Clarestes. Chapters 11 to 20.

Chapter 11 - “Let me put it this way, boy. Who on Gaia thinks they are going to stop me?”


The next day Mera and Clarestes were finishing their morning meal when Mera raised her eyes to him and she said, “I hear men approach, but not in stealth.”

She stood and retrieved her sword and shield. Clarestes went to the door and he opened it.

He saw a dozen men walking across their pasture to their home. They were armored and armed, but approached without threat. When they finally drew near, the man (or near man, for he was young) who stood at their forefront, smiled. He introduced himself as Pleodes, first and only Prince of the city state of Marsia.

Clarestes approached him and gave his name, to which Prince Pleodes smiled very broadly in obvious admiration, as many of his troop of soldiers did likewise. The prince held out his hand in greeting, but he looked concerned as Clarestes held out his left hand, the wrong hand for greetings.

Clarestes saw Prince Pleodes’s frown, so he held up his right hand to reveal his cut. The Prince nodded, but did not shake Clarestes’s still extended left hand for that was a bad omen, especially considering his purpose for being there. So instead Prince Pleodes bowed to Clarestes, as his party of men looked on in surprise.

As he was doing so, Mera appeared at the door. She said, “Hmm, it is not every day you see a prince do such.” Her shield was sleeved and her sword was in her hand, so some of the prince’s men placed their hands upon their weapons.

Clarestes smiled and then he bowed to Prince Pleodes, and he made sure his bow was lower than the prince’s bow had been for him.

Prince Pleodes looked at Mera questioningly. So Clarestes said, “This is Mera.”

The Prince tipped his head sideways and he asked, “Mera, daughter of no one? Mera of no city, or people, or land?”

Clarestes said, “She is Mera of here, the ground upon which you stand.”

The prince still looked perplexed, but then he smiled and he said, “Honored to meet you, Mera of this beautiful land.”

Prince Pleodes told Clarestes that he had come to seek his and Arestes’ help, and he looked aghast when Clarestes told him his father was dead. Prince Pleodes asked what occurred. Clarestes told him his father had died of grief after his mother fell to the white plague. Mera gasped at this for she had assumed Arestes had died from succumbing to the same malady.

Again Prince Pleodes looked at Mera and he was puzzled by her presence. He wondered how she did not know this, how Arestes had died, if she lived here. Who was she? Great Zeus, she was tall...and beautiful. He had heard much of Clarestes and his brave exploits, first done with his father, and then achieved alone. Indeed, Clarestes name had spread throughout all of Greece, but he had never heard of Mera. She, meanwhile, looked at him and his party with a cold, suspicious eye.

Prince Pleodes turned back to Clarestes. He asked for his help and advice in defeating a large band of pirates that were marauding his ships daily without relent...and without much fear of retaliation for that matter.

Pleodes talked for some time as he explained and detailed his situation. He said that the people of his city were beginning to feel the hard want of starvation because of the pirates. When the prince was done, Clarestes was silent for a time as he considered this all. Prince Pleodes feared Clarestes answer to his plea for help would be no.

But eventually Clarestes nodded his head in agreement and he said he would help, including the promise of lending the addition of his sword in battle if need be. The Prince beamed in relief and he thanked the gods silently that Clarestes seemed to be the great man he had heard he was. Mera, meanwhile, looked on all this with distaste, and she scowled openly for all to see.

Clarestes told the Prince he would gather his things and they would leave forthwith. When he went inside to do so, Mera entered too, and then she closed the door behind them.

“Are you crazy?” she demanded of him.

“That is a strange question for you to be asking me,” he said as he put on his armor.

“How in Hades do you know if that princeling is telling the truth?” she spat.

“I do not. Hopefully, as I travel to the sea with him, I will learn better if he is being truthful,” he answered.

She snorted in disgust. Then she too started to don her armor.

Clarestes ceased all immediately and he asked Mera, “What are you doing?”

She said, “What does it look like I’m doing, genius?”

“You are not going with us,” he said.

She sputtered her lips in mirth. She laughed and said, “Like Hera, I’m not.” Then she laughed more as she continued to put on her armor.

Clarestes still did not move and he said, “You are not invited and you are not welcome to come by me, or I assume by Prince Pleodes, or anyone else for that matter.”

Mera’s lips sputtered again. She laughed raucously and said gaily, “Yeah, I know!” as she girded her sword belt on.

“You aren’t coming with us,” said Clarestes.

Mera laughed until her sides shook, then she retrieved one of his spears for herself. She said, “Hera on high, that is hilarious. You are joking, right?”

“No,” said Clarestes.

Mera continued to laugh as she picked up and then sleeved her shield. She put on a helmet, her face became grim, and she said, “I don’t care if I’m unwelcome or not invited, or even if I am forbidden to go. I’m going too.” She leaned forward a little toward Clarestes and she said challengingly, “Let me put it this way, boy. Who on Gaia thinks they are going to stop me?”

Clarestes shook his head, was about to speak, and then shook his head more. He thought of many different things to say, but he knew none would serve him any good. Then he fought back a smile and he said, “Well, I was thinking you would stay here and take care of the animals. Who will take care of them if we both go?”

Mera said low, “Fuck you for even trying that. The poor beasts will have to suffer, and will suffer all in the name of this wonderful, grand and righteous adventure that we are about to gloriously embark on. I guarantee it will be just more horseshit and woe you men specialize in doling out to one another. And you need not go, you could have very, very easily said no. So you eat and take the blame for the animals suffering. Do not try to pin that on me.”

‘Well that didn’t work,’ Clarestes thought. Then he grew fearful about what Mera had said, that this fight was perhaps unjust, and that it would be one of woe. Nevertheless, he continued to gather his things together and once he was armed, armored and ready, he made for the door. He stopped before it and gave himself a little time to let the fact that Mera was going with them sink in, and how much this would complicate things. “Mera, you are such a pain in the ass,” he said.

She replied, “Why do you speak the obvious? I know.” She stood behind him waiting. After a time she asked, “What’s the fucking problem? Are you thinking of joining up with the pirates?”

Clarestes said, “No, why?”

“Then what’s with the stupid hold up here? Get it?” she asked.

Clarestes could not help himself and despite the fact that he was angry at Mera, he laughed at her wit. Then he ruefully wondered how long it would take before sparks flew between Mera and the Prince or his men.


Chapter 12 - “Fuck you!”


Clarestes opened his door and stepped outside and the troop greeted him with loud cheers and wide smiles, but when Mera came out next, armed and armored as well, their cries ceased, and their expressions turned to those of disapproval or dismay.

Prince Pleodes was about to speak, but Clarestes raised his hand to quiet him. He said, “Mera is coming as well. If you forbid her to go, then I do not go.” Prince Pleodes attempted to speak again, but again Clarestes cut him off, saying, “Save your words for that is how it will be. You get both of us or neither of us. This is not for debate. Now you simply must choose which it will be.”

Prince Pleodes looked at Clarestes and perhaps he saw the look of defeat in his eyes. He laughed and he cried, “Then we take both of you!” Some of his men behind him began to protest, and so he wheeled upon them yelling, “Silence!” This surprised the men as their prince was even keeled, easy going, and not one to bark orders. “We take both of them!” Prince Pleodes continued. “And don’t dare to grumble about that, or question my judgment about this again!”

As Prince Pleodes and his men made to depart, Mera looked out longingly upon the sheep and goats at pasture. Then she looked beyond them. And then she became Mera.

“Hey!” she said tersely to Clarestes, but Prince Pleodes and his men heard this as well and so they all looked to her. “Changed my mind about the whole animal suffering thing. You, me, and the prince here are going to make arrangements for them before we depart.”

Clarestes shook his head, sat down upon a cut log in his “yard” and he thought, ‘Well that didn’t take long at all - here we go…’

Mera said curtly to Prince Pleodes, “We’ve got something to take care of before we leave.”

