Serinina deals with violence against the Helots, then she deals with the other greek states and marries Ares

Queen Serinina; she really liked that title now. It wasn't equal to the King of the Golden Isles yet. She was a queen of a small state within the Greek Isles. But, it was not going to remain that way. Serinina was planning an expedition to the coastal state of Argos for the future.

But the title did come with its extreme frustrations, and she wondered if Patinea ever dealt with such intense frustrations when trying to protect a very vulnerable part of the population. She knew that Patinea had dealt with a few attacks on the Hekatin by the priests and their young disciples. Still, few ever really seemed to be in any real danger from those attacks. The attackers quickly found themselves outgunned and overwhelmed by sheer numbers. The Hekatin proved extremely capable of defending themselves. But, it seemed that the Witches were the only ones Patinea considered worthy of protection. Putting them on protected status meant placing the rest of the people at their mercy.

These people weren't able to defend themselves, and killing them was actually considered a sport for the military caste. And Serinina was standing over a dead Helot boy and his parents. The three must have been brutally murdered last night. Serinina felt her hot rage rising as she stood over the bloody body of this seven-year-old boy, and the beaten body of his father who must have been killed trying to defend his son. His mother was found dead in another room. She knew things like this were likely to happen. The military caste would resist the Helots being made free. She knew that she would have to drag Spartan society into the future, kicking and screaming. Here she was, and she was committed to this course. The Spartans were going to comply with this, or else. And she suspected there would be many “or else” situations soon before they finally got the point.

Serinina examined her records and found out which Spartan guards were on duty that night and summoned all of the captains to her.

They all came and stood there with her standing over a slaughtered child and his family. She looked outraged and said, “Last night, one of you allowed someone to sneak through and slaughter this boy, and his entire family. I had enough guards, so one of you had to know and willingly allow this crime to occur. It is no use resisting or trying to hide your guilt. I will find out. So tell me which of you allowed this?”

She waited, and of course, every single one of them professed their innocence. So she reached for her energy and examined each one of the guard's minds, and one of them sang out to her. She stood in front of him, wearing a furious scowl on her face. Her narrowed eyes spoke volumes about the level of her anger. He visibly gulped in fear as she glared into his eyes.

“So you allowed the killers to pass. It only makes sense. The pass you were assigned to, leads to their house. You and the guards assigned to you will follow me for questioning to find out who killed them.” Was it some of the guards, or someone else? That was the big question.

Serinina waited for the other guards to arrive. The guards were rounded up and taken to their queen at sword point by her loyal officers. They all saw that she was not happy. “I have one simple question for you all. Did any of you kill this family,” She demanded in a barely controlled tone of fury. “Or did someone else kill them, and you simply took no action to prevent it? You may as well answer me because I will find the truth anyway. If it was someone else, I demand their names?”

And these guards were as stupid as the captain and remained silent. “So, you won't answer me, huh. Fine, we will have to do it the hard way. Seize one and hold him still.”

Her loyal guards seized the first guard and held him tight as Serinina approached him. She held her hand on the young man’s forehead. He began screaming in agony as his memories were ripped from him. Then she repeated the process on all of them.

Within an hour, the entire group was huddled in a fetal position withering in agony. “So you simply didn't do your job and allowed one of your friends to slip pass to kill this family. So he could call himself a man and a warrior. And you thought he deserved it.”

They nodded and the captain made one of the biggest mistakes he could. “These people are servants. They serve us and we refuse to bow to an entitled bitch trying to change our culture. This is how a boy becomes a warrior. it's required, and these Helots mean nothing.”

Of course, that was the culture, Serinina knew. Killing a Helot and getting away was a test, and a right of passage for a boy training to be a spartan warrior. She knew they would fight to retain their position. It was no use. Serinina turned to her guards and commanded, “bring that family to me. They are all sentenced to death, as are these disloyal guards that disgraced themselves. After you round up that family, assemble the generals and the military and this will be public.”

The family of the young man that murdered the Helot Family was taken from their home and thrown in a dungeon along with the specific guards that were responsible. They were held there for days as the entire military, their generals, and captains were assembled with the nobles of Sparta for the great presentation that Serinina had planned to assure that they all understood the price of resistance. And she would tolerate none.

Everything had been prepared at Serinina’s direction and commands, and everything was ready. Then she had the criminals dragged out in chains. The individually responsible guards, the young man and his father, were taken out and presented to the military caste. Serinina stood there with a furious glare and it almost looked like she was being consumed with flames of her anger. She spoke aloud. “These people killed a Helot family. They murdered a ten-year-old boy, his father, who tried to protect him and his mother. Let you all witness their deaths now, and bear witness to it. This will be the penalty of resistance to my rule. Murdering Helots will no longer be tolerated. Any guard responsible for it, or for allowing the killing of Helots will suffer the same as the killers. Helots will be protected. They are free citizens now. They are not sport. As of now, the protection of Helots will be raised from five hundred to five thousand guards. Present the criminals now for execution.”

