I pushed myself off the bed, barely having the urge to do so. Eyes still blurry with heavy sleep, yawn after yawn came by, refusing to let go.

It was annoying when I had to wake up in the middle of my sleep, just to drink water or use the washroom. Ugh.

Dragging myself to the window, I pushed open the curtains to see a tinge of dark blue spread in the atmosphere, giving signs of early morning.

I rose my arms above to crack my neck from the morning fatigue. Through my hazy vision, I looked down to find a beeline of women entering the palace complex. Mild tinkering of a lyre engulfed the area, making me more sleepy than I already was.

The familiar baskets and wine jars told they were the Dionysus women, who had returned from wherever they had gone.

Drawing back the curtains, I staggered to my small table in the dark to get hold of the pitcher, which, to my disappointment, was empty.

There wasn't a choice but to step out into the hallway. Chilly morning air passed the open corridor, making me shiver in the thin linen I wore. I noticed a lone fire torch imparting a dull glow to the darkened hallway.

Gripping the pitcher in my hand, I walked along the brick walls of the hallway, like a white ghost sailing in an abandoned castle.

It had something to do with the food here, which left me more thirsty than I'd ever been.

The earthen pot kept near Julian's room always contained water. Reaching the fourth-century filter, I removed the lid, poured some into my pitcher and drank a mouthful. My eyes shifted to his room in curiosity.

There weren't any guards guarding the doorstep because he wasn't there. It was strange when I'd secretly seen him with a cloth wrapped around his face, only the eyes visible.

A strangely familiar woman also stood beside him with her face covered, as they'd talked in hushed whispers. I don't know why she looked like that woman Cheryl had introduced me to.

Helaine, something was her name.

When a similar man had arrived, they'd gone with him.

All this had happened after everyone was gone to sleep, which I'd witnessed through my room's window when I was writing my AI book.

It was crazy how my room could view everything happening outside Julian's room. I knew better than to poke my nose in his affairs and kept mum about it.

Drowned in my thoughts of the uncanny situation, I didn't notice two women who had entered the hallway.

"Oh dear, that was fantastic. Your girls did well," the woman walking next to Olympias laughed, a silky bliss enclosed her voice that could seduce any man, just by the sound of it.

"I had to make sure Alexander isn't surrounded by evil women," they laughed amongst themselves, but the next second, their eyes were on the silly woman who was gawking at them in fear.

Yep, right guess. Althea freaking Rosemary.

I nearly choked on my water when the face of the unfamiliar woman became clear under the fire torch.

She had the darkest kohl ever possible swiped around her eyes. Linen so perfectly draped that mine resembled a hag in comparison. Hairs pinned elegantly to the side, letting the rest fall till her back like a smooth black waterfall on a cloudy day. And her face?

It was a carbon copy of Julian's.

More like if Julian had soft features sans the stubble, instead of the hard-hitting face, he would look like her.

Impossible beauty would be the only word describing her.

But the fact was scaring me to bits that she looked ready to maul me with her bare hands.

"You weren't at the celebrations, dear?" Olympias asked as she came forward, her voice dripping like poisonous honey. A nervous wreck crept down my spine at her question.

"I see you were asleep?" The pointed voice of the beautiful woman woke me to full conscious, eyes racking up and down my sleep dishevelled state. Her face twisted in disgust, making me more scared than I already was.

"Aren't you aware that a woman has to wake early? What were you thinking of sleeping this late?!" she snapped, anger brimming her features, ready to lash out at me.

"I uh- I," I was a trembling mess by now. That was an out of the box question. A woman had to wake early? I mean, it was still pretty dark outside.

"And where is the amulet?" She yanked my arm, looking down in shock. I cried out in pain when her nails dug into my arm.

The saying was true. Sometimes, women are scarier than men. A whimper slipped past me at the sight of the two powerful women looming over me.

One seething at the womanly etiquette I didn't follow. Other looking like the calm before a storm.

