Usual disclaimer-I don't own anyone except for Ashara and her sisters. Everyone else belongs to Homer.

Let me know if you like the way the story is going. Before I didn't realize that I wasn't excepting unsigned reviews. I've fixed that so, please, please review. I tend to write quicker with reviews, but I won't hold any chapters ransom.

Flickering torchlight cast an orange glow to the city streets as they walked together in silence. Every few minutes Ashara would glance at Hector, trying to decipher the blank mask of his features. She found the Trojan prince quite intriguing. No one had ever come that close to killing her, that fact alone attracted her to him. Yet, she had to admit to herself that when he fixed his deep brown eyes upon her...

With a slight shake of her head she cleared these thoughts from her mind. As an Amazon, Ashara had been raised to think of men as only a means of reproduction. To even have these feelings for a man was like betraying her heritage. She pushed the thoughts away and concentrated on freeing her sisters.

Hector noticed when she shook her head and found he needed to do so himself. This woman was filling his head with lustful thoughts, something he was unaccustomed too. Each time he found himself thinking of her in that manner, his mind flashed to when she had held a sword to his father's throat. Instantly, rage seethed through his veins. He cursed himself for finding her desirable for even a moment, she was a snake. A cold, merciless, and conniving snake that had injured many of his fellow Trojans without a second thought.

As they continued to walk, Hector kept his eyes straight ahead as he spoke. "Tell me, Ashara, when you were holding your sword to my father's throat, did you intend to go through with your threat?" Hector felt her eyes upon him as she replied.

"I told both of you that I had no intention of actually harming your father. And as I recall you had your sword at my throat as well." Her words were said with no vehemence; in fact what she said next was tinged with embarrassment. "In fact, yours is the only sword that has ever come close enough to kill."

Hector felt his anger falter, her embarrassment shocked him. "I find that hard to believe, the..." He trailed off when she stopped abruptly. Her head was turned to the ground when he turned back to her. For a moment, he thought that she was crying. He was about to apologize when she raised her head and he saw the cold determination on her face.

"Prince Hector, I could easily have killed all of your guards, your father, and you. Your blade may have been close enough to kill me but that doesn't mean that I would have let you. You have only glimpsed what I am capable of, do not doubt my abilities." Instantly, Hector regretted ever feeling sorry for the woman. His first impression of her had been correct, she was a manipulative snake. His eyes narrowed at her before turning on his heel and stalking down the street.

He heard her footfalls as she followed behind him. Both were seething with anger as they walked in silence again. They walked along for another ten minutes before they reached their destination. Hector halted in front a nondescript two level building. Pushing aside the red cloth covering the doorway he was shocked by the sight in front of him.

Lying randomly around the room were twenty or so women bound and gagged. Hector was shocked that this type of thing was going on within the city. He knew that there were slave traders but nothing that reached this extreme. The women looked as if they had walked through Tartarus and back. Their clothing was torn, their skin filthy, and each had ugly looking bruises in various areas.

Hearing a sharp intake of air, Hector turned quickly and saw that Ashara had entered the room. He was taken aback by the emotions so plain on her face. She looked as if someone had dealt a terrible blow to her stomach. Her eyes were shiny with tears that threatened to spill over.

Ashara felt as if her heart would explode in her chest. The pain at seeing her sisters in such a state was almost too much for her to handle. Recovering from her initial shock, she pushed past Hector and rushed to her nearest sister.

Hector looked on as Ashara knelt by a young girl who could not have been more then fifteen years of age. He watched as the woman he had called a snake gently removed the gag from the girl's mouth. He heard her murmur something to the girl and watched the girl's face light up. Ashara quickly untied the girl's bindings. When she was free, the girl jumped into Ashara's arms. The Queen's tears flowed freely as the two embraced.

Ashara reluctantly pulled away from the girl and spoke to her in a voice loud enough for Hector to hear. "Xania, help me to free the others." Ashara stood and moved to the next woman. She addressed the whole room. "Sisters, I am sorry for what you have had to endure. We will free you all in a moment."

As the two women started to undo the ropes holding the other women captive, a very muscular man came down the stairs to the left of the room. He was clearly outraged at his slaves being released. The man reached for his sword as he shouted. "What in the name of Zeus do you think that you are doing?!?"

