Chapter Text
Athens. Renowned for it's great philosophers, poets and mathematicians. Remembered for encouraging the incessant search for knowledge. The vastness of the Greek city was stunning, the way the sunlight touched the leaves of the trees, the beautiful buildings further highlighted the beauty there. A prosperous city, but life there was not easy for everyone, especially for women.
In the heart of Athens, inside a room, you, a young girl. Tears flowed from your eyes as you hugged your knees tightly. Sitting on the cold floor of your room, memories of days gone by were gnawing at your mind. All your life you had taught how to behave. You were raised to take care of yourself and be beautiful, to be a good wife one day, to give many children to your future husband. This was your only purpose, but of course, you were just a woman, you weren't worthy of anything, in the eyes of society. You knew that your future was already set, you knew that one day your father would choose a husband for you, that was what you prepared every day of your miserable life... But you didn't think it would come so soon.
You didn't imagine your world could change so much in a matter of days. Your head traveled to the damn day where it all began.
You remember it all began while you were eating a delicious bread with jam, accompanied by a glass of milk. While eating you were reading a book, you could hardly leave the house, the only times you did were in secret, and since you could hardly do that, because it was risky, you spent a lot of your time reading. You loved reading and listening to adventure stories, books about other cultures, you spent your days thinking about the world outside of Athens, the world told in stories. Your considered yourself lucky, because when you were a kid, your mother taught you to read and write when she was still alive.
The book you were reading, you bought from a foreign merchant, one of the times you sneaked out of the house 'The Epic of Gilgamesh' It is an extremely old book, the merchant said that it had been transcribed directly from reports engraved on stones more than a thousand years ago. It could have been true or just a lie to get you to buy the book. Regardless of the truth you knows you would never know. False or not, you loved that book.
You were so engrossed reading the book for the tenth time that you didn't even notice your father's arrival.
–"Daughter, great news!"– your father said, looking like he had just returned from somewhere, he was a very important merchant in Athens, making your family wealthy and well-known.
Taking your nose out of the book, you looked at your father, without saying a word, since he hadn't allowed you to speak yet. You shook your head as if asking what the news was.
-"Do you remember Caius, my friend?"
You nodded. Yes, you remember the disgusting old man who was old enough to be your grandfather. The one who looked at you as if you were a piece of roast meat. Just thinking about him made a knot of discontent form in your stomach, you thought your father will probably tell that he was back from his trip and will have dinner with you that night, much to your chagrin.
–"He asked me for your hand in marriage, and I allowed it"– He says it like it's the best thing that ever happened.
You feel disconnected from your own body. Your feet tingle, and a rush of despair settled in your body. No, this is not happening, this was impossible, by Zeus, this was a lie, it had to be a lie!
–"Dad, you can't be serious."– You said with a lump forming in your throat, you could barely breathe.
The man who was in a good mood before, turns his face completely sour looking into the young girl's eyes.–"How dare you speak without my permission?! How many times will I have to say that you don't talk unless I allow it?! And soon you will only speak if your future husband allows it."
Lowering your head, small tears start to form. Your chest burns like it's on fire, like a hole had formed there.
The days that followed were a hell for you, you begged your father several times to reconsider, and he obviously didn't listen, saying that it would be great for you to get married, and that this marriage would benefit him greatly. Your father decided everything, it would be a big wedding. Thanks Zeus, there is a tradition that says that if the groom sees the bride before the wedding, they will both have very bad luck. so you didn't have to see that damned old man, at least not until the wedding.
Returning to the present, you are apprehensive, as there are three days left until the wedding, you don't know what to do, your hot tears run away from your eyes with the speed of a waterfall. You don't know how long you've been in this position, you're desperate, everything you wanted... Everything you wanted...You stop for a moment and lift your head, realizing that never in your life have you thought about what you really want. You never had a dream, you knew your destiny was set, and you couldn't change it, so you never worried about it, but... You realize that you never thought beyond what they decided for you. Realizing this, you feel even more miserable, knowing that you are going to get married and live in hell at the hands of that old man and that you have never in your life gave yourself the pleasure of dreaming about what you wanted.
What did you want? What's your dream? What did you aim for? Thinking with your head raised, you look at your room, in the right corner, a beautiful bed with soft sheets, behind you a cold wall, against which your back was against, above your head, on the same wall there was a window that was open, on the wall on the left, a dressing table, some cushions on the floor along with some suitcases with your clothes, since you will be moving into your fiancé's house after the wedding, some things have already been taken by the servants, others have not yet. Your eyes dart around the room quickly, until they finally rest on something that relaxes you as soon as you lay your eyes on it. Your books, your beloved books, your little portals that took you out of Greece, one day you could pretend to be Caesar leading the Roman empire, the next you could be exploring Egypt, and the next you would be experiencing the culture in China...
So many things you had the chance to experience, even without you being there living the adventures. Definitely, if you could choose, you would live your own adventures, explore the world by yourself, without having to stick to the pages, you could finally try the food described in books, without having to just read descriptions of what they looked like, but rather tasting them with your own tongue, seeing the parties and dances in person, listening to the rhythms of the music, being able to live those moments...
