Hello everybody, here is the new chapter. I hope you will like it. This was a difficult year to all of us, so I want to wish you a merry christmas and I hope you all are safe and happy.
NicoleR85: I was so surprised to see that you still read this story, but I am so grateful for that. Thank you so much.
shelby3323: I'm so glad to know that you liked the chapter, I hope you will like this one.
Arianna Le Fay: Thank you for being here even after all this time, and to always review. I really appreciate it. I hope you will like this chapter, and I'm glad you liked the sexy scenes because for me it is always very weird to write it xD Idk about the baby prince tho...
Anyway, enjoy this chapter. And Merry Christmas!
The following afternoon a war council had been called in the throne room of King Priam, flanked by Hector, his heir in a smaller throne on his right and Alessandra on his left. The counselors spoke to each other in a cacophony of voices while the royal family was silent, waiting.
Finally, Archeptolemus, the high priest, got up and the others were silent. "The omens are gathering. The directive is clear."
Alessandra rolled her eyes but Hector was quicker than she to respond. "Fight for your country, that's the only directive."
"Last time the high priest spoke to us, he prophesied a great victory for Troy. We won a great victory, let him speak." The king commanded, knowing that Hector would not go against his word. With that, Alessandra's mouth twisted in scorn, hating how her father listened to the high priest but ignored the words of his eldest daughter. "What course of action do you recommend?"
"The gods please our course, now is the time to destroy the Greek army.
This generated murmurs from the others.
"Glaucus?" The king said this time, seeing the commander of his army rise. "Their morale is battered after Menelaus' death, and after the death of Ajax by the hand of Princess Alessandra." He bowed his head in respect for the woman mentioned, and she returned the gesture. "Hit them now. Hit them hard, and they will run!"
"I must admit, I overestimated the Greeks. They lack discipline and courage."
Hector got up and approached the men. "The Myrmidons didn't fight the last time, there must be dissension among the Greeks. But if we attack their ships, we will unify them. If they decide to attack us, let them. Our walls can't be breached, we'll beat them back again. Last time the Greeks underestimated us, we should not return the favor."
King Priam rose and went down the stairs of his throne, causing all his advisers to rise as well.
"Are you confident about the meaning of these omens?" Priam questioned Archeptolemus.
"The desecration of his temple angers Apollo. The gods have cursed the Greeks."
"If the gods had cursed them, the Greeks would have been dead for a long time and would have disappeared from our lands. Is it really Apollo who is furious about what happened at the temple, or is it you, high priest?" Alessandra scorned, bored and with her chin resting on her hand, her arm resting on the arm of her throne.
The man's cheeks flushed, and King Priam shot a warning look at his daughter who rolled her eyes. The high priest, however, was unmoved and went back to the king. "Two of their kings have already gone down the dust."
And with that Priam's decision was made. "Prepare the army. We attack at daybreak."
"Father." Both brothers exclaimed, Alessandra finally standing up and approaching Hector and her father.
"We're making a mistake," Hector said.
The king repeated again. "Prepare the army."
"If you hear the high priest so much, you should ask him to fight for you, instead of sending your children to the battlefield if you don't even hear them!" The princess whispered furiously only to her father and brother, making sure that the other men did not hear. She might be angry, but she would never want her father to be embarrassed in front of his advisers.
"Alessandra!" He exclaimed, but the princess had already left.
That night she debated whether she should meet Achilles or not. Cassandra watched her sister walking from side to side in the center of her room, watching her almost open a hole in the floor from walking. Alessandra didn't know what it was, but her stomach churned with nervousness whenever she thought about what would happen tomorrow.
"You should go," Cassandra said at last.
"And look him in the eye without telling him that tomorrow we will attack his camp?"
"If you don't go today, tomorrow you won't be able to go."
"Why doesn't father hear us? Why is he able to hear and believe an old man, and not in you?" Alessandra exclaimed furiously, running a hand through her hair. "Tell me, sister, do you know what will happen?"
Cassandra shook her head. "No, but I have a bad feeling. Go, Alessandra, enjoy it while you can."
"That's what I'm going to do."
When she met Achilles at their place near the pond, surrounded by trees, herbs, and flowers, no words were exchanged. They made love in and out of the lagoon, kissed deeply, and when it seemed that Achilles wanted to talk or ask anything, Alessandra kissed him again. She hugged him, kissed him with everything she had, tried to record his scent in her memory, and when Achilles fell asleep, Alessandra left.
