A/N: Oh my, it's been awhile, hasn't it? I apologize for taking so long; I haven't had the time to write for goodness knows how long. But now that I'm on Spring break, maybe I'll get a few more chapters in, who knows? Anyway, I'll let you get on to the story now. Sorry it's so long, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! T.T.F.N., Ta Ta For Now.
Morning came and the sun shone brightly on the city of Troy. Hector made his way to Elisabena's room and found her awake and putting her armor on. He noticed a large, dark bruise protruding from beneath the tight cloth band around her chest. The prince winced slightly, seeing what she had taken for her country and feeling bad for her determination not to worry him by concealing the injury.
Remembering why he was there, Hector lightly knocked on the door as he entered. Elisabena turned to face him and gave him a slight smile. "Good morning, brother."
"Good morning," the prince returned, "Elisa, I need to show you something. I was thinking about what you said last night and I felt I had to do something. Will you come with me, please?"
Elisabena was confused but nodded as she walked over to her older brother. She followed him through the palace, wondering where he was taking her and what he wanted to show her.
They finally stopped in front of a small stone structure. The princess recognized it as the place where the bodies of the royals were prepared for burning.
"Hector, why are we here?" she asked, "You know Tecton is still…on the beach somewhere."
Hector did not speak, but opened the door and led her inside. Elisabena's eyes widened and she froze. She covered her mouth and looked to her brother who politely motioned for the attendant to step outside.
"Hector?" her voice was shaky.
The prince stepped toward her and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him. Together, they moved closer to the source of Elisabena's shock: the body of Tecton.
With an unsteady hand, the princess reached out to her dead husband's chest. She had to touch him, she had to feel him. She had to know this was real.
Hector answered her unspoken question, "I snuck out to the beach last night. I had to bring him back for you. It may not be much, but it's closure."
Elisabena hugged her brother tightly. "No, Hector, it's everything. You could've been killed, but you did it for me. I never would have asked you to do it, but you did. Thank you so much."
The young princess felt better now that she had Tecton. It was as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders, she could properly send him to the Boatman and he could cross the river Styx. She could finally rest knowing that he was no longer waiting on her for his coins. He could rest in peace.
A few moments later the siblings exited the building and sent the attendant back in. Hector and Elisabena went to their rooms to retrieve their weapons and shields. When they had finished they found Paris waiting for them by the front gates.
Elisabena knew he was scared and nervous, she could see it in his face. She smiled at him, trying unsuccessfully to calm his nerves.
One of the generals, Lysander, brought three horses from the royal stables. Hector saddled his horse, Gorgon, first. Elisabena followed suit on her own stallion, Stelios. Paris didn't have a horse of his own but rode one named Helios. The three children of Priam rode out of the city and through the army that was in formation outside the walls. A few soldiers accompanied them as they kept moving onward.
Upon seeing the Trojan leaders moving toward them, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Odysseus and a few other Greek leaders rode in their chariots and on foot to meet them.
The opposing forces stopped feet from each other and there was silence for a moment before Agamemnon spoke, "I see you're not hiding behind your high walls. Valiant of you. Ill-advised, but valiant."
Hector was quick to reply. "You come here uninvited. Go back to your ships and go home."
"We've come too far, Prince Hector," the arrogant king said.
"Prince?" Menelaus interrupted, "What prince? What son of a king would accept a man's hospitality, eat his food, drink his wine, embrace him in friendship and then steal his wife in the middle of the night?
Paris only added to the Spartan's anger, "The sun was shining when your wife left you."
Menelaus drew his sword, causing Hector and Elisabena to instinctively reach for theirs as well.
"She's up there watching, isn't she? Good. I want her to watch you die."
Agamemnon grabbed his brother's arm. "Not yet, brother," he spoke before directing his attention to the Trojan royals, "Look around you, Hector, Elisabena. I've brought all the warriors of Greece to your shores."
"You can still save Troy, young princes," another Greek added.
Agamemnon continued, "I have two wishes. If you grant them, no more of your people need die. First, you must give Helen back to my brother. Second, Troy must submit to my command, to fight for me whenever I call."
"You want me to look upon your army and tremble?" Elisabena asked. "Well, I see them. I see fifty thousand men brought here to fight for one man's greed."
Agamemnon was angry. "Careful, girl, my mercy has limits."
"And I've seen the limits of your mercy," she retorted.
Hector stepped in, "I tell you now: no son of Troy will ever submit to a foreign ruler!"
"Then every son of Troy…shall die."
"There is another way!" Paris finally offered.
Hector and Elisabena, along with the Greeks turned to him, surprised.
He looked at them and continued. "I love Helen. I won't give her up and neither will you," he spoke to Menelaus, "So let us fight our own battle. The winner takes Helen home, and let that be the end of it!"
"A brave offer…but not enough," Agamemnon said as he turned around.
Hector and Elisabena watched as Menelaus stopped him and talked with him in loud whispers. After a few minutes, the Spartan king stepped forth. "I accept your challenge. And tonight I'll drink to your bones!"
The two groups then turned and walked back to their equipment.
Once Paris had been given his helmet by one of the soldiers, Hector spoke to him, "Make him swing and miss, he'll tire."
"Brother, if I fall…tell Helen…tell her…"
"I will," the elder prince told him.
"Elisabena, Hector, don't let Menelaus hurt her, if he-"
The princess took him by his armor and pulled him closer to him, looking into his eyes with seriousness and frustration. "You think of your sword and his sword, and nothing else!"
