τέλος

Kephallonia Island, 433 BCE

Some said she was a nymph, an otherworldly creature like her namesake. A being with beauty that Aphrodite herself would envy and that could draw any man into her mesmerism. Mothers warned their sons that she was dangerous, for a beautiful woman spelled the doom of any foolish or overeager man. Scorned men claimed she could steal the wits of all with a simple smile and that she enjoyed toying with her victims. Jealous women spread tales of her wickedness and impiety, claiming that she believed herself above the Goddesses themselves in hopes that Aphrodite would send her wrath down upon her.

The entire island of Kephallonia spoke of the daughter born to Leon and Penelope of Ανδρική Αμβροσία Vineyard (Andrikí Amvrosía- Man’s Ambrosia) . Be it whispers of desire and longing, or angered tirades of jealousy and hatred, Calista’s name was a common utterance amongst Kephallonians. 

It had always seemed foolish to her- weren’t there more important things for the people to speak of? The Aegean Sea was at war, Sparta and Athens at each other's throats. Husbands, fathers, sons, brothers and lovers going off to fight and never returning, their blood staining the fields of battle or their bodies rotting at the bottom of the ocean. The Greek World was tearing itself apart and the Gods were clearly displeased with man. Was the structure of Calista’s face and the curves of her body truly the most important topic of conversation at that moment? 

She’d brought this up to her mater one day, tears of frustration and anger brimming along her lash lines as her fair haired mother had stroked her face soothingly. Her response hadn’t been what Calista was hoping for, but it did cause her to view things from a new angle. 

“They need a distraction, my λύκη (lúkē- light) .” She had soothed, pressing the back of her hand to her daughter’s cheek lovingly. “This war hangs heavy over the people’s heads, the loved ones of so many meeting Hades before all would have hoped. Their want of you, their envy, it is an easy distraction. Do not let it bother you, θυγάτηρ (thygátēr- daughter) , for you are blessed by Aphrodite and chosen by Poseidon. The Fates have destined you for great things, never forget that.” 

Her supposedly great destiny was not a new prediction of her mater’s. Penelope, daughter of Neocles, granddaughter of the great Themistocles, was gifted with the sight by Lord Apollon- a gift kept secret from all but her family. The day of Calista’s birth, Penelope had received an overwhelming vision from the God of prophecy the very moment her new baby girl had been placed in her arms. She’d never revealed just what she had seen, what it was about her precious daughter that Apollon had felt she needed to know. No matter how many times Leon had questioned her, had begged to know the fate of his precious πνεῦμα (Pneuma- breath of air/inspiration, life, spirit, vitality) Penelope had refused to disclose the details of her vision. All she’d ever said was: “Calista is favored by the Gods, my love. Aphrodite will bless her with a beauty that all shall envy and the kind of love that all mortals long for. She is the chosen of Poseidon, stormy eyed as his wrath, and will wield knowledge and power we cannot imagine. Her quest shall be taxing, but she shall help free the Greek World.” 

Eventually, when Calista grew old enough to understand, and people began their whispering, Penelope began telling her this every night as she lay down to sleep: “You must be prepared, my λύκη (light) . While the Muses shall sing to future generations of your story, your trials shall be hard, and your will tried. But remember that you are not to be alone, for the Gods are with you. You are the Storm-Bringer's chosen, you bear Aphrodite’s blessing, so hold your head high and persevere, θυγάτηρ (daughter) .”

Thus, when her neighbors’ words became too much, it was her mater’s words that echoed through her head. It was mater’s belief in her oncoming greatness that kept her from drowning amongst the waves of hate crashing against her from all sides. She didn’t know if she believed in this great destiny she was meant to have, despite her belief in her mater’s abilities. How could one easily accept that they, a simple mortal born and raised on a small uninfluential island, were favored by the Gods? That they were destined to save the Greek World and join heroes like Perseus and Odysseus in Elysium? She knew her mother had never once prophesied falsely, but that knowledge struggled to override the logical part of her mind that said she was nothing special. 