Prince Pleodes looked to Mera, and then he looked to Clarestes. Clarestes indicated with a wave of his hand that the prince should be attending to Mera and not to him, and he settled into his log.

Prince Pleodes asked, “What is it?”

“The animals,” said Mera. “They need to be cared for while we are gone.”

Prince Pleodes said, “We will not be gone long, I’m sure the beasts will be fine until we…”

Mera cut him off and she said, “No, they won’t. Not good enough.”

Prince Pleodes said, “Well, I suppose I could leave a man behind here to…”

Mera interrupted, “I do not trust you. Once we are gone you might have him sneak away and rejoin you later. Nor would I trust one of your man-child warriors to take care of the animals anyway, even if he didn’t.”

Some of Prince Pleodes’s men began to grumble and cry out at this insult, not to mention Mera’s rude, impertinent speech to their Prince, but Prince Pleodes’s hand shot up and they went silent. Prince Pleodes looked to Clarestes again.

“Both of us or neither of us,” he said, as he stared off into the distance much like a dejected husband would do.

“All right,” said the Prince as he turned back to Mera. “What do you need?”

Mera looked at the Prince’s men. “Which one of them is the fleetest?”

Prince Pleodes said, “Mermiden, the little one on the end is.”

Mermiden, Mera saw, was just a boy. Being singled out now, Mermiden looked to his Prince with concern, as he also shot fearful looks at Mera. Mera saw the boy’s fear of her and her opinion of Mermiden grew, the boy was probably the smartest one among the stupid bunch.

“Do not lie to me,” she said to Prince Pleodes..

Prince Pleodes said, “I am not. He is the fastest among us by far. He is my own personal messenger and runner.”

Mera said to Prince Pleodes, “He is going to have to run to another farm to get someone to come here.”

One of Prince Pleodes’s men, who looked like he was his second in command, stepped forward and said, “My Prince, I cringe at my insolence, but I must speak now. We do not have time for such. We must be rowing or under sail by nightfall.”

“I know, but perhaps we can work this out quickly. Mermiden, come over here,” Prince Pleodes called, and the boy scampered to him. Prince Pleodes looked to Mera and he said, “Here is your runner. Where is he to go, and what is he to say?” Mermiden’s fear fell away for it was message time and he looked to Mera with alert attentiveness.

Mera almost laughed for a moment as he looked so cute. She raised her arm, pointed, and said to him, “Can you see that trail to the north there?”

Mermiden stood on his tiptoes, but he was too short to see it from the ground. “No, I can not,” he said.

Mera could not contain herself and she smiled. She said, “Come here, and give me your hands.”

Mermiden stepped to Mera and he gave her his hands. She swung him up and placed him on her shoulder. She said as she pointed, “Do you see it now? It starts in the break between those two fields there.”

“I see it now,” said Mermiden.

“Good,” said Mera and she swung him back down. “That trail runs to, and only to, the farm of Nycius. He is Clarestes’ very good friend. Run that trail until you get to his house. Tell him Clarestes is going afar into danger. Tell him Clarestes sent you to ask if you, Nycius, or one of your sons, would care for his animals while he is away. Tell Nycius if he is willing and able to attend to his animals for that time, Clarestes will pay him very handsomely for his help.” Mera said to Prince Pleodes coldly, “Of course you Prince, and not he, will be picking up that expense, as that coin to Nycius will come from your recovered pirate’s loot.”

Mera had the “crowd” and all listened to her in full. Some listened with great anger as she, a mere woman, dictated commands, and to their Prince no less. Some listened with bafflement as she seemed very overly concerned by the welfare of mere stupid beasts Some listened and wondered why in Gaia the bold hero Clarestes let what seemed to be his woman run wild off her lease. Some listened to her with curiosity, for she had an intriguing and commanding presence. Prince Pleodes listened to her because he could see this plan forming, which was sound and seemed near to execution, and that plan achieved they could soon be on their way.

Prince Pleodes asked Mera, “How far does that trail run?”

Mera had never traveled the path and did not know. So Clarestes said from his log, “About three miles.”

Prince Pleodes’s second said, “My prince, we can not wait that long.”

Prince Pleodes said, “We won’t have to. Mermiden, after you deliver your message, do your thing to all Nycius says, then run that trail back here. When you return to this farm, go back the way we came here from the sea, for we are going back the same way we came. You will find us along that way.”

Mermiden nodded his head and was about to take off, but Mera cried, “Whoa, whoa! What?!”

Prince Pleodes looked at her questioningly.

Mera said, “The boy will most likely be fine on that trail, but he might get lost trying to find us as we go to the sea.”

Prince Pleodes said, “He will find us.” Some of his men laughed as he said this.

Mera did not believe him. “Why are your men laughing?” she asked.

Prince Pleodes asked his men, “Why are you laughing?”

One old soldier amongst their ranks understood what his Prince wanted, and so he said to Mera, “We are laughing for he will find us. Indeed, we will soon be wagering as to how quickly Mermiden will return. Nobody will bet that he will not find us. That would be a fool’s bet. The boy is uncanny.”

Mera looked dubious and she said, “That is very comforting.”

Prince Pleodes said to Mera, “I will blow my horn regularly this morning and that will help him to find us as well. We are going back the same way we came and as his sense of direction is hound like, he will have no trouble finding us.” And just to comfort Mera, Prince Pleodes said to Mermiden, “If by chance you can not find us, return to this farm and wait for our return.”

“That is the best I can do,” Prince Pleodes continued as he turned back to Mera. “Time is dear and we can not wait for him. The boy will find us as we go to the sea. Listen and watch…”

Prince Pleodes then asked Mermiden, “What is the message and what is the task?”

Mermiden answered, “I am to run that trail to the north, the trail that begins in the break between where those two fields meet. It leads to the farmhouse of Nycius and nowhere else. I am to find Nycius, very good friend of Clarestes, and tell him that Clarestes travels afar into danger. I will tell him I am here to ask if he, Nycius, or one of his sons, would care for the animals of Clarestes while he is gone. I am to tell him that he will be paid by Clarestes very handsomely if he can do so. You, my lord, will be the one who actually pays him, but this I will not say this to Nycius. Then I am to receive his message and then run back here, and then run to the sea the same way we came here, to return to you. You will be blowing your horn regularly to help me find you, but as my sense of direction is hound like, I’m sure I will have no trouble finding you, but if by chance I can not, I am to go back to this farm and wait for your return.”

“Outstanding! You are a Marsain warrior through and through,” said Prince Pleodes to Mermiden. Prince Pleodes looked to Mera for approval, but she was looking at Mermiden with a curious smile upon her face. She saw Prince Pleodes’s gaze upon her and her smile vanished, but she reluctantly nodded her assent. Prince Pleodes said to Mermiden, “Go and be fleet. I will see you soon.” Then Mermiden sprinted away.

Prince Pleodes said to Mera, “What if, when the boy returns to us, Nycius has said that he will not care for your animals.”

Clarestes called from his log, “He won’t.”

Prince Pleodes said, “All right, well what if he is abroad, or ill, or otherwise unable.”

Mera said, “Then I will leave you and come back and I will take care of the animals, and I will leave the saving of the world to you men.”

Clarestes immediately shot one finger upward as he chimed in from his log, “Is that a promise?”

“Fuck you!” Mera cried to him and then she strode far away from them all to stand alone and silent. Many of Prince Pleodes’s men tried to stifle their laughter at this and so Prince Pleodes glowered at them, but even he could not reprimand them for such, as Mera’s insult was so disrespectful and outrageous.

The Prince’s eyebrows rose in shock at these words from Mera to Clarestes. He asked Clarestes, “You allow her to speak to you so?”

Clarestes said, “Allow isn’t the word I would use.”

A baffled Prince Pleodes asked, “Does she often speak to you such?”

