Chapter Text
It was a short trip. Polyboea remembered the deer walking straight without ever taking a turn, and she soon found them at the forest's edge. It was like the animal knew the right path leading them out here. This only fueled her suspicion that this deer was no ordinary animal.
“Hey,” Polyboea said after a long silence, “I don't think you're a stray deer, you're too intelligent to be one. Who is your master?”
The deer did not answer but continued walking. Polyboea thought it was ignoring her, but then she remembered that the deer could understand her but could not speak human language. She felt a little embarrassed.
While Polyboea was still brooding over her stupidity, the deer suddenly stopped. The pause in its movement caught Polyboea's attention. She looked up and saw a clear lake next to them.
“Do you want to stop for a drink?”
As soon as Polyboea asked, her mouth hung open when she saw a woman standing before her.
It couldn't have been a human being. There was something about this woman that made her look very different. She was very tall, and as she walked up to the deer Polyboea was riding, she was shocked to realize that the woman was almost as tall as the animal. She wore an ankle-length peplos, the skirt made of shimmering fabric that flared out like the halo of a star. Under the moonlight, the woman moved gracefully like a ghost gliding across the grass. Polyboea thought she was a ghost that escaped the Underworld, and in fear drew an arrow and was about to shoot.
“Is the first thing you do when you meet a stranger is wanting to shoot them?” A shrill voice, perhaps from the approaching woman, interrupted Polyboea's action.
The deer remained steadfast throughout, and when it saw the woman coming, it lowered itself slightly so that she could face the huntress princess whom it was carrying. In contrast to Polyboea's shock, the woman's gorgeous face remained calm as she said, “Let me help you down.”
Polyboea was confused, “No need. I can get down by myself.”
The woman stared at her disapprovingly. She pointed at Polyboea's left knee, its reddened skin could be skin beneath her ripped dress, “Your leg doesn't look too good. If you don't step carefully, it will hurt more. Let me help you.”
Faced with her insistence, Polyboea obliged, “Y-Yes. Thank you.”
She then took the woman's outstretched hand, allowing her to help her down from the deer. The woman was much taller than Polyboea but was gentle and patient in her support. When she set Polyboea down, she was careful not to hurt her sore leg.
“Watch your step,” the woman reminded her.
She then led Polyboea to the lake and helped her sit on the bank with her feet in the water. Polyboea thought the woman wanted her to wash her leg, so she removed her gear and set them aside so they wouldn't get in the way. Then, to Polyboea's surprise, the woman began to help her wash her injured leg.
“Oh, um,” Polyboea wanted to pull her leg back, “You don't need to do that. I can wash it.”
“Sit still,” the woman tightened her grip on Polyboea, not letting her squirm around. She scooped water and poured it on her knee and calf, explaining, “Let me wash it, then it will work.”
Polyboea had expected the water to sting, but it didn't. She watched in disbelief as her red skin slowly returned to its normal shade after a few rinses, and the wound with a dark, hideous red mouth began to close itself and be covered with new skin. After soaking her legs in the lake for a while, Polyboea no longer felt that dull, running pain. She pulled her leg up, letting the water drip from her leg, and stared at her leg, which now had only a faint scar at the knee to prove that there had once been a wound.
Both surprised and grateful, Polyboea turned around and smiled at the woman, “Thank you for helping me.”
Seeing that Polyboea had been fully healed, the woman finally relaxed her solemn features. She nodded slightly, the bright smile that began to draw on her face made her look even more lovely.
“I haven't got to know your name,” Polyboea said. She then pointed to herself, “I am Polyboea.”
The woman laughed, “Don't you recognize me?”
Polyboea was confused by her question. She licked her lips, tentatively asking, “I assume you are a nymph?”
“That is close,” the woman's eyes sparkled like stars as she smiled, “I am one of the seven Pleiades. My name is Taygete.”
Polyboea flinched at the introduction. She scrambled to the bank, hurriedly kneeling in a low bow, “Oh, Great Goddess! It is my discourtesy to have you humble yourself at me when it should have been the opposite. I apologize a thousand times–”
She was about to say more, but she heard a chuckle above. Before Polyboea could understand what was going on, two hands reached out to help her up so she could see the constellation goddess.