The boy and his father were presented along with the specific guards and the captain that conspired with the boy were made to kneel. Serinina stood behind them and drove her spear into the back of each of the criminals one by one. “Killing Helots will no longer be tolerated. Bear witness to the fact; any more attacks on Helots will be dealt with in the same way.”

Serinina had no illusions that that was the end of it. She knew she would have to deal with many more attacks on Helots and make examples of their killers. And before the lesson was learned, the protection detail of the Helots was raised from five thousand to twenty-five thousand. Thousands of executions took place before the Spartans finally got the message. But they eventually got the message.

She had spent the past four months revamping the training of the Spartan military and increased recruitment. Many of the Helot males had wanted to join the Spartan military, and she had opened up the military to the lower classes. Soldiers, captains and Generals had been promoted. She had increased the Spartan military to its old glory days, and now she was the head of one of the most powerful military forces in the Greek states. They were ready to march to Argos if they needed to.

However, she doubted it would be required. Their army was trapped in Anatolia with a disastrous war with Troy. Their army was not going to return. Serinina had decimated their great navy and Argos was one of the strongest navies in the Greek Isles. They were second only to Athens itself. Argos’s shipyards were world-famous, and they had designed and built the enormous Deceres that were now guarding the Harbor.

That was the ship Argos built for Agamemnon himself. It was the biggest ship of the world until Serinina designed her supership. She called it the floating citadel and it was named the Gerrik.

Serinina didn’t think she would require her army for this. She thought she could reason with the Argos King and his arrogant daughter, frightening them into submission. She was traveling to Argos with only her small group of guards. She had been allowed into the city with her small group of guards, and she was now about to enter the King’s Royal chambers. She simply waited outside of the enormous doors to the massive royal chambers where King Kepheus and Queen Kassiopeia were. They had agreed to grant the new Queen of Sparta an audience, and she figured that the King guessed what it was going to be about.

Already, the King of Arcadia had traveled to Sparta and was waiting for her. Their King wanted to negotiate terms. He was not going to be happy to hear that Serinina would accept no terms. They surrender and accept Spartan occupation, or face the Spartan Phalanxes in battle. Arcadia had sent over ninety-five percent of their forces to Agamemnon. They had no hope in a battle, and they knew it.

However, Argos had the forces to hold out for a while. Their chief city was well defended and could cause the Spartan forces a lot of damage if it came to that. They would still fall, and there were many smaller undefended cities and some poorly defended cities that would fall first. Argos could hold out for months at most, and it would be a fight to take it.

The large doors opened, and a royal guard of Argos marched forward and told Serinina she was free to enter the royal chambers of the Argos King.

She walked through and saw what they considered the royal chambers. It was about a third as large as the royal chambers and throne that was stolen from her. But the followers of Maxis and the Denae family were known for their extreme hubris and egos. Patinea was a testament to that, and so was her father.

These chambers were rather small. But, they had an enormous dome above the chamber, and as she looked up, she saw the images of Zeus and Hera, and various other gods fighting the Titans. Then she looked upon a massive raised marble platform where the royals of Argos sat.

King Kepheus began the discussion sounding annoyed and arrogant. “Before you start, let me guess what this is about,” he sneered sarcastically “since a massive portion of our remaining forces are trapped in Anatolia fighting King Agamemnon's futile and disastrous war against Troy. One in which you have effectively wiped out a large portion of their troops, and the entire navy. Considering the rapid speed in which you claimed the sole crown of Sparta and rearmed their army. You are here to demand our surrender to Sparta, or face war? Is that why you are here?”

“You have most of it correct.” Serinina admitted arrogantly.”

“You may as well leave then,” Kepheus replied. “We kept our best troops here, and our city is very well defended. Although we have many undefended towns, and some weakly protected by thinner walls and smaller contingents of untrained town guards and such that would fall to you in a war, you will find this city very difficult to storm. We also still have a large navy defending the city. If you want to try it, go ahead. We are ready for you.”

“You have accurately described the strategic situation better than I hoped you would,” Serinina admitted to the King. “But you are missing a big part of the equation. Sure, you could hold out for months. But your walls would still fall. We would enter, and your futile resistance and the causalities you needlessly caused our troops in your futile resistance would inspire significant reprisals against your population. Not that you care for the people behind your city walls at all. But, there is a huge part you are missing here, and that is me. I could defeat your navy and blockade your city. I know the weaknesses of your city's defenses. But, I also have abilities and favor of the Gods. Hera granted me enormous power. I have control of Poseidon’s pet Ketos. So here are my demands. I do demand you surrender your city. Open the gates and accept Spartan control. And, surrender your daughter Andromeda to me. She will be sent to the Golden Isles to marry Lord Ansay’s son, Rhunteck. You have three days. If you refuse, I will release the Ketos on your city. He will sweep away your city, your people, you and your family, and all of your dreams. Make your choice, surrender, and give your daughters' hand in marriage to a noble from my homeland. Or die. It’s your choice. I will be waiting just outside of Argos territory, awaiting your response. I will release Ketos in three days if I receive no answer.”

