I told Iolaus the whole story behind my decision to come to Iolkos and how I’d accomplished it. While I was talking, Milo returned. He was carrying a deep bowl filled with water. I took it from his hands with thanks and drank greedily. I’d never tasted anything so delicious!
“Slowly,” Iolaus cautioned me. “Gulping cold water can tie your guts in a knot.”
I set the bowl aside reluctantly. “I guess sometimes I need to be protected from myself.” I looked at him steadily. “But who’s going to protect me from you?”
He reacted as if I’d slapped him. “Why would you say such a thing?”
“Forgive me, that came out badly. You helped me today, and you were a good friend to my brothers and me when the boar hunt ended in disaster.”
“All I did was bring you terrible news,” he said. “Your cousin’s death, and then how his mother died by…” He sighed deeply, turning away from the memory of my aunt’s suicide.
I shook my head so that my sunstruck vision reeled. I’d have toppled sideways if both Milo and Iolaus hadn’t grabbed me at the same time. My friend shot a poisonous look at Iolaus, who let go of me and edged away from us, even though he could have shattered Milo’s wrist with one hand.
“Milo, no,” I said, shaking my head more cautiously this time. “I don’t need anyone to protect me from Iolaus. Since he’s recognized me, I need him to protect my secret.”
“What are you talking about?” A deep crease showed between Iolaus’s brows.
“When we sail on the Argo—” I began.
“‘We’?” He cut me off at once. “No. Out of the question. It’s too dangerous.”
“Why?” I asked. I spoke softly, but my pulse was racing. “This will let me join Prince Jason’s quest safely.” I gestured at my boy’s clothing. “The only reason you discovered me was because you know me and got a close look. Trust me, I won’t give Castor and Polydeuces that chance.”
“That’s not the danger I mean,” he said. “If I don’t stop you now and some dreadful fate befalls you on this voyage—the gods forbid it!—I couldn’t bear the guilt.”
I took a deep breath and tried a different tactic. “Iolaus, do you hate my brothers?”
“‘Hate’ them?” he echoed, puzzled.
“If you tell them I’m here, they’ll want to get me home. Whether they hire armed men to escort me to Sparta or take me back themselves and abandon the quest for the Fleece, it will draw attention. I’m not ashamed if people gossip about what I’ve done, but they will be.”
“I doubt you cared this much about their feelings when you chose this path,” Iolaus said. He didn’t raise his voice. The truth doesn’t need to be shouted.
“Maybe not,” I answered, looking him in the eyes. “But I had to choose it.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“No more ridiculous than why you’re ready to sail into the unknown. The only person who needs to chase after the Golden Fleece is Prince Jason, yet you and all the others are joining him for the sake of pure adventure. You hunger for it! Why can’t I?”
“Enough.” Iolaus raised his hand. “You win, for your brothers’ sake and because I’ve got the feeling you’d find a way to sneak aboard no matter how much they or I try to stop you. I wish some of the men I know had half your boldness. It’s strange to see it in a girl. Perhaps you’re really Atalanta’s daughter.”
My smile answered his. “My nurse, Ione, said I was Zeus’s child.”
“My uncle Herakles is supposed to be Zeus’s son. You two must be related. He’s a great one for following his heart first and thinking about the consequences afterward. Or never.” His teeth flashed in the shadows of the old fishwife’s home. “I’ll keep your secret.”
“Thank you. You won’t have to do it for very long. You said I didn’t care about my brothers’ feelings when I decided to join this quest. You were right. I’ve only been thinking about what I want.” I took a deep breath. What I was about to say tore at my heart, but I couldn’t escape it. “I’ll go back to Delphi. It’s one thing to take a chance with my own life, but not with so many others’.”
“Oh, I agree,” Iolaus said. “Which is why I intend to take very good care of my new weapons bearers.”
It was sunset when Iolaus left us. He waited until Melitta returned to ask if we could stay with her for one more night. “These boys work for me,” he told her. “We were separated on the road. I’d bring them up to the palace, but I get the feeling that Lord Pelias wouldn’t welcome the surprise of two more mouths to feed.”
The old woman snorted. “You don’t have to tell me about Lord Pelias. His fingers clench around every crumb. They won’t uncurl until he dies.”
“The lads won’t be a burden to you, Mother. I’ll bring you plenty of extra food and wine for them.”
“Keep it.” She nodded at me. “They’re welcome under my roof.”
“Spoken like someone who’s never seen them eat.” Iolaus chuckled. Then his voice turned serious. “Can I trust you to keep their presence here a secret?”
Melitta’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“Unless Iolkos is the only city where no one gossips, word could reach those men, the ones who scuffled with Glaucus. They might decide to stir up trouble.”
“Hunh! Not likely, the cowards,” she said.
“Cowards don’t pick fair fights,” I pointed out. “They might do something nasty and sly if they find out we’re here, something like…like—”
“Like starting a fire,” Milo piped up.
“That sounds like just what they would do,” the fishwife agreed, and promised to let no one know we were her guests.
That night she fed us flatbread and fat anchovies she’d broiled on a rock in the house’s fire pit. “Here, boys,” she said, holding out portions to Milo and me. “I’ll cook more soon enough. There’s plenty, thanks to that good master of yours. He’s no Lord Pelias, that’s for sure. Our false king wouldn’t give a bone to a starving dog unless he was planning to take its pelt to market and boil its bones for soup. Eat, eat!”