Chimera Chapter Five

Chapter Five

After gathering supplies and fresh food, Elias and Petra prepared to leave again. However, a problem had arisen.

“Where in Olympus are we going to put all the rest?” Petra said, after they had fit as much as possible into their packs. Elias scratched his head. “We can’t return it, we’ll need all of it if we are to have a chance at defeating the Chimera.” He sighed. “But I suppose we’ll have to.”

Petra shook her head. “There’s got to be a way. I want to be prepared.”

“And prepared you shall be, luv.” A deep Athenian accent came from behind them. Whirling around, Petra and Elias saw two people. The man who had spoken, had sparkling grey eyes and curly amber hair framing high cheekbones with tan skin. His companion was a short, slender young woman with deep set black eyes and thick, long hair, one side black and one side white. The two looked vaguely familiar to Petra, but she couldn't’ place where she’d seen them.

“Who are you?”

Elias voiced Petra’s thoughts, not sounding very trusting. The man smiled at him, and the girl just stared. Sauntering up to Petra, he pressed his lips to her hand. Feeling heat rising in her cheeks, she pulled her hand away. He smiled again.

“Ah yes. Now I see it. Your highness.”

Panic rose within her. Was he a royal guard, here to say that the king had changed his mind, and she was to be killed? Her head raced as she scrambled for an idea.

“H-highness?” She squeaked, shaking her head. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Her lame cover was met with another disarming smile. “Oh, come now Miss Saedon, don’t you recognise me?” He looked amused.

Petra squinted at him, and then his companion. Suddenly it hit her. “Prince Philon! Princess Raegelle!”

Elias inhaled sharply, and took a knee. Petra curtsied hastily and stuttered an explanation. “My deepest apologies, I did not recognise you. What may we do for you?”

Prince Philon waved away her words and motioned for Elias to stand up. “We are not here as Prince and Princess, we are here to assist you on your mission.”

As Petra’s eyes widened, Raegelle spoke up. “Philon and I tire of palace life. We wish to accompany you.” Her voice was soft and light, but had an undertone that told Petra she wasn’t one to cross. “If,” She added as an afternote, “You would like that.”

Petra glanced at Elias, and his eyes were narrowed, thinking it through. He shook his head. “How do we know your father didn’t send you to murder us in our sleep?”

Prince Philon stroked his chin. After a moment he shrugged. “I suppose you don't! You’ll just have to trust us! Besides, why would the king of Tyrins send his beloved children to kill two dangerous rascals?” His lopsided grin returned. He patted Elias on the back just a little too hard. “Don’t you worry, dear sir. I shall not harm you or your charge.” He glanced at his sister, looking amused. “I can’t say the same for my beloved sister, but I can assure you, she doesn’t usually kill.” He winked haughtily at Petra, and her face burned. Elias made a coughing noise.

Princess Raegelle, having grown quite bored of the conversation, reminded them of the choice they needed to make. “Let us come with you…” She smiled. “Or we’ll just follow you anyway. There’s really only one answer.”

After a moment of silence,  Elias stepped up to Philon. They were almost the same size, Elias about a centimeter taller. They looked each other in the eye for a moment, then Elias stuck out his hand. “This had better not be a trick.”

The Prince frowned. “Then what is to make it interesting?” But he agreed, and the two men shook hands.

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Riding on towards Chrónos, everyone was quiet. Even Philon, who had kept up a constant jabber for the first thirty minutes, eventually subdued. The Prince and Princess had supplied their own horses, a strong black thoroughbred and an Arabian. Both were much nicer than Elias and Petra’s, but they managed to keep up. Elias stayed in a thoughtful state, and she didn’t exactly want to strike up a potentially problematic conversation with Philon, so Petra matched steps with Raegelle.

“I know it isn’t my place…” She said, “but if I may; why did you two decide to join us?”

Raegelle glanced at her, evaluating whether or not to answer. Eventually she said, “Like I said, we got bored.” She let out a sigh. “Palace life isn’t easy, you know. All those people looking up to you, even though you never asked for it! So many expectations…” She shook her head. “We wanted some… Change of scenery.”

Petra nodded. “I understand.” At her look, she explained, “I was… Am a princess too.”

She smiled apologetically. “Sorry. You just don’t, well…” Her voice trailed off.

“Look like a princess?” Petra finished for her. She grins and looked down at her torn clothes and dirt caked hands. She shrugged. “I don’t really hold myself to royal standards.”

The corner of the princesses lips turned up, and she pushed a stray lock of white hair out of her face. “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t either.” Her smile faded. “Unfortunately it isn’t.”

Petra pursed her lips sympathetically. Suddenly, there was a rock on the path, and she nearly fell of her seat.

“Miss Saedon!” Princess Raegelle gasped, and pulls her back up.

“How very graceful of you, Princess.” Philon chuckled from behind. Petra blushed and tried to regain some of her dignity. Raegelle shook her head, but even she giggled a little. Petra quirked a smile herself. “Oh, and you can just call me Petra.” She said to the princess.

Raegelle nodded. “And you can call me Rae. I hate ‘Raegelle’ it’s so insufferably long!”

The two girls laugh, and for a little while, Petra is just a young woman who has made a new friend. Not a criminal, fighting for her life. She embraces the lightheartedness, and that night, she sleeps soundly.

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The next morning, Petra’s mind is filled with dread. Sitting by the dwindling coals, she lets her thoughts drift to Chrónos, and what they would find there.

Her heart aches as she thinks of Pegasus, the winged horse that she had once called brother. Would that be a problem? She wondered if she should tell Elias. No, better not to worry him.

Her stomach churned as she thought of her impending death. She was no fighter. Even with Elias, Philon, and Rae, they stood virtually no chance. The Chimera would tear them all apart. Head in her hands, Petra’s eyes burned, holding back tears.

