It wasn't until they had sat down to have yet another grand evening meal that Pericles broached the idea of Miriam and himself leaving and continuing on their voyage.
Tanith and Tanos exchanged a look Miriam noticed before smiling and it was Tanith who replied enthusiastically. "Why of course!" she laughed. "Tanos and I were wondering when that would be the case. Not," she corrected herself and looked embarrassed for a second before continuing, "that we haven't been happy to have you here. More than happy. We get so few guests that we often are ridiculously thrilled to see them. But of course, you need to move on." She gave a melodramatic smile. "We will be sorry to see you go. Won't we?" She turned and looked smilingly at her brother and he laughed with her.
"Yes, we will," he smiled. "But!" he clapped his hands together loudly. "You must stay for the Festival of the Seven Moons. We absolutely insist. Then we will help you prepare to set out on your journey again."
"What is the Festival of the Seven Moons?" Miriam enquired politely.
Tanith's eyes shone. "On a certain night of the year, the gods give us the gift of seven small full moons in the sky. It is such a unique event, that I doubt it occurs anywhere else in the known world. Our people always rejoice when this happens." She burst out laughing then, as if a child giddy with excitement over a new game. "There is always great feasting and rejoicing when this happens. It means that our crops will grow well and strong; that our people will continue to thrive, that our divine bloodline will continue to be passed on from one generation to the next. Please celebrate this auspicious event with us." Her eyes had a pleading almost desperate quality to them, Miriam noted, with some disquiet.
"When will this event take place?" Pericles asked.
"In seven days", Tanos replied. "So what will it be my friends? Do you wish to stay?"
"Why of course," Miriam answered quickly before Pericles could say another word. "Yes we will and we consider it a great honour that you have invited us."
Tanith laughed and clapped her hands like a child. Miriam could only smile weakly in response.
Later she sat in her bedchamber and thought about everything. Was there a reason why she and Pericles were there? Tanith and Tanos seemed to have changed personality in the last few days, she noted, too. She saw all the bustling around her, all the slaves preparing the palace for this festival. Out of respect for her hosts, she had not wanted to say anything but she did wonder just what kind of a festival this was. What was most curious, she decided was Tanith's attitude towards her, she thought bemusedly. Tanith seemed to have adopted her as a best friend, almost as a sister.
"We are having new dresses made," Tanith had laughingly told her. "This will be the best festival yet! We have never shared it with guests before. I can hardly wait!"
Miriam had to laugh at Tanith's enthusiasm. And for the rest of the time, leading up to the festival it was like. There was such a flurry of preparation, one would think that a royal wedding was going to take place. She remembered once in Athens, a royal wedding had taken place and the excitement had infected everyone in the streets, even at the Temple. The wedding itself had taken place over three days, beginning with a royal procession, where the bride was taken through the streets, carried by slaves, as she was marched along through crowds of adoring city folk. Once the anointments and sacrifices had taken place, the wedding feast had continued and then a series of games had taken place, with the princes of the palace competing in races, wrestling matches and other sports. This Festival of the Seven Moons had whipped the entire kingdom into a frenzy, far surpassing that previous event. Tanith had actually taken her back to the market place they had passed through when they had first arrived in this strange place with its strange customs. The people in the market place all turned to bow to her as she and Tanith had walked under escort through the market. Some reached out and kissed her hands. She saw smiles and heard whispers in a strange language she was not familiar with, though occasionally she hard comments such as, "Chosen One" and she thought that perhaps it meant that she and Pericles, being guests at the palace, were chosen ones. After all, hadn't Tanith mentioned that she and Pericles were of the few foreigners who would witness this festival? She was curious to see how it were possible for seven separate moons to appear in the sky. She smiled to herself. There was definitely magic in the air. She could feel it.
She felt herself drawing closer to Pericles again. Odd, it seemed as if Tanith were no longer interested in Pericles but it didn't seem to bother him. In fact, he looked to Miriam to be experiencing the same emotions that she was. Relief. As if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. She understood somehow how he felt. Yes, that damn stone that Cronos had prattled about could wait. She noted, with some interest, that she hadn't even thought about Cronos in the longest time.