Taygete cupped Polyboea's face, reassuring her, “Don't be afraid, my great-granddaughter. I won't hurt you.”
“Great-granddaughter?” Polyboea thought she had misheard.
“Yes,” Taygete nodded, “I am the mother of Lacedaemon, your maternal grandfather. It seems your parents didn't teach you well about your ancestors, no?”
Her words rang a bell in the young princess' head.
Comely Taygete - who was one of Titan Atlas' seven heavenly daughters, the stars that danced across the sky as the Pleiades constellation and were once the close companions of Artemis the Divine Huntress.
Nimble Taygete - who fled from the King of the Gods but eventually bore him a son. That son would grow up to be the first king of the Spartan Kingdom and, in turn, honored his mother by declaring her the namesake of the great mountain range in the Southern peninsula.
Golden-hearted Taygete - who cried a summer rain when her only son had lived out his mortal life. But the noble goddess loved her son still and all the children descended from him. And one of those descendants was kneeling before her eyes, the shocked and dumbfounded huntress.
Polyboea's cheeks heated with embarrassment. She bowed from the gaze of her divine ancestor, “My apology, great-grandmother. It was my oversight for not recognizing you.”
“It's alright. Now, come,” Taygete helped Polyboea back in her seat, “Tell me, my good girl. How did you get hurt like this?”
Polyboea heard her question and shyly looked down at her legs. Without holding back anything, she recounted, “I went hunting for a wild boar, and unfortunately, I was gored. Then I tried to find my way home but got lost and…,” she blinked, “The deer. The golden-antlered deer found me during my mishap and brought me to you!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Polyboea turned around and saw the deer she had just mentioned leisurely grazing not far away. It seemed to sense the hunter's gaze, and it immediately lifted its head, its mouth still chewing grass. Its signature golden antlers glistened under the moon.
“Yes, it found you,” Taygete affirmed, looking at the same animal as Polyboea, “That is Lady Artemis' treasured Ceryneian deer.”
No wonder the deer looked different. This was a sacred animal!
The revelation of the magical truth excited Polyboea to no end. In her childish beaming, the barrier between divine and mortal separating her from her great-grandmother now dissipated. She belted, “Is it the buck you offered the Olympian goddess? No wonder it listens to you as well!”
Taygete looked at Polyboea for a moment. She blinked, “It's a hind, Polyboea.”
Polyboea's cheerful smile froze. Being immediately corrected made her regret running her mouth without thinking. The girl then hid her face behind her hands, “It's my fault, it's my fault.”
Taygete gently rubbed her back, “Don't beat yourself over it. Most female deers don't have antlers, so it's normal to mistake the Ceryneian for a male one.”
As she spoke, Taygete looked up at the sky. Polyboea didn't know what she was looking for but followed suit, bending back her neck and staring at the hemisphere above. The veil of Nyx the Primordial Night was painted with stars shining with the celestial light of her sisters and constellation deities, all dancing around the great, round moon that hung in the center of the grand canvas. The night had just started, and it would be long before dawn came back.
“It's getting late now. It will be inconvenient for you to continue your travel,” the Pleiades goddess said, “There is a temple of Lady Artemis nearby. I will take you there to stay for the night. You can return to the palace tomorrow morning.”
Polyboea looked up when she heard her words. Her great-grandmother was right. She had no torch, no map, and she would not be able to see the way even if she walked.
“Yes,” Polyboea replied softly, “It will be as you arranged.”
Gathering her hunting gear and standing from her seat, Polyboea felt a soft cloth covering her body. She looked down and saw that Taygete had draped a cloak over her.
“So you won't be cold,” Taygete said. After fastening the cloak, she helped Polyboea drape her bag and quiver over her shoulders. When done, she reached down and took the girl's smaller hand. “Shall we go?”
Polyboea squeezed the goddess' soft hand, then looked at the Ceryneian hind strolling toward her. Now, she didn't feel so alone anymore. She answered softly, her voice almost a breath, “Let's go.”