Hiya! Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter. This one is a bit longer, hope you don't mind. I don't know how long this fic will actually be, chapter wise. This chapter and the next will be before the war, the rest will be during the war.
Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own them. If I did own Eric Bana… (sigh)… now there's something to think about.
Hector had always been a man of his word, and the promise he made me the day he saved my life was no exception. I was happy in the palace- happier than I had ever been as a slave in my father's household. Queen Hecuba insisted that I be raised as a member of the royal family rather than a servant- it had been many years since her own children had been young and she longed for a small child, a void I was more than happy to fill. Before long, I had almost completely forgotten the suffering my brothers and father had caused, and knew only the kindness of the royal family. King Priam and Queen Hecuba, Briseis, Paris, Andromache- I loved each and everyone. But above all others, I adored Hector. Just knowing he was in the palace at night was enough to rid me of any nightmares, and I never felt fear when he was close to me.
Five years passed without too many incidents. In the palace I was babied and fussed over constantly, and my friends (all children of servants in the royal household) often teased me as a result. This infuriated me to no end, and I would often do rash things because of it. Hector had always warned me that one day I would regret these actions. I knew he was right, but every time I was taunted my temper would get the best of me and I would completely ignore everything Hector had told me. Fortunately, most of my transgressions were small and went unnoticed or unpunished. Unfortunately, ever time one of my stunts was laughed off as child's play, it allowed me to continue misbehaving.
"If you don't teach her now, she'll never learn!" I had overheard Hector exclaim exasperatedly to the King. But Priam ignored his words, and my bold actions continued. And as Hector predicted, my lack of discipline would lead to a catastrophe. Not even Hector, however, could have predicted how much it would effect us both.
That day started out like any other. I woke, dressed, and ate breakfast as I usually did. On that particular day I was excited- my friends Galen, Nikkos, and I were planning on going to the shore. I knew how to swim, and had been many times before, but this was the first time Hector was allowing me to go with my friends alone. I felt so grown up and could barely contain my excitement all day as Briseis helped me gather my things. I would finally prove to Galen and Nikkos that I was no longer a baby.
I met them at the entrance to the women's quarters (Nikkos and Galen, being boys, could not enter) and we set off. We were half way through the passage that led out of the palace when I heard the footsteps behind me. I froze- I knew those steps anywhere. Hector.
"Charis!" he yelled, his steps speeding up. I stopped, my heart sinking at the smirks already developing on Galen and Nikkos' faces.
"Yes, Hector?" I said, as he jogged up besides me.
"It looks like there's a storm brewing." He explained, grimacing. "I know you were excited about going to the beach today, but I don't think it's a good idea- I don't know when the storm will hit or how bad it will be. Promise me you won't go."
I felt awful about missing my day at the beach, but knew that Hector was only looking out for my best interests. I nodded. "I promise, Hector."
"Good." He said, grinning. He kissed me on the cheek and went down the hallway in the opposite direction, heading toward the stables. His steps were still audible when Nikkos sunk to his knees and Galen stuck his chest out and puffed his cheeks, feigning importance.
"I won't do anything, Hector, Anything you say goes, Hector, just say the word and I'll do anything, Hector." Whined Nikkos in a high-pitched, girly voice, moving his arms up and down as if worshipping Galen.
"Don't have any fun, I'm too important to let you have fun. You know they call me tamer of horses, did you hear about how I can throw a spear farther than anyone in Troy? And did I mention the horses?" Galen said, trying to make his voice deep and pacing back and forth.
"Both of you, quiet." I said, seething. I could stand them making fun of me, but Hector could never deserve their taunts.
"Can't take a little fun, Princess?" said Nikkos, smirking evilly. "All we did was jest a little about you and Hector."
"Don't you dare call him Hector." I hissed, my blood boiling. "You are not his friend nor are you a member of his family, so he should be addressed as Prince Hector, fool."
Galen's grin widened on his face. "So what? He's not king, he's just a prince."
"HE WILL BE KING!" I yelled, angrier than I had ever been in my life. "He will be king and you will be his subject! Taunt me, tease me, and torture me all you want, but do not say a word about Hector! He is a great man, and I would be surprised if either of you idiots managed to be half as great as him!"
Nikkos and Galen were both looking at me with their own horrible look that meant they were planning something. I was too angry to notice or care.
"Sorry, sorry, we meant nothing by it." Galen muttered, innocence written all over his face.
"Yeah, we didn't know it would insult you so. We should have known you were too, er, young" Nikkos placed a delicate stress on the word "to find such things funny."
At this point, I was too angry to realize that this had been their plan all along- to anger me to the point where it would be easy to fool me into doing something stupid.
"I am barely a year younger than you are, and you know it." I said, crossing my arms.
"Oh, but a year can make a difference." Said Nikkos wickedly. "I am old enough to not have to keep promises to anyone and I can go down to the beach by myself."
"As am I." Said Galen importantly. "And I do believe we will be going right now, won't we Nikkos?"
"Yes, I believe we will, Galen." Said Nikkos, smiling at Galen. The pair hooked arms and began to walk toward the entrance to the palace.
