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"I will not be treated like a child!"
Diana felt burning fury and the sting of shame in equal measure under Nubia's cold gaze. She took her time picking her clothes from the floor, finding her discarded peplos and slowly wrapping herself in it. She felt no shame in her nudity, nor in the markings Thor had left on her body. There was a part of her that wanted Nubia to see them. Yet all the while, she was silently fuming, her cheeks burning.
She always knew, even before she left Themyscira, that her mother would send somebody after her. She just didn't think that somebody would be Nubia.
"What else would you call this behavior, if not childish?"
Nubia remained like a statue, eerily still as she watched Diana dress herself. Her eyes were hard, cold, and judging.
A younger Diana might have wilted, her spirit fading in the face of Nubia's commanding gaze. But today, it only fueled the fire in Diana's heart.
Nubia continued on, her words cold and sharp like a knife.
"Disobeying your mother's command, leaving the shores of Themyscira, and stealing one of our ships to do it? Were you not the princess, I would be dragging you back to the Queen in chains."
Diana let out a sound of exasperation.
"It wouldn't be much different from normal then, would it?" She sent Nubia a blistering look. "Mother had to know how trapped I felt at home."
The elder Amazon was unmoved.
"I don't want to hear your excuses. You can explain it all to your mother yourself." Nubia shook her head. Her gaze shifted over to the other presence in the tent. "Letting yourself be violated by some man… by the gods, Diana."
The disappointment - the disgust - was palpable in Nubia's voice. Diana balled her hands into fists. She heard Thor rising to his feet behind her, followed by the sounds of shuffling cloth as he got dressed himself. He moved as Diana had, slowly and deliberately. Like her, the man felt no shame in his state of undress. He had nothing to be ashamed of. Not even Nubia could ignore how magnificently built the Varangian captain was - it didn't matter how solid her mask of judgement was. Diana could read it in her eyes.
Still, Diana hated that Thor was seeing her like this. Not as a lover or a fellow warrior, but as a wayward daughter being found out and punished. What she hated even more was the sheer disdain she could see in Nubia's eyes. She opened her mouth, ready to speak in Thor's defense… but her lover spoke first.
"I violated no one." His voice rose up in the tent, deep and firm. "Diana is a grown woman. Old enough to make her own decisions. She chose to spend an evening with me."
More than an evening, Diana was tempted to add.
Nubia didn't seem to appreciate Thor's input. Diana, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel some sliver of satisfaction. Even so, the Princess didn't want the situation to get any worse.
"Thor, you don't need to speak for me." Diana said to him, not unkindly.
The burly blond let out a grunt as he tugged on a shirt - Diana felt a small pang of disappointment at his muscle-bound torso being hidden away. His face was hard - if Nubia was like stone, Thor was like steel.
"I speak for myself. I won't stand here and listen to this woman speak ill of the both of us." He bit out.
Nubia let out a scoff. Diana could see the tension in her body deepen.
"Threats. As expected from a man."
"I don't make threats." Thor countered. "I make promises."
He had spoken rather plainly then - no edge to his voice whatsoever. Yet from the way Nubia's fingers were now gripping her spear, Diana knew the elder Amazon was ready to come to blows.
The Princess quickly put herself between them. Neither would dare hurt her. Nubia was loyal above all else to the Queen. And Thor… Diana hadn't known him long. A week at most. But the Princess could feel it in her heart, in her bones, that they had a connection. And she knew Thor could feel it, too.
"Thor, stop. Please." Diana met his eyes, letting the emotion in her own fill the silence.
He was reluctant of course, but in the end the man relented. The victory of getting the Odinson to obey her was fleeting, however. Diana turned to Nubia, sighing.
"I'll go." She surrendered. "Just give me time to speak to the others."
"They already know." Nubia said flatly. No sympathy.
Diana pushed on anyway. The thought of Orana, Trigona, and all the others being punished because she convinced them to join her on her pilgrimage…
"I commanded them to help me. They shouldn't be punished for obeying their princess."
"They defied the Queen, same as you. They should have known better. If you want to plead for leniency, plead to your mother."
Nubia didn't even bother to look Diana in the eyes. She turned and departed the tent.
Stunned at first, Diana quickly felt her cheeks grow hot with anger again. She stormed out after Nubia.
Outside was a clear blue sky and a sun shining so bright Diana had to cover her eyes. She heard the shuffling of feet and quiet mutterings. Many voices. Women's voices. It took a moment for Diana's eyes to adjust. When they did, she was greeted with the sight of the rest of Nubia's party.
Dozens of her sister Amazons, armed with spears and armored in gleaming bronze plate… and looking right at her. Looking past her, at the man following close behind out of the tent. Their murmurs grew as Thor stepped out into the light. Some were in shock, others seemed curious. Most looked to be aghast. Diana read their faces, studying every last woman, absorbing their looks of judgment.
