Argus and Selene

Argus was sitting on the terrace of the big fort. He could see the whole village from there. Hundreds of people resided under the shelter and protection of Karmen. Huts were made of mud and straw, wooden embankments, moats, and an enclosed area for training. Few people were practicing archery and some were wrestling on the mud. This place was different from the place he used to stay in. Parthenon was peaceful. Temples all-around full of scribes and priests. They had a training area but not many people opted to become soldiers in the King’s Army. But the village of Krakens was full of energy. Women were chatting beside pots boiling with stew, little boys were fist fighting and everyone looked so lively and worked up.

‘ You like this place, don’t you? ‘, said a voice from behind. Argus looked up. A girl of his age was standing before him. He had seen the girl before with Karmen. She was wearing leather pants, and an armored breast plate with a kopis strapped around her waist. Her long hair was braided and decorated with shiny metal rings. Her eyes were big, dark, and imploring. She was beautiful.

‘ I am Selene. Daughter of Karmen’, she said. Argus nodded, she sat down beside him and looked towards the training grounds.

‘ This place is different from Acropolis.’

-‘ Yes’, she nodded. ‘ We went to Parthenon once. Very beautiful temples. Lady Athena is our patron Goddess too. She looked so dazzling, so majestic, so mesmerizing. I was very young then’.

-‘Hmm... I have a question. Why do you people were these strange clothes? I haven’t seen anyone wearing chiton or peplos’.

Selene smiled. The corner of her eyes sparkled with amusement. ‘ We have a Persian lineage. In Persia, people wear dresses like this. Easy for battle. Easy for movement. Your chiton is too revealing and difficult to carry. Barbaric kingdoms prefer these than normal Greek costumes.’

‘ I see. So you have a brother, right?’, Argus asked.

-‘ Yes. Karseus. He is my elder brother. He has gone to the next town to sort out some problems there’.

- ‘ When will he come back?’

-‘ Tonight before dinner.’

The moon was shining brightly in the sky. Artemis was in her full form. Argus looked at the beautiful girl beside her. She was wearing an armlet on her bare arm. It was glittering in the moonlight. The original Selene was the daughter of the titan Hyperion, the lunar goddess before Artemis took the throne. She was as beautiful as the moon herself.

‘ What are you staring at?’

Argus blushed. He fumbled for words and then slowly turned away his face smiling. For the first time, he felt palpitations on seeing a girl, just like him. A warrior, always ready for battle.

‘ I have heard a lot about you, Argus’.

-‘ Really? What have you heard about?’

-‘ We get news, you know. News from far and wide. News of a brave bold boy who fought with the nomads single-handed, just with a battle-ax. News of a strong boy who calmed a mad bull, terrorizing a whole village. And so on, so forth’.

Argus’ blush deepened. ‘ I am not that brave or strong. It's just I can't stay away from helping people in need. That’s what my mother has taught me ‘.

Selene laughed. Her voice felt like the music of Apollo stringing on his lyre. So soothing to ears. They both lost track of time. When Zeus created humans, he divided the heart among two people, so that when they meet the heart gets united. Maybe this was Aphrodite’s plan all along. To meet Argus and Selene and unite their hearts. A brave man always needs a beautiful bold woman by his side. And Selene was the perfect match for him. Both were experts in Archery and fighting. Both were wild and violent.

‘ Where is your mother?’, Argus asked after some time.

Selene’s eyes trailed towards the dark forest. Her happy face changed into a painful expression.

‘ We were very young then. A terrible disease crept up in our kingdom. People started to die. They vomited blood, their skin turned yellowish and they died. My mother and some women from the village here started to take care of the patients. She cured many. She had Apollo’s blessing upon her. But she paid a price for saving the lives. She got affected and she left me, my brother, and my father, forever. ‘

-‘ I am so sorry. I know how it feels to lose a mother, believe me’

-‘ From that day, my father took the responsibility and the role of my mother too. He never made me miss her. By the way, you have taken good care of your sister. You did your duty well. Your father locked himself in and you became a mother yourself. Unlike my brother’.

-‘ why? Doesn’t Karseus love you?’

-‘ He does. But he is different’.

-‘ How?’

-‘He is always so full of himself. He cares nothing about our people. He has his own followers, following him like blind bats. He is power-hungry and he always has a conflict with his father’s ways’.

Argus knew what was going to happen with Karmen. A son like this would bound to terminate all blood ties one day. But what could he do? How could Argus save Karmen? He thought. Whatever Cassandra uttered, it always happened. And interfering with Fates never went right. He had learned the hardest way. Still, he thought that if he could share this with Selene, she could prevent this calamity in some way or the other.

‘ Ummm... Selene.’

-‘Yes?’

-‘I have something to tell – ‘

He was stopped by a sudden loud piercing lament. Somebody shrieked. Panic echoed all around.