Chapter 12 (Olympe)
***** The next morning*****
The Queen was in haste. Mere minutes before her chambermaid had awoken her to tell her that Lord Tresstom had not been in his room after the evening meal. And, being well aware of the looks the young Lord had cast at her daughter, Hippolyta had a good guess as to what he had been up to. She prayed to Hera that this did not mean what she feared. Diana might be a strong and skilled warrior, but she was rather naïve when it came to the wiles of men. And even though he had tried valiantly to hide it, Lord Tresstom was the type of man who would try to take advantage of her daughter's innocence.
Still clothed only in her rather flimsy nightgown, with a pair of silken slippers on her feet, a worried Queen all but ran towards her daughter's suite. With her hair in disarray and plain worry written on her face, she looked nothing like her usual royal self. Just as she was rounding a corner, she collided with a very unhappy Lord Tresstom. Anger warred with relief within her, and she stood there, speechless. Maybe all was not lost yet...
Before Hippolyta could gain anything resembling a royal composure, Lord Tresstom let out a curse that would make the captain of her guard flush with embarrassment, something that started with the stupidity of females and ended in a rather uncomplimentary listing of her ancestry. When he finally ran out of steam, Lord Tresstom took a long and rather disrespectful look at the Queen, his eyes lingering indecently long on what her robe would not hide. All of a sudden, his expression changed from irate to leering, and he moved his hand towards Hippolyta's chin to make her look up to him. “My, you are quite some beauty, despite being a little on the wild side with your looks. Fortunately for you, I like wild women. I *especially* like taming them. Maybe you could make up for your lack of respect before? I crave for company,” the young Lord suggested with a rough voice that made the Queen's hair stand up on end.
Before any rational thought could form, Hippolyta's training in martial arts kicked in, and in less time than it took for him to blink an eye, she had the preposterous Lord's wrist in a painful grip. A little more pressure, and he would be wearing a cast for several weeks unless he was treated with the Purple Ray – and the Queen did not feel inclined to grant him that. Ascertaining that she had the fool's full attention, Hippolyta snarled, “Don't try anything like that ever again!” The ancient (but still young-looking) elf held the whimpering young man's eyes for another few seconds before abruptly releasing his wrist and storming off, once again aiming for her daughter's chambers.
Once inside her daughter's chamber, she found several garments randomly strewn across the room. A second look revealed that there even were several sets of undergarments on the floor. Still wondering why there were several sets of them, the Queen's eyes fell on the bed. The sheets and blankets and pillows were in chaos, to put it mildly, but there was no trace of the Princess...
*** ***
It was around dawn that Kal-el had gotten up. After three hours of sleep, he felt fresh and eager to see more of the almost mythical Queendom of Themyscira, so he decided to get up and sate his curiosity. He suspected to be the first to be awake, and the joyful song of birds proved him right. Further and further he went, walking along strange buildings and even stranger plants. He ended up in front of a major building made of the purest and whitest marble he had ever seen. In front of the entrance was a pair of guards, and Kal greeted them out of courtesy. He figured that even though they were supposed to stand watch, they were still human – or elven – beings and deserved to be treated with respect. As he went on is way, he noticed a masked figure moving stealthily through the ample plant-life near the path he was walking. Kal-el blinked, not quite trusting his own eyes, and in the moment it took for him to focus on the place again, the creature was gone.
Just as he was trying to make sense of the masked stranger in the undergrowth, he heard a sttrangled cry from one of the guards he had met mere moments before. Turning around, Kal saw that said guard and her companion were engaging the masked stranger in battle. It didn't take him more than a heartbeat to realize that the stranger was well able to fend off the two guards, probably even winning their fight.
The former Knight of Kandor did not dally, but ran towards the combatants. When he finally reached them, the assailant had already managed to disarm one of the guards, and Kal-el simply picked up her sword to attack the masked stranger who had already ended the fight with the second guard by throwing her over her back, dislocating the unfortunate elf's shoulder in the process.
