Hello again! First off, let me just say that I'm sorry I haven't had time to update Voyage (in FOREVER), but school's been hectic and so has my family this past week. I'm lucky that I had a chance to keep reading other people's fanfictions at all. Has anyone else noticed that people are on a oneshot kick? Well anyway, that's where I got inspiration for this little piece.

Don't get blindsided by this part, this is only the prologue. (Believe me, I know I've already done a thing on this girl, but...yeah.)

Read it, won't you?

Run.

That's the only thought in your head as you race through the city—this once beautiful city, now stained with the blood and the horror that she—Helen—you spit the name with disgust—brought to your family, your kingdom. Your beautiful Troy has been brought to its knees, bathed in fire and surrounded by the screams of the tortured. For hours you had cowered under your bed in the palace, rocking back and forth and squeezing your eyes closed and praying that you would wake up. But this time, as your sandaled feet slap the cobblestone ground and an arrow rips a lock of hair from your scalp, you know you're not dreaming.

"You! Girl!" you hear and you can't help but squeal and skid in the opposite direction. You can hear footfalls behind you and they sound so different from yours—heavy and painstakingly loud, while yours are flimsy and fleeting. The smoke-laced air drags in and out of your throat with a burning sensation, and it hurts, but you push yourself even harder because you can't let them catch you. And you thank the gods you know the city better than they, because you can feint towards an alley—a well-known dead end—and run through the shadows for the empty street. Except it's not so empty because there are bodies everywhere. At the sight of them a shudder hits you so hard you stumble into a wall. And you can't help but empty your stomach right there in the street.

"Find her!"

This jolts you. You wipe your mouth shakily and run again, and you feel somehow lighter without your last meal dragging you down. You can hear those footsteps again, but there are more now. And you hear the grunt of a man and the whistle of a weapon but you're too pained to move in time. And the javelin just barely scrapes your side. You scream.

You wad your dress to your side to staunch the blood and take just a second to throw an vase or two behind you. You're gleeful to hear the pained yell of a downed enemy—but the aim of a sixteen-year-old girl is not enough to save yourself. And so you keep running. And when you see the temple, glowing like a beacon, a haven of safe life in the distance, you immediately turn for it, zigzagging through run-off alleys and secret streets in a last attempt to throw your enemies off for just—another—second.

And it works. You're so relieved for just this moment of peace you're sobbing as you stumble through the back entrance of the temple—Athena's, you notice. But your clever escape wasn't enough, because you hear the Greeks just outside and you panic, like a scared mouse.

You trip on the steps leading to Athena's statue and hit the marble corners hard, cutting your hands. Blood weeps across the white floor. Whimpering, you hide behind her stone skirts. "Athena," you sob quietly. "Please, spare me." And you look deploringly at her beautiful face but it does not move.

"Little girl," a cruel voice croons, and it echoes through Athena's temple so terrifyingly you tremble and cry harder, because you know who he is and you know what happens to you, in the end.

And it's all you can do, before that Greek takes you, to write his name in your blood and curse him for all he is worth, which is nothing.

And you take such joy in the fact that, as you sit in the ferry waiting for your turn and the weeping hole in your chest turns cold and his "gift" still remains, you can see him in his oh-so glorious palace, sobbing for you and crooning your name to himself, as if saying it over and over will redeem him.

Oh Cassandra, my sweet Cassandra…

Except, it won't.

And...fin. I love and pity Cassandra so much. Just to think about what happened to her... *shudder* Well, this is only the prologue, so there is definitely more to come.

And if you are a fan of Voyage and care at all after my long (loonngg) absence, I promise that I AM working on that. It's just difficult because I feel like it's gotten boring, you know? Ugh -.- But don't worry, I plan to have the next chapter of that up soon (if my homework and finals don't get in the way -.- FML).

Love you!

~ Mia ~