Weeks passed. Dane woke early each morning to work at keeping his fighting skills sharp. After weapons practice came chores and breakfast, followed by whatever other work needed to be done. He ate well at each meal, and slept well at night after making love to his wife.
Danen began to understand why his father had preferred sex to training, but he still couldn't fathom bedding more than one woman. He managed to cope well with Leda's bad days—the tempers she'd get in after an argument with her sister. Still, he couldn't imagine dealing with a small army of women. It was enough to take responsibility for one.
It surprised him when his wife's infatuation with him didn't fade. If he finished his chores early, and came inside to sit down and take a drink of water, more often than not she'd end up seated on his lap, chattering away at him about all sorts of things. He found she rarely spoke so much to anyone else, because she feared they would yell at her. When they were alone, she told him stories she came up with during dull hours of daily work, and he listened, amused by her girlish youth, and innocence.
When he had time in the evenings, he did show her how to hold a wooden practice sword, and how to defend against various blows. Dane got the feeling her older sister disapproved of him teaching Leda to use a weapon—Cybele often shot him dirty looks across the dinner table whenever they returned from a session, sweating, their cheeks reddened from the cooling night air.
Perhaps Leda's sister also suspected their sessions weren't entirely chaste. She seemed to glare most when they'd return flushed, their clothes rumpled, smiling at each other often, like miscreant children with something to hide.
Nearly five months passed, and very little changed in their home. Days came and went peacefully for the most part. At times Dane's wife and cousin complained that he became too absorbed in his daily routine, and withdrew into himself. He tried to observe the other three people he lived with, and become more like them. Interact with them. When asked to settle disputes between his wife and sister-in-law while Patroclus was away, he tried to negotiate rational mediums the way Briseis had taught him years before in Pthia.
If nothing else, Leda taught him to be flexible when a change came about in his plans. She often grew bored in the house, and would request interludes at random. One day he came in for the mid-day meal to find her waiting with a basket of food and a blanket, ready to go outside and enjoy the mild weather during their meal.
Cybele was scolding her relentlessly for her foolishness, so the moment Dane walked in, Leda grabbed his wrist and pulled him out the door with her.
When they were out of sight of the house, Leda let go of him and sat down on the ground, dropping her basket and blanket beside her. She covered her face with both hands, letting her hair fall in a veil around her.
"Le," Dane said softly, crouching down and placing a hand on her shoulder. He knew she hated it when he saw her cry. He brushed her hair back, gently pulling her hands away from her tear-streaked face and holding them in his, so she couldn't pull away from him. "Your sister is just in one of her moods. It's a beautiful day. You aren't foolish for wanting to enjoy it."
Leda shook her head. "Bela's been horrible to me lately. I think she's jealous of me, but I can't help it. It's not my fault."
Dane shushed her, giving her hands a firm squeeze. "Come on. We'll find shade to sit in, and you can tell me about it."
Without waiting for a response, he pulled her to her feet. Dane took the blanket, and she picked up her basket, and they walked toward the trees in the distance, hand-in-hand.
She'd prepared a good meal. Dane ate his fill, and then invited Leda to sit on his lap while he rested with his back against the tree they sat under. She'd been unusually quiet, and ate very little, though she did let him kiss her a number of times before they sat together quietly, enjoying the peaceful day.
Her tears had long since dried, and after a while Dane noticed a small placated smile touched her lips.
"What's so funny?" he asked, stroking her hip through her robe, letting his fingers run down the outside of her thigh before starting over again at the top of her hip.
"Nothing," she said, resettling against his chest, her head on his shoulder. Her green eyes stared off at some point in the distance. "I only wish Bela could be happy for me. I try to imagine how frightened she must be, but it's hard when she yells at me all the time. Especially now."
Dane forced his features to remain smooth, not letting his confusion show through. "What would she have to fear?" he asked.
Leda sat up a little on his lap so she could look him in the eye. She reached out to stroke his hair. "You seem so worldly sometimes, Dane. You've been so many places, and seen many things. You're educated. It scares me sometimes, because I'm just a farmer's daughter. Then, sometimes, I take you completely by surprise—and it absolutely shocks me. I haven't told you, because Bela kept insisting I wait until the right time, but I thought for sure you would've figured it out by now."
"What?" he asked, feeling strangely calm, in spite of his ignorance. The tone of her voice didn't warn him toward fear. Whatever secret she kept from him must not be too terrible.
Leda took a breath, and smiled shyly at the thought of whatever she had to say, like she couldn't help it. "You'll be a father in late spring, Danen," she said, gazing down at where her small hand pressed against his chest. "I didn't tell you before, because it's easy to miscarry in the first few months. Cybele missed her cycle for a month or two, and then lost your cousin's child not so long ago. Bela told him she has severe pains with her cycle sometimes, and he never knew. The second I suspected I was carrying, I wanted to tell everyone—but she made me keep quiet."
Dane let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. His arms rose so he could grip her shoulders without any conscious directing from his brain. "You must always tell me when you suspect pregnancy, Leda. I never would've risked the child's life by reaching for you in the night if I'd known," he said, hardly noticing his heart pounding at the significance of what she'd told him.
He would have a child in half a year, or less. He'd come full circle—from unwanted son, to husband and father. He would have the chance to do right everything Achilles had done wrong.
She smirked a little. "Oh, don't be silly. That doesn't cause women to lose pregnancies. If it did, I would've pushed you away. I know plenty of girls who've miscarried because they worried so much they shut themselves off from the world."
Dane nodded, taking her word for it. He truly knew nothing of women. It relieved him to learn he hadn't unknowingly endangered what they'd created.
Her eye caught his, and he realized she still waited for him to say something. What, he couldn't fathom.
"Tell me you're glad, Danen," she said. "Please, don't make me wonder if you'll reject this baby when it's born."
Dane looked at her, stunned. The request that came from her mouth hadn't sounded like the girl he knew. For the first time, she sounded entirely like a woman—and he'd put the weight of the world on her shoulders. He hadn't meant to give the impression he didn't desire a family.
Danen looked her straight in the eye, cupping her cheek in one large palm. "I can't describe to you how glad I am," he told her, entirely confident in his statement. "I will never reject a child I've fathered. I didn't have the opportunity to confront the man who sired me. He abandoned me to the care of others for entirely selfish reasons; excusing his actions by thinking he fathered me too early in his life to bear responsibility for me. You needn't fear that fate befalling your children, Leda."
She grinned, grabbing him around the neck and hugging him tight.
Dane let his eyes fall closed, gently squeezing her in a warm embrace. For the first time in his life, he felt compelled to look to the sky and thank the gods for what they'd given him. He didn't believe, and he never would, but when he opened his dark eyes to consider the world's blue ceiling, he couldn't help but wonder if Achilles' glory had tasted sweeter than this moment.
Perhaps if his father had known a simple life such as the one Danen now led, he wouldn't have run off so quickly to die.