Nobody's Princess (19 page)

I stuck my head around the doorpost and softly whistled to get Milo’s attention. “Well, what do you think?” I asked. “Am I ready to go see the Pythia?”

“Lady Helen, why did you have to change yourself like that?” Milo asked. “Why couldn’t you just go to see the Pythia as you really are? It would be easier. No one would stop you.”

“I don’t care if I’m stopped, just if I’m recognized. I need to test this.” I indicated my filthy new appearance. “If I can’t reach the Pythia without someone saying,
Look at the crazy Spartan girl, running around Apollo’s shrine dressed like that!
then I might as well go home.”

“But if they think you’re a grubby
boy
it’ll be all right?” Milo asked dubiously.

I grinned at him. “Now you’ve got it.”

He still wasn’t convinced that I’d made a good plan. “Maybe I should try to bring the Pythia here to see you, Lady Helen,” he said. “Even if you can pass for a boy, you look
too
grubby for anyone to believe you’ve got an audience with her. What if one of the priests thinks you’re a beggar and throws you off the temple grounds before you find her? You might not be able to get back in, looking like that.”

“You worry too much, Milo,” I told him.

“Lady Helen, wait!” he called out as I turned to go. He thrust the water jug into my hands. When I gave him a questioning look, he said, “If you look like you’re running an errand for your master, no one stops you. They look at you, but they don’t
see.
”

His inventiveness left me openmouthed with admiration. “Milo, that’s
brilliant.
”

He blushed at the compliment. “It’s no great skill to be invisible in a palace.” He folded the blanket from my bed so that he’d have something to carry as well, and we left.

Between my new appearance and Milo’s ruse, we found Eunike without any of Apollo’s priests or servants challenging us. She was just coming out of a room at the very back of the temple when we spied her. Milo was right, it
would
have looked suspicious if someone as dirty as I dared to approach the holy Pythia. That was why he scampered up to her and fell to his knees, holding out the blanket as if it were something she’d sent for. Eunike had a quick and clever mind. She recognized him immediately and pretended to inspect the folded cloth, giving the two of them the opportunity to exchange a few swiftly whispered words.

Abruptly, she straightened up. “You useless thing, I asked for a
brown
blanket. Bring it to my room at once and don’t you
dare
to dawdle!” She turned on her heel and strode off, leaving Milo to scurry back to me.

Milo knew where Eunike’s room was, thanks to the short time he’d spent among the temple servants. They didn’t want to have him wandering lost, so they’d taught him how to find his way everywhere within the shrine walls. He had no trouble bringing me there. It was a small, neat chamber tucked away in an obscure corner of the temple precincts. The kitchen herb beds were within sight of her door. When we entered, the pungent fragrance of rosemary, basil, and bay leaf followed us.

I couldn’t help looking around doubtfully at the undecorated walls and floor, the plain red-clay water jug and cup on the table, the patternless blanket on the bed where the Pythia now sat regarding us. Four large, painted wooden chests lined up against the walls provided just a touch of fading color. The only luxuries were a splendid bronze mirror and the alabaster pots holding the kohl and carmine to paint her lips and eyes, all sharing space with the homely cup and jug on the table. I’d expected something more extravagant, a setting worthy of the Pythia’s divine gift.

Eunike seemed able to read my thoughts as well as the future. “It doesn’t have to be fancy here,” she said. “This is the way I like it. Now come sit down and tell me why you’re dressed like that.”

Milo sank to the floor at her feet, cross-legged, while I sat on the bed beside her. She caught one whiff of my clothes, wrinkled her nose, and slid as far away from me as possible. “I’m sorry about the smell, but it’s part of my plan,” I told her. Suddenly I was embarrassed by how badly my tunic reeked, and I had to say something to save face.

“What plan? To empty Delphi? By Apollo, Helen, I spend the best part of my life surrounded by the smoke of braziers, inhaling harsh fumes from the heart of the earth, and even
I
can barely stand to smell you!”

“And that means no one else will want to linger near me for too long either,” I said. “It’s all I want, at least until Milo and I are well away from this city.” And I began to tell her what I had in mind.

