"Come on mate, you can do better than that. After all, you are Achilles." One punch struck the blonde-green haired warrior across the face. The tall, dignified young man fell to his knees holding his face. Just when his sparring partner was going to deliver a kick to his shoulder, he quickly fell to the ground on his back and grabbed his opponent's ankle. Quickly and swiftly, Achilles threw the young man onto the sandy surface of the beach.
"Good one mate. That was a nice recovery. Well done." The black-haired man extended his hand to his dearest friend.
"You actually put up a great fight too, Patroclus." Achilles said taking his friends hand to help him get up. Patroclus showed a toothy grin as Achilles fell for his trick. He quickly pulled Achilles onto the sandy surface next to him.
"Ow. That hurt." Achilles laughed. Patroclus laughed alongside Achilles.
"Never let your guard down. One of the first rules of battle. Didn't Chiron teach you that?"
"Of course." Achilles continued to laugh. Soon a growling sound surfaced. Achilles blushed. "Man, all of this sparring has me famished."
"It is about dinner time. Maybe we should head back to the palace?" Achilles stood up first then, extended his hand to Patroclus to help him up. The two men patted the sand off themselves and gathered their spears and shields.
"Tomorrow we will train in weapon combat since today was physical combat." Patroclus announced.
"Sure thing." Achilles said throwing his spear in the sheath on his back. Achilles turned to face the Mediterranean Sea. The crystal blue water was always a splendid sight to gaze upon. Greece was full of many beautiful mountains and spectacular views. Achilles loved the beauty of his homeland. Visiting Sparta, granted him access to some of the most beautiful beaches where him and Patroclus often engaged in training. Achilles sighed gazing at the sea. In the distance he saw a brown figure. He squinted his eyes.
"I hope tonight we have lamb for dinner. Knowing Menelaus, we probably will." Patroclus had just finished tying his bows together. When he didn't hear Achilles respond, he turned to face his friend. "You ok?" He saw his friend looking at something in the distance. Soon, Patroclus eyes gazed at the brown object coming towards them. "Aye, what is that?"
"I have no idea. It's getting closer though." Achilles responded.
"Do you think it's an enemy from a foreign land?" Patroclus questioned.
"No. I don't think so. Do we have rope?" Patroclus searched in his knapsack. He pulled out a beige rope. Achilles took his spear off his back and tightly tied the rope around it. "Step back." Achilles told Patroclus. He did as he was told. Achilles took a lancing stance. He made sure to lock his vision directly on the object that was heading to the shore. He pulled his arm back with his lance and swung it across the sea. One his first attempt, the lance latched itself to the brown object. It was heavy thanks to the water. "Help me rail it in." Patroclus did just that. He helped Achilles rail it in. Once the two men were able to pull the object close enough to the shore, they rolled up their pants and pushed the brown cart onto the Grecian sands. It was a small boat with a coverng. It had a hole at the top of it.
"I don't think we should open this. We should consort Menelaus and see what he says." Patroclus suggested.
"Relax. It's fine." Achilles took the spear to pry open the top of the wooden boat. He removed the lid. Both him and Patroclus gazed within the crate. They saw a white linen blanket covering something. It looked like a human body.
"It's a body." Patroclus stated. Achilles reached in the crate and pulled the linen off the body. He gasped.
"It's a woman."
"A woman?" Achilles extended his hand towards the woman's neck to check for a pulse. His eyes widened. "She's alive!" Patroclus aided Achilles with pulling the young woman out of the crate. Her clothes were slightly damped. Achilles laid the woman on the sand to hear if there was any water in her lungs. He pressed an ear to her chest. The sound of water was not present. He hoisted the woman in his arms shaking her to wake up. She was unconscious. There was no response. "Quickly. Let's get her back to the palace. Take my gear please Patroclus." Patroclus nodded his head. Achilles placed the woman in his arms and the two headed back to the palace.
The palace was a glorious place full of Greek architecture and sculptures. It was clean and full of white pillars. The smell of olive oil and spices were strong. The servants carried out their daily duties of maintaining the palace. Achilles sat in the wooden chair staring at the sleeping beauty that was still unconscious. It had been two days and she still hadn't woken from her slumber. Achilles scanned her face. She was of a darker hue than most Greeks. She had a round face with dark, curly, shoulder length hair. Her lips were decently full and pouty. Her nose was like a button. She had a mole on the left corner of her eye, her lower right cheek and on her neck. She had a small frame. Her eyelashes were thick with a slight curl to them. Her eyebrows were full and thick but, shaped nicely to fit her face frame.
"Where do you think she's from?" Patroclus said as he damped a cloth to wipe the girls face.
"I'm guessing somewhere from the south. One of the African countries. Can't say which one for sure." Achilles continued to stare at the girl.
"If you stare at her any longer you will wake her conscious." Achilles chuckled.
"Does Menelaus know about her yet?"
"No. I don't think he does. We can't keep her a secret forever."
"I know that. But knowing him, he will probably take her in as a slave or isolate her in the prison chambers."
