Time seemed to stop. Andromache stared from her husband, who was struck dumb with shock, to Odysseus, who stared nervously at the prince. Hector opened his mouth a few times, trying to force word to come out.
"My father?" he finally asked in a quavering voice.
Odysseus nodded. "Achilles never liked him very much, especially after he started, um, seeing your brother," he stated. "I always felt a bit uneasy about the king's relationship with Prince Paris as well."
"Dare I ask," said Hector in an overly civil voice, "what aspect of their relationship did you disapprove of?"
"I am not saying this to be cruel," said Odysseus. "You wanted to know who Achilles thought was threatening the prince's safety. I'm only telling you what happened and what I observed."
"And your observations?"
"King Priam seemed to view the prince more as a possession than as a son," answered Odysseus. "He loved to show him off, kept telling everyone to look at how beautiful the boy was, but he didn't let him mingle with us. He doesn't want there to be any aspect of the prince's life that he can't control."
"He does everything he can to keep Hector and Paris separated," Andromache interjected, almost to herself. Hector remained silent.
"As I said," continued Odysseus, "this was all observation and speculation on my part. I don't know if Prince Paris confided anything to Achilles."
"You said you knew for certain that he was a threat to Paris three nights ago," persisted Hector. "How did you come to this conclusion?"
"Ah, yes," recalled Odysseus grimly. "It was three nights ago, right after the evening banquet..."
################## Odysseus' first person p.o.v. recollection
"Everyone was up and mingling except me. I was picking at some fruit and staring at Prince Paris' empty chair. He had excused himself before the last course of the meal, feigning exhaustion. Achilles had slipped off after the meal to see him in his quarters. I was wondering how badly things would go if King Priam found out about their relationship when the king sat down next to me. 'Are you not enjoying yourself?' he asked.
'I was just letting my thoughts get away from me,' I responded.
He followed my gaze. 'Thoughts about my Paris?"
It was no use denying that Prince Paris occupied my mind, but I know to omit the details. 'I was just wondering,' I told him, ' why a boy his age is not training with your army. Is sixteen considered too young by Trojan standards to be a warrior?'
'Paris is not going to be a warrior,' King Priam responded firmly. 'He seems destined for another occupation.'
"Do you want him to be a priest in Apollo's temple?' I asked, trying to think of a suitable occupation other than warrior for a king's son.
King Priam gave a quiet snort. 'No," he said. 'Being a priest requires more purity than Paris has.'
Panic filled my mind. "Oh," I said, trying as hard as I could to be nonchalant. 'I didn't know the prince was involved with anyone.'
'He's not," replied the king. I was going to ask him why then he was questioning Paris' purity when I noticed he was no longer looking at me. I turned to where he was looking, in the direction of the crowd, and saw that a group of young men had joined the party. They were, well, they were the palace prostitutes, sent in to entertain the guests and members of the court. I stared at the king, praying that I was misunderstanding him.
'One cannot fight what they were born to be," he said softly. "Those long legs were clearly meant to be wrapped around someone important. He turned back to me. "Some people were meant to be warriors," he said matter-of-factly. "Some were meant to be priests. Some were meant to be scholars. My beautiful Paris was meant to be a whore. His training in the arts of pleasure starts in two years.'"
###################### Normal p.o.v.
Andromache clapped her hand over her mouth in shock.
"I was horrified to hear a father say something like that about his son," concluded Odysseus. "When Achilles returned from Prince Paris' quarters that night, I told him everything. I begged him not to do anything rash, but he was so focused on protecting the one that he loved that what I begged and advised was of little consequence to him."
Hector had been silent throughout Odysseus' recollection. Now his entire body shook with rage. Words tumbled out of his mouth in an uncontrolled rant: "I trusted - a whore - was supposed to protect - my shame - Ianthe - Paris - Alexandros - he thinks - tainted with my sin?!"
Hector whipped around and charged out from the gardens. Odysseus and Andromache followed, struggling to keep up. As they progressed down the palace halls, the two realized where Hector was heading.
Andromache gasped. "My husband!"
"Prince Hector!" protested Odysseus at the same time.
Hector paid no heed to either of them. He threw open the doors and stormed into his father's court.
King Priam and Troy's noblemen looked at him as if he'd gone insane. "What is the meaning of this?" Priam demanded.
Hector's face was purple with rage. "I trusted you," he spat out. "You were supposed to protect him."
"We have already discussed Paris' -"
"His training in the arts of pleasure begins in two years, Father?" hissed Hector. Priam fell silent. "Paris will be eighteen by then, the age that royal and court concubines are chosen. Since when has being a prostitute been a proper occupation for a prince?"
Many of the nobles looked shocked at what Hector was saying. Priam was desperate to shut him up. "Hector!"
"You took him from me!" Hector continued to rage. "You've been taking him from me for over sixteen years! Why, Father? Why did you take him when all you wanted for him was to keep the beds of your foreign allies and noblemen warm? Why do you want to make a whore out of my son?"
