Sneak Peak -THALIA The Seer

          Naples Italy, 1462 

                 Chapter 1

Golden leaves floated off the tree, down towards my lap. I counted ten so far that had fallen. Picking one up, I flipped it over and studied the many veins that spread across it like an intricate roadmap. The meadow that stretched out before me-stunningly decorated by nature with flaming burnt oranges, deep crimson, bright yellows, was perfectly framed by the rolling hills of Naples. “What a spectacular collage of autumn foliage,” I muttered to myself. A sudden gust of wind blew a few strands of my hair wildly in front of my eyes and as I pulled them back into place, a little bird flew aimlessly over my head then landed on a branch stretched out above me and busily groomed itself by fluffing up its feathers and plunging its beak deep into its plumage. I leaned my head back on the trunk of the tree and watched as it preened itself; then closed my eyes and smiled, thoroughly enjoying the serenity of the moment. Suddenly my ears perked when a faint sound of pounding hooves grew louder by the second. Promptly I opened my eyes to see from which direction the sound was coming; when the little bird that I’d been observing flew to the ground in front of me and said, “They’re coming!” then flew off. 

“What?” I questioned. Had I fallen asleep? Was I dreaming? I pinched myself to make sure that wasn’t the case and within an instant the air turned frigid, and the soft breeze turned to a howling wind as dark clouds drew together, forming a gray blanket across the sky, throwing long dark shadows onto the ground. Seconds later, over the hillside like ants, came an army of men on horseback that were coming straight for me. They were shouting war cries that made my skin goosebump. “What was happening? Were we being invaded?” All these questions ran through my mind as I sat frozen with fear. 

The riders thundered past me as if I were invisible, except for the last rider. He stopped his horse and reared up in front of me. I couldn’t move. The man’s expression was stern, and his eyes pierced mine with an icy stare before saying something in a language I didn’t know yet somehow understood the meaning. 

Hallo kleines Mädchen Sag König Ferdinand dass wir in Napoli einmarschieren werden um ihn vom Tron zu verdrängen und Anjou wird regieren. Wir treffen ihn in Troja.

I scrambled to my feet and ran frantically through the dense forest, weaving between trees and thick shrubbery as I tried to flee from him, but with the sound of the horse’s hooves tearing up the ground behind me, I knew escaping him was futile. When I glanced back to check his position, I tripped over a root and crashed into a thorny bush. Keeping my head down, I tried to hide myself among the branches. The forest grew unusually quiet, and for just a moment I thought he’d passed by and I was safe—until I heard a horse snort right above me. My heart sank. I’d been caught. Seconds later, the clattering sound of his sword pulled from its sheath jolted me into action, urging me to shield my head with my hands. But then, nothing happened. Hesitantly, I peeked up, my vision blurry at first, until the familiar wooden beams on my ceiling came into focus and the comforting scent of baking biscuits permeated the air.

I shook my head a bit and rubbed my eyes, in hopes of removing the residual effects of yet another horrifying dream. I wished more than anything that I could make them stop.

I stretched my limbs and lazily cuddled back into my pillows and blankets, remembering that today was my twelfth birthday. Unlike Miri, my coming-of-age birthday wouldn’t be the big celebration she had when she turned twelve; but I didn’t care, because it wouldn’t be the same without my mother there to share in it. Melancholy clouded my mind; I missed her so much.

As I lay there in the rumpled pile of blankets, my mind reflected on her last moments, which left a permanent hole in my heart. Even though she was frail at the end, she was still so beautiful. 

Everyone always told me I had my mother’s look, but I didn’t see it other than my dark hair and green eyes. I was bony and lanky, completely opposite my sister Miri, who had more of a womanly figure with round, voluptuous curves. Both, her and Augustus had more of my father’s features, especially when he was a young boy, with their natural swirl of blonde golden locks and dark brown eyes. Just thinking about my father made me wonder if he’d ever be the kind, gentle man he once was, because since my mother’s death, he was almost unbearable to live with. 

A desperate need to use the chamber pot disrupted my reminiscent state of mind. I rolled onto my side and kicked my blankets off with my feet to get up when, to my surprise, I felt a dampness between my legs. Flipping the rest back, I pulled my nightdress up and discovered two small patches of blood on the inner part of my upper thighs. I instantly knew that I’d started my menses, having heard all about it when my sister started hers; “Great! Of all the days to become a woman, why did it have to be on my birthday?” My father made it his mission to get rid of us girls as soon as possible, to ease the burden of raising a family on his own. As soon as he finds out, he’ll want to arrange a marriage for me, as he did for my sister, in which I’m sure my sister will be more than willing to inform him. Sometimes I think she and my father conspire against me.

Dragging myself out of bed, I checked my bed sheets to see if anything got on them, but they appeared to be untouched. I poured water from the clay pitcher that was on my bureau into the bowl and took a rag to wash away the little patches of blood from my inner thighs. “What was I supposed to do next?” I wondered. Despite my awkward relationship with Miri, I knew I’d have to ask her because I didn’t quite feel comfortable enough to ask Philippa. I reluctantly went to Miri’s room and woke her from her slumber. 