“A weapons bearer?” Eyes wide with incredulity, the Pythia interrupted me before I was done. “You’re going to try passing yourself off as a
weapons bearer
in order to reach Iolkos?”

“We
both
are,” I said, indicating Milo. “Every hero needs one, so it makes sense that my brothers would need two.” I sprang up and struck a pleading pose, speaking to an imaginary traveler. “May the gods favor you, good sir, can you help us get to Iolkos? My friend and I are following our masters, Castor and Polydeuces, the Spartan princes. We were separated on the road when Milo here fell ill.” Milo coughed dutifully from the floor, then looked to me for approval.

“And what if you happen to meet your brothers
before
any of you reach Iolkos?” Eunike asked. “Would you like me to breathe the god’s breath and tell you how pleased they’ll be, or can you guess?”

“Oh, I already thought of that,” I replied breezily. “We’ll be careful enough to let Castor and Polydeuces stay well ahead of us on the road. My brothers can’t be the only heroes who’ve joined the fleece quest without weapons bearers of their own. Once we get to Iolkos, we’ll surely be able to find at least two men looking to hire servants. They’ll be glad to have us.”

“Probably gladder than you know.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

The Pythia pressed her palms together and tapped her fingertips to her lips in thought. “Helen, what if your disguise fails? What if someone finds out you’re a girl?”

I went over to her table and picked up the bronze mirror. It was smaller than the one Mother owned but in better condition. I could see my reflection perfectly. In spite of what Theseus had said about “that pretty face of yours,” all that met
my
eyes was angles and awkwardness. My over-eager application of olive oil and dirt was already making the skin erupt into angry red bumps. I couldn’t see anything feminine about me at all.

I set the mirror back down. “Unless someone demands that I grow a beard on command, I’ll be safe enough, Eunike. And I do have a sword and know how to use it.”

“That’s not what I mean,” she said. “I’m talking about women’s matters.”

“Women’s—”

“And the moon. What I mean is the time each month when—”

“I know, I know!” I exclaimed, stopping her before she could say any more. My cheeks burned. “My nurse, Ione, told my sister and me all about that when we were ten years old. Mother repeated all of it right before my sister left Sparta to marry. They both told us that this
isn’t
something for men to hear.” I nodded at Milo. He looked disappointed.

“Men know more about women than you think,” Eunike said. “But since you’re already so knowledgeable, how
are
you going to manage to hide it when you’re on the road and you—”

“I won’t,” I said sharply. “It hasn’t happened to me yet. I don’t know why. My sister, my
twin,
she’s been a woman for at least two years. I’m still a girl.” I hated recalling how Clytemnestra had lorded it over me when she’d changed and I’d stayed the same. Worse, every month after that she made it a point to ask me whether “it” had happened to me yet, and every month I had to say no. Ione told me not to fret, that every woman walked the same path eventually, that it would come to me before I knew it. I was still waiting.

“Hmmm.” The Pythia was silent for a time, then said, “This may be a blessing for you, Helen. It might even be an omen, a sign from the gods to let you know they want you to succeed.”

“Do you really think so?” I asked eagerly.
About time my monthly humiliation did me some good!
I thought.

“It’s a shame I can’t tell you if it’s a blessing that will last,” Eunike continued. “The gods might whisk away their favor at any time if you offend them. Even if you don’t, they might simply change their minds one day. You’d better give some thought to what you’ll do then.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll come up with something.” I spoke with a nonchalance I didn’t really feel.
I’ll come up with something
was what I’d told myself when I first began to lay my plans for joining the quest for the Golden Fleece. I’d only thought matters through as far as getting Milo and me to Iolkos and on board Prince Jason’s ship. But how big would that ship be? Would Milo and I be able to keep ourselves out of my brothers’ sight and still manage to serve our new masters? What would happen if our luck ran dry and Castor and Polydeuces recognized us when we were too far out to sea for turning back? I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I didn’t want to. No matter.
I’ll come up with something.

“Well, at least you’re confident,” Eunike said. “Even if you are insane.” She giggled.

“This is a perfectly reasonable plan of action,” I told her, sitting back down on the bed. “We’re going to have a magnificent adventure, and I’ll pledge a fine sacrifice to all-seeing Apollo when I return.”

“But before you go, you want something
from
him, don’t you?” Eunike smiled knowingly.

