Prophecy of the Most Beautiful

by Jones, Diantha

  Strafford didn't answer, but pointed at the gleaming blue sea of water to their right. "Tha's the Aegean Sea. If you cross it, you'll dock in Athens." She could see a stretch of land in the far distance and felt a tickle in her chest knowing it was the Athens. To the far left was another body of water. "Tha's the Ionian Sea." He looked at her. "On the other side of it is Delphi...and the Temple of Apollo."

  The site of the Oracle, my site, she thought. She bit her lip. "Is that why we're here?"

  "I hope not," said Swindle, "You're forbidden to visit any oracular sites––past, present or future––by decree of Zeus and on pain of death. For all of us." He pulled a thick, rolled scroll out of his pack.

  Strafford's eyes narrowed as he read the piece of papyrus Swindle had unrolled for him. "Bloody melter," he growled and shoved the paper into the Ace's outstretched hand.

  Swindle nodded. "You should really stop avoiding the Enlightener, Strafford. You've got to keep up with these things. The Enlightener is our kingdom's newspaper," he explained to her, showing her the front page.

  "It's a bloody gossip mag," Strafford grumbled.

  "It's not. It's an informative, credible piece of literature that keeps us updated on everything that's happening in Myth. If I wasn't subscribed to it, I don't think any of us would know a blerrie thing."

  "Well, we're lucky to have you then," She said.

  "That's what I'm always saying."

  She smiled. "So, where are we?"

  Strafford rolled his eyes. "I thought tha' was obvious, wan. Ancient Greece."

  Judging from what she'd just seen, though awed, she wasn't surprised. "Ancient Greece. Right. Now what?"

  "We're going in."

  "Okay. You know the way?"

  He smirked. "Unfortunately, yes. I've been here before."

  "What?"

  However, nothing was more surprising than the Dropper, who had been very quiet, stepping forward and saying, "I believe, so have I."

  *****

  XX. Chloe

  The city was Corinth, an ancient coastal city-state located on the Isthmus of Corinth, the stretch of land that connected the Greek peninsula Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. That particular day marked the beginning of Aphrodisia, a week-long festival in honor of Aphrodite, the patroness of Corinth. The Billows had brought Strafford to ancient Greece once before during a mission years ago. He refused to go into any details about it beyond having to row his way across the bay that formed part of the Aegean Sea from Corinth to Athens to escape a gang of renegade centaurs. Dropper had no idea what connection he had to the city, only that he knew there was one. His memory was still as blank as ever.

  Strafford wasted no time locating a hidden side entrance into Corinth that he knew of. They couldn't go in through the main gates looking like they did without being interrogated at sword point first. What could they say? That they had come from a time that hadn't happened yet––a few thousand years in the future? That they'd slipped up and fallen out of the clouds and landed safely right outside of their city? It sounded ridiculous even to Chloe, and she knew it was the truth.

  The entrance had two men standing guard.

  Strafford said something in Greek as he walked up behind them. The guards turned…and Strafford uppercut one, then cold-cocked the other. One hitter quitters. Catching the men before they hit the ground, he and Ace dragged them into a small thicket of trees nearby. Swindle pried open the barred door, and they entered the city from the west, the peasants' village, leaving them in the midst of the rundown mud brick houses she had seen from the forest.

  The shabby houses were practically built on top of each other with obviously little care for whether the houses were strong enough to keep from collapsing in on their inhabitants. Serious cracks ran up and down the bricked sidings, roofs were half caved in, doors were missing or broken, and disabled wagons blocked the tiny dirt roads forcing people to turn sideways and pass them one at a time. The air smelled of spoiled cabbage and sour milk and in the summer heat, the putrid odor was intensified. Chloe held her breath as much as possible and when she couldn't do that, she breathed only through her mouth.

  The peasants' village was only semi-deserted so they made sure they kept a low profile and took shortcuts through empty huts whenever they saw a chance to. Not knowing what they were even doing in Corinth or what they were looking for, they ducked inside the first unoccupied respectable house they came across on the outskirts of the peasants' village to discuss their options.

