Page 28 of Axios

“Then let us enjoy the time that is given,” Leanna said, grabbing my hand and leading me to the table.

We sat and Mother poured each of us a cup of water to go along with the figs.

I looked around, and everything was foreign, as if it were a distant memory that had faded over time, becoming lost to the formation of new ones. Some I remembered, like the courtyard Leanna and I had played in, but others were more difficult to reach. I knew I’d once slept under the same roof, but the feelings of familiarity were lost.

A different life.

Mother spoke of how life had been for them lately. She’d kept busy with chores and upkeep of the house. Helots were not always privately owned and belonged to the state. Only citizens who could afford them as servants had them, so my family provided for themselves.

Still considered a beauty in her years, my mother had suitors, but she had not yet decided on taking another husband. She weaved and sold her crafts in the marketplace in exchange for other goods such as salts and a variety of seasonings.

Leanna had become quite good at javelin throwing.

Although girls were not required to go through theagogelike us boys, they were still educated by the state and expected to toughen their bodies to peak condition. The main obligation for women was child-bearing, and it was believed that if the mother’s body was strong, the babe born from her would also be strong.

It would be years before Leanna took a husband, however. Not until she was of eighteen or older, and she was only sixteen.

“One day I will be like Cynisca! The first woman to ever be victorious in the Olympic Games,” Leanna exclaimed and mimicked the noise of a roaring crowd. “I will lead my four-horse chariot to victory.”

Women were not allowed to compete in the games held in Olympia. The athletic competitions were male-only and women were not even allowed to watch. There were smaller equestrian events, though, that were held in a separate stadium where they could participate.

Cynisca was Leanna’s heroine, as she was for many Spartan girls. She was a royal princess, but she proved that a woman could be beautiful and regal, yet still fierce.

“I have no doubt, sister,” I told her.

She beamed at me.

“You will find a suitable husband and perform your duty as a Spartan woman by giving him sons,” Mother said before standing and closing the shutters in the kitchen. The wind had picked up and brought with it the chill of the approaching season. “Sons that will grow and become warriors that keep our homeland safe, both from the enemies outside our walls and the ones dwelling within.”

Helots were considered the enemies within. Their numbers were ever growing and they outnumbered the Spartan masters. Many of them were forced to join military service, mainly as a shield for the actual fighters.

Theperioikoi—who were neighbors of Sparta but remained free unlike the helots—were obligated to serve in the army as well, but in their own units under a Spartan commander. They were not bred to be warriors like us, and instead they worked as farmers and merchants, fighting in the army only when ordered to do so.

Leanna pursed her lips at our mother’s words, but did not argue.

Even though she loved our city, she wasn’t like most girls and held different beliefs of what she wanted her life to be. When we were younger, she’d played rough with me at times, and if I cried, she had said, ‘I thought I was the girl, little brother,’and then laughed.

I did not think badly of her for behaving that way, and when I first joined theagoge, I had missed those days with her.

Marriage life did not appeal to her, neither did bearing children. She was happiest with a weapon in hand or when competing.

Sometimes I wondered if the gods had made a mistake by making her a girl instead of a boy.

“Yes, Mother,” Leanna said, letting the subject of her heart’s true desire fade into nothing. When she grabbed a beechnut, she bit down harder than necessary and glared at the table as she chewed.

***

The fire blazed before us, its flames reaching up toward the heavens but flickering out before traveling too high. Darkness had descended upon Sparta, as did an unforgiving cold, but none of us youths were ready to say farewell to the day and give into sleep.

Eryx sat to my left and Haden to my right. We were seated in the rectangular courtyard outside the barracks, warming ourselves by the fire as Nikias told us stories.

“So you wish to hear, young Spartans, the tale of the mighty three-hundred who fought and perished so that you may sit here now and listen to their deeds,” Nikias said, shadows from the flames crossing his face and causing his scar to look more menacing. “The Persians outnumbered them, and their army loomed for miles. But still, the Spartans blocked the road through the mountains that would prevent Xerxes and his army to pass.”

Eryx leaned forward, intently listening to each word Nikias spoke. My friend fancied stories, especially of ones involving war.

Nikias continued, “King Leonidas knew he would not return to Sparta. That he would fall on the battlefield.”

“How did he know?” Quill asked.