Lioness

Kneinke

April 2, 2016

Word count; 3057

Chapter Three:

Past

Leandra was not a spoiled child, even if she could get anything she wanted if she but asked, she did not ask often. Leandra however, as any young girl of only eight summers, did want something. So this time, at dinner with her family, she asked.

It had been the usual day, schoolings, studies and other duties she must learn as princess. This continuous life was what had made her decision so easy.

Gathering up all the courage to ask the one thing she truly wanted, Leandra let out a heavy, unladylike, sigh and turned to her Father.

"Father?"

King Peleus looked away from his food and turn to his youngest. "What is it, my dear?" Another sigh was released and she sat up slightly straighter.

"I wish to learn how to fight." The silence that followed her voice was broken by her Mothers utensils clattering on the table.

"Absolutely not. You are a princess, Leandra. Fighting is dangerous and not an activity for women." A groan slipped from Leandra's lips, she knew she should not have asked with her Mother in the room. "But Mother…"

Quickly she was cut off by her Father. "No, Leandra, your Mother is right. Fighting is not something for little girls or women in general." Leandra looked at her Father in shock, surely he would have understood. The small eight summers old girl started to get angry and was ready to start an tantrum.

"But Father, Mother, that is not fair! I-" Again she could not finish what she wished to say, this time stopped by her Fathers hand, which clearly said that the conversation was over.

With a loud and extremely frustrated groan, Leandra dashed out of the dining hall with all the dramatics of a child. Inside, Thetis stood up to call out for her daughter, but was stopped when her son spoke up for the first time since the discussion had started.

"It would be wise to leave her be for now, Mother." Achilles had stopped eating to watch his family but looked as calm and collected as always. "She can't just run away, Leandra has to understand not everything is a game." Obviously his Mother was not calm like him.

"And Leandra knows that fighting and wars are not games." He could see the underlining of the Queens words. "She had confided me with her troubles mere days ago and I had told her she would turn out to be a great warrior."

Peleus looked at Achilles in shock. "Son,-" His son held up his own hand and politely asked to continue. After the King and Queen agreed to hear him out, he started again.

"Leandra, our little lioness. That is what I named her when I looked into her blue eyes. In those eyes I saw strength and wit like no other and I knew that the lioness would want to protect her family with everything in her." His parents looked almost ashamed that they did not see the same as their son. "She has never asked for anything before, grant her this wish and she will be happy with you for a long time."

Thetis looked uncertainly to her husband to see a thoughtful look cross his face. As the remaining family stared at Peleus he gave a small nod. "Very well, let our lioness protect her family in her own way. Of course she will continue her lessons but every other day she will train with us."

While Thetis still looked uncertain, Achilles' face lightened up in delight that his sister would be able to train and fight with him. With a nod, he asked to be excused and left to tell his sister the good news.

Leandra, no matter how angry so got, felt bad for how she had reacted. For her parents to refuse her request was understandable, but she had never asked for anything and could not comprehend it in her young mind. Why when she finally wanted something, truly wanted it, could she not have it.

Maybe she had upset and angered them when she desired to fight, or had she offended them as her King and Queen when she did not wish to do her duties as a and enforce allies for Phthia.

The thought of marrying strengthened her will to train for battles. She was not a simple minded princess that would just sit inside, care for children and never let the sun tan her skin.

And so when her door finally opened and who she thought would be her parents stepped in, Leandra was ready to convince them until they gave in. The blonde girl sat up in her bed, only to come face to face with her beloved brother.

She tried to turn away to lay back on her bed, sad that her parents had not sought her out and instead sent her brother. Her actions were not successful, as Achilles grabbed her by the shoulders and made his sister look at him, all the while the smile grew bigger on his face.

Leandra stopped her struggles when she saw how happy he was and immediately sat up straighter. What could have happened in such a short time that made her brother so joyous.

He drew her in a hug, which she responded to in reflex. "I got them to reconsider, sister. They gave in, my precious lioness." Leandra drew back with a loud gasp, could it be? Would the King and Queen of Phthia truly let their only princess fight? But no matter how uncertain she was, her Achilles would never, ever, lie to her over such dire situations. And so she jumped on him again with a hug, kissing his cheeks in delight.

The next day, the royal family was ready for the youngest to be turned into a real warrior and protector. A true lioness.

Present

Finally the days seemed to be peaceful. The people of Phthia were glad that their prince and princess where back. Almost every day they could hear the joyful laughter as they trained and played with their cousin Patroclus at the ruins.

Often, the royal siblings where seen by the sea at the evenings strolling in the water. At times the Queen would join but those days were few and far in between.