“How did you guess?” I mirrored her smile.

“I never guess,” Eunike said with mock seriousness. “
I’m
the Pythia.” She squeezed my hand. “And I like you. You’ve set your heart on this exploit. I doubt I can persuade you to change your mind. I think it would be an insult for me to even try. So instead, I promise to help you. What do you need?”

“Nothing much,” I said. “Just Apollo’s blessing. What can the all-seeing sun do to give us a successful departure from Delphi?”

“Isn’t that the whole purpose of your disguise?” Eunike waved her hand at my overall shabbiness.

“This is to hide my identity once we’re on the road,” I replied. “I could escape the temple precincts and the city in my own clothes, if that were all I wanted to do. Simply getting out of Delphi doesn’t have me worried half as much as what might happen here
after
I go. I don’t want anyone who’s left behind to suffer on account of what I’ve done.”

“Who’d suffer?”

“My guards, first of all,” I said. “Castor and Polydeuces gave them their orders in detail before they went off with Prince Jason. They’re supposed to bring me back to Sparta tomorrow morning, shielding me by sea and land. They’ll come here at dawn and send the gatekeeper to fetch Milo and me. What do you think will happen when he comes back to tell them that we’re gone? They’ll pull this place apart stone by stone, searching.”

“You’re exaggerating. They wouldn’t dare touch Apollo’s shrine,” Eunike said.

“Maybe not the buildings, but they’ll have no qualms about touching the people. If no one can tell them where I’ve gone, they’ll keep knocking innocent people’s heads together until they find out or run out of heads! Panic makes people go mad.”

“Panic? That’s not a word I’ve heard applied to trained, experienced Spartan soldiers,” Eunike remarked. “Are they guards or geese in a thunderstorm?”

“Guards; the guards who’ll be punished for my sake,” I replied. “If Father doesn’t have them fined or beaten or banished for losing me, they’ll still have to live with the shame of having failed him. They’re good, loyal men, and I can’t ask them to bring my parents word of the tragedy in Calydon
and
that my brothers have gone off to the world’s end
and
that I vanished while in their care! I need to
know
they won’t be blamed. Please, Eunike, can Apollo let you
see
that future for them?”

“My prophecies come to me according to Apollo’s will.” The Pythia sighed. “I’m sorry, Helen, but no matter how rich an offering you bring, it’s not like ordering a potter to make you a jar that’s just the size and shape you want it to be.”

“I know.” My shoulders slumped. “I was only hoping that just this once…Oh, Eunike, I have to find a way around this! I don’t want my men to harm your servants or be punished for my disappearance, and above all, I don’t want my parents to suffer for one moment on my account.”

“You’re asking for a lot, Helen,” Eunike said gently. “Are you begging me for a prophecy because you’re worried about all of those people, or is it something else? Are you having second thoughts about this quest of yours?”

“I
want
to go to Iolkos,” I repeated with passion. “To Iolkos, and from there to Colchis, and wherever Prince Jason’s ship sails! I want it more than I’ve ever wanted anything. This may be the last time in my life that I’ll have the chance to see the world, to decide to take this road and not that one, to choose whether I walk, or go lumbering along in an oxcart, or ride, or even
fly
! I know it’s going to be dangerous, but so is having babies, and everyone expects me to do
that
someday. But if there’s no way for me to reach Iolkos except by hurting my parents and the rest, then I—I won’t go.”

Before Eunike could respond, Milo sprang up, eyes wide with apprehension. “Someone’s coming! Lady Helen, quickly!” He grabbed my hand and pulled me down to kneel beside him at the Pythia’s feet. “Keep your head bowed,” he muttered. “Whoever comes, don’t look him in the eye.”

I did what Milo told me, fixing my eyes on the tiles. I heard footsteps come shuffling closer and a piping, aged voice calling to the Pythia, asking for permission to enter. She gave it, and the footsteps grew louder. I glimpsed the embroidered hem of a priest’s robe out of the corner of my eye.

“Holy Pythia, an embassy from the king of Thebes is here to see you,” the priest said. I recognized his voice: He was the good-natured old man who’d carried Eunike’s fly whisk. “Will it please you to greet them now?”