Clarestes rose from his log and he said, “If I had a coin for every time she did so, I would have more wealth than the pirates have plundered from you.”


Chapter 14 - “What is my message to you?”


As they prepared to depart, Prince Pleodes closed upon Clarestes to speak to him alone and he had a look of extreme puzzlement on his face. Clarestes saw this, so he said, “If you are going to ask me about Mera, do not waste your breath. I can not explain her.”

Prince Pleodes said, “She’s not that bad. I’ve dealt with far worse. I think we may be able to work this out. What I want to know is, can she actually fight?”

Clarestes answered very low as to be sure that only the prince, and not Mera, could hear him. He whispered, “Let me put it this way, she is coming with us because I am scared of her.”

“Oh, come on,” said Prince Pleodes in disbelief.

“She is at least my equal in arms and very likely more so. It is possible she could slay your whole troop here. Be warned, she is very dangerous,” said Clarestes as he looked the prince in the eye.

“Marked and remembered as the truth,” said Prince Pleodes and Clarestes nodded his head. Pleodes walked toward his men to tell them to treat Mera with the utmost respect, and as he did so he smiled, for the pirates were formidable and he had spent many sleepless nights fearing their victory over him. But now he had the hero Clarestes the Bold with him, and this strange woman who stood tall, silent, aloof from his men, and whom Clarestes claimed was perhaps even his better.

Prince Pleodes smiled more, for now he feared those pirates a little less.


As they traveled that morning to the prince’s ship that awaited them at the sea, Clarestes and Prince Pleodes talked much. The prince’s men walked together as a group and talked, laughing amongst themselves. By choice Mera walked alone last and was silent, but she seemed to not be bothered by this.

Around midday they stopped to rest and eat. They all sat together as they did so, except for Mera, of course.

Prince Pleodes was about to cry out and invite her to join them when Clarestes cut him off. He said, “Do not waste your words, for she will not.”

“Are you going to join her?” Pleodes asked.

“She is mad and not speaking to me,” Clarestes said. A couple of Prince Pleodes’s men laughed at this and the Prince angrily ordered them to be silent, but Clarestes himself started to laugh as well. “It is fine,” he said. “If I were them I’d be laughing as well.”

As the men ate, Prince Pleodes unslung his horn and was about to blow it for the ninth time that day, when Mermiden appeared over the crest of the near hill running toward them. Some of his men swore as they knew they were already out. Coins were being brought forth and thrown into a pile from by these men who knew that they had already lost with their later estimations.

Prince Pleodes was among them and he tossed his share into the growing pile. With awe, he said low, “Great Hermes, the boy is actually getting faster and faster.” Meanwhile, three men who were the earliest in guess pulled out and then set up a small sun dial to see whose guess proved the truest.

Mermiden scampered up to Prince Pleodes and bowed very low before him. Prince Pleodes rolled his eyes. To Clarestes he said, “I’ve told him about a million times to stop doing that. It is curious. This alone he seems not to remember...” His men laughed.

Prince Pleodes was about to call out to Mera to join them, but she was already striding to the group.

She closed upon them and was silent.

“All right, Mermiden, do your thing,” said Prince Pleodes.

Mermiden said, “When I got to the trail’s end and to Nycius’s farm, he was leaving his home to work a field with one of his sons, Therias. I told him the message. He said, “You are a strange one. Boy, what is your name?” I told him my name, He said nothing for a time and then he asked me if I was thirsty or hungry or needed anything. I said no. He asked me if I remembered all that I heard. I answered, “This is my charge, and so I try.” He said, “Then, I am going to use you as a beautiful wonder to speak to my friend. Clarestes, lay aside your farm’s concerns as I, and Therias too, will both take care of your animals and your crops while you are gone, as best an old man and his lazy lout of a son can do. With Dalia, my other indolent sons and daughters still here at our home, we can set up at your home and stay until you return. When you return, we will break bread together, for I have not seen you since we met to share our mourning of your parents’ deaths. I was worried about you and some time ago was going to visit you, but then I heard you had gotten yourself a woman, so I thought I’d let you two be. About time with that as we were all beginning to wonder if you’d ever take one, or if one would ever lower herself to be with the likes of you.”

At this point some of Prince Pleodes men started to laugh, and so Prince Pleodes cried angrily, “Silence!”

Mera’s face went crimson and she shot an embarrassed look at Clarestes, but his eyes were only upon Mermiden. He had a very broad smile upon his face. He said, “Mermiden, you speak with the teasing mouth of Nycius. This pleases me, and I wish to hear the rest of what my good friend has to say.”

Mermiden looked to Prince Pleodes and Prince Pleodes nodded to him to continue.

Mermiden said, “Son, I wish I could go with you, but I am too old and would only get in the way. So I must do what all old men do when swords need to be drawn and used, and that is sit it all out and worry gravely over the young men who do it. And since you are a young man who is so very close to my heart, I will worry all the more. Until I lay eyes upon you my heart will be heavy, so be sure to lighten it with your safe return.”

And then Mermiden was quiet. As were all present. They were all quiet for some time.

Mera broke the silence. “Mermiden,” she said and he looked at her.

“As to lighter hearts, you can not know how much you have done for mine,” she said. He smiled and then he bowed to her.

“I have no coins with which to pay you. This is all I have that I can give to you in my thanks,” she said. Then a very strange thing happened for all present. Mera’s dagger appeared embedded in the ground at Mermiden’s feet, as if done by magic. Prince Pleodes, his men, and even Clarestes were astonished by its apparent mystical and unexplained manifestation there. Clarstes heard one of the Prince’s men whisper that she was a goddess, while another whispered back she was more likely a witch.

The dagger startled Mermiden as well and he leapt back a little from it.

Mera started forward a little and she cried, “I am sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you…”

“It’s all right,” Mermiden said, for he was recovering quickly, as now he was growing fascinated by his new kick ass gift.

Clarestes looked at Mera curiously. He said, “Are you sure you want to give him that? It is very valuable. I could pay him in coins,” he said as he began to fish around under his cloak.

“Keep your dirty money, boy,” Mera spat at Clarestes. “And that sica is valuable? It is not nearly as valuable as the animals. It is a rather poor thing to give really. It is just a mean weapon, as they all are, but it is all I have to give,” she said, turning from Clarestes to address Mermiden again.

Mermiden looked to his Prince and he asked, “My lord, may I have this?”

Prince Pleodes’s brow was very furrowed, but then his face cleared and he smiled wide. He said, “I keep telling you, you are a Marsian warrior. Now you have the blade to prove it.”

Mermiden pulled the long dagger from Gaia and said to Mera he said one of the things that was traditionally said by Marsian boys when they received their first weapon. He said, “I will wear this proudly for my friends to see, and use it bravely upon our foes.”

“Do not do that!” cried Mera in horror at this and more loudly than she meant. She lowered her voice and she said, “Wear it thoughtfully for all to see, and it is my hope that you never use it, and if you do, only because you must.”

Mermiden nodded his head as he fingered the blade and he thought about what Mera said. She smiled as she thought about him. She asked him quietly, “What is my message to you?”

Mermiden held the dagger up to Mera and he said, “I will wear this thoughtfully for all to see, and it is your hope that I never use it, and if I do, only because I must.” Mera bowed to Mermiden, and then she turned and walked away from them all.

“Excuse me,” said Clarestes as he abruptly stood to follow Mera and try to talk to her, although he was all but certain she would not tolerate his presence.


Chapter 15 - “Because I think she is that fast, my Lord.”


Once Mera and Clarestes were out of ear shot, one of Prince Pleodes’s men said, “That woman knows not her place, runs her mouth, and is as weird and creepy as Hades.”

