The Girl Who Loved the Black Horse (7)
When she opened her eyes, the man who had violated Achilles and put a child in her was, of course, nowhere to be found.
Tetis was there instead.
She wept at the sight of her daughter’s condition, yet Achilles herself remained calm, accepting everything and soothing her mother by insisting she was fine.
From the circumstances it was clear her daughter had been violated, so Tetis tried to rush off to the nymphs and dryads to learn the monster’s identity. Achilles stopped her with a simple “There’s no need,” and instead demanded a warm place to rest and a place to give birth. For some reason her mood had loosened into something almost pleasant, enough that Tetis—whose eyes had been spinning with rage—found it strange.
As expected of a monster’s child, the pregnancy did not last long. Achilles gently stroked the life settling in her belly, gathered her ruined gear, and issued a stern warning to the nymphs who had first introduced her to Epitropos.
“I don’t know why you tried to kill him, and I won’t pry since it looks like you had your reasons. But now that it’s come to this, you’ll take responsibility.”
Only then did the nymphs speak honestly.
“He made the forest stink. He defeated the outsiders and helped the dryads, and he had their permission—but he never asked ours before turning the place into a dung heap. We thought you could take him down. This whole mess started as our prank, so as apology we’ll help you until the child is born.”
Achilles seemed satisfied and accepted their offer. She then called the dryads—who, unlike the nymphs, had been friendly toward Epitropos—and together they built a shelter. Trees woven together formed a primitive hideaway large enough for two, yet it was comfortable enough.
Bulge—!
Once she had a place to rest easy, her belly swelled day after day. Could a human stomach really grow that large? The birth, naturally, came just as fast.
“Aaaauuuuggghhhh!!!!”
The labor pains began suddenly a week later. She had expected it to be quick, but the speed still caught everyone off guard. Under the moonlight, nymphs and Tetis who had been startled awake hurried over and attempted a water birth with Achilles. They had braced for a difficult delivery, yet Achilles’s body was so sturdy that even birthing a horse the foal simply slid free—leaving the assisting nymphs thoroughly flustered.
“────────!!!”
A single horse, black as if it had taken after its mother, stood proudly and let out a high cry. Unlike its father it had neither horn nor wings, yet its unnatural growth rate was enough to make the very Achilles who had just delivered it blink in bewilderment.
“Your name is Epiphos. Epiphos.”
Prurrrrrrrr!!!!
The black horse answered its mother Adanasia Achilles with a high, ringing call. Young as it still was, its cleverness seemed to take after its father; intelligent black eyes blinked, then it dashed over and pressed itself against the exhausted woman. Different species or not, mother and child clearly shared a bond.
They stayed a few more days while she nursed the child.
Even though it was a horse, Epiphos thrived on the milk of a mother whose heroic blood ran thick, and its growth was anything but normal. By modern standards, after only a week it was wandering off on its own, bringing back wild game as offerings to its mother. Another week later it had grown large enough to be called a warhorse without shame—leaving even the dryads who had given them shelter looking stunned.
Beyond mere fine steed or warhorse, Epiphos carried the dense blood of hero and hero. It enjoyed both grass and meat, and it loved the hunt. At this point calling it simply a horse already felt awkward, yet its nature was kind; despite the breakneck birth it still brought food to the exhausted Achilles who lay recovering. The dryads and nymphs who had first feared it gradually opened their hearts.
Tetis alone seemed displeased with the sudden appearance of Epiphos and fretted the entire time—until she finally shut her mouth. It was not that she had grown fond of the horse; she simply could not ignore Achilles’s feelings. Epiphos, for its part, seemed to know Tetis disliked it and never approached her. The only times they crossed paths were when Tetis cooked whatever Epiphos had hunted.
Thanks to that devoted care, Achilles recovered quickly. In sheer physical toughness she yielded to no one, so within roughly a month she finished preparing to leave.
“Prurrrr!!! Prurrrrrrrr!!!!”
Beneath the high sun Epiphos tossed its black mane and leapt, while Achilles astride it swayed her hips in pure delight. The saddle was the one Epitropos—Epiphos’s father—had left behind, and it fit perfectly; mother and son were both in excellent spirits.
“Hyaah! Hyaah! Uwahahahaha!!!! Just revived and already running free—this feels amazing~! You feel it too, right?! Huh?!”
“Prurrrrrrrr!!!!”
“Uhohohohohot!!!! Really? Really? You too?! That’s my boy! Ahahahat!!!”
Whatever languor the birth had left was gone; the moment she was back on her feet she was tearing around again, making Tetis—who had fretted that the rape-and-pregnancy combo might leave her daughter depressed—look like a complete fool.