A part of her wanted to defy them, to hold her head up without shame. Another part of her felt like a little girl again, wanting so desperately to vanish into nothing. Anything to escape all those condemning eyes.
In the end, neither won. Diana endured their whispers and their looks. She turned and shared one last look with Thor. His face was hard, almost unreadable. But Diana could make out a softness there.
There was no time to explore it. Not anymore.
Diana forced herself to follow Nubia. But she kept her head held high. She would not let her sisters see shame or regret. She was their princess.
There came the shuffling of feet again, slow marching as the ranks filed on after her. Diana said nothing, looked nowhere but straight ahead, feeling numb as Nubia led them back towards the docks.
- - -
Along the way, Diana found her thoughts drifting to her mother.
Visions of Queen Hippolyta's face stirred up feelings of love, anger, shame, dread. She wouldn't have needed to steal a ship if her mother had just allowed her to travel to Delos in the first place. She could have arrived days earlier, finished her pilgrimage quickly, returned home like she'd never been gone. She never would have met Thor…
Diana felt a squeeze in her chest. She took in a quick, quiet breath. Not quite a gasp.
Suddenly, awareness struck her. They were at the docks now. Diana looked around and caught sight of the rest of her party, the friends she'd drawn into this misadventure. Dressed as they were, clothes messily thrown on, hair tousled, eyes lidded and glazed, no doubt Nubia and her warriors had found them like they'd found Diana. Groggy from sleep - or lack thereof.
Diana met their eyes, Orana, Trigona, Mala, Venelia, Penthiselea. All wearing the pain of apology. Her heart ached at that. It wasn't their fault. None of this was.
Thor's party had gathered as well, Varangians who had woken up to discover dozens more Amazons had arrived. A line of Nubia's warriors kept them at bay, spears at the ready. Some were calling out to Diana's party - male companions such as Sven, demanding to know what was going on.
Aella, one of Nubia's, did not bother to hide her contempt.
"Tell the foreigners to keep their distance." She said, coming up to the line of Diana's wayward Amazons. "They stink of barbarism."
"Put your nose up Nubia's backside. You might enjoy that better." Penthiselea replied hotly.
That drew a round of scandalized murmurs from Nubia's Amazons. But it earned nothing from Nubia herself. As if it wasn't worth her response.
Aella, however, offered up a sneer.
"A man sticks his cock in you and now he's won your loyalty?" Nubia's second flicked her gaze towards the Varangians jeering from the other side of the Amazon line. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "Just how good was his company, sister?"
"Better company than you." Penthiselea bit back.
Aella moved up to the taller blonde, shoulders tense, ready for a fight. Diana shifted direction, moving to help her friend… but then Nubia was there, putting a hand on Aella's shoulder. She gave her second a hard look.
"Who an Amazon takes to bed is her own business." Nubia declared. She looked to Penthiselea then, frowning. "Though I can't speak for your taste. Or sense. They are Varangians, are they not? Raiders who plunder and pillage where they go?"
Nubia's tone was accusing. Penthiselea's cheeks had gone red. Her lips opened and closed, but no words came.
"We came to peaceful terms." Diana spoke up then. When Nubia looked her way, Diana held her gaze, unfaltering. Her voice became stronger. So too did her nerves. "These are men, not beasts. I was able to reason with them. Now both sides have greater understanding. Is that not the Amazon way?"
Nubia said nothing at first, a sliver of curiosity ghosting over her features. For the most part, though, her expression remained cold, severe.
Then, a commotion. Amazonian voices rising in shock as heavy footfalls thundered on the dock, drawing closer, closer, closer.
Diana and Nubia both whirled towards the disturbance - Thor, now garbed in battle dress, pushing through the line of Nubia's party with ease. In his hands, he held the battle axe Jarnbjorn, looking a different beast entirely from the Amazons' bronze spears. And Thor himself cut a much more imposing sight than the common barbarian.
He was marching towards Diana and Nubia, steel in his hand and in his eyes. But Nubia's Amazons were following him closely, circling him with spears at the ready. Aella came to the forefront, aiming her blade right at the man's throat.
"Back away, brute." Aella snarled.
"I am Odinson. No weapon you wield can hurt me." Thor's voice was calm - much more calm than his expression would suggest.
"Do you want to test that?" Aella dared. Her spear inched closer. Almost touching skin.
Thor was unmoved. His attention remained fixed on Diana and Nubia. There was concern now, Diana could see. It brought warmth and twisting pain in equal measure to her heart.
"Stand down, Aella. He speaks the truth." Diana called out. Aella gave an incredulous scowl. Whether it was disbelief at Diana's words or the fact that she had the audacity to issue a command at all, Diana did not know. It didn't matter. The next words passing through her lips tasted bitter enough. "Thor, don't make this more difficult than it is. I must go home."
Thor was the one scowling now. He pushed forward, marching towards them. Aella gave a shout, her spear pressing into his throat - but the blade didn't pierce the skin. Thor kept walking forward, forcing the spear's shaft to bend, bend, bend.
