Our story begins on the island of Crete, where a baby girl was just born. However, her parents, Slinon Rackatrus and Francila Rackatrus, did not want a baby girl, but a baby boy. When the girl was born, her parents were outraged. They attempted to drown their new-born girl, but she wouldn't die. After being in the basin which Slinon and Francila tried to kill her for an hour, Slinon and Francila thought that she must have been chosen by the gods. Afraid to have the god's wrath invoked upon them for killing a member of their family, they quickly took their daughter out of the basin and fed her. They quickly decided to name her Frialynia, which was the first name that came to their minds.

The next six years of Frialynia's life were filled with misery. Her parents showed their hatred of her in every possible way except for kicking her out or killing her. Slinon slapped her every time she met his eyes. Francila starved her for days if Frialynia touched her. Every possible chore in the house, from fixing the roof to cooking her own meals, were forced upon her since she could walk. The only chore she didn't have was the cooking of Slinon's and Francila's meals, and that was only because they didn't want to eat what she cooked. Because Frialynia was so young, she often completed her chores incorrectly. Whenever she messed up, either Slinon or Francila would break one of her bones, from her fingers to her legs, making Frialynia, who rarely ever said anything in front of them, scream out in intense pain. With all of her experience in broken bones, she quickly became skilled in putting her broken limbs in splints.

Amazingly, even through her parent's torture, Frialynia continued to grow and, even though she was far from healthy, became beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that Hera, having seen her from the peaks of Mount Olympus, became jealous of her beauty. It did not matter to her that Frialynia's parents abused her on a daily basis, covering her with bruises and blood. She was still beautiful, and Hera did not want the possible day to come when Frialynia would be more beautiful than her! Hera plotted a way to ruin Frialynia's beauty. One dark night, Hera crept down from Mount Olympus to Crete and came upon Frialynia on the floor of her parent's house, sleeping, with her right arm in a splint.

'You!'� Hera screeched, wakening Frialynia with a start, 'You abomination! How dare you try to surpass me in beauty! You shall pay for your insolence!'� Hera, her face twisted in rage, pointed one of her fingers at Frialynia. Suddenly, two feathered wings sprouted out of Frialynia's back. However, instead of making Frialynia uglier like Hera had intended, Frialynia looked even more beautiful. By then, Slinon and Francila had come over and were trembling in front of Hera's presence. Hera, seeing the result of her curse, became even more outraged..

'How can this be?'� Hera screamed, 'Damn you! Damn you to the Underworld! I will come back for you someday, but now I must return to Mount Olympus. May your life be cursed from this point forth!'� With that Hera disappeared, leaving the newly-winged Frialynia weeping softly on the floor and Slinon and Francila gaping at their daughter in disgust.

'This is the final straw,'� Francila spoke angrily, glaring at Frialynia's wings, 'Why we have kept you all of these years is beyond me. Go! Go, and never darken our doorstep ever again!'� Francila immediately picked her daughter up by the neck and carried out of the door. Before slamming the door in front of Frialynia's face Francila yelled, 'Goodbye, and good riddance!'� For a few seconds, Frialynia merely stared at the door, not comprehending anything that had just happened. Then, as swiftly as she could, Frialynia run into the dark of the woods, determined that she would never make her way back to her former parent's house again.

Frialynia walked through the forest for several days without meeting anyone, much to her pleasure. It was the first time in her entire life that she had gone without punishment or another broken bone, and she was relishing it. She was having a hard time finding food, but it wasn't to big of a deal for her, haivng survived for over a week with nothing to eat. All day, all she would do is walk among the wildlife and trees, admiring everything that came to her eye. She relished the ability to sleep as long as she wished, and did so. She enjoyed no longer having to do whatever her evil parents told her to do, but instead doing what she wanted to do. To her, she had finally arrived in Paradise.

However, after another couple of days, Frialynia was starting to feel the affects of not having anything to eat. She constantly felt dizzy, and had a hard time walking. She would collapse and find herself waking hours later without remembering falling to the ground. She was on the verge of death. One day though, after she had collapsed from loss of food, she woke up to hear two murmuring voices above her head that sounded like adults, making her leap into the air barely after waking up, causing her to become even more dizzy.

