“More like she drank one herself,” I said. “A bad one.”
“It sounds like it hit her brain as well as her heart,” Castor said. “If she still thinks you want Jason, then you’re in grave danger, Helen. It’ll only get worse if she’s coming back on the Argo with us.”
The thought made my mouth taste sour. “She won’t believe me, even if I swear by the river Styx that I don’t want Jason. She’s too used to listening to her own madness to try listening to the truth, and I won’t be able to avoid her forever aboard the Argo.” All the pity I’d ever felt for Medea was overwhelmed by how deeply I’d come to fear her. I couldn’t keep my voice from breaking. “What am I going to do?”
My brothers put their arms around me and held me tight. “It’s all right, Helen,” Polydeuces said. “She won’t harm you.”
“Not while we’re here,” Castor added.
“But what can we do to keep her off the Argo?” I asked. “What if I warned Lord Aetes about Jason’s plan to—?” I stopped myself. “No. If the king believes Jason’s going to run off with his daughter, he’ll kill him.”
“Maybe us, too.” Castor looked troubled. “When you hear mice in the grain, you don’t kill only one.”
“We can’t stop Medea from boarding the Argo,” I said. “And I can’t be safe on the same ship with her. There’s only one way around this.” I looked at my brothers. “I have to go home.”
“You mean on some other ship?” Castor shook his head emphatically. “That’s impossible.”
“Why? The harbor here is filled with ships,” I said.
“That doesn’t mean that any of them are bound for Iolkos.”
“I don’t have to go back to Iolkos.” But I do have to return to Delphi, I thought. I can’t simply go home and leave the fisherman’s daughter pretending to be me. And Eunike will want to know that I’m all right. “Any port on the far side of the Hellespont will do. I can find another ship from there, or travel the roads.”
“It’s much too dangerous.”
“Not as dangerous as traveling with Medea,” I replied sharply.
Polydeuces intervened. “You’re both right. I’d say that of the two choices, Helen will be safest if she finds her own way back.”
“A girl traveling alone on a voyage that long?” Castor protested.
“I’ve done it before,” I reminded him. “Not as a girl.”
“Yes, well, er, a few things have changed about you since then.” His face turned a little red.
“I know how to count days and watch the changing of the moon,” I replied. “I won’t be taken by surprise again, even if I have to spend every day of the voyage wearing a—”
“All right, all right, I believe you!” Poor Castor couldn’t wait to drop the subject. “You’ll travel as a boy again. Fine.”
“And Milo will come with me, so I won’t be making the journey alone,” I said.
My brothers exchanged a doubtful look. “She does insist that they’re only friends,” Polydeuces said.
“So far,” Castor remarked. “The boy’s young, but not that young. Have you looked at him lately? I wager that by the time he reaches Sparta, he’ll have a thicker beard than Father’s.”
“Why are you talking about Milo and me as if I weren’t here?” I asked angrily. “What are you afraid will happen between us? Half the Argonauts believe it already did, but that doesn’t make it so.”
“Not yet,” Castor said. “People change, especially on a long voyage.”
“Why does this matter so much to you?”
“Because now, Helen, you can have a child,” Polydeuces replied. He lifted my chin gently. “You are the next ruler of Sparta. The man you marry will be Sparta’s king, and your children will rule our land after you. If you have a baby now, that child could grow up to challenge your other children for the throne. Sparta’s enemies would be only too happy to help that child raise an army, then swoop down on our lands in the wake of the war and devour anything that remains. When you’re dead, do you want to leave your people peace or chaos?”
I didn’t have to give him an answer. We both knew it.
“Now, Polydeuces, let her be,” Castor said, hugging me again. “Look at that face! Her brow’s all creased with worry, and for nothing. As if our little sister would ever give her heart to anyone less than a prince! As if a slave’s child could ever raise an army to take Sparta!”
I whirled out from under Castor’s arm. “Milo is no slave, and he’s worth ten princes!”
Castor sucked in his breath sharply and looked to Polydeuces. “All right, now I’m worried,” he said.
“Either you trust me or you don’t,” I said. “That’s your only worry. I’ve made my decision. I’m going to the waterfront, I’m praying to Poseidon that I’ll find the ship I need, and I’m going home. As a boy. With Milo.”
My brothers smiled. “It’s good to see you so confident again,” Polydeuces said. “But not too confident to reject some help from your devoted brothers?”
I threw my arms around their necks. “Never.”
As soon as we returned to the palace, we took Iolaus into our confidence. He agreed that the best course for me to take was one that carried me far from Medea, and the sooner, the better. He even volunteered to help us seek out the right ship for the task.
Poseidon must have heard my prayers. The very next day, Castor and Polydeuces found a Phoenician trading vessel set to sail for Athens the following dawn. That afternoon, they had me follow them into a small, disused storeroom and gave me the news that the ship’s captain stood ready to accept two passengers, “Prince Glaucus” of Sparta and “his” devoted servant.
“And never fear, you’ll both be properly dressed for your new roles,” Polydeuces said, handing me a cloth bundle. “We came back here through the marketplace. Hermes helped us trade well for these new tunics and sandals.”