Dancing in the Legendary Sea - Chapter 7 Part 1

Since then, Lokira frequently visited the man. Orion was a strange person. Excluding the wounds, his face was very stern, and his physique seemed to be uncomfortable with the cave ceiling. He repeatedly told her. ‘I told you to stop coming’, or  ‘I won’t answer you. Don’t fool around.’ But his temperament wasn’t the same as when Lokira first met him. She diligently brought him water, food, and herbs for a while, as if offering a tribute.  And, as if to pay for the tribute, he was forced to answer her questions, and the inquiries led to her curiosity about his job.

“This is my first time seeing a hunter. Is that why you carry a weapon?”

“It’s your first time seeing a hunter while serving the goddess of the hunt? That must be a joke.”

The truth was that the priests of Artemis were educated in the art of archery, but Lokira was an exception. She grew up not becoming a hunter but a prey. And in this era, a hunter was not simply a person who procured food from the mountains. Rather, it was more like a side job. Their main job was to kill beasts that threaten people. In addition, they patrolled directly in wilderness which was not easily accessible to the general public.

In Greece, where most of the land was mountainous, forests were often along the borders. Hunters were special combat manpower in charge of the country’s conquests. Artemis, who was in charge of the moon, guarded the dangerous night path of this precious profession. The high priest used to teach her that Artemis wasn’t the Goddess of hunting for nothing.

Orion was a man with the best body for the job. Perhaps he was treated as a great warrior because individual skills were still more important than tactics. As evidenced by his ability, as soon as the wounds were healed, Orion immediately set out for survival runs. The food that Lokira often brought was like bird feed to him. A small bonfire was started near the blood on the ground. Lokira wondered what kind of beast he had caught.  When she asked, a decent answer came back.

“Seagull. It was sitting on a rock so I shot it.”

“Poor creature!”

Lokira shouted involuntarily. Orion found it funny since Lokira was marooned with a cliff for a backyard. He laughed.

“Miss Shinsu. What do you think is different about the pickled sardines you brought me? Those fish were living well in the sea a few months ago.”

“But how do you eat seagulls…..” As she was ignorant of the process of removing and stipping fur and the cleaning of animal intestines, a strangely savage imagination flashed by in Lokira’s mind. The whole seagull was scorched in the fire. Orion spoke expressionlessly while preparing the food.

“My mother gave birth to me after spending one night with an unknown old man. After playing with fire, she was kicked out of the house because she was carrying a child, and she withered and died. What is a seagull to a hungry orphan? Even puppies eat.”

“….”

“Have you tried grown dogs* too?” (* Ancient Greeks of the Bronze Age occasionally ate dog meat alongside cattle, pigs, goats and sheep.)

“…”

“It’s just a metaphor!” Orion raised his eyebrows as if he was speechless. Lokira nodded quickly. It was an unfortunate story, so no further comment was added, and she wasn’t hoping for an answer.

“Anyway, starting with that, most of the women I’ve been involved with die of bad luck. When I was six years old, there was a girl in the family who willingly got engaged to me. I didn’t see her face but I knew her name, and she died of measles afterwards.”

When Lokira heard that, she was suspicious. Isn’t this a bit different from what he said at their first encounter? Neither his mother nor the little fiancee with an unknown face died by accident. It was not the result of his harm. Was it really true that he killed the princess of Chios?  Orion sighed while looking at her darkened face. His thick arm gently threw an oar taller than a person into the boat.

“Well, I guess in your case, this doesn’t apply. Even if you’re banned from going to the outside world, you would have been received like a royal princess by the temple as an important source of revenue for the sanctuary.”

He seemed to have surmised that Lokira’s crying and begging the other day was due to his history of murder. This made her even more speechless. At that time, while she was scared of Orion, the fact that no one would protect her even if she ran to the temple was even scarier. Moreover, even from a limited perspective, it seemed doubtful that any princess would be whipped like her.

However, it was true that she has been living under the care of priests. The comfort of having Roxias revived her original perception and made it seem like her life was not so unfortunate compared to a life in the outside world. Her younger brother has met many people who are different from her, so he must be right. So, again, she nodded cheerfully.

“Yes, I really don’t know. I’ve only heard of it.”

****

Many days passed.

Orionis said he would leave for his hometown on a windy day.  His physical strength had recovered, and his wound had healed completely. There was no festering or mishap due to the medicine. It left a scar, but that couldn’t be helped. However, he has dark skin which complemented the scar well, as if adding one more congruent characteristic. If it had been white and pretty, it would have been tragic. What turned out well above all was that there was no problem with his vision. When his eyelids healed and his eyes could open completely, his originally blurred vision became clear again. Lokira was also happy. The adventure of a lifetime has paid off. It would be better if he returned home safely. She wondered if she could do something more here, but ultimately, pain relievers and wrappers would be the best.

It would be a big problem if his eyes suddenly hurt while out in the midst of the far sea. Wouldn’t it be unfortunate if he fell off the boat because of dizziness?  However, if Lokira snuck out at night and made some noise while opening the medicine cabinet, she might alert the temple. She pondered for a long time. No matter how hard she thought, there was only one way to obtain the herbs. Even that night, when she went to see Orion, the man was keenly aware of the change.

“What is that on the wrist?”

Lokira panicked and hid her arm under the wrapper. Several red lines were seen on her wrist.

“I fell down on my way here.”

“Neither your elbows nor palms, just only hurt there?”

“It was accidentally scratched.”

Secretly lamenting her daily lying skills, Lokira rubbed her sore arm. In fact, she refused to eat. It was an immediately effective method because she got dragged to the main hall very quickly. The high priest lectured her on thinking about the labor of the priests who made and carried meals and tributes for her consumption. Next, of course, was mental education with a whip. However, the high priest was not a completely bad person. After the beating, he always gave her care such as medicine and wrappers. A knowledgeable person would have argued that it was a typical brainwashing technique. But for Lokira who had only known the lessons instilled by the high priest, it was considered good especially at this time.