“Speaking of running mouths, getting weary of hearing that from you, Parenides,” said Prince Pleodes. “And getting tired of trying to reign you in about that as well. It’s been a very long time since I brought out the whip...” To this Parenides’ head snapped up, as did some of the prince’s other men’s heads as well. Prince Pleodes continued, “But all good things eventually come to an end. The next time I hear you disparage those I asked to aid us, and have agreed to do so even though it puts them in harm’s way, and have done such not because they owe me allegiance, but because they think it is the right thing to do for others, others that they do not even know, you get ten lashings. And as I want all you men rested and ready for tomorrow, I will dole them out myself. Are we clear on that, Parenides?”

Parenides said, “Yes, my Prince.”

They were all silent for a time and then one man asked, “My Prince, where did that dagger come from?”

Prince Pleodes shrugged his shoulders, shook himself a little, and he said, “Great Hera, if I know! I was hoping one of you would tell me, you know, to settle my nerves and all.”

“She is a witch,” said one man. “She conjured it forth by spell.”

Another said, “She is a goddess. She is Athena, or maybe Artemis,” and a few of the men murmured in agreement at this.

Old Extis chuckled. Prince Pleodes looked to him and he said, “No?”

Extis said, “Goddesses do not bare scars.”

“A witch then?” asked Prince Pleodes as he valued Extis’s insight.

“I would guess no,” he answered.

Prince Pleodes said, “Well any guesses as to that whole dagger appearance thing?”

“I would guess she threw it there, my Prince,” said Extis.

“I did not see her do so. Did anyone else?” Prince Pleodes asked and all the men shook their heads. “Did you see her throw it there?” Prince Pleodes asked Extis.

Extis said, “No.”

“Well if you did not see her do so, and we did not see her do so, why do you think she did so?”

Extis said, “Because I think she is that fast, my Lord.”

Talk immediately broke out amongst the men. Prince Pleodes tried to listen to all they were saying, but he could not follow them all. Keralius was easy to hear for he cried out, “Disparaging remarks? I think I love her! My Prince, I beg you to place her in the ranks next to me tomorrow, for I am a weakling and a coward and do not want to die!” They all laughed at this.

Meanwhile, Mermiden brought his dagger to show to Old Extis. Mermiden sat down beside him, nay leaned up against him, as Extis was wise and always kind, and as Mermiden had no father or mother.

Old Extis examined it and he said to Mermidan, “This dagger is Thracian through and through. See how it is but one long curve? They are made so to slide around an enemy’s shield. The Thracians often place eagles and snakes upon their weapons, and this dagger is no different, for look there. Carved in its handle is a flying eagle with a snake in its talons. The eagles and snakes have meaning to them, but I know not what they are as the Thracians hold those tight secrets. They call their long daggers like these sicas. This one is well worn, but well taken care of, and it will serve you for a long time. Indeed, if you take good care of it as well, you could pass it down to your own son one day, for the Thracians are fierce, have many enemies and are always at war, and so they craft some of the best weapons, some say even better than us Greeks, and I would not disagree with this...”

Then Prince Pleodes saw Crecades joining their circle, dancing and rubbing the coins about his bare chest, for he had won the bet. The two men behind him cursed him and jokingly accused that he and Mermiden were in collusion, for Crecades always seemed to win.

“Let’s see how lucky Crecades is tomorrow, as he is the runt and most womanly among us,” cried one of Prince Pleodes’s men.

“True, so true,” said another. “Crecades, when you are the first to be slain tomorrow, who gets those coins you now rub about your soft female breasts?”

“None of you,” said Crecades. “I am in collusion...with Mera. All of these coins will go to her today, for her protection of me tomorrow. Sometimes it pays to be lucky, and sometimes you pay to be lucky!”

Prince Pleodes smiled at this gallows humor from his men. He knew that tomorrow each and every one of these men would be very afraid, but all would fight bravely nonetheless, as he knew each of them well. Indeed, the one most likely to fail to be courageous tomorrow was he himself, for they were all tested in battle and none had failed. He himself was not tested. His first test would come tomorrow.

Then he grew sad as he thought of his men. He wondered which of them that joked and walked bright Gaia today would begin his sad, dark trek into the underworld tomorrow. Tonight he would pray long to the gods and goddesses that it would be none of them.

And he was all but certain that his prayer would not be answered.


Chapter 16 - “Listen, if you can kick me, you can kiss me.”


When done eating and resting, they began to march to the sea again. Mera was still not talking to Clarestes and refused to walk with him, and so he walked with Prince Pleodes and his men.

Somewhat later that afternoon Clarestes slowed his pace so Mera would catch him. He asked her if she was well. She finally spoke to him and said that she was. He asked her if she was afraid and she surprised him by saying that she was. He looked at her questioningly.

“I am almost always afraid,” she said despite the fact that she looked confident and at ease.

Clarestes brow furrowed and he asked, “You are afraid you will be slain tomorrow?”

“No,” said Mera.

Clarestes was about to ask another question but Mera cut him off. “That’s enough woman talk,” she growled at him. “Now go and do so quickly or I will thrash you in front of all. Rejoin your princeling and the other fools, and let me be.”


In the late afternoon they stopped to eat and rest again. Again the Prince, his men and Clarestes ate as a group, and again Mera ate alone. Mermiden pulled out his dagger and examined it for the eight hundredth time, while he also looked to Mera for the eight hundredth time as well.

He said, “My Prince, I never thanked Mera for this.”

Prince Pelodes said, “No? Well you would know best if you did or did not, wouldn’t you?” And the men closest around who heard him laughed.

“May I do so now, my Lord?” asked Mermiden

Prince Pleodes looked to Clarestes. Clarestes said, “My guess is she would like that a lot. I am sure, you Mermiden, are the only one of us she wishes to talk to or see.”

By now all of Prince Pleodes’s men had stopped talking and were listening, but surprisingly, none of them laughed at Clarestes’ words.

Prince Pleodes nodded his head. Mermiden got up and then ran to Mera. All the men watched him, and all were quiet.


As Mera ate her food she looked at her midriff and noted the two rolls of softness there. It was all Clarestes’ fault. His food was so fucking good and he was always messing around the kitchen’s fire and whipping up something all savory and yummy to eat. And he would practically force it into her mouth when he was done making it. Then he would leave it all over and around the house where she couldn’t help but bump into or trip over it, and then snack upon it. He was bad before, but then after the whole water carrying ordeal when she lost all that weight, he just took all that up another notch on her bony ass.

One day she angrily accused him of trying to fatten her up with all of the food that was left around, but he said he did not know what she was talking about. That night as she went to bed, she saw food he had jokingly laid out upon her bed. She immediately began to curse him out, but she could do so not as fully and loudly as she wanted as she realized in horror that she was already absentmindedly stuffing that bed-food into her cow’s mouth.

And Clarestes accomplished his mission, she had put that weight back on and more. She jiggled her thigh with her finger. Yup, I’ve never been so heavy in my life, she thought.

She knew she had become complacent.

She put her food away and stood. She stretched and struck a stance, tensing and feeling her body. Instantly, she released a hook kick and it was not crisp.

She pressed her hands together in front of her and focused. “Vrum, vrum, vrum,” were the low sounds her leg made in the air as she threw three reverse roundhouse kicks high, one after another. Her balance was off by the third and all the kicks were clumsy and too slow.

She dipped low and wide into her legs and closed her eyes as she did that pose and stretch. This felt good and so she kept her eyes closed. Her legs felt stiff and tense, but felt good as well. She threw two rapid punches and then an arm block and then another. She held this block with her fist clenched to feel its strength. The weight may have made her sluggish, but it made her stronger as well. She threw a series of kicks, hand strikes and blocks. She struck another stance and stayed static there for a time too. She breathed in deeply, but slowly, until her chest expanded and stretched to its fullest.

And then she was ready. She threw every kick, punch, strike and block she knew. Many were slow, not sharp, and readable but she knew how to correct all that. With her eyes still closed she skipped across the turf bringing her rapidly sideways one way and then quickly the other, and then backwards and forwards. She took a different stance which she held for its stretch and strength.