“My daughter marry Rhunteck? Can you show us what this boy looks like?” He demanded, not really caring. It wasn't going to happen. But he was interested in how the boy looked.

Serinina created an image of the lanky and slightly grotesque teenage boy that Patinea was arranged to. And the thought of marrying him disgusted her.

It disgusted Kepheus too. Andromeda cried out, but she knew there was little choice, if Serinina had control over the Ketos. Her marriage to a disgusting boy, and surrender, or the destruction of the entire city and the death of all of its people.

Serinina knew she was starting to become very cruel. But she had to be like her sister to maintain the power she required. Her sister had taught her precious lessons in her life. To be respected, she had to be feared. She couldn’t be the easy-going and loving teenage boy she was before. He trusted people, and he ended up getting what he deserved. He was destroyed. In his place was a ruthless and cruel Lilith. Someone that no one dared to cross. Even Ares and Zeus knew that Lilith could ruin them.

Serinina traveled back to her army camp just outside of Argos’s Territory and she waited in her tent while her army trained. The King of Arcadia had arrived with his guards and a few administrators to discuss matters. He saw the writing on the wall and hoped there was some way to maintain his independence or at least some measure of political autonomy. They had gone back and forth long enough, and it was boring Serinina. She had reached the limit of her patience with this fucking moron.

She slammed her fist down on the table, and the thick table shattered from the impact. Her eyes narrowed, and the King of Arcadia thought he saw flames in her eyes. When she spoke, he knew she was furious. It wasn't the sweet voice of Serinina anymore. This was a death growl from Hades. “I have listened to your mewling nonsense long enough, King Leon. So let me make our conditions very clear. If you want to avoid a conflict, you must order your soldiers to surrender, and lay down their arms. You will face a military occupation. Our military will occupy your towns and forts. Whether it's by your consent, or after our forces destroy yours is your decision. But it will happen. You, your family, and your political administrators will be replaced. That's also unavoidable. Arcadia will be absorbed into Sparta. Those are the conditions you will accept, you can resist and we will have a brief conflict. There will be no more discussion. Leon, will you accept our conditions, if not then leave and know that as soon as my conflict with Argos is over, we will march on Arcadia. I am tired of listening to you now. Make your decision!” Serinina yelled.

“I accept. My forces will lay down their arms and accept your conditions, my Queen.” He knelt and bowed his head.

Serinina smiled and called one of her commanders in. Ajax and his wife entered, and Serinina ordered, “Take five of the phalanxes and cavalry of your choice. Leon,” Serinina avoided addressing him as King anymore “has abdicated. March into Arcadia, they just surrendered. But, if it's a trap and his meager forces try an attack, withdraw and take him, prisoner. I will deal with Arcadia then.”

Leon protested, “it's no trap, I will order them to lay down their arms and accept your conditions, my Queen.”

“You make sure your armies lay down their arms. Make sure they don’t attack us, Leon. The safety and lives of your citizens depend on it.” Serinina warned cruelly. “I would hate to have to make an example of them.”

He cowered, shivering and nearly crying, “I promise my Queen. I will ensure they will not attack you.”

Then they marched out. All that was left was Argos, and they had a day to make their decision. Ketus was waiting. Arcadia had just surrendered, or so, Serinina hoped. She believed Leon.

The female form of Ajax had his phalanxes and were marching out with King Leon, escorting them. Then he saw a lone, very beautiful woman approaching their army camp. Serinina called some of her troops, and Cassandra led a small group to defend them. Not that Serinina thought there would be a problem with one lone woman approaching them. But always be prepared for the unexpected. It could be anything. Best to be ready for a sudden attack, than unprepared and lose lives by underestimating a lone woman approaching them.

She approached closer, and somehow, this woman looked very familiar. Something about her face and her features reminded her of someone she saw before. Serinina looked into her face as Cassandra and her small group stood in defense formation with their spears pointed directly at her preventing any further approach. Then Serinina recognized her. This woman was Andromeda. She was King Kepheus’s daughter. She was the daughter of the King of Argos. Was she here to arrange their surrender? Serinina told Cassandra to allow the woman to pass, and Andromeda walked to Serinina and they entered her command tend.

Serinina sat down and asked, “Princess Andromeda of Argos. Has your father accepted our terms?”

“No” she replied. “My father is a fool. But I will accept your terms in his place. I will submit myself to marrying the man you demand. I will marry Rhunteck for you. And I will ensure that Argos submits to you. You will have everything you desire, Queen Serinina. My father is stupid, but if submitting myself saves the seventy thousand in Argos, then I will do it. I will also surrender the city for you.”

She loved that title. Queen Serinina. “How can you override your father if he insists on resisting me?”

“The guards won't refuse me, if I order them to let you in. My only demand is you harm no civilians. If I am going to lead you in and surrender the city against my father's will. Then I expect you to honor it and take no action against the people.”