You get up from the floor and walk over to the 'The Epic Of Gilgamesh', you touch the book that doesn't have a cover, the old and yellow pages, you finally realize what your ideal life would be.
All you wanted was to be able to see, live, feel the world, be free. Being free to adventure and explore, you know you don't belong at that home, you don't belong in Athens, you don't belong in Greece.
Looking beyond the window, holding the book in your hand, you remember a story you heard from a traveling merchant, He was a nomad, he didn't have a fixed place, when you asked him if he didn't miss home, he wisely told you: "The world is my home", you think about it for some time, when an idea comes into your mind, you feel that you have a hope beyond everything, you see a glimmer of salvation. Thank Athena!
You will run away, you will live in the world, and you will not let anything stop you from being free.
You quickly look around your room, looking for a large cloth bag that belonged to your mother, you love that bag, as it belonged to your mother, and you usually used it when you went out on the town. You run towards it and pick it up, you look at it, it's made of leather and cloth, very resistant, it would be perfect. You run around the room, gathering a few pieces of clothing.
You get down on the floor and lift the rug in your room and lift one of the stones from your floor that was under the rug. It was there that you kept your money that you got in the market by secretly selling to some traders your jewelry that your father gave you, There was also a knife , which you stole from the arsenal of weapons that your father have, you used it to protect yourself when you went to town, in case something happened. You take these things and keep it in your bag.
You change your clothes, putting discreet one, with a cape on top. You take the ornaments out of your hair, you look in the mirror from your dressing table. Looking to the table part, you see a charcoal pencil and a small notebook with a leather cover, your father gave you to practice your writing after you begged him to give it to you, you take them both and put them in your bag, if you are going to have adventures, you will need a travel diary to report everything.
You cover your mouth with an extension of your cape, until you remember something, your books. Your heart sinks when you think about leaving them, but it was necessary, since there wasn't that much space in your bag, and the remaining space you would use to store some food that you would steal from the kitchen. Even if you felt sad, unfortunately there is nothing to be done.
Knowing that around this time groups of travelers and foreigners leave Athens, you decide to escape and go with them, your knowledge of geography was very limited to the books you had, so going with one of them would be great. Your father is not at home tonight, he was organizing the wedding things, he took some servants with him, so the house would be almost empty, it would be easy to run away.
The world will be your home. Now your destiny is yours, and you will be the one to write it. You feel your heart jumping in your ribcage like never before, for you this was a completely new feeling, experiencing hope, just when your dreams seemed lost was incredible.
OK! It's time to focus... You look around your room quickly, making sure you hadn't forgotten anything. You will leave this place, but it is necessary. Slinging your bag over your shoulder, you feel like you're ready to go. You approach the large, heavy curtain that served as a "door" to your room. You pay attention to any movement you can hear on the other side. Silence is all you hear.
You work up the courage to slowly step through the curtain, making sure not to make too much noise, you were so nervous that you felt the blood passing through the veins of your body, with every movement you made you mentally prayed to the gods of Olympus. You, already outside your room, looked around, when you didn't notice any different movements, you slowly headed towards the kitchen.
You sneak through the shadows, with long but slow and silent steps, one foot reaching the other, in agile movements, which you knew well, since you always escaped to go to the market. You pass through the corridor without any problems. Your route to the kitchen wasn't very complicated, you went through the hallway to your room; then I went down the stairs that led to the living room; went to the right of the room and arrived at the kitchen... Which would probably be empty,since his father had taken part of the servants, and with the servants the two cooks. When he left, you remember him stopping by your room telling you that if you felt hungry, you should make your own food as he would take the cooks to help him choose all the wedding foods.
Your head traveled through those moments, as you were quickly heading down the stairs. Your sandals barely made a sound as you gripped the bag strap tightly. Finally you arrive at the living room, you run to the nearest shadow, quickly sneaking away again. You pay attention, for any sound there may be, it's still silent. Do you find it strange that until now you haven't seen anyone, or if you want to hear any sound, the only noises came from the street, like people passing by and talking, you think that the rest of the employees who stayed probably decided to take a few hours off, since your unpleasant father wouldn't be back for a while, your father was terrible with his employees, so their attitude is understandable, well, you wouldn't be the one who tell him about the employees 'time off'.
Quickly arriving in the kitchen you focus on getting essential foods, on the counter there were some bread, in the basket some figs and olives, near the basket, a piece of goat cheese which was on top of a cloth, and next to it, you can see a leather canteen, your father didn't have one of those, so it's probably belonged to an employer. You take the bread and olives, placing them in the same cloth that the cheese was on and making a little bundle, tying it at the top, and putting it in your bag, then you add some figs, you decide not to add any more food, since your bag is already full. Your eyes dart to the canteen... You know you're going to need water, but you don't know if you have time to look for another one in your house.
