Leander barely managed to prevent himself from spitting out his wine.
"Are you kidding me?!" he said, placing his cup onto the table, "You expect us kids to overthrow a king who has killed or exiled everyone who stands in his way?"
"Leander has a point," Hyphesia said, frowning, "It's not like we're destined to make this happen."
Menalarius silently gazed at each of the speakers, narrowing his old eyes as if he was reading their minds.
"I understand that this is a lot for each of you to take in. None of you asked for this. None of you even asked to be taken here. But with the right training, I believe the six of you can accomplish things everyone has been too scared to imagine," he eventually said, "You all might be mere children now, but I am confident that I can transform you all into heroes."
Leander guffawed.
"But why?" Quintiles spoke up, "Why us? Why now? Is there something we have done to be seen as capable?"
"Trust me," Menalarius said in a tone of confidence, "Each of you has been deemed worthy to be where you are right now."
These words sent a chill down each of the teens' spines.
"Well, where do we start?" Cleo asked Menalarius.
She seemed to show just enough interest to be oblivious to the recent protests. Phoebus surveyed the scene with silence. Despite the countless times he has managed to fool the guards, he knew this was going to be no easy task. Instead of city guards, he'd be facing an army. It was his instinct to survive by running or sneaking away, but he knew that wasn't enough to save a city.
"I will let you know tomorrow morning," Menalarius replied calmly, "But for now, I am presenting each of you an important question..."
The man grabbed a leather pouch that was hanging from his girdle. He opened it and took out six golden necklaces. Hanging from each of the golden chains was a golden coin.
"There it is!" Phoebus blurted out, "I was wondering what happened to those!"
The five other teens were silent, but internally they shared the same reaction as Phoebus. After arranging the six necklaces into a line on the table, Menalarius began to speak.
"These necklaces are signs of your allegiance to the freedom of Metrissa. If you wear this upon your neck, you are sworn to rise and fight for the people and all will recognize you as heroes. All will know that the legend has now become a reality. However, I do not wish to stand between you and what you hope to accomplish in life. This would be a drastic change from how things used to be. You have your lives and families waiting for you back in Metrissa. So, my question to each of you is...will you pledge your life to save Metrissa?"
The six teens sat there silently for a few minutes, staring at each of their own necklaces. This was likely their one chance to return back to their loved ones, back to having everything normal again after this strange day. Quintiles looked around hesitantly at the others. Hyphesia rose from her seat and began to take short paces. The others sat still without uttering a word. Menalarius waited patiently for the teens to at least voice their opinions, if not make their decision. Phoebus' eyes were fixed onto his golden coin. It seemed to be calling his name. The longer he stared at it, the louder the voice seemed to resonate in his head.
"I'll do it," Phoebus said, putting the necklace around his neck.
He instantly felt a sensation of firm resolve, as if the prospective idea of death had little effect on him. There was nothing for him to lose, anyway, and the idea of him not remaining a thief forever was intriguing.
"Count me in," Cleo said, putting on her necklace, "I have seen how much my parents have suffered. They nearly paid everything to give me a better future as a medical student...I want to make sure I do anything I can to give them a better future as well."
Quintiles slowly reached for the necklace, quickly pulled his hand back, but then grabbed it after a sigh.
"Alas, I am not the type for warfare and adventure," Quintiles said solemnly, "This could, however, be a fine quest to be remembered in the future, even if I am not the one singing it."
"Well said, my poetic friend," Pollux chimed in, "Despite my hopes to win a race or hurl a discus, I believe my thirst for justice surpasses all of these. Not many people in Metrissa have the privilege to chase their dreams as I do. I want to make sure anyone has the chance to become who they want to be."
Pollux placed his own necklace around his neck.
"I will value this token more than any Olympic wreath," he said.
The rest of the group then looked at Leander and Hyphesia, who were both staring with furrowed brows at the last two coins.
"Whatever," Hyphesia said bluntly, snatching her necklace, "If we're going to fight, this gang needs an archer. Plus, this coin's the coolest thing I've ever gotten without paying."
Sweat started to trickle down Leander's forehead. Granted, this was a difficult choice for everyone, but it seemed to be very difficult for him. He gave a deep sigh.
"Oh, to hades with it," he said, taking the final necklace, "Though it's going to take more than a little training to get us all ready."
