Beauty of Thebes

Chapter 12: Disaster of Thebes

Someone from the masses unknowingly popped up with a seat for King Aphelius. The crowd immediately made way to seat the chair in the center. Meanwhile, the maidservants cleaned Eutostea’s tangled hair and wiped the blood on her arm.

All eyes were locked on the prophet detractor, an old woman, who held onto the hawk’s foot. The old woman looked at the white ribbon meaningfully. Inside it was the oracle’s message –– a prophecy. A clay plate was given to her and she began to translate and read out loud the inscription written.

“Listen, good people of Thebes. You’ll soon starve and die in vain during battle. The country will perish without a trace, and only so few of you will remember its name. This disaster will be brought upon you by a man and is the fault of your ungrateful king and royalty.”

The prophet detractor’s voice was soft, but the ones able to hear her were shocked and livid downright to the core.

“Are you sure you’re interpreting the oracle truthfully or is it your own meaning?” King Aphelius asked the old woman angrily.

“I am interpreting it as it is written,” the old woman’s voice was as still as a lake.

King Aphelius glared; if looks could kill, his glare would be one. He breathed deeply and ordered the people out of the palace after grabbing hold of the clay plate from her hand. He’s sure the rumors will spread quickly like wildfire.

The servants who knew nothing and saw the king drowning in a bitter mood quickly scattered away.

Eutostea looked at her father still in the room. “What will you do now?”

King Aphelius sighed. Though he managed to keep a straight face in front of the masses, his heart thumped erratically from the shock he received. He and his royal family would be responsible for all the unfortunate events that were to come, as said in the prophecy. He stood upright as he got out of the chair and tidied his clothing. The soft clay plate crumbled like dough from his hand.

“I think the gods are angry with me. I’ll sacrifice myself to the temple.”

But before that…

Eutostea owed him an answer.

“An oracle comes ever so randomly and no one can predict when it will come, but I wonder how you know that an oracle will be sent from Delphi at an exact specific day. Now, tell me who the man is, Eutostea.”

Strangely enough, Eutostea was not afraid. A firm decision had been made in her heart. “I did not see his face. No matter how many times I set the lamp on fire, it’s swallowed by darkness in a flash. But I could hear his voice. It was soft and mellow. On the first night, he revealed himself as Apollo, the God of Prophecy.”

“How can you be sure if it is truly is Apollo?”

King Aphelius wanted clear, concrete evidence.

Eutostea flinched slightly. She could feel her father’s pressure, the pressure to obey.

“He is Apollo.”

“Heh,” King Aphelius scoffed, “anyone can impersonate a god without showing his face.”

“You think I can’t differentiate truth from false? I know. He is a god,” Eutostea retorted.

King Aphelius clenched his teeth and slapped his daughter.

Eutostea staggered and fell to the floor.

“You stupid b*tch!”

Her father’s words… it ached more than the pain of being slapped. It felt like daggers stabbing her heart.

“If that man visits again tonight, this time you better see to it that you find a description of his features so we can put a bounty on his neck! If the light burns out, turn the light back on and sneak a peek while he’s asleep! For you to be deceived by someone who seeks to divide and burn the country and place a strain on your father’s face… I can only call you a traitor! I’m glad he didn’t touch your sisters. Do as I say if you don’t want to be labeled an immoral woman, do you understand?”

Eutostea touched her cheek with trembling hands and looked up at her father, her eyes wide open and lips shut tight.

She did not expect this.

“If I don’t get a satisfactory report tomorrow, you can go ahead and leave the palace.”

He left a word of warning behind and disappeared.

Eutostea smiled bitterly, wiping away the tears that came tumbling down.