"I am just as mature as you and I'm going too!" I yelled, running up next to them.
Nikkos pretended to be shocked. "But what about your promise to the Prince?" he said.
"I'm going." I said firmly, trying to ignore the voice in my head that warned me Hector would kill me if he found out.
When we arrived at the beach, I could not help but notice the telltale signs of a storm on the horizon. The wind was picking up speed and force as it sped across the plain. The waves were darker than usual, and the normally calm, tranquil surface was choppy and chaotic. It was cold and the sky was beginning to darken as we set up our blankets and looked out on the waves, me still fuming about the argument in the palace.
"Nikkos! Look!" yelled Galen, diving into the water and pointing to a rock in the sea. Nikkos grinned and dived in with him and they swam together to the rock, which was so far out that their heads became nothing more than pinpricks in the distance. When they reached it, they each jumped of the rock, yelling and screaming, then swam back. By the time they both arrived on the shore, they were panting hard, and already scheming.
"Well, that was difficult." Rasped Galen between breaths. " It takes a strong swimmer to do that."
" I could do it easily." I scoffed. I was a good swimmer and did not fear the ocean.
"Oh, please. No girl could swim in that." Galen replied, pointing out to the turbulent sea.
"I could." I insisted.
"Yeah, right." Said Galen, eyes glinting. "You couldn't swim out there, not in a million years."
"Could so." I said, more insulted.
"Fine then." Nikkos said, joining in. I didn't notice the matching glint in his eyes. "Prove it."
"How?" I asked, taking the bait as I always did.
"Simple. Swim out there, jump off the rock and come back. Easy as 1-2-3, right?"
I swallowed hard. The water had become increasingly more violent as we spoke, and the sky was gray with rain clouds. But I would not be out done.
"Fine then, I will." I retorted. Without another word, I began wadding out into the water.
"Remember!" Nikkos called after me, grinning. "Swim out, jump off the rock, come back, and you win!"
"It's just a little swimming. How hard could it be?" I muttered to myself.
I had gotten to the rock in a half an hour's time, with the water becoming more violent each second, and was a quarter of the way back when the rain began to fall. This didn't worry me- at first it was a gentle rain, barely affecting the waters' surface. It even felt good to feel the little drops on my face as I swam.
It became apparent, however, that the gentle rain was only the beginning.
The rain began to fall a little harder when I was a third of the way back, pounding the surface of the water. It hurt a little, but the effect on my swimming was minimal. The waves were getting larger as I swam, and I tried to ignore how tired I was. It was a long swim out to where Nikkos and Galen had sent me, and though the rain wasn't hurting me, it wasn't helping me either.
I was halfway back to shore when the rain really started to fall. It started so suddenly, I didn't even notice it at first, but when the first torrent of rain collided with the water my head was forced under the water for a second. I emerged again, gasping for air, spitting out the water trapped in my mouth. It was becoming increasingly hard to hold my head above the water, the rain and violent current forcing me under.
Half an hour later I noticed I wasn't getting any closer to the shore.
The tide had become so strong it had become a struggle just to keep myself from moving any farther away from the shore. I was dead locked and fighting to keep my head above water when I looked up to shore and saw that neither Nikkos nor Galen was standing there. And that's when it hit me.
It was a trick.
It was probably the worst possible moment to realize such a thing, as my life was at stake and I needed all my strength just to tread water. The rain was pounding me and I was starting to float backwards, and I began to cry.
I'm only ten years old! I'm too young to die! I haven't even gotten a chance to properly live!
I had been in the water for almost two hours now. I was deathly cold, exhausted, and even further away from the shore then I had been an hour before. I knew I couldn't hold on much longer. Waves of regret washed over me.
I should have listened to Hector. He only wanted to make sure I was safe, and what do I do? I disregard his orders and break a promise to him. What kind of a sister am I?
My head slipped under water again, and this time it took me longer to fight my way up. I coughed and sputtered, my lungs already filling with water. I looked to the shore again, desperately wishing that I could find my way there, knowing that it was impossible. I could not even keep my head above the water anymore, and was slipping under every minute or so, each time less and less space available in my lungs for air. As I slipped under once more, I thought I saw a head in the water. When I came back up again, I looked toward the shore. No one was there.
I'm going to die.
I thought miserably. I'm going to die and Hector is never going to forgive me for breaking my promise. I'm going to the most horrible circles of Hades for this.My vision was blurring as I tried to hold on to consciousness. It was becoming so hard- I was barely breathing and the storm was only getting stronger. I could have sworn I saw a head in the water. I must have been dreaming, delusional from lack of oxygen. I knew if I was pulled under again, I wouldn't make it back up. It wouldn't be long now.
A huge wave crashed over my head and I was yanked under, gasping for breath, finding only water to fill my lungs. My eyelids fluttered and I couldn't open them again. I felt my limbs go numb and I let go, no longer struggling.
I'm sorry Hector.
I thought, wishing he could hear me. Please forgive me.Then everything went black.
I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead and now I'm in Hades. I HAVE TO BE dead. How could I have lived? I'm not dead. Am I dead?
