-Hello everyone. Just wanted to say thank you for your patience. I have been away and have not had much time to update. Secondly, I

want to thank those that have left reviews and wonderful comments, they are lovely to read. Continue to let me know what you think in your reviews!

I will be uploading the final parts of this story this week, and I hope you all enjoy.

- Quilliterature

Patroclus thundered into the tent with a fury Achilles had not seen before.

"It's true, then?" he demanded. "We're to sail home?"

"Yes." Achilles replied, packing up his belongings.

"We can't. The war is not over!"

"It is for us. There's only death left here now, boy."

"If we leave, there is! The men… they respect you so much. They'd fight and die for you, because they know you could lead us to victory. But you'd have us run home, tail between legs!"

"It's not running. Since when were you so focused on the blood glory of battle, cousin?"

"Since I've seen it. I've laughed with these men, played cards with them, drank with them. I want to fight alongside them!"

"And die beside them? When you all fall in the battlefield, which you will, you won't care about the men you've drank with. You'll call out for your mother, choking on your own blood. And as your world comes to an end and you realise you're leaving this life, you'll wish you took this opportunity to sail home."

"All I've heard all my life is you boasting about the greatness of war. How you were going to fight in this- the greatest war that will ever be waged! And now you'd have us abandon it?"

"Some things are greater than war, as I've come to learn." Achilles said, his mind turning to Alexandra. The soft curve of her smile, rosy flushed cheeks. The spatter of freckles on her face.

"Well you can leave. I'm staying."

"You think this is up for debate, cousin?" Achilles asked. "You are to leave with me, even if I have to drag you back myself."

"I heard the men talking. They say you've fallen in love. That's why we're leaving."

"Then they're more observant than I thought. Love started this war, Patroclus. It makes sense it would end with love."

"Then why can't you take her home after the war?"

"It's more complicated than that. She's a Trojan, Patroclus. If I fight, I fight against her. And now I know her, it would be like stabbing myself in the heart. To hurt her is to hurt me. And to leave this war is sparing her."

"You really love her that much? A Trojan girl?"

"I do."

"She's probably going to die anyway." Patroclus said tempestuously, though he looked guilty. "If you were to lose her…"

"Losing her would be like knowing the sun was never to rise again. Losing her would be a fate worse than death." Achilles replied quietly. Patroclus could see the honesty in his eyes, and was surprised. Women loved his cousin, but Achilles had never yet felt the warm embrace of true love.

"Then how can you leave her? Stay in the war and see her protected."

"You make no sense, cousin. One minute you want me to stay and protect your Greek friends. The next, you want me to protect the girl. They have opposite consequences. To protect Greeks would cause her harm. To protect her, I'd have to kill Greeks. There are no options, Patroclus. I've thought of every avenue."

"You don't have to participate in the war. Just stay here, let the men who want to fight, fight. And if Troy is besieged, you have the opportunity to get her out before it burns." Patroclus finally said, in a last ditch attempt. He understood his cousins plight, but Patroclus wanted to stay and fight. For all his life he had been under his cousins shadow, a child-boy not allowed to participate. Finally, he was here. Finally, he was ready to make a name of himself. Achilles took his words in for a few seconds, and nodded his head slowly.

"Perhaps you are wiser than I thought, cousin." Achilles looked at his young relative, so passionate, so ready for blood and glory. Achilles hoped he would stay safe in this, perhaps meet a woman of his own.

"She must be beautiful, to cause such change in you." Patroclus mused.

"Like I said. She is the sun. There is no greater sight than her face, no greater sound than her voice. Her touch could bring a dying man back to life."

"And turn a brute into a poet, it seems. Let not the men hear you speak in such ways, or I fear they shall think you gone soft." Patroclus teased.

"Perhaps. But the secret of war- there is no stronger, no greater fighter than a man fighting for the love of a woman."

"I think Paris, Prince of Troy proves that wrong. You should've seen him crawl away from Menelaus like a child. His own sister had to protect him. I've never seen anything like it. She moved like a Goddess of war, Achilles. As if crafted by Athena herself, she killed Menelaus. If I were to have a woman, it'd be her."

"Then we might have a problem, cousin." Achilles drawled. Patroclus's face showed surprise.

"The Princess? She's the one that had stolen your heart? By the gods, Achilles, you never do things by half measures. Of course, it would take a royal to catch your eye. And one as fierce as that too. Well, I must give my blessing. Perhaps it is a good thing you are on opposite sides. You and her fighting together- you could rival the fucking gods!"

Achilles chuckled. "Maybe one day. Right now, I'm happy to cease fighting for a little while, in pursuit of a little peace and happiness."

Patroclus finally left his tent, and Achilles stopped packing. Maybe the boy was right. He had sworn to leave Troy, but he couldn't. Not while Alexandra's safety was still at risk. He could refuse to fight, but if the moment came where she needed helping, he could be there.

Being so close to her, yet so far, was a bittersweet pain. He left his tent, walking along the shores of Troy barefoot. His eyes glanced from the grains of sand towards the direction of the Troy palace. So close.

"I know that face." Odysseus called from in front of him. "You're cooking up a scheme."

"You wouldn't approve." Achilles replied.

"Yet I can guess. Does it involve a gorgeous creature with red hair?"

"Indeed, it does."

"Does it also involve you trying to sneak into Troy and getting killed?" Odysseus said, gesturing in the direction of the palace.

"The first half, yes. But I won't be killed."

"You're an idiot."

"Says the one who tried to get out of this war by playing mad. You judge my concocted ideas, after your own have failed!"

"Exactly! Take it from one who knows. You're playing a dangerous game, Achilles."

"The only fun game to play." Achilles replied.