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I woke up this morning when I fell out of a tree. Not a great start to my day. After I had to run from my dad Artaxerxes, I’ve been staying in the cover of the forest while I tried to find Aza. Aza is one of the most renowned Rigor Animas in the world. Some say she even has a Pegasus in her cave. I’ve tracked her down to a place called Pellichor, which is a port city across the Mediterranean Sea. I believe she lives in the cliffs there.
So, back to the tree thing. I usually sleep in trees to avoid hunters or nasty animals that I don’t have time to talk to before they kill me, and apparently last night I was so tired I forgot to strap myself in. So, this morning, the universe said wakey-wakey and I fell about twenty feet down. I winced and touched my ribs. Sore and bruised, you betcha, but probably not broken. I staggered to my feet and realized my pack was still in the tree. Just my luck, I had to scale a tree with newly bruised ribs. Aza had better be worth it or I swear to Hades I will throw her and myself off her Gods-forsaken mountain.
I made my way to the port in Izmir to try and barter for a ride to Pellichor. Most captains won’t let a 17-year-old girl on his ship unaccompanied, but luckily for me, I had the foresight to wear my brother’s clothes and chop off most of my hair. I had sneered as the hair hit my mother’s beloved marble sink. I knew she would find it there, and she would know it was mine. I was the only one in the royal court with the fire-red hair that was so envied by the other ladies. I found a captain who would take me in exchange for my last silver coin, and he would feed me if I worked on his crew during the journey. It was a pretty good deal, considering the only food I have left is the end of a loaf of bread and some berries and fruit I picked in the forest. The captain’s name is Aero, and his ship is pretty big considering the fact that he isn’t part of the Royal Navy. He estimated we’d be in Pellichor in about three days, and I just needed to help clean up the mess hall and man the crow’s nest on the lookout.
So now, I’m on a boat headed to a place where I have no real connections, with no money and hardly any food, pretending to be a boy named Atalo. As I sit in the crow’s nest, I notice a ship bearing the flag of the Royal Navy. I rush down to the deck and push my way towards the captain.
“Aero, I need to hide! Please help!” I gasp out.
“Calm down, Atalo. Why are you hiding? What happened?”
“There’s a ship from the Royal Navy tailing us, and they’re looking for me. There’s no time to explain, but I need to hide. Will you help me or not?” I look directly into Aero’s eyes, desperation creeping up on me. Aero looks angry.
“You mean to tell me that you’re a known fugitive, and you came on my ship? You’ve put all of us in danger!” He isn’t going to help. I sigh.
“I’m sorry about this,” I say, and grab one of the ropes on the mainmast. As I kicked one of the pulleys, the mast goes down and I go up. I swing my way towards the captain’s quarter and turn my shoulder toward the door as I smash through it. Ouch. I run towards his desk, grab a purse of coins, then make my way to the mess hall. The footsteps of the crew echo through the hall while I grab bread, grapes, figs, anything I can get my hands on. I stuff it all in my bag along with the coins. I had melted wax on my bag in the way that made the water run off it, so when I run back out the captain’s door, through and around a group of confused sailors, I don’t hesitate to leap over the deck. I start to swim towards a large rock I had seen from the crow’s nest, the ship from the Royal Navy oblivious to the runaway fugitive that had slipped out from under their fingers. I pull myself up on the rock and watch as the Navy boards Aero’s ship and goes into every nook and hiding place. It was a good thing that I hadn’t been allowed to hide because now I’m sure I would have been found. I decide to stay on the rock until the Navy ship is out of sight. I begin to settle into my rock. I decide to name him Vrachos.
Just as I begin to think the Navy is leaving Aero’s ship, I hear a loud chorus of shouts. I look at the ship, and I see someone on the plank. Squinting and leaning forward, I see that it is Aero. They’re killing the crew! They must think Aero helped me get away. I couldn’t let him die, and he wouldn’t be able to sell me out since I assumed he hadn’t seen where I was.
“NO,” I yell, grabbing my bag. I wave my arms, and then jump into the water, making my way back to the ship. I surface next to the hull and scream at the top of my lungs. The crew looks down in surprise, and a rope is thrown down to me. As soon as I’m on deck, I start giving orders to the Navy.
“Get him off the plank. He tried to stop me from leaving, he’s not a traitor. Leave their ship alone, you have your own. You have me now. Your business with Aero is done.” I look directly at the man wearing the captain’s emblem. He looks suspicious.
“How do I know you’re the one we’re looking for? You definitely aren’t dressed like royalty.”
“Well, you tracked me to this ship, and I’m pretty sure you didn’t find another red-haired fugitive. So, you can go back to the king and say you didn’t find his daughter, or you can leave Aero and his ship alone and take me back home.” The word home tasted foreign on my tongue. The Navy captain nods and the men move to board their own ship again. I start to go with them, but Aero grabs my shoulder.
