Son of Love and Fire

Chapter 13

Callie had returned from an enjoyable day at the palace as she had been able to spend the day 'serving' princess Ariadne, which was actually the two of them enjoying some time together as close friends, playing a game Ariadne had stolen from her brother, where you had to manoeuvre armies that were marked with intricate wooden pieces, to defeat your opponent.

As they played and talked, Ariadne complained of how annoying her brother had been, constantly telling everyone that Perseus had cheated and boasting about his 'extreme combat skills'. She also talked of how her classes had been as Callie didn't attend them all with her, complaining about the boredom that was politics and the excitement that was exploring Arcadia's history.

Callie had similarly spoken to Ariadne about the amazing places she had found with Perseus in the forests around the city and how she had been able to pet a deer that had come right up to them, whilst she was there. She also told her about some of the dumb things other servants had done around the palace, like put salt into a recipe rather than sugar resulting in one of the lords from a surrounding area to be quite shocked at the flavour of his breakfast one morning.

They had also talked a lot about Perseus, he had been a common point of discussion between the two, as Callie confessed her growing feelings for him originally and told Ariadne of all the amazing things he had done, like save her when she went out for herbs. Ariadne had been fascinated with Perseus as she had never heard of or met someone that was talented and strong whilst being humble and kind, the people she often dealt with being arrogant and boastful lords and ladies.

It didn't hurt that he was an extremely handsome person that put anyone else she had seen to shame and that he was obviously both brave and intelligent from what she heard of him saving Antheia and working with Jason. Whilst she understood that she would have to marry a man for political reasons that didn't mean she didn't still feel the desires of any normal woman. Sometimes she had found herself questioning whether all the stories Callie had told her were true or not, whilst they had never and would never lie to one another some of the things she heard seemed so unreal although this doubt was banished upon seeing his performance in the pankration.

Something was different today though as she told Callie something that she had been told by her father the last night. Her father had received a threat from an enemy he had made when they aided Sparta in defeating an army that was heading for a smaller allied city state and resulted in the slaughtering of the army and claiming of their city state as another allied city to Sparta. The threat was from the prince, the only member of the royal family of that city state that had been unaccounted for, the others killed in punishment for their provocation of war. The threat stated that in an act of revenge the prince was going to take the kings prized daughter, taking her away and raping and torturing her before dumping her at the city gates. To have announced his intentions in such a way it is clear that whilst he is arrogant of his ability to succeed, he is aiming to cause the most pain to King Aleus as possible.

The princess as a result will have increased protection and by the end of the week a guard will be chosen to protect her constantly so that she won't be kidnapped, as was threatened. Hearing this, Callie knew that if she told Perseus, he would be prepared to take the role as her personal guard, he was also the most skilled fighter she had ever even heard of and had proven himself in the pankration to be worthy of the role, making him fit to fulfil the task. Furthermore, Callie and as a result, Ariadne can properly trust Perseus and be comfortable with him around as opposed to whoever else may fill the role, and most importantly was that Ariadne is Callie's closest friend beyond Perseus who was practically her brother, meaning that Perseus wouldn't give a second of doubt to taking the position of protecting her.

As such, she suggested to Ariadne who had been confused about the offer, knowing that whilst he was a good fighter that he worked at the docks, and so she asked Callie why Perseus would make a good guard. Callie responded by explaining the reasons that she had just thought of and reassured Ariadne that Perseus had taken a job working at the docks because it was simple and had interested him and assured her that he is the best possible person to protect her.