"Come," he urged, pulling her by the arm through the thick forest that lay wild and forgotten around them.
"Eudorus," she giggled in delight. "Where are you taking me?"
"You will see when we get there," he replied, his tone sombre, but his eyes alight with happiness.
Steadily he led them through the dark entanglement and up the steep slope, the brilliant light of the moon serving as their guide.
"Eudorus!" she cried out again, laughing joyously as she stumbled on, tugging at her skirts, her robe hanging haphazardly over her frail shoulders. "Slow down!"
"We're almost there!" he answered, turning back to her, unable to keep a smile from forming upon his lips, or mask the laughter in his voice.
What a sight she made, unkept and dishevelled in the moonlight, struggling to keep up and find her ground. And yet, he would have her no other way.
"Now, come!" he beckoned to her again, for seemingly the hundredth time that night.
He released her arm and this time grasped for her hand instead. Easily he laced it with his own, revelling in the feel of its softness for only an instant before he dragged her on.
"This would be much easier if you would just tell me where we were going!" she replied, pulling back against him and making a futile attempt at reclaiming her arm as her own.
"Then it wouldn't be a surprise," he answered. "Consider yourself lucky you were not blindfolded, woman," he joked, giving her an encouraging smile.
"You are mad!" she chided.
"And you are mine! Now, come!"
Onwards they travelled, their pace never relenting, such was Eudorus' excitement at revealing his surprise to his love.
He stopped suddenly, near knocking her to the ground with the sheer force and power of his body.
"Easy," he chided gently, catching her before she fell. "Now close your eyes."
"What? Why? Eudorus, this is getting ridiculous! Just tell me what is going on!"
"You will find out for yourself in a moment if you will stop questioning, and do as you are told," he scolded. "Now close your eyes, and keep them so," he said, slipping one strong arm around her lithe waist, the other moving to gently cover her eyes. "Trust me," he murmured softly in her ear.
The words echoed in her head, sending shivers through her body and causing her to quiver in delight. His breath was warm and comforting, much like his body pressed against hers, and he heard no more complaints as he led her onwards.
Carefully he guided her, shepherding her intently through the obstacles in their path. Dutifully he watched the ground to not allow even a single root to entangle her feet, or a single thorn to catch her fair skin.
"Are we almost there?" she questioned, her senses sharpening exponentially at the sudden loss of her sight.
Everything seemed so much louder now, and she was acutely aware of the sounds around her. The groaning of the forest, the chirping of the birds. Even more heightened were her senses that connected her to the powerful man behind her. The calmness of his breath, the steady beating of his heart... the hands that felt so hot and possessive upon her aching skin.
"Eudorus..." she breathed, her voice becoming deeper and more husky as the feeling of his hands on her body grew.
"Shh, my love," he hushed her gently. "Soon."
"Mmm," she acquiesced, falling silent once more.
They moved silently for a few minutes longer, and she continued to listen intently for any clues as to their destination.
Steadily the turf beneath her feet began to change, and it levelled out quickly, becoming smoother and more open. The forest around her felt less dense and enclosing, and soon she could not help but gather the impression that they had left it altogether.
She was close to questioning him again when finally they stopped, and he removed his hands from her eyes.
"What-" she began, before a gasp echoed from her throat.
It seemed they had not left the forest at all, but had entered a large, brightly lit clearing far in the center.
The moon hung high in the sky, casting light over the entire scene, which seemed surreal and mythical, nothing that her lover could have conjured.
But he had.
"Eudorus, we-" she began, turning to face him, a look of unsurity clear upon her face, as she shook her head in defiance. "We can't. It's not righ-"
"I leave for war in the morrow," he stated, cutting her off deftly, his demeanour losing all of its previous joy and humour.
She stood silent for a moment, taking in the consequences of his statement.
"No. That's impossible. We... You...-"
"Agamemnon has declared war on Troy and gathered all the Kings of Greece to fight. Achilles will follow Odysseus, and I follow Achilles."
His words were short, sharp and to the point.
