by Andromeda
"Still in the battlefield," Kila answers. "From what I can tell. Please, Princess, calm down."
"I want Father!" Philomena cries. "I want my father!"
"You will see him later," she promises. "Trust me."
Philomena doesn’t know how much time passes; later in the evening, Kila leaves to get them some dinner. Philomena seizes her chance to go and see him. Leaving a sleeping Matthias, she creeps out of the tent in search of the royal one.
Uncle Titus said the arrow was poisoned and people always die when poison is in their system.
When she finds it, she frowns. A dark shape lurks in the shadows and when she sees the flash of soft pink silk, Philomena knows instantly who it is. Roshni. Making not a sound, Philomena follows her, her soft footsteps unheard by the older woman because of her size. Philomena slips into the tent after her, her heart freezing at what she sees.
Roshni holds a pillow in her hands and is slowly bringing it down to smother Alexander. Philomena looks franticly around for something to use against her, and seeing the bow and arrow, she picks it up. Notching the arrow and pointing it at her, Philomena inhales deeply.
"Don't you make another move," she says, lowly.
Roshni freezes, and slowly turns around, those unyielding dark-blue eyes boring into Philomena’s soul and she can see her smirk behind that veil. "What..." she says in a voice as smooth as silk. "Are you going to do with that?"
"I... I'll release it," Philomena stammers. "Or call the guards. Get away from my father!"
Roshni laughs bitterly. "That is so funny. Don't make me hurt you, little princess, my master wants you alive."
"Master?"
"King Xerxes, of course," she says. "He still wants you for his son. After I kill your brother and father, you will be the heir to Sparta. Once given to Xerxes' son, he will rule the greatest kingdom in the world!"
Philomena flinches at her words. She remembers her mother telling her that Xerxes wants her for his son...but she knew such a thing was not what Zenobia wanted. "I'd rather die than go with him," she snaps.
The older woman sighs and turns back to Alexander. "I will get back to you in a moment. Right now, I must deal with this."
She reached back down for the pillow, but Philomena releases the arrow, pinning it to the ground. Roshni looks at her with wide eyes in shock and then her eyes narrow with fury. "Don't make me hurt you," she growls.
"Don't make me hurt you," Philomena repeats.
"You, hurt me?" she laughs. "You are nothing more than a frightened little girl! What are you to me?"
That makes Philomena’s temper flair. Pulling back the second arrow, she releases it. The arrow flies and buries itself into Roshni’s shoulder. She staggers back, her eyes wide with shock as she holds her shoulder.
"You horrible little girl..." she says through gritted teeth.
Philomena notches another arrow and then release it, this one burying itself into her thigh. "No..." she says firmly. "I am not just a girl! I am a Princess of Sparta and as such, I sentence you to death!"
Before she can protest, Philomena notches one last arrow and releases it; this time, it buries itself right in the middle of Roshni’s forehead. She coughs, spitting blood, before falling over dead. Philomena can't believe what she just did. She feels...strong and powerful, but also a bit sad that she had to use force to kill her. A stirring on the bed however draws her attention and she sees her father slowly rolling over.
"Mena?" he croaks.
"Father," she whispers, rushing over and falling to her knees at his side.
He strokes her hair. "You are so much...so much like your mother...tell her I love her when she comes back."
"Father, please," she whispers, tears in her eyes. "Father, please don't die!"
"I am...so proud of you," he wheezes, as if every word is painful for him.
"FATHER!" Matthias cries behind them.
Turning to look at him, Philomena sees that he, Kila and Titus stand there, tears in their own eyes.
Matthias rushes over and kneels at his father’s side, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Father, please don't die!"
"I love you both so much..." Alexander wheezes. "And your mother...and your brother...and your new sibling growing inside her...tell her she was the best thing that ever happened to me..."
They can only watch with rivers of tears pouring down their cheeks as their father, the great Alexander, dies before them and passes on to the underworld.
*************
A great shout fills the camp from the royal tent. Tears flow unchecked down Zenobia’s cheeks as cries of sorrow pour from her lips. Alexander’s limp body is pressed to her chest, as she rocks back in forth.
"No..." she cries. "No... No... No! He can't be dead! He can't be!"
All around her, her friends and family stand still, tears pouring down their own cheeks as they mourn. He was their king, their friend, and he was taken from them. He was her lover, the father of her children, and he was taken from her.
"We are so sorry, Zenobia," Titus says softly.
"I loved him," she whispers. "I loved him!"
"And he loved you too," Anthea says. "He is with the gods right now and is waiting for you."
"Then I will join him!" Zenobia cries out, momentarily crazed by grief. "Give me a dagger!"
"No, Zenobia!" Kila says. "Zenobia, we need you!"
"I can't live without him! I have nothing to live for!"
"You have children to care for," Anthea says firmly. "And a kingdom to rule! Your son is under sage. Alexander would never forgive you if you let Sparta go to ruin, which it will if it doesn't have a strong leader."
Zenobia sniffs; Anthea is right. Sparta does need a strong leader. Matthias is under age; he needs a regent, and only she can provide that stability until he comes of age. Turning back to Alexander, she gently presses her lips to his before pulling away.
"I will come with you soon, my love," she whispers. "Wait for me."