As quickly as the Kandorian Knight attacked, the masked one was still able to parry his blow and even launch a counter-attack of her own. A few thrusts and parries later they both knew they were on even footing, for although Kal's opponent lacked some of the enhanced speed and strength of Princess Diana, she fought more wickedly and most fervently. Still, the dark-haired man was quick to find a weakness in her maneuvers and disarm his opponent. But instead of giving up, she fought on, with bare hands and feet against his borrowed sword. With her second attack, she nearly managed to kick his sword out of his hand...
*** ***
Once again, Hippolyta was at a run. At least she had been properly dressed by the time one of her officers told her about Kal-el's attack on her weaponsmaster. Reaching the clearing usually reserved for weapons training, she saw the man hold a masked Artemis so tightly she was unable to free herself.
“Release her right now!” the elven Queen demanded in a carrying voice.
Uncertainty and doubt were warring on the knight's face. “But, your majesty, this person attacked two of your guards!” he protested weakly. Noticing the steely look the Queen gave him, though, Kal-el thought better of it and obeyed the royal command without further delay.
As soon as he did so, the stranger pulled off her mask to reveal her elven features and a long, red ponytail.
“Are you well?” the Queen asked her in a concerned voice.
Making a quick mental check of her injuries which mostly amounted to slight bruising, the weaponsmaster observed dryly, “The only lasting harm has been done to my pride.”
Satisfied that the best fighter among her ranks was fine, considering the circumstances, Hippolyta once again turned towards the fallen knight. “Care to explain why you attacked my weaponsmaster?” Seeing the perplexed look on Kal-el's face, she answered her own question, “Of course, you must have mistaken her for a genuine attacker.”
“Indeed, considering she was crawling through the bushes and wearing a mask, then attacking two of your own guards,” he replied in bewilderment.
“That might all be true,” the Queen conceded,” but it is our way. We have to make sure that our guards do not grow lax in their duty, so Artemis has devised the plan to spring surprise attacks on some of them to impress into them the need to fulfill their duties. Of course, those attacks will not lead to any serious injury, much less to fatalities. You would do well to remember that the next time you see Artemis do her job.” With a wave of her hand, she dismissed Kal-el.
He, in turn, simply bowed and answered, “I'm unlikely to ever forget that fact,” he assured the ruler of the elves before backing away. The Queen, in turn, turned on her heel. She needed to find her daughter, and the sooner, the better.
*** ***
Diana, Princess of Themyscira, was up and about early, striding through the crisp morning air and fuming. Well, fuming might be an understatement. How dare he, anyway! Not only did he enter her room without giving her the courtesy of a knock first, he even ignored all her discrete attempts at complimenting him out again. He even dared to insinuate that *they* should go to sleep soon – and he still hadn't made any move to leave her room! Diana, keeping her temper in check with the greatest of efforts, had claimed she needed a bit of fresh air before she could sleep in a last and desperate attempt to get away from the man she was supposed to marry. She was sure he was no more amused than her.
But then, was it her fault her legs had taken her directly to the stables? Well, maybe. But she only wanted to get away, especially after her enhanced senses told her that her betrothed enter her bed. How dare he, anyway? Thus, being faced with the choice between staying out of her room or dealing with her uninvited – and, frankly, unwanted – guest, she thought the companionship of her beloved horse. Considering the circumstances, nobody in his right mind could blame her for falling asleep in the box. Well, Lord Tresstom might, but she didn't consider him in his right mind. Not after the night before. And, she vowed to herself, should he ever try anything like that again, she would make sure he sang soprano. Permanently.
A calculating smile played over her lips. If she relieved Tresstom of his family jewels, he would not be able to sire children, thus her destiny as foretold by the Oracle could not lie with him. On the other hand, this would cause a diplomatic incident of enormous proportions, spreading discord to all their allies. And discord was something Themyscira and her allies could not afford. Still, should the opportunity present itself... Maybe she should get herself a gelding knife, if only to emphasize what would happen to that unspeakable oaf if he ever tried anything again. What wisdom had her mother instilled in her very being? 'Better safe than sorry.'
