The Owl Princess

Book 5: Chapter 3- F*** the Gods

Reyna spent a sleepless night. The prospect of a dangerous rescue mission did not worry her. She had gone into battle before and could handle herself in combat. No, what caused her to toss and turn was the way Prince Jason and Lady Piper looked at each other.
When Reyna had defeated Jason in a sword fight and volunteered to fight by his side, he looked at her with respect and admiration. Respect was as good a foundation as any for an arranged, royal marriage but would that be enough for her? Could she live out the rest of her life at the side of a man who looked at another woman with love in his eyes? Jason was a decent man and would do his best to be a good husband but what if his best left her unsatisfied?
Reyna had come to Greece knowing that she was entering into a marriage based on politics rather than romance. She thought she had steeled herself against the prospect of it being a loveless one. But watching her husband-to-be look at another girl the way all maidens want to be looked at, left her feeling disarmed. Seeing passion before her eyes, could she live without ever tasting it for herself?

In the morning, Reyna decided to take a walk in the garden after breakfast. She noticed Mercus flirting with Aphrodisia, who blushed and giggled while he fixed her one of his goat-like smiles. The two of them looked ridiculous together: him, scrawny, pimpled, and satyr-like; her, gangly, awkward, and shabby.
Reyna also noticed Athenaíí, the sullen-faced little slave who had sung at the banquet, sitting on a stone bench and strumming her lyre. Another slave, a swarthy, toothy-grinned young man named Zephyrus, stood chatting up one of Reyna's handmaids. He turned his head several times to see if Athenaíí had noticed.
"She's the only slave girl he hasn't been successful with," Reyna turned around to see Princess Thalia leaning against a column. She held a cup of wine in one hand, which judging by the glassy look in her eyes, was not her first.
"Good morning, My Lady," After dipping a slight bow, Reyna looked up at her.
"How did you sleep last night?"
"I've slept better."
"What's troubling you?"
"Who are Circe and Hecate?"
Princess Thalia gestured to Reyna to join her in a walk around the garden.
"They're a scary story nursemaids tell children at bedtime to scare them. Be good or the witches of Ogygia will get you, that sort of thing. We all grew up hearing it but I never thought it they actually existed."
"Why would they go after Princess Annabeth?"
"According to the story, Hecate was a pharmakis who was fled Athens after a mob attacked her. She supposedly used her pharmakeia to commit unspeakable crimes. Circe belonged to a family who supported my grandfather, King Kronos, against my father. Her father and brothers were killed in battle and her mother took her own life, leaving Circe the only one left to be punished for her family's treason. Annabeth had just been born at the time, so King Frederick was inclined to be merciful... he had Circe sold to a brothel. She murdered one of her clients, stole his money and clothes, and escaped from Athens. Both Circe and Hecate settled on Ogygia, an island near Piraeus, the port of Athens. Whenever an Athenian ship goes missing, the witches of Ogygia are always blamed. There are even outlandish stories about how they turn shipwrecked sailors into animals and eat them."
"Do you think they've eaten Annabeth?"
"No. I don't imagine she's very tasty. Still, it's a shame this had to happen to her. Annabeth could be a little shit but her heart was always in the right place."
"What do you mean?"
"It was her idea to throw Jason and Piper together. She meant well but it was a stupid idea. He's heir to the throne of Macedonia and she's the bastard daughter of a minor lord: they never could have married. Then my parents decided to marry him off to you."
Two young men dressed in armor walked into the garden.
"Ah, my sunbeam and my little crow."
The titles of "sunbeam" and "crow" fit them perfectly. One's bronzed skin and curly fair hair streaked with gold attested to many hours spent in the sun. The other's small eyes and hooked nose gave him an avian look. His shaggy dark hair resembled a crow's feathers.