The Lady of Sparta

I awoke one morning to shouting guards outside my bedchamber. I rolled over and groaned, not wanting to get up. I forced myself to get out of bed and hurriedly put on my servant's clothes and shook my older sister Amara awake.

"Come on! King Menelaus will be expecting us!" I persisted until she finally got up. We ran out of the room just as the golden sun was peeking over the Spartan skyline. Guards were rushing past us down the corridors and almost running us over a couple times. I looked quizzically at Amara, who just shrugged.

Eventually, I decided to figure out what the cause of the chaos was. As yet another guard started to rush past us, Amara grabbed him by the helmet and pulled him back.

"What's going on?" she asked him.

"What's all this rushing about for?" I waved my hands for emphasis and comic effect but he didn't seem to find it funny.

He only gulped and said, "Queen Helen has been abducted," and then he ran off again. I looked at Amara, her eyes wide, and took off at her heels down the corridor.

We reached King Menelaus' throne room just as a group of soldiers marched in past us. We entered and I looked on in awe at an army. I motioned Amara towards the back and we waited.

"Soldiers of Sparta!" Menelaus loud voice echoed through the room. "Today we stand and fight!"

A collective cry arose from the soldiers. King Menelaus went on to explain how Prince Paris of Troy had taken his wife, Queen Helen. Helen was known as the most beautiful woman in the world. I could understand why Paris had taken her. He told the soldiers that his brother King Agamemnon of Mycenae was going to help him retrieve her from Troy.

"We will sail to Troy to bring back what is ours!" King Menelaus shouted above the noise of the soldiers. I could feel the excitement as a crowd of soldiers marched back out again and another group rushed in to hear King Menelaus' speech. Amara turned to me.

"Adonia, we shouldn't be here," she said, worry filling her pale blue eyes, which were identical to mine.

"Why not?" I asked her indignantly.

"These are men's affairs," she said quietly, fiddling with her long golden hair. If Amara and I didn't look so alike, no one would believe we were sisters. She was quiet and submissive, while I was defiant and had a fiery temper.

Just then, our brother ran towards us, in full armor that was slightly too big.

"Oh, Adrastos!" my sister choked out as she hugged him. We knew this day was coming. Our brother had been training for as long as we could remember and now it was time for him to finally see the battle field.

"It's alright, Amara. I'm ready now," Adrastos smiled nervously but he still had that ever present twinkle in his eyes. Then I ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him fiercely.

"Be careful," I told him quietly. "Come back to us, preferably in one piece." He laughed and pulled back. He gave us one last nod and started walking towards the other soldiers. Amara had tears running freely down her cheeks. I let one fall, knowing that there was not much hope of seeing him again, like my father. My father had died in a battle five years ago, and my mother soon followed him, due to disease. My father was a favorite of King Menelaus so the King had kindly offered us jobs as servants. We didn't have much choice so that's what we did. I missed my parents terribly.

"So, Sparta is at war," Amara stated plainly, interrupting my thoughts. A wave of anticipation rippled through me. The thought of fighting energized my young mind. I wanted so badly to be out there with Adrastos. He would often teach me some of the things he was learning while training, and I picked up fast. He told me I had natural skills. My father agreed. He trained me until he passed away, telling me that even though I was a woman, I could have a chance as a soldier. Since then, I secretly trained alone, waiting for a chance to be in a real battle. And that chance was closer than I realized.