Epilogue – Zenobia POV
Fifty years later…
A cough racks my body, groaning, I try to sit up, but my stiff bones make me unable to do so and instead, one of my nursemaids rushes over and holds a cloth to my mouth until the coughing stops. With a soft groan, I sit back on my bed and the nursemaid goes back to her seat.
Looking at her, as well as the other women, I can tell they do not want to be here. To them, I am nothing but an old crone that they are forced to take care of every day even though they are richly paid for it. They are young and foolish; they know who I am, but it does not matter to them.
It has been over fifty years since I first stepped foot in Sparta and I never would have thought that I'd die here. So many things have happened since that battle...
We returned to Sparta in glory and after the surrender of the Persians, we allowed them to return to their kingdom. I ruled as Queen Regent for eighteen years for my son, but in the end, Matthias showed that he had no desire to rule as king, and instead wished to be an explorer. It was by him that we later found routes to new kingdoms called Asia.
My son Anaxandridas also did not wish to be king; instead, he joined the army to become one of our greatest generals and was soon followed by his younger brother. Not long after our return, I gave birth to another set of twins, also a boy and a girl. However, it was my eldest daughter, Philomena, that surprised me the most.
She proved at a young age in the right to rule and word soon spread throughout the world of not only her beauty, but also her intelligence and battle prowess. Such intelligence was soon called upon when the Persians began to act up again and my brave daughter offered herself up in marriage to Xerxes' son, who was now king.
Their marriage did not start out well—the boy openly kept a mistress—while also demanding fidelity from my daughter. Philomena instead turned to the arms of her friend Adeeku. I wouldn't exactly say that she used him to make the Persian fight for her love, and in the end, he showed that he had the right to be called ki
ng consort of Sparta.
Afterwards, knowing that my daughter could handle herself, I retired. Yes, I stayed on the council, but I needed time to myself. I didn't take another husband; Leonidas was and could only be the one for me. Now I lay on my deathbed.
I know I will be deeply mourned and even now I can feel my life ebbing away. The coughing begins again and this time, it will not stop until I'm dead. The nursemaids rush to me, but I wave them away; I'm not afraid of death.
Darkness begins to consume my vision and then suddenly, there is a bright light. When it dies down, I'm standing in a lush field of grass, the warm sun bearing down on me.
"You're late," a deep voice says behind me.
Turning around, my heart freezes in my chest and I see that it's Alexander. He looks exactly as he did the first time I saw him so many years ago and when I look down at my hands, I see them to be young, not wrinkled and worn.
"Where am I?" I ask, my voice echoing.
"Elysian Fields," he says smiling. "Also known as the Fields of the Blessed. Those that have lived righteous and heroic lives come here. I have been waiting for you, my love."
He holds out a hand to me and slowly I reach out to take it. In my mind, my life flashes before my eyes as our flesh connects. My birth in Ethiopia, growing up as a princess, the ambush of my people, becoming Alexander’s slave, gaining my freedom and carrying the twins. Giving him a chance and becoming queen, his death and raising my children alone...but in all of these circumstances, I have always stayed strong.
I thought that when I got captured I would only be a slave for the rest of my life. But in the end, I got so much more. I have gone through a metamorphosis in my life: princes, slave, queen. In the end I had to fight for what I wanted, to fight for my family. I might have started out as his captive bride, but in the end I turned out to be, the warrior of his heart.
Book Two Sneak Peak
The story isn’t over; coming soon is the tale of Philomena, the daughter of Alexander and Zenobia. While she owns the throne of Sparta by right, people still view her claim as weak because she is a woman. Join Philomena on a quest to prove that she has what it takes in order to rule in her own right.
Author’s Note
Andromeda (also writing under the name R.E. Nova) was born in the Bay Area of California and spent much of her childhood in both the Westcoast as well as the Southeast state of Georgia. Diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a developmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.
Because she wasn’t that open to other humans, young Andromeda would turn to books, reading at an early age, and was always found with a pile of books near her person. Her imagination grew because of her reading ability and she began to tell stories to her friends and families. Her favorite was a book called The African Queen that took parts from the history of Nefertiti, Nefertari, Cleopatra with a hint of fantasy. Her mother always told her that her dreams were as numerous as the stars and she later took it, along with the first name Andromeda, to make her currant penname.
Starting to write in middle school, she didn’t exactly begin to really go out into the world and write until her second year of college when she discovered the online community of Wattpad. A site that allows people to vote, write and comment on stories, it has well over 45 million members that grows every day. Realizing how good a tool this could be, Andromeda joined and through her first book, The Love Contract, has over 5.03-thousand followers that continues to grow every day. She is well rounded with books ranging from Young Adult Fiction, New Adult Fiction, Vampire, Historic Fiction, Fantasy, Chick Lit/Romance, Werewolf, Paranormal and so much more. Coming later this year are two New Adult books and one Young Adult books titled: Blue is be Beloved, Perfectly Legal and A Rose from the Ashes.
When she isn’t writing, she is studying as her dream is to go into the law field and writes for fun, not a job. However, if the option ever did come for her writing to come full time, she would take it, but continue her studies in order to send money to the law practices in order to help other people’s lives. Her hobbies include cooking, hanging with her family and volunteering and normally writes with headphones on her head as listening to music helps inspire her.
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