It was this debate that was raging inside her as she bathed in a small lake near the large marble statue of Zeus that loomed over Kephallonia. Her elaborate, powder blue peplos with gold trimmings was hanging from a tree branch that curved low over the bank, her gold colored sandals and heavy golden belt resting on a patch of grass beneath it. The water was a bit too cold to be comfortable, but it no longer bothered her. Years ago this had become her ritual. When the scornful looks, cruel words, and the weight of her potential destiny became too much for her to carry she’d slink off to this hidden body of water. She’d recite hymns under her breath as she cleansed it all from her skin, wrung the miasma from her hair, and allowed the cool water to gently soothe it all away. 

Calista never once thought that this ritual of her’s would be where it all began. 

“What are you doing?” A melodic voice questioned from behind her, causing her to jump in surprise before sinking below the water so only her chin and above was visible to the unwelcome visitor. She slowly spun around, her breath catching in her chest when she caught sight of the woman standing on one of the outcroppings of stone that stretched from where the ground began to slope upwards into a hill and part way over her lake. 

She was dressed in a smoke gray chiton with a brown leather belt slung around her waist that curved downwards to protect the vulnerable flesh of her groin and stomach. More brown leather criss crossed her chest, one strap holding a sword and shielding that same shoulder with a wide piece of leather armor. Across her back a spear head was secured diagonally between her shoulder blades. She was clearly far from wealthy, but there was something regal about her. Calista didn’t even have to ask to know that this woman held the blood of kings. 

“Bathing.” She finally managed to answer, raising an eyebrow as if questioning the intelligence of her voyeur. 

“I see that. But why are you bathing here? Is there not a bathhouse closer to your home?” 

“There is.”

“Then why are you bathing out here where a bandit or a predator could stumble upon you?” 

“I much prefer the wolves that might be prowling out here to the vultures I know are back in Sami.” 

“Vultures?” she asked with an amused laugh before dropping to sit on the very edge of the outcropping and allowing her legs to dangle freely over the water below. “Although I admit Sami isn’t the nicest place to live in the Greek World, surely its people do not deserve to be called such.” 

Calista’s chin jutted out and her hurricane blue-gray eyes narrowed. “If you truly believe so, then I must assume that you are lucky enough to have not been mistreated by them as I have.” 

“Who would mistreat a beautiful woman such as yourself?” The stranger’s tone was an odd mixture of both concern and flirtation, but the compliment was not a welcome one after a lifetime of being treated like σκατά (shit) because of her looks.  

“Beauty is not protection.” Calista practically spit, causing the woman above her to recoil slightly and her eyebrows to shoot up to her hairline. 

“Ahh.” The armored woman nodded, her face smoothing over and her muscled arms coming up to cross over her chest. “You must be Calista then.” 

She sunk a bit lower into the water, her raven hair spreading out around her shoulders and gently moving atop the water with every minute shift she made. “So you’ve heard what they say. Tell me stranger, do you think me a nymph?” 

Said stranger climbed smoothly to her feet and turned around, disappearing from view as she moved down the outcropping and back into the woods. For a few moments Calista thought she’d simply left- maybe she believed the multitude of rumors the people of Sami had concocted- but she was quickly proven wrong. The armored woman stepped from the treeline to her right, reaching up to gently touch the fine material of her hanging peplos. 

“You certainly look one, bathing in a secluded lake beneath the Statue of Zeus as you are. But no, I don’t believe you to be a nymph, Calista. The people of Sami are hardly reliable when it comes to such matters.”

Calista smiled her way, genuinely in a rare moment of happiness, and part of her guard dropped. She straightened out of the crouch she’d adopted to protect her modesty, causing the water to lap at the tops of her breasts rather than her chin, and began to wring out her hair as she watched the mysterious woman who didn’t buy into Sami’s propaganda. They sat watching each other in silence for a few moments before Calista settled on what she wanted to say. 

“You know my name, so it seems unfair that you are keeping yours to yourself.”

