Queen of the Seas

Queen of the Seas-4

She was startled by the words that had escaped her, and a shiver ran through her small frame. She was not a violent child, nor had she ever truly wished pain or death upon anyone. But deep down, she knew the words spoken were as accurate as any she had ever uttered.

Opening her eyes, she rose to her feet, unsure how she felt, but she did feel different. “How will I know if he answers?”

Yaalon was sitting on the bench, staring at her with much interest, his features more alive than they had been moments before. “Ares has heard your plea, child; of this, I know with certainty.”

“How?”

The old man tapped his blind eye. “I watched you with my blind eye while you opened your soul for Ares to hear. I saw him lean down and accept your offering.” He was in true awe. “It is something I have never witnessed before. Something I shall never forget.”

Callisto almost burst with excitement before quickly feeling like a foolish child again. “You jest.”

Yaalon shook his head. “I would never jest about the gods, child. Nor about something so meaningful to someone.” He paused and looked back the way she had come. “It would seem Ares has seen fit to deliver you a gift for your course of vengeance.”

Callisto saw the horse from before edging its way into the small clearing. “What are you doing here, girl?” She went to the animal, patting its neck. “Do you really think Ares sent the horse? Most likely, it followed me here from across the road.”

“I don’t claim to know the will of the gods, but from what I’ve seen this night, I can think of no better answer.”

Looking from the horse to Yaalon, she was confused. “But why, what good does a horse that is not mine do me?”

Yaalon shrugged. “Only you can answer that.” He tapped his chest. “Follow what your heart tells you. Then leap upon its back and see where it takes you. And wherever that may be, make sure you are prepared to act upon what Ares has granted for you, for not to would be an insult to his favor—and you do not want to insult a god.”

Callisto looked at the statue and felt more confused than ever. This was a stupid idea. The old gods were dead and could not help her.

“Come, girl. I will take you home before your master sees that you’ve gotten yourself free.”

She wondered if she should go to the house and tell the owners their horse had gotten free. They would likely blame her or accuse her of trying to steal the beast. Quickly she dismissed the notion.

Wealthy people always found ways to blame those poorer than they were, just like Gaspar had done to her father! Yes, they would accuse her, maybe chop her hand off too! For a misunderstanding and a good deed! The thought burned deep within her very core, stirring a wave of anger she had only felt once before at the altar moments ago.

Her eyes locked on the horse. It looked almost like it was reading her thoughts, and again it pawed the ground and snorted its approval.

“If Ares truly did send you to me, then surely what I want is within my grasp to achieve. I can see vengeance done for my father! I can right the wrong done to him!”

Without thinking, she climbed onto the animal"s back and steered it back the way she had come. The horse needed no motivation to be free of the clearing, and soon she left the town of Catark, and the altar of Ares behind her, following the trail of dried blood her father had left behind.

Yaalon watched her go and smiled. “May Ares guide you tonight, my child, so that justice will be swift.”

* * *

Callisto slowed the sweat-lathered horse as she neared the large estate. With each moment along the ride, her anger had grown, and now she could barely contain herself. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs and demand the man come out and—and—what?

Suddenly she felt her nine years of age and so very small in this great big world. What could she hope to do here? Gaspar was a grown man. A large man, with plenty of people at his beck and call, armed guards that would have no issue killing her. She was but a girl, no more than a child. Did she really think she could do anything here tonight?

The words that her father had told her often screamed at her but not in her father’s voice.

“You’re a girl, but that does not make you anything less than what a man can be….”

“You’re a girl, but that does not make you anything less than what a man can be….”Her resolve began to return, and she climbed down from the horse, walking it over to a rocky outcrop by the road.

“You have done much for me this night.” She rubbed its nose gingerly. “I pray you will still be here when I return. I shall take you home then, and no one need know what we have done.”

The horse seemed to understand her and lowered its head to the sweet grass growing outside the estate, content to stay where it was for now.

Callisto moved carefully to a large shrub on the edge of the property. She needed to get her bearings; everything looked different now that it was night.

She could see several men with torches strewn throughout the grounds patrolling lazily. These men would be armed. She had seen them when she had last been here, swords, spears, and likely longbows.