“What do you want, Thalia? I’m sleeping, go away!” she snapped. I just knew she’d be that way but jiggled her to wake up.

“What is it?” Miri barked again, flopping to her side. Seeing what a foul mood she was in, I hesitated to tell her, but it was something that needed tending to in a timely fashion. “I need your help, Miri; I started my cycle this morning and I don’t know what to do.”

Miri rubbed her tired eyes and sat up in bed, stretched out her arms and yawned; “Oh, alright!” she said, whipping her blankets back in frustration, then got out of bed; “I guess there’s no helping the situation. Come on, I’ll show you how to take care of it.” 

We hadn’t been close for years, but she’d become even more closed off since our mother died. 

After dealing with the issue, Miri returned to bed, and I hurried back to my bedchamber to get dressed and put on stockings to warm my feet from the cool floors.

My nose led me to the kitchen to where I knew I’d find the biscuits. I heard tiny babbling sounds coming from somewhere in the kitchen. I looked around and saw Augustus, with his chubby little legs in a wide stance, bent over in the corner, clout sagging and his little fingers busily trying to pick something up off the floor.

“Oh Thalia! You’re up!” Philippa said, wrapping her arms around me, giving me a firm hug; “Buon Compleanno little flower! Did I wake you?” she asked; “I accidentally dropped a ladle against a pot, and it made such a clatter, I was sure it’d wake everyone.” 

“No,” I said, barely able to speak. A pang of grief ran through me when she called me ‘little flower.’ Puddles of tears pooled in my eyes. It was nice that someone remembered my birthday, but unknowingly Philippa’s words pierced my heart. 

She looked at me, confused by my sad expression, “Whatever did I say?”

I knew if I answered her, I’d burst into tears.

“Are you all right, child?” 

“Yes,” I choked, “I’m fine. It’s just that-little flower-is what my mother called me and...”

I couldn’t finish my sentence as the sadness overcame me, and tears flooded my cheeks.

Philippa’s eyes reflected her regret; “Oh gosh! I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

She wrapped her arms around me in a gentle embrace and sat me on her lap. We sat quietly for a few minutes before she relaxed her arms from around me; “You okay?”

I nodded my head ‘yes,’ as I wiped away my tears.

“Good! Shall I get you some breakfast?”

I nodded my head again and blew my nose into my hankie. Augustus started wailing from the corner of the kitchen and toddled over to Philippa with his little stubby index finger held up in the air. 

Philippa picked him up and inspected it; “Did you hurt your finger, little one?” 

Then kissed it better. Augustus promptly pulled it from her and stuffed it into his pouty mouth. Philippa set him back down on the floor and carried on preparing my breakfast; “My, how he gets into things!” she said and chuckled to herself.

I picked him up and brought him back to my chair to cuddle. Holding him soothed my spirit and helped me forget my sadness. When he looked up at me with his big brown eyes, his blonde curly locks tumbled to the back of his head then took his finger out of his mouth and tried to shove it into mine, making a “chee” sound. I pretended to bite it, and he giggled, wrinkling up his little nose, showing his four white teeth.

Philippa placed a biscuit and an egg in front of me and took him from me. Augustus protested slightly but was quick to recover from the exchange and wrapped his chubby little arms around Philippa’s neck and jammed his finger back into his mouth again.

“Is Miri up yet?” Philippa asked.

“No, I talked to her this morning, but she went back to bed,” I said, not giving any further details. I knew once she laundered our things she’d eventually find out, but I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to share such details with her.

“I thought I heard voices but wasn’t sure; I thought maybe you were talking to yourself again,” she said, giving me a sideways glance.

“No, I asked her about something, but she was still tired and went back to sleep,” I casually stated.

“Well, she’ll have to get up soon because we need to go to the market and buy the fixings for tomorrow’s meal. I want to be back early enough that I can prepare some dishes ahead of time.”

“Oh! That’s right, I forgot Abba has a big gathering tomorrow night. Do you know who’ll be coming?” 

“No, he told me there’d be eight men and that everything must be perfect.” 

I nodded in acknowledgement as I ate my breakfast.

Miri, barely awake, shuffled into the kitchen.

“Ah, there you are!” Philippa said, “Sit down and I’ll make you some breakfast too.”

“I’m sorry I woke you earlier,” I said. 

“Uhmm,” she muttered, waving her hand at me to never mind. 

I got up from the table as soon as I had finished; “I’ll get Augustus ready to go then get myself cleaned up. 

“Grazie, dear.” 

I washed his face, changed his clot and put a clean outfit on him, then took him to the kitchen before getting myself ready.

I washed up, brushed my hair and twisted it up into a neat bun at the nape of my neck. When I returned to the kitchen, Miri had finished eating and was off to get herself ready.

“Be quick, Miri,” Philippa said as she left the room.

“I will.” 

“How many baskets do we need for the market today, Philippa?” I asked. 

“Two, maybe three,” she said. 

I grabbed two large baskets and one smaller one, then scooped Augustus up into my arms. Philippa and I were ready to go. Finally, after a couple minutes of waiting for Miri, we were all on our way to the marketplace.