“That is my intention,” Serinina replied with a sweet smile. “I want to be their Queen. I can't harm them, if I want to rule them. I will trust you, but if this is a trick, then it will be your people that pay the price.”

“I am paying the price, Serinina,” Andromeda replied with a frown and a tear of sorrow. “I am marrying this repulsive boy with bug-like eyes to save my people. I have no idea who he is, or how he will treat me. I will be his wife in a loveless marriage and giving up my free will. I will give up any hopes of marrying a man that I chose, all to protect my people. I am risking my father's wrath to save the people. This is no trick. I am surrendering and betraying my family to protect the people. The only question is do you accept my conditions?”

“Yes,” Replied Serinina. “If you are for real, then yes, and I will protect you from your father's wrath. Now, meet Ampar Ansey, the father of Rhunteck.”

The Duke of Ansey Isle walked in and looked at Andromeda and smiled. “She looks better than your arrogant sister Patinea did. I think my son will be much more happy with her. I thank you for accepting Serinina’s terms.”

Andromeda bowed and said, “You are welcome. I just hope he can respect me. But he can do as he wishes. I will be his wife.”

Then Serinina interrupted, “Just remember, Lord Ampar what I demand. When the time comes, you will let us occupy Ansey Isles and claim it. That includes your lordship of the Isles. I, and my Spartan's will claim it as a beachhead to establish our presence, and our power against Denaerk.”

None of this really sounded good to Ampar. But this was the bargain he struck with Serinina and he knew how his administrators and his military would react to a female queen claiming leadership over them and their land, and their military. Of course, with these Spartan's. He strongly suspected that his generals and administrators would have little to say about the matter. He suspected that they may not say anything in life at all. This didn’t sound good at all. He knew what Serinina intended. The fearsome merciless look in her eyes spoke of a hatred that ran very deep. Serinina’s reckoning wasn’t only with his sister. It was with the entire country.

Serinina spoke up, “You resisted Patinea’s claim to the throne. That small part was good. But still, it wasn’t for me. None of you cared at all about me. You wanted to use me. Once I was transformed, you gave up on me. You all cared nothing for what my life had become, Ampar. You wanted to be King, or your son. I was pretty much irrelevant. I am using you to gain a foothold on the Golden Isles, that's your purpose here and why I am letting you claim Andromeda. I don’t need your bargain or consent to land troops in your Isles. I can do it against your consent and have my army wipe yours out and burn your cities, and your palaces. But, I am giving you this one chance to retain some of your power if you are willing to cooperate. You know your pathetic troops won't stand a chance against mine. You could barely withstand Patinea’s. Your troops fled her army. What chance will you have against battle-hardened Spartans?” Serinina laughed.

“I will accept your terms Serinina, and I am sorry for the way my family treated you. We made a horrifying error. Everyone did and they will pay a price none of then can bear. I am glad I have one chance to rectify our mistake.”

“I don’t care either way.” Serinina quipped dismissively. “Your opinion and your apology mean nothing to me. Andromeda,”

“Yes,” Andromeda replied.

“Let's go and see if you can accomplish what you say you can.” Serinina commanded. “Let’s see if you can get the city guards to open the doors and let us in. I will be bringing the bulk of my forces in”

Serinina assembled her forces and they marched toward Argos. Andromeda knew that most of the city guards trusted her and if many of them had to choose who had their loyalty that she would win. They knew that in most situations, her father would sacrifice them for his sake but she cared for them and the city's people they were supposed to protect.’

They marched toward Argos and there they encountered their first challenge upon meeting the city guards at their first large town. The town's guards saw the large columns of spartan troops led by the newly crowned spartan Queen Serinina. They were surprised to see that many of the new spartan soldiers were women. They were even more shocked to see that the princess of Argos, Andromeda was providing them an escort. This wasn't good at all.

So Andromeda and Serinina’s forces found themselves surrounded by a hundred of the city’s town guards with their swords drawn. The captain of the Town’s guard shouted, “Release our princess at once!”

The town guards would be no match for the thousands of spartan soldiers if they had to fight. Andromeda was extremely alarmed now. Serinina looked like she was close to ordering an attack. She had started to suspect that Andromeda was betraying her promise. She wasn’t, but this meant that Serinina would kill the guards and then possibly burn the town. She had to do something fast. So she went to the captain of the Towns guards and told him that she wasn’t being held.

“I am here of my own free will, Captain,” Andromeda assured him. “This is my choice and you are required to respect it. I am doing this to protect you, your children, and the people here. Don’t make my sacrifice here be meaningless. I beg you, let us travel to Argos.”