The night before the festival Miriam woke up with a start. She had been asleep for a while, retiring to bed early. She wasn't sure if it was all the excitement catching up with her but she had felt exhausted. She had slept restlessly, she knew that much. The bed looked as if she had been wrestling for hours. She looked out at the open doors and noted the position of the moon in the sky. One moon, not seven. Perhaps the night sky would look completely different tomorrow night. It would be dawn in a few hours.
For some reason, she couldn't go back to sleep. Soon, she understood the reason why. There was a warm sticky substance between her legs. Touching it with her fingers, she saw that it was blood. Was it already her time of the month? Frowning, she didn't think so. She estimated that her monthly bleed would not be due for a few more days. Perhaps it was early this month? She went to the latrine to wash herself and noted that she felt sore there. She quietly washed the blood away and placed some protection in her under garments. She saw with relief that the bedclothes had at least not been stained. Feeling suddenly exhausted, she collapsed back onto the bed and fell asleep.
The following morning, she saw with some surprise that the bleeding had stopped. She had always been regular before and monetarily wondered why that had been the case. She tried not to dwell on it anymore. Sometimes these irregularities occurred with women. Perhaps it was all the odd things that happened to her in the last month or two. After all, life had not exactly been normal for her. She didn't give the matter another thought.
If Miriam had thought preparations had been frenzied for the last few days, it was no comparison to the flurry of excitement that was taking place on this day. Foods had been cooking and baking for many hours already, wine was being brewed and fruit and cheese platters were being carried by slaves who audibly groaned under their weight. "It is commonplace," Tanos had told her and Pericles, "that we observe a fast of sorts on this holy day. We are not to eat anything until the great feast takes place tonight. So, until the sun sets, no food." Miriam and Pericles had exchanged amused glances but decided to accept this tradition. Pericles had been so kind to her these last few days and she felt closer to him than ever. It was if the previous tension had never been. She was glad for this. She noted that though she had known Pericles for a relatively short time, she hadn't felt this close to anyone for a while. The thought of this made her think of Deianera with a pang. How was she?
Tanith sat and stared at the great ocean from her balcony. Yes, it would be a special night. The gods had sent the two innocents to them for a purpose. It was no mere coincidence that their arrival should coincide with the holiest night of the year. "Just a few more hours, by the gods," she whispered to herself and for the first time in a long time, she felt hope. She nodded to herself and fought the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. She'd had Pericles' and Miriam's cups drugged, so the two had felt overwhelmingly sleepy before retiring to their rooms the previous night. It was best that they not remember the events that had taken place for a few hours afterwards. If they knew the truth now, what would be the point?
She turned as she heard a sound behind her but knew before turning that it was Tanos. "Are you ready?" he asked his voice somber.
"Yes," she whispered, as she finally allowed the tears to spill and ran into his arms. As ready as she ever would be.
Deianera awoke with a start. She saw that the sun was already high in the sky and she cursed herself for over sleeping. She'd had enough of the constant anxieties that seemed to overwhelm her at every turn. Ever since Miriam had left it was as if nothing could possibly go right. She had tried scrying for Miriam every night, trying desperately to find where her foster daughter could possibly be but had not been able to sense her at all. Miriam could be dead for all she knew. However, something told her that could not be the case. Surely, she would have been able to sense it. She wished her sense of sight could be as keen as some of the others at the Temple.
Polyxena had certainly not been helpful at any rate. When the women had tried to question her about the death of Antigone, Polyxena had ranted and raved that she was innocent, that she hadn't meant to kill Antigone, but wouldn't say another word when asked further questions. She did claim that some entity or spirit had told her that Antigone's death was necessary, however. She was kept separate from the other women and confined to her own quarters and was found the next day to have taken her own life by fashioning a noose from her clothes and suspending it from the ceiling. Deianera had tried to consult the entity En for further guidance who unfortunately remained frustratingly silent. She felt as if she had hit a dead end. Could nobody help her, she wondered bitterly. Was she ever going to see Miriam again? Please come home my dear, Deianera thought, as sadness settled in her heart. All is forgiven. Am I never to see the daughter of my heart again?
YOU ARE READING
The Sullen Face of a Forgotten God
FantasyShe is a pawn in a game where she must make her own rules. Miriam is a child of birth unknown, with a gift from the gods, both wonderful and terrifying, in equal measure. Caught between two men, she is not sure whom to trust. Embarking on a sometime...