(A/N Oh goodness, I've definitely been letting time get away on me! Any ways, thanks for all those random little reviews. They MAKE my life! Happy holidays, guys!)
"COME ON EUDORUS!" Chloe bellowed, pulling the older man up onto the perch that they had watched the battle on a few days before. He was the only one willing to follow Chloe, in all of her hyper excitement. They arrived just as the gates of Troy opened, and Prince Hector came out, alone. He had even called the archers off.
The sand looked so empty, and the space looked so big in comparison to the other day, when they watched the big battle.
"He's such a brave man. And he has a lot of honor." Chloe sighed. Eudorus looked at her, puzzlement clear on her face. "I mean Prince Hector." Chloe clarified, and Eudorus nodded. "He could have stayed behind his big gates…" Chloe trailed off, and sighed.
Again, she had no idea who she wanted to win.
The two men talked for a few moment, and Chloe snuck a peek at the royals. They were all dressed in blue. No one was sitting down, either; they were all right at the edge of their balcony, their faces masked with concern and horror.
When Chloe turned back to the fight, neither men were wearing helmets.
"Achilles is a skilled warrior at the best of times. I wonder if he'll be even fiercer because he is angry." Eudorus said softly. Chloe nodded.
Finally, the two started to fight. Chloe's heart was in her throat. "They are both so good." Chloe muttered, after Achilles broke Hector's spear.
"Mm-hm." Eudorus agreed after Hector broke Achilles' spear, and whipped out his sword.
But Achilles was just as quick. For the first time since Chloe had seen him fight, Prince Hector fell back. "He must be getting tired." Chloe heard Eudorus mutter, but wasn't sure which man he was talking about.
Achilles elbowed Hector in the face, and Chloe gasped. She looked up at the royals. Prince Hector's wife looked like she was about to faint. Looking down at the ground, Chloe blinked back tears. Every one knew who was going to win this fight.
"Why must he jump around so much?" Chloe asked Eudorus, in reference to all of Achilles' fancy tricks.
"Because he can?" Eudorus guessed. "This is the longest Achilles had gone fighting, I think. Usually he can kill a man with a slice of his sword." Eudorus sighed heavily.
Regaining her attention back to the fight, Chloe saw Hector slice Achilles' torso, and made the warrior fall back. And then Hector charged him, and slid his sword right through his stomach.
Eudorus gasped, and Chloe edged closer, her feet now dangerously close to falling off the perch.
But then Achilles reached his own sword and struck out. It was just an illusion, he hadn't been stabbed. Eudorus let out a breath of relief, while Chloe sucked her breath in. Achilles kicked Hector back, and he tripped over a rock.
"COME ON!" Chloe screamed, not really sure who the comment was meant for.
Hector grabbed the spike from the broken spear, and continued to fight Achilles. But it was obvious that he was tired. He'd probably never had to fight for so long, either.
Achilles grabbed the spear out of Hectors hands, and drove it through his shoulder. Hector fell to his knees, and Chloe choked back a sob, just as Achilles drove his sword through Hectors heart.
Chloe was just about to move back, when she heard crumbling stone. She started to fall forward, the ground beneath her feet disintegrating, but Eudorus grabbed her just in time, and pulled her back safely. "Thanks." She breathed.
"Let's go." Eudorus said, and made to turn around, and Chloe stopped him.
"Wait…what is he doing?" Chloe and Eudorus watched in horror as Achilles dragged Hector behind his chariot. Chloe also tried to block a singing woman's nasally voice out of her head.
"Well…looks like the Trojans have just lost the war." Chloe said, and Eudorus nodded, slightly.
"Let's go." Eudorus grabbed Chloe's arm lightly.
The pair arrived at camp right when Achilles rolled in, dragging the dead Prince's body.
Chloe didn't have to be Greek, or live thousands of years ago to know how disrespectful that was.
The Myrmidons (and other soldiers) gathered around, as Achilles dragged Prince Hector's corpse up beside his hut. The look on Eudorus' face made Chloe want to cry.
Achilles turned to glare at the soldiers, and then at Chloe. She felt like the flesh might melt off the warriors face. She flinched back, hiding half her body behind Eudorus. Then, without a word, Achilles disappeared into his hut. Chloe should have hidden Briseis, but it was too late now.
Deep down, Chloe knew that Achilles wasn't a bad man, and was just acting out of anger. He probably regretted doing every thing he did, at that point, as well. He probably didn't have a lot of compassion, or peace, for that matter, in his life. But that didn't make the way he treated people okay.
