Sophia

The salt in the air stung the wound on my shoulder, but the cool, crisp wind that came rolling across the water left me feeling invigorated. It was a simple two day journey, without any stops on the way. Hopefully that meant we’d have a less eventful trip than the likes of Odysseus and Jason, I wasn’t particularly in the mood for cyclopes or harpies.

It certainly did mean though, that I had plenty of time for idle worrying, and there was a lot to be worried about. It was hard to say whether Chloe’s oath had come into effect, there was no magic inherent to the promise, it’s just a matter of whether the fates themselves decided to listen to her.

I was still mad about that. It’s not that I didn’t understand why she’d do it, in fact, I’m fairly certain if our roles were reversed, I’d have done the same. I guess it was the thought of someone doing that for me that was so upsetting, especially someone as amazing as her. I didn’t think my life was worth as much.

I really did need some therapy, huh?

Slowly and gently, I leaned back on my bench, allowing the magic of my spear to dull the pain in my shoulder as it suffused my body with strength. Triremes were strange ships to travel on. They were long and narrow, and only had the one deck. There was no shelter to be taken if it rained, and precious little space to spare. Over a dozen men on each side of the ship worked long oars to propel the ship forward, stopping only when the wind grew strong enough to carry us on its own. The very front benches had been reserved for Chloe and myself, so that’s where we sat.

And we did sit.

For hours.

I was bored.

I was bored, and tired, and sore, and my mind had begun taking me to some dark places I’d rather not contemplate. All I wanted was to get to sleep, but any time I closed my eyes, the rocking of the ship compounded with my infection leaving me nauseous and in pain.

You doin’ alright, Sophie?

Chloe had risen unsteadily to her feet and was wobbling her way towards me, inch by inch.

You sure you should be asking me that? You don’t look too steady there.

Yes Sophia, you’re very funny. Haha, Chloe can’t keep her balance on a ship. Now seriously, are you ok? I thought I heard some groaning over here.

I scooted over a bit, leaving just enough room for Chloe to sit down, grunting slightly as I did so.

It’s just seasickness… Well, that and the fact that I’m slowly dying. Oh! AND the fact that you might be too. Just got a lot on my plate, that’s all.

Chloe sat down in the space I left for her, gently placing her hand on my knee. She stretched as she leaned back, staring out over the open ocean.

Yep, that’s about what I expected. She took a deep breath before turning to face me. I’m not gonna make some grand promises to fix everything because the truth is, I don’t know if I can. I don’t have the confidence you do, I never have. I think I can help with one thing, though.

She held out a waterskin, not meeting my eyes.

It’s definitely cold by now, but its chamomile, wild chamomile, just like you showed me. It’s good for nausea and sleep, right? I can’t fix your infection, that’s why we’re rushing to Artemis, and I couldn’t take back my promise even if I wanted to, and I don’t want to. What I can do now is give you the tea I made using the plant you showed me, and hope it helps you sleep. We can do this, right Sophia? Together.

She remembered. I hadn’t even been sure she was paying attention when I was teaching her on our hike, but she’d remembered, and she’d found the time to brew me some tea when she realized I might feel nauseous. What did I ever do to deserve her?

I ask myself the same question all the time, Sophie. You’re strong, you’re brave, you fight so fiercely for the people you care about, you have more confidence than I could ever dream of, and quite frankly, you’re gorgeous. Not a day goes by where I don’t wonder what you see in me, where I don’t wonder how I could possibly be good enough for you. Maybe the fact that we both feel that way means we really are good enough. I trust your judgment, after all, and if you really think so highly of me, I must be pretty great. The same goes for you. You DO deserve me. If you ask me, you deserve better, but if you’re happy with me, then that’s enough.

I took a sip of the tea. It was cold and bitter… and perfect because Chloe had made it for me. 

I hadn’t meant for you to hear that.

I know.

You really feel that way? She nodded. Well alright then. I’m not a poet, so I’m not gonna get all wordy with it. Everything you said, I feel the same. You’re beautiful and brave and strong all in your own way, you’re clever as all hell, and, I’m speaking from current experience here, your bedside manner is exceptional. Thank you, Chloe. This, uh… I really-

I love you.

Just- Thanks, Chloe. Thanks.

She just smiled and squeezed my leg.

Over the next hour I drank quite a bit of the tea, and eventually, my nausea started to fade away. With slow, measured breaths, I leaned my head back down, closed my eyes, and finally fell asleep.

Chloe

As dawn broke, we were welcomed by… more water. Supposedly, we’d be docking in the port of Khania by nightfall, then it was just another 60-ish more miles of hiking towards Mount Psiloritis. I was fairly sure that that's where the river was, and at this point, fairly sure had to be good enough. Sixty miles though… Was I sure that Sophia could last that long?

We’d have to spend the night in Khania. I didn’t want to risk traveling at night, but that’d be even more time wasted. If Eirene was right, by the time we left Brauron, Sophia had something around a week left. The effort involved in hiking at any reasonable pace probably wouldn’t help things either. If we pushed hard, we could probably make it in another three or four days, but that was assuming Sophie could keep a fifteen mile/day pace in her condition.

We were cutting it close, too close.

Well, in my eyes, there was only one real solution. We needed a horse.

ashlynflagg

We're on the home stretch. Tick tock tick tock.

Have a lil' fun fact! The Olympics weren't the only large scale athletic competition in Ancient Greece, and some of the others were pretty unusual. In ancient Athens, a festival called the Greater Panathenaia was held every four years, during which, the more typical competitions would be held. Foot racing, boxing, javelin throwing, and discus were among them. Also included among the events though, were things like musical competitions, dancing competitions in which competitors wore armor, and even competitions of "male beauty".

Honestly, maybe we should bring some of those back.