Then she decided to just have some fun. She threw nothing but kicks, kick after kick. She threw jumping high kicks, quick side kicks, back kicks and axe kicks. She threw many reverse roundhouse kicks, for those were her favorite, and when she did so her leg flew high into the air and her head dipped low. She threw low leg sweeps as her hands danced and moved her across Gaia. Next she jumped into the air, time and time again, throwing multiple kicks as she did so.

At one point she opened her eyes and caught something out of the corner of her eye, and so when she landed, she stopped. She turned and saw Mermiden looking at her with his mouth wide open in awe.

She looked to the shitty group and saw they were all watching them, and for once they weren’t all laughing like idiotic baboons, but were still and quiet.

“Hi,” she said to Mermiden. “Did you come over here to play with me?”

“No,” he said.

“That is too bad as I think you are very handsome,” she said. “Why did you come here to me then?”

Mermiden froze and a very strange, pained look came over his face. Then he said something he almost never said. He said, “I don’t remember.”

“Well, do not fret. It probably wasn’t important. Unless it was that you were going to ask me to marry you...Was that it?” Did you come over here to ask me to be your wife?” Mera asked as her eyes lit up at this exciting prospect.

“No,” said Mermiden and the spell was broken and he giggled. He said, “I have been practicing my kicking. Kicking is my favorite thing to practice.”

Mera smiled very wide and she said, “Kicking is my favorite too. Will you show me some of your kicks?”

Mermiden said, “I have been taught four routines to practice with.”

“Show me your favorite,” she said. And when Mermiden stood ready to do so, she said, “No, not way over there, for that is too far away for us to play. Come close and throw those routine’s kicks at me.”

“I do not want to kick you…” he said.

“Do not worry about that. I can learn better if you kick at me. So please do so, and try to land your kicks upon me. Listen, if you can kick me, you can kiss me,” she said as she leaned closer to him and Mermiden giggled at this. “Show me your favorite training routine, and try to land those kicks against me.”

Mera and Mermiden faced one another and struck their stances. “Begin,” she said.

Mermiden started and threw a side kick at her and Mera’s eyes lit up in surprise and delight because it was much faster than she suspected him capable of. Indeed, Mermiden’s second kick, a crescent, followed so closely after the first that she had to wake up and quickly move her condescending ass to just barely dodge it. She smiled broadly as he threw the rest of the routine’s kicks. As he did so, she tried to take note of what the stances were, and what the kicks were as she blocked or dodged them.

When he was done she said, “That is a great routine. It has places where you change stances to hide the kicks to come, and I like that. And it has arm blocks in it too, that protect what you expose when executing those kicks. Whatever Marsian warrior that put that together is a man I’d like to meet. Indeed, he would be the first Marsian warrior I’d like to meet,” she said as she glowered at the group. “I mean besides you!” she continued as she clutched her heart and her face went gaga. “Would you do that routine again? I want to see what your footwork was on that seventh and eight kick and watch where you change stances throughout it all. And listen, do not hold back, let those kicks fly at me. All right?”

“All right,” said Mermiden. Then he did so. Again, Mera tried to remember it all as she blocked or dodged his kicks.

“Now I will try it,” she said. “Will you watch me so you can tell me where I go astray?” Mermiden nodded his head

Mera did the routine as best she could remember. It was, indeed, a very good one as it was both very martially practical and functional, but also pleasingly fun, and it felt empowering when she did it.

When she was done Mermiden said, “That was so fast. It was hard to follow.”

“I will slow it down. Better yet, I will do it one kick at a time,” she said. She threw the first sidekick and when her leg was stretched out long to the kick’s end, she held herself still and looked to him. “Was that right?”

“I think so,” said Mermiden as he smiled at her strong, athletic pose.

Mera quickly pulled her foot back and delivered the crescent kick. As her foot rose and reached the apex of that kick, she locked it and held it rigid as she looked to Mermiden. She asked if that was right as well.

“Yes,” he said, still smiling.

And thus she went through the whole routine.

“I think I’m getting it. May I do it once more like that for you?” she asked.

“Yes,” said Mermiden.

Mera performed the routine again. By this time she thought she mostly had it, so now she was going for humor. Everytime she released a kick, she did so with as much speed and force as she could and at each kick’s end, she tried to snap-stop and hold that kick’s end point as tight and still as possible. And she tried to hold her body as taut as possible, except for her head which she would rapidly swivel around, and she’d look to Mermiden with as much stupidity and goofiness that she could screw up upon her face. Each time she looked at him, she would say something like, “Is that correct, my master?” or “How was that, cuteness?” or “Best kick ever, right?” or “Do you think I’m pretty?,” or “Girl Power!” or “That kick made me fart,” and then, “Phew, it really smells!”

She was getting him. Mermiden was starting to giggle and giggle.

She finished the routine and then dropped the goofy idiocy from her face. She said, “Would you do it again now, side by side and together with me?”

Mermiden said, “Yes.” Then they did it together and Mera slowed down and watched and followed Mermiden so that her kicks matched and were in unison with his own.

When they were done Mera said, “Mermiden, thank you for showing me that Marsian kicking routine. I will remember it and use it often when I train. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me.” She bowed to him and he bowed back to her.

“Look,” said Mera. Mermiden turned his head around to see that his prince and all the men were watching him and Mera intently, and quietly.

“They are probably worried that I am going to snatch you up and carry you away to be my husband, as we Thracian Amazons do. And they are not wrong!” she said as she started to quickly poke and tickle him about his midriff, which made him giggle so much he fell down with her over him.

Soon she stopped this and she leaned in close to him. She said, “What do you say to me and you going over there, and then we kick all of those old men’s stupid, fat asses together?” And Mermiden giggled more.


Chapter 17 - “If you do not change your tactics you will be routed!”


As twilight fell Prince Pleodes’s party reached the prince’s ship. Clarestes waited for Mera to catch up to him and they walked abroad together. Mera had an unreadable look upon her face. Clarestes asked her if she was well and she said she was, but then she murmured, “I have never seen the sea before, much more been on a ship of the sea.”

Clarestes looked at her in surprise. She murmured, “It is all so beautiful.”

That night the crew rowed eastward to where most of the prince’s ships were gathered. Clarestes talked and planned with Prince Pleodes and his admirals. Mera stayed apart from them all, standing at the ship’s port rail watching the sea. Eventually Prince Pleodes bade Clarestes to sleep and he offered his cabin for both he and Mera to use. Clarestes told him that the ship’s deck would suffice for him and that Mera would sleep there alone. Clarestes told Mera that the prince’s cabin was hers to use for slumber, to which she sputtered her lips in contemptuous reply. Clarestes assumed Mera would sleep upon the deck as he would, then he laid down upon a coil of rope and before he knew it he was asleep.

When he awoke at daybreak, Mera was still standing at the ship’s rail. He grew alarmed and approached her, and he saw something that he had not seen upon her in some time...there was darkness around her eyes. He asked anxiously if she slept.

She said, “If you are wondering if I will be ready to fight, you need not worry. I am very ready.” And with that she crossed the ship to stand at its starboard side before he could say anything else.

Later that morning the rest of the prince’s ships arrived. They too had tried to elicit the help from other greek city states, and from other greek heroes as well. Prince Pleodes was hopeful for their aid, as those city states were plagued by the pirates’ marauding as well. His envoys, however, all but failed as those city states and “heroes” were not satisfied with nothing more than a promised share of the pirates’ loot.

Prince Pleodes was reminded that Clarestes had not even brought up payment yet, and the prince was consoled that he had gotten, in his estimation, the best Greek hero in Clarestes. Among the rulers, Queen Isettia alone had not disappointed him, as a dozen of her ships, loaded with sailors and troops, now accompanied his returning ship he had sent to Agrippos asking for her aid.

