TEN
Apollo had sent Chiron to Anatolia after learning about Alexis and Paris' predicament. The god was furious about Zeus' and Athena's games, and was compelled to help. He was unable to attend to the matter himself, so he sent Chiron in his stead. I didn't know how Apollo brought them here, but my mind was still reeling over the fact that I was staring at the Chiron. Heracles' mentor. Achilles' mentor. The most civilized and caring centaur right there, before my very eyes. I was honoured that Apollo had sent Chiron to our aid. And relieved. We were finally in good, safe hands.
The mare was Chiron's daughter, Melanippe. She was to be our ride, once Chiron tended to Paris. She grazed on the grass nearby, her tail swishing contently. Her hair was so soft and smooth. I stroked her side, finding the gesture soothing. She twisted her head to stare at me and I saw a flicker of comfort in her dark eyes. I liked to think she was offering reassurance.
"These herbs will help with infection," Chiron explained, slathering a salve over Paris' head. "I made it myself with the herbs on Mount Pelion and the sap from the trees." He held out a new waterskin and Paris took it thirstily. "With the water from the Pelion waterfalls, you will be well enough to move. It is far superior to what you were drinking." Chiron picked up the dead cannibal's waterskin, sniffed it and wrinkled his nose. "Hideous creatures, those androphagi. I am sorry we were not here sooner to aid you."
"Thank you," the shepherd prince smiled.
The colour was back, his eyes lighting with their charismatic charm. He too was in awe, eyeing the gentle centaur with reverence and timidness. The stories of his mentorships have travelled through Anatolia as well, then.
"I never thought I'd ever meet you," he admitted, "that you were only for the greatest and strongest Greek heroes. I also assumed you'd take their side over a Trojan's."
Chiron scoffed, stuffing the salve back into his sack. "I am not on any side of this conflict. The concerns of men are not my own and though my services are given to those who hold certain destinies, I do not ignore those who require my help." He glanced at me with those sharp, black eyes, the look so penetrating, I couldn't hold it. "And you, Alexis, your destiny is greater than any of those I have mentored. It is an honour for me to teach you the ways of this world."
He stood and offered Paris a hand up. "Your father is searching for you. Take Melanippe, she knows where he is. You have your own destiny to pursue, though you do not know it yet." The centaur smiled and placed a hand on Paris' arm. "She is in good hands now."
"Wait, what?" Did I just hear that right? "No, I'm not leaving Paris... not until I know he'll be alright."
"He is fine," Chiron replied, "I am the finest healer and my daughter is a remarkable tracker. You must learn under my guidance and await further instruction."
"Look, I'm sure your guidance is great for heroes, but I am not that." I moved to stand next to Paris. "And, while yeah I'm grateful that Apollo sent you, I've had bad luck with the gods... I don't know if I can trust his motives."
"You can trust me. I do not lie and I do not care about these petty grievances between man and god. You will get the truth from me with none of those games."
"Then come with us. Or don't. Either way, Melanippe is going to be taking both of us to Paris' father." I crossed my arms, daring the centaur to argue. "I owe it to Paris to see he gets home safe."
A hand reached for me, calloused and reassuring. Paris took my hand in his and he squeezed it. A raven fluttered onto a branch nearby, squawking its arrival. I stared at it before looking at my hand intertwined with Paris'.
"Alexis, you don't owe me anything," he said. "I only wanted to make sure you were safe. I would put myself in harm's way a thousand times over to ensure your safety. I still don't understand what you are caught up in, but perhaps going with Chiron is your safest path."
Those buttery eyes were hard to resist, and when I shook my head, my heart was ready to burst.
"I'm not leaving you until I know you are safe," I said firmly. I glanced at the centaur, who was, surprisingly, non-plussed by the whole conversation. Melanippe was grazing again, also uninterested. "So, Chiron, you coming with or not?"
"I had been warned you were stubborn," Chiron muttered, "much like my student, Achilles. Whatever I say will obviously not convince you to stay with me, so let us journey to the shepherd's farm.
"Great," I grinned, clapping my hands, "let's get a move on. We're losing precious daylight."
"You're the one who had to argue the morning away," Chiron pointed out. He helped Paris onto the mare, and then did the same for me.
"Is that a trace of sarcasm from such a civilized and wise centaur?" I gasped, mockingly. "Chiron, tsk."
