Achilles pulled Iphigenia up and into his arms and then carried her over to his bed where he sat and rocked her, like he did that night in Aulis, so many years before.
Iphigenia was so overwhelmed. She was so wrong about Achilles. The guilt of it tore her apart. It was true what Elatos said. It really was all her fault. She had to have been cursed from birth. How else could she have ruined everyone's lives. Her mother who went insane over her death that never happened. Her brother who suffered for killing their mother to protect their father. Her father who, she recently learned died once he returned home, was murdered by the brother of the man that had plotted with her mother. She still did not know how her two sisters had fared. Now she learns that Achilles and Elatos had their lives ruined because of her as well.
"Why don't you leave me to suffer? You have every right to hate me." She spoke through her sobs, though she refused to look at him.
Achilles nuzzled down into her hair as he spoke. "I have never hated you Iphigenia. I have only ever wanted to protect you. But, it seems that every time that I try, I just make things worse for you. If I would have let you be sacrificed, you would have been in the Elysian Fields instead of being forced to sever the heads off of Greeks. If I left you in the stone, you would not know your fate, and would have been saved this hardship. I don't know how to make it right."
She gave a small smile. "You could have started out by telling me that you wanted to protect me instead of saying you were here to look after me, like prison guard."
He gave a half laugh. "I had not even realized that was how you truly saw it. I am sorry for that."
A moment later, V'Dona flashed back into the room. Her face was emotionless.
"Be honest." Achilles requested.
"It appears that Artemis sent one of the lower ranking Dolophonos after Iphigenia. He is the one terrorizing her dreams. Because it is under order of Artemis and not an Oneroi, I have no repercussions to change the order. The best that I can do is go to Deimos and Phobos and seek their injunction. That may take some time. But, I may have a way to help the situation until I can work things out with the Dolophoni leaders, if you trust each other."
Trust. That was one word that neither of them would have thought to use toward the other. Not at this stage.
"What exactly are you suggesting? Achilles asked.
"It is possible, that I can pull the two of you into a shared dream every time you sleep. But, you must sleep at the same time, and preferably next to each other with physical contact."
Iphigenia jumped. "What?"
"I am not saying that the two of you have to have sex. Just sleeping in the same bed."
Achilles took a breath. "Would this help to protect her from her dreams?"
"It would throw off the Dolophonos for a while, but not for long. The best chance that she has is if you are there to help protect her. And hope that the Dolophonos gets bored and moves on quickly. Or I succeed in this injunction. But, I must warn you. A shared dream can be a tricky thing. Your subconscious can open up your deepest and darkest secrets to the other person. And what happens there is real. Every injury, every oath taken, even death."
"Thank you V'Dona. Can we have time to talk about this before we decide?" He asked.
"Of course, if you agree, just let me know when you are ready to sleep."
Achilles looked down at Iphigenia. Her light brown hair was a mess from all of the hysterics and her golden brown eyes held so much pain as she finally looked at him. Her emotions shredded him. He knew that he would do this for her, if she would let him.
"V'Dona. One more thing. I need to know what I am really going to face. Her fears and the tricks that this Dolophonos is using." Iphigenia was shaking her head, but he did not stop. "Please, can you show me the memories of her dreams?"
"No. Please. Don't do this." Iphigenia started to turn in his arms.
He looked down at her. "This is your choice Iphigenia. But, if you don't trust me to see your memories, then you won't trust me to be in your dreams."
Her eyes were wide. After everything, he was offering to protect her in her dreams as well as in the waking world. She did not deserve so much. But, she was ashamed of the fact that she treated him so badly based on these dreams.
He was right. She needed to trust him with it. And if he hated her for the dreams, then it would only be fair for how she had hated him. They could make other arrangements for life.
She closed her eyes and nodded her head.
V'Dona placed her hand on his cheek as she transferred Iphigenia's dream memories. His chest was tight and his eyes watered. It was no wonder she hated him so.
The Dolophoni are the children of the Furies. They are sent out by the gods to deliver Olympian punishment. Because they commonly hunt down other gods, they have access to tap into all of the powers of the pantheon. Which makes them exceptionally dangerous.
This Dolophonos changed his appearance to look just like Achilles in the dreams. He claimed to be Achilles. But, in behavior, he was nothing like him.
The man took sick pleasure in dropping her into labyrinths as the child she was in Aulis. There he hunted her down, letting her fear build until she was finally captured or shot with an arrow. Then, he would drag her to the sacrificial altar of Artemis's temple in Aulis and tie her down. He would strip her naked and humiliate her. Then beat her and molest her while he threatened more. Most times, as Achilles, though sometimes as her father or the men that she had killed in Tauris. The dreams would sometimes change, where she would run as the doe that her father had killed, other times as the woman she is now. Yet, always the same elements. The fear, the chase, the capture and punishment.
Achilles thought that he was going to be sick to his stomach after seeing the memories. "Damn you Artemis!" As tears rolled down his eyes. His rage was boiling, but he fought to keep it controlled, Iphigenia did not need to deal with his rage. Not now.
"Please V'Dona, can you erase her memories of the dreams?" He begged.
The Oneroi shook her head. "I do not have that power. But, perhaps Acheron can help. I will ask him."
V'Dona left as Achilles and Iphigenia cried together. Finally understanding where each other was coming from.
"I am so sorry Iphigenia. I had no idea of your torment. I swear it. I certainly would not have done or said half of the things that I did if I knew."
