Icarus finished feeding the Salukis and was changing their water when he stepped on their feces. "Take me to the crows!" He yelled while scraping of the bottom of his sandal against a wood log from the fence. "I wish you would all run away, never to be seen again you stupid dogs!"
"It is not their fault, you know."
Icarus turned towards the woman's voice. It was Pasiphae, who entered the dogs' pen.
"All they do is eat, drink, sleep, defecate and urinate," the Athenian complained.
Pasiphae placed her hand inside a small bag that hung across her shoulder. She grabbed a few herbs from it and rubbed them in her hands while kneeling by the bitch. "Come to me, beautiful." She opened her hands and offered them to the dog who timidly smelled and licked them. "Good girl." She petted the dog while holding her head gently. She rubbed the silky hair covered ears. "You're carrying puppies."
"How would you know?"
"Hello. You must be Icarus. I'm Pasiphae."
"I know. You are hard to miss."
"So I've heard."
"How do you know the dog is carrying?"
"Let's just say I have a way with animals."
"Not me. I wish I was as far away from them as possible." Icarus crossed his arms as he leaned on the fence.
The male dog sniffed Pasiphae. She offered her hands and he smelled and licked them. She petted him. "They don't like you much either."
Icarus pressed his lips and looked the other way. He saw her stand and go to him.
She leaned on the fence by his side. "I came from far away too, you know. People know less about Colchis than they do about Athens or Egypt. We look different too. You can say this is a stranger land for me than it is for you. I get the feeling I know what you are going through."
"No, you don't. You've got a lot of Colchians around you. You don't have to do things you don't want to." He clenched his melted golden ring pendant in his hand.
Pasiphae chuckled. "Believe me, if I had a choice, I wouldn't be here. What have you got there?"
"It belonged to my mother." He looked at the pendant. "It is the only thing I have that belonged to her."
"What happened to her?" Pasiphae extended her hand towards Icarus, who took the pendant off his neck and handed it to her.
"She died. A fire in our house. She was asleep."
Pasiphae listened attentively while she rubbed the ring with her thumb. She wrinkled her forehead and placed her hand inside her bag of herbs. "Was she the only one to die?"
"Father was with Iapyx, at a construction site."
Pasiphae took the pendant with the hand that had been inside the herbs' bag. She returned it to Icarus but grabbed his hand tightly with both her hands. "How did you escape the fire?"
Icarus pulled his hand gently, but Pasiphae insisted in holding on to it. "I- I was playing outside."
She let go of his hand and sighed. She looked down at both dogs laying by her feet. "It is very hard sometimes, to accept what has come to pass. Especially if we think we could have done something to change it."
Icarus placed the pendant back on his neck.
"We try to run away from it," Pasiphae continued. "But it will not let us go." She noticed Icarus was avoiding her words. "Icarus." She stood in front of him, and placed her hand under his chin, lifting slightly his head so he would look at her. "It wasn't your fault. You were just a child. Should you ever want to talk about it, you know where to find me. I am hard to miss." She smiled.
Icarus took a deep breath. "Got to clean the pen now."
"Let me have them."
"What? You can't take care of them; you are a Queen!"
"Not yet, I am not. Don't worry. I had plenty of animals by my side back home," she took a knee and petted both Salukis.
"These dogs will not stay by your side. They'll run away the first chance they get, never to come back again," Icarus assured.
"Not from me, they won't. Besides, if they do run away you can say it was my fault. Afterall, you must obey a Queen, don't you?" She winked at him.
#
"What have we got here," Chalya greeted Pasiphae who walked in the courtyard with the Salukis. "Here, give me that bag," she extended her hand to Pasiphae. "I know what you got there. It is the only way these dogs would be with you without a leash." She took the bag and grabbed a pinch of herbs from it. She rubbed them with both her hands and let the dogs smell and lick them. She petted them. "She's got puppies. Three of them. What are these Salukis doing here?"
"They belong to Minos. Surely a gift from Egypt. I don't think they know how to take care of them."
"You did right in bringing them here." Chalya stood and went to Pasiphae. She grabbed her face with both hands on her cheeks and started inspecting her closely.
"What are you doing?" Pasiphae complained.
"Be still! Ah! I knew it! There it is!" She said agitated while pointing at a single faint line spreading out from the corner of her eye. "You've been using magic. Don't deny it!"
Pasiphae walked away from Chalya. "A little here and there. Nothing much. Nothing that would get noticed," she crossed her arms.
"My dearest," Chalya moved in front of her again and grabbed her hands. "It is not that anyone would notice. I know you are careful. That's not the point. Magic has a price, regardless of how much you use."
"I know, I know. I assure you, I'm not about to waste my life over magic. Now can we find some beds for these dogs?"
"Don't change the subject on me," she snapped. "You don't get a wrinkle like that by whispering to dogs."
"Alright, alright," she waived her off. "Don't tell me what I already know. I am not a child anymore."
"In my eyes, you will always be my little girl."
"I love you too," she hugged her Amah. "Now can you help me make beds for these dogs while we talk about what names should we give them?"
"Sure." I wonder what whispers are you keeping to yourself.