Short Story / Kratos: The beginning

After word had gotten back to the city of Sparta that Athens, its rival, has refuse to the have any dealing with the Persian Empire. Doing what they do best, the city of Sparta prepared themselves for war. While preparing for the future battle with the Persian, another matter had to be dealt with under the eyes of King Leonidas and Queen Gorgo.
Being escorted by the guards to the palace, a woman with her seven year old son seek an audience with the king and queen.
“My lord and lady,” the first guard said addressing his masters, “this woman, along with her son, has asked to speak with the both of you.” The first guard said as they whisper to each other on what was to be done with the woman and child.
“She may speak with us.” Queen Gorgo said. The guards then escorted the woman and child inside the palace. Both the women and child look battered and tired from moving one place to another as they tried to seek a place to lay their heads.
“From the both of you, I say that this is the longest you two have rested,” King Leonidas said in his kingly voice, “please tell us, why the long journey to Sparta?” He asked.
“My lord, my lady, I am Diane of a small village not from the city-state of Corinth. I and my son come to you in our desperation to only seek refuge in Sparta, for no one else will take in to theirs?” Diane asked as she kneels down before them. With both her bloody and bruised knees, she pleaded with the king and queen to let her and her son stay in Sparta so they made find a place to call home.
“Diane, what is it that you’ve done to where not one Greek city will take you as citizens?” Queen Gorgo asked.
“It is because of my son,” she told them as begin to weep, “I do not cry over having my son; I cry because of the claim that is considered blasphemy.”
“And what is it about your son that is blasphemy to all Greek cities?” The king asked being now intrigued by this situation.
“My son,” the woman said as wipes away her tears, and gathers up her strength to talk, “he did not have a normal birth.”
“And can be wrong with the way your son was born?”  The king asked again.
“Everything,” Diane said as she look King Leonidas and Queen Gorgo straight in their eyes, “my son was conceive like any other child, or that what I thought. I show the signs of being with child after four days, and I gave birth to my son after ten. I watch him for seven years of his life as he became faster and stronger than any of the children his age; even the men in our old village couldn’t keep up with him.  Believing that no mortal child should posses that kind of power, the elders called upon the village priestess to look at my son; it turned out to be bad. Apparently, my son was conceived…by a God.”
“You said, your son was conceived, by a what?!” Queen Gorgo asked as she stood up by the words coming out of her mouth.
“As I said, my son is born to a God.” Diane replied. King Leonidas, Queen Gorgo, and the guards look at her with surprise.
“Truly you must know,” King Leonidas, “that making a clam like this can label you out of touch with reality and exile you for life. Besides, if what you say is true, then which one of the Gods lay with you, and created this child?”
“My husband was a soldier for the village, and went off to fight the advancing Persians. It wasn’t until fourteen nights later that a figure in the form of my husband came to me. The figure was cover in blanket of night, but it sounded and appears like my husband. It was the mourning after the conception that I received my husband shield and helmet; proof of his death in battle. I came to realize that I had lay with not any a God, but the king of the Gods, Zeus.” Diane proclaimed to the king and queen.
The surprise look came back to everyone’s faces. Not only was this woman bold to say her son was conceived by a God, but daring enough to say the almighty himself Zeus did this. The guards grab her by arms with one saying, “You lying whore, how dare come to our king and queen with such nonsense. The only shelter you and your son will find is the pit of…”
“Enough, Sparus,” Queen Gorgo said trying to bring order into the palace, “bring in the boy, and we shall see for ourselves.”
With that order, Sparus and the other guard bring in the boy. The boy looked like the average seven year old, but he was bald, had little muscle, and looked angry. The king and queen discuss among themselves what to do in such a matter that is appropriate. When they got through, the king came up with their solution.
“We shall have three tests,” King Leonidas said, “they we be of speed, endurance, and skill. If this boy shall lose any one of these tests, then both he and his mother shall die. If he wins them all, them they become full fledged citizens of Sparta. That is our ruling.”

The test of speed will be a race from the gates of Sparta to the mountains where a large tree is place and back again. It was between the boy and Sparus, the fastest soldier in Sparta.
“When this over, I will personally throw you and lying witch of a mother into our pit of death.” Sparus told him. The boy paid no attention to him, and he remains focus as the signal was given to begin. Sparus shoot off with the boy closely behind him. They were passing through the city when the boy begins to edge up close to Sparus. It was an even race when they got to the mountains, and when they turned around past the large tree, the boy took a commanding lead with Sparus behind him. The boy won the first test.
The second test of endurance was between the boy and the second guard Quintus. The two had to hold their breathes the longest underwater without coming up for air. The two remain under the water for five minutes at the beginning. When five went to fifteen, Quintus begin to struggle for air as the boy stay clam. When fifteen became thirty, it was obvious that Quintus needed to come for air, and still, the boy remain unravel. Quintus came up for air with the boy following behind him.
“I don’t know if you’re the son of Zeus, but you make of great warrior.” Quintus said.
The last test, the test of skill, was between the boy and the best swordsman of Sparta, King Leonidas. The test was to make the first cut on the opponent; the king was a sure favorite to win.
“This boy is going down,” Sparus said to Quintus, “there’s no way for him to win against our king.”
With those words, the challenge begins. Leonidas started to swing his sword while the boy, with had enough strength to hold his with two hands, was blocking. It was easy for the king to move with ease when dodging the boy’s attacks. The king used his adult strength to knock down with his foot. As he was about to deliver the blow, he suddenly stop. King Leonidas look down to see that the boy manage to cut the king on his leg; he pass the entire tests.
“He has proven himself to Sparta, he and his mother are now citizens of Sparta.” The king said as he put down his sword, and kneel down to talk eye to eye with him.
“What is your name, son of Sparta?” The king asked.
“Kratos, my name is Kratos.” The boy answers.
“Well, Kratos, with the right training, you can become strong enough to take down an army with only fifty men. Being the son of Zeus, you might just take down a God yourself.” King Leonidas said joking with the boy who smiled for the first time. Kratos wasn’t smiling at the joke; he was smiling at the fact that he was going to become strong enough to not only take down men, but Gods.                                  

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