I Am a Spartan

I was six, still with my family but not for long. As my seventh birthday neared, my parents prepared me for hardship.

You must listen to your teacher.

You must train every day, even throughout the night.

Embrace your hunger, only steal enough to get by, but do not get caught.

They reminded me daily of the rules I must follow in order to survive, but the only one that really stuck with me, was the only one I broke.

Remain distant, a friendship will only mean your downfall.

Once I was taken to the agoge, I tried to remember everything my parents told me however, no matter what they said, it would never have prepared me for what I was going to face. The hunger was almost unbearable, the cloak, my only article of clothing, provided no warmth, and the slab of wood I used for a bed caused nothing but exhaustion and pain. They only fed us one meal a day so if we wanted more, we had to find it ourselves, but get caught, and the food would no longer be worth it.

It had been three weeks since I was taken and I could feel the weakness throughout my body. It hurt to run and every time my stomach growled, it felt like I had been stabbed. I tried to avoid stealing food from fear of being caught but, I decided that I needed to take the risk if I wanted to survive this place.

I made my way into the agora. Evening was approaching and most of the citizens were packing up their shop. I figured while they were distracted, I could try to swipe some bread or fruit. I weaved in between the different stands, carefully analyzing, determining where the best location for theft would be. I decided on a stand that was run by an older woman, one that sold bread, in hopes that the dough would fill me up more than fruit would. The stands around her were already packed up so she was ultimately alone. I walked up, almost silently, ensuring that no one else was around, and while she was bent over, placing her food into baskets, I swiped a loaf.

I smirked as I started to turn away, proud that I had successfully stolen some food however, it quickly vanished when I stumbled over the handle of a wheel barrel, knocking over a basket of bread. She looked up quickly, seeing the bread in my hand, and as about to call for help.

I am a Spartan... I should've been able to think quicker, I should've been able to understand and run immediately but, I froze. I thought of the punishment I would have to face once I was caught, the pain I would have to suffer. I wasn't prepared for this, I'm only seven, I should be able to stay with my parents, I should have a bed and food. I shouldn't have to steal.

Hundreds of thoughts flowed through my mind in the split second after stumbling when suddenly, the women turned back the other way, her entire table of bread falling to the ground. Snapped from my thoughts, I looked and saw a boy, my age, coming at me. I couldn't get a good look at his face because I could only notice the cloak around his shoulders... it was the same as mine. He grabbed my arm, forcing me to run away with him. We sprinted, the loaf of bread still in my hand, my legs burning and each breath I took was suffocating.

We had made it to the woods, just slightly outside of the agoge, when we finally stopped running. Immediately I collapsed, darkness circling around until it completely shrouded my eyes. I tried to steady my breathing in order to prevent my body from losing consciousness. It was a slow process until I felt water pour over my head, adding light back into my sight. When I could finally see again, I looked at the boy that helped me. He had wavy, brown hair, brown eyes, and a prominent scar across his left cheek. He smiled, reaching his hand out, "Hi. My name is Eleni." And that, was when I decided that I could break one of the rules that my parents had given me.