She was surprised when the Capitan stepped aside and ordered his men to withdraw. Serinina’s suspicion was disproved, and she relaxed. Andromeda let out a breath in relief as they marched on. Andromeda suspected that it would get more difficult as they approached the larger and more fortified towns. They went through more towns, and few had stopped them demanding an explanation. Andromeda explained the situation and implored that they let them pass. The town they were protecting and their families depended on it, and they were allowed to pass. Many of the guards were upset at Andromeda's fate with these men, but they understood. None of them were actually aware that she was defying her father in doing this. Many of them assumed that this was their King's decision, and Andromeda was simply and very reluctantly accepting it to save them. But that assumption would not continue as she made it closer to the capital.

That challenge was about to be faced as they approached a large coastal fortified city. It's large stone walls and towers blocked their path. The town's large military garrison was also ready to defend the town if it was required. The gates were shut in their face, and Andromeda saw the towns, archers, in the towers prepared to unleash their fury on them. The town stood little chance if it really came down to it. Those walls were formidable, but Serinina’s Spartans would make quick work of It. They were nowhere near the imposing walls of their capital.

They saw that the Princess was being held, but she approached them and demanded to talk to the commander. The gates opened, and the commander and his staff walked out to meet the Princess.

They couldn't be tricked. They knew that if the King had wanted them to let the Spartan's through, he would have relayed direct orders to them. However, they had received no such orders.

“Princess Andromeda, you know I can't let these men through. Why have you done this, and who are these men?” The General said to her.

“General, meet Ampar the father of my fiance and future husband, and you probably heard of Queen Serinina of Sparta, her general Ajax, former King, and Cassandra from Troy. We must demand you allow us to pass through to Argos. Please be reasonable.”

“Your future husband? How?” The general demanded in shock. “I thought you were going to marry that boy from Athens. You and him got along so well. You visited our beaches and had a great time. I thought you were going to marry him, what happened?”

“This, I have no choice here, Baldwin. I really don’t. I must agree to this or you will all pay for our defiance. I am saving you, your family and your children, and these towns. I wouldn’t do this if I thought there was a chance, but you know your small garrison doesn't stand a chance if it comes to a real fight with the Spartans. My idiot father gave all of our forces to Agamemnon for his moronic war with Troy. Our armies are being destroyed against Troy's walls. We have nothing to fight Sparta with, do you think you can resist this?”

The look on her generals face told her that he knew this would be a fight he would lose. “No, we know that, but how can you do this?”

“I have no choice here,” Andromeda stated. “You know this isn’t my father's choice. It’s my own. He couldn’t sacrifice my future for yours. But that's part of our duties at times. I must protect you all. And you must honor it. By resisting Sparta, he is also sacrificing your lives for his own, but it will all be futile. Are you willing to die, and then have these people suffer the Spartan's reprisals for your resistance, and even possibly my own life, General? Think about this. They will burn the entire town.”

The General saw the point and opened the gates and let the Spartan's pass. Serinina left a large garrison of her own in the town to protect them. The town's garrison was disarmed and placed under house arrest until the final surrender. Their main coastal town was placed under Spartan control. They were now approaching Argos. This was either going to end with a siege and a desperate battle that would result in all of them being killed, and Argos being destroyed, or their guards and soldiers seeing her sacrifice and turning on their King.

In the end, after some haggling and arguing, their general saw Andromeda’s reasoning and opened the gates and surrendered the city. They all stormed into the Palace and captured their King. He faced Serinina and Andromeda with a look of betrayal. “Daughter, how can you do this?” He roared at her.

“Because, I am a princess and we are entrusted with the protection of the people we rule,” Andromeda informed him. “You were going to sacrifice them, their dreams, and families for your ego. And it would have made no difference in the end, except for the destruction of Argos and their deaths. I couldn’t allow that, so I took action.”

Serinina stated, “She saved Argos. Thanks to her, Argos and it's people will survive. Your fate is to be determined by your actions at this point.”

The idiot simply couldn't see reason and rushed Serinina in rage and ended up impaled on her spear with her spearpoint out of his back. He was tossed into the harbor. And with that, Argos had fallen to the Spartans. Olympia and Messenia would be next. But when they saw Arcadia and Argos fall, they submitted to Sparta without a fight. Serinina had firm control of the entire island of Peloponnese, and she was solidifying control over it and preparing for an invasion of the Greek mainland.

Serinina had gone to Arcadia to settle. She had been very impressed with Ajax lately. She did his duty to Sparta well, she served as Sparta’s regent very well. She did his duty and followed her orders to reform Spartan society. She followed Serinina’s instructions to upgrade the military training and include women in the Spartan army. She allowed girls to participate in the Spartan Agoge training regime. She had defended the Helots that were now free. She forbade any attacks on them, and ruthlessly punished the Spartan's that took it on themselves to attack the Helots in reprisals. Those men saw their final day if they killed a Helot. She allowed a great number of Helots to enter spartan military training and their boys to start the Agoge training. Ajax surpassed all of her expectations. Ajax has proven herself to be a very worthy woman. She almost passed out when she heard that Ajax personally apologized to the women he abused when she was a man and did anything she could to help them. Lands, titles protection, and anything they wanted were given to the women.