'Oh, you poor thing,'� a kind woman's voice sounded, ' Don't worry. You are in safe hands now. We found you in the woods, and thought that you needed help. You were in such bad condition, so skinny that it looked as though you'd never had a proper meal in your life! When we saw you passed out on the ground, well, we couldn't just leave you there! So you are now at our house. Are you okay? Would you like something to eat?'�

'Just...just stay back!'� Frialynia stuttered nervously, 'Please don't hurt me! I didn't mean to come in! I don't even remember coming here! I'll just get on my way, as long as you don't hurt me!'�

'Oh, you poor child, we'd never hurt you!'�the woman said, concerned, ' Where did you get that idea?!?!'�

'Well, where ever she has been, she has definitely been hurt,'� said a male's voice, 'Just look at her arm! Broken, and she only looks like she is about six! And her wings! I've never seen a person with wings, she must have gone through some bad times to get those!'�

' Wait,'� Frialynia spoke, still fearful, 'Who are you people? How can I be sure you won't hurt me when the only people I have ever known, my mother and my father, hurt me every day until they threw me out?'�

' Oh my goodness!'� Annala grasped her heart, 'Are you being serious? Oh, you poor, poor thing! Well, you obviously no longer have a home. Why don't you stay with us? I would absolutely never hurt you, nor would Caranu! It would never come across our minds!'�

'Really?'� Frialynia asked, amazed, ' You promise?'�

' Of course! Now, my name is Annala, and he is Caranu. Would you like something to eat?'�

'Oh yes please,'� Frialynia drooled, ' I haven't eaten for a long time.'�

So Frialynia found Annala and Caranu, and freed herself forever from the claws of Slinon and Francila. Annala and Caranu treated her like she was their own cherished daughter, and never though of laying a hand on her. For the first couple of months, Annala had a hard time trying to convince Frialynia that she was not required to do any chores, and was free to do as she pleased and ride the horse that Caranu had gotten for her, which she had named Steadfast. Frialynia loved Steadfast from the moment she laid eyes on him. She spent every second that she could riding him, which was pretty much how she spent the next twelve years of her life. All she did was ride and ride and ride. Annala and Caranu had no problem with her riding Steadfast, as long as she came back before it was dark, which Frialynia, now loving her foster parents as much as Steadfast, had no problem in doing. Frialynia's childhood spread out before her in wonder. She learned to hunt, track, and hide in the woods nearby, managing to scare Caranu several times when he went into the woods for wood. She went swimming in the ocean nearby almost everyday, most of the time with Steadfast. The other village children, strangely enough, easily accepted her and her wings into their games, though they only played together until they were twelve. And she never once again thought about her birth parents. Annala, Caranu, and Steadfast were her family now. However, at night, she would remember the night when Hera gave her wings, making her different, when she had done nothing. It filled her with a wish to ask Hera herself why she placed them upon her.

When Frialynia turned eighteen, her wish was heard by Athena. Athena was touched by Frialynia's experience and determination to figure out why Hera had given her wings. So, that night, Athena visited Frialynia in her dreams and told that if she helped her, then she would help Frialynia back. Athena told her that she would talk to her once again after she came to Athena's patron city, Athens. In the morning, Frialynia woke up and knew that her dream had been real, and that the answer to her life long question started in Athens.

' Good bye, Annala and Caranu,'� Frialynia said to her foster mother and father after she had readied herself for her trip to Athens, 'I will miss you and always remember your kindness to me.'�

'Are you sure that you have to go?'� Annala replied tearfully, 'We won't mind the least if you stay here forever.'�

'I'm sorry, but I have to,'� Frialynia answered, smiling slightly, 'I will never be fulfilled if I never understand why Hera cursed me with my wings.'�

'Well, be careful,'� Caranu spoke, ' And remember that you are always welcome back here.'�

So Frialynia set off, on Steadfast, towards the next port that would take them to Athens. She and Steadfast stayed on the boat for two weeks as they crossed the Mediterranean Sea towards Athens. Once they arrived into Athens, Athena came to Frialynia once again. She told her that in order for her to help Frialynia, Frialynia must help Athens win their upcoming battle, though it will only be the first of her three tasks. Frialynia accepted immediately, determined to do whatever it took to get to Mount Olympus. Athena told her to go to a man called Deritameaus, who was in charge of protecting Athens in the upcoming battle. Athena said that she will have explained to Deritameaus that Frialynia would be coming to help them. Immediately, and without furtherly consulting Athena, Frialynia made her way to the location of Deritameaus on Steadfast.