(This child really is Achilles’s blood, isn’t it. I want to dote on it but I just can’t warm up to it… still, it’ll make a fine companion for her.)
Today, as always, Tetis rode quietly inside her daughter’s water skin and watched the mother-and-son rampage with a sigh. She had hoped the violation might make Achilles a little quieter; the opposite had happened. Even without weapons, any outsiders they met along the way were smashed to pieces by Epiphos’s hind kicks. It felt as if the tomboy count had simply doubled.
“More ruffians over there! Hyaah!”
“Prurrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!”
Crunch!
They galloped without hesitation even through the forest, even climbing trees for higher jumps, then used all four hooves to stomp a boar flat and kill it. Blood and entrails fouled the surroundings, yet the two only laughed joyfully while Tetis alone had to sigh in pity.
After thanking the dryads and following their directions, they raced toward Argos as if riding the wind itself. Travelers on pilgrimage to Argos caught sight of Achilles flashing past and toppled over in shock; by the time they glared after her she had already vanished from view.
And so, one way or another, they reached Argos and immediately sought their destination.
“Hey there! I heard a little brat named Perseus lives around here?!”
She was in such a good mood that her usual rough speech softened as she asked an old man—yet the old man, aged though he was, raised his voice.
“Now see here! How rude! I don’t know who you are, but to call him a brat when you don’t even know His Grace’s kindness! Perseus 2 is respected by every citizen of Argos—young or not, mind your manners!”
“Hoh.”
That confirmed it was the Perseus of the rumors; Achilles’s mouth stretched into a wide grin. Epiphos, for reasons of its own, looked even more excited than before. The old man who had scolded Achilles helpfully added that “right now he’ll be holding court in the square,” and at those words Epiphos moved its legs faster than its mother could urge.
“Whoa, whoa, Epi? Let’s go together with Mom.”
“Prurrrrrr!!!!”
A woman walking around in broad daylight was already unusual; add ruined gear and a black horse and every eye turned. Yet the stares were milder than in other cities—and the reason soon became clear.
A noisy, murmuring crowd of citizens.
A trial was in full swing at the center of the agora.
It’s lively here in a different way from where we came from. Women are out watching too, so this must be a regular thing.
“Yeah. No wonder the stares felt less sharp.”
The Argos citizens gathered in the square were all chattering about the current trial. The defendant was a local hunter; some believed he had committed murder, others insisted he had always been well-behaved and would never kill. Standing as judge, Perseus 2’s bright black eyes flashed sharply, and beside him stood the hunter’s older brother—the one who had witnessed the crime and reported it—looking proud.
“—Do you have anything to say in your defense?”
“……No.”
It seemed the charges had just been read; Perseus 2’s words cut off. Word spread that the hunter had committed the unfilial act of murdering his own elderly mother. The defendant kept his head quietly bowed, looking as if he himself had no idea how any of this would unfold.
“Lord Perseus. My younger brother did kill our mother, yet until that moment he was a kind-hearted man who cared for her. This was a drunken mistake—please remember that and grant him merciful judgment.”
“Brother…”
The younger brother looked up at his elder with respect and gratitude, but the spectators’ reactions were uniformly cold. In this age, even if the gods themselves might overlook it, unfilial murder among humans ranked among the worst crimes. Someone hurled a pottery shard and cursed the younger brother; the crowd looked ready to turn into a lynch mob at any moment.
“Oh-ho. Whatever the circumstances, such brotherly love is a fine sight. To plead for a sibling who killed your own parent is no easy thing. Yet if we treat murder lightly just because it was a ‘mistake,’ it sets no example for others and the law ceases to function. I shall follow Lord Hades’s example and punish this matter fairly and justly.”
Hear, hear—! Hear, hear—!
Punish him—!
The outer crowd roared. Perseus 2 let them shout for a moment, then raised an open palm at just the right timing and quieted them. Crowds getting worked up was apparently common enough that everyone settled quickly, and only Perseus’s low voice carried through the square.
“However, before I pass sentence I heard one interesting rumor. Word is the old mother had considerable hidden wealth and intended to leave it all to the kind youngest son who had cared for her all this time. She spoke of it quietly for fear the eldest might start a fight—did you know?”
“Where did you hear that rumor?”
“Who knows? Perhaps from your late parents. For some reason my ears have been itching all day, as if the dead were whispering right beside them.”
“Wh-what nonsense?!”
“Is that truly so? You there, the one with your head bowed. You, the principal party—you knew, didn’t you? That your mother meant to leave the fortune to you?”
