The children cried with shrieks of fear. They yelled forward, "the Persians are coming!"

They all ran across the city streets like their lives depended on it. Scurrying feet like small rats, they didn't even stop to catch their breaths. Instead, they hid under carts, building pillars, and around temple steps to hide from the Persian onslaught.

A girl, no older than five, tripped before she could go any further. "Don't leave me behind!" She called out.

From behind the Persian announced, "I found you!"

She screamed as the Persian picked her up from the waist. The warrior woman lifted the little girl from the ground and laughed while being spun in the air, "now I will eat all the babies like the barbarian I am!"

The woman began gnawing at the toddler's stomach. The little girl only laughed as she tickled her tummy. The toddler yelled, "help me sis!"

Another little girl, no older than six, ran up to Shida and hugged her by the leg, "let my sis go!"

"Catch." Shida dropped the toddler into the girl's body, and the older sister plopped onto her bum as her little sister fell into her arms.

The other kids came out from hiding. Four in total, all of them raised their tiny hands in the air, "eat me! Eat me!" They ordered.

The Persian woman patted two of them on the head. "I'm a Persian, you can't tell me what to do."

She still picked up two of the Spartan children and spun them underneath the pits of her arms. "Haha, I claim these Spartans as property of King Darius! May you all serve my king as slaves!"

The kids cried in laughter as they spun around from her waist. She did three more spins before she slumped back onto the ground and laughed with the other kids. The grass was brightly green in this area. Reflecting the sun with an almost golden glow. The fertilized soil made the water soft, as though all of the greek waters flowed beneath the soils.

She said to the kids, "you puppies are very lucky, I was raised atop of mountains, where the air was cold and plants were rare."

"Is that what Olympus is like?" One of the older children asked.

"I don't know. In fact, I don't even know what Olympus is. If its a mountain, I think it would be like my home."

From the distance, another figure walked towards the field the adult and children were laying on. "Shida," her friend said, "come on, Tao is ready."

Shida sat up from the grass. She stroked her raven colored hair after stretching her arms outward. That smile was encapsulating. Her natural tan skin and night colored hair shined. Shida's posture and physique was exotic to the men and children of Greece.

Ezra, in contrast, seemed bulky in comparison. Her boatsful frame implied strength and muscle. The heavier features were highlighted from her taller than average height, and any femininity Ezra could've had was tucked away due to her warrior lifestyle. The only thing 'pretty' from her was the brightly colored autumn shining hair, and even that was more often covered in armor.

Shida said, "okay, but we have to say bye to the children first."

The Spartan children were laying on the ground smiling. Ezra stared down at them with her flatlined face. The children frowned at the sight of her. Ezra said, "go home, or I'll eat you."

The children screamed, and scattered away from Ezra as they yelled 'monster' all the way home. These screams were more horrifying than playful like it was for Shida.

Shida said, "maternal instinct has left you, hasn't it?"

"It was never there to begin with."

Shida tilted her head and stared at Ezra's thighs, "are you sure? Those look like birthing hips."

"Knock it off, the sooner we go the better."

Shida walked over to the nearby ruined temple to pick up her belongings. It was mercenary gear. Tools she'd collected on her way to the city. Shida's chainmail was much smaller than Ezra's, but it provided a level of flexibility that gave her more speed than Ezra could attain. Shida's swords were also smaller than Ezra's, proving that Shida preferred small quick succession attacks than long thrusts from the heavy battleaxe Ezra used.

Shida asked, "is he at the stables this time, or at the Artemis shrine?"

"Neither, he's at the mess hall."

"Mess hall? Since when could he afford that."

"He's not paying, the Spartan citizens invited him to dine with them."

Shida raised an eyebrow. Ezra added, "apparently they like hearing him talk."

"Sarcastically or non-sarcastically?"

"Take a wild guess."

"That poor thing."

Ezra and Shida walked across the streets before reaching the mess hall. The city was unnaturally clean. It was public duty for citizens to clean up their own trash, nothing defiled the streets as they walked towards the mesh hall. It was like the community itself was responsible for maintaining their own law and order.

The sight was a stark contrast from all the Persian cities they'd seen before reaching Sparta. Although the city lacked the architecture they were used to seeing in Persia, Sparta was very nearly a crimeless city.

Not only that, they saw no old men, no sick children, and no impoverished people littering the streets. It was surreal. Like they'd stepped into another world, a world where citizens made it their duty to remove all forms of indecency. It was also unnerving. They were beginning to understand why the other greek cities praised Sparta so much.

They reached the mess hall at the edge of the city. The mess hall was practically barracks, and was simply a dining hall where veteran citizens could socialize before going about their civic duties. Upon reaching the entrance, they were stopped by guards. "For citizens only."

Ezra didn't hesitate, she placed a gold coin in the guard's hand as a bribe, "here you go, let's not waste more time here." Ezra almost stepped passed them, but the guards pushed Ezra back.

The Spartan soldier took the coin and dropped it to the ground in front of her. "Your wealth isn't the issue ma'am, the issue is that you're neither a Spartan citizen nor an entertainer."

"Entertainer?" Ezra raised an eyebrow, "do we look like entertainers? I know for a fact a Persian ambassador is in there. Look at our armor. We're here as bodyguards to the ambassador."

"Bodyguards?" The Soldier raised an eyebrow. "You girls look as dainty as flowers, now I know someone set you both up to this."

Ezra gritted her teeth. Shida walked up to the guard, and whispered something seductively into his ears. The Spartan's eyes widened and said, "oh my, why right this way then."

The guard moved to the side. Ezra raised an eyebrow as she followed Shida into the mess hall.

"What did you say?" Ezra asked her.

"That we're a very special type of entertainment," Shida gave a wink as Ezra paled.