Chiron didn't take the bait. Instead, he placed a hand on his daughter's side. "Hold on tight. Melanippe is a careful mare, but she's fast."
I wrapped my arms around Paris, who clutched Melanippe's black mane. Chiron's magic salve had done its job swiftly. Even though Paris was still shaky, he was holding himself properly, his legs clenched behind the mare's shoulders. I balanced on her flank, my knees pressing into the soft of her stomach. The raven cawed once more before taking to the sky. It circled us once before moving in the direction we were headed.
With Chiron in the lead, we rode away from the gruesome camp. I wished I could leave the memories behind as well, but I was relieved to finally put the camp behind us.
****
"You understand that there is only so much I can teach you with Trojan prince so close," Chiron said, once we stopped for a rest. "It will still be easier for us if you departed his company."
We'd been riding for hours when the centaur called for a rest. He refused to push his daughter to exhaustion. We were still hours away from Paris' home. Dryope's territory was days away from Mount Ida. Troy, further still. Time was a funny concept, especially when I had lost track eons ago.
Paris was tending to Melanippe, feeding her an apple, while smoothing her hair. He muttered under his breath, revealing secrets to Melanippe only. He had a dreamy smile, the lids of his eyes heavy. It was the most relaxed I'd seen him since we first met.
"I know," I sighed. I rolled a grape between my fingers. "But he can't know who I really am, and I'm not leaving him." I plopped the grape in my mouth and winked at the centaur. "You'll just have to work around all the things you don't want him to know."
"Your flippant attitude towards your predicament is concerning," Chiron frowned.
"Flippant? No, I wouldn't call it that." I dug my toes into the earth, the cool dirt pleasant. "Humour is medicine, right? Well, I'm a hit at funerals. People pay to listen to my jokes—"
"Alexis," the centaur warned.
I rolled my eyes, kicking the dirt. "Point is, Chiron, this is what I do when I'm freaking the fuck out. I am so out of my comfort zone it stopped being funny three thousand years ago." I raked my hands through my hair. "If I start taking things "seriously" as you say, I'll go insane. So, sorry-not-sorry for my flippant attitude."
Paris now sat next to Melanippe, staring up at the sky. The air was so clean I was waiting for my lungs to go into shock. A raven circled above, searching for food. A deer and her baby grazed opposite from where we sat. It was alarmingly different from the night before. Peaceful. Perhaps being with Chiron and his daughter made everything better. No, not perhaps. It did. I hadn't even been that relaxed with Dryope.
Thinking of the dryad, I found the acorn and clutched it. An anchor in the storm that was now my life. I smiled.
"You remind me of Achilles," Chiron chuckled. "He too found light in even the darkest moments. And stubborn. I thought I had encountered such stubbornness only in Achilles. I guess my long life can still contain surprises."
I took that as a compliment, even if it felt more like a jibe. "He must be a Taurus too."
"You must not give up hope, Alexis," Chiron continued. He gave my shoulder a squeeze, the gesture comforting enough to make me tear up. "Your part to play in this story is still coming to fruition."
"No presh or anything," I sniffed as Paris approached us. "Thanks for the pep talk."
"I recognize this land," Paris grinned.
He was bouncing back well, his pink cheeks glowing with health. His eyes now shone with that naive curiosity I had missed. But they creased with concern when he saw my expression.
"Are you okay, Alexis?"
I scrubbed my eyes free of pesky tears. "Uh huh, allergies. Shitty timing. So, we're heading out?"
"Yes, we are close to your father," Chiron nodded.
He stroked his beard as he spoke. It was such a human gesture I almost forgot he was half horse. Chiron reminded me of a dad. I'm sure in the modern world, he'd be just as lame with his dad jokes too. Chiron seemed like a dad joke kind of guy.
My dad had been a dad joke kind of guy... He was ridiculously smart, always throwing out random facts, and he encouraged me and my siblings to read. Reading is the most important piece of society. It's how we grow, how we learn. Our stories fuel our world. It's how I fell into studying mythology. Connecting to the past by reading their stories.
Now I was smack dab in the middle of one of those stories.
I clutched Paris' robe as a fresh bout of homesickness hit me. Chiron had been mistaken about one thing. He thought I was giving up.
If anything, I was more determined than ever to get to my time.