The sun had not yet risen when the Trojans attacked the Greeks' camp. Burning arrows flew through the darkness of the night like hundreds of shooting stars, resting on the sand. The sound of warning horns resounded in the camp, the Greeks waking up screaming when they realized they had been attacked, taking up their weapons and shields. Huge balls of straw were pulled by ropes by the Trojans, with enough strength to make them roll down the dune, where they were lit on fire when they were hit by the arrows that still burned in the sand. The night was lit by the light of fireballs, balls that hit the enemy people quickly, setting fire to everything in front of them, be it tents, ships or men. The screams of agony from those close enough to be burned reverberated in the air.
At the top of the sand dune with excellent views of the camp were Alessandra and Hector, both with their armor, helmets, and shields. Hector had a spear in his hand while Alessandra had her usual sword.
"I don't like this," Alessandra said.
"Me neither, sister."
The screams of suffering continued, and the surprise attack lasted until the moon disappeared, and the first lights of dawn replaced the darkness.
The Trojans' spears and swords beat on their shields, thousands of the sons of Troy - so many who filled the entire line of sight of the Greeks - looked down at their enemy and marched towards him, always hitting the shields in an intimidating manner. They were like a black cloud waiting to rain powerful lightning bolts on those stupid enough to be within reach.
"Archers to the rear," Hector commanded, with a nod of confirmation from Alessandra.
A name suddenly started to be shouted at the enemy camp, a name too familiar for Alessandra. "Achilles! Achilles! Achilles!" and the woman saw that familiar armor approaching and the figure who wore it.
"Achilles..." She whispered.
It was this moment that she dreaded the most since their little affair had started, Achilles and Alessandra were on opposite sides of the battle, they were enemies, but how could they see each other like that when they shared kisses and secrets when they shared passion and love?
"Now!"
The two armies started running towards each other, and then when they finally met, it was all a mess of screams and grunts, swords, spears, and shields. Blood flew, screams of the dying were heard, swords hit against swords, spears against spears... It was a sea of sounds, pain, and screams.
Alessandra moved quickly around Hector, always keeping an eye on her brother, making sure he was alright. She was almost a blur, faster than any other, a stain that moved like lightning cutting and stabbing everything in her path. Greek after Greek died under her sword. There was a time when she smashed her shield against the neck of a man so hard that she ended up breaking it, and he was dead even before he hit the ground.
But it was then that that familiar armor appeared in her view, and Hector was running towards him.
"Hector!" Alessandra shouted.
"He is mine!" Her brother shouted in response.
A knot settled in her throat because the woman knew that only one of them would emerge victoriously. She, along with the others, stopped fighting and just watched.
Achilles and Hector circled, watching, looking for an opening. The screams of "Hector!" and "Achilles!" were shouted everywhere. The two men attacked each other, dodging and attacking again at every opportunity they had. There was something different, however, something wrong… Achilles moved more sloppily, he did not seem to fight as he normally fought… And then the tip of Hector's sword hit his throat, opening it in a huge blow and it quickly began to bleed.
Alessandra's heart fell. She couldn't believe it, she wanted to scream but she couldn't, she wanted to move but she couldn't. She could only see how Achilles staggered and his body fell into the sand that was quickly tinged with red. All the screaming stopped as they watched in shock and then her brothers-in-arms screamed in excitement and victory. Hector slowly lowered himself to his knees and removed Achilles' helmet.
Only this was not Achilles.
Instead of the familiar face of the man Alessandra had fallen in love with, was an unknown face. A younger boy, but with similar features, similar hair, eyes almost the same color. And it was with a start that Alessandra finally realized who that must be, and when she realized she was already running, pushing her brother away and pressing her hands on the bleeding while the boy was drowning in his own blood.
"Patroclus! You are Patroclus, aren't you?" Tears of pain streamed down the boy's face. "You'll be fine, you'll be fine! Somebody help! Bring something to stop the bleeding, something to suture the wound!" She screamed looking around at all those who were shocked. Nobody moved. Alessandra looked at a familiar face, a king she had seen on the battlefield before, Odysseus who was standing next to a man with black hair and blue eyes who seemed to want to cry. "Quickly! Bring help, don't stand still or he will die!"