  It was a large, mud-bricked domain with several rooms and not enough windows. It was pretty dim inside for it to be such a bright, sunny day, but she could make out all of the house's features. They entered into a stone courtyard that contained a water well and a small altar that Strafford said was dedicated to Hestia, the goddess of Hearth and Home. Surrounding the courtyard on the bottom level, was a storage room filled with ceramic jars of food and other cooking supplies; a kitchen with a smoking hearth and a couple of wooden tables for preparing meals; a washroom with a simple terra cotta tub and basin; and what Swindle said was the Andron, a room where men of the house had their drinking parties. Upstairs had simply furnished bedrooms and a room for women to weave and sew in, but it was in the slaves' quarters that they found their way into the heart of Corinth.

  "It's too hot to wear these," Ace complained, holding up the brown wool robes they had discovered. It seemed a slave had been preparing to wash the robes or had just finished doing so, but the project had been abandoned, as they were sure many chores and daily duties had been, so they could celebrate in the festival.

  Swindle sniffed the one he had picked up and frowned. "Definitely unwashed." Dropper's nose wrinkled in disgust.

  "Well, they're all we've got," Strafford said, throwing on a robe over his t-shirt and jeans. "We're going into the city to have a look around."

  "Does Corinth look familiar to you at all?" Chloe asked the Dropper. "Does it bring back any memories now that you've walked through part of it?" She thought maybe his memories could be possible matches to any of the numerous ones in her head.

  "I cannot say that it does," He replied, clearly thinking hard about it. "However, I must say again, I do feel like I should know why we are here. But unfortunately, I still do not." He looked as disheartened as she felt, but she smiled to let him know that everything would still be okay.

  "From what I've studied about our ancient cities, Corinth was known for its lax ways," Swindle said, pulling on a robe. "I think we'll be able to look around without getting hassled, even with the festival going on."

  "Except for in the east part of the city," Strafford said, "The nobility and wealthy merchants live there and they will have beefed up their security with all the outsiders travelin' in. Stay out of tha' part of town."

  "Why? Are we splittin' up or somethin'?" Ace asked.

  "Aye. You and Swindle will go to the acropolis and see wha' you can find out. Start with Aphrodite's temple. It'll probably be mad in there today of all days, but play it cool. The purification of her altar would've been done at dawn, so at least most of the priests would've gone back to their respective temples by now. The townspeople won't even notice tha’ you seem extra curious."

  Ace circled his heart with his fist. "Okay, and wha' will you three be doing while we're snoopin' around in the temple?"

  Strafford smirked. "We'll be at the agora, o' course, right in the middle of Aphrodisia."

  *****

  Chloe absolutely refused to put up the hood of her smelly robe in the stifling heat of Corinth. Strafford didn't really have a valid protest against it since half of the people in Corinth were visiting from nearby towns anyway. The city was full of strangers and they wouldn't stand out, even Strafford with his pierced lip.

  After burying their packs for safe-keeping in the garden of the courtyard, Ace and Swindle headed to the acropolis and Strafford, Dropper and herself, to the agora. Strafford navigated while Dropper tried his best to find something to jog h
is memory back to life. From his many exclamations, she could conclude that the city looked very familiar to him, but he just couldn't recall how or why he would have been there. As they neared the agora and the ensuing festivities, she could tell his confidence was waning and the dismay of not being able to remember anything of use to them wore heavy in his expression.

  Music and laughter had swallowed up every other sound in the agora. People flashed dove charms and amulets around to ward off any evil that might ruin their good time. Several men carried a giant, constructed sea shell on their shoulders representing Aphrodite's miraculous birth off the coast of Paphos and women in colorful tunics donned pearls around their necks to symbolize Aphrodite as their prized jewel. Groups of men carried and played instruments like the lyre, which looked like a small harp that players plucked with the fingers of their left hand and a plectrum in the right, and the flute, which was a double-piped instrument that looked like a wooden clarinet. Others played cymbals, hand drums, and castanets. There was no order to it, but no one cared and they danced to it all.

