Infinite 01 - Infinite Sacrifice

Leander enters the ring. He’s taller, has fully developed chest muscles, and biceps much larger than mine. If I’m going to win, I’ll have to use my leg strength and not let him pick me up. We get into our wrestling stances, and my eyes focus on the two large moles he has on his jaw.
    The match begins, and we collide low. He tries to get under to throw me, but I fight to get under him. He catches me in a number of holds, yet I always manage to squirm free. The match goes on like this until it is announced he wins. Disappointed, I throw my tunic back on, gather all my laurel wreaths, and walk out before the feasting begins.
    I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I’m surprised to see Leander standing there.
    “Are you leaving?” he asks.
    “Yes.”
    “Before the feast begins?”
    “I have to get home,” I say over my shoulder as I walk away.
    He follows behind me and calls out, “Is it true you have no parents?”
    I stop. “What is it of your concern?”
    “I’ve some business to discuss with the head of your household.”
    “They died in the earthquake,” I answer. “I have to go.”
    I turn and nudge through the current of citizens on their way in for the feast.
    Unfazed, he catches up to me. “Then you run your own household?’
    “Leave me be, I must get home.” I begin to make some headway, but he pulls me back toward him, within the swirling mass of the crowd.
    “I’m interested in marriage, and I’d normally ask your father or brother, but you have none.”
    Leander’s one of the strongest young men, and at twenty, he’s only days away from initiation into the revered full-citizen hoplite army.
    “You can ask me,” I say, pulling my chin up in the air, pretending not to be surprised.
    “Will you meet me in secret to wed?”
    “Which day?” Chin still high.
    “Meet me in your barn on the new moon.”
    “I might be there.”
    I walk away and head home thinking of how his black eyes sparkled like polished onyx, yet something strangely unsettling gnawed down deep.
    ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
    Seven days later, under the first night of the new moon, acting as my bridesmaid, Ophira shaves my head.
    She holds the shears up to my hair and asks, “Explain to me why I’m doing this horrible thing to you?”
    “It’s tradition to display how I’ve changed my maiden hair to the shorter hair of a married woman.”
    She snips the first lock of hair and starts laughing. “I can’t do this!”
    She tries to shove the shears back in my hand.
    “It’ll grow back.” I shove them back. “Now do as I say!”
    After she’s done, she holds up a mirror, and I truly look like a man. We both hold our sides in laughter. Ophira can’t even look at me after without laughing.
    “Get yourself together and fetch the rest of the things I need,” I say, still laughing.
    She helps me get on the ceremonial red soldier’s cloak and sandals.
    On our way down to the barn in the dark, Ophira says, “This is the strangest wedding I have ever witnessed.” A rooster flaps in from behind the hen house, late to roost, causing Ophira to erupt in a high-pitched hoot and grab on to me.
    “No moon aids Leander, but it certainly doesn’t make it easier for us.”
    She breaks out in laughter again looking at me, but now I’m in no mood to laugh. It seems so real now.
    She stops laughing and breaks the tension. “Why is this a secret?”
    “It’s called a bride capture, and it’s done in secret because the man steals away from his mess group in the night to meet his bride in a hidden place. They share a moment, and then he returns before anyone notices his absence. The marriage can’t be made public until she’s pregnant, since it would be easier to go their separate ways if one is unable to conceive.”
    “This is all very strange. You don’t see this?” She squints with her palms up to me.
    “I think it’s exciting and mysterious, and if I don’t like him, I’m not stuck with him for life.”
    “Make sure you check his toes, then.”
    We both laugh so hard we stumble down the hill. In jet dark, we hold each other’s hands to find our way.
    “Don’t you find it a little odd how you’re made to look like a boy for him?”
    “It’s done to ward off bad spirits that might get jealous of our youthful passion,” I say, but pause and quickly add, “or soldiers might like boys.”
    Our laughter carries off through the valley and I put a finger to my lips before entering the large