Prince Pleodes thanked Zeus and Athena for this. Marsia could always count on Isetia for help, and if they prevailed, she and Agrippos would be duly recompensed for their aid. His fleet fully gathered, they sailed toward the small, unnamed island where the pirates had built their own fortified town. They would reach that island by mid day.

Not far from the island they spotted the first pirate ships. These ships immediately sailed back toward their island and the prince’s ships could not catch them.

The ship’s master said to Clarestes and his prince, “They are masters of the sea. Their ships and sailing abilities out strip our own.”

And just as the prince’s fleet was able to see the island, the pirates attacked. They had not the number of ships that the prince’s fleet had as yet, as many of their ships were still docked in their bay, but nevertheless the battle was fraught and pitched as the pirates were better sailors, and better at fighting at sea. The pirates succeeded in setting two of the Marsians’ ships aflame, sunk another two by ramming them, and even wrested one of the prince’s ships away by boarding and killing its crew. And their numbers were growing as more of the pirates’ ships were coming out to sea from their bay’s docks. They were winning.

Clarestes, Prince Pleodes and his Admirals were gathered and discussing strategy. Mera had joined their ship’s troops to fire arrows at pirates on a nearby ship, but when the pirates’ returning volleys started to land among Clarestes and Prince Pleodes and his group, she raced to them and raised her shield high with them.

Under their canopy of shields, Mera saw Prince Pleodes’s drawn face. Clarestes too looked grave as the admirals barked nonsense orders at the men aboard to fight harder.

Above the din of battle and the sounds of the arrows and sling stones pelting down upon their shields overhead, Mera cried to Prince Pleodes, “If you do not change your tactics you will be routed!”

Immediately Prince Pleodes’ admirals cursed and raged at Mera’s insolence. Prince Pleodes shook his head, but Clarestes yelled above the tumult of words and the sounds of battle, “Let her speak!”

Mera shouted, “The longer this battle stays only at sea the worse it will go for you. Look there, the pirates ashore are boarding more of their ships and by every moment are adding to their ships numbers out here. You must order your ships with your infantry aboard to ignore their ships here at sea and make land. This fight must also be brought to their bay’s beaches. There your numbers will serve you better and your infantry, which are not fully effective here, will be where they are most needed. They will stop the pirates from manning their other ships. They will beat back the pirates on land, take their docks and burn their ships still docked. Great Athena, they might even take their still docked ships to use against them out here! But you must do this quickly, or all will be lost!”

Prince Pleodes’s Admirals roiled at Mera for daring to give her unwanted and poor counsel. One actually started to draw his sword against her, but Clarestes was faster and his sword was at that man’s throat before his sword was free. And despite their angry words of derision at Mera, Prince Pleodes saw panic in his admirals’ eyes. He knew they were all but witless and overwhelmed from fear of defeat.

Clarestes was about to support Mera, but a one eyed grisled general who stood among them was faster with his words. He said, “The woman is absolutely right. You must gamble and divide your fleet. This is our only chance now. Order that command, my prince.”

Prince Pleodes shouted down his ranting admirals and did such, and soon his ships that were more infantry rich, rowed quickly toward the bay’s beach.

At first it looked as if Mera’s plan was unsound as two of the infantry ships were sunk by the pirates’ ships. But the rest made it to beach upon the pirates’ sands. There Prince Pleodes’s troops disembarked and formed together upon the beach. They slayed the less organized pirates upon it in turns. They then took the docks, and as Mera had predicted, a good number of the pirate ships were stranded there before the remaining pirates who streamed out of their stronghold town could board them.

That turned the tide of the battle at sea, for Prince Pleodes still had more ships than the pirates had. Indeed, some of the pirates, seeing that their numbers would not increase further at sea, chose to flee and sail away, and so those pirate ships that stayed and fought were left even more vulnerable, and their ships were sunk, boarded or set aflame by the Marsians all the more easily.

In time Prince Pleodes’s ships were the only ones left and they controlled the sea. Seeing this, Prince Pleodes ordered his remaining ships into the bay to support the still fraught and pitched land battle.


Chapter 18 - “I can do nothing for her as there is nothing wrong with her.”


As the prince’s ship neared a dock, Mera and Clarestes disembarked - for they had seen that the pirates, now trapped and without means of escape, fought all the more fiercely for their lives.

Clarestes and Mera would have none of watching more Marians troops die if they could help it. So even before the prince’s ship was moored, they ran across the deck and then leapt like tigers over much open sea to the dock. Then they raced to the fighting, while ignoring Prince Pleodes’s shocked cries for them to halt.

Soon Clarestes and Mera joined the Marsians on a beach where the battle was hottest. They slew many pirates, but then a well aimed pirate’s javelin pierced Clarestes’s armor to lodge in his back shoulder. Immediately, a quick thinking pirate struck Clarestes’s helmet hard with a sword slash. Clarestes staggered backwards from the blow, and then he collapsed to the sands stunned. Instantly the pirates converged upon him in the hopes of slaying what seemed to be the Marsians’ War Lord.

But Mera was above him first. She screamed and slew the pirates that drew near. Her spear struck out time and time again, until it broke. Then seamlessly her sword was in hand, leaping and striking out as fast as a serpent’s tongue. Her sword too broke upon a pirate’s shield, and as that pirate raised his sword to smite her, she dealt him such a vicious kick that his sword flew from his hand as he hurled backward, and she quickly snatched that sword from midair for herself.

She stood above Clarestes and slew any pirate that dared drew near, until the Marsian troops rallied and took the ground upon which she stood. Mera was surprised to see that the first soldiers to appear were Prince Pleodes’s personal group, and were led by Pleodes himself. The prince and his men continued the fight past them, until she and Clarestes were out of harm’s way.

Clarestes came to and weakly tried to rise to his feet, but Mera cried out and pushed him back down. She panted much like an animal and looked at him with fear in her eyes.

“I will be alright,” he said in a daze. “Remove this javelin from me,” he said as he could not reach it. He groaned in pain as Mera did so and she was relieved that it came out whole. She quickly removed his light cuirass, and then she staved his gushing blood with part of her clothing until a doctor took over his care.

She watched him until the doctor confirmed what Clarestes had said, that the wound was deep, but not mortal, and he would live if it didn’t worsen in the next few days.

As the doctor attended to him, she looked around and saw that the Marsians were already battering the pirates’ fort’s gate. It would fall within moments. The pirates outside the gates had already surrendered or been slain. And that would be the fate of the remaining pirates within the fortified town. The battle was not done, but its outcome was assured. Now it was only a matter of time.

Then she looked around the beach. She viewed wounded men from both sides, crying out in pain and fear, or calling out for those they loved who were afar. Dozens of dead bodies lay about as well. The majority were pirates and she saw that they wore simple garb, the poor clothing of fishermen and farmers. One that lay near just lived and he moaned in agony from a ghastly wound to his head. His bloody tunic was half ripped off him and each of his ribs showed through his sallow skin. Indeed, many of the dead or wounded pirates, she now saw, were emaciated.

Then she understood. Many of these men were not evil or greedy, but had simply turned to piracy when their fields failed them or the seas denied them good catches. No wonder they were so very easy to kill, she thought - and she was sickened as she contemplated exactly how many she had killed herself.

As the Marsians cheered as the gates fell to them, and as the cries of death or pathetic pleas of surrender rang in her ears from the pirates within the town, Mera’s legs became weak, her head spun and her stomach churned. She turned from Clarestes and the doctor. She took a few steps away from them before her weakness betrayed her. Then she sank to her knees and she vomited. And then she wept.

Clarestes tried to rise to go to her, but the doctor feared that if he took to his feet it would reopen his wound and he knew Clarestes could not spare that blood loss. So he now held Clarestes down and told him to be still. Clarestes cried, “Is she wounded? “Why do you not attend to her? What is wrong with her?!”

