The children cried with shrieks of fear. They yelled forward, "the Persians are coming!"
They all ran across the city streets like their lives depended on it. Scurrying feet like small rats, they didn't even stop to catch their breaths. Instead, they hid under carts, building pillars, and around temple steps to hide from the Persian onslaught.
A girl, no older than five, tripped before she could go any further. "Don't leave me behind!" She called out.
From behind the Persian announced, "I found you!"
She screamed as the Persian picked her up from the waist. The warrior woman lifted the little girl from the ground and laughed while being spun in the air, "now I will eat all the babies like the barbarian I am!"
The woman began gnawing at the toddler's stomach. The little girl only laughed as she tickled her tummy. The toddler yelled, "help me sis!"
Another little girl, no older than six, ran up to Shida and hugged her by the leg, "let my sis go!"
"Catch." Shida dropped the toddler into the girl's body, and the older sister plopped onto her bum as her little sister fell into her arms.
The other kids came out from hiding. Four in total, all of them raised their tiny hands in the air, "eat me! Eat me!" They ordered.
The Persian woman patted two of them on the head. "I'm a Persian, you can't tell me what to do."
She still picked up two of the Spartan children and spun them underneath the pits of her arms. "Haha, I claim these Spartans as property of King Darius! May you all serve my king as slaves!"
The kids cried in laughter as they spun around from her waist. She did three more spins before she slumped back onto the ground and laughed with the other kids. The grass was brightly green in this area. Reflecting the sun with an almost golden glow. The fertilized soil made the water soft, as though all of the greek waters flowed beneath the soils.
She said to the kids, "you puppies are very lucky, I was raised atop of mountains, where the air was cold and plants were rare."
"Is that what Olympus is like?" One of the older children asked.
"I don't know. In fact, I don't even know what Olympus is. If its a mountain, I think it would be like my home."
From the distance, another figure walked towards the field the adult and children were laying on. "Shida," her friend said, "come on, Tao is ready."
Shida sat up from the grass. She stroked her raven colored hair after stretching her arms outward. That smile was encapsulating. Her natural tan skin and night colored hair shined. Shida's posture and physique was exotic to the men and children of Greece.
Ezra, in contrast, seemed bulky in comparison. Her boatsful frame implied strength and muscle. The heavier features were highlighted from her taller than average height, and any femininity Ezra could've had was tucked away due to her warrior lifestyle. The only thing 'pretty' from her was the brightly colored autumn shining hair, and even that was more often covered in armor.
Shida said, "okay, but we have to say bye to the children first."
The Spartan children were laying on the ground smiling. Ezra stared down at them with her flatlined face. The children frowned at the sight of her. Ezra said, "go home, or I'll eat you."
The children screamed, and scattered away from Ezra as they yelled 'monster' all the way home. These screams were more horrifying than playful like it was for Shida.
Shida said, "maternal instinct has left you, hasn't it?"
"It was never there to begin with."
Shida tilted her head and stared at Ezra's thighs, "are you sure? Those look like birthing hips."
"Knock it off, the sooner we go the better."
Shida walked over to the nearby ruined temple to pick up her belongings. It was mercenary gear. Tools she'd collected on her way to the city. Shida's chainmail was much smaller than Ezra's, but it provided a level of flexibility that gave her more speed than Ezra could attain. Shida's swords were also smaller than Ezra's, proving that Shida preferred small quick succession attacks than long thrusts from the heavy battleaxe Ezra used.
Shida asked, "is he at the stables this time, or at the Artemis shrine?"
"Neither, he's at the mess hall."
"Mess hall? Since when could he afford that."
"He's not paying, the Spartan citizens invited him to dine with them."
Shida raised an eyebrow. Ezra added, "apparently they like hearing him talk."
"Sarcastically or non-sarcastically?"
"Take a wild guess."
"That poor thing."
Ezra and Shida walked across the streets before reaching the mess hall. The city was unnaturally clean. It was public duty for citizens to clean up their own trash, nothing defiled the streets as they walked towards the mesh hall. It was like the community itself was responsible for maintaining their own law and order.
The sight was a stark contrast from all the Persian cities they'd seen before reaching Sparta. Although the city lacked the architecture they were used to seeing in Persia, Sparta was very nearly a crimeless city.
Not only that, they saw no old men, no sick children, and no impoverished people littering the streets. It was surreal. Like they'd stepped into another world, a world where citizens made it their duty to remove all forms of indecency. It was also unnerving. They were beginning to understand why the other greek cities praised Sparta so much.
They reached the mess hall at the edge of the city. The mess hall was practically barracks, and was simply a dining hall where veteran citizens could socialize before going about their civic duties. Upon reaching the entrance, they were stopped by guards. "For citizens only."
Ezra didn't hesitate, she placed a gold coin in the guard's hand as a bribe, "here you go, let's not waste more time here." Ezra almost stepped passed them, but the guards pushed Ezra back.
