"You could hear a pin drop"
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Playing.
The act of having fun in an imaginative way.
Playing around.
The act of having fun immaturely.
Ariadne sits on her seat in the throne room, silently staring at the empty seat opposite of her. The silence is very loud. The big and empty space of the throne room, cold marble walls and floors, suddenly make everything look way more awkward than it is. A cough could have everyone flinching, that's how silent it is. They pretend that everything is fine, occasionally glancing at the queen. And each time they see her majesty, she looks more and more angry. The tension grows.
Ariadne stares back at the empty seat. She has honestly never seen it empty before, not like this.
The monthly meeting between the leaders is very important, always happening on the first day of the month, and never missed. For thousands of years there have been meetings twelve times a year, once a month. The leader of the temple of Hera, thereby the queen, sits on the throne while the other temple leaders sit on the sides. Even the men have a similar system. Even when sick and dying the leaders have showed up, and if they physically can't a representative will be planned and sent days in advance. The meetings are that important. It shows that the queen has the support of the other leaders, it shows respect for tradition, it's where all the important decisions are made, and in times of crisis and in the aftermath of a crisis like right now, it is even more important that everyone attends.
So Thea's empty seat glares at all of them.
A seat that has never, and should never be empty during a monthly meeting.
And everyone knows why it's empty. That's the awkward part.
Daphne, the leader of the temple of Demeter was there at that meeting when Thea argued with the queen, quite loudly so. When Thea stood up and left that closed door meeting everyone there were in shock. Originally it was supposed to be a meeting concerning land distribution between Demeter's farm land and Athena's training grounds, and the queen was only there to supervise. But somehow it turned into an argument between the queen and Thea and the meeting was cut short.
The leader of Artemis temple, as she is Daphne's lover, Thelena found out the same evening. Daphne had rushed to the Artemis temple to tell Thelena, as soon as she had free time on her hands. It was big news for both leaders. The news began to spread slowly after that, from the people at the meeting to high officials and further down the chain. But Ariadne found out from the queen herself, when she visited her at the temple of Aphrodite complaining about Thea.
Now everyone is starting to figure out what is wrong. Even the people have gotten a glimpse of the rumor here and there. Thea is upset at the queen for her laziness and overall way of making decisions, and has refused an order from the queen that was given during a closed door meeting. The order that wasn't followed isn't what's important, but Thea's strength and power over the kingdom has always kept everyone on edge. She could easily challenge the queen, especially with the other leaders on her side. Especially with Ariadne on her side. And now everyone is tense. Will the queen be overthrown now? Is this a challenge to the throne?
With Thea missing from such an important meeting, such a strict traditional meeting, Ariadne is sure.
This is a direct hit at the queen. A challenge of authority. Thea holds the power of their military and she has practically been running this kingdom for years now. Ariadne knows that if her wife wanted to overthrow the queen, she could. But if she will, she doesn't know. That's the upsetting part. She has no idea what Thea is planning because they haven't talked over the past twenty four hours and now everything is going down extremely fast. So, Ariadne makes a rushed decision, that will hopefully end up being the right one.
She takes her wife's side.
Standing up from her own throne, she leaves. Her shoes echo against the white marble floor, loud and harsh in the silent throne room. Everyone is aware of what it means. The symbolism today is heavy. Daphne and Thelena stare after her with wide eyes and open mouths. Ariadne too? Everyone has been waiting for the leaders to snap and overthrow the queen for years, but now that it's finally beginning they can't believe it. It's all happening with lightning speed.
The queen clenches her fists but doesn't say a word. Her eyes are filled with thunder.
Ariadne leaves the throne room and ignores the shocked stares of the servants and guards around her. She finds her own temple girls seated in the entrance hall as always, but for once they are silent and serious. It's like they knew what was coming. Perhaps they heard the rumors. Everyone at Athena's temple have been on edge ever since their leader disagreed with the queen, but Aphrodite's temple girls have somehow also been affected. It's barely been 24 hours, Ariadne thinks. How did it get so far in such a short time?
She keeps a strong expression, even though a thousand fears and emotions are rushing through her brain. Without a word her temple girls follow her out of the palace, she doesn't even have to look at them. None of them speak on the way back to the temple. Or at least, they think that they are headed back to the temple. Ariadne isn't leading them there though. She is headed straight for the temple of Athena.
When she takes an odd turn to the right instead of the left, her temple girls finally say something.
"Leader?"
They don't have to say much else. Usually Ariadne's temple is filled with laughter, teasing voices and chattering sounds. The unusual seriousness, quiet voices and polite yet hesitant demeanor of the temple girls is weird in the moment. But Ariadne knows that they are smart, they know when to be serious. And maybe there is a hint of fear towards her as well, she holds authority over them after all.
"Agape and Serafina, you two go back to the temple and tell them to shut the doors. Nobody can come in or out unless they belong to the temple, understand?"
The girls look at each other, a thousand words portrayed in their expressions. Ariadne ignores it all, but she sees both fear and determination, courage and hesitation. They will do as she tells them to. The queen will not have control over her temple anymore, she will not allow anyone inside unless they belong there. If this means civil war, if Thea wants to overthrow the queen, then she will make sure that it is done right.
"Yes leader"
The two mentioned temple girls leave them, and the rest follow Ariadne further into Athena's temple territory. This part of the city looks like it always does, bustling with guards and secure buildings. While the people here are usually more serious and uptight, they seem even more tense now. But nobody puts their feelings to words, nobody dares to say anything. All of their resentment and fear is symbolic, silent, not heard. Ariadne ignores it all. She needs to see Thea, she needs to set her mind straight. They need a common plan, just like Irene wanted them to have. They need to talk.
