Thank you for all your reviews. Just a warning, this chapter jumps around quite a bit so be prepared for quite a bit of time to pass in this chapter alone. I wanted the last few chapters to focus on a very specific time, the end of their first year of marriage, so that's why this one goes through a few months.

And as a note, nothing will happen to Cassandra in this story. All that will happen in my next sequel, which I think will take place in the different years of their marriage. Then in the third part of this series that will take place actually during the movie Troy. So since I'm hoping to have the DVD as a reference (which doesn't come out until October) that one won't come for quite awhile. I might decide to write it sooner, however, if I can get the full movie script. But we'll see.

…

Seven days later, Andromache proudly placed the veil over Maira's head, pausing for a moment to smile at her. The dress had been made in record time and today Andromache helped Maira prepare. The bath had been taken, the customary rituals to Artemis were performed, and she was now to be led from Hector's quarters to her bridegroom's house, where the feast would take place.

The room had been cleared and Andromache held the veil over her head, not yet willing to cover Maira's face.

"Seems just like yesterday our roles were reversed, doesn't it?" she smiled. Gently setting the soft fabric on her head, she kept the front of it on top of Maira's head so they could talk for a few moments.

"We only have a few moments," Maira reminded her.

"Maira-"

"Wait, I want to speak first," Maira interrupted. She took Andromache's hands in her own and kissed them. "You have been my mistress since my earliest memories. Your mother helped raised me, your brothers helped tease me, and you treated me as though I'd been born your sister, instead of your war slave." She paused and wiped her eyes as Andromache blinked to clear her own eyes. "I couldn't have asked for a better life, Andromache. I thanked the gods every day for allowing me to serve you and love you, and be loved in return. I was happiest when we were together, when I would fix your hair before a special occasion and we would talk. Not as slave and mistress but as sisters. And I want to thank you with all my heart for doing this for me. You are the kindest person I know, Andromache. You're always caring for others, always sensitive to their needs. And you don't look down on others for their position in life. We've been together through so many things. We've shared our worst moments and our happiest moments. Our greatest triumphs and our greatest fears. Andromache, don't ever forget this. I was the happiest person in the world when I was able to serve you and I never once regretted my situation. I was happier as a slave than most people are as freemen. Never forget that, and never forget that I loved you with all my heart. And I still will, until the day I die."

Tears were running down both their faces, but Andromache managed a shaky smile. "My turn," she whispered, smiling. "As you said, we've shared our best and worst moments. You were there for me when I left my family, just like I was there for you when you lost yours. You didn't hate me for being related to the people that killed your family and sacked your city, but rather you loved me because of the way I treated you. But I want you to know, you deserved every bit of the kindness I showed you, and much, much more. You were strong for me when I was fainting with fear and you would cry with me when I was in pain. You shared in my laughter when I reached my goals and you taught me to forgive. You never held a grudge against me for being your mistress and you forgave my brothers for their crimes against you. You said I am kind, but you yourself taught me how to be kind. You taught me not to begrudge others' blessings, but to rejoice for them and be happy with my own. That is why I am able to look at your face when you gaze at Diocus and not be jealous. You two will be happy together, I'm more sure of that than I've been of anything else in my life. And remember, I wish you all the happiness in the world because you do deserve it- I mean that with all my heart."

The two embraced and held each other close for a moment and then pulled away so Andromache could fully veil her.

"I've never seen a more beautiful bride," she said, smiling at her friend through the fabric that covered her.

"I have," Maira replied. "Just once."

"No, because that bride didn't have the look on her face that you do," Andromache said. "The other bride was scared and apprehensive, though she did her best to hide it."

"But she learned to love," Maira reminded her.

"Yes, but the bride I'm looking at didn't have to learn, she simply does. And that's why she's the more beautiful," Andromache smiled.

"And the bride I knew was acting in a selfless way for the benefit of others, whereas I am doing this for my own happiness."

"Which you deserve," Andromache protested. A knock on the door interrupted their banter and a servant announced the men were approaching. Andromache led Maira to the door to Hector's quarters, smiling excitedly at her. Maira managed a shaky smile back, looking a bit nervous. The knocks on the door made them both jump.

"May the maiden who is to be the bride of Diocus come forth!" a loud voice called. Andromache winked at her friend and opened the doors. Maira stepped forth and Diocus took her by the wrist.