The Spartan soldier took the coin and dropped it to the ground in front of her. "Your wealth isn't the issue ma'am, the issue is that you're neither a Spartan citizen nor an entertainer."
"Entertainer?" Ezra raised an eyebrow, "do we look like entertainers? I know for a fact a Persian ambassador is in there. Look at our armor. We're here as bodyguards to the ambassador."
"Bodyguards?" The Soldier raised an eyebrow. "You girls look as dainty as flowers, now I know someone set you both up to this."
Ezra gritted her teeth. Shida walked up to the guard, and whispered something seductively into his ears. The Spartan's eyes widened and said, "oh my, why right this way then."
The guard moved to the side. Ezra raised an eyebrow as she followed Shida into the mess hall.
"What did you say?" Ezra asked her.
"That we're a very special type of entertainment," Shida gave a wink as Ezra paled.
Inside the hall, the dining place had become lively with noise. Spartan citizens laughed and danced as they discussed among their peers subjects such as philosophy and politics. The tunic wearing men were mostly old men, veteran soldiers who had earned the right of seniority in the mess hall.
There were many young men too, most of which were more interested in the prostitutes singing and dancing at the edges of the room. A few whistled towards Ezra and Shida for their attention. "Ignore them," Ezra ordered.
"I'm actually flattered," Shida said. A few of the men scanned the two girls like they were aliens. Strange, unusual, and beautifully exotic. "I know men are thirsty, but how thirsty do you have to be to eye a women in armor?"
"They're students," Ezra commented. "They spent their whole lives at a men's training academy, of course their standards are low."
Shida scrunched her lips, "you're aware that we're pretty, right? Our bodies are as fit as it could be and our skin is flawless. If anything, since we're foreigners we look like exotic goddesses to them."
"I don't really care," Ezra said walking as she looked for Tao.
"Honestly, you should really just enjoy it while you get the chance. It's not everyday you get to be looked upon as a lady."
Ezra scowled, but choose not to make a comment. After passing a sea of rowdy men and observant eyes, they finally found Tao in the middle of a group of men, listening carefully as he finished his commentary. "And then Hera says to Zeus, 'you're not even the fucking father.'"
The Spartans bursted out in laughter at Tao. They smiled and even held Tao by the shoulders to show their camaraderie towards him. Tao was in his element. The girls had never seen this side of him, but him building bonds between war hardened soldiers was something he was versed for most of his life.
Tao smiled at the sight of Ezra and Shida, and they simply watched as he had his fun with the others. "Two things," Shida said to Ezra. "First, since when did he know fun? Second, how many drinks did it that take him?"
Ezra tilted her head, "do you think he knows they're laughing at him, and not with him?"
Tao took cups of wine from two Spartans, and chugged them down at once. Shida bit her lips, "no one that inebriated would care enough for it to matter."
Tao was a man from east asia, the Asia beyond the Persian empire borders. People often stared at him like he wasn't human, but it never perturbed Tao. Even though there were nearly no people from the Warring states in this side of the world, Tao never came off as an isolated man.
His presence always beamed with energy, constantly doing everything within his power to show others a good time. The girls wondered how he became Dariu's favorite diplomat.
Ezra looked over her shoulder. Two young boys pointed at Ezra and Shida, and made jokes among themselves as they laughed in private. Ezra frowned. She could only guess what they were saying, but it was probably easy to assume that they were commenting on their roles as Persian bodyguards.
"Like cows wearing chainmail," they heard one of them say. The two boys laughed alone, clearly isolated from the rest of the Spartan seniors.
Every ounce of Ezra wanted to put them in their place, but as guests in their city, she was experienced enough to know that it wasn't her job to prove her own worth to strangers. Shida, on the other hand, simply winked at Ezra before approaching the young soldiers. "Fine swords you have there, have they ever seen combat?"
"Of course," one of the men said boastfully. They were very young. Fresh graduates to the Spartan academy. "Persia might be large, but only Sparta produces true warriors."
"Aye," the other boy said elbowing his friend, "Persians must be truly feeble if they dress up daughters in armor to make up for their lack of real men."
The two men couldn't hold themselves back from chuckling. They held onto each other as they bent down to laugh in her face. Shida remained calm and smiling as she spoke. "Well, how about you prove that then? Afterall, if Persians are really as weak as you say, two Spartan warriors could easily defeat two dainty flowers like me and my friend." Shida nodded to Ezra who was listening from the distance.
One of the boys said, "hah, no thank you. I've never laid a hand on a woman, and I don't plan on starting now."
"It'll only be for fun. I'd love to see how a Spartan warrior holds up against a Persian elite. And if you win," Shida leaned in close and whispered into the soldiers ear. She went on for a few minutes, telling them things that made their faces turn red in hotness.