Due to the fact that it was the first time that Frialynia had ever been in a city, especially Athens, it took her several hours to find where she was going, since she refused to ask for directions. When she arrived to the tent of Deritameaus, he was at first startled, as he had not expected a woman with wings to be the warrior hero that Athena had spoken to him of. Afterwards, however, he welcomed her into his tent to discuss tactics.

' Now, Athena has informed me that a siege will be laid upon us by the Spartans tomorrow,'� Deritameaus spoke calmly, showing Frialynia a map of Athens, ' So I think that we should be waiting for them outside of Athens, and finish them off quickly.'�

'No,'� Frialynia stated bluntly, startling Deritameaus, ' That won't do at all. They will be expecting that we know that they will be coming. Anyways, we do not know from which way they will be coming, and to spread out the men would be a waste of time and resources. If they are really going to lay siege to us, then we should first let them settle, then make no sounds from the time they come to the time we attack. It will frighten them hopefully enough that they will break ranks.'�

' Are you sure?'� Deritameaus said skeptically, ' I've never tried anything like that before.'�

'It'll work. Trust me.'�

So they waited for the Spartans to come, equipping everyone before they came so that they would not make any sounds by the time they got settled. They waited that night and the next morning without any sign of them. Then, when people had started to hope that they would never come, they became visible along the horizon. It was a big, massive army of armored soldiers, all of them apparently marching at the same speed and rhythm.

'So now we wait,'� Frialynia whispered quietly to Deritameaus, 'And we shall see who cracks first.'�

'That we will,'� Deritameaus whispered back, 'and then, after they are scared, we will attack at dawn.'�

'No,'� Frialynia responded, contradicting him yet again, ' We will attack at noon. They will expect us to attack at dawn. The more we surprise them, the more we will unnerve them. The more they are unnerved, the more likely they'll run home, afraid.'�

They continued to wait, following Frialynia's plan of not speaking at all. Even with the Spartan camp so far away, they were able to hear what they were saying, and they could tell that the Athenians silence was unsettling to them. The silence continued in the Athenian camp past dawn and into the morning. The Spartans, starting to feel convinced that the Athenians would never attack, started to take off their armor and laze around. Meanwhile, Frialynia and Deritameaus stared to arrange their troops to attack the Spartans in complete silence. When everyone was in position, they signaled the gatekeeper to open the gate and let them through.

The following battle was quick but bloody. Most of the Spartans, thinking that the Athenians weren't going to attack, had taken off their armor and were vulnerable to death. Only half of them stayed and fought against the Athenians. The other half fled. Those who stayed fought to the death, though were seriously outnumbered. It was there, in that battle, that Frialynia first killed someone. At first, she didn't notice, but after it was all over, she had to find a solitary bush for which she could puke behind. She noticed that several of the other young soldiers had done the same thing.

'Well, Frialynia, I didn't think that your idea would work,'� Deritameaus admitted after the few Athenian dead had been buried and the Spartan dead burned, 'But it worked. It is a tactic that we will use forever more. Thank you for helping us.'�

'It was something that I had to do,'� Frialynia shrugged, 'Still, I am glad that I was able to help you. I hope that this city and these people will be here for years to come.'�

'As do I,'� Deritameaus agreed, 'I hope that I will see you fighting by our side again in our next battle.'�

'I don't think so,'� Frialynia responded, 'I have my own quest to complete, and this was only part of it.'�

'Than I wish you luck with the rest of it, whatever it may be.'�

'Thank you. Maybe one day, we will see each other again.'�

The next night, Athena came to Frialynia in her dreams and told her that her next task was to find the lost city of Ansorewe and to return it to civilization. Frialynia readily accepted. Athena told her that the lost city was last noted to be somewhere near Lamia, which was a week's ride away from Athens. So Frialynia started to head north towards Lamia, where she would then have to search through the Fasere Forest to locate the lost city of Ansorewe. Frialynia travelled continuously to Lamia, only stopping to sleep and eat. Since she did not ride along the main road from Athens to Lamia, she did not encounter any people and saved time on her way to Lamia.

