The Eye of The Storm

Chapter 14

Thrace, 19 years earlier (March, 1359)

The courtier had just announced to the king and queen that Medea was in the palace and here to meet them for their celebration of Electra's successful pregnancy. Electra and Thaumas had previously been arguing as to if her sister would attend the celebrations, and here Medea was now, standing in front of them, in the flesh.

Hours earlier, she had stood on the outskirts of Thrace, among the mountains. The spiky rock formations had framed the palace perfectly, as though it were an oil painting hung in a great hall. The water from the nearby river had reflected the millions of colors from the sky back onto the white marble of the palace. Medea wouldn't trade in her small shack in the woods for all of the beauty in the world.

"Medea!" Electra called excitedly. "You came!" She didn't even bother to turn to Thaumas and give him a look to say, I told you so!

"Of course, my little sister!" Medea responded running towards her gracefully. Medea was always graceful, even when she was angry. Electra and Medea were twins, but it was a running joke that Medea was the older sister and Electra the younger sister, simply because of the family dynamics. Growing up, Medea had taught Electra everything she had known about being a woman, about one's abilities and about herself. The recent tiff between them had been the first real argument of their lifetime. Of course, they had argued as children, but those had just been petty disagreements over things that hadn't really mattered. Like who got to play with a certain toy, both of them attempting to assert their dominance over the other. Part of it had been because of their similarities in the looks department. Electra had wanted nothing more as a child than to be like her sister. This would make Medea furious at the fact that Electra copied her.

Thaumas stood back in awe as the two sisters embraced. Medea had moved out of Thrace shortly before their wedding and then came back for the wedding ceremonies. Ever since he had been introduced to Medea when him and Electra were newly-weds, he avoided conversation with her. Medea seemed to have harbored strong feelings against him, despite the fact that he had done nothing overtly wrong, and he didn't wish to upset her more than she already was. He had sensed however, that his marriage to Electra had upset her sister, which was why she had treated him with disrespect. Yet, the woman in front of him seemed a completely different person than the woman he had met seven years earlier. She was, dare he think it- happier? He was slightly suspicious as to what- or whom- had brought about the change in Medea.

"Thaumas!" She called in a sing-song voice, bounding towards the throne. "How good it is to see you! Is all well here in Thrace?"

Shocked at her suddenly friendly disposition, Thaumas stuttered in his reply. "Uhm, yes--- yes Medea it is quite fine here in Thrace. How has Macedonia been treating you as of late?"

Am I really having small talk with the woman who told me she would try to harm me? Thaumas thought in disbelief.

They continued talking about life in either country; it's advantages, disadvantages, and trade prospects, as though there had been no disagreement between them in the first place. Still, Thaumas was on edge and  tried to not offend Medea in any way with his words as Electra watched on in glee. Her sister and her husband were finally getting along. It was a relief.

Thaumas had confided in his brother, Achim, in a desperate attempt to figure out why Medea disliked him. When Thaumas had recounted the day that they had first met and Medea's threat to him, Achim had simply laughed.

"My brother," He said merrily. "You do not yet know the ways of women."

"I know the ways of my wife." He replied astutely, rubbing his beard. "Her ways are logical. They make sense. Medea seems to operate by a different means."