He left her no room for pleadings and debate, for she knew his decision was final. He would follow his Captain, and there was nothing Nenya could do to prevent him. She knew this as well as she knew the stars. Eudorus would follow Achilles into Hades itself if only he asked it of him. She could do nothing to change his mind.
"I... We...-" she stuttered incoherently, still at a loss for words.
"Marry me. Here, tonight."
She looked back at the clearing. To the blanket, and the makeshift alter. The ash, and the wine. And finally back to her love.
"I may not return," he continued sombrely. "Troy's walls are strong, and Agamemnon's hate runs deep. His brother's wife has fled Sparta, gone to play whore to the Trojan prince. This is the chance he has been waiting for. He will not stop until the city has fallen, or all his army is dead."
She remained silent, grave and doomed. The wondrous joy at being stolen away by her love to a hidden place in the dead of night now seemed far away and distant. All that remained was longing and emptiness. There was no place for fear. Only sorrow.
He moved towards her slowly, easing his way closer as if afraid she would turn away.
"Nenya," he muttered softly, gently taking her chin in his hand and lifting it to meet his gaze. "You have my heart, you know this."
She tried with all her might to not look him in the face. To not see those startlingly blue eyes, like two pieces of ice, stars long since frozen inside their midst.
"If this be my fate - if I fall in this war, I will find no peace unless I know I shall find you again in the after life."
His gaze flicked toward the alter, towards what should have been the first step in his future, but would now be the last step in his demise.
"Become my wife - bind us forever, so that if my fate be to cross the river, I shall find you on the other side. I cannot leave without this."
He was begging her now, pleading with every fibre of his being. If only she would meet his eyes - then perhaps he could make her understand; but she refused.
He wished he was better with words. That he had the charm and sly tongue of Odysseus. Maybe then she would give him her blessing, and one final memory of her warmth to carry him through the cold and darkness to come.
But still she continued to stare at the ground, and even in the pale moonlight he could see the silver tears that coursed down her face. Curse himself, for being the one to make her weep. Had it been another to cause her such anguish, the man would have already lain dead, but how could Eudorus protect his beloved from himself?
Perhaps it was best if she did not become his.
Why should she promise to spend an eternity by his side when he could not even swear another night beside hers? No, he did not deserve her. That he had always known, but now he was confronted by it for the first time, and he found himself unable to walk away. Unable to leave her, no matter how much he knew he should. No matter how much he knew she deserved better.
For better men there were. He spent his life around them, serving them, standing by their side, and what had he done to deserve that honour? Nothing. And yet it was bestowed upon him, much like she.
But none could love her better, that he also knew.
And now his fate was to die beside one greatness, and abandon the other.
What a cruel trick the Gods played, and what amusement they must have found through the tortures of others. He they could gladly play, but not Nenya. Not his dear, sweet Nenya.
"Forever?" she murmured, so softly Eudorus almost missed it.
"Yes," he replied gently. "Forever."
She looked him in the face for the first time since he had spoken of their future, and the sight did nothing to mend the tear of his already aching heart.
Her cheeks were blotchy and red, a river of tears cascading down her face, while her lips trembled with effort, trying vainly not to explode in sobs and whimpers.
And her eyes, her beautiful eyes once so merry and bright were now dead and cold, and nothing more than a shadow of what they once were, a mere echo of the shining brilliance they once held.
Silently she nodded, a wordless answer to his question, a mercy upon the already pitiful heart that beat within him.
Gently he swept her into his arms, nuzzling his face in her soft hair, inhaling her scent - a memory that would have to last him a lifetime.
And as the evening faded and morning came they wed in secret, owing no explanation, no reasoning, no proof to anyone but themselves.
And when they had consummated their love, and the sun had risen, Eudorus left, not just her, but his heart and his very soul in that sacred place, their sacred place; and as he boarded the ship that would tear him from all he loved, he feared death no longer.
For as long as he would see her face, coming towards him from across the River Styx, he would fear no evil, and feel no pain.