Having let off some steam, Diana stopped abruptly. She really should go visit the forge. Before she could do that, though, she heard Penelope's voice call out to her, “Princess!”
Diana turned, inclining her head gracefully in respect to the High Priestess and Oracle of her people. “Good morning, Penelope! How are you today?”
“Good morning to you, too, Princess,” the older elf returned her greetings. “I am almost done with the preparations for another seeing. The only thing left to do is the ritual cleansing. Would you care to accompany me?”
Being her usual, curious self, Diana could not pass up a chance to listen to what Penelope saw in her visions, so she quickly offered to make herself useful. “Gladly. Maybe I could even take notes of your vision?” the Princess asked with a genuine smile. But right then, a bath was exactly what she needed to get all the hay out of her hair.
*** ***
After his encounter with the Queen, Kal-el had not lost his curiosity about the elven city, or polis*, as the elves referred to it, though he still did not see any difference between a polis and a city. Wandering around aimlessly, he spotted elves doing farm chores, and his interest was immediate. Having watched them for a good while, he moved on, pondering what he had learned from them. They actually practiced something they called 'crop rotation', and the results were remarkable. He was sure that humans could use the same method, even without being able to make their plants grow faster with some weird form of magic.
When Kal-el reached this wall of tropical plants, he decided to just pass through it as it seemed harmless enough. After only a few short steps, he stopped dead in his tracks, for what he saw was – by Rao, he really had to get out of here! This sight could not be meant for human eyes, but it was so hard to resist... Only the thought of what Diana would do to him should she ever find out made him finally retreat through the wall that shielded the pool from view. Stepping back onto the path in front of it, he found himself face to face with the Queen. Feeling the need for reassurance, he clasped his talisman in his hand, a pendant that he wore around his neck.
“Going somewhere?” Hippolyta asked him pointedly. Of course, she knew exactly what was behind the barrier of plants, and she had a fair idea of who was in the pool. The Queen was well aware that the Oracle would attempt another seeing, and since Penelope hadn't arrived in the temple yet, she would still be in the pool for the ritual cleansing. That was the reason she had sought out the pool in the first place, for she feared for her beloved daughter whom she had been unable to find. Maybe Penelope had any idea of where to find her...
“As a matter of fact, I am just leaving,” Kal-el almost stammered. Why was it that he always had to run into Diana's mother when he did something wrong? And why did he always misstep in the first place?
Hippolyta regarded him curiously. “Why, you won't... stay?” After all, that was what human men did, at least in her experience.
Kal-el turned a deep shade of red. “No, of course not!” he exclaimed in shock. “No, I would never do that,” he continued in a calmer tone, although there was still some tremor in his voice. “As a matter of fact, I had no idea what I would find here. And retreating seemed the most honorable thing to do, considering the... circumstances.” He gulped at that, the memory of Diana's nude form still burning in his mind.
“I agree, you should leave. And do not go astray again,” Queen Hippolyta sternly told him, although she was quietly bemused at the man's embarrassment. How unusual he was! But there was some mystery about him, something that troubled the Queen greatly. She had gotten a quick glance at the silvery pendant he had clasped, and it looked oddly familiar to the Queen.
As Hippolyta approached the pool, she spotted her daughter in the Oracle's company, and she gave a silent sigh of relief. Diana was all right, that was all that mattered right now. As both her daughter and Penelope were getting ready to leave the pool, the monarch decided to wait for them to get dry and dressed again before addressing her daughter. “Diana, where have you been?” the Queen asked her with concern tinging her voice as the three elves slowly made their way to the temple. “I was in great distress about you. Not only were you nowhere to be found, I even had to find that Lord Tresstom must have spent the night in your chamber.”