Her younger brother nodded anxiously as he donned his helmet. The trio looked toward Menelaus, who was swinging his sword through the air to warm himself up. Nervously, Paris hugged his brother and sister and walked toward his enemy.
Once he was a few feet away, Elisabena looked to Hector and whispered, "How well do you think he will fare?"
"I don't know," he replied, still staring at the two participants in the fight.
The prince and princess stood where they were and watched their young brother battle the seasoned warrior. The clashes and clangs of blows and the sound of metal on metal echoed as the strain between the men intensified. Menelaus managed to knock Paris over, causing him to lose hold of his shield and his helmet to fly off.
"Get up, get up," Hector whispered eagerly.
"Come on," Elisabena added.
They watched their brother fight some more. He put out as much effort as he could; he wasn't a soldier and definitely wasn't as strong as one. He managed to punch Menelaus in the mouth, but that did not hinder the enraged king. A few moments more and he had put a deep gash in the Trojan's leg, sending him to the ground in pain.
Elisabena saw the Spartan speak and point to the sky. She didn't know what he said but it caused Paris to look up. The young man got up and tried to strike once more but was met with a fist to his face, knocking him down again.
Hector had to force himself to stay put. He loved his brother no matter what he did, and he wanted to protect him. Elisabena felt the same way.
Paris sat up and Menelaus prepared to give the final blow, but before he swung, Paris ducked and crawled to his siblings. He knelt, grasping Hector's left leg and Elisabena's right.
"Fight! We had a pact! Fight! Fight me!" the Spartan king yelled many times over. "This is not honor! This is not worthy of royalty! If he doesn't fight Troy is doomed."
Hector knew Paris couldn't go any longer. "The fight is over," he declared.
"The fight is not over," Menelaus replied, "Stand back, Hector and Elisabena. I'll kill him at your feet, I don't care."
Elisabena responded to him, "He's our brother."
The Spartan king had had enough. He lunged toward the cowering prince, swinging his sword. Hector and Elisabena drew their swords and drove them into his chest and abdomen as he brought his weapon down. He jerked and stood for only a few seconds more and fell over dead.
Elisabena let go of her sword that was still lodged in the Greek's chest and knelt down to her younger brother. Her breath caught when she saw Menelaus' blade sticking out of Paris' side. She rolled him onto his back and he looked up at her, eyes begging her to take the pain away. He reached for her frantically and she took his arms in her hands to comfort him. "Hector!" she yelled.
After removing the swords from Menelaus' body, Hector looked down and saw why his sister had yelled for him. He, too, knelt down and tried to help Paris. He pulled the blade out and immediately regretted it because of the large outpour of blood it caused. Paris whimpered, choking on a small amount of blood that had pooled in his throat.
"We have to get him back to the city!" Hector exclaimed.
Elisabena whistled and motioned for a horse, yelling for the soldier handling it to hurry. Once he arrived, Hector and Elisabena quickly and carefully picked Paris up and placed him on the animal. They gave the soldier orders to take him back to the city and to a healer.
Just as the soldier was about to leave, Paris grabbed Elisabena's wrist. "I don't want to go alone," he said weakly.
Elisabena's heart ached to see her little brother in such pain. "I know you're scared, Paris," she said comfortingly while placing her free hand on his, "But I have to fight now. Hector and I will come and see you later, I promise."
Hector nodded in agreement and looked at his brother.
Paris hesitated but loosened his grip and let his arm drop as he was carried back to Troy as swiftly as could be done. He trusted his older siblings and believed every word they ever said to him.
The prince and princess quickly turned their attention to the oncoming Greek army, led by a fuming Agamemnon. The duo ran back to their horses and rode through the army and to the wall.
Elisabena looked up and yelled for the archers to fire a volley.
"For Troy!" Hector yelled, inspiring his men as they defended against the Greeks.
They battled for what seemed like hours in front of Troy. Eventually Hector spotted Ajax taking out Trojan after Trojan and fought with him. After a long, hard struggle, the prince was finally able to defeat him. The men cheered all around him and Elisabena rushed to him to see if he was alright. Once satisfied, they both returned to battle.
More time went by and the Greek army began to retreat. Once the Trojans had chased them far down the beach, Hector and Elisabena ordered the men to halt and fall back. Once of the soldiers questioned him, "But my lords, we have them on the run!"
"We're in range of their archers. Send an emissary to the Greeks to tell them they can collect their dead," Elisabena answered.
"Would they have done the same for us?" he inquired.
They didn't answer him but rode back to the city as quickly as Gorgon and Stelios would carry them. Once inside the gates, they dismounted and ran to the royal infirmary. What they found, neither of them would soon forget what hey found. Priam was standing over his youngest son weeping.
A nurse was walking by and Hector politely stopped her. "How is Prince Paris?"
Elisabena and her older brother watched her intently and awaited her answer.
The old woman bowed her head as she spoke. "My Prince and Princess, I am sorry. We could not stop the bleeding. He is dead."
In slight shock, Hector and Elisabena approached Paris' bed and looked at his lifeless body. It was too much for the princess to handle; first her husband, now her little brother. She turned to Hector and buried her face in his chest, sinking into his solid form. Hector wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her head. Their father's cries of grief echoed through the stone building and eeriness filled the room.
That night, two coins were placed over the eyes of Tecton, Paris, and many other Trojan soldiers. The question on many minds lingered long after the fires died down: How many more must burn?