"How far away did you say this temple was?" I grumbled. "It feels like I've been walking for hours already, and my feet are killing me."

I had no idea how long I'd been walking or what time it was, without my phone's clock or GPS I was pretty hopeless. Although that wasn't all my fault, like the fact that I didn't know the local geography or anything definitely didn't help.

The terrain wasn't too bad, or not yet at least. We'd been going inland and uphill, so I lost sight of the sea pretty quickly. I hadn't seen any grape vines for a while either. The area was mostly woodland now, with a mix of olive and pine trees.

That line of thought was interrupted a moment later as the voice in my head replied in what felt like a bit of a judgey tone.

/I said it was a half-day's walk, but that assumes one would travel at a normal pace. You are moving much too slowly. We may not even reach the temple by nightfall if you don't quit your dawdling and complaining./

I pouted, "If I try and go any faster I'll end up tripping over this stupid dress. And like I said, my feet hurt!"

/That's your own fault. I told you not to take off my sandals. Put them back on and we'll be able to walk with greater haste./

That made me glare, but I had no-one to glare at so I directed my ire at the ground in front of me. "I didn't take them off! They fell off on their own, because they're too big for our feet. Or have you already forgotten how you got us cursed?"

The thought-voice in my head seemed equally grumpy when she responded, /That was not my intention! And the sandals will fit just fine if you simply lace them up tighter./

"We've been over this already," I sighed. "I don't know how. I've never worn sandals like this before, and I have no idea how to lace them up. Who even heard of lace-up sandals?!"

/Well what do they wear on their feet where you're from? Or do they simply wander around unshod as you're doing now?/

"Sneakers," I muttered as I rolled my eyes. "Also known as running shoes. The pair I was wearing before I ended up stuck here with you did up with velcro."

/I don't know what that is,/ Melite admitted. She seemed a little smug though when she added, /But I am certain I could figure it out. Especially if the alternative was to wander around barefoot like a beggar./

I glared again, "I bet you could. Considering velcro shoes were originally made for little children who don't know how to tie their laces."

/Well that explains why you wore them. Considering you've already confessed you don't know how to tie the laces on my sandals./

The only reason I didn't face-palm at that point was my hands were full. I was carrying the oversized sandals in my left hand, while my right held the dress bunched up around my hips so I could walk without constantly tripping over it. So I just quietly huffed and fought the urge to stomp one of my little feet.

I felt my tall bunny ears drooping to either side though, which was another strange experience. That was at the top of a long list of other unfamiliar sensations I kept getting from this body. Not that it was all bad, in fact so far most of it was actually pretty good. And other than the oversized clothes and the shoes that didn't fit, the only real complaint I had so far came about an hour earlier when I had to pee.

My first time as a girl and I had to figure it out in the woods, without a washroom or toilet paper or any other modern conveniences. Even that wasn't too bad, but it was definitely the sort of learning experience I wasn't exactly prepared for.

"Alright fine," I finally stated as I came to a halt. Then I sat down on the ground and said, "Teach me how to do up your stupid sandals."

/Very well,/ the voice in my head replied, and once again she seemed pretty smug about it.

Fortunately it wasn't as complicated as I'd expected. Mostly it was about wrapping the long leather laces around my sleek supple calfs in a certain way, before securing them with a simple knot. The sandals' soles were still several sizes too big so they stuck way out behind my heels, but as long as I was careful that shouldn't be too much of a problem. And it definitely made walking easier, plus it freed up one hand since I had less to carry.

As we got moving again I started feeling around the oversized outfit, "I don't suppose you had a knife on you? Or some other way we could cut a bit off the bottom of this dress? Then I wouldn't have to worry about tripping over it, and we could use the cut-off bit as a belt."

Unfortunately I'd already checked, and the only thing she had hidden inside the dress was a small fabric purse. So I pulled that out again and had another look at the few dozen coins inside. I'd already added that big heavy coin that brought me here earlier, and it was by far the largest coin in the little pouch. They came in a variety of shapes and styles, but they were all silver. Some were tiny thin disks, others were flattened blobs, and some were lumpy ovals.

