Beauty of Thebes - Chapter 13

  Chapter 13: Affair Made Public

If Eutostea and Aphelius’s conversation spread like a wildfire, then her and Apollo’s deeds was a volcanic eruption. 

Murmurs of whispers could be heard from every corner. Every knowing eye watched Eutostea’s movements with precise details. 

Even her two sisters would soon grow privy to Eutostea’s affairs. Previously, they had gone through means to deduce the behavior of their youngest sister.,

“I guess pouring the wine was too much… maybe that’s why she’s upset,” Askitea pondered.

“Oh, come on.” Hersia shook her head and stuck her tongue out at Askitea’s words. “Upset? No way she’d be sulky about that. It’s something else…”

Hersia rubbed her chin in wonders

The disturbance from Eutostea’s fragrance had recently subsided. It was a unique scent that made their hearts and many others flutter and at times causing unknown depression.

The two princesses assumed their youngest sister acquired a foreign exotic fragrance at first. They recalled the rowdiness occurring in the laundry when the maidservants washed her bedroom. sheet. The more they washed it, the stronger the scent became. It did not fade. If only they could see their youngest sister so they could discern the truth of the matter. It had been a while since she ate and bathed with them. If this continues on, they may not remember whether Eutostea’s hair was black or gray.

Their bitter quarrel soon disappeared and their topic of conversation soon arrived at beauty and intelligence, but they found it distasteful and lacking that Eutostea was not present. They would poke fun of her countenance while she would retort with her sharp tongue.

Askitea and Hersia sighed.

“As expected…” Askitea muttered.

Their eyes met.

They had the same thought, the same mind.

“It’s not fun with just the two of us.”

One sister sighed.

“That little wench… I know I smelled something on her body…”

One sister snarled. 

The two rushed through their baths. While drying and applying on the perfume, the prophetic oracle was extracted inside Eutostea’s room. 

Combing her soft hair, Askitea murmured, “I truly wonder what happened to our youngest sister.”

Askitea sighed. She could not piece together the puzzle while Hersia focused on another problem. 

“Doesn’t it seem like Eutostea has a man?” Hersia said. “What do you think?” Her gaze landed on the maidservant.

The maidservant, under the intense gaze from the two princesses, stumbles and broke out in cold sweat and said, “Yes… it is said that the third princess’s window latch broke and during the repairs, a man whose identity was unclear came in and out of her bedroom. She said herself that she had spent the night with someone. The man told her that an oracle from Delphi would be arriving, causing the king’s anger to rise through the roof…”

“No, wait, wait a minute. Doesn’t she have a bodyguard? Why did no one stop the man from coming in and out?” Hersia asked.

“Ah, don’t ask unnecessary questions.” Askitea pushed Hersia aside. “Is he handsome?” 

It was important for Hersia to know whether the man was handsome enough. The truth would answer her question whether to fight her youngest one-on-one. But her question was left unanswered as the maidservant said, “The third princess does not know. She had never seen his face. He ran away before she could identify his facial features, Your Highness.”

“What?” Askitea leaped up, clutching her ankle-length garment. Her face turned a flaming red. “He ran away? Argh! Why does she not check for the most important thing!”

“The king slapped her on the cheek, Your Highness,” the maidservant muttered.

This time, Hersia stood up abruptly. “Slapped? I would have never believed that father could be so… cruel…!”

The eyes of the two princesses sparkled like lava. It was an odd sight to see two of Greece’s most beautiful women erupt like a volcano. The two of them immediately ganged on the poor maidservant, demanding from her where Eutostea went. The maidservant, overwhelmed by their presence was unable to speak a word, and so the maidservant near the door answered for her instead and said, “Princess Eutostea went to the Temple of Artemis. The king had asked that Princess Askitea and Hersia go to the temple too and pray to the gods. He would also be on his way there soon.”

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?!” Askitea fumed. 

“I could not tell you because you were taking a bath and ordered us not to disturb you,” the maidservant lowered her head.

Blushing from embarrassment, the two princesses looked at each other and nodded with determined eyes. 

They dashed out of the bathhouse in a hurry.