It also had not lasted long before the word of Helen's betrayal. The Queen of Sparta, wife to the King, Menelaus, had left with a prince of Troy. How they could forsake so many lives was a mystery, for all of Phthia knew that Menelaus was a prideful man and would not let anything left of Troy or the new couple. And he would not come alone.

The royals of Phthia knew that Menelaus, with all his hurt pride and honor, would go to his brother, Agamemnon, and ask for help. He of course had never cared for his brother's wife or the young, foolish prince. But this was an opportunity to finally attack Troy and take the great city for himself.

And as the rest of the kingdoms of Greece pledged their loyalty to protect Helen and for fear of Agamemnon's wrath they would be forced to help them destroy Troy.

It had taken a while for anyone to come and tell them they would have to fight in the war against Troy. Leandra and Achilles knew how much Agamemnon truly hated them – feelings that were returned whole heartedly – but they also knew that the King of Kings could not win the war without them.

Leandra had however hoped that the arrogance of the King would stop him from sending anyone at all. Her prayers where denied.

Phthia had been blessed with another sunny day by Apollo and the family had taken advantage of it. Again they were up in the ruins, sparring playfully. Achilles called out tips to Patroclus and even to Leandra when he notice a slip up. It was often received with a hard look before she would try and whack him somewhere – preferably on the head.

The three of them ran around the ruins for a while and Achilles started to get too cocky for Leandra's taste.

He had almost struck Patroclus again with his wooden sword, who had blocked it with his own. Leandra stood of to the side observing their tactics and techniques. "Never hesitate."

When Patroclus almost hit a wall, he kicked himself of it. A trick his youngest cousin had learned him. Achilles attacked form above this time to surprise the boy. He pressured the sword of Patroclus up with his own and struck the boy in his abdomen.

He quickly recovered and went after Achilles. Only to be forced on the ground with his cousin's sword aimed at his head. He stood up and ran lightly away from Achilles, his training sword twirling around him.

"Fancy swordplay." Patroclus turned hastily had the female voice that seemed next to his ear. His other cousin stood in front of him and he was fast to attack her as well. When he forced Leandra back, he started getting slightly arrogant. "Nervous?"

She ducked under his sword and grabbed his arm. Leandra pushed him against a stone pillar and placed her wooden sword against his neck. "Petrified."

The women was quick to turn her head away from his stab and bend away from another swing of his sword. Just as she was about to swing back, Achilles came up behind her placed the tip of her sword on her lower back.

Switching sword hands, she batted the wood away from her and turned to face them both. "You said to never change sword hands!" Patroclus spoke as he and Achilles fought against the blonde women. "Yes, and I thought I taught you to never fight two against one."

Achilles noticed the distraction of his cousin and kicked the sword out of his hands. He saw Leandra looking and took the opportunity to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder.

The men laughed at her giggling protest before he slowly set her down, aware of how fast she could be nauseous. While his sister leaned on Patroclus to stop the world from spinning around her, he walked to one of the spears lying around and kicked it up with is foot and threw it in one fluent motion.

The spear landed in a tree, not a feet away from a group on horse coming their way. The leader of the party slid of his horse, walked towards the spear with a grin on his face and pulled it out.

Odysseus, King of Ithaca, walked up to the three royals. "Your reputation for hospitality is fast becoming legend." He said throwing the spear back to Achilles, who caught it and threw it to the side.

Odysseus walked towards them while Achilles grabbed Patroclus by the wrist. He pulled him forward and place the wooden training sword on the middle of his back.

"Patroclus, our cousin." He presented before taking the sword away. "Odysseus, King of Ithaca." Odysseus observed the young man. "Patroclus." He tested the name before he seemed to realize who the boy was. "I knew your parents well. I miss them." Patroclus looked down, sad at the thought of his parents. Leandra walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. She knew how upset he got when the sore subject of his family was brought up.

Odysseus smiled at the woman and brought her in for a hug. "Leandra, you grow more beautiful every time I see you." Leandra let out a gentle laugh. The King of Ithaca, Achilles and her were good friends and was basically the only King that the siblings could ever respect. "Flattery will not get you anywhere with me, Odysseus."

He let go of her and looked at Achilles, his attention once again back to their cousin. "Now you have these two watching over you, eh? Learning from Achilles and Leandra themselves." Leandra nudged Patroclus with her shoulder, making the boy grin in light amusement. "Kings would kill for the honor."

Achilles noticed the complimenting words, and looked at him unamused. He could spot the sweet talk from miles away. "Are you here at Agamemnon's bidding?"