"Could we buy a knife?" I added. "Actually what about food? I'm getting a little hungry. Are there any villages on the way to this temple? Somewhere we can stop for a bite to eat?"

/No,/ Melite responded with another feeling of resignation. /The nearest market is back in Methymna. If the temple allows us in then they will likely feed us. We'll need some of those coins to make a donation though. And perhaps a sacrifice, to one of the gods./

"Oh," I frowned as I tucked then purse away again. Then as we continued our long hike eastward I added, "Wait what kind of sacrifice? And what gods? Like, who's temple is it?"

The voice in my head explained, /A sacrifice of silver will do. The temple was originally founded by people from Anatolia, its patron goddess is Cybele. There are other altars there too though. I know Apollo is worshipped there, as are Artemis and Dionysus. There may be more, I haven't visited in many years./

I didn't know anything about Cybele, and I wasn't sure it was a good idea to get Apollo's attention again. I didn't think Dionysus would be much help either, but that last name gave me an idea.

"Do you suppose we could pray to Artemis, to lift Apollo's curse?" I asked. "Ok granted most of my knowledge about her comes from a video game, but she's always going on about nymphs right? So maybe she'd help us?"

Melite was quiet for a half minute, probably trying to figure out what I meant by 'video game'. When she did finally answer I could feel a combination of wariness and condescension from her.

/Artemis is goddess of the hunt, and of maidens, and the moon. And while she does favour some nymphs, we are not a nymph. We're a foolish girl who was cursed by Apollo. And considering Apollo and Artemis are twins, she might simply kill us outright for insulting her brother./

"Oh," I grimaced. "Ok I didn't know that."

Then I added, "What about Cybele then, do you know much about her?"

/It is said she was originally a Phrygian goddess. I don't know much about her, she's considered to be very mysterious. I do know she's associated with fertile nature, wild animals, and mountains. That's why her temple is on Mount Lepetymnos./

"What?" I gasped as I almost stumbled in surprise. "I can't climb a mountain!"

/Relax Chloe, it's not that high. And the temple isn't at the top, it's only part-way up./

Even though Melite was just a voice in my head it still sent a small ripple of joy through me to hear her call me that name. In fact I felt good enough I did a happy little ear-flick before I caught myself and quickly suppressed my smile.

Instead I forced myself to focus on something else my invisible companion said, "Nature and wildlife and mountains huh? That's an interesting mix."

/I may be misremembering some details,/ Melite admitted, /But as I said Cybele is a mysterious goddess, with origins far away from here./

"Right," I sighed.

We were both quiet again for a while after that, although the woods were far from silent. My tall fuzzy bunny ears were constantly twisting this way and that, picking up a myriad of noises from all around us. Fortunately none of them sounded threatening. Wind whispered through the pine needles, or rustled the leaves of olive trees. Small woodland creatures scampered over the forest floor, while birds chirped and sang to one another overhead. I hadn't heard a single voice apart from my own since Apollo disappeared, and I hadn't seen any sign of human activity at all.

As a modern city kid that's the thing that stood out the most. There were no power lines or telephone poles. No cell towers. No plane contrails in the sky, and no sounds of cars or traffic anywhere. We hadn't passed a single road or sidewalk, not even a path or trail. There wasn't even any bits of trash on the ground, not a single empty soda can or food wrapper in sight.

In fact the more I thought about it the more it bothered me, and the more alone I felt. My ears folded back and I hugged myself as I glanced around at the seemingly endless forest that surrounded me on all sides.

For all I knew I'd been walking in circles, if not for Melite I wouldn't have any idea where I was or how to find civilization. Then again if I was right about being in the past then I wasn't going to find anything familiar here, no matter how hard I looked. I had no idea what the world was like two thousand years ago. As far as I was concerned I may as well be on another planet.

And that thought left me suddenly missing Uncle Bruce and Aunt Mary, even if they were kind of annoying. I was thirsty, hungry, and tired. My feet hurt. And I had no idea if I'd ever find my way out of this stupid forest, let alone all the way back to the future, with my arguing family and my burned-down home. Not to mention modern plumbing, fast food restaurants, and the internet where all my friends lived.