Serinina had selected a location for her grand personal palace just outside of the city of Arcadia. It was going to be twice as large as the one she lived at in Denaerk. It's main royal chambers were almost a copy of the one his sister stole, only much larger, and its throne was massive. No one was ever going to take this from her. Construction had begun, and she suspected it would take three years to build her new palace in Arcadia.

But for now, she occupied the old palace of the Arcadia royal family that she deposed. Serinina had prepared an elaborate ceremony of her victory here. This campaign took roughly a year, and she had subjugated the surrounding states. She planned it in a week and waited for the nobles and their militia to arrive with their people. What remained of the Argos royal family except for Andromeda, who was now being taken to Anseys Isles for her upcoming marriage to Runteck. Their queen Kassiopeia had arrived with their guards and administrators. Arcadia's prior King and Queen Leon and Francesca were here. Olympias's royal family was set to arrive shortly. Queen Chloe and King Demetrios were on their way with their son Cyrus. They were going to arrive within days.

King Heroidas was going to arrive from Messinia with his family. The ceremony that was going to solidify the submission of the state to Sparta and make her the queen of them all was about to occur. Soon, no one was going to stand in her way.

Serinina made sure to greet every state noble when they arrived personally, and she promised them their safety, some other titles as their lands were reorganized into the greater state of Sparta. Their armies were incorporated into Serinina’s army, and their standards of training were standardized. Their sons were chosen to be in the elite forces and participate in the Spartan Agoge. New administrators were sent.

Serinina threw herself into the enormous and exhausting task of politically reorganizing the new territories she had conquered. The job was exhausting, and sometimes, it was very frustrating. She loved it and enjoyed the challenge of looking at their administration and finding ways to streamline them and make them fit better with her idea of a more significant spartan state.

She thought about how she hated these tasks before and could barely wait for them to end. It was that, that showed to her family she was ill-suited for the job of King as a sixteen-year-old boy. Her sister Patinea stole her crown and threw herself into the task.

But, it also occurred to her that she was not in any way pressed into it. Actually, she chose this path herself. She defeated the spartan state and she could have stayed away and let them deal with the defeat themselves. But she insisted on going to Sparta and assumed the spartan throne. Then she set herself on the task of reorganizing the spartan state, then sending them to the neighboring city-states and subjugating them all. Now she was the master of this entire island, and it was her job to reorganize their political organization, their administrations and solidify her control over them all, and to prepare for the future. She didn't have to, and she had little claim to their thrones and titles except for the might of her military and having subjugated them all. And Serinina was now almost sixteen. The Witch moon would be appearing in their skies in little over a year. There was nothing she could do about the political developments in the Golden Isles. There's no way she would be ready to take their throne. Patinea would, and she would reorganize the homeland and probably release their Goddess. Reorganizing Peloponnese would take years. It would be years until she’s ready to land forces on the mainland and threaten Athens itself. But she would soon have to go back to Troy. Alarming developments had taken place. She heard that her mother was hurt, Helena was still missing. The Greek forces had been annihilated, and they had accepted defeat. At least that's what their King says, and they are building a gift for the Trojans. They are going to gift the Trojans a massive wooden horse.

Serinina wasn’t tricked by this. They could have given the Trojans gold, or anything else. Why an enormous hollow horse? She knew what was being planned, but the Trojans were falling for it. Hector was ecstatic, but she strongly suspected he was the traitor that was planning on giving Troy to the Greeks. She was planning on returning soon, and killing Hector.

Dealing with the Spartans and the Helots was one of the most frustrating tasks. There have been countless attempts to murder Helots. She originally thought five hundred loyal troops would be enough of a presence to prevent Spartan attacks on them. Serinina was wrong. Within a week of declaring the Helots were free and stationing five hundred troops to defend them, she got word that over forty of them were murdered. She underestimated the situation. Killing helots was a sport to some of the Spartan noble caste. A Spartan boy was recognized as a man by killing a Helot. Serinina had offended and angered the Spartans by freeing their Helots, and they were going to resist. She had put down minor rebellions and uprising and attempts to murder Helots in retaliation. Her meager five hundred troops to defend the Helots had swelled to over twenty thousand with an additional fifteen thousand in reserve to put down uprisings. They were needed and only added headaches for her efforts to reform Spartan society. But it was moving ahead despite attempts to stall the progress. She had even suffered an assassination attempt and a stupid attempt at storming the palace and killing her. That ended up to be a mistake. Many of the spartan nobles and their loyal soldiers had ended up being killed. But she made progress and there had been little resistance in the past six months.

Then she was able to plan expeditions to Arcadia and Argos. She had solidified her control over the Island now. She was it's undisputed leader, and it was now time to make her rule official.

She stood over the construction site of her new palace just outside of the city of Arcadia. She watched countless heavy wagons full of bricks and marble stones headed for the construction site to lay its foundation and floors. This was only the beginning. The number of carts and the outline of the ditches dug for them showed the sheer size of her new palace. It was going to take three to five years to build. This was going to dwarf the palace at Denaerk. This was her imperial palace. It was fit for an Empress.