The child in her screamed for her to turn around, return home, and forget this foolishness. But something more gripped her sensibilities, something more profound. She had been blessed by the War god Ares this night for her task. If a god she had never heard of until tonight would bestow his favor on her, what she would do had to be just!

She waited until the glow from the nearest torches faded, then crept along the trees, moving closer to the giant house. A house so big, it could hold nearly a third of the people in the town below with ease. Stopping, she tucked herself against the trunk of a fig tree, allowing two guards chatting idly about a w***e in a local tavern to pass her by unnoticed.

With a deep breath, she sprinted the last thirty paces of open ground to the house walls. She waited for several heartbeats to hear if a call of alarm would come. When it didn’t come, she knew she had made it and was safe—at least for this part, and now was all she was concerned with.

Crawling across the edge of the wall, she finally came to a large window that was slightly ajar. A small amount of light illuminated from inside. The smell of food and spices lingered from within, and Callisto guessed it had to be the kitchen. She heard nothing from inside. The cook and staff were likely long for their beds.

She climbed as quietly as possible, barely making any more sound than a mouse would. Crawling over the large counter, she slipped on the flour-covered wood and hit the floor with a groan.

Panic filled her, and she scrambled to hide beside a mountain of pots and pans. Her heart pounded as she waited, praying that she had not been heard.

Soon her eyes adjusted to the meager light, and a gasp escaped her. Cupboards and tables were bursting with food, loaves of bread, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, cured meats hanging from roof hooks, flour, sugar, and things she had never even seen before. There was enough food within this room to feed her family for nearly half a year or more!

The sight and smell of all this food made her stomach grumble, and she realized the last thing she had eaten had been a few grapes nearly half a day ago. She grabbed some cured ham and a chuck of dried goat’s cheese. Huddled underneath a table, she quickly ate.

No point doing this on an empty stomach, she thought. If she were caught, she would die with a full belly.

That was a curious thought.

Gaspar would likely kill her if she were discovered here. Yet she felt no fear right now when thinking about it. What she was doing was sanctioned by a god. How could she fail?

Looking around the kitchen, she wondered if she would have time to come back this way. She would fill one of the sacks and take it with her if she did. Her family could eat well for a week.

Full and satisfied, she moved to the far door. She had no idea where she was going or where she would find Gaspar, but she was determined not to leave until she had.

If she planned on getting justice, she would need a weapon. Her eyes landed on the small knife she had used to cut the cheese. Snatching it up, she left the kitchen, hugging the shadows the large house provided.

The house was silent as she moved down one hallway to another, checking each room and doorway she passed. With each room she searched, her bitterness for this man grew. This house was far more than any person needed or had the right to have, while others just as deserving lived in rotting shacks that did nothing to keep out the heat of summer days or the rains and wind that so often hit the coast.

The small knife was pressed in Callisto’s tight fist as she slowly went up each step, spreading her weight to avoid the creaks from the lacquered wood beneath. Quickly discovering the steps were solid, little noise came from her paltry weight.

At the top of the stairs, another long hallway with several doors along either side awaited, but a set of double doors of polished oak stood out like a beacon at the very end. She cursed herself for wasting so much time below. She should have known a man like this would place himself in the grandest of rooms at the top of the house.

Yet how was she to have known? This was the first person she had known who lived in a house with more than one level.

Making her way down the hallway, she heard footsteps from one of the rooms beside her. She cursed as she glanced around for a place to hide, but it was too late when the door opened.

The hallway filled with the bright light of a candle stick, and a middle-aged woman"s chubby face appeared. She jumped back in fright at seeing the stranger standing there but was quick to compose herself as she realized it was a child.

“What are you doing here, little lass?” she whispered, checking down the hallway to ensure no one else had heard her. “This is a dangerous place for the likes of you. Come, I will take you to the kitchen and give you a little food, but stealing anything else won’t go unnoticed, and the master is a cruel man he is.”

“I know that fact all too well,” Callisto whispered, her voice quivering with rage.

The woman noticed the small knife in the girl’s hand.

“Oh, dear me.” She rechecked the hallway. “Get in here, little miss, before someone is seein’ you and all manner of trouble breaks out, which there will be no coming back from.”