Upon arrival in Lamia, Frialynia received many stares. The people of Lamia did not easily accept the unknown or strange, and Frialynia was classified to them as a monster with her wings and her being female. Frialynia found the stares unnerving, so decided not to linger in Lamia. She made her way through the town, going quickly enough that by the time that people that had double backed to look at her, she was already out of their throwing range.

She made it to the borders of the Fasere Forest by sundown, and decided to simply camp there. The night was luckily peaceful, since no one in the city of Lamia wanted to approach her any more than necessary.

For the next fortnight, Frialynia travelled through the forest in her attempt to locate the lost city of Ansorewe. At times it seemed to her that Athena had put her on an impossible quest or that there was no lost city of Ansorewe. However, her determination to confront Hera on Mount Olympus kept her going even through her uncertainty. Finally, one night, Frialynia saw the light of campfires shine through the woods and hurried towards them. To her luck, they had been the fires from the people of Ansorewe. The people welcomed her with cheers and cries of gratitude. They told her of how Athena had told their city elder that someone would come to them from the rest of the world to reconnect them to the rest of Greece. They told her of how Hera had banished them into the middle of the forest when Zeus had come down and birthed a child with a woman from Ansorewe several centuries ago. She in turn told them of her conflict with Hera. She told them that she would help them reconnect to the rest of Greece, and so she did. It took several months, but finally they all managed to cut away enough of the woods to make a path leading to the main travel road from their city. They thanked Frialynia for all of her help, and hoped that they may one day hear from her again.

Two nights later, as Frialynia made her way back to Lamia for more food and supplies, Athena visited Frialynia once more. She told her that she was proud of Frialynia's work, but that she still had one more task before she could brave Mount Olympus. Athena wished for Frialynia to return to Athens and track down the bandit that had just recently stolen children and livestock from Athena's patron city. Outraged at the nerve of the bandits, Frialynia once again agreed to do as Athena asked, and rode towards Athens with haste, forgetting to stop in Lamia for supplies. She managed to get to Athens in only four days, riding continuously. Upon arriving in Athens, she went around and found all of the people who had their children or livestock stolen and told them that she was being sent by Athena herself to go and find their children. Many of the mothers of the missing children were skeptical about the woman's ability in hunting down bandits, but put their faith in her because she was blessed by Athena. They willingly described their children for Frialynia so that she could hopefully find them more easily.

Frialynia started to head west in hopeful pursuit of the bandits as she did not see them on her way to Athens from Lamia. She did not go as quickly as she had on her way to Athens, as she asked ever person that she passed if they had seen a group of people with a large amount of livestock and children. It was several days before anyone had told her anything useful. An aged man told her that he had seen a group of people that had fit her description near Loutraki, and that they were planning on heading towards Goralong, a dodgy port city. Frialynia, afraid that the bandits were almost at Goralong and would then leave by ship, galloped with haste south towards Goralong, bypassing Loutraki. She only slowed down when Steadfast needed it, occasionally sliding off and walking to relieve Steadfast of her weight.

She continued along the main road for a while, certain that they would stay along the main road to travel faster, even though they probably looked very suspicious. They knew that it would take a while for news of the raid to travel all the way from Greece, but of course they did not know about Frialynia, who was a very good tracker and sent by Athena. Frialynia picked up their trail through the main road even though it was three days old. She followed it vigilantly across the main road and into the Seravaeq Forest, where the bandits, for some reason, decided to go through as a supposed shortcut to Goralong.

One night, while the bandits were still in the Seravaeq Forest, Frialynia finally caught up to them. All four of the bandits were sitting around the fire, passing around a bottle of beer amongst themselves. The children were shackled to the ground several feet away, so still and unmoving that they appeared lifeless. Frialynia was outraged at the display of disdain towards the children and immediately plunged into their camp on Steadfast, screaming at the top of her lungs and aiming at them one by one with her bow. The skirmish was over quickly, and the bandits were easily killed, as they had not been expecting to be attacked. Frialynia found the keys to the children's shackles and freed them. Frialynia noticed that all of the livestock were there and unharmed, for which she was grateful. All of the children would need something to ride on for them to get home quickly.