Her fiance was now waiting for her at her own wedding ceremony. Serinina was almost ready. She had debated about what to wear. Did she want to wear an elaborate gown as the typical Greek ladies wore on their wedding, or did she want to wear her armor as a spartan warrior? This was a very unusual event for Greek Culture. A man was a warrior in this situation. But the woman was the reigning queen and also a battle-hardened warrior. She chose the Gown in the end. She wore the garments of an elite spartan noble woman. Serinina donned herself in the typical Greek spartan gown with the belt tied right under her bustline and crisscrossing the center of her breasts to the opposite shoulder. She donned the cape like himation down her body and finished her look with the crimson red spartan royal cape. It would look stupid to wear all of this female attire and complete the look with her royal king's helmet. That would really look stupid, so instead, she wore her humiliating princess tiara that she was given the day of her transformation from a prince to a princess instead of the King. She had planned an imperial coronation for tomorrow. It was humiliating at first, and the way it was placed on her head was more of an insult while her sister got the royal crown. She had learned to live with it, and it was better for a wedding than a warrior’s helmet. Then she draped a veil on her head. Her chariot and her loyal friends and administrators were waiting. This was going to be a very interesting wedding ceremony. And of course, Spartan's never did anything the easy or romantic way. If that's what you thought, who are you kidding? Serinina laughed.

The chariot driver laughed as she stood still, he said, “Now, if you think I'm taking you all the way to Olympus, think again my Queen.”

Almost everyone laughed at that joke. But it was tradition to hold the ceremony in front of the groom's home. But Ares settled for the service at the new temple dedicated to him. She was going to live in her palace anyway. The chariot went slow so her family and friends, and nobles could follow them as they sung spartan warrior songs.

The chariot stopped in front of a huge golden statue of Ares and his newly built temple. Serinina stepped off, seeing her fiance standing there in his godlike robes waiting for her arrival and she approached him.

Defying tradition yet again, she held her own apple and fed herself. She took a defiant bite of her apple. Tradition dictated that the husband gave the wife the apple to eat, signifying that he was going to provide for her. Serinina would tolerate no such thing. And then both of them received a weapon and faced off against each other. This was the Spartan way. They faced off and fought. The wife was supposed to show she was competent and strong, and the husband was also supposed to prove that and end up with the wife over his shoulder. And this was going to be a vicious battle.

She held her custom spear imbued with Heras's power and Ares held his and they began the one on one battle. The spears struck each other, sending out deafening blasts as the friends held their ears and cowered down. Serinina struck out with her power, and Ares blocked her attack. This was supposed to be a ceremonial friendly battle, but they wanted to prove something to each other. In the end, she allowed herself to be defeated and picked up. Or this may never had ended. Ares knew she could have beaten him, but she chose not to. They tightly embraced each other and then stood in front of the assembled guests and said, “My name is now Serinina Ares. Ares is, um just Ares.” She giggled and passionately kissed each other.

Then the newlywed couple received gifts. Their friends and nobles gave Serinina new weapons, gold, and beautiful jewelry. Hades appeared and gave Serinina a gift. He gave Serinina a scepter and said, “This will allow you to enter Erebus any time you want. Charon will take you across the Styx any time you desire. “

Hade's wife, Persephone, approached and gave Serinina a mysterious glowing block. “This will allow you to enter Tartarus and leave at will. Just be careful there, and whatever you do, do not release Kronos.

Hades’ sisters, Hestia and Demeter, gave her a gleaming new crown.

"I am sorry for how I treated your sister," she replied. "My behavior toward her was wrong. I'm glad that she is only injured and that she will recover."

Demeter smiled at Serinina's apology and said, "Athena is stronger than she appears. She will be fine soon enough."

“This is for your ceremony tomorrow. We will place it on your head then. Athena wanted to be here, but she's still recovering from the wounds you inflicted on her. She had lost her temple and the wounds were severe.”

Serinina nodded at the implied scolding the two women were giving her. She had thought about the confrontation she had had with Athena and had come to regret how angry she had been. Athena had been one of the first gods to bless and support her desires.

Serinina sat at the head of the table with her new husband as servants set huge plates of food on the table for them. They all began eating and having fun into the night. One of the more rebellious nobles decided to ask her near the end, “Serinina, I don't want to be disrespectful. You had to deal with enough of those but I really need to ask. Once you have Greece in your hand. What will you do then?”

“Vienna, and then Rome,” Serinina admitted.

“I suspected, and we will follow you. But I know you intend on taking most of Europe and then landing in your homeland. Why do we need to do all of this for you and why do you want to make us fight in the Golden Isles?”

She figured someone would ask that and she hoped it would be later. However, all of the nobles that trusted her were looking at her.