You feel guilty about taking something from someone who works for your father, but you don't have more time, you pick it up and shake it, to find out that it was full, you open it to see if it is water or wine, and you feel lucky when you see that it was water, a smile creeps across your lips, you take the canteen strap and put it on your other shoulder.
–"But at least he should have known that I would notice that he cheated"– You get scared... One of the employees had returned, and you could hear he was following someone else, as you could hear more than one person walking... You quickly hide under the table, thanks to the large towel you would be completely hidden down there. You put your hand over your mouth, and as you hear the voices, which probably came through the front door, approaching the kitchen.
–"Forget it, at least you didn't bet money on it"– You hear another employee talking, your deduction was right. You try your best to control your breathing, feeling desperate. You're afraid they'll discover you there, tell your father, you'll be punished and forced to live with that damn man who would be your husband. Your plan would be thrown in the trash, your life would be thrown in the trash, along with your newfound dream.
–"It doesn't matter, that says more about his character than anything, no one likes to be left behind"– The first employee yells, you try to follow the conversation, but your fear prevents your brain from understanding anything, due to panic. You hear them coming into the kitchen, you can see the rest of them through the tablecloth,you see them moving around the kitchen without being able to rationalize why they came back.
–"Nevermind, let's just get your canteen and go back to the bar"– Oh, there is it, they came back because of the canteen. Slightly calmer, you can think again, they probably went to the bar and now came back through the canteen Damn, wouldn't it be better for them to drink water at the bar?! Well, from what you knew, in most bars it was better to drink wine than water, as it was rare to have water straight from the well in bars, so it makes sense.
–"I remember leaving it near the cheese... But it's not here"– The first employee says
–"Well, are you sure?"
–"Of course I'm sure!"–You feel him approaching the table, your body freezes completely, as you hear him rummaging through the things that were on the table to try to find the canteen, which you had picked up.
–"In this case, someone picked it up, I told you not to leave your things lying around"–The second employee had a tired voice.
–"I didn't leave it lying around, I put it up here!" The canteen owner retorted.
–"We’re just going to get you a glass and get some water from the well outside.” The more sensible of the two suggests, wanting to get back to the bar as soon as possible.
–"Nevermind, the thirst has passed, I think I actually just needed to get out to breathe a little, away from that cheater."–He replied, sighing.
–"Ah, okay, let's just go back then."– The second employee says in a comforting tone while touching the other employee's shoulder.
You hear them leave as they continue talking, you can hear that they went through the main exit, you wait a while to see if there are any strange movements again, everything remains quiet. You come out from under the table, shaking a little, that was close... Through the kitchen there was a door that led to the back of the house, being the back door. It's as if your feet have a consciousness of their own, running through you. You look up at the sky, by the time, soon the travelers would be leaving, you run faster as you pass through a more isolated part of the city. You feel your heart beating even faster, as if that were possible.
You can already see the movement at the city gate, slowing down and getting closer to the travelers, from what you know, listening to story of the people you met at the market, you can pay to go with some travelers, this was something very common among nomadic people, pay to get a ride to a boat port or to a nearby town.
Getting close to these people, you see a man, around 30 years old, putting some boxes into his wagon, you walk towards him to ask for information. You are a little afraid to speak, as you grew up with this right being denied by your father, you know that among merchants and travelers, there is no such tradition, since most of them were not from Athens, So they didn't have this custom of only allowing women to speak before men if they asked for permission, but even so, you can't avoid this anxiety every time you talk to a man.
–"Hm... Excuse me"– You get closer to the man, he turns to talk to you.
–"Oh, hello, what do you need."– The tall, bald man turns to look at you, even though his voice expressed calm and comfort, he was a little scary.
–"Hi...Hmm...I'm a traveler..."–You say, looking down at your hands, which were gripping the handle of the canteen tightly. –"And I need a ride... Can I go with you? The destination doesn't matter... I just need to leave this city."
–"Hm, I'm Zepho"– He says, crossing his arms over his chest. –"I'm going to Macedonia, I still have a little space here, so I think I can help you. It's a few days' journey, but I'll let you know that I have a price."– He squints at you.
–"Ok... Alright, don't worry about money"–You say as you open your bag, ready to grab the money.–"How much will this cost, Zepho?"–You say, looking at him again.
–"Ten drachmas, but they must be Athenian, because they are the purest, I want to receive half of my payment in advance.”– For the first time in your life, you thank the gods that you are from Athens, these types of Athenian drachmas were very difficult to obtain outside of Athens, as they were pure and valuable.
You takes the five drachmas from your purse and holds them out to him. When picking up the drachmas he checks them to see if they are legitimate, when confirming he directs you again.
–"Okay, you can get into.”— He steps out of your way, letting you pass.
You climb into the back of his wagon, as you look at Athens, soon you would be far away... You think about your father, you think about what he will feel, he will feel ashamed that you left instead of getting married, but you wonder if he'll care, he's never acted like he cares. And anyway, you don't want to go back. In a few minutes Zepho went up and you left, towards anything the world would present to you it would be hard, and difficult, but you were willing to try. Even if it was bad, anything would be better than this hell.