"Do not worry yourself, my dear Leander..." Menalarius said with a broad smile, "I have more in mind."
The old man leaned back on his chair and let out a long exhale. From his countenance, the teens knew he had a great feeling of joy and pride. He surely had to acknowledge all of the risks and dangers that accompanied this legend, but those didn't appear to occupy his mind at the time.
"Excellent," he said, "The six of you do not know how glad I am to have lived to see this moment. So your training begins tomorrow morning, but for tonight, I want you to get to know more about each other. After all, it's only been a couple of hours with you all together. A strong bond can overcome almost any obstacle, and I can see such a bond already sprouting. Good night, students."
Menalarius rose, bowed his head toward the teens, and left the room. The six sat there in silence for a few moments, pondering the future that was ahead of them.
"I'm not ready for this..." Leander muttered, letting out a deep exhale.
"Not now," Cleo said, "But a little confidence can help us."
Quintiles rose and looked at the door from which Menalarius entered, which was closed again.
"What will he do?" he asked.
"I suppose he'll be teaching us the skills and plans," Pollux answered, shrugging his large shoulders, "He is a former general, after all. Anyway, all that rebellion talk made me hungry."
He stood up and sniffed the air.
"And I smell something really good, too. I think dinner's ready."
The others followed Pollux's lead, which eventually led them right into the dining room. The aroma of various fruits, vegetables, spices, and cooked meats had an evident presence throughout the room. In the center of the room was a large, rectangular table, topped with an overwhelming variety of basic to complex delicacies.
"By Hercules..." Leander muttered, astounded.
"I have never seen anything like this in my life," Hyphesia said.
"OLIVES!" Phoebus squealed in delight, running and claiming the chair closest to the large bowl of fresh olives.
It took little time for the teens to take their seats and begin eating. A couple of servants entered the room and began attending the needs and desires of the eaters.
"Thank Zeus!" Pollux said, taking a bite from a lamb chop, "This meal makes up for those of the past few years!"
"Menalarius must be a significant person to have this food, along with the servants," Quintiles commented, neatly arranging some vegetables on his plate.
"Say, where is the old man, anyway?" Leander asked.
The others shrugged.
"He was away in one of his rooms while we were waiting for Phoebus to come around, too..." Cleo said, "He must be occupied with something."
"To refuse a decent dinner like this?" Leander said with a laugh, "What kind of idiot is he?"
"Maybe he doesn't want to interfere with our socializing," Phoebus suggested while slicing a loaf of bread, "Back when I was on the streets, I always felt more comfortable around other thieves my age. Any conversation we have would be awkward with him around, I'll admit."
"There's something!" Pollux said, pointing his fork at Phoebus in acknowledgement.
"But he doesn't know any of us that much to conclude that," Hyphesia stated, "All he knows is that we're six legends-to-be who pledged to fight King Proximos. He doesn't know that we'd all be awkward around him all the time."
"Yes..." Leander said, "But if he doesn't know us, then why did he choose us? He could have chosen six entirely different youths! If you ask me, we didn't get a satisfying answer from him back in that room."
It took several minutes for anyone to think of a counter to Leander's observation. Cleo was the one to break the silence.
"He must know something about each of us," she said quietly, "Or else he would have been making a leap into the dark by choosing us. There must be at least one reason why he thinks we're the ones who will free Metrissa. I still agree that this question is bothering, though. Even more bothering to me is that he chose us to stand up for the suffering, but we're living in this villa as if we're celebrities. Meanwhile, the suffering continue to suffer! We need to do something!"
"Umm...last time I checked, we weren't celebrities," Hyphesia remarked, "We were just six kids giving our best shot at life."
"And that's why I'm guessing he wants to train us," Leander added, "So I'm keeping my hopes up that all the time we spend here will be worthwhile. Training may not be enough to prepare us, but I'm kind of looking forward to it. Plus, I saw that whoever took me brought my sword here as well!"
"Leander is excited for the grueling work ahead, there must not be enough wisdom inside of his head!" Quintiles sang, trying to hold back his laughter.
Leander gave Quintiles an unamused frown.
"Your songs are lame."
The others then burst into laughter and the rest of the dinner proceeded with many jokes, stories, and teasing. Quintiles also made a few more attempts at composing songs, which were all immediately stopped by Leander. Many stories were told over the span of the dinner, and it didn't take long for the six teens to recognize each other as friends. If Menalarius' absence from the meal was indeed supposed to help them bond, it was working.