“I have this power for a reason,” Serinina said. “We need to make major reforms and give our gifts to others. The Italians fell and are under a brutal foreign king now and can hardly even defend themselves. We need to restore their culture and their pride. Clovis is sadistic. But all of this is to finally fight in the Golden Isles. That is for several reasons. We need to destroy their witches and the order of the Hekatin, and their Goddess Prognita. With their power, they can destabilize the world. They are evil and monstrous and with their Goddess restored, they can spread their cruelty to every corner of the planet. We must stop them. I must stop their Goddess and I’m the only one who can. The Hekatin want to usher in a golden age of an age of Women Rule. I used to believe that, but I suffered by their hands and realize they are cruel. Their Goddess is a dark force and they must be stopped. There is going to be a new age, and it will be my age. It will be an age of peace and freedom. that's why I forced the Spartans to free the Helots and my people will free their male captives and I will restore their dignity. Slavery is outlawed. I will not allow anyone to hold slaves any longer. That is the Law!” Serinina shouted louder than anyone could have guessed her voice could go. The message was clear.

And after that encounter, the celebration slowed down into the night and they all went to their places for the night. The military men from the neighboring territories went into their army camps and found their tents. This did resemble her first coronation. But she had already been crowned at Sparta with no incident. But she had kept a very close eye on any potential rivals and their meetings with the nobles to make sure no agreements were reached that may threaten the nobles loyalty to her. That was one of her big errors at her first coronation. She didn't watch her sister that week. Serinina trusted Patinea and loved her. But Patinea had met with all of the nobles as they came to the capital that week and promised them all gifts, gold, and lands for their loyalty. So when the time came, none of those nobles stood up for Serin. They had all been bribed and not even the guards stood up for her, for those guards were all selected because of their faith to the Goddess. Serin stood alone. Patinea had their loyalty and she got the crown from him. Now Serinina had her own crown of many nations and it was going to grow.

The rooster crowed that morning waking Serinina up in her bed at the Palace of Arcadia and she dressed for her new coronation and accepting the loyalty of the new aristocracy she was slowly developing here, and the former Kings and Queens of the areas she now occupied. And to hand out a few of her own gifts for their loyalty. Chloe and Demetrios from Olympia were there. Eulalia and Heroidas were here from Messenia ready to pledge their loyalty to Serinina. Queen Kassiopeia was here from Argos and Leon was here from Arcadia and her new grand palace was slowly being built in the background. Everything was coming into place for her, finally. It just took long enough, and enough of her suffering.

They agreed to hold the ceremony in front of the grand temple to her husband Ares with his enormous statue overlooking them all. He was there of course holding her hand. She was Serinina Ares now, wife to the God Ares. He considered taking the name Ares Denae but she didn’t want that. The Denae cast her out so she no longer had any use for the surname Denae. Denae can go fuck themselves. She was going to wipe them all out.

Serinina stood with her husband Ares on an enormous raised marble platform underneath the shadow of a huge gleaming bronze statue of Ares. Each land’s military was gathered in front of them with their lords all knelt in front of them. First, she called up Ajax and his wife Archippe and they stood up and stepped forward. Ajax was smiling having an idea of what was about to happen.

Serinina spoke, “Ajax has proven his undying loyalty and the strength of his character as a man. He has truly reformed his image and his character. The lessons I wanted him to learn have been learned ten-fold by this man. He will truly become the great man that he was meant to be and I will reward him by restoring his manhood before you all. Bear witness to Ajax’s reward.” Serinina spoke the language of the Goddess once again and they all saw the image of Ajax grow and reform itself back into the man they all knew. It had only been a year but that was enough for him.

“Ajax is now a man again, and I am appointing him the administrator of Arcadia for his merit, his achievements and his character. You may have a seat.”

Then the Celebration proceeded. Queen Kassiopeia stepped forward and knelt before Serinina and pledged her loyalty. “I Queen Kassiopeia surrender Argos and it’s people, palaces and forces to our great Queen and Empress Serinina Ares of Sparta. I pledge my loyalty to her and promise to never betray my imperial sovereign.”

One by one each of them stepped forward and knelt, and gave their oath of fealty to Serinina.

And then it was time for the big ceremony that she had been waiting for. Hades and his sisters appeared with a huge shimmering and gleaming crown with each tip embedded with a jewel not seen anywhere on earth. Hades spoke in his gravellike voice, “We the Gods crown Serinina Ares Empress of Sparta, Olympia, Messena, Arcadia and Argos. And an empress cant have only a spear made from the Gods. She also needs a sword to go with it. Hera had this sword made for you.”

She was given a massive shimmering sword that looked very much like Justice the sword that had been taken from her. But this one looked so much more lethal. Serinina smiled in approval and thanked them.

With all of that now taken care off, she had to plan a trip back to Troy to resolve some ongoing issues there. Her adopted mother had been hurt, the Greeks are leaving but are in the process of building a massive horse as a gift of their goodwill. Serinina chuckled but they knew how the Trojans prided themselves on their horses. They would likely fall for it if she didn't arrive soon. And Helena still had yet to be found.