Blood overflowed, the boy made sounds of agony that left the hair on the back of Alessandra's neck standing. So many men she had seen die, but that boy was different... she knew who he was and how important he was.
Nobody moved. No one except Hector who raised his sword and pierced Patroclus' heart with the blade, ending his suffering. Alessandra can do no more than look at the boy in shock, seeing his empty gaze at the sky as blood still flowed like rivers. His blood, his source of life, made Alessandra's hands and arms completely red, not a single piece of her skin showing. With a heavy heart, the young woman closed the boy's eyes knowing that as soon as she closed them she also closed anything she had with Achilles.
"That's enough for today." She heard Hector say to Ulysses.
"Yes. To the ships!" The king of Ithaca agreed, sadly. And after a sigh, he informed: "It was his cousin..."
The Trojans began to retreat, returning again to Troy. Alessandra, however, took a little longer. Hector was watching nearby, and Odysseus and the man of black hair joined her, watching Patroclus' body sadly.
"Thank you for trying, Princess." The unknown man said. He must have been a Myrmidon because he had the same black armor.
"We could have tried to save him." She exclaimed in a cold, empty voice.
"No one can survive such a wound."
"I know." Alessandra sighed with her lips pressed in a thin line, looking at the now frozen features of Patroclus... He looked so young. "Even so, we could have tried harder."
The black-haired man sighed, breathing hard, as he stroked the boy's dirty blond hair. It seemed that he was using all his willpower to control himself and not burst into a cry of suffering and grief. "It is with you that Achilles has been meeting every night, is it not?" He asked quietly, only for hers and Odysseys' ears.
A shocked expression appeared on Alessandra's face, as much as she didn't want to. How did he know? Who was he? "I'm Eudorus, Achilles' first in command, of course, I notice where he's going. He seemed happier, he didn't want to fight anymore… but after this, there is nothing and nobody that will stop him now." The man, Eudorus said knowingly.
"I know…"
And without further ado Alessandra got up and joined her brother, returning to Troy. When they were close, she exclaimed: "This was a mistake, but as always our opinion is ignored by our father. Do you know what this means, brother? Do you know what will happen now?"
No words came from Hector, just a face empty of emotion, but his eyes were glowing sadly. He stopped, and she also stopped taking off her helmet, watching the soldiers walk home. The high walls of Troy were now close, and the figure of her father and siblings were visible up there too small to recognize their faces, but Alessandra would recognize her figures anywhere.
"Why did you try to save him? How did you know this boy?" The Crown Prince questioned.
His questions did not receive an answer from the woman.
"If I have to fight and die for you, that is what I will do. Troy needs you, your wife and son need you." Alessandra said, grabbing her brother's cheeks and turning his face to look at her. "I would die a thousand deaths in your place."
Hector kissed her on the forehead, not caring about the blood - Patroclus blood - which was also staining his cheeks now. "This burden is mine to bear."
It did not take long for them to enter through the gates of Troy, victorious even if that victory had a bitter taste. Alessandra did not speak to anyone upon entering, nor with Andromache, nor with Paris nor with her father. In fact, these last two together with Helen (who was trying to make her figure small and discreet) received a look of contempt from the warrior and scorn.
She only spoke to Cassandra who was waiting for her in her room, with a wooden bathtub ready and filled with steaming water. She helped her remove her armor until Alessandra was naked, helped her into the bathtub, and sat on a bench beside her. Alessandra dipped her head, wetting the hair she took off the thick braid she previously had and rubbed the skin so hard until it was pink. The previously clear water quickly turned red, as if she were swimming in a sea of blood.
"What happened?" Cassandra questioned, putting perfumed oils in her younger sister's hair.
"A boy died, it was Hector who killed him."
"You wouldn't be like that if he were just any boy," Cassandra said knowingly. "Who was he?" She took a jar of hot water, told her sister to go a little further in the bath so that the water would not flow out when she emptied the jar on her head, getting rid of the oils.
"Patroclus, Achilles' cousin."
This sentence caused Cassandra to abruptly halt her actions. "Alessandra…"
"I know... Can you see?"
After a long moment, the older sister replied, "He will be here tomorrow at sunrise."