"Are you sure it’s not Penth and the others?" asked Byron, whipping down at his white stallion to make it run faster.
They had abandoned the usual pathway, making a curve eastwards in hopes of reaching the city before Hippolyta and her army.
"Are you trying to say that I don’t know how to differentiate my sisters? One has golden hair and the other black hair, must I remind you? How can I confuse them?"
"Oh, and they also have different fashion tastes. Hippolyta’s horses are clad in armor, and their legs are covered in fur."
"Lastly, Penth and the others aren’t hunting food for a thousand people. Just a few minutes and a few deers dead and carried ho. They have finished hunting long ago. I know!"
Alcippe was shouting non stop, almost like she was scolding Byron for trying to doubt her.
"Well, it’s your fault that you didn’t want to see for myself."
He was just trying to make her angry again. They’ve been riding for minutes and he figured she went a bit slow when she started shouting.
He couldn’t keep up with her, so he figured making her slow down from now and then would save him from embarrassing himself asking her to wait for him later.
"We didn’t have much ti, dammit!" she shouted again, bringing down the speed of her mare as she glanced at him. "We need to get to Penth first, tell her Hippolyta is coming and then find a place to hide you before she arrives."
"Hide ?" She didn’t look at him to see the flabbergasted look on his face as he said this."I’m not going to hide. Never!"
"Then what are you gonna do? Are you gonna throw yourself at Hippolyta then? So you don’t want to be with us anymore?"
"No! No! Of course not! I like you guys. That’s why I’m going to put a stop on Hippolyta’s reign of terror for you."
"How?" she asked, this ti the speed of her mare so down that Byron caught up to her.
A smile appeared on his face.
"Just you wait!"
They rode in silence, Byron itching to summon the system so he could test one of his abilities. Mind Manipulation.
He’s never tried it, but he knew that if sothing was going to help him, it would be that ability.
So, when the horses finally ca to a halt, he imdiately summoned the system as Alcippe dragged him to the castle.
Before he even began, he heard Alcippe cursing. "Shit! They are already here!"
Byron dismissed the system as a voice he had never heard before echoed throughout the throne room.
"Where did you hide him? WHERE?"
It was soft, yet terrifying, and the later beca even more evident when the girls parted to show Hippolyta holding her sword at Penthesilea’s throat.
"Why didn’t we see their horses outside?" asked Byron in a whisper.
"They must have left them in the woods so they could sneak and catch Penth off-guard!" replied Alcippe.
’Makes sense!’
The murmur had erupted among the girls, prompting Hippolyta to glance over her shoulder.
When she saw Byron, she winced, almost as if she was scared or...
’Damn! That thing used to happen to whenever I saw Syvetta!’
Syvetta was Byron’s crush, later his girlfriend, the one who called him the night he got paralyzed, and the first day he saw her, he had winced, caught in a trance.
And now Hippolyta had winced.
’It’s the sa effect my presence had had on Penthesilea. When I entered her throne room yesterday, she was all authoritative, carrying an aura that strikes fear among those she speaks to. A few seconds later, I had crippled that aura. I can cripple Hippolyta’s too.’
As these thoughts flashed through Byron’s mind, Hippolyta was still gazing upon him, unable to say anything.
"Hide ?" he asked, confidently taking steps toward the throne. He chuckled and then continued, "Dear Hippolyta, why would anyone want to hide ?"
Hippolyta was about to say sothing, but Byron continued, interrupting her and making her feel sowhat embarrassed. "Is my face so ugly that you think they should hide ?"
"N-no! No! That’s... That’s not w-what I ant!" she stuttered.
Byron smiled internally for this achievent. He had managed to strike first, then when she tried to speak he arrogantly cut her off, crippling her self-esteem.
Now she was stuttering.
He approached and took the sword from her hand, then looked her in the eye as he said, "I’m Byron, by the way!"
He was extending his hand.
"Hippolyta, the Only Queen of the Amazons!" she said, shaking his hand.
Byron burst out laughing.
"The only Queen?"
He laughed so more and internally celebrated when his strategy worked.
If she asked him what was funny or got angry that he had laughed at her, he would know that she wasn’t intoxicated by his presence.
If she just stood, awkward and quit, he would know she was already afraid of him.
She had kept quiet, so now he had his answer. She was scared of him.
And why wouldn’t she be? He was an anomaly. Whereas no man was supposed to be in their realm, alive, he was there.
He had proved to her that he wasn’t afraid and she didn’t know who he was.
She was probably wondering if he was a god or sothing. That’s why she was being cautious of her actions around him.
’Who needs mind manipulation anyway? I’ve already manipulated her!’
Byron’s laughter ca to a stop.
"I’ve been waiting for you, Queen Hippolyta!" he said. "Why don’t you join us for lunch? You and your..." he glanced at her army and skipped their na,"...must be tired and hungry!"
They were close to a hundred, all clad in the sa looking outfits. Sexy worriors was the first phrase that ca to Byron’s mind when he gazed upon them.
When his eyes wandered back to Hippolyta, they were greeted by a sly smile on her face.
"I did not co here to eat!" she said, pulling her hand away and taking her sword from Byron’s hand.
’Crap!’
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