Shida leaned back and smiled at them. They both looked at her in a daze. The two boys, longing for her offer after a spending their whole youths in a male-dominated academy, grinned wickedly from her proposal.
Shida stepped away, and headed toward the courtyard with the boys following her. Ezra rolled her eyes and followed her friend into the courtyard.
The courtyard was a sport yard. Designed as a wide space for a large crowd, the outside was often used for formal duals or training grounds for Spartan men and their sons. Brawls were normal, but very rarely did outsiders get the chance to use it. Once at the courtyard, the two boys picked out training swords from the Training armory.
"Not real swords?" Ezra asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Of course not," one of the boys said. "You'd die if we used the real thing, not much of a prize if the goods are damaged." The teenagers nodded a wink in her direction.
Ezra turned around and squinted at Shida, "wait, did you involve me in that prize?"
Shida shrugged, "between you and me, it's been too long since you've been laid."
"You're filth, Shida."
Shida smiled as she picked up the wooden sword and handed one to Ezra. Ezra twirled the sword in a fast swift action fashion. She spun it across her back, head, arms and waist. Shida made the choice to toss the sword in the air a few times, before twirling the wooden hilt into her palm.
Shida smiled."Ready boys?"
The two boys stared at the girls in disbelief, suddenly doubtful if the challenge would still be easy. A few citizens stepped out of the mess hall, they all laughed as the two youths entered a sparring position. "Don't be a women, boys!" One of the Spartans called out, "let's see if the legends of the Amazonians are true."
Ezra rolled her eyes again. There was a legend amongst the warriors of Greece, that women warriors from the east were actually half beast and half man. Ezra always swore beneath her breath every time a Greek asked if she had a shlong between her legs.
"Aye, its true," Shida called out, "our breasts are also as hard as stone. Swing right here boys, and I'll show you what I've got!"
The crowd laughed while their opponents snarled. The two of them charged head first with their blades hung back ready to swing.
'Amateurs.' Just as the girls assumed, the boys were amateurs. Probably never having seen real combat before, they swung their blades in wide strides to display their strength rather than to outspeed the enemy.
Shida and Ezra didn't even unsheathe their own swords. Holding the wooden sticks close to their waists, the girls simply side stepped to slide between them. Holding their hilts, Shida and Ezra kicked and punched the boys forward.
They kept their palms on the sword handles as the boys stumbled forward. With a groan, the boys rushed them again. Again, the girls twirled away to hit the boys at their pressure points. Ezra used her hilt to hit a boy at the ribs, while Shida slapped her palm at the other boy's neck, almost simulating that she could've killed him if this were real combat.
The men of Sparta suddenly began cheering and laughing at the boys. None of them seemed concerned that Persian women were about to beat their own soldiers. The boys began flailing the swords at the girls in a brutish fashion.
The flails came quicker this time, with actual technique rather than exaggerated thrusts for spectacle. The girls stayed distant. Dodging swings occasionally but making sure to stay back from stabbing range. Like cats with innate instinct, the girls weren't hit once as the boys ran at them with swinging motions.
In an instant, Shida and Ezra switched opponents. Surprised by the tactic shift, Shida began smacking her palms across her new opponent's body, while Ezra used the hilt of her wooden sword to hit the stomach, gut, neck and hips of her opponent. The boy's bodies gradually felt pain as the girls hit them in quick succession shots wearing down the boy's stamina.
Each time one of them would aim for a swing, the girl's rightfully predicted and dodged the movements accordingly, and went so far as to use their own weight to constantly throw them off balance. Not once did they draw their swords.
The first boy lost his sword once Shida began smacking at his wrists. Then Shida headbutted the Spartan on the nose before kicking him onto the ground. Ezra jumped to dodge a swing, then she stepped onto his wooden sword and hopped onto the Spartan's face. She kicked it twice before he fell onto his ass in pain.
Ezra and Shida finally pulled out their swords and pointed them swords at the grounded Spartans. "You lose," they both said together.
The Spartans cheered for the girls. The humiliated boys laid back on the ground with mouths gaping in humiliation. The swords pointed at their heads while their fellow Spartans laughed at the young soldiers. "Who's the girls now?" One of the seniors said.
"I told you Amazonians were real!" Another one cheered.
"Aye, I'd rather have been flogged than have my ass handed by Persians!"
The towering voices in the crowd ranged from ridiculing their fellow Spartan, to praising the foreign girls. Neither Ezra or Shida minded it, they were satisfied enough with just proving their own strength.
Tao walked forward with his arms crossed, "well, it seems you've gotten the Spartans to like you."
"Yes," Shida said in a stern nod, "And I also managed to preserve Ezra's virginity."
Ezra frowned. She took in the crowd for awhile longer, and finally smiled at the praise from them. "Well Tao, you've convinced me. Let's hope your meeting with the Spartan kings go well, I'd hate to have to raze this city to the ground if they don't submit to us."