"You never know Achilles. She could be a spy trying to gain intel on our countries military forces." Achilles started laughing out loud.
"Come on Patroclus. Look at her. She's a young woman. She's harmless."
"You can't be certain Achilles. Anyways, someone must tell Menelaus before he finds out. It was a blessing that we were able to sneak her to your corridors without anyone noticing."
"When she awakens, I will tell Menelaus myself. Until then, we will nurse her back to health…. If she ever wakes up."
"What if you're summoned by the king himself?"
"I'll figure something out."
Although her vision was blurry, her head ached. She felt as if a pound of bricks were thrown on top of her head. Her golden eyes stared at the concrete white ceiling. She heard two voices talking but, couldn't make out what they were saying right away. She tried to move her hands, but they felt slightly numb. When her vision cleared, she saw the two men. They were foreigners. They weren't from where she was from. Immediately she started to panic. Did they kidnap me? She thought. She started to move her legs around and soon enough she regained the feeling in her hands. She slowly sat up and let out a scream. This startled Achilles and Patroclus. She looked scared.
"Well I'll be." Patroclus said. Achilles immediately got up to approach the woman who was obviously scared. She got out of the bed and tried to run. Patroclus quickly grabbed her as she tried to run for the door. She was struggling with him. He didn't want to use force with her but when she scratched him in face, he had to.
"Calm down! She's a woman!" Achilles scolded his friend.
"My apologies." Achilles took the young woman by her chin. She was shaking. Her eyes started to water. "Fear not." He began with a gentle voice. "We will not harm you. Excuse my friend. He was also startled as well." She stared at Achilles confused.
"I don't think she understands you Achilles."
"Do you understand me?" No response was given. "What country are you from? What is your name?" There was a long silence.
"Anunsamakten Puwtah Inacksenamen ka." She responded. Achilles looked at Patroclus.
"That's Egyptian. She's Egyptian?"
"Kemetian. But yes, I am Egyptian." She replied in their language. The two were amazed that she could speak Greek.
"So, you do understand us?" Achilles sat on the bed beside her. Patroclus sat in the wooden chair where Achilles was sitting before.
"I do." She said moving away from Achilles.
"It's rare for common folk to understand more than one language. Are you of nobility woman?" Patroclus asked.
"I am not."
"So, what is your name?" Achilles asked. "We only want to help you."
"My name is- "She paused for a second. "My name is Merina.
"Merina?" The two men asked in union.
"Yes." Achilles crossed his arms.
"Well Merina, do you remember how you got here?" She thought for a while and shook her head no. Everything was a blur. "We found you in a small wooden boat. You have no recollection of how you got there?" She shook her head no again. The two warriors glanced at each other. Neither of them suspected she was lying. Growl. The two men glared at the petite woman. She held her stomach.
"You must be famished." Achilles said. "Would you like something to eat?"
"Y-yes. I suppose." A slight flush spread across her cheeks.
"I guess I'll go get something for her." Patroclus said. "I'll be back." The beauty watched as Patroclus left the room.
"I'm sorry. We never introduced ourselves. Him there, the big brute, that's my friend, Patroclus. My name is Achilles." Merina's eyes widened.
"Achilles?!"
"Yes."
"In my land you're known as Acknusu. We thought you were just a myth, but you do exist. Amazing. You were born from the Greek gods."
"Wow. I'm flattered. I am a celebrity." Merina stared at Achilles face. She made him feel slightly uncomfortable.
"What's the matter? Is there something on my face?" Merina shook her head no.
"The legend said that you were really handsome." Achilles blushed.
"Aw shucks. Don't go flattering me now."
"I wasn't." Achilles raised an eyebrow. "I was expecting a more handsome man." Achilles grew very upset. He was one of the most handsome and desired bachelors in Greece. Her comment hurt his ego. He took pride in his appearance. Sometimes. When Merina saw Achilles grow frustrated, she laughed. "Calm down. I'm only joking. You're actually one of the most handsome men I ever laid eyes upon."
"I like the sound of that better. Thank you." Merina laughed again.
"You're welcome."
"Well in the meantime, I'm going to go find you some clothing. Behind those doors there's a bath you can use. There are some towels on the bench besides the bath. Patroclus should be back with your food any minute now. We must tell the king about you. We can't hide you here forever. You do want to return home, don't you?"
"Of course." Merina replied.
"So, we have to tell Menelaus. He's very intimidating at first. He might think you're a spy of some sort. You're not a spy, are you?" Achilles said placing his hands on his hips.
"I am not. I swear." Achilles believed her. He sensed no danger from the young woman before him.
"Good." Achilles said walking towards the entrance of the door. He opened it and looked back at Merina. "I wouldn't want Menelaus to behead an exotic beauty such as yourself. I'll be back." Achilles said closing the door behind him. Merina watched as the tall and muscular warrior took his leave. It took her awhile to realize what Achilles had said to her. Her cheeks started to burn. She touched them.
"Did he just compliment me?"