Diana tried to act nonchalantly about it, but both Penelope and her mother knew her better than that. “Yes, I know. But then, I decided that the stables were a good place for a night of uninterrupted sleep,” the Princess replied wryly, causing both her elders to chuckle slightly. “I only hope that someone aired my chambers, for his smell is most foul,” the young elf complained with a wrinkled nose.
The Queen, whose expression mirrored her daughter's, remarked, “I could not help but notice. I wonder why that is so. Does the man not wash himself?”
Diana gave a most undignified snort. “Tresstom? I do not think so. To put it with his own words, 'Water is for wimps and womanfolk'. The way he talks, he seems to consider the smell of stale sweat and who knows what else to be 'manly',” she finished in disgust.
Hippolyta regarded her daughter thoughtfully before saying deliberately, “I fear I should not have chosen him for your mate.”
The Oracle answered in Diana's stead, “No, you shouldn't have, my Queen.” Both royal elves turned to her in surprise, so she elaborated, “I always have this feeling of dread whenever I see Lord Tresstom. Somehow, this does not bode well for us.”
The Queen nodded in agreement. “I suppose we will have to find a way out of this betrothal without causing a diplomatic incident. I fear this is not going to be an easy task.”
Diana felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Maybe she still had a chance to get out of this accursed betrothal! Trying to keep her composure in front of her mother, she merely gave a small nod and answered, “What ever is easy? But we will manage as we always have.” With her mother on her side, everything was possible for the Princess.
*** ***
A while later, Penelope, Hippolyta and Diana were kneeling in the temple amidst the swirling fog of incense. Penelope's eyes were half-closed, and she prayed to Apollon for a vision. When she was just about to give up, images flooded her inner eye, and Penelope let out a gasp at the intensity of the vision granted to her, causing both mother and daughter to look at her expectantly.
“I see Diana, lying in bed, a newborn child in her arm. Now someone comes in, a man, but I cannot make out his features. All I can say is that he is tall and well-muscled. Following him is a young girl. She looks like – Hera, she must be your daughter, Princess, there is no mistaking her eyes for anybody else's!” the Oracle described her vision.
Diana and her mother looked at each other. There was not one child of hers, but two? What did that mean?
“Now the man bends down and picks something from around his neck. I can see a silver pendant. It is a strangely formed pentagon within which lies a symbol that looks like a snake ready to strike. He puts the necklace with the pendant around the boy's neck, thereby declaring him as his son. Come to think of it, the girl is wearing the same symbol around her neck, and so are you, Princess.”
While Diana looked nonplussed about these news, her mother felt like the thoughts were spinning in her head. She knew she had seen a symbol like the one described by the Oracle before... but that was not all there was, for the Queen also recognized the ritual, a ritual so old even the culture using it had been forgotten by most people. Could it be? Could it really be? If so, the man must be the last son of a long lost civilization, the ancient civilization of Krypton. “Oracle, what can you tell us about the man?” the Queen demanded to know.
The Oracle squinted her eyes as if to try to focus her vision. “Not much, I must confess,” Penelope replied gravely. “I see great sorrow, great loneliness. I can see him as he is right now. So lost... He has no home, no family... But there is great honor and an even greater capability of love and tenderness in his heart. A man truly worthy of becoming the royal consort. There is something odd about him, though. He is young, yet old. He is the last of his kind, yet unaware of it. He is of lowly status, yet nobly born by a woman from your past, my Queen. A red-headed woman who once was very close to you, a friend from the days of your youth. There is more about the man...” Penelope continued in her description. “Once the beloved champion of the people he considers his own, he is now feared and even hunted by them. This man will have to discover his roots before he can put them down. I cannot tell you more than that,” the Oracle finished. The vision was gone.
Hippolyta, though still dazed by the revelation, was the first to get up. The only red-head friend she had had in her youth was indeed a Kryptonian girl, later woman. Her name had been Lara...
