Chapter 6 – The Greek King  

Night was fast approaching. Contrary to what Agamemnon had said earlier, he did not order me to give him a bath. He had scarcely even appeared since he left, but I had no complaints about that. The less I saw of him, the better I felt. Hector told me once that first impressions were usually deceiving, but I doubted that an intimate knowledge of Agamemnon's character would make him any less repulsive.

Hector…

My heart gave a sudden throb of pain and I closed my eyes. Hector, where are you? Paris, where are you? Were they thinking of me, or had they forgotten me already? I heard Astyanax's coo, Andromache's soft laugh, Uncle Priam's gentle voice…and tears forced their way up into my eyes, scalding them unbearably. I was so used to calling on either Hector or Uncle Priam to rescue me, but now even if I screamed until my lungs burst, they would not come.

How lonely the darkness was. Before today I'd perceived the darkness as a friendly, warm blanket to envelope myself in…now it was frightening.

"Are you ready to warm my bed yet?" a loud voice boomed across and, trembling, I looked up to face my doom. In the day, it was so easy to fight them. The night was a totally different story. The blackness stripped me of all courage. Even the flickering of the candle flames seemed sinister.

"No." The word came out firmer than I thought it would.

"Still fighting," he sighed. "When will you learn that it is useless trying to fight against Agamemnon?"

I had to clench my fists to control myself from jumping up and giving him the hardest slap of his life. "I know not who you are," I said, my voice shaking with rage, "but I think that even if I do know, I won't want to share your bed."

That stung, and I was satisfied to see him look slightly taken aback. Then he snapped his jaws together and came closer. "Watch yourself, child," he said tightly. "You may find yourself cast into the sea by tomorrow night if you persist in having this arrogant attitude."

He snatched me up and crushed his lips against mine. The sudden pain half-blinded me for an instant and, shaking from head to toe with fury, I bit his lower lip with all the energy I had. He shouted in agony and stepped back at once, nursing his lip which was beginning to bleed. "You whore!" he yelled and rushed at me again, evidently intent on ripping off my robe.

I saw a bundle of flesh rolling in my direction, and did what any other sensible person would have done – sidestep. He went crashing into one side of the boat while I retreated to the other.

"Do you want a good beating?" he bawled at me. "I can have your flesh cut out and hung in strips outside the camp to remind the Trojans of who they are dealing with."

"Your threats do not frighten me in the least," I answered.

He rubbed his chin painfully, glaring at me malevolently, then the most evil smile I'd ever seen on a human's face spread over his. "Of course not," he said, more to himself than to me. He hoisted himself up and staggered across the boat to where his chamber was. "I am not done with you yet," he warned. "Tomorrow, we battle…but when that is over, you will know just how wrong you were to spar with me, the great Agamemnon, king of the entire Greece. I shall punish you until you cry for mercy and go down on your knees before me. You will never know a moment's peace until you submit to me, Agamemnon, as all people do eventually."

"You could have spared me that egoistical tirade and saved your breath for something more useful," I retorted. "I said it once and I will say it again – you do not frighten me."

Only when he was gone did I allow myself to sink down into a sitting position. Three words that Agamemnon had said spun round in my head, giving me a ghastly, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Tomorrow, we battle.

Troy…my beloved Troy…was going to be attacked by fifty thousand Greeks. As a child I had wandered up and down the fortifications and watched the Trojan archers practicing their shooting, but now all the preparations we'd undertaken seemed inadequate. Although Troy was a fortress, secured all round by high, impassable walls, and had never fallen to any enemy, those enemies had never been like this.

Hector would be leading the army. I covered my face and ached for Andromache; hurt for the distress she must be going through now. Astyanax was barely a year old and his father might be killed the next day. If only someone else would take over – but who had the intelligence and shrewdness of my cousin? With his uncanny ability to read the enemy's strengths and weaknesses, he was the only one capable enough of taking charge. Paris was too inexperienced and too unskilled, having spent most of his years idling about instead of practicing.

The sound of the waves was lulling, but sleep forsook me all through the watches of that restless night. The seconds were doubly long, the minutes even more so.

When morning finally came, Agamemnon walked out of his chamber in full armour. He barely gave me a glance as he clattered his way out. Even the guard that he left outside…although why he should want a guard when he was being protected by the entire Greek army was beyond my comprehension…was no longer at his post.

Commanders shouted out orders, I could hear the sound of the troops shuffling into order, then the heavy, ominous sounds of footsteps marching past the boat I was in. Nobody said a word, and somehow the uncanny silence was frightening. When the last of the footsteps went by, I parted the tent flaps cautiously and looked out. The entire camp was deserted. That fool of an Agamemnon had sent out his whole army on the first battle.

I got out of the boat and looked fearfully at the Trojan walls. How small, how inadequate they suddenly seemed, against this enormous mass of men and weapons. Oh, would the walls fall? Could our Trojan army withstand the attack of fifty thousand Greeks?

An image of Troy being burned to the ground rose in my mind, accompanied by my uncle being stabbed by laughing Greek soldiers, Astyanax being thrown over the walls, Hector going down fighting in the midst of the enemy, Helen being given back to that brute of a husband…No! Troy would not fall…it could not fall!

I fell down on my knees. All the gods and goddesses above, hear my prayer once. Protect the Trojans, give them strength to overcome the Greek forces. Protect Hector, keep him safe. If anything happens to him, Andromache's heart will break and Astyanax will be left fatherless. He is only a baby still…

There was no sign of any battle, no sound of troops crashing into each other. I yearned to run up the hill and look at what was happening, but now I could see that the soldiers guarding the Greek camp were still there and getting past them was only a dream. I turned my eyes to the sky. It was a vivid, brilliant blue, with wisps of clouds floating by lazily. There was no disharmony, no hint that it was looking down on thousands and thousands of soldiers at war.

Then I heard a loud, anguished scream. Only seconds later, the roar of battle filled the air. So did the scent of fresh blood.