"Relax dear, she looks new here," Olympias calmly moved the woman away and brought her hand on my head.

I flinched at her touch, but she held my head with the single force of her hand. There was nothing I could do to stop my shaking self. What had I even done to them?

"I- I apologise deeply, m- mistress, for offending you." I bowed my head to the deepest of my ability. I hadn't even offended them in any way.

If nothing, my words had seemed to enrage the woman more.

"Don't you dare speak before cleansing yourself!" She looked close to slapping me as I squeezed my eyes shut. Olympias began to weave her long fingers through my hair, her sharp gaze doing nothing to calm my quivering state.

"So young and innocent. Would've been perfect for the celebrations," she murmured, her fingers now feathering past my cheeks.

"I want you to test her, Olympias. With your snakes," The woman crossed her arms, looking down at me with her ever-present scrutinizing gaze. I froze.

"Your name, dear?" Olympias asked softly, but the grip of her pointed nails on my chin told otherwise.

"A- Al- Althea," I stuttered, close to tears. My voice was never this faltering, not even in front of Julian. It was horrifying to think about what they had planned for me.

"Hm, a beautiful name for a lovely maiden," she cackled.

"Now refresh yourself and come to the last room of this corridor. Can you see?" she pointed to the gloomy corner of the hallway and I nodded my head in trepidation.

"Good, and be quick. Would you like if we come back to fetch you, hm?" she asked sweetly. My head automatically shook to a no, as she smiled with a dark edge to her lips.

My steps were heavy as I trudged to the said room, heart beating out my chest. I had bathed in less than five minutes and draped my linen as neatly as possible. Still couldn't match the accuracy of that dangerous woman.

She resembled my closest nightmare now.

Womanly laughter echoed out the room as I neared it. Praying the Egyptian Gods for the hundredth time, I fixed my linen draping and stood at the open doorstep, head bowed in nervousness.

"Come in, Althea." The dangerous woman called out, her voice surprisingly pleasant now. I gulped and walked in.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Olympias sitting opposite to her on a chair as a young woman stood behind her, massaging her shoulders.

I could only look up till her hands that had stopped working when she witnessed me, but continued when Olympias flicked her finger.

Timidly, I walked up to them and bowed. After the woman directed, I sat on my knees near her feet, hands fidgeting in my linen to the point I could tear it in petrification.

"Now, I would like to know about you, my dear girl," she tapped my head gently, making me squirm.

These women looked strict followers of womanly duty. If I spill that I'm a writer, I don't know what would they do to me. After all, writing wasn't a womanly thing to do.

It won't be a doubt if they sacrifice me to some gods.

I also didn't know who the hell was she in the first place, only knowing she was someone of high importance.

"I am the war prize of H- His Honour," I mumbled, dreading her reaction. Without a warning, she gripped my jaw and jerked my face up, making me look in her deadly eyes. I tried hard to control the sudden sob that bubbled up in my throat.

"Julian's war prize?" she asked, and I nodded, my lips trembling out of control. Her gaze softened slightly. So did her grip on my chin.

"I have to tell, your son has an excellent taste, Armonia," Olympias snickered, waving a goblet in her hand.

I felt the air knock out of me.

Julian's mother.

Armonia.

Screamed danger multiplied ten, compared to her son.

My mind was still having a hard time believing what a dangerous mother he had when Olympias chimed. "Fetch my little white snake from her basket and feed her the milk, Lola."

Despite my urge to whip my head up, I raised my eyes slowly to look in her direction. My heart dropped to the floor.

Cheryl's eyes were strained on my kneeling self. Gaze so weak, as if she'd passed out any moment. Delicately removing her hands from Olympias' shoulder, she stood there for a while, emotionless eyes trained on me. It was as if she didn't recognize who was I.

What have they done to her? I was close to tears now, seeing her condition. The dark circles below her eyes told she hadn't slept ever since the celebration was over.