    A princess does not cry.

    A princess does not cry.

    I will not cry.

She let out a silent sob, her shoulders shaking. I didn’t ask for this. She thought, I don’t want to die. Petra made a silent whimper, putting a hand over her mouth. So much had happened at once, Chrys’s death, Deliades betrayal, her arrest, this sentence… A bubble rose in her throat and she swallowed it, trying to ease the ache in her chest.

Petra heard a stirring behind her, and a moment later, Elias was beside her, quietly feeding the fire. He didn’t look at her or speak, but his silence steadied Petra. She took deep breaths, trying to calm down. When the fire burned again, he sat back and looked up, his hair falling away from his face. It had grown since we started this quest. It made him look younger.

After a few minutes, he does look at her, those bright eyes pulling her back from the panic. He puts his arm around Petra’s shoulder, and there they stay, till the sun rises and they continue on their  journey.

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When they were on the road again, the sun continued to rise. Fast. Soon all four of the travelers were sweating, and most of the water had run dry. The horses walked on sluggishly, and Petra didn’t blame them. Philon complained regularly that they should stop and rest, but this only served to aggravate Elias. He sat on his horse rigidly, jaw clenched. He looked tired, as they all did. Petra’s horse slowed down, and they fell behind the rest. Petra rubbed her horse’s side and took an apple out of her pack. The horse munched it happily, and let out a huff of thanks.

“What a waste, dear princess!” Philon said from next to her. She hadn’t noticed him slowing to ride beside her. He looked at the horse mournfully.

Petra shrugged. “How are we to get to Chrónos if our horses are dead from starvation?”

The prince shook his head. “How am I to get to Chrónos if I’m dead from starvation?” Then he perked up. “So that’s where we’re going first? Chrónos?”

Petra raised an eyebrow. “Elias didn’t tell you?” The two men had shared a makeshift tent the night before, and Petra had supposed Elias would inform Philon of the plan.

He shook his head again, then scowled. “The old bore hasn’t told me anything. Always so queer. What a sorry waste of a seer.”

Petra was quiet. She thought Elias was queer, for sure, but he was also kind. After all, he came back to help her instead of being with his mother. However they had been on the road for quite some time, and Petra realized she knew almost nothing about her guide. She should ask him about himself sometime.

“I knew a seer before.” Philon’s deep voice brought her back to earth.

“Really? What were they like?” Petra asked, curious..

The prince settled into his saddle, thinking. Then he began. “I was only fourteen summers old, and very curious.” He chuckled. “Perhaps a bit too curious. I met her down by the sea, on a windy day in January. I was, of course, in Athens, so it wasn’t cold in the least. I saw her on the distant shore, and called out, knowing her to be a seer. You can always tell, you know, because of the aura.” He motioned to the light green glow surrounding Elias. “I said, ‘great seer, come down here and tell me my lot in life!’” He mimicked his fourteen year old voice, and Petra huffed a laugh. He grinned. “She came to me, walking on the water!” Petra saw Elias shake his head, but Philon went on. Rae had joined in listening. “When she neared, I saw that she was quite ugly. Now this was not normal, most seers are almost as good looking as mister pretty boy here.” Once again he motioned to Elias. Rae chuckled and I let one corner of my mouth quirk up. “She seemed very sad indeed, so I asked her what was ailing her. She responded, saying, ‘Oh, mortal, I long to be as beautiful as thee!’” Philon made his voice go high and needy. “‘Alas, I am a ugly maggot! Make me beautiful, and I will tell thy future.’” Raegelle rolls her eyes.

Philon goes on with the story, telling how he attempted to make the Seer beautiful, and how he eventually realized that it wasn’t possible.

“For,” He said, when he finally came to the end, “It is impossible to make anyone quite as beautiful as me.” He bowed as well as he could whilst riding, and we clapped, laughing.

Elias slowed and joined us as Philon started onto another story, this one of a time he supposedly ran away to join a circus. Elias critiqued him whenever he said something that “just wasn’t possible”, which turned out to be quite often.

Petra settled back, forgetting for a bit about the ache in her sore thighs and stiff back. The hours passed quickly while they are distracted, and when the sun was at its highest, they stopped for lunch.

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Unfortunately, the foursome did not get to finish their little picnic. Just as they were eating the remains of their sandwiches, they heard a panicked whinny from the horses, which they had tied nearby. After a moment, a thick silence settled in. Heart sinking, Elias ran toward where they had left their animals. Philon joined him and Petra and Raegelle followed.

“Oh no.” Elias knelt and picked up the discarded ropes that had previously tied their horses. Philon groaned.

“Well, now what?” The prince asked after a few minutes of silent horror. “No horses, and most of our food was in the packs. With the horses.”  

Elias shook his head. “We can’t make it without those supplies. We’ve got to go back.”

Petra looked at him, aghast. “We can’t go back! We’ve gotten so far! You can’t be serious”

Rae put a hand on her shoulder. “Petra, he’s right. And we’re offering you freedom. Go away, far away. Get out of Greece. Hide.”

Shaking the princess off, Petra shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t want to hide! Don’t you get it?” She sputtered. But she could see the others exchanging looks.

Petra stared at the ground where the horses had been, like they would magically reappear. She felt like kicking something. She left the others in a huff and sat by a stream closeby. She scowled at her reflection. How can they not understand? Cowards. She didn’t quite know when this escapade had become important to her, but she realized it was a distraction. Doing something was the only thing keeping her from being swallowed whole by grief and guilt. Guilt, she thought with a pang, and was reminded of how she had killed Deliades. Her brother. Her twin. Grief, from losing Chrys. She splashed a foot into her traitorous image.

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