To be continued...
"My father?" he finally asked in a quavering voice.
Odysseus nodded. "Achilles never liked him very much, especially after he started, um, seeing your brother," he stated. "I always felt a bit uneasy about the king's relationship with Prince Paris as well."
"Dare I ask," said Hector in an overly civil voice, "what aspect of their relationship did you disapprove of?"
"I am not saying this to be cruel," said Odysseus. "You wanted to know who Achilles thought was threatening the prince's safety. I'm only telling you what happened and what I observed."
"And your observations?"
"King Priam seemed to view the prince more as a possession than as a son," answered Odysseus. "He loved to show him off, kept telling everyone to look at how beautiful the boy was, but he didn't let him mingle with us. He doesn't want there to be any aspect of the prince's life that he can't control."
"He does everything he can to keep Hector and Paris separated," Andromache interjected, almost to herself. Hector remained silent.
"As I said," continued Odysseus, "this was all observation and speculation on my part. I don't know if Prince Paris confided anything to Achilles."
"You said you knew for certain that he was a threat to Paris three nights ago," persisted Hector. "How did you come to this conclusion?"
"Ah, yes," recalled Odysseus grimly. "It was three nights ago, right after the evening banquet..."
################## Odysseus' first person p.o.v. recollection
"Everyone was up and mingling except me. I was picking at some fruit and staring at Prince Paris' empty chair. He had excused himself before the last course of the meal, feigning exhaustion. Achilles had slipped off after the meal to see him in his quarters. I was wondering how badly things would go if King Priam found out about their relationship when the king sat down next to me. 'Are you not enjoying yourself?' he asked.
'I was just letting my thoughts get away from me,' I responded.
He followed my gaze. 'Thoughts about my Paris?"
It was no use denying that Prince Paris occupied my mind, but I know to omit the details. 'I was just wondering,' I told him, ' why a boy his age is not training with your army. Is sixteen considered too young by Trojan standards to be a warrior?'
'Paris is not going to be a warrior,' King Priam responded firmly. 'He seems destined for another occupation.'
"Do you want him to be a priest in Apollo's temple?' I asked, trying to think of a suitable occupation other than warrior for a king's son.
King Priam gave a quiet snort. 'No," he said. 'Being a priest requires more purity than Paris has.'
Panic filled my mind. "Oh," I said, trying as hard as I could to be nonchalant. 'I didn't know the prince was involved with anyone.'
'He's not," replied the king. I was going to ask him why then he was questioning Paris' purity when I noticed he was no longer looking at me. I turned to where he was looking, in the direction of the crowd, and saw that a group of young men had joined the party. They were, well, they were the palace prostitutes, sent in to entertain the guests and members of the court. I stared at the king, praying that I was misunderstanding him.
'One cannot fight what they were born to be," he said softly. "Those long legs were clearly meant to be wrapped around someone important. He turned back to me. "Some people were meant to be warriors," he said matter-of-factly. "Some were meant to be priests. Some were meant to be scholars. My beautiful Paris was meant to be a whore. His training in the arts of pleasure starts in two years.'"
###################### Normal p.o.v.
Andromache clapped her hand over her mouth in shock.
"I was horrified to hear a father say something like that about his son," concluded Odysseus. "When Achilles returned from Prince Paris' quarters that night, I told him everything. I begged him not to do anything rash, but he was so focused on protecting the one that he loved that what I begged and advised was of little consequence to him."
Hector had been silent throughout Odysseus' recollection. Now his entire body shook with rage. Words tumbled out of his mouth in an uncontrolled rant: "I trusted - a whore - was supposed to protect - my shame - Ianthe - Paris - Alexandros - he thinks - tainted with my sin?!"
Hector whipped around and charged out from the gardens. Odysseus and Andromache followed, struggling to keep up. As they progressed down the palace halls, the two realized where Hector was heading.
Andromache gasped. "My husband!"
"Prince Hector!" protested Odysseus at the same time.
Hector paid no heed to either of them. He threw open the doors and stormed into his father's court.
King Priam and Troy's noblemen looked at him as if he'd gone insane. "What is the meaning of this?" Priam demanded.
Hector's face was purple with rage. "I trusted you," he spat out. "You were supposed to protect him."
"We have already discussed Paris' -"
"His training in the arts of pleasure begins in two years, Father?" hissed Hector. Priam fell silent. "Paris will be eighteen by then, the age that royal and court concubines are chosen. Since when has being a prostitute been a proper occupation for a prince?"
Many of the nobles looked shocked at what Hector was saying. Priam was desperate to shut him up. "Hector!"
"You took him from me!" Hector continued to rage. "You've been taking him from me for over sixteen years! Why, Father? Why did you take him when all you wanted for him was to keep the beds of your foreign allies and noblemen warm? Why do you want to make a whore out of my son?"
To be continued...