“I am Kassandra.” Now that she was closer, she could finally make out her features rather than only her dress and basic form. Her braided hair was almost as dark as Calista’s and her eyes were a lovely honey color, almost golden. Her skin was bronze, a contrast to Calista’s ivory, and she had several scars that only added to her beauty. She nodded her head in almost deference as she introduced herself, causing the bathing woman to grin and roll her eyes.

“Kassandra, The Eagle Bearer. I should have known.” 

“So you’ve heard of me?” 

“The only misthios in Kephallonia?” Calista laughed as she finally finished wringing out her midnight dark hair, letting it go so it hung around her diamond shaped face and cascaded down her shoulders in waves. “Yes, I’ve heard of you. Everyone knows to look for the woman with an eagle on her shoulder if you need something done.” She leaned to the side to look behind the misthios before craning her head back to scan the trees above them. “Where is your companion then?” 

Kassandra snickered as she watched Calista’s exaggerated search for her bird before letting out a piercing whistle that caused the woman across from her to place her hands over her ears and wince. “Sorry,” she chuckled out in apology, lifting her arm at her side with her elbow bent. Not even a second passed before a golden eagle came diving through the canopy of branches above. “Ikaros!” She called, delighted, as he landed gently on her forearm with a practiced ease. 

Calista’s legs moved on their own accord, the water rippling around her lithe form as she moved closer to the bankline. She had to stop sooner than she would have liked as the water level lowered the closer to dryland she came. She’d nearly exposed the entirety of her breasts before she’d noticed the cold air against the newly exposed flesh and had stumbled back a few steps to resubmerse them. 

“He’s beautiful.” She breathed out, her eyes now more blue than gray as they sparkled with joy, almost looking like the surface of the Aegean Sea as the sun winked against its waves. 

“He is.” Kassandra agreed firmly, nodding once as her right pointer finger stroked the feathers decorating the majestic bird’s head. 

“How did you find such a friend?” 

“He found me.” 

She could tell by the way the taller woman spoke that any further probing into the matter wouldn’t be welcomed, and so Calista smoothly navigated them into somewhat safer waters. “Turn around, please.” 

“Hmm?” She hummed in question, finally looking up from her eagle to furrow her brows at the ebony haired woman before her. 

“I would like to get dressed. Please turn around.” She worded it politely, but the edge behind the words made it clear she wouldn’t be accepting any argument. 

“Oh!” Kassandra exclaimed, and was that a blush rising across her cheeks? Calista’s chest warmed at the thought before she forced it from her mind, watching as the misthios spun on the balls of her feet so her back was now to her. The sudden motion disturbed Ikaros, who let out a displeased noise before leaping from his mistress' arm and into the sky, once again soaring through the tree branches and then disappearing from view. “I’m sorry, my mind was elsewhere.” 

Calista grinned as she strode confidently from the cold water and she watched Kassandra closely from the corner of her eye as she stretched up onto her tippy toes to pull her garment down from its branch. The soft blue of the fabric complimented her creamy skin and brought out the blue undertones in her hair. The fabric of the peplos clung to her wet skin as she pulled it on, her feet sliding into her sandals at the same moment. 

“Alright, Kassandra. You can turn back around now.” She seemed to hesitate, Calista noticed, before doing so, as if struggling with herself. But, when the taller woman had finally completed her 180°, the only thing that could be considered immodest about her appearance was the way the fabric clung far too closely to her curves.

She could see the way Kassandra’s eyes trailed over her body. It was a look she was familiar with, but she found that it didn’t raise her ire coming from Kassandra as it did when coming from others. She smiled brightly up at her, dainty hands fastening her decorated gold belt across her hips as she did so, and stepped closer.

 “I have a job for you misthios .”

Her eyebrow raised. “Oh?” 

“It seems I require an escort home. Someone recently warned me there could potentially be predators or even bandits in the area.” 

“It seems you’ve been speaking to someone wise.” The two women grinned at each other, dark and light eyes meeting in a beautiful contrast. “I shall escort you home then, Calista. It would be a tragedy for you to fall victim to bandits or particularly vultures .”