Chloe and Eudorus, and the rest of the Myrmidons looked at each other, and then continued going about there day (which mostly consisted of unpacking their ship, while Chloe tanned, and fixed her cuticles.)
"Hey, you guys don't like war, do you?" Chloe asked suddenly, and the men looked at her like she was crazy.
"I don't think any one likes war, little Chloe." One of the Myrmidons answered her. "Men fight to defend their country."
"You know, this war is hardly about defending you're country." Chloe sighed. "It's to fight for Agamemnon's greed." All the men looked at her, blinking. "Sorry, I'm being girly and emotional."
Chloe hopped down from the ship (rather skilled, she thought. She could accomplish a lot when not in heels) and found herself face to face with King Odysseus. "Hi." She smiled. He didn't return it.
"Is it true that Achilles killed Prince Hector?" He asked. Chloe nodded slowly. "Yes. I'm afraid it is."
Odysseus didn't look too upset by this news, and patted Chloe on the back, excusing himself from the conversation. "I must see Eudorus."
At the end of the day, Chloe was beyond exhausted. She was being offered food to eat (real meat, this time too!) but she wasn't hungry at all.
She decided to go to bed much before every one else, but got distracted. A strange man wearing a big cloak stopped her. Chloe could barely see his face, but he looked old. Really old.
"You must be young Chloe." His voice sounded like some epic narrator who voiced promos for movies.
Chloe nodded. "Uh-huh. Who are you?"
"My name is not of importance, young girl." The man replied gently.
"How do you know me?" Chloe asked.
"Word of the charming girl from the future has gotten around, I'm afraid." The man sounded like he was smiling. Chloe frowned. "And you believe that I'm from the future?" She asked.
"It seems that it is the will of the Gods." The man answered, and Chloe rolled her eyes.
Then the man asked, "Would you be able to tell me which tent belongs to Achilles?"
"Uh…yeah, sure. It's that one." Chloe pointed to the biggest black hut, a few feet away. "Why?"
But the man had already started walking. Chloe sighed, and turned towards her shared tent. But she was distracted again. Briseis was sitting on the beach, staring out into the water.
"You're alive!" Chloe squealed, joining her. "Is every thing all right?"
Briseis nodded. "It's just hard to decide between two people you love."
"Even I'm sad that Hector died, and I didn't even know him." Chloe sympathized.
"But I mean…I'm sure Achilles feels bad about it."
Briseis smiled weakly, and Chloe smiled back. The two girls sat side by side, watching the ocean, and listening to the waves crash against the sand. Finally, Chloe felt her legs cramping, and stood up. She helped Briseis up, and they walked back to Achilles tent.
But this time, there was a chariot with a body (Chloe assumed was the Prince's) strapped onto it. And the old cloaked man Chloe talked to earlier, was talking to Achilles. Until he noticed Briseis.
"Briseis!" Briseis ran to hug the man, and he said, "I thought…I thought you were dead."
"Ok, so who is this guy?" Chloe asked Eudorus, after noticing him and running over.
"That is King Priam. Of Troy." Her friend answered her.
Chloe paled. She had been talking to a great King, and hadn't even known it! Chloe then looked at Achilles. He looked serene. It reminded Chloe of the whole 'calm before the storm' saying. But then he said, "You are free." To Briseis.
Briseis walked over to Achilles, and Chloe averted her eyes, to give them privacy. But the King of Troy walked over to her, and said, "Thank you, young Chloe for pointing me in the right direction."
Chloe opened her mouth to say you're welcome, but some thing entirely different came out. "I think you're a great King. And even though I'm with the Greeks, I'm not really…with them."
The King's eyes twinkled (or, as close to twinkling as some one whose eldest son had just been murdered) and he turned away in a dignified fashion, and hopped up onto the chariot.
"That was quite nimble for some one his age." Chloe giggled to herself.
"No one will stop you. You have my word." Achilles said, and Briseis managed to tear herself away, and join her Uncle.
"You're a far better King than the one leading this army." Achilles said to Priam, and Chloe held up her pointer finger. "Ah-greed." No one, not even Eudorus, paid attention.
They were too captivated by the sight of King Priam, the enemy, riding away with the body of his son, and his niece. The soldiers then followed the chariot, probably to protect them, and Chloe, without a word, avoiding meeting Achilles eyes, disappeared into her tent.
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