A/N: If you've never read at least the shortened version of Homer's "Iliad," some stuff could get confusing. I recommend the one in Edith Hamilton's Mythology because everything not in the movie referenced here is explained in her version. It doesn't show up immediately so you have some time to read it, but be warned.

PS. Helios was the god of the sun, not Apollo.

*****

I was up at dawn. Helios had just begun his daily chariot ride across the sky, painting it with all manner of bright, warm colors. I knew exactly why I had risen so early; today, our princes returned to Troy with news of their coordinated peace with the Greek nation of Sparta. For many years we had fought against each other and now, finally, we would fight with each other.

A set of footsteps approached me from behind where I sat on the knoll that the house was built into. My uncle and guardian, Fenthius, sat down next to me. For a time we silently watched the last remnants of the night sky over the western sea be swallowed up by the approaching sun.

"I know how anxious you are, Myla," he said to me finally, "but you really ought to have slept some more."

"How?" I asked. "Today is the most historic day of my life; I could not simply sleep through it."

"Nothing historic will happen before noon," he reminded me. "Besides, it would seem disrespectful if you were to fall asleep during the princes' homecoming."

"I don't think I'm in any danger of doing that," I laughed.

"All the same, Prince Hector was a personal friend of your father," my uncle reminded me. "You'll not want to act bored with him."

"Next you're going to remind me about how I almost went to live with him and Princess Andromache nine years ago."

Fenthius laughed and shook his head.

"You know me too well."

A moment of silence passed between us.

"It's a shame he couldn't come back and see my father in person," I said. My uncle sighed.

"It would be nice," he agreed. "But your father was not destined to see this day."

I said nothing, but kept my eyes on the far-off sea.

"He aged in the year between your mother's death and his."

I still did not speak. My uncle sighed and rose from his spot.

"I will wake your cousin and nephew," he said. "Oh, and please try to have patience with Amanthe today."

In spite of my sudden bought of sadness, I could not help but smile.

"You know me too well uncle," I said as he walked away.

I dressed soon after while my uncle packed some things he was taking into the city and my cousin attempted to wrestle her son into his clothes. The one looking glass in the house was in the room I shared with Amanthe and Diones, and before I left I paused to examine my reflection in it. I had no conceded reason for doing this; seeing my face did not give me any type of narcissistic pleasure, but rather it interested me. My dark brown hair, the style of which was somewhere between waves and ringlet curls, fell to my shoulder blades when allowed to flow freely. I usually kept it pulled tightly behind my head rather than allow it to cascade over my strong, tanned shoulders like the other women of Troy did. I was muscled and bronzed from my daily work on the farm I lived at, and a little taller than most other women.

My eyes were always the last feature I examined, because throughout my life they had always proven a source of considerable hours of contemplation. At first glance they appeared a muddy brown, similar to the rivers that ran through the countryside. But, like the rivers, they were pierced by veins of green if one looked closer.

"Myla!" my cousin Amanthe called from outside. "Diones is getting impatient; please hurry up!"

I gave my strange eyes one last reflective glance in the mirror before hurrying outside.

Before noon, I waited in the streets of Troy with Fenthius, Amanthe, and Diones. Diones was not technically my nephew, but I still referred to him as such. His father, Trion, was a guard with the army, so he did not stand with us. We had managed to procure a place higher up and relatively close to the street the royal procession would be marching along. Finally the bells on top of the city walls began to ring, the gates opened, and the crowd erupted into cheers. Many of the bystanders threw flower petals as the princes made their way through the center of the city; I lifted Diones onto my shoulders so he could attempt to toss a handful of them down to the street.

As I put my nephew back down on the ground, I noticed something. A group of women stood off to the side of the crowds, talking in hushed tones. One of them caught my eye and said something to her companions. They turned and looked at me, and the one who glanced first nodded to me. I knew what they wanted, and after making sure my family was occupied I made my way over to them.

"Good day to you, Myla," the first and oldest woman said.