Odysseus' smile fell and he stroked a hand over his beard. He took a step closer to Achilles and Leandra copied his actions. "We need to talk." They slowly walked away, leaving Patroclus slightly behind.

"I will not fight for him." Achilles was first to say. He did not want to leave his home behind once more just to fight for a King that only wanted power. "I am not asking you to fight for him. I am asking you to fight for Greece."

Leandra scoffed at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Have the Greeks tired of fighting each other?" Odysseus agreed with a huff and a small grin. "For now."

"For the Greeks!" Achilles was quick to counter Patroclus attacks and Leandra slid beside Odysseus to watch them fight. "The Trojans have never harmed us." The King of Ithaca realised that convincing them could be harder than he had thought. "They insulted Greece."

Leandra whirled on him in anger. "They insulted a man who could not hold on to his harlot of a wife. How is that our business?" Achilles, who saw the anger in his sister, disarmed Patroclus in a single move and placed a gentle hand on Leandra's shoulder.

Odysseus also saw the rage building up inside those blue eyes. It was clear that the thought of how big the war could get and how many men they could lose, affected her greatly. He tread carefully with his next words. "Your business is war, my friends."

The endearment calmed her slightly and she looked away. "Is it? Are we the whores of the battlefield?" Achilles threw the sword back to his cousin, letting go of the shoulder of his sister in progress. She stepped to Patroclus as well. "The man has no honor. I will not be remembered as a tyrant's mercenary."

Leandra let out a sigh, Achilles, no matter what she tried to tell him, would always desire to be remembered for thousands of years after his death. Many times she had tried to talk her brother out of going to battles when she was younger and was not yet allowed to follow him. While not all were for honor and remembrance, most were.

"Let Achilles fight for honor, let Agamemnon fight for power and let the gods decide which man to glorify." Patroclus saw the disappointment in his female cousin and tried to attack her to cheer her back up with some fighting. But Leandra was not in the mood and stepped to the side of his sword, letting him stumble to his other cousin.

Odysseus flinched away from the swinging swords with a grin. He turned to Leandra, speaking hard enough to let Achilles hear what he was saying. "Forget Agamemnon." He knew exactly that only family would convince her to fight. "Fight for me. My wife will feel much better if she knows you both would be by my side. I will feel much better." He chuckled.

Leandra stopped the fight with her own training sword, that she had laid on the steps of the stairs, by pointing it at Patroclus. He stepped back and away from the sword with a look to his cousins.

"Is Ajax going to fight in Troy?" He swung his sword at Leandra when she looked even the slightest distracted. "The say he can fell an oak tree with one swing of the axe." Leandra disarmed him and hit him on his behind before letting both of the swords fall to the stone floor.

"Trees do not swing back." Achilles said from where he stood next to Odysseus. The man clearly noticed that both the sibling were done with the conversation as they stared at him in annoyance.

"We are sending the largest fleet that ever sailed." Odysseus walked forward so he looked the both of them in the face. "A thousand ships."

"A thousand ships?" Patroclus asked. "Prince Hector. Is he as good a warrior as they say?" The King of Ithaca could always spot opportunities.

"The best of all the Trojans." He put on a thoughtful face. "Some say he is better than all the Greeks, too." He looked at blue clad man who was sipping some water to see his reaction.

Achilles pulled the can from his lips, some water still in his mouth and smirked at what he was hearing. Leandra could not help the heavy sigh that left her lungs at the challenge Odysseus set.

"Even if your cousins do not come…" Achilles spit out the water left in his mouth and Leandra narrowed her eyes at Odysseus. "I hope you will join us. We could us a strong arm like yours." The King of Ithaca went to pat Patroclus on the arm but Leandra swung a wooden sword, that she had picked up, between them. "Play your tricks on me and my brother, but not my cousin."

Odysseus, happy to have their attention again, gave them a grin. "You have your swords, I have my tricks. We play with the toys the gods give us." Leandra gave a small smile and let her sword down. "We sail for Troy in three days." He started walking away and up the stairs when he turned his head back. "This war will never be forgotten." His eyes flickered between the three blondes. "Nor will the heroes who fight in it."

As Odysseus walked away, Leandra looked at her brother who was clearly thinking over all that was said. Knowing she would follow him anywhere, she and Patroclus left him alone to decide if the glory was worth lives or not.

Reviews:

Rajasvi: Thank you! And if my interest in the story stays (or grows) I will continue.

Emeliadream: Never, I don't see how I could.

Arianna Le Fay: Thank you! I agree, Achilles would never have let a man touch her but I, however, am not going to make her all insecure and innocent. She knows what's going on with a brother like Achilles.