Thoughts darted around my head as I stirred. I groaned. My body felt heavy and I hurt all over.
Pain.
I thought, ecstatic. The dead can't feel pain. I'm not dead.I wrenched my eyes open. I was in the palace, in my room, under my covers. The sun was streaming through the window as it landed on my bed. How long had I been sleeping? I looked around the room. Everything was the same, except for the fact that a servant was sitting in the corner at a loom, weaving. I rubbed my eyes and blinked. Everything was still there. I wasn't dreaming. The servant girl turned to me, shocked, then rushed out of the room.
I watched her go, then yawned. The memory of my deadly swim flooded back to me.
Oh, Zeus, what was I thinking? I thought, feeling wretched. More importantly, how did I live?
Suddenly the door burst open.
Hector was standing in the doorway, wearing his armor. He had obviously been pulled away from doing something with the army, and I regretted choosing such a time to wake up- Hector was intimidating enough when he was angry, and with a sword at his side and armor instead of a tunic covering him, he looked positively ferocious. He was grimacing, his eyes locked with mine, his face pale. We stared at each other in silence for a few minutes, not moving. I waited for him to speak.
" You broke your promise." His voice was steady, even, a deadly quiet. "You lied to my face."
"I'm sorry." I whispered, lowering my face, unable to look at him any longer.
"Sorry?" his voice was still that deadly quiet, betraying no emotion. Hector never had to raise his voice with anyone- that whisper was enough to send shivers down your spine. "Apologizes aren't good enough this time, Charis. I've let you go with apologizes for everything else, for the pranks and the jokes and the petty crimes. An apology will NOT do in this situation." He moved to the front of the bed so that he could see my face. "You came within a hair's length of death. You were almost killed! Do you not understand that?"
I bit my lip, holding back tears. "I know."
He looked at me again, his expression fearsome. "I don't think I've ever been this mad at you before!" He began to pace the room back and forth, running a hand through his hair. "I told you that there was a storm coming. I told you that it was dangerous to be in the water. You promised me that you wouldn't go to the ocean. And what happens? Not even a full two hours later Nikkos and Galen burst into the stables, soaking wet, yelling hysterically about how you went into the water and couldn't get back to the shore. You can't possibly know what it's like to hear that someone you love is dying. You can't possibly understand what went through my mind." Hector's voice had raised an increment in volume and his knuckles were white from making fists at his sides. This was the first time I had ever seen Hector lose his composure, and it scared me slightly.
"What were you thinking?" He said, anger in his voice. "Were you thinking at all?"
A few tears threatened to fall from my eyes and I squeezed them shut, trying to keep it from happening. "I don't know."
"And what if Nikkos and Galen hadn't reached me in time? What if the had been unable to find me? A minute more and you would have drowned!"
A tear slipped down my face and I bit my lip harder, shaking my head listlessly. I didn't know how to answer him.
"Or what if it had been a lightning storm? Did you think about that? If there had been lightning, you'd be dead right now. And then what? Is your life worth a dare, Charis? Because I thought it meant more to you than that."
Several more tears managed to fight their way out of my eyes. I was doing a horrible job at keeping them back. "It does."
"Well you haven't done a very good job at showing it, have you?" I had never heard Hector's voice that bitter, and it caused even more tears to find their way down my face.
"No." My voice was barely a whisper, almost inaudible.
Hector stopped pacing and looked at me, frowning. "I am not afraid of many things, Charis, but the prospect of losing someone I love is one of those things. You can not possibly imagine how afraid I was."
I looked at him, startled. I had always assumed that Hector- brave, strong, Hector, was fearless, and yet here he was, telling me that I, a ten-year-old girl, had scared him.
"I'm sorry." I said again, unsure of what to say.
He rubbed his head wearily. It seemed as though I had completely drained him.
"You will not leave the palace for a month, do you understand me? Not with anyone, including me, and certainly not by yourself. And anytime you want to swim, after that month is over, you will tell me at least five days before hand. And you will be accompanied by a guard or other supervision that I have approved- you won't be able to go alone with friends, not for a long time, anyway."
I nodded. The punishment was lenient- I deserved much worse and I knew it. Hector looked at me again, his hands shaking.
"I thought I was going to lose you for a while there." He said earnestly, his face softening.
I bowed my head, ashamed. "I'm sorry I scared you and I'm sorry I made you mad at me."
He laughed a little, and I jumped, surprised. "I can never stay mad at you for very long, it seems. But if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I might have to change my policy."
I shook my head. "I won't."
"Good. I have to go- I'm inspecting the army today. Get some rest, will you?" he kissed me on the head and made his way toward the door.
"Hector?" I called. He turned. "Thank you." I said.
"You're more than welcome." He said, smiling slightly. "Now go back to sleep."
I snuggled under the covers as he left, but his words kept ringing in my ears.
"I am not afraid of many things, Charis, but the prospect of losing someone I love is one of those things. You can not possibly imagine how afraid I was."
And it was then I learned my second lesson from Hector: A man may stand tall against a thousand mighty warriors, and brave the most harrowing passage over land or sea, but to strike true fear into his heart, you must threaten the ones he loves.