~ Several hours later ~
Phoebus lay motionless in his bed. Each of the teens somehow had their own bedroom, a luxury that they were all grateful for. Having lived in a bustling town and not an isolated villa, Phoebus found the constant silence to be slightly disturbing. He may not have lived in the most active section of Metrissa, but at least there was some activity at night. The golden coin in his right hand reflected some moonlight from the window above him. It felt as if he had spent the past two hours just gazing at it. Did this thing have any significance or was it just a mere charm? The idea of charms and sacrifices disgusted Phoebus. The deities only aided the legendary heroes of old. But was he now a legendary hero or at least soon to be one? The anticipation of whatever laid ahead was killing him.
Phoebus slipped out of bed, put on one of the many cloaks available to him, and headed out of the room. He needed some time in the fresh air and there was a fancy balcony the group discovered after dinner. Breathing in the outdoor air was something he always did whenever he felt troubled, and the brisk air of the approaching fall was particularly pleasant to him.
Stepping out onto the balcony, Phoebus could feel the cold wind blow against his face. He always considered it as refreshing, no matter how tiny these gusts were. The life he had before was rough and the opportunities to escape from the stress of reality were rare. Stressful was an appropriate adjective, but his previous life was also dull. He hoped that this new undertaking wouldn't as lonely and dim as his past years.
Phoebus spotted a girl sitting right on the edge of the balcony, her back resting on one of the marble columns supporting the structure. Her long, brown hair flew about in the gentle breezes. Even though the balcony was only around ten feet above the ground, Phoebus still found this to be a dangerous spot to relax. He also had a fear of heights, so that contributed to his surprise. Trying not to sound panicked, Phoebus searched his mind for a casual greeting. Probably a question. Nah, Phoebus rarely had opportunities to talk to girls in the past, so it was time to leave a dignified impression. A casual question simply wouldn't work in his mind.
"Aren't your feet cold?" Phoebus asked.
Internally, Phoebus was disappointed with his awkwardness. Was that seriously the best thing he could think of?
The girl, being Hyphesia, turned her gaze from the full moon and raised an eyebrow at Phoebus.
"I could ask you the same thing...?" she said in a confused tone.
Trying to recover from the awkwardness of the moment, Phoebus slowly made his way closer to the balcony edge. He eventually leaned against the small balcony wall a couple of feet away from Hyphesia.
"I don't really mind it," he said, "I actually enjoy the weather when it starts to get cooler."
"Haha, same here," Hyphesia said, looking back at the moon, "Having trouble sleeping?"
Phoebus grinned.
"I could ask you the same thing...? But yes, it's been hard."
Hyphesia also grinned, rolling her eyes at the sassy response.
"I feel you," she said, nudging Phoebus' shoulder with her elbow, "I'm really hoping this won't be the stupidest decision I've ever made in my life."
"I have those same worries."
"As do I," Leander said, only a few feet behind the teens.
Phoebus jumped in surprise at this sudden appearance. Fortunately, Hyphesia didn't jump, or else she would have fallen from her position.
"Did you stay up this late just to scare us like that?" Phoebus asked, annoyed.
"Don't forget us!" a trio of voices chimed in.
Quintiles, Cleo, and Pollux joined the small assembly of teens.
"You have got to be kidding me..." Leander moaned, bringing his palm to his forehead, "We must be really bonded already if none us can get even a small bit of sleep!"
"At least we're spending this time together," Cleo said.
"Precisely," Quintiles said, gripping his lyre, "Would any of you like to hear a song I learned years ago while on vacation in Macedon?"
"No," Leander said in irritation, "Shut up."
"Barbarians!" Quintiles muttered, raising his chin in disgust.
The others laughed at this. None of them showed even the slightest signs of being tired.
"Quiet up there!" a masculine voice called out from below the balcony.
It must have been one of the cloaked men stationed around the villa's perimeter. The teens immediately shut their mouths and gave quick looks at each other.
"Hey, want to head back inside?" Phoebus whispered, "I found a fun game we could all play in there."
The others nodded at the offer and the group quickly made its way off the balcony. In reality, Phoebus was afraid of whatever the future would bring, but he was glad he'd go through it with these friends by his side.