The ship nymph, creaking with effort, dropped anchor. Elissa thought she detected a little waver in her voice when she said, ‘We are here. Go, then, son of Aeneas and daughter of Anna. Go now, Silvius and Elissa.’ Elissa ran to the prow and threw her arms around the back of the figurehead, planting a firm kiss on her cheek.

‘There’s no need for that,’ said the ship nymph, though the edges of her white sails were tinged with pink.

‘I give you thanks, best of nymphs,’ said Silvius, formally, and the ship nymph shivered with pleasure as she brought them into the shallows. Ruffler jumped into the water, his little tail wagging frantically, scenting already the wonderful smells of land.

It was about the midpoint of the day, and the shoreline was deserted. There were only a couple of other ships, and they had been pulled right up onto the beach. Elissa watched as Silvius checked everything twice. The casket around his neck. His bow and arrows. Their provisions; their water. The small amount of things they’d brought to trade. He looked nervous.

Elissa clambered over the side, making a small splash as she hit the calm sea, and, calling out one last goodbye to the ship nymph, waded to the shore.

It was good to stand on dry land, and feel the sand beneath her feet. As they stood ready to make their move inland, a movement caught their attention.

The ship began to shrink. The masts retracted into its body, and the bulging centre tapered inwards.

Soon there was just a shape which might have been the outline of a woman, long hair merging into the waves. She raised a hand.

‘Be strong!’ Elissa called out; but if the woman answered, Elissa did not hear, as the sea nymph had already dived back into the waters, on her way back home.

Elissa and Silvius sat down on the shoreline, and shared the last of the fish. Silent for a while, Elissa took in her surroundings. This was the furthest she’d ever been away from Lavinium. This was Achaea, the land of Orestes. She glanced at Silvius, and saw that he was picking up pebbles and dropping them, as if getting a feel for the land.

They watched the late sunlight on the waves. It was getting dark. A gull shrieked, and they turned inland. Ruffler was keeping close to them, his little body tense.

‘Let’s press on to Mykenai. We can find somewhere to sleep along the way.’ Silvius looked determined.

Elissa shook her head. ‘It’s too far. We should find somewhere now.’

‘We’ll lose half a day!’

‘Better to go rested.’

Reluctantly Silvius agreed. But Elissa could see he was disappointed. He kept putting a hand to his temple and squeezing his eyes shut, as if he had a headache.