For the next two weeks, Frialynia travelled with the children in tow, hunting for their food everyday. She was surprised and gladdened that none of the children ever complained about the occasional small rations or about the rough riding conditions, and that most were open and friendly to her for saving them. Many of them told Frialynia about their life and their parents, and how horrible it had been to have been captured. They told her about how the bandits had planned to sell them as slaves in some far away country and how they had her to thank. Frialynia appreciated all of the praise a little too much, though tried very hard not to let it get to her head.

Soon enough, they arrived in Athens to eager and joyful parents and livestock owners. Tearful mothers hugged their children tightly while cattlemen roped up their cattle before heading home, though not before thanking Frialynia for returning their only source of income. The mothers all gathered around her and thanked her continuously for the return of their children. Frialynia told them that she was just glad that she had managed to save them from a horrible fate.

That night, Athena came to Frialynia yet again. She told her that she was very proud with her accomplishments, and that she had finally earned the right to enter Mount Olympus. However, she had to approach the mountain herself and climb to its peak before Athena could help her further. Frialynia, though slightly annoyed, set off to Mount Olympus as quickly as possible. She spent one month crossing Greece, fighting roadside bandits, and braving unpredictable weather. When she reached the foot of Mount Olympus, she was about to collapse. However, she could not let herself quit, even if it killed her. So she started to ride up the mountain with Steadfast, facing the blistering cold. The closer to the peak they got, the colder it became and the more rocky. Soon, Frialynia could no longer ride Steadfast up the sheer mountainside and had to lead Steadfast as they slowly but surely made their way to the top. Once they were finally at the peak, Frialynia was close to death.

'Athena, where are you?'� Frialynia asked impatiently, gasping for a larger amount of air than was there at the height of the peak, 'I've done everything you've asked and more. Now, how can I speak to Hera?'�

'Are you sure that you want to do this?'� Athena's voice sounded in the air, ' You can still turn around.'�

' I will never give up,'� Frialynia told her sternly, 'Not while there is still breath in my body.'�

' Very well,'� Athena responded, and a large flash of light went up, blinding Frialynia temporarily. The next second, Frialynia found herself in front of an entire mass of gods and goddesses.

' Where am I?'� Frialynia wondered out loud as Steadfast whinnied beside her.

' You are on Mount Olympus, just like you asked,'� Athena responded, standing next to her in all her glory. She was dressed in armor and had a small owl perched upon her left shoulder, ' And here comes Hera now.Athena had spoken truly. Hera was storming over towards Frialynia and Athena in a rage.

' What is a mortal doing on Mount Olympus?'� Hera screeched, ' Especially this abomination?!?!?!'�

' I brought her,'� Athena responded to Hera's anger calmly, ' She wishes to speak with you.'�

' Why?!?!'� Hera screamed, ' What would encourage you to drag that piece of filth for a human up into my domain?'�

' Because I wanted to ask you something,'� Frialynia answered, regaining her confidence in the face of her abuser, 'Why did you curse me with my wings? Why, when I had never done anything to you and had already endured so much? True, your actions lead to the best thing of my life, but that doesn't justify your actions.'�

' Justify?'� Hera questioned, ' Justify? I AM A GODDESS!! I don't need to justify my actions, and especially not to a mortal! As a matter of fact, I am tired of you! I never want to she you again!'� With that , Hera pointed once more at Frialynia and, this time, turned her and Steadfast completely invisible and started to cackle.

' What did you do that for?!?!'� Frialynia exclaimed, staring right through herself.

' I was tired of you,'� Hera said as a matter of fact, ' So now you are invisible.'�

' For the rest of my life?!?!'� Frialynia gasped.

' No,'� Hera smiled wickedly, ' There is one way to fix it. You must find the rare flower Zearaya and rub it all over you and your horse. You better start looking for it now!'� Hera instantly teleported Frialynia and Steadfast to the mortal world without another word.

' Is there really a Zearaya flower?'� Athena asked menacingly.

' No,'� Hera told her evilly, ' So now they will search forever more, and will never, ever, ever, ever find it.'� Hera laughed maniacally, then walked away from Athena without saying anything more.

So, Frialynia's story ends. She became doomed to forever search for a flower to cure her, when one never existed. However, occasionally you can hear her riding by on Steadfast through the sky, rustling the leaves as they pass.



A story that I had to write for English, but I thought it turned out pretty well. It had to be based on Greek mythology, hence all of the Greek gods, goddesses, and places.

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