  Merchants sold breads, cakes and pastries from wooden carts. Seafood––dried fish, steamed prawns, and raw oysters––was being consumed by the pound. Sliced duck was served on handmade ceramic plates and bits of goat had been skewed onto little twigs to make kabobs. Spiced wine was being poured from large ceramic jugs the size of barrels and people drank it out of little ceramic mugs or dipped their entire heads into the wine and came up wet with their thirst clenched.

  She had no idea what she was supposed to be looking for as they became swept up in the chaos that was Corinth's agora, and soon she was drawn up in the theatrics, the true purpose of their being there almost forgotten. Children tried to play with her and egg her on to chase them. Women kissed her face and threw dozens of strands of pearls around her neck.

  "They think you are beautiful," Dropper told her, eyes twinkling, "They give the most pearls to the women whose beauty best resembles that of Aphrodite's."

  As she blushed, Strafford said, "How did you know tha' fella? Thought your memory was shot."

  Dropper shrugged, seeming surprised himself. "It is not exactly a memory. It is what I know."

  Strafford helped her remove a few of the pearl necklaces that were becoming heavy around her neck and she studied Dropper like staring might help her learn something about him. It was becoming clear that he had indeed been a part of this world at some time and knew much more than his memory would allow him to recall. She wished she knew the key to unlocking it all.

  Without warning, a chant rose up in the crowd. Strafford translated for her: "May our goddess find pleasure in such crude acts as this, May our great Lady grant us fertility and sweet marital bliss, May our patron be content with the festivities amiss, How we wish to look upon her lips and seal our fidelity with a kiss!". Then...they started kissing each other.

  Men chased young women around in circles until they gave in and turned their puckered lips up to them. Mothers kissed their daughters, who in turn kissed their goddess dolls. Their sons scurried under carts and wagons to avoid being kissed all together. Husbands kissed their wives, leaving them blushing scarlet, and some even kissed the erected statues of Aphrodite, finding her likeness more desirable than anything. Chloe was overwhelmed with their passion and moved through the crowd watching them and blushing at the most intimate embraces. A group of young boys saw her and gathered around her for a kiss. She laughed and gave them each a quick peck on the cheek. Chests puffed out, they ran off in a flurry of excited chatter that she didn't understand.

  She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. Strafford, she thought as she turned around with her lips puckered, more than ready to join in with the kissing fest if it meant kissing him.

  But the lips that met hers were not his.

  She tried to pull away, but the perpetrator's kiss was unexplainably wonderful. As soon as their lips joined, she was taken over by a desire so strong that she forgot about everything else going on around her. She even forgot who she was for a moment, and that she didn't know this man and hadn't even gotten a good glimpse of his face. It just didn't matter.

  The stranger's kiss felt like every pleasure possible. It made her feel beautiful and wanted, the most desired woman in the universe. She felt a flame spark within her, filling her with an overwhelming desire to leap and dance with passion. She wanted to wrap herself around this passionate feeling and never let go.

  Was this what Aphrodisia was all about? Was everyone this happy because they felt like this?

  The stranger pulled back, way before she was ready for him to, just as curious to take her in as she was of him.

  He was an attractive teenaged boy with eyes like molten gold. Wisps of blonde hair poked out from under his hood because he was also wearing a wool robe. A slave, she thought. But then she noticed how well-kept he was. His skin was clear and smooth, and he had all of his teeth, pearly and white. His fingers grazed her cheeks and she felt how soft they were. A slave wouldn't have such soft hands. He was probably nobility.

  "Do you want more?" The beautiful boy purred in her ear, taking her face in his hands.

  Her head was moving left to right to decline the offer, but her mouth said, "Yes…more…" The boy just laughed, amused, then pressed his lips to hers and the feeling started all over again.

  But then she realized something shocking and with all of her weakened will, pulled away.

  "You spoke English, not Greek," She said.

  The boy shrugged. "I could speak Greek if you would like me to. But you don't understand Greek, so what is the point?"

  Her eyes narrowed. "Do I know you?"

