And That's How They Met...

Violence has no part to play in bringing about peace. Love and kindness can achieve better results than a sword and spear. Or, so I believed. Has a rabid dog ever listened to reason or reacted to your kindness? Never!

- Diary Of Ophelia

Celosia was talking with the villagers about the incident and seeing to the solution to their troubles when she heard a few raised voices from not so far away. She went on to find the source of those voices and found a few of her soldiers in a heated battle with a stranger. Three against one and the young man was faring well.

The young man had the height of about 6 feet and a well-defined body with a head full of raven coloured hair. He was well dressed giving off an air of someone wealthy. She, her curiosity piqued, listened in to their conversation.

"Why can't you answer my simple questions?" He was heard asking impatiently while slashing his sword ruthlessly and a deep wound was formed on the arm of a soldier.

"We are not obliged to answer you," one of the soldiers said in an enraged voice.

" They are the finest soldiers of the Falcon army. Their monarch doesn't stand for men with unruly behaviour. The one whom you've tied up on that tree over there is the Crown Prince's trusted Captain. I suggest you let them all free and explain to His Majesty the reason why you have captured them." He said while evading their attack and moving back.

"Well then, I suggest you bring your Crown Prince here so that we can let him know about the atrocities committed by his trusted soldiers." Celosia said with in a dark tone.

The man paused and turned around on hearing a voice better suited for a teenager. But the authority it seemed to carry didn't escape his notice.

"And who are you, young lad?"

'Young lad!? Was he addressing her!!??'

She stood there like a statue, motionless. 'Those eyes.... they look so familiar. Those brown eyes, that black hair....but the beard looked not so rough. It seemed as if it was kept short. But his face except for that beard, look so familiar. It's him!! The one in my dream!! Isn't it??'

Well, truth be told the young man was not to be blamed. Celosia did look like a teenage boy with her 5' 3'' long elfin stature. To top it, she was in male clothings. Even if females being that short was common, males were of much better height. And she was wearing a piece of cloth around her face, successfully covering the lower part of her face.

" Lieutenant Perseus." the soldiers bowed.

Celosia was brought back from her thoughts by their voice.

'Lieutenant!!' To say that the young man was surprised would be the understatement of the century. 'And what a pair of mesmerizing eyes. Huh, Jason, are you now getting attracted by a pair of eyes of a young lad? Get a grip on yourself.'

"So you are the one in charge here, I presume?"

"You could say that." She replied. Her confusion about the identity of the man caused her voice to be rough.

"Then I'm sure you will be willing to let them go."

"You have so much confidence in them, it seems. Care to explain why you were exchanging blows with my soldiers?"

"You are not in a position to question me!"

" Lieutenant, we were just following your orders. This man wanted to let those rogues escape. We couldn't stand by and let him do it." A soldier said in a righteous tone. They knew the dire results of inviting the wrath of Lieutenant Perseus on themselves. They would rather blame the stranger.

"Well, so you want to help the culprits escape it seems. Not on my watch!" She took out her swords in style.

"I don't want to fight you, lad. You are too young to duel with me."

"Let my sword speak for me." She said while rushing forward to land a strong blow on him.

The young man blocked it easily with his sword.

She ducked with a sudden speed and struck him from another angle.

"You..." The man's voice was laced with surprise. Blood had soaked his clothes on his right side. "Well, so you are a bloodthirsty little demon, aren't you?" He chuckled like he would enjoy sparring with her. "Well, bring it on then. I would be willing to oblige you."

And then they were like two panthers fighting for a prey. It was a sight to behold. Beauty, agility, style and ruthlessness combined together to present an unforgettable visual experience.

Both didn't escape unscathed from each other's sword play. While Celosia used her agility to its utmost extent, he relied on his strength. Both had skills that an onlooker could not help but be jealous of. The young man was careful to not injure the 'young lad' much, which resulted in him getting injured a lot more than Celosia. Blood had started to drop from their wounds and neither showed an inclination to stop the fight.

Both of them were so immersed in their fight that they didn't hear the sound of the approaching horses. The three soldiers stood there in a daze, dilemma etched on their faces.