"As you wish to, mistress," she bowed gently and staggered to the corner of the room, where some baskets lay huddled together. She took out a thin white snake, draped it around her arm and walked to the other corner to pour milk in a bowl.

Since when did she learn to handle snakes?!

"It's surprising that Julian never told you about her," Olympias kept her goblet aside, locking her fingers to rest her chin atop them.

"That's the reason I want this little dove tested." Armonia patted my head, and I grew numb.

"As you wish," Olympias grinned and rose from her seat. Sweat dripped past my temple as she picked up a basket and placed it beside Armonia. Slowly, Alexander's creepy mother kneeled to my level and clasped my face in her cold, bony hands.

Before I could understand anything, she used her other hand to caress my trembling lips. Satisfied, she drove a sharpened nail along as pain shot through my lower lip.

Blood oozed from my now cut lip as a drop dripped till my chin. Tears clouded my vision when I saw her giving me a bone-chilling smile.

A shaky hiccup escaped me when she opened the basket to produce a shiny black snake. Its scales made a continuous silver geometry of spades along its lean body.

The sleek scaled snake eagerly slithered up and wrapped itself onto Olympias' arm and hissed, peeking out a two forked blood-red tongue.

For the life of me, I couldn't handle snakes.

Tears streamed down my face when she closed on with that dreadful creature. I continuously shook my head to a no, backing away scrambling on the floor. But couldn't go anywhere when Armonia kneeled behind and gripped my shoulder to keep me in place.

"P- Please no..." I sobbed, shaking in fear, but her grip only became tighter to the point it hurt when I moved.

"Stay still, woman. Don't make it difficult," she gritted out, "You can start Olympias."

I was close to a panic attack when Cheryl's voice boomed in my head.

"Cors, baby, relax. The snake won't do anything. It's a pet and trained. Don't move too much or make any noises, okay? Calm down, deep breaths."

She kept chanting deep breaths, and I focused my mind on her voice, following everything to keep me from becoming breathless.

The snake jerked its head, hissing at my hand. I immediately closed off my contact because no one could, but snakes having low frequency hearing could easily detect the signals emanating from my wrist.

Olympias reached for my blood-stained lip, swiping some over her thumb. She brought it down on the snake's mouth and it hissed out again, licking my blood off her thumb.

Petting its head, she lowered it on the floor and it slithered beside me, body moving in a smooth zig-zag manner. The action was enough to make me gag.

It was close to attacking range now. Which meant, if it decided to bite me, I would have no chance of escaping.

I bit my lip in anticipation, only to wince at the pain I had forgotten. The snake rose to a level and spread itself out, hissing out repeatedly.

I nearly fainted when it advanced on my leg.

Alexander's mother kept a keen attention on the snake's behaviour. Just when it was about to crawl onto my lap, she picked it lovingly. It hissed back, but she kissed its tiny mouth, making it retreat in her lap as if it was embarrassed at her action.

"My shy little boy," she cooed the snake, laughing to herself. Armonia left my shoulder, and I sagged in relief. Breath still ragged at what the heck had just happened.

"It's done, mistress," Cheryl emerged out the dark end of the room. The white snake wrapped around her arm, happily rising from her neck. I cringed.

Olympias walked to her. "Will you be able to take care of her? She's special to Alexander. Calms him when he's having a breakdown..." Cheryl mumbled something which I couldn't hear.

Julian's mother went to the wooden cupboard and fetched a cloth. When she came back, I spotted a glossy little thing and a box in her hand.

"Here," she passed me the cloth, ushering to wipe my bloody lips. I gently brought it down on my sensitive skin. Still, it burned at the touch.

"Use this. It would stop the bleeding," she handed me the small object. With trembling hands, I took the gold plated container. "Thank you, mistress." She didn't say anything, just nodded.

Proceeding to open the wooden box, she took out two golden arm amulets, shaped in the form of a bird with spread wings.

"Always wear them," she said, securing the amulet on my upper arms.