“I don’t know who you are, but thank you. Stay safe, fire child.” He smiles warmly. I hand him my bag with his food and money.
“Sorry I stole this. Thank you for the food and refuge.” He nods, accepting the bag. I turn and cross to the other, much grander ship.
A few days later, and I’m back at the palace. The handmaidens whisk me away to a warm bath that smells like strawberries and honey. I much prefer my old cave with the waterfall, but the warm water soothes my burning muscles. A small maiden brings me a chiton the color of cornflowers, silvery pins to clasp the shoulders, and silver belt. I dress quickly and walk out of the bathroom to find the old bedroom that I slept in my first and only night in the castle. Another maiden comes to my room and begins to prepare a dressing table to fix my hair. I wave her off, seeing as my hair is now cut at my shoulders and there isn’t much to do with it. I go to the throne room. The king is asleep on his throne. I grab a dagger from the sheath of a nearby guard and throw it directly at the throne. It lodges right next to his grotesque face and wakes him up. Despite the fact that I could have killed him if my aim wasn’t as good as it is, he smiles when he sees me.
“Hello, daughter! How are you, my dear Atlanta?” I sneer.
“My name is Atalanta, as you would know if you hadn’t tried to kill me as a child.”
“Oh, you’re still bitter about that. It was a long time ago! Now, let’s see about getting you married.”
“I will not marry under your terms, Father. Most men are beneath me, but if anyone can beat me in a race, I will deign to marry him.”
“Sounds good, dear! I’ll set up the races immediately.” The king apparently underestimated me, because most rulers aren’t so eager to humiliate their young men by having a woman beat them.
The first race takes place a week later. Fifteen young men wait to race me.
“Hello, gentleman. As I’m sure you know, whoever wins the race will marry me. Here’s the surprise part: If I catch you, you die” I flashed my knives. “Who goes first?”
Fifteen races later, fifteen corpses litter the track. I smile. Just as I thought, the men in this kingdom are below me. I walk off the track, spinning my blades as I go.
Months go by, and no one wins the weekly races except me. Some weeks there are no suitors, others there are ten or twenty. No one can best me, even though I am living a palace life and I’ve lost a bit of my edge. Today is a new race. I pull myself out of my lavish bed and make my way to the bathroom. Bathing quickly, I regard myself in the mirror above the marble sink. It looks much like my mother’s, who I’m avoiding at all costs. The palace is big enough that I can go days without seeing anyone except servants and handmaidens. I climb out of the bath and pull on a robe, and comb my fingers through my hair. It’s growing very quickly and ends that were once cropped against my scalp now hang a bit past my shoulders. It still isn’t in the fashion, but at least it frames my face in the way of the ladies of the court. I dress in a dark green chiton with iron clasps and belt it so it falls a bit past my knees. Long chitons are graceful and fun to walk around in, but very inconvenient for running and murdering your suitors.
I walk outside, through the beautiful palace garden and gates, and to the track. There are seven suitors lined up. I pull my knives from my chiton and flip them, seeing if I can scare away any of these young men. I don’t want to kill them, but I’ll sooner be a murderer than give up my freedom. None of the men seem perturbed, so I walk down the line, peering into their eyes to see any traces of fear. They are all stupidly confident. I make my way to the end of the line, and see the fear in one’s face. I lower my voice.
“Why are you here? You must know I’m going to kill you.” I try to look imploring. The man shakes his head, and my heart sinks.
“That’s not why I’m afraid,” he says. He lifts his head, and I gasp sharply.
“You are no man! What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to win you, and ensure that you keep your freedom. I’m a descendant of the Amazons, and I can at least tie with you. I can win fairly, and your father will be forced to give me your hand in marriage.” The strange woman looks at me determinedly, and I nod.
“I agree to let you win, but only if you go first. I don’t want to kill these men.” The stranger nods and starts to move toward the track. I grab her shoulder.
“Wait! What is your name?” She smiles.
“Well, Atalanta, my name is Aza. I believe you’ve been looking for me.” I stumble back in shock. Without another word, Aza goes to the track and stands at the start mark. I follow, and ready my stance. We hear the starting signal, and begin to run almost in unison. I focus on the slapping of my feet on the ground, and the curves of the track, and making it almost to the end of the track before I “stumble.” As I do so, Aza moves past me and crosses the finish line. A wave of shock passes over the audience. Aza looks directly at me and pulls off the hat holding her long black hair. She pulls off an outer layer of clothes to reveal a lavender chiton and holds her arms above her head.
“People of Greece!” she yells, “I am Aza, mistress of Pegasi and the most powerful Rigor Anima in all of the world! I have bested your princess, Atalanta, and I will take her hand in marriage.” She comes over to me and grips my hand. One of the suitors yells in outrage, and charges at Aza. She smoothly grabs a dagger from my hand and charges back at him. As they near each other, Aza turns to the side and rams her shoulder into him. As he doubles over and slows down, she doesn’t even turn to look at him as she stabs him in the back of the neck. He falls to the ground, and Aza cleans the dagger on his toga.