By the time the group of soldiers led by the king had reached them, both had inflicted numerous wounds on each other. Celosia was in the process of striking a blow on the young man when he threw his sword down abruptly. He took advantage of that moment of surprise. He held her hands and applied immense pressure on her wrists, which caused her to lose the grip on both of her swords. While she was trying to break off his hold on her, he pulled her close, held both her hands in one of his and kept the knife he had pulled out from his waist at her neck.

"Let's stop this nonsense, kid."

"Stop it both of you." Zeus roared. He had rushed into the place of unrest as soon as he was informed about the duel between his eldest daughter and a stranger, who it seemed, was a better sword master than Celosia.

The young man took the knife off her neck and released her hands. She shot him a glare and retrieved her swords from the ground and bowed to her father.

"Your Highness."

"Lieutenant Perseus. Care to explain what is happening here?"

"A group of strange men were terrorising the citizens, Your Highness. They behaved atrociously towards women. We had no choice than to subdue and tie up the attackers. This man here wanted to let them escape. So I was trying to stop him."

"What? They behaved in an atrocious manner towards women? You three didn't tell me that. In fact, you didn't even give me the proper details." The young man glared at the three soldiers.

"And who are you young man? What are you doing in my country?"

"I'm…"

He was interrupted by the sound of an approaching army.

"Soldiers, be ready!" Zeus ordered.

"No, they are not a threat." The young man said on seeing the group of people coming in their direction.

"And how would you know that?"

"Because they are my people."

"Your Highness." The mighty falcon army had come to the aid of their Crown Prince.

"Stand back. Everything's been taken care of. Lieutenant Andreas, you'll want to keep our injured informer in sight. I would definitely like to see him in private later."

"King Zeus, I'm Jason, the crown prince of the Isles of Apollo. And about the incident here, it seems that I was given the wrong information. And when I tried to verify the info I received, your soldiers not only refused to give proper answers, but also were downright rude and attacked me first. I had no choice but defend myself."

"You were attacked first?" Celosia said incredulously.

"Yes, Lieutenant Perseus. It seems that we were both given wrong information and we acted on them too fast." Jason said with a self-depreciating chuckle.

"I apologise. I'll make sure that they will never ever repeat this and won't ever lie." She said in a chilling voice. And only her people knew about the consequences that followed that tone. The three soldiers who were cocky, now trembled with fear.

"I'm sorry too, Lieutenant. I'll leave the punishment of my trusted captain and his cronies in your hands." Jason said with barely leashed anger, subjected to himself for blindly trusting his men and towards those men for whom, now he had nothing but contempt.

"I'm taking a wild guess that you had come here to attend the birthday banquet of our little sister." Barak said in a grim tone.

"In fact, yes. I was held up due to certain matters. That is why I send them up first to pay my birthday wishes to the princess. Sadly it came into such a bad conclusion. But all is well that ends well, I believe."

"Yes, Crown Prince Jason. That's a good belief. Let's disperse now and continue the banquet. I'm sure that both of you require medical attention as well." Zeus said with a straight face.

"Yes, Your Highness." The duo said together.

"Lieutenant Perseus, you may go back first." King gave an order. "Barak, make sure that she reaches the palace safely." He said in a whisper to his second son.

"Yes, dad. But are you going to let that man who injured her go just like that?"

"Both of them are injured, my son. And neither of them is in the wrong completely. We can't blame the Crown Prince of the isles of Apollo alone. Let the matter be. Take care of your sister"

"Yes, dad." He whispered back.

Celosia nodded and whistled for her horse. Pegasus came trotting and she got onto him in a fluid motion. Jason could not help but admire her expertise.

'Well, the young lad looks pretty talented.'

He stared after her galloping away into the horizon with Barak following her close by.

"Crown Prince, let's move. The banquet has been delayed long enough, I believe." Zeus said with a subtle smile. He hadn't missed the way the prince has stared after his daughter, and she was even in her male avatar.

'Well, I'll have to inform my dear wife about this development.'

The army of the isles of Athena and the Falcon army moved in perfect sync towards the palace.