Athenian Arrow

Chapter I

The moon was illuminating the city of Athens, reflecting on the architecture to appear whiter than the porcelain seems to be. The light from the torches that rest against the building walls clears the stone paths for the people of Athens to see their way into the night. Andreas notices that the city comes alive at night, unlike Sparta as he speeds through the Athenian marketplaces with his hood shielding his true identity. He quickly approaches a food stand full of apples and takes one without being noticed. He smirks as he bites into the apple and continues down the path.

...

"Have a good night Alexi, I shall see you tomorrow," A soldier says to Alexi. Both are strolling through the streets of Athens after a physical training session.

Alexi smiles at him kindly. "See you tomorrow."

The man smiles back, waves his hand, and jogs forward.

Alexi continues on the path while rolling his neck and shoulders back due to training making his body feel sore. All of a sudden, in the distance, he hears a faint panting sound. There could be a couple of soldiers sparing for the night but Alexi is always the last to leave considering he teaches the other men archery skills, and how to become a skilled archer like himself. And so, he watched everyone bid their farewells to go home. Who could still be near the training grounds at this hour?

Walking further down the stone path, an area full of trees and grass awaits him. It's summer, seeing as Demeter had made the trees bloom with different kinds of fruit and flowers that sprout from under the soil to acknowledge that Persephone is back in Olympus. Even in the dark of night, the leaves of the trees and the colour of the grass are as green as Achilles' eyes were once rumoured to be.

Alexi is careful to make his steps unheard. He slowly approaches the potential threat and the panting becomes louder. He spots a big enough tree he can hide behind so he does. Peering at the side of the tree he sees a man but cannot distinguish the face considering the man's back was towards him with his hood on. The man is hunched forward, hands on his knees and still heaving as if he were running. Even in the dark, Alexi still notices his dark red cape. Red is the colour of Sparta. Blue is Athens. Everyone knows that. So why is a Spartan here? What does he want in Athens?

Alexi's first instinct was to draw his bow and arrow out of his quiver quietly as Spartans were not allowed to be within the Athenian walls and levelled his aim at the man who wore the red cape. Suddenly, the man drops to his knees and leans over the small pond in front of him. Confused, he looks to see what his next move will be. The man hovers his face over the pond with cupped hands dipped in the water. He drinks the water pooled in his hands and sighs in satisfaction.

Alexi took a moment to watch the enemy in a vulnerable state. He can hear the small waterfall hit the rocks that surround the pond as he watched the water cascading down his chin and along his neck that failed to pour into his mouth. The moonlight reflected on his silhouette, displaying an aura around his figure. His skin is tan but the moonlight made it appear fairer. Alexi's eyes start to sin as they widen at the sight that was not supposed to be painted as a picture.

The man's movement is what brings him back to reality. He sees him take off his already falling hood and he feels like he's transfixed again. His hair is brown, a little past shoulder length, and voluminous with those waves he has. It's styled to be half down and half in a bun. He has some facial hair but only scruff. His cape looks redder than before and Alexi wonders why.

Alexi swears Artemis, the goddess of the moon, is fooling him on purpose with her moonlight show. But the show doesn't last for long. There's no bright moonlight illuminating the man before him anymore. Only the dark night he's been used to up until this point. His eyes shifted back to reality.