Fated to the Greek God

They say men and women are born biologically different and due to this biological difference; men are the superior species. But those same people ignore the glaringly obvious fact that it is those biological differences that make women inherently stronger, wiser, more knowledgeable than men. And I intend to spend my life proving that women can do what men do, and more. My name is Eliza Louise Ellis. I was born on the 14th of December 1842 at 11:32pm, an entire two minutes prior to the birth of Edward William Ellis, my dear baby brother. I am the only daughter of Richard William Ellis and Elizabeth Ann Ellis. My father was a bank manager and my mother, well, my mother was a wife. Luckily, I am nothing like my mother.                           - “Eliza… Eliza… ELIZA LOUISE ELLIS, YOU WILL ANSWER ME THIS INSTANT!” Not again. I could feel the sun shining directly on my face, so I opened my eyes slowly and let out a small groan as I adjusted to the brightness of the room. “Why do you never pay any attention child?!” I probably would pay attention if it were not so tedious, I thought. I turned my head which was propped up on the small desk I was sat at and gave a little smile to the tall brunette who stood in front of me. She was wearing a casual blue gown with ruffles adorning the waist. The sleeves on the dress were long with a large bow on each one where the wrist met the hand. She wore her hair in two soft braids which were pinned to the back of her hair. She looked like me though I was a lot smaller, and I had slightly lighter hair, but our warm, brown eyes were the same. “Sorry mother” I whispered “I am just a little tired” I lifted my head and straightened my back. I could feel the corset digging at my ribs. I hate wearing corsets. “We are in the middle of an etiquette lesson and you, my dear daughter, have the audacity to fall asleep” she started “this is why I tell your father to stop buying those silly books that you stay up reading until all hours of the night. How do you think it would look if we were having dinner with guests and you pick up the incorrect spoon?” “Oh no, mother, how would we survive?” I said in an obviously sarcastic tone whilst rolling my eyes. The minute the words had left my mouth, I felt her fan make contact the back of my head. I rubbed the spot she hit with a scorn on my face. This is surely child abuse? Or at the very least hypocritical granted I am 18 years old? Listening to her endless lectures on appropriate etiquette and how to behave like a proper lady then being hit in the head with a fan. Typical. Nevertheless, I did not have time to worry about whether she was being a hypocrite, or this was her way of strange way of showing me affection. I had to get out of her before she starts again, or I would be late. “Dear mama” I smiled, standing up and straightening out my dress before grabbing her hands “how about we leave the lesson for today if I promise to pay extra attention tomorrow?” I gave her my best, most innocent smile. She shook her head slightly, smiling at my obvious attempt at kissing up to her but acting sweet worked. It always worked. I suppose that is the only benefit to being the only daughter of six children. “We are practising on the piano tomorrow as you insisted to work harder” I heard mother call behind me in a playful tone. With that, I took off. I was already running late so I had to be quick. I told my mother I was spending time with Hetti, one of my only true friends. I hurried down the garden path into the old greenhouse. No one really entered the greenhouse. It was hidden away behind some shrubs which, in a way, separated this area from the rest of the garden which was in pristine condition. As my father was promoted to bank manager, the family’s social calendar also seemed to get a promotion and as such, we held many garden parties. Mother had hired a team of gardeners to keep the grounds in the best condition possible, but the greenhouse was off limits since my eldest brother Nicholas had passed away. I remember it as a child. Edward and I would often play by the lavender plants mother had kept. He liked the smell and would often take snipping’s to keep in our room. When mother would ask why her plants looked smaller, Edward would blame me. Of course, I was angry at him because it meant listening to more of mother’s endless lectures, but I would never expose him. A few years ago, I discovered one of the glass panels was loose. Thanks to my tiny frame, I could easily slip in. The back of the greenhouse was attached to the back wall of the garden which also had a small hole in it. It was probably one of those moments in my life where I seemed lucky. I had also managed to pry off one of the panels attached to the back wall which made it the perfect place to escape the house without anyone noticing. I slipped through the entrance panel, as I liked to call it, and followed the natural path of the greenhouse to where the lavender plants used to be. I grabbed the wooden box of clothes I left here. There were three sets of clothes. They were slightly old and smelt musky, but I was sure to send them to the cleaners often enough for them to still be fresh and wearable. I swiftly changed into them and took the small bottle of cologne I left at the bottom of the box. I was running low, but it was not a real issue. It just helped with the disguise. I grabbed the black hat and pushed my long hair into it before placing the hat on my head. I wish I could cut my hair as it felt heavy on piled on top of my head as it were but that would make mother both angry and suspicious. I was lucky enough to have this hidden door to the outside world. I could not exactly leave the house looking like this without someone asking questions. But this was the only possible way to get what I wanted. I have done this plenty of times, yet my palms always get slightly wet, and my heart seems to beat that little bit faster. I made my way to the back of the greenhouse and slipped through the panel and out the hole in the fence. I took a deep breath and smiled. Finally. - “Edward” the clerk greeted me as I walked past the front desk “I have not seen you here in days. I was beginning to think you had joined the new project in Athens.” “If only I were that lucky” I smiled at David. Edward was in Athens, but he did not need to know that. I hurried up the marble steps and down the aisles of the history section until I reached the office of the history department at the library. I opened the door and slipped in. The large office was full of old oak desks, all pooled into the middle. Each wall was covered with shelves of books. All the desks were littered in paper. It felt like home. The office was empty for the most part aside from the head of the department. He was sat at the largest of the desks, reading the local newspaper. He was old, around 50 years in age, with a great big moustache covering his thin, slightly wrinkled face. He wore a suit like most of the gentlemen who worked in these offices, but his hat was placed on one of the hooks near the back of the room, rather than on his head like mine. It meant you could see the shades of grey littering his black hair. A sign of his aging. “Sir Walter” I said whilst taking long strides towards him. “Ahh, Edward” he replied, folding his newspaper, and placing it down “how have you been boy?” I stopped in front his desk and gave him a full smile. Boy was a nickname he had given me when I first came to him two years ago and begged for some work. I loved history and I knew I wanted to learn more. I was given some basic education whilst growing up which enabled me to read and write. For that, I felt extremely grateful, but my brothers were given more than a basic education. While they spent hours learning of the world, of maths, sciences, languages, and most importantly history, I spent hours on the piano and learning how to hold a fan as not to offend. So, I took it upon myself to learn. I would steal Edwards’s schoolbooks and work through them in the evenings. He would often teach me what he learnt that day and even when we were given separate bedrooms, I would always sneak over or borrow any books he had. As a woman, I knew my choices were extremely limited. And as the granddaughter of Sir William Ellis, they were more limited than most. But I was and am determined to make this my choice. “I have been well, slightly occupied with… things but I am completely free now, so is there any possibility I can join in on a new project?” I said gleefully, hoping the cheerfulness would work as well as it did on my parents. “Well…” he started “you have made some progress with learning about the more practical side, but I am afraid the new project might not be for you. You see, it is in partnership with a benefactor of the library and well, he is determined to keep the project under the strictest confidence.” “You know me, Sir Walter” I was determined to join a project soon. I have been here for two years and spent most of that time reading books and learning the basic principles of examining artifacts, but I have never taken part in a project and I wanted to more than anything. I wanted to prove myself. “I am more than equip to join.” “Well…” he started again “I suppose if the benefactor agrees to it, I do not have any issues” Yes, I screamed internally but the smile on my face was enough to show my external satisfaction. “Be here at 12pm tomorrow. He will be joining us for a meeting. I will recommend you, but it will be up you to persuade him” Sir Walter explained. And persuade him I shall.