SNAP.
Wood splintered. A few Amazons let out gasps, a few others whispered curses in shock. Aella stumbled backwards, holding half of her broken spear. The other half, the bladed end, clattered to the wooden dock.
Thor marched on, unscathed.
He stood before Diana and Nubia, close enough that Diana could see the sincere worry etched on his face.
"I will go with you." He told her.
Diana felt her heart jump again.
"What?"
"Absolutely not." Nubia answered sharply.
Thor's face twisted into a grimace.
"You are bringing her home to face punishment? Then I will speak in her defense. Your princess has done nothing wrong." His voice was hard, almost booming. His words were colored with something Diana hadn't seen from the man before: Anger.
Nubia was undaunted. She stepped closer, looking up into Thor's face, right into his eyes.
"She has disobeyed her queen. She must answer for this." Nubia's voice dropped lower. "And no man may set foot on Themyscira."
"I wasn't asking." Thor's fingers tightened around the handle of Jarnbjorn. All around, the Amazons bristled. The tension in the air was thick now. Far too thick for Diana's liking.
For the second time that morning the princess of the Amazons put herself between Nubia and Thor.
"Enough. Enough!"
She put feeling into her words, but it was not enough to placate Thor.
"They question your strength, your spirit, your loyalty. You are their princess yet they treat you like a prisoner. They are unworthy of you, Diana."
"Watch your tongue, barbarian." Nubia's voice was like ice. "I won't be lectured on strength and loyalty by a man. Enough stalling, princess. The boats are ready. It's time to go."
Thor's eyes burned with wrath. Diana could see the same tension in his body, even under his shirt of mail. A man ready for violence.
Diana could not allow that. Not on the sacred soil of Delos. She had given her dignity to keep the peace. Now she had to give a little more.
She made sure Thor met her eyes, made sure he could see her silent pleas. He cared enough to fight… Now he needed to care enough not to.
To Diana's relief, Thor relaxed… but only just barely. Still, her heart felt light then, weightless. Her nerves were a different story. Thor's passion had given her strength.
For an instant, the Amazonian princess had clarity.
Diana did not want to leave. The realization came with a pleasing calm. The same sort she felt when she first chose to leave Themyscira. She wanted to stay. Her mother didn't control her life. She did.
But as she turned to face down Nubia and give voice to her newfound strength, there was… a feeling.
There was a new sort of tension now. Not of the body, but of the world itself. It was in the air, in the clouds, in the rolling of the waves and the shifting of the earth. The scent of iron. It stung in Diana's nose, settling in bitter flavor on her tongue. Like her own mouth was bleeding.
A disturbance. Something beyond, otherworldly. A power Diana could not even begin to fathom.
Somehow, somewhere, like it was far off in the distance, Diana could hear the sound of battle. Steel clashing against steel. Cries of savagery. Butchery.
The princess looked around the docks. It was only then did she realize everyone else had gone silent. Even the villagers.
Thor, Nubia, the other Amazons, they all felt it too. Diana could see it on their faces.
"Something is coming." Thor warned. He was looking up into the sky, clutching Jarnbjorn tightly.
"Nubia?" Diana gave the dark-skinned warrioress a wary glance. An unspoken question: are we allies or adversaries?
Nubia chose to be an ally. She gave a short nod, standing tall, indomitable. Prepared. Calling out to the rest of the party, her voice was crisp, commanding.
"Amazons, ready!"
Diana's sisters drew up spears and shields.
Then… the arrival.
First heralded by the wind. It howled as it swept through hair, through trees, drawing the clouds into a darkened swirl just over the shoreline. Then came a flash of brilliant light. Lightning struck the water in eerie silence.
…Until the crack of thunder split the air. The earth shook, the wooden docks groaning beneath everyone's feet.
"By the gods!" Cried Aella.
"There, across the beach!" Nubia pointed with her spear.
Diana followed with her eyes and saw it. There, in the frothing, bubbling tide. A figure rising from the waters.
Diana, Nubia, Amazon, Varangian, and villager alike - all held their breath as a monstrously tall man trudged onto the soaking sands of Delos. He was a titan in dark plate armor, his skin touched by shadow, his shoulders and helm set with gnarly metal spikes. His helm obscured his face, but the true dread came from his eyes. They were blood red and shining through the shadow of his helm, watching across the length of the beach. Watching Diana.
The arrival strode forth, each footfall booming. He was advancing towards them. Towards her.
"Great Hera." Diana whispered.
Mocking laughter erupted, rumbling like rocks spilling down the mountainside. Diana's blood ran cold. He had heard her.
"No. Not Hera." A deep voice thundered. It shook the very air around them. Shook Diana down to her bones. "Are you blind, Amazon? Can you not see the blood of Olympus before you? Kneel to your better - the God of War, Ares!"