't know this, of course, and she misinterpreted the look. "Please, don't be mad. We tried to find them. We searched everywhere within the three mile radius you set. We'll keep looking. I promise. And we'll..."

Kyrene huffed. "Achaia, stop. They're gone, and I say good riddance. Just let them go." Her mouth set in a firm line. "My daughter is no longer a member of this tribe, and Daedalos and that stranger are both escaped slaves and criminals. If they come back, they'll be executed. But I doubt they'll return. So just forget about it. We'll move on with our lives, and I will announce my new successor in a month. Relay that information to the rest of the tribe please." Kyrene waved a hand.

Achaia bowed, murmuring her obedience as she left.

Kyrene sighed. It had begun. She had promised her daughter to at least work towards making the men better treated slaves.

 

She wasn't going to free them or even despise them less, but for her daughter's sake, she would do her best to keep them from being treated worse than animals. At the very least, they would be cared for. Yes, change had begun. She could only hope it would prove a good change.

***

When Vasiliki woke again, night had passed and it was late morning. She stretched, yawning, and not bothering to avoid waking Alex. Daedalos was already up and he had gathered some different roots and plants. He had begun to make a small fire already, and he had some of their breakfast wrapped in water-covered leaves from one of the trees.

She smiled softly as she stood up, yawning again. Alex walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned into him, still smiling, and tilted her head to look up at him. "Good morning."

He planted a kiss on her forehead, letting his lips linger against her skin for a moment before he realized Daedalos was watching.

Vasiliki blushed, embarrassed.

Alex released her, stepping back. "Sorry..." He mumbled at Daedalos as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Daedalos laughed. "Doesn't bother me." He shrugged. "Frankly, I'm glad that my sister loves you. Maybe when you two get married..." he trailed of seeing Alex's astonished look.

"Uh... I thought that you wouldn't... Well, you know..." Alex mumbled.

Daedalos smirked. "You thought that just because the women here despise men and marriage I wouldn't know what it was?"

"Well, yeah. Sort of." Alex admitted, embarrassed.

Daedalos and Vasiliki both doubled over laughing.

"So... How did you know about it?" Alex sat on the ground staring at them.

Vasiliki composed herself. "My mother has a set of books called the Forbidden Tomes. They're supposed to be inaccessible to anyone aside from her, but I figured out how to access them, and I told Daedalos abou what I'd read." she looked down at her hands. "I tell him everything so..." She trailed off.

Daedalos snorted. "Not quite everything." He reminded. "You didn't tell me you were romantically involved with Alex." he grinned at her. "Not that I don't approve, of course. Alex is a good guy, and I know he'll take care of you." He gave Alex a mock glare, but Alex could tell when he spoke that Daedalos was serious. "Because if he doesn't, he's going to have some problems with me."

Vasiliki laughed. "I know he will. Smooth your ruffled feathers, brother."

Daedalos gave her a sheepish grin. "Just watching out for you; that's all."

She gave him a smile and one of her rare hugs. "I know, and I'm grateful."

He nodded, mumbling that she would destroy his manly dignity if she kept hugging him as she was.

Alex grinned at the sibling banter.

"Oh, you! You're not going to lose any dignity when your sister hugs you! Besides, how would you know anything about being manly?" she mocked insincerely.

Daedalos laughed. "You'd be shocked to know of half the things I know, sister dear."

She smirked, giving him a playful shove. "Get back to fixing the fire, you overgrown lout, you."

He grinned cheekily at her and went back to tending the fire while Vasiliki and Alex turned to chopping the roots with Vasiliki's knives. "So..." Alex murmured. "You don't mind I call you Liki for short, do you?"

There that nickname was again. She smiled. "No, I don't mind. I like it, actually."

He nodded and went back to silently dicing the tubers Daedalos had discovered.

They remained companionably silent for a while, dicing the roots side by side and listening the jungle's noises.

Vasiliki was just about to ask Alex a question when they heard something rustle in the jungle behind them. Vasiliki turned to face whatever had made the noise. There was a blur, and then a heavy weight hit her, and she blacked out as her head hit the ground.