  "No," He replied, "but that's only because I haven't introduced myself yet, Pythia."

  "Who are you? How do you know me?" She questioned, trying to push him away. He refused for a moment, then with a smirk, let her go.

  "Red!" Strafford was running towards her, pushing through people as they smothered each other with kisses, shouting for her. She couldn't figure out if she was happy to see him or not and that puzzled her. She turned back to the boy to continue with her questioning, but to her surprising dismay, he had disappeared. She was wrapped in Strafford's arms a moment later.

  "Damnit, Red. You can't be runnin' off like tha'," He said, "Where did you go? You were there one minute and then you weren't…" Dropper came up beside them, sparkling eyes stretched wide.

  "I…I…," She couldn't very well tell him that she had gotten distracted by some young, handsome lethario that had kissed her stupid. "I…saw some kids playing a game and got all turned around. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry."

  He nodded, forgiving her. "As long as you're okay…"

  "I am." She paused and looked at Dropper, who was staring at something behind them. "What is it? What are you looking at?"

  He didn't answer, but pointed and started moving off in that direction.

  "Bloody hell man!"

  "Let's follow him," She said, "Maybe he's remembered something important."

  "Or maybe he's jus' a nutter like I've been thinkin' all this time." But he walked with her as they trailed Dropper down a tiny street, leaving the lust-filled agora behind them.

  The road was small and littered with shells and remnants of seafood consumed in haste. All of the large, mud-bricked buildings looked the same, so for Chloe to come up with any idea as to where the Dropper was leading them was pretty much impossible. All signs were hand-written in Greek and almost illegible at that. Dropper read several of them out loud (Another clue. Dropper spoke Greek). They passed the bouleuterion and the prytaneion, the town council buildings, on their right; and a tholos-shaped (circular) building, a treasury for special citizen donors, on their left. The street led to another open square that housed the theatre, odeion (music hall) and the palestra, the gymnasium.

  "Do they have a track in there?" She questioned. The festival music had faded and it was almost silent now.

  "They do," Strafford rep
lied, "but you couldn' use it, wan. Women weren' allowed in the gymnasiums during ancient times. Fellas only."

  "How sexist," She mumbled.

  "This way," Dropper said, turning down another street.

  "Wait a bloody minute," Strafford said, grabbing the hood of Dropper's robe, "You're takin' us into the noble's village."

  Dropper yanked his hood out of Strafford's grasp. "Yes. Yes I know."

  "You got good reason? Otherwise, we're turnin' back."

  Dropper sighed. "You are not very trusting, are you? This is the right way. I know it is."

  "The right way to wha'?"

  "Just show us," Chloe spoke up. "Just take us there. But you have to tell us what you know once we get there."

  "I will, beautiful Chloe. I promise it." Without waiting for them to say anything more, Dropper started walking again. Strafford was glaring, but didn't stop him.

  They walked until they found themselves standing in the center of a culdesac of rich villas. Strafford had drawn a dagger, just in case, and prepared a nice lie for any sentry that found them. He really didn't want to have to kill any guards, but said he would if they were stupid enough not to believe it. But as it turned out, there were no guards in the nobles' village––not a single one, and Strafford found that odd.

  "Okay, tell us wha' we're doing here," He said to Dropper, "I have a bad feelin' abou' this place right now. There aren't any guards and I can't think of a good reason why there aren't."

  "Maybe they got swept up in Aphrodisia fever," She said, remembering how she had gotten tangled up in the lip lock she had shared with the strange boy. She was so glad Strafford hadn't seen that. "Maybe they were needed in the agora. Look around. This place is a ghost town. Nobody's here."

  "Nobody's here tha' we can see, Red," He replied, "Doesn't mean they're not here…"

  "I know of that house," Dropper said, pointing at a large villa in front of them. It was a well-built home, made out of stone instead of mud, and it was surrounded by a colonnade on all four sides of the courtyard with an arched entrance and terra cotta roofing. "We should go inside.” He stepped forward and Strafford's arm shot out to stop him.