"Good day to you as well Kileis," I said to her.

Kileis and the other women looked around to make sure no one had noticed us before leaning closer to me.

"Are you ready Myla?" Kileis asked. "Could you be ready by tonight?"

My heart skipped several beats at her words. Of course I could be ready by tonight; I had been ready for several months. Finally, they had noticed.

I nodded in response, my mouth completely dry. Kileis smiled and nodded back.

"Meet in the grove once the moon has risen," she instructed me. The group disbanded, and I went back to stand near my family while my heart pounded in my chest.

Once the royal procession had entered the palace gates, the crowds at the street started to disperse. We were about to head back when a soldier approached us.

"Myla, daughter of Demitus?" he asked me.

"Yes."

"Prince Hector would like to see you at the palace," the guard said. "He asked me to escort you back."

I looked to my uncle, who simply smiled and nodded.

"You know how to get back when you're done," he said. He nodded to the guard and made his way to where Amanthe and Diones waited.

I followed the soldier through the streets of Troy, where joy and frivolity had finally given way to commerce and business. We approached the gates of the royal palace and climbed a long set of stairs until we entered the main foyer. There were people mulling about whose social positions I could only imagine, all clustering to greet the newly returned princes. Hector was talking to his wife Andromache and fawning over his son Astyanax, while Paris was saying hello to his cousin Briseis. Briseis and I had known each other since I had known Hector (which was basically my whole life), and we were good friends. As King Priam explained to his sons that she had decided to become an acolyte in the temple of Apollo, she caught my eye and waved. Hector noticed, and smiled at me. As everyone else went away, he walked over and embraced me.

"Myla!" he said. "It's wonderful to see you again. You've grown since I left."

"It's wonderful to see you as well, Hector," I laughed. Though it was odd, I had never had any restrictions about addressing him as I would a friend, despite the obvious difference in our places in society.

His wife, noticing I had arrived, hurried over with her son.

"Andromache! Astyanax! My goodness, he's gotten big!"

After a few minutes of exchanging pleasantries, Hector and I went out to talk in one of the gardens. He seemed to make a concerted effort to steer the conversation to what I had been doing during his absence, which made me suspect that there was something not quite right.

"So you've been spending all your time in the fields or the library?" he asked with a laugh. "Aren't there any young men you could be chasing after?"

"You know what all the young men think of me," I pointed out. "If I were to chase after them, they would turn tail and run the opposite direction."

"Only the ones who haven't gotten to know you well enough," he countered. "If you would like, I know a few who would be more than happy have that opportunity."

I shook my head good-naturedly. Ever since I had come of age, Hector had tried from time to time to get me involved with various young men of social importance. Every time, I politely refused.

"Thank you, but you know my plans for the future," I reminded him.

"Your uncle will have plenty of help on his farm once Diones grows older," Hector pointed out. "You've always been a selfless person Myla, but mark my words: one day you will give in to your impulses."

"On the subject of selflessness," I said, trying to prod him into talking about what had happened in Sparta, "how did the negotiations go?"

Instantly, his face darkened. He turned his head to look out over the rooftops of the city and sighed.

"The negotiations went fine," he said, anger coloring his tone. "The trouble occurred after we left."

I thought back to the first greetings in the foyer of the palace to try to remember if anyone else had seemed upset, but before I could another thought occurred to me.

"Does it have anything to do with the woman who was with your brother?" I asked. Hector snorted irately.

"It has everything to do with them," he muttered.

"Who is she?"

"Helen," he said. "Helen of…well, quite frankly I'm not sure what she's calling herself anymore."

"Where is she from?"

"She was the queen of Sparta," he admitted, "but I suppose she's a princess of Troy now."

It took a moment for the effect of this statement to sink in. When it did, I was in shock. I didn't know what to say, but suddenly I realized why Kileis and the other women were finally ready to admit me.

"Does he know what this means?" I asked quietly.