/What's wrong? Why have you stopped? We're still hours away from the temple, we need to keep going./

"I'm scared," I admitted. I almost had to bite back a sob as I told her, "We're lost and alone in the middle of nowhere. I miss talking to my friends. I even miss my aunt and uncle. And I have no idea how I'm ever going to get back home again. Or if that's even possible."

After a long pause the voice in my head returned, with a calming feeling of self-assurance.

/We aren't lost and this isn't the middle of nowhere. And you aren't alone Chloe, I'm here with you. I know where we are, and where we're going. I'm sorry you miss your family and friends. Why don't you tell me about them, while we continue our walk? I know the way, I'll guide us if you can keep us moving. So let us go, and you can tell me more about your esteemed uncle?/

Despite my churning emotions that put a little smile on my face. Both the idea of Bruce being something special, and the fact that she called me Chloe again.

"Ok," I nodded slowly as I started moving again. "So um, where to start..."

I ended up trying to explain what a high school was, so Melite understood that Bruce was just a boring average guy who taught history to normal kids. I wasn't sure if that disappointed her or not, but over the next hour or so I basically explained how my aunt and uncle were just a couple regular people. Same with my parents. Except I ended up telling her about the whole divorce thing, including how my dad was a cheating bastard and my mom was a vindictive bitch. And how both of them were trying to use me as a pawn in their stupid fight, and how that left me feeling like maybe neither of them really cared about me at all.

Then I got to the house fire, and had to admit I kind of suspected one of my parents did it on purpose. Like maybe dad did it so there was no house for mom to get. Or maybe mom did it since the house was in dad's name. Either way I got caught in the middle, until they decided to ship me to my aunt and uncle's place so I'd be their problem instead.

Describing my friend situation was a lot harder, because all my friends were online and I really couldn't find a way to explain that in like mythological terms. I did my best though, and fortunately Melite knew about stuff like letters and writing so she understood about long-distance communication. The only part that she couldn't get her head around was how the internet made it happen almost instantly.

"So that's about it," I sighed as I hugged myself again. "I don't even have a home to go back to, and sometimes it feels like my parents don't care about me beyond using me to score points against each other? So I've been staying with my aunt and uncle, and they try to be nice and stuff but they don't really know the first thing about me. And half the time they're totally cringe, but right now I miss them."

I continued sadly, "And even though I've never met any of those friends I mentioned in person, I really miss talking with them. They'd love to hear all about this adventure, even though they wouldn't believe a word of it."

/I'm sorry Chloe,/ Melite replied, and from the feel of it I knew she meant it. Her thought-words came with a lot of sadness and compassion.

/I hope we can reunite you with your family, and find a way for you to correspond with your friends again. I also hope you may someday find a place you can truly call home, where you belong and are loved for who you are./

For some reason that last bit hit me right in the feels, and I found myself blinking back tears as I mumbled, "Thank you."

"So uh," I added, "That's my story. What about you, what's your family like? And uh, won't they be worried about you, for running off into the wilderness?"

My question was met by a mix of emotions, but those quickly died down as if Melite was trying to hide how she felt about the subject. And it wasn't until after she had her emotions in check that she finally responded.

/I lost my mother when I was a young child. She was trying to give my father a son, but instead she died in childbirth. My brother survived, but only for a few weeks. Since then it's just been my father and I. He has enjoyed the company of a few consorts since then, but he never remarried. So I am his only legitimate child./

"I'm sorry," I sighed. "So it's just the two of you? Are you very close?"

/Hardly,/ she replied in a tone so cool I almost felt a chill. /I was raised by his servants and attendants. I am no less a pawn than you, Chloe. I told you I was to be married to an Achaemenid general? It was my father who made those arrangements, to try and win favour with his foreign masters./

I frowned, "Oh right. So um, he works for these Achaemenids then? What does he do for them?"

There were some new emotions when Melite answered this time, but nothing good. It felt like a mix of anger, embarrassment, and shame.

/My father is magistrate of the city. He was appointed by and answers to the Achaemenid satrap in Sardis. Who in turn answers to King Darius himself./

That stopped me in my tracks as I blinked in surprise, "Does that mean you're some kind of nobility?"

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