They are wives after all.
The temple of Athena, a mighty sight as always, is almost intimidating as it stands right in front of them. The gates are closed and four guards stand outside it, looking serious and standing completely still, wearing their most protective armor. Another clue to whatever Thea is planning. Seems like the leader of Athena's temple had the same plan as her: close the gates.
Ariadne glances at her own temple girls. They seem intimidated by the tall guards. She turns back around swiftly when they finally stop walking.
"Let us pass, it's an order"
Ariadne says, a hint of annoyance seeping into her tone. She stares at the guards, despite being shorter, like they are nothing to her. The Aphrodite temple girls are just happy that their leader can stay so brave and intimidating in a tense and serious place like this. But their temples are not enemies. While it usually happens to be the temple of Demeter and Aphrodite that are closer to one another, being the non violent temples, and the temple of Athena and Artemis that are closer to one another because of their more violent tendencies, this generation of leaders has switched that around. Artemis temple leader Thelena and Demeter's temple leader Daphne are openly lovers, bringing the temples together, and Ariadne and Thea are not only wives but have also been lovers openly for quite some time.
Still, the tension of the moment has everyone on edge. Nobody is sure who their enemy is, who their friend is. Everything is unsure at the brink of a civil war.
"We only take orders from leader Thea"
Ariadne is quick to bite back at their dull claim.
"I'm her wife"
They stay silent at her bold statement. The silence is once again, unbearable. Ariadne gets more and more annoyed. But she understands their hesitance, so she takes a softer tone.
"The temple of Aphrodite is on your side, we are not your enemies. Let us in, I need to speak with my wife"
It's the first time the problem has been addressed with out loud words. The guards look at each other.
The gates are opened.
Irene was surprised when four of Athena's temple girls were knocking on Ariadne's office door.
She had just woken up and gotten dressed, ready to take on another day. Of course the tension between everyone was still on her mind but she was set on forgetting everything and just relaxing. She had given them another chance and she would work on that, try to focus on the positives of this world and not the negatives.
Ariadne had left an hour earlier, first to eat some breakfast and then to leave for the meeting of the leaders. Someone knocking on the door meant that they were looking for Ariadne right? They needed the leader of this temple, not some random outsider who sleeps in her bed. That's why Irene hesitated to open the office door. She peaked her head out of the bedroom but didn't dare to step any further.
The knocking was persistent though. Irene finally decided to put on a brave face and push the door open. The four Athena girls were definitely not what she was expecting. Her brave face faltered and she stepped back, suddenly shy and nervous. Their cold expressions didn't change one bit. They didn't seem surprised to see her in Ariadne's office either.
"Leader Ariadne is at the meeting"
Irene had said awkwardly, getting ready to shut the door in their disappointed faces. But one of them put their feet in between the door and the wall. Irene had looked up, surprised.
"Leader Thea wants you, Irene, to come to the temple of Athena. Urgently"
Irene didn't even think about refusing. Not only would that be terrifying and awkward, but the thought of seeing Thea excited her. The leader is her wife, but this far she has barely seen her face after the wedding. Not to mention how non existent their honeymoon was. Irene is also aware that the only reason she sees Ariadne on a regular basis is because she lives with her, both leaders are every busy and are constantly kept away by work.
So she followed them, not that she had much of a choice, all the way to the temple of Athena. Every step she took the tension grew. So much for relaxing.
The gates were opened for her and immediately closed afterwards. Irene gazed momentarily at the hundreds of training guards out on the open fields of the temple. They looked more serious than before, more aggressive. They continued towards Thea's office. Inside the large building of the temple, she found everyone to be silent and busy, even more than usual. Their footsteps echoed terribly in the cold marble corridors. Irene wasn't sure whether she was supposed to feel scared or not, whether she was supposed to show her fear or not. Because that's what she was, scared.
All of that fear has since faded away. Irene can't feel it at all. As the doors of the office close behind her and she gets to stare at Thea, her wife.
Thea looks up from her work immediately when she hears Irene come. She seems stressed, Irene recognizes. She has bags under her eyes, a few bruises and scars on her fists from training and her hair is slightly messed up from when she has dragged her fingers through the curly black strands. But the leader is still smiling, her expression lights up and life returns to her eyes when she sees Irene. The shorter girl feels all of her worries leave her body. She was scared that Thea didn't like her anymore, as dumb as that sounds. She was scared that the leader was avoiding her on purpose.
Seeing the happy expression on Thea's face now, Irene knows that all of her insecurities were wrong, like always.
"Irene! Come here baby"
Irene blushes at the nickname but does what she says. She comes closer to the leaders desk and then walks around it, standing in front of Thea. The taller stands up and immediately hugs her, leaning quite heavily into the embrace. Irene is happy to catch most of her weight, hugging back with equally as much love. She has also missed her. They have both missed each other. Irene can hear, and feel Thea sigh into her neck.
"God, I've missed this"
She sounds almost angry when she says it. Frustrated rather than relived and happy. Irene hugs her a little closer before softly letting go. Her eyes are filled with worry.
"What is going on?"
Thea's eyes get even sadder, but then she looks determined.
"You have to stay here from now on, it's not safe anywhere else after today"
Irene doesn't have time to answer. The door bursts open the same second as the leader says it. Thea turns around to see who it is and Irene is forced to do the same, mind elsewhere as she tries to translate what Thea said in her head.
"You've got anything to tell me?"
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I've explained everything concerning my late updates on my message board but once again I am so sorry for not updating. You guys are amazing and deserve better and I wish I could update this book as often as I should. I'll try to do better in the future. That you so much for your support