“I can do nothing for her as there is nothing wrong with her,” said the doctor. “As of now she is perhaps the only one on this forsaken island who has gotten it right.”


Chapter 19 - “I saved your life?”


In time Mera’s strength recovered somewhat and she rose to her feet. She walked down the beach until she was past where any fighting had occurred. There she stood still and looked out upon the bay.

Clarestes joined her as soon as the doctor finished stitching and dressing his wound. When Mera saw him she smiled for a moment, but then her face became wan and expressionless and she turned back to the waves. To all he said to her she said nothing to him in return.

The doctor joined them. He took her wrist in his hand and felt her life’s pulse. He looked into her eyes and nodded his head.

He said to Clarestes, “She has withdrawn, but I think she will be fine. I’ve seen this before. It happens sometimes to people in battle, who see horrible things. Just be vigilant and watch her close, for time is the only cure I know of.” And with that he quickly left to attend to more wounded.

Clarestes needed not be told to watch her and for the rest of that day that is all he did. He did not see the resolution of the battle, or watch as the last of the pirates were led away. Nor did he see the gathering of the spoils by the prince’s men and nor did he witness the burial of the dead. He saw nothing but Mera and she saw nothing but the waves, if she saw them at all.

As evening drew near Prince Pleodes approached them and Clarestes saw he too had been wounded. The prince’s left arm was in a sling and a blood soaked bandage was wrapped around his head. Clarestes was about to ask him about his wounds, but the Prince waved his concern off. His eyes were upon Mera.

“She still will not speak?” he asked. Clarestes shook his head. Prince Pleodes asked Clarestes how his wounds fared and he said he was well. Prince Pleodes apologized for taking so long to check upon them. He told Clarestes with deep sadness that Old Extis had been slain.

Pleodes’s eyes returned to Mera and he said, “Mera, of the most beautiful land on Gaia, I am forever in your debt.”

Mera turned to him and brought a smile of relief to the prince’s face when she said thickly, ”I know not why you say that, but you are welcome.”

Clarestes smiled hugely and he said, “I stand corrected, apparently she will not speak to only me.”

Mera’s face was still strangely slack, but she said, “That is right. I am not speaking to you.” Then she turned back to look at the waves.

Clarestes laughed and Mera, as if realizing she made a joke, smiled a little.

Prince Pleodes handed Clarestes four small bags of coins that were part of the pirate’s loot. Clarestes took two, put them in his tunic, and then he handed two back to the prince. Prince Pleodes did not even bother to try to convince him otherwise as he knew Clarestes would take no more.

Prince Pleodes approached Mera and held in front of her a jewel encrusted, silver tiara. He said, “This was also taken from the pirate’s trove. It is the greatest thing of value we found there. It is for you, in our gratitude for all you did.”

Mera’s eyes flickered to it for a moment and then her gaze returned to the waves. She said, “That is the stupidest thing that anyone has ever offered to me.”

Clarestes cringed at this rudeness from her, but Prince Pleodes laughed heartily and he said, “And now I owe you even more, for that is the first time I have laughed today! All right Mera, what do you want? If it is anything I have the power to give, I will.”

Mera was silent for a time and then she said slowly, “I would ask that you keep that queen’s crown and give its worth in coins to the dead pirate’s widows and children, but you would never do that, even if you could find them. So instead I ask that you give its worth in shares to the widows and children of your dead men.”

Clarestes looked upon Mera at first with shock, and then with immense pride. Prince Pleodes nodded approvingly and he said, “Those widows and children are already to be paid recompense by me, but no amount of money will ever be enough in that regard, so this crown’s worth will be added to what they already will receive, to this I pledge and may the gods curse me for eternity if I do not.”

Mera nodded her head to this but said nothing.

Prince Pleodes said, “But is there anything I may give you? That you want?”

After a time she said, “I am thirsty...and hungry.”

Prince Pleodes smiled and he said, “Food and drink are already arranged for us upon my ship.”

Mera shook her head and she said, “I wish to see no one. In truth, I am going to stay here. It is not everyday that one has the opportunity to have a whole island to oneself.”

At Mera’s words both Clarestes and Pleodes looked at each other in aghast surprise. Clarestes said, “Mera, I thought you would be returning to the farm with me…”

She said tonelessly, “I am sorry. You were mistaken.”

His heart sank and he looked to Prince Pleodes in alarm.

Prince Pleodes said, “You are serious? You wish to stay on this desolate isle?”

Mera slowly looked around. She viewed the small island, the damage that had been done to the ravaged “town” that now burned, and the few rough, craggy hills that it consisted of. Indeed, it seemed barren...and remote, and she knew that the few who would ever come would come only by accident and not by desire. And that they would not want to stay.

“It seems made for me. I am finally home,” she said.

Prince Pleodes looked to Clarestes, but Clarestes said nothing as he seemed stunned into silence. So the prince cried out, “No! You will come to my city. I would be honored and pleased if you joined us and I promise you a place there always. I offer you both a place there!”

Clarestes heart hurt at the prince’s words, for indeed, he had naturally assumed that Mera would return to his farm with him. But now he realized this was not her wish, so he stayed silent and prayed Mera would take the prince up on his offer.

But Mera shook her head and she merely said, “I thank you for your generous offer, but no. I will not be doing that.”

Prince Pleodes looked to Mera with confusion and wonder. He was about to speak again, but she had turned back to the waves. She was still shaking her head at him and said, “Save your words, Prince Pleodes. I do ask if I could have that food and wine brought here before you depart.”

Prince Pleodes said sadly, “As you wish. I will fetch it now, but while I do so I hope that you reconsider what I have said, and when I return I will be pressing again what I offered.” Then he went to his ship.

Clarestes said, “Mera, my heart is full of woe and I am afraid...for you, as well as me. I can not leave you here alone. I will ask the prince to leave a boat for us and I will stay as well.”

“Why?” asked Mera. “You are not invited to stay here with me, you are not welcome to stay here. By me, or by Prince Pleodes I assume, or by anyone else for that matter.”

Clarestes said, “You shame me with my very own words, and as you should. My regret and humiliation are great. Let them be complete, for now I beg you to go back home with me.”

Mera said, “You beg me out of some misplaced sense of duty. You ask me out of pity.”

“Yes!” he cried. “Out of pity for me! I want you to return home with me!”

Mera said, “You were perfectly content at your home before I arrived. I have caused you only trouble and grief.”

“Not true,” he said. “The opposite is true. I was ill of heart before you arrived. After that my grief was greatly lessened, and everyday I was pleased and grateful for your presence.”

“You mean you were pleased and grateful the day I arrived and tried to kill you?”

“Well, not that day,” said Clarestes. “But every day after I was. Especially since you have not tried to kill me even once since then.”

Mera smiled a little and she said, “I’ll tell you what, I will pretend to think about it. Now be silent, for that fake consideration is the best you’ll get.”

Prince Pleodes returned with Crecades and Keralius. They had much food, water and wine which they set up for Mera on the beach. She sat down and then slowly she began to eat and drink. She said, “I mean no offense, but I am not good company now. I wish to be alone.”

Prince Pleodes and Clarestes looked at each other, and the Prince said, “As you wish, but we will return in a while to check upon you.” Then they began to walk away. All four had taken but a few steps when Mera called out, “Hey boy, where do you think you’re going?”

Prince Pleodes, as he was the youngest and thinking she was talking to him, said, “You want something more of me?”

Mera said, “Sorry, I was talking to the other boy among you. The one who is slightly older than you.”

Clarestes smiled and he said, “I think she means me.”

Mera said, “Of course I mean you. When I said I wanted to be alone, that doesn’t include you. Don’t you get anything?”

