Artrenos

3: Secret

It had been a week since me and Aurum had spoken about her and Rome. She continued to wake me each morning and I gave her my apple each time. Today was different. Instead of Aurum, Beth came into my room. It was bathing day. I put on my silk dress and followed Beth.

Bathing day happened every week but, every too weeks a ritual took place. It only happened during purity ages and I hated it. I was bathed by a washer to make sure I was pure and clean. Beth handed me a towel and led me to my own bath chamber. I took off my silk dress and stepped into the bath. Beth turned away and prepared soaps for my cleansing. Some made with honey, some with lavender and flowers. Beth left and came back with my washer and some cloth for scrubbing. My washer was a boy named Beau. We used to play in the back garden when we were younger. He was the same age as Rome, had dark hair that curled to above his shoulders, and grey eyes. He was average height and had decent strength. Whenever he was about to say something, he pushed his hair back. Beau was a washer and he hunted. All boy servants were either washers or hunters. It was rare to have both jobs like he did, but he didn't seem to mind. I stayed in the water for a couple more moments until some cloths wiped in soap were prepared. Beau turned and faced me with cloth in his hand. I stood and blushed.

"Don't blush. It's okay." Beth softly said while taking a bronze cup, filling it with water and tipped it over my head. Beau began to scrub my stomach and any areas that seemed to be unclean. When my private areas needed to be scrubbed he handed me the cloth and turned away. He was very mature for his age. Or maybe he was just used to seeing nude people. 

Once they used all of the soapy cloths, I laid back down in the water and relaxed. Beth took any left over soaps and left. For some reason, Beau did not leave. He pulled up a chair and sat next to the bath. He looked at me nervously, pushing his hair back.

"Athena?" He asked, rubbing his hands together.

"Yes?" I replied, sitting up in the bath.

"Will you marry me?"

"When we both come of age?"

"If you could," he said, looking at his feet. I picked up his chin and brought his lips close to mine. They gently touched and his hand touched the back of my head. He slowly pulled away and looked into my eyes. "Is that a yes?"

I nodded and we kissed again. I then pulled away and whispered, "This will be our secret." He smiled and walked away. I wondered if he was already chosen to marry someone else. I had men lined up from all ages wanting to marry me. I thought of Beau and wondered where he's from or who his family was.

After a lot of thinking, my bathing was over. I stepped out of the murky water, dried myself off, and put on an outfit that was laid out for me by Beth. I put on the white top that had no sleeves and stopped at my belly button. strings with beads and jewels draped down from the loose, flowing fabric shirt. I then put on a long, maroon skirt made of different layers of fabric. I braided my hair into two separate chunks. I walked up the steps and left the bathing room.

I walked into the preparation area where Aurum was working. I pulled her aside and whispered in her ear.

"Someone asked me to marry them."

"Who?" She whispered back.

"Beau."

I smiled at her and she hugged me. When she pulled away, she looked worried. She stated softly, "You know where he's from, right?"

"No." I shrugged.

"He's from the city of Brow, the biggest and richest city in this region. His father runs the place."

"Why is he here then?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, but I'm sure it's some big secret," she turned away for a second. "I gotta go Athena."

She quickly walked away and proceeded with he work. Now I really wondered who he was and why he left his home.

I turned away and walked into the back garden where servants were working on planting black roses. I wondered why they were planting black ones instead of the usual white roses. I sat on the ground and laid myself back, so I was staring into the cloud-filled sky. The sky has no starting point and no end. It feels infinite. I wondered if the gods were looking down on me. If Lexina was looking down on me. When I was born, my mother prayed to the gods in the forest of virtue, just outside the city. The god of the four elements and the leader of the gods, Earth, told her I was sent from the goddess Lexina. 

There are 12 main gods; Inama, the goddess of life; Lexina, the goddess of determination, beauty, and stubbornness; Oath, the god of manhood and honor; Ridd, the god of cleverness, trickery, and knowledge; Earth, the god of the elements and the leader of the gods; Urbane, goddess of kindness and courage; Aphrodite, goddess of love; Avolli, the god of war and hatred; Yuma, goddess of farming and food; Duo, goddess of light; Tryce, the god of night; Dectro, the god of death. There are 3 less important gods, but their stories are interesting.

There once was a demi-god, but Tryce killed him because Dectro convinced him it was Duo's child. In reality, he was Lexina's child with a peasant man. She fell in love with the peasant because Aphrodite was angry with Lexina for trying to be with Oath. After the peasant man died, Lexina was determined to get her child back. Lexina convinced Ridd to trick Dectro into bringing her son back. Ridd told Dectro that the demi-god was supposed to become a god and that Earth would have him banished to the underworld in he wasn't brought back to life. Dectro, afraid of Earth, brought the demi-god back. Lexina was overjoyed. She named the demi-god Khao. Enraged, Aphrodite made Ridd fall in love with her and they created the god Avolli. Aphrodite convinced her son to teach Khao to hate his mother, but Avolli fell in love with Lexina. Earth started to become annoyed of the drama and fighting in his family, so he made Khao a god. The fighting died down and Khao became the god of sympathy.

When Teselli was a young girl, Tryce was intrigued by her for some reason. She would always be out at night and stare at him and the stars. She never grew tired of staring at the sky. So, Tryce asked Earth if she could become a goddess. Earth disagreed and said in a couple of years, he'd reconsider. Over the next few years, Tryce became more fond of the girl. When she was a teen, Tryce asked Earth again and again. Earth became angry with Tryce and told Dectro to kill her. Tryce asked Lexina to help him convince Earth that Teselli was very important to him. Lexina was determined to help him and indeed persuaded Earth. Teselli was loved by Tryce like his own daughter. Although Inama was jealous of their relationship, she became close to Teselli. Teselli became the goddess of comfort.

No one knows who the last less important god or goddess is. But the gods have answered many times that there will be one.

"Athena," Aurum called to me. "Your mother sent me to bring you to supper." I followed Aurum to the supper room. I watched Aurum carfully as she walked around the table. I was curious as why she was doing what she was doing. She stopped behind my father's chair and whispered in his ear. He nodded and she walked away.

"Excuse me everyone," he stated quietly and left the room. I excused myself a few seconds later and followed him into a bathing room. I spotted them in the far corner. I hid myself and saw that Aurum was nude. I saw my father starting to undress and I left as quickly as I could. I rushed into my room and felt sick to my stomach. I threw up and fainted.