"He does now," Hector said, not bothering to clarify whom we were referring to. "I made sure of that."

We sat in silence for a while longer before the prince sighed and shook his head.

"You are young," he said, turning to me and trying his hardest to smile. "Such things are not your concern."

"Troy is my home," I reminded him. "To some degree, I think it's everyone's concern."

He nodded tiredly.

"I should be getting home," I said, rising from the bench where we were sitting. "It is wonderful to have you back."

Hector rose and hugged me again.

"It's wonderful to be back," he said. "Send my love to your family."

"I will."

I made my way to the gates of the city and across the plains to our farm nearby, all the while looking anxiously forward to the arrival of night.

*****

Once the sun had set and everyone in my house was asleep, I dressed as quietly as I could and slipped outside. Based on the stars in the sky I estimated I had about fifteen minutes until the rise of the moon, when I was supposed to meet Kileis and the others in the grove outside the city. I hurried as quickly as I could over the ground to the shade of trees that bordered our fields, and slipped between their trunks until I could see a light. I emerged onto a clearing where a bonfire had been lit low enough to not attract attention from the city. Standing in a circle around the fire were the older women from earlier that day, while off to the side in a cluster were some younger women of about my age or older. I joined their group and gazed curiously at the gathering.

Finally, Kileis stepped out from the circle. She and all the older women were dressed in battle armor, with short, bronze swords hanging at their sides. She pointed to the group.

"All those willing and able to join our ranks, step forward."

All of us obeyed her command and approached the fire. We were arranged into a smaller circle closer to the fire, facing the other group. For the first time, I noticed there were other women standing further away in similar armor, watching us.

Kileis drew her sword.

"Kneel."

We did, and she approached the fire and turned to the assembled women.

"Many years ago," she began, "our ranks were small. We were the wives, daughters, and sisters of our nation's soldiers, trained by a few them in the art of combat so we could defend ourselves should the need arise. Over time we became stronger, until we decided to join the men as guardians of our land. This is our legacy. We are the Daughters of Troy."

Each of the older women moved toward one of the kneeling and stood behind her. Kileis moved to me, and for the first time that evening I saw her smile discreetly.

"Which arm will you use in combat?" she asked. Around the fire, the others questioned their charges similarly.

"My left," I answered.

She took hold of my left arm and moved my dress so the back of my shoulder was exposed. I was unsure what exactly she was doing, but suddenly a searing pain spread out from my shoulder and a hissing sound came from behind me. Knowing it was part of the ceremony, I used all my self-restraint to keep from crying out. Something was removed from my skin and the noise stopped, but the pain continued.

Kileis stepped in front of everyone again and this time turned to face the new women. From what I could see of their faces, they were hurting as much as I was.

"From the time of our founding," Kileis explained, "all of our ranks must go through this same rite. The pain reminds you of what you will feel in battle, but once it is gone you may be proud knowing what you are."

Her voice dropped and her face softened.

"You are Daughters of Troy now," she told us. "I know you will hold the name with honor."

The official part of the gathering was now over. The other women from outside the circle came forward to greet the newest members. Kileis approached me and folded me into a grandmotherly embrace.

"Congratulations," she smiled. She pressed a small vial with a clear salve into my hand. "This will help your shoulder until it heals."

"Thank you," I said. "I'm honored to be able to join."

"I knew you would be."

I mulled around in the grove for a while until I decided to go back to the farm. The newly risen moon provided ample light for my walk back, and the poultice was helping to quell the burning pain in my shoulder. I wanted to get back and look in the mirror to see what the mark on my skin looked like, but I knew I would have to do it when no one was around to notice. Amanthe would have a fit if she knew what I had done, and my uncle, being a pacifist, would rant at me about the evils of war. Despite what I knew would happen if they discovered me, however, it was with the thought of my family that I had departed for the grove that night. I had joined the ranks of the secret society of warrior-women to protect them, and no matter what else happened that was what I intended to do.