On Mount Alyppia

In the Shade of an Olive Tree

Leonid stoof in his yard, in the shade of the olive tree that had always been Arista's perch. He leaned against the wall and didn't look up when the griffin landed near silently on the ground.
    "Leo!" Assuntina called. "Are you alright? The earthquake..."
    "It didn't to much damage here," he muttered as she ran over to him.
    "Then what's wrong?" she demanded, crossing her arms. Yes, Vivalius was waiting for her and yes, she had other things to do, but she wasn't going to ask anything of Leonid until she found out what had put that look on his face.
    "My father set a date, for the wedding," he said. "It's... it's in three weeks. On the anniversary of Enzo's death." A tear slid down her cheek. "My father, for a while I thought he was better. But now... now..."
Assuntina reached out and squeezed his hand. She didn't say anything. If he wanted to speak, he would.
"It was better for a while," he whispered again. "He was acting... Like maybe he was proud of me. Or he loved me. I thought he was going to listen to me. But then..."
Assuntina squeezed his hand again, and spoke when she saw he wasn't going to. "What if we left?"
Leonid glanced up at her. "Left?"
"Ran away. To Alyppia."
Leonid laughed. "Alyppia?"
"Vivalius, the nymph who has been speaking with my father, he's leaving. He says he's going to try and warn everyone he can and save people and I'm going with him."
"Alright, then."
"I mean it. Father is being unreasonable," she said. "A monarch should think of the people, like I will when I rule this island someday. And I can't protect my people if they're all dead. Vivalius said I could go with him, so I am, and I want you to come with me. Please?"
Leonid looked back down. "Why would I come with you? You're the prince's daughter, you could be useful. I'm a nobody."
"You're my closest friend," Assuntina said. "Even if you don't help anyone, you'll be helping me. Besides," she added with a mishevious spark in her eye. "Arista will be coming."
A slight brush crept into Leonid's cheeks. "Why?"
She shrugged innocently. "Vivalius is her father."
"Oh," said Leonid. "Alright. Let me leave my mother a note, and then... Then I'll come to Alyppia with you."
He paused, seeming to reflect on what he was doing with a little sigh, then turned to run inside. That was when he caught sight of the griffin.
"Holy Helia!" he shouted, jumping back.
Assuntina stiffled a laugh. "Holy Helia? What are you, five?"
"What is that thing?"
"One of the nymph's birds," Assuntina said fondly. "Isn't he beautiful? And if you're going to call upon Helia you may as well add Diana."
Leonid frowned, one eye on the griffin. "It's not really two seperate faces," he muttered, finding it impossible not to correct her. "The myths all call her two-faced, but in sculptures she has just one face split down the midd--"
"Don't leave her half faced, then," Assuntina cut in. "That's even worse. Hurry. Vivalius can't wait forever, and we have no time to debate theology."
Leonid nodded, already looking lighter. "Thank you, Tina," he said before running back inside.

Hi!
You may have noticed I didn't update last week. Possibly not the week before that either? Yeah, sorry. Not even offering any excuses. I'm a mess. Hope you enjoy the story!
~Amanda