When Calliope returned to the palace, she had been expecting a fight. She did not expect the fight that greeted her.
Her parents were screaming at each other in the hallways, gesturing erratically with red faces and angry expressions. Neither of them noticed Calliope as they continued to argue and bicker and fight. She stood, frozen, shocked and confused. Had she caused this?
"M-mom?" she asked.
Her parents both froze. They turned, staring at her. They glanced at each other. Then her mother looked back at her.
"Calli...how long have you been standing there?"
"Only a few minutes," Calliope said, shrugging and shifting uncomfortably.
Anger rushed to her father's face. "Now, listen here young lady! You are not to run off without telling either of us where you are going! Do you have any idea how much you scared us? Any idea at all? We had no idea if you'd been kidnapped or if you had run away or what! And—"
"Darling, please!" Calliope's mother said. "Enough. Calliope is a grown woman. She can make her own choices!"
Ah. So she had started this fight. Of course, she was still expecting her parents to fight with her, not each other. And since when did her mother stand up for her when she ran away...?
"Not every choice!"
"Fine, she may not be able to choose who she marries but give her her freedom before she must marry!"
"Mom? What are you talking about...marriage?" Calliope asked, hesitant. Her mother looked at her gravely, and her father puffed out his chest.
"Your hand will be offered to a rising soldier in the Roman legions."
Calliope's heart beat faster, then slowed, then stopped. The color drained from her face. Horror grabbed at her throat. She stared at her parents in disbelief.
"No...," she whispered. She stumbled over her own feet.
Marriage? To a Roman soldier? Her freedom...gone...
"NO!" Calliope yelled. Then she turned and ran.