“Th-that’s… true, but… how did you…”
Perseus stepped down from the center of the square, raised the kneeling younger brother to his feet, and set him side-by-side with the elder. The older brother’s expression grew steadily more rotten; the quicker-witted citizens realized something was very wrong.
“And who poured the wine for you the day of the ‘accident’?”
“M-my brother.”
“I hear your brother was famous for his dissolute ways and rarely even came home—yet that day he brought an unusually fine jar of wine.”
“That’s true… but where are you hearing all this…”
“Again I say—perhaps your parents have not yet gone down to the Underworld and are still clinging to my side. After all, their beloved son is about to hang for a crime he never committed; what parent would descend below? Isn’t the old mother simply doing what any mother would?”
“A-aaaah, aigoo!!!”
While the older brother clamped his mouth shut and turned deathly pale, the younger brother wailed and bowed again and again—clearly offering thanks to the mother who must be watching from somewhere.
“Let’s see… a foolish older brother jealous of his good younger brother… got him drunk… then, while reason was gone, killed the mother himself and lied that the younger brother had done it in a drunken rage… Do you have anything to say about that…?”
“S-slander! I never did any such thing! I may be dissolute, but I’m not so wretched that I’d murder kin over an inheritance!”
“Oh-ho. So you’re saying the old mother is lying? Then speak it proudly with that fine mouth of yours.”
At Perseus’s gesture, a jar already prepared among the crowd was brought forward—brimming with water from the River Styx. Accustomed to such things, the citizens shook their heads and were already condemning the older brother’s foolishness.
“Swear upon the name of the Styx that you did not kill your mother. Succeed, and your name is cleared while your brother’s murder charge is proven—trial over.”
“A-uh, uuuuh, uuuh~?! Uuuuuuugh~!”
“To get your brother so drunk he believed he had killed your parent—quite the feat. You thought if you made him confess to a crime that never happened, you could dodge the Styx oath, didn’t you? Clever idea, but your mother did not help you. Having committed the unfilial act, even in hell you won’t escape the scolding.”
“Uuuugh! Uuuh?! Uwaaaaaah!!!!”
In the end he could not swear upon the Styx, and the murder was confirmed. Perseus roughly kicked the older brother into the crowd; they seized the unfilial villain and locked him in a cage prepared in advance.
“B-brother! Brotheeer! Even if you hadn’t done this I would have shared the fortune with you! Why?!”
“If you’d trusted your brother enough to feel real affection, you wouldn’t have put your hands around your parents’ necks.”
At the younger brother’s cry and Perseus’s single remark, the caged older brother thrashed one last time and shouted.
“Aaaah! Stop! I didn’t kill her! I didn’t kill her! I swear upon the Styx! I did not kill my moth—?! A-aaaaah, uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!”
With those final words an ugly black soul, visible even to ordinary eyes, tore free of his body and dove straight into the jar of Styx water. Soul cast into the River Styx of the Underworld, the body left in the cage went still and cold—a corpse.
“Aigoo! Aigoooo! Brotheeer!”
The kind younger brother gazed at the sibling who had tried to frame him and wailed to the end, yet the trial closed without fail.
“Today’s court ends with this case! In memory of the wrongfully dead I shall offer prayers at the temple—those who wish to mourn the departed, prepare yourselves properly and ascend the Acropolis! Furthermore, no one but the brother shall be permitted to place the ferryman’s coin upon the corpse of the unfilial one! Any who disobey will be whipped without mercy!”
Perseus’s cold, clean words carried none of a child’s tone; they were more than enough to command the respect of all who heard them.
“Thank you… thank you…”
“I’ll make an offering—use it well…”
“Thanks to you we can live in peace again today…”
“We’ll count on you tomorrow as well…”
Bow after bow. Bow after bow.
People filled the path he took, lowering their heads without blocking his way.
“Thank you. I am grateful that you elders humor a child’s antics, yet please take care not to harm your health by standing too long in the sun.”
“Aigoo… such precious words for an old man with so few days left…”
Especially the older folk bowed deeply in respect; he returned the courtesy with equal politeness before departing. The Styx water was carefully carried away by the sturdy soldiers he had brought, and the surrounding people would never allow anyone to harm him—so theft was impossible.
You could stand to learn a thing or two.
“Q-quit nagging! Hmph!”
Having watched the entire scene, Achilles herself thought back—“What was I doing at that age?”—and became certain the rumors were no lie.
At the same time…
Her womb pointed an accusing finger and whispered, “That one.”
*
*1) hippos (ἵππος) (horse / warhorse) + Epitropos (ἐπίτροπος)