Prince Pleodes and his men laughed raucously. Crecades said to Keralius, “Yeah, that Clarestes-boy, he really doesn’t get anything does he?” Keralius laughed and then shook his head in mock, sad agreement. Prince Pleodes jabbed Clarestes with his good arm’s elbow and so shoved him in the direction of Mera. “Go get her,” he said under his breath.

As they left, Clarestes rubbed his side where the prince had jostled him. He complained to Mera, “Did you see that? Those Marsians are way too rough. I mean here I am wounded for Zeus’s sake, and what does their barbaric prince do? He pummels me with his bony elbow. And they need not laugh at me so. They aren’t nearly as funny as they think they are.”

But Mera just piled on and said to him, “Don’t be such a pussy.” Instantly she felt bad about saying this as the bruise on his face looked fairly ugly and painful. And presently she did not remember and so she did not know about his much graver javelin wound.

Clarestes, ever the good natured one, laughed and took no offense. He said, “So that’s how it’s going to be? Hey, that bread with goat cheese looks good. Can I have some?”

But when he reached for a slice Mera slapped his hand. She said, “Those are all mine. You can have a few of those olives.”

“Great Athena, thank you,” said Clarestes. “But no thanks, especially since, as you well know, I hate olives. You care for me not at all. I’m surprised you took the time out of your day to save my life.”

At this Mera’s head snapped up. She looked into Clarestes eyes and she asked, “I saved your life?”

Clarestes mirth left him and he said, “You did so but some hours ago. You do not remember?”

Mera said, “No.”

Clarestes’ worry for Mera arose abruptly again. He began to tell her how she did so, but she cut him off after a while, saying, “Nevermind that, would you please talk about something else, anything else?”

Clarestes was silent and could not think of anything to say. Eventually he said, “Well, I’d like to talk about how disgusting these olives taste and how much I want some of those goat cheese bread slices.”

Mera said, “You can have one. No, not that one. You may have that small one there. That’s right, boy. Now tell me how you think you are going to repay me for my alleged saving your life.”

Clarestes said, “Well that will take me some time, as I, unlike you, prize and value my own life greatly. This is lucky for you, that I am worth so much, for it will take me years upon years to fully pay you back.”

Mera laughed at this and then she chuckled at all the things he promised her. At one point he pulled out the two bags of coins he took from Prince Pleodes and offered them to her, and this also made her laugh. It took him so long to explain and detail all that he owed her that by the time he was done, they had both eaten and drunk their fill, and twilight was falling.

“Have you changed your mind? Are you ready to walk to the prince’s ship with me?” asked Clarestes with desperate hopefulness.

Mera answered, “No to both. I am going to stay here. But before you leave will you tell me why Prince Pleodes thinks he is in my debt?”

Clarestes said, “Why, it was only you who saw what needed to be changed when the battle was going so badly it looked like it would be lost. You do not remember this either?”

Mera said, ”No, I do not.”

Clarestes asked with concern, “What do you remember of today?”

Mera said after a time, “I remember seeing the first pirates’ ships...I recall shooting arrows at the pirates aboard another ship...One of my arrows found its mark. I followed its path and when it hit the man I was aiming for, he jerked from its strike. Then he writhed in agony upon his ship’s deck for a time before he lay still.” Then she strained to remember more. “The only other thing I remember is running down a long dock after you. You were ahead of me and you were running so swiftly. I thought you were going to outdistance me, so I sprinted as fast as I could, but I was not gaining upon you and this made me very afraid, for I feared I was going to be separated from you, and that I would lose you, but I do not remember if we were parted or not.”

Clarestes said, “We were not separated. You were right behind me the whole time, and I would be dead right now if you weren’t.”

Mera said, “Again, I will have to take your word for that. I wish I could remember more, as supposedly my words became the battle’s plan and apparently I saved your life. And to think, none of you wanted me to join you from the start. Well, at least you want me to come along with you now.”

Clarestes said, “Mera, I want you to come with me now more than you know. I do not want to be parted from you. I do not want to lose you. If you decide to stay here, then I am staying as well. Now, I use your very words against you.” Then he leaned forward toward her and he said challengingly, “Let me put it this way, woman, who on Gaia thinks they are going to make me go?”

His javelin wound was stiffening and now pained him, and so he inadvertently grimaced at a little as he did this. Mera saw this. Her eyes opened wide and she asked, “Are you wounded elsewhere other than your face?”

Clarestes said, “I was struck by a javelin.”

Mera’s heart beat faster and she asked with concern, “Where?”

When Clarestes told her his back shoulder, she leapt to her feet and went round him. Carefully she pulled his tunic down from off his shoulder to see the dressing, which looked sound and so she let it be. Nevertheless, her concern and gentle touch moved Clarestes, and he fell in love with her just a little more, if that was possible.

“Was I there when you were wounded?” she asked in aghast.

“You removed the javelin from me yourself,” he answered.

Mera was silent for quite a long time. She could not believe that Clarestes had suffered such a grave wound and had not even mentioned it. His concern today was only for her, and she had not even been wounded. She felt shame in this, and immense gratitude toward him for his care of her as he completely set aside his own pain. She too fell in love with him a little more, and this hurt her heart.

She also felt alarmed by this. Such a wound could always worsen, and the doctor needed to see him again soon. So she said, “You’ve convinced me. Now we will go to the ships. Traveling with you for just two days has been all but a nightmare, so I can only imagine what a living hell it would be like to be stuck here on this small island with you. I’m ready to go with you and leave here.”

Clarestes laughed as this was very funny. Then he laughed more as his troubled heart was finally so quickly eased. And then he and Mera walked side by side to the prince’s ship that awaited them.


Chapter 20 - “Mera!”


As they neared the Marsians’ ships that were docked or riding at anchor in the island’s bay, the Marsians saw Clarestes and Mera approaching by the fading light of the day. At first one man and then another began to call out and shout. Soon all cried out to them. They shouted Clarestes’s name in a boisterous, warriors’ cheer.

To Mera, the Marsians sounded angry and ready to fight as they called out Clarestes name.

She quickly stepped in front of him. She drew her sword and raised her shield before both of them, and she instantly struck a fighting stance.

The men fell silent as they were just as perplexed by Mera’s actions as she was with theirs.

Clarestes was momentarily baffled by this, and then he was saddened. She did not even know what a rousing cheer was.

Aboard one of the ships, Crecades, who stood with his troop and with his Prince, was following Clarestes' thinking as well. He broke the silence by laughing heartily.

He jumped upon the ship’s rail to raise himself above the other men. Balancing there like a large bird as the ship rocked from the waves, he pointed to Mera. He yelled as loud as he could while still pointing at her. He yelled, “Mera!”

Then he looked around and yelled her name again as he pointed even more enthusiastically at her. The Prince’s men laughed. Then they joined in with him, shouting out her name. Soon Marsians from other ships joined in, until the sound of Mera’s name was very tumultuous in the air.

This terrified Mera and she dipped lower into her fighting stance and braced herself for their attack. But Clarestes came around from behind her and he lowered her hand that held her sword. He smiled broadly at her, and he explained that the shouting Marsians were not angry with her or him. He explained this was not a battle cry, but that the men were celebrating her. Mera did not understand this completely as Amazons only yelled at their enemies and never did what the Marsians were doing now. But she eventually sheathed her sword and after a bit of encouragement from Clarestes, they both made for the Prince’s ship.

When they boarded the Prince’s ship the men crowded them both. They shook their hands and clasped them both upon their shoulders. Mera at first was confused by this as well, but when Crecades reached her, he grabbed her wrist and raised her arm up high. He looked around while shouting her name again and again.

She smiled, and she wept. But then she thought the Marsian warriors were crowding and being too rough with her wounded boy, so she stepped in front of Clarestes again and gently pushed and cleared the Marsians away.

Prince Pleodes’s ship raised its anchor and unmoored from the dock. Then that ship set sail to take them home.