Iphigenia nuzzled against his chest. Knowing that he was not the one who tortured her finally broke down her walls. In her exhaustion, she allowed herself to feel safe with him. His strong arms held her so gently, protectively. His body heat was so warm and soothing. She wanted to wrap him around her like a blanket.
"I won't ask you to join my dreams Achilles. You have sacrificed so much of your life for me already."
He cupped her face in his hand and lifted it up to meet his gaze. "I don't know what it is about you Iphigenia, but I have always been willing to give my life to protect you. From the first moment that you shakingly took my hand and told me that you promised to do your best to please me. You showed me such strength and courage, to face all of the unfair demands of your life. You only crumbled here, in the face of such horrific attacks. Yet, even after those attacks, you still came out of your room and faced me. You actually tried to kill me for them."
She frowned. "I am sorry for that."
"Don't be. You were right to try to fight. You just didn't know that I was not at fault. Though, I am grateful you hesitated."
There was a knock at the bedroom door. "It is Acheron." The man called.
"Come in." Achilles replied, not willing to disturb Iphigenia from where she was in his arms.
The excessively tall Dark Hunter had brown hair this time. Why did it always change? But, Achilles did not really care.
Acheron smiled as he knelt down by Iphigenia.
She tensed in Achilles arms. She didn't know what to make of this new man. He was huge and his eyes, they were swirling silver. But, Achilles knew him and welcomed him into his home.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you Iphigenia." Acheron said. "I am Acheron, another Dark Hunter, like Achilles."
"Dark Hunter?" She questioned.
"That is the name for the type of man that I am now." Achilles replied. "There are many like me. We all serve Artemis. Though, Acheron here was apparently the first and the only other one that I have met yet."
Acheron chuckled. "That is a good thing to, as I am the only one you will meet who won't drain your strength and powers." Shaking his head, he returned to looking at Iphigenia. With a deep breath, he cupped her face. "V'Dona sent me to see if I can help with your memories. Though she did not take the time to explain. So, what is going on?"
Achilles was the one who answered. "Apparently, a Dolophonos was sent by Artemis to attack Iphigenia in her dreams. He has been torturing her, including beating and other horrors. The worst is that he commonly wears my face when he attacks her."
Acheron's face twisted in rage. Achilles had never seen the man angry before. For just the briefest of moments, his eyes turned red. Iphigenia reacted as well, so he could not have imagined it. But, the man regained control.
"Here, let me see the memories and see what I can do." Iphigenia hesitantly nodded.
She could see the sadness in his eyes as he learned of her torment.
He shook his head. "I can not remove the memories entirely, there would be significant consequences to such a large change. However, I can make a small change. I can change your memory, so that instead of Achilles face you see above you, it will be the real face of the man that attacked you."
Iphigenia started to cry again and nodded her head. "Please. I have hated the wrong man for too long already. But, even now, knowing the truth, I still panic when I look at him. It is not fair to him when all he has done is try to protect me."
Acheron smiled at her. "You will still remember all of this. You will know that the changes have been made. But, at least the memories will no longer haunt you as you both learn to live together." Then he touched her forehead and she gasped as the changes were made.
"Thank you Acheron." Achilles said and offered the man a hand. Before he could fully think through the circumstances. Achilles had to ask. "About those rules?" Dark Hunters were forbidden relationships. And though Iphigenia had suffered terribly and Achilles was in no rush to try to start anything with her. Here, while she was in his arms, he could not imagine any other woman that he would commit himself too. Hell, he had already bound himself to her in more ways than one. And he did not want her hurt because this, whatever this is, broke some rule.
Acheron stood and headed for the door before he stopped to look back at Achilles. "Your circumstances are highly unusual. Whatever happens for one month out of every 10 years is your business. Just don't tell anyone else. Jealousy can be a bitch." Then he left.
Achilles sighed. "Here, let me up. I can push the two pallets together for us to sleep without making you feel uncomfortable. We can kick Elatos out and into your room.". As he stood, he looked down in shame. "Of course, I owe him an apology anyway. He tried to tell me about your torment and I did not want to listen."
Iphigenia stood and cupped his face with her hands, finally able to look at him without fear. "He loves you too much to not forgive you."
"But you…"
She cut him off with a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Just give me time."
Achilles told her about how they could control their own dreams and taught her a few tricks that V'Dona had shown him a few years ago. So, they talked while he worked on making the beds more comfortable.
By the time, they had everything arranged, the sun had been up for a while and Elatos finally came home. When he walked into the bedroom to see the two pallets together and Iphigenia curled up on one of them, he grumbled about it being "about damn time" and then went off to the other room. Achilles did not even bother to correct his assumptions. He was just happy to finally gain some ground with Iphigenia. Something about the sight of her in the bed next to him felt like the most natural and calming thing in the world.
Iphigenia didn't know how to sleep next to a man. It was awkward. Especially after Elatos walked in. She blushed so fiercely. She knew that he assumed they were having sex. But, she did not know where to start to explain. And she was too tired to try. But it stirred memories of Achilles standing so close to her, sending shivers over her skin, making her body erupt in lust.
Achilles let V'Dona know that they were going to sleep. Then Iphigenia continued to toss and turn, until Achilles gently pulled her around and up against him so that her head was on his chest like a pillow. He was so comfortable and soothing, that she fell asleep quickly.