"Honor the Furiae, clad with the grace of purple-tinctured robes;" Arete recited some poems loudly. They were in the middle of their journey, guided by Pryne, who sitting on Peggy. They had traveled for two days on horseback.

"Honor Furiae, with grace of purple robes..." Agave and Matea attempt to repeat after Arete with dull emotionless monotone voices.

"Let the flame march forth their path brightly rayed;" Arete continued.

"Let flame march ble ble rayed..." And they both uttered, Agave did that simply to please Arete. While Matea simply did not remember the lines in the middle and simply skipped them following Agave’s recitation.

"With populous wealth, every Attic rood blessed by Eumenides, the gracious minds.” Arete recited the poem, slowing down her pace in between sentences. The verses are from Aeschylus, a lyrical work that honours the Goddess Athena.

"Populous wealth root bless Eumen... nides gracious mind." Matea continued and tried to repeat what Arete had said. But Agave rolled her eyes, a bored expression etched on her face. She whispered to Matea;

"Pssk, Mate, I have something better from the library of Thebes. Alcman's Partheneion! Hehe... You wanna hear about it?"

“Imagine her if you can. Her hair,

As gold as a Venetian mane,

Flowers around her amethyst eyes.

What can I say to make you see? Hehehe…”

Matea’s cheeks glisten in red. Noticing that she was lost and not repeating Arete’s recitation, Arete throws a small piece of rock towards Agave; “Don't try to teach her your disgusting Dionysiac ideas!"

The stone hits Agave, and she shouted; "Ouch! Hello! The song is not for Dionysus!”

"Why must we repeat after your strange verses?" Pryne was not convinced, unsure about why Arete had told them to follow her when they started the journey.

“These verses are about justice!” Arete replied. She always had a doubt about Pryne’s motives. Since she had told lies. The reason behind those verses were actually for Pryne. Arete simply hope through the wisdoms of Athena, Pryne could be a better Archontes for the city-states she just won. But Pryne curled Peggy’s pearl white mane to her fingers while riding on the horse by side-saddle. Braiding the mane and decorated the braids with tiny flowers.

She did not seem to care about anything at all. At one time, she told Arete about liberating the Eretrians from Heracle, but after the incident, she left everything to Arete, ignoring every councils and officer.

To Arete’s worry, she might had help raised another ignorant tyrant by crushing another. Without any clue on where Pryne might lead them to. They continued to travel South West. Avoided to stop and stay at Argos.

As the dusk wind blew, the birds suddenly flock out from the trees. Arete sensed that something was watching them. Pryne rolled her scarf over her face.

“This area might have jackals or foxes…” Pryne anxiously cover her hands, as she worried that she might be the one who attracted the animals.

“I don’t think it's an animal…” Arete moved her spear to her front, preparing herself in defence position.

A figure appeared in the dark, the steps were heavy, crushing the dried leaves and the branches on ground. A muscular body, with a bull’s head! A minotaur!

“The animals do not detect your presence by visual or scent… Lady Pryne!” The minotaur speaks.

Arete and Pryne are both stunned.

As the minotaur walks closer to them, dozens of them following behind. They were all with physics of muscular human body. Arete discovers something that disgusted her…

That… that body… that armour… that belt plate… it belongs to… Syracusian warriors!!!

It was clear, for Arete remembered the triskeles on the belt plate, it was the symbol of the high-rank soldiers from her homeland. Those who were specially trained by her father, Lord Amiran. And that muscular male bodies reminded her of Hector, and his troops, the selected warriors who were supposed to be sent to Rome! Above the minotaurs’ neck, some stitches connect the body to a bull’s head, with giant horns… But his voice was a person that Arete was not familiar with.

“Aster, is… is that you? Wh…what did they do to you?!” Pryne asked with a trembling voice.

“Aster?” Arete questioned.

“Aster, he… he was one of the temple guards from Eretria…”

The minotaur walked close to them and said: “Lady Pryne, Rome is calling for you! The day is near... Go with me now!”

“NO!!!” She screamed.

The minotaur raised his large double edge axe, and said: “Madam… Arete… RUN!!!”

Arete and Pryne heard another voice from the minotaur, they were both startled.

“HECTOR?!!!” Recognising that familiar voice, Arete assured that the larger minotaur’s body belonged to Hector.

The leading minotaur wielded the axe towards them, Arete pushed Pryne away and she bent to dodge the attack. Prancing Aethon to avoid other attacking minotaurs.

“Into the forest!” Arete instructed. They have to take cover from the attacks. As she notice there could be about three thousands of them. That’s the number of Hector’s troops. While the ladies galloping into the forest with their horses, Arete noticed that there weren’t as many minotaurs as she expected. There could be only thirty of them. The question came into her mind, what about the other men?

The dense black pine tress did prevented the minotaurs to get near to them. Although the horses could ran fast, the minotaurs were like human bodies boosted with animalistic strength. Crushing the shrubs, they opened their way to their target.

to be continued...