Falling into Myth

Days had passed since Delmira fell into Ancient Greece. The temple square reeked of burning meat, sweat, and olive oil — a combination that turned her stomach every time. Only the smell of flowers and fresh bread cutting through it kept her from gagging. Vendors called out over each other, hawking their wares between stalls, while the temple steps overflowed with bodies screaming for the man on the dais. A man in a lion's pelt — worshippers swore he was Hercules himself, immortal, a son of a god. Delmira had other things on her mind. Food. How quaint. She'd been staring at the food stalls for almost thirty minutes now. Hungry, obviously. But she'd left her coin pouch behind — she'd only meant to go for a short walk, not stumble into a festival. Asking a stranger for help wasn't an option. Asking anyone for anything wasn't really an option. Liora spotted her from across the square — the strange girl who'd wandered into her life three days ago, now slumped on the temple steps, eyes fixed hungrily on a distant bread stall. Liora huffed a laugh, crossed over, dug a few coins from her pocket, and came back with two pieces of bread. Delmira's eyes lit up. She tore into the bread almost before Liora had let go of it. "Why aren't you cheering with everyone else?" Liora asked, watching her with open curiosity. "The gods favor those who cheer." Delmira just kept chewing. Liora opened her mouth — ready to scold her for putting on airs — when Delmira finally answered. "I don't want to." A shrug. "Besides, they already have plenty of fans." Liora blinked, caught somewhere between offended and impressed. She let it go — the girl was strange in ways Liora still didn't understand, and something about her made it hard to stay annoyed for long. Instead, she headed inside to lay a bouquet at the altar, Delmira trailing after her. Neither of them noticed the eyes watching from above. Among them, one figure smiled — slow and interested — and began to follow.