Alexa stood on the cliff, watching the water. Astyanax was in her arms, gurgling. His mother had needed rest, too long deprived from her husband, and so Alexa was happy to take her nephew to watch the waves.

"They'll be home soon, little warrior." Alexa whispered to the baby.

But her heart was heavy. This trip- sending Hector and Paris off to finalise the long awaited peace treaty- had made her fearsome. She had a terrible feeling, deep in her breast. But she trusted her brothers. They were good, honest men, and had no need to quarrel with Menelaus. The Spartan King had a great reputation for war mongering, and his wife, Helen, was also notorious for her beauty.

Finally! The ship came upon the horizon. They were home, at last. Her brothers heading towards her. Alexa sighed.

"It appears your foolish aunt was fearful for no reason. Thank the Gods they are home." Alexa murmured to the baby, raising an arm and waving at the ship, hoping they'd catch a glimpse of her on the cliff, and know that their sister was waiting for them to return.

The sun shone down on the Alexa, and she turned her back on the boat and headed back towards the palace.

"Daughter, we wondered where you had taken Astyanax to." King Priam greeted his daughter with a kiss on the cheek as she finally got to the top of the marble steps.

"I was taking him to see his father and uncle." Alexa smiled, watching her fathers face.

"They're back?"

"They'll be here within the hour. I saw the boat with my own eyes."

"At long last. We must alert everyone. The celebrations must begin, a big feast to honour the peace and union between Sparta and Troy. Happy and prosperous times are finally ahead."

"You have worked hard for this peace, father."

"We have all worked hard, Alexa."

They gathered some of the important councilmen and waited at the docks for the arrival of their princes. Andromache, Hectors wife, was staring intently at the ship, as if her own gaze could draw it closer, drive it faster purely with her own intent. She rocked Astyanax absentmindedly.

Finally, the boat had arrived, and Alexa watched as the plank came down, and finally, after months of waiting, she saw her brothers.

Hector came first, but his face was grave.

Alexa felt that fear again, that panic of something wrong. But Hectors face relaxed when he saw his wife and baby, and rushed forward to embrace them, the picture of happiness. Alexa waited for her other brother, and suddenly, Paris emerged from the ship.

Alexa's smile was broken for a second as she stared, confused. Paris was leading a young woman down the plank by his side, grasping her arm tightly. Her long, golden hair showered her shoulders like a waterfall, her muslin dress clung to her curves seductively. Her face was an angels face, perfectly sculpted with slanting symmetrical eyes and a deliciously curved smile. She was indeed the most beautiful woman Alexa had ever seen in her life.

That was how Alexa knew, for certain- this was Helen of Sparta.

Alexa glanced over at her father, the King, to gauge his reaction. His face was impossible to decode, a perfect mask of calmness. Alexa turned back, waiting for Helen's husband, Menelaus. Perhaps they had wanted to return the visit.

When the plank was drawn away, and it was clear nobody else remained on the ship, Alexa understood the situation.

Her eyes met Hectors, and he shook his head gravely. The dread returned to Alexa, and she understood now why she had such fear in her heart. Paris had stolen another mans wife.

Not any man-but a powerful man. The King of Sparta. Who had welcomed Paris into his home. They had broken bread together, laughed together, and had agreed upon Peace.

And Paris had repayed him by stealing his wife and running away in the middle of the night like a thief. Alexa had never been so disappointed in Paris. He was foolish at times, Selfish and immature, like many young boys of his age. But this went beyond that.

Priam stepped forward. Paris's face was uncertain now, his eyes darting between his father and Helen wondering how the King was going to react. But Alexa watched her father embrace the beautiful woman that had doomed their country, and smile at her.

"Welcome, Helen. Queen of Sparta." He said, in his soft, forgiving voice. Alexa tried not to make some kind of sound or roll her eyes. She didn't agree with her father, but would never disrespect him. Paris, however, did not seem to care so much.

"Princess of Troy." Paris corrected, and Alexa shot daggers at her brother. She felt a flash of anger. To correct their father so openly was complete disrespect. Secondly, to call that woman, that seductress, a Princess of Troy, which was Alexa's own title, was dishonourable to her as well.

Alexa could barely contain her anger as they entered Troy. The people were happy, calling out for their returned Princes. They cheered and threw laurels and petals at the carriages which drew them towards the palace. Paris waved, but at least Helen had the decency to look unsure and remained silent. Hector was as grave as ever, but put on a show of waving to their people. Ever the diplomat, just like their father.

When they got back to the palace, Helen whispered something to Paris.

"I'm just going to go freshen up." She said, in a soft voice, smooth as honey. Alexa scoffed. Her voice was as beautiful as her face. Perfect in every way. "I'll leave you to have a family reunion. It has been too long, I'm sure."

"Perhaps not long enough." Alexa said, glaring at Paris. Helen left, and Paris sighed, turning to his sister.

"Go ahead then, Alexandra. Let loose your wrath upon me."

"I barely know where to begin, brother. But firstly, I have to ask- what on this good earth were you thinking, bringing her here? Are you a Greek now, intent on murdering us all?"

"Alexandra, let your brother speak." Priam said, kindly. Alexa felt disappointment. How could he let this betrayal slide so easily?

"I know that this doesn't appear good. But it is simple, I'm afraid. I love her. I can't live without her." Paris said, his boyish face still shining with love and adoration, even when Helen was not in the room.

"We will all have to pay the price for your actions. This is beyond pure selfishness, Paris. You have put our family and our country in danger."