“Anyone else care to challenge me?” she yells into the crowd. Two men storm from the seats surrounding the track, directly at me and Aza. I grip my other dagger, and Aza and I run at the men as one. The men are tall, much taller than us. I look at Aza and run a bit ahead of her. I signal like a bird, and she nods a bit in understanding. She slows and I run even farther ahead of her, and suddenly kneel on the dirt and cup my hands. Without missing a beat, she jumps and lands one of her feet in my hands, and I throw her in the air as I rise from the ground. She grips her dagger with both hands in front of her and drives it into one of the men’s skulls. I slash at the other man’s leg, and he falls. Aza jumps from the shoulder of her adversary as he drops to the ground, and lands next to man that I felled. As she lands, she brings her knife down in his neck. I help her up, and we face the crowd together once more. No one seems to want to challenge us now, and I grip her hand as we make our way back to the castle.
Later that day, Aza has been shown to a room and given the opportunity to clean up. We sit in the throne room, waiting for my father. He storms into the room and sits heavily in his throne.
“What in Zeus’s name,” he says icily, “were you thinking?” I stand up, straightening my shoulders.
“As you may remember, Father, I said anyone who beats me will be the one I marry. I also said men are beneath me. Honestly, you should have seen this coming.” Aza laughs and tries to turn it into a cough. Father snarls.
“You will not marry this woman,” he says, attempting to sound commanding.
“ I will, or I will run away back to the forest with her, and I promise you will not find me unless I want you to.” His expression darkens.
“If I arrange this wedding, you will stay in the palace, and you will play the faithful daughter. You will learn the ways of the court, and you will take the throne from me only under the advisory of the council. You will swear this on the River Styx.”
“I swear on the River Styx,” I reply. My father nods gruffly and waved his hand to dismiss Aza and me.
The next few weeks at the castle were the best of my life. Aza was the only one who could keep up with me when I ran in the woods or practiced in the armory. She was funny, and she was kind to the handmaidens. Once we took a trip to her cave to gather her few possessions, and I met her Pegasus, Bucephalus. Best of all, she trained me as a Rigor Anima. I had been born with the skill but had no notion of controlling the more difficult aspects of it. Aza is incredibly skilled, and besides simply understanding animals, she shows me how to use my mind to talk to them, how to control them, and how to transform into one.
The wedding falls in the month of Artemis, which is ironic considering she’s the maiden goddess. Usually, we have weddings in the month of Hephaestus, seeing as he’s our patron god, but Aza and I both favor Artemis. We both wear wedding gowns, but Aza refuses to wear white and instead decides to wear light blue. The traditional wedding gown style is similar to a chiton, but a bit tighter in the top, and the hem touches the ground. I wear a red veil to frighten away the spirits, and Aza wears a yellow veil so together we symbolize fire and honor Hephaestus so he won’t curse the union. Handmaidens affixed diamonds in patterns around our eyes to symbolize the tears of the gods. White bouquets were traditional, to symbolize purity and innocence, but I carry a bouquet of violet hyacinths. My father left me on a rock to die, and I would not honor him with a symbol of innocence. Aza decided to carry white orchids.
“I must say, Attie,” she says, using the nickname she crafted for me, “we are beautiful brides.” She smirks mischievously. I laugh, in the way, I only do around Aza.
“We really are. Blue becomes you.” She really does look stunning. I look nice, but not near as radiant as she. It’s partially because my hair is half-grown out, partially because white makes me look pale, and partially because Aza is stunning always.
The wedding ceremony is performed by a priest from the temple of Apollo near the palace. We had asked a priest of Hephaestus, but he refused to marry two women. He died that day, which is why Aza and I are sure that Hephaestus supports the wedding, and he’s a powerful ally to have. Apparently, the priests of Apollo are very… non-structured in their beliefs. After the ceremony, we feast and dance. It is an enjoyable occasion, full of laughter and talk. Many people in the palace resent Aza for marrying the heir, but they hide it well today. I believe that this union will be a happy one.
10 Years Later
I am now on the throne. My father died six years ago, and much of the kingdom was happy to see him go. It was a struggle to get the neighboring kingdoms to respect a woman leader, but after I sent Aza to make all their horses run away, they took note of my power. There has never been a Rigor Anima on the throne, much less two of them. Aza is, of course, my queen. She despises politics, so I created a council of women from the villages in my kingdom to advise me of how best to rule them. Aza runs wild and free much of the time. The Amazons have grown small and powerless over the years, and Aza has built them up again. She also trains the army, which is now one of the most deadly in all of the Meditteranean. Our kingdom knows peace since the last attack on us was the same year my father died and it was quickly stamped out. I believe that ruling was my purpose, and my father’s rejection of me made me all the stronger, as a person, as a woman, and as a queen.