"They are the prestige of every woman, a protector in its own ways." After fixing them, she nodded her head in satisfaction.

"I- I apologise for my wrong conduct earlier, mistress. I'll always keep it in mind," I asked for forgiveness once again, given she didn't accept it earlier. It would be risky if she kept a grudge against me.

I felt her gaze for a while, cold and emotionless. It was strange how she didn't exude a motherly warmth that even Olympias had.

As if she was a very restricted person.

"Good," she kept a hand on my bowed head, then retreated to her chair.

"Women," Olympias clapped her hands. Cheryl and I took this as our cue to finally leave the room.

"Was it necessary to bring this thing along?" I asked, walking a foot away.

"She is my baby now," Cheryl petted the white snake.

"And you are Olympias' slave now."

"Oh, exactly," she whined, "Increasing my survival chances here," her voice was back to normal. I looked at her in confusion.

"So..." she dragged on, "How was my zombie act?"

"Huh?"

"Uh huh," she tutted, "High-class zombie performance by Cheryl Martinez. Sorry, not sorry I got you worried, hon," she winked.

"Kudos to Reuesme," I shook my head, opening the door to my room. She had done a good job of making us the submissive ancient women.

"Damn..." Cheryl collapsed on my bed, closing her eyes finally. She didn't want to show but was exhausted.

I came to sit by the edge. "What's with your sudden love for snakes?"

"I've loved them for a very long time." Her voice was just above a whisper, lost in her thoughts. The little white snake curled itself around her hand, hissing at her fingers. She didn't even flinch.

It was an odd sight. I never knew she had a thing for these creepy crawling critters.

"Aaah, shoot!" She rose all of a sudden, screaming. I looked at her hand in horror. The snake had bitten her.

"Cheryl! I told you, why do you have to risk so much?" I looked around the room frantically for some cure, but she stopped me with a raised hand.

"It's... okay," she calmly untangled the snake and stroked its head. My breath hitched when I saw her bitten area turning blue.

"You don't want to live here anymore?" I hiccuped, pointing to her poisoned hand. It could kill her.

She looked at the wound, then to me and again to her hand, letting out a soft sigh. "I'm immune to snake poison."

"H- How?" My voice broke. Something inside me broke, to know that I didn't know enough of my best friend.

"What has Olympias done to you?!"

No reply came from her side. She was absentmindedly moving her fingers through the snake's smooth white scales. Caressing it, soothing it, unaware of the probable pain on her hand.

It was highly rare for her to look melancholic, and now she looked lost.

A stray tear escaped her eyes.

My own eyes teared up at the sight. I swear I'd never ever seen her sad, lest cry.

"Cheryl," I uttered, careful not to hurt her because she looked close to breaking down altogether.

She jolted as if broken out a spell and looked ahead, doing nothing to wipe her tear-stained face.

"Did I just do the emotional blackmail stuff on you?" She grinned. She did well at hiding what just happened, but she wasn't aware. Her voice faltered a little at the end.

"You didn't answer my question," I responded, knowing it wasn't a joke.

"It's not about Olympias." she sighed, "You know I was a biology student, right? We had to do something with snakes that bought a memory, nothing else."

The snakes had triggered something from her past. I knew she was hiding. Her wavering gaze said it.

"Am I not worth sharing the memory with?" I asked softly. Hating to know she was hurting herself alone.

"Even I'm not worth the memory," she whispered, hopelessness trickling down her voice,

"It... It-" she let out a shaky breath.

"Leave it." She exhaled. "It... was the past. I could only say that... I left my favourite subject to forget my-" she choked midway, tears brimming back to her grey eyes.

I knew better not to push any further.

"Here." I gave some water, and she drank without another word.

"You don't have to explain." I gave her a soft smile. Whatever it was, it was hurting her more if she remembered it. I let it go.

"Thank you," she sighed, laying back on the bed, too tired to do anything without a sleep.