"You do not understand, Alexa. You have not been in love."

"You are not in love, Paris. You are overtaken by lust. You have simply confused them."

"What I feel for Helen is real and pure. It was not an easy decision, but some things are worth fighting for."

"Worth fighting for? Easy for you to say Paris, but it won't just be you fighting. It'll be your father, your brother, me. Your countrymen, your friends and advisors. They will choke on their blood as they cry out for their mothers, because you think she's worth fighting for."

"Any man would fight for his woman."

"If it came down to it. But she was not your woman. She was another mans! He's fighting for her! Your forgetting one important thing. Father fought for peace for thirty years, Paris. He's been trying to encourage peace longer than you and I have been alive. He has been fighting for what he believed in, and you've ruined it in one night."

"Menelaus will get over it. Helen says he had different whores every night."

"He won't stop. He will never stop until he gets her back." Alexa scoffed.

"Even if he gets her back his pride will be wounded too much." Hector said. "I know him. He will murder Paris for what he's done." He directed his comment at Alexa, and she nodded.

"More than that." Alexa said. "He will murder one prince- then turn to the other. He will kill you too, Hector- for being an accomplice. And once two princes are out of the way, his brother, Agamemnon, will set his sights on our Troy. He will burn our city to the ground, then take the ashes and build another, all for himself."

"You both need to stop talking about me as if I'm not here." Paris whined, and Alexa whipped around quickly, directing her fury at him.

"You could've had any other woman in the world, Paris. You have riches and power, a family, a kingdom. And you could've had a good, decent, beautiful woman. But your own woman. Not somebody else's wife."

"You haven't been in love, Alexa. You couldn't possibly understand. When you love someone, nobody else in the world matters. Only that person. I will only ever love Helen, want Helen. To have anybody ese would be a bitter disappointment."

"You know nothing about disappointment right now, Paris." Alexa said, full of sadness. She turned her back on him and left them, unable to hear anymore. Her father had remained silent, watching his children squabble as if they were five years old again, but Alexa couldn't help but be angry at him, too. He was so intent on peace, so focused on always being passive and never getting angry, that he was never going to have it. Perhaps if he'd been stricter on them, then Paris would have known better, and not done it.

When she heard footsteps behind her, she was ready to turn around and tell Paris to leave her alone. But it was Hector. Although Alexa loved her brothers equally, Alexa and Hector were cut from the exact same cloth. Paris was immature. Hector was wise, and Alexa and he often shared the same thoughts.

"Don't be too hard on him." Hector said, and for once it was clear they disagreed.

"Don't be too hard? You almost murdered him when we were children for taking your toy horse. Now you're going to let him off, when his mistake could kill all of us?"

"I know. But he knows he has done wrong. Alexa, we are going to war now. The damage is done. We must stick together now, we must protect out brother."

"It's a shame he didn't bother to try and protect us." Alexa said, walking away again.

This time, Hector didn't follow her. He knew she would take a while to break her temper. Alexa's tempers were notorious. She got angry quickly, and intensely, she felt everything with such emotion. She walked around for hours, but taking all the side passageways to avoid crossing paths with one of her brothers and -gods forbid- Helen. Alexa was sure Helen was terrified, but she had made her bed, and could now lie in it- with another man. Alexa didn't care that she had slept with Paris. But Helen should've known, as a beautiful woman, her power over men. She had entrapped Paris, and both of them had been utterly selfish.

Alexa passed the temple within the palace, and saw her father, kneeling before the big statue of Apollo. It was a heart-breaking sight. Alexa had grown up to show love and devotion to the gods, but her fathers dedication was unrivalled. Perhaps praying would help them out of this mess, but Alexa doubted it.

She didn't have the heart to talk to her father now. He was a king, but he was soft-hearted. He'd forgive Paris before Paris had even made a mistake. Alexa was not so forgiving. Perhaps it was because she was a woman, she understood the consequences of her actions.

Paris and Hector were allowed to roam freely, seducing woman as they pleased. Meanwhile, Alexa had to control her urges whilst praying to a statue of Artemis, goddess of purity and virginity. Alexa's biggest commodity was her virginity, to be sold to the highest bidder. Luckily, her father was soft-hearted and had promised her that she could marry whomever she fell in love with.

But Paris was right. Alexa had never felt love before. She'd heard about it, thought she'd understood it, but had never experienced anything but girlish crushes when she was a young girl. Some of her fathers advisors and some of the second in commands of the armies had taken a fancy to the Trojan Princess, but none had captured her attention.

Alexa had a small dalliance with Aeneaus, Hector's second in command. He was also a Trojan Roman prince, from the Dardanian House, and was notorious for his bravery on the field. They both knew it could go no farther than sweet summer kisses or stolen touches where nobody could see. He was handsome, and brave, and loyal, but for some reason Alexa knew he was not the man she was going to fall in love with.

Her sister, Cassandra, was a self-proclaimed prophet, though not many people took much heed of her warnings. After a while, her dramatic declarations got wilder and more ridiculous, and nobody listened to her anymore.

Cassandra had once told Alexa that she was going to fall in love once, and once only. Sher had told her that it would be a short-lived romance, and it would end in death. They were only seven when Cassandra told her this, and their relationship had been fragile ever since. Alexa did not want to believe her life was mapped out for her. If it was, then she was simply a puppet, going through the motions without any meaning. She had to believe her actions were her own, and could go any way.

Alexa's temper finally cooled, but she had no desire to join her family. Tonight, she would be left alone with her thoughts. Tomorrow, she would help them plan for war.