As Hector turned to face the man, he saw Ashara go for her daggers out of the corner of his eye. He held up a hand to halt her as he spoke. Reluctantly, Ashara lowered her weapons. "Sir, these women are to be released by order of my father, King Priam."

Instantly, the man's expression changed from one of anger to fear. He dropped his sword and dropped to the ground. Hector had to strain to hear the man since his face was now buried in the dirt. "Prince Hector! Forgive me, I did not recognize you." When Hector remained silent, the man risked a glance towards him. Seeing the glare on the prince's face, frightened him into lowering his eyes again.

Hector turned away from the man and walked over to one of the captive Amazons. He gently removed her gag and started to undo her bonds. The woman was close to his age and eyed him with suspicion. She lay perfectly still as undid the knots. When he finished, he offered his hand to help her up. With a reluctant look she accepted his help, she leaned heavily on him as he helped her stand up. He helped her to the wall so she could lean on it while he freed the others.

Ashara looked on as he aided Iliandra. When she finished freeing her last sister, Malena, she went over to Hector. She spoke softly so only he could hear her. "Hector...Thank you, for all of your help." He searched her eyes which still glistened with tears. He had thought her harsh and cold, but her face had softened, his heart gave a lurch as their eyes met.

"Ashara, I am sorry for the things that I said earlier. You and your sisters are welcome at the palace for as long as need be." She smiled weakly at him and he could tell that his first impression of her had been wrong. She turned away from him and glanced at the large man still cowering on the ground.

"Are you going to deal with this scum or shall I?" Hector could hear the danger in her tone. He glanced around the room and saw that many of the women were glaring at the man with a murderous rage. Stepping forward he began to address the man, his voice held only a fraction of the rage he saw in the eyes of the Amazons but it was enough.

"Get up." A simple command, but the man acted as if Hector had just sentenced him to death. The man cowered before him, visibly shaking, his eyes never meeting Hector's. "What is your name?"

"Sarphadon, your majesty." His voice was trembling with fear. Hector felt only disgust for the man, he stepped forward and forced the man to meet his gaze.

"Sarphadon, these women are free now. You are never to come after them, if I find that you have disobeyed me, I will let these women do whatever they wish to you." The man could only nod his head in understanding. "Now, I suggest that you collect your things and get as far away from Troy as you can." Hector watched as the man ran back up the stairs.

Feeling a hand on his arm, Hector turned and found himself staring into the eyes of Ashara. "We will need help getting them to the palace." Hector glanced around and noticed that many of them could barely stand.

"Wait here." Hector left and went to summon chariots to transport the women to the palace. Ashara watched him leave and turned back to face her tribe. It was then that she realized she had to leave them soon. She decided that she must tell them now.

"Sisters, in order to locate you and gain your freedom, I had to make a dear with King Priam." She watched their reactions, frowns creasing their foreheads. "I agreed to fight for Troy against the Greeks." For a moment, no one said anything and then chaos broke out. Shouts of protest came from all directions, Ashara held up her hands to silence them.

"This was my decision. I will stay at the palace until this war is over and then I will return to you... Do you really think that a few Greeks could frighten me?" Xania, the youngest among them was the first to speak up.

"Ash, we believe in your abilities, but how can we just abandon you here?" Her voice was filled with fear. Ashara approached the girl and embraced her. As she held Xania, she spoke again to the group. "Sisters, I do this for you. This is my choice, you are not abandoning me. I will return to you. Do not fear for my well being." As she spoke, Hector came back with the chariots. He stood in the doorway, no one noticing that he had returned.

All of the Amazons limped over to surround their leader. Together they embraced and tears of happiness and despair coursed down their cheeks. He listened as Ashara spoke one more time. "You are Amazons; together there is nothing that you cannot do. I believe in you. Take care of each other in my absence and everything will be alright." His heart lurched when he heard the sob in her voice. "I will miss you, my sisters."

Hector coughed and moved into the room. He felt horrible for interrupting the emotional moment but he knew that many of the sisters needed immediate care. "Queen, the chariots are here to transport your tribe to the palace." She nodded in response and gestured for her tribe to go to the waiting chariots.

She was the last to leave the room, passing by Hector, her eyes met his. His hand reached out and touched her arm. Stopping she turned to face him.

"Ashara..." He was uncertain what to say but she smiled up at him anyways. This time the smile actually reached her eyes, lighting them up. "Thank you." Pushing aside the cloth, she left Hector standing in the room with his conflicting emotions.