"In the presence of these witnesses I claim this woman as my wife!" he announced proudly. Andromache smiled to see Maira so happy, her face was peaceful and completely at ease. The wedding party made their way to Diocus' house, where the celebration lasted all day. Andromache and Hector attended, and that night Andromache held the torch and led the way to the bridal chamber, just as Hecuba had done for her. As the couple was left alone among many jokes and good wishes, Hector took Andromache back to the palace.

"Sad?" he asked her.

"Happy," she replied, smiling. "For her."

"And for yourself?"

"Sad," she said, laughing. "But that's alright, it'll pass."

"That was a kind act you did, you know."

"I couldn't have done anything else, you saw the way she looks at him."

"He looks at her the same way," Hector replied. "They'll be happy together."

"Thank you for selling her," Andromache said softly. "I hadn't even given you a reason."

"I trusted you," he replied. "And I took a chance that you weren't acting in a passion of rage."

Andromache laughed. They'd reached their bedchamber and the two of them quickly prepared for bed, discussing the details of the wedding. It was the early hours of the morning, so both of them were tired. They climbed into bed and enjoyed the cool breeze being blowing the curtains gently. Andromache leaned up against Hector, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder while his other arm rested lightly on her waist.

"Goodnight, Hector," she said, already half asleep.

"Goodnight, Andromache," he replied softly. "Sweet dreams, love."

…

Another month passed and before they knew it, Hector and Andromache were at the last week of their eight month of marriage. Maira was with child, just two weeks after her wedding she'd gotten pregnant. Everyone wished them well and Diocus was teased incessantly by the other merchants at the market for getting such an early start on fatherhood.

"At this rate, you'll have fifty sons within a few years!" they would cry, while the women would jabber at him on how his wife should eat now that she was pregnant.

Maira visited Andromache often and the two would take walks together. Summer had come once again and the temperature was rising, so they often reclined in the shade of the garden trees.

Andromache, Cassandra, and Briseis were reclining under a fig tree, a servant fanning them to ward off the heat. It was an unusually hot day, and no one felt like doing much of anything.

"Perhaps we should have a family picnic at the river," Andromache suggested. "We could make a day out of it."

"The men are too busy, I don't think it would work," Cassandra replied. "It's so hard to get them all together."

"Well, perhaps just Paris could take us, then. I think a week's notice would give him plenty of time, it's not as if he does anything important anyways. And perhaps Hector would join us."

"If Hector's still here," Briseis mused.

"Why wouldn't he be?" Andromache look confused.

"Briseis," Cassandra said reproachfully, then turned to Andromache. "There have been rumors of war again, but I'm sure they'll come to nothing."

"With who?"

"Some of the cities near Thebe have started rebelling, the rumors are saying they're discussing an alliance against Troy."

Andromache knew there was something they weren't telling her. "What else?"

The two hesitated, then glanced at each other. "Thebe is too close for comfort," Briseis murmured softly. "And since they're loyal to Troy, the cities might try to take it first."

Andromache nodded, beginning to understand. "Well, don't worry. None of the cities south of Thebe are strong enough to defeat us and we have a military alliance with Troy."

"And we would uphold it," Cassandra assured her. "But the problem is, they could easily strike with no warning- before we could get our troops there."

"Don't worry," Andromache assured them. "We're strong enough to repel any attacks."

However, the thought nagged at her and she brought it up with Hector. He nodded.

"When I came for you, your father showed me your defenses. You're strong enough to repel an attack, but if they lay siege to your city they might be able to take it. We do need warning ahead of time in order to get our armies there; it takes awhile to sail there."

Andromache felt her heart sinking. "How would they get notice ahead of time?"

"Don't worry," Hector reassured her. "We have spies- as does your father. It would be extremely unlikely they could launch a surprise attack. Armies from different cities coming together in one place always attracts attention, we'll hear of it, no need to fret."

She was considerably relieved but when she saw the troops begin training again, her heart sank with apprehension.

…

Nearly a week into training, Andromache once again went out to watch the troops perform. Because they were going to be fighting against a larger force, the practice was much harder. Priam invited Andromache over and she joined him, easily picking out Hector.

He's wearing his light cloak, she thought, pleased. No sunburns this time.

"They're going to practice retreating," Priam informed her.

"How do you practice retreating?" Andromache asked him. "I thought during a retreat everyone just runs."

"That's a bad retreat. A good retreat is when everyone runs orderly. You see, during a retreat our men will fall back and the archers must fire over their heads into the oncoming army. The men must then reform in front of the archers and charge again."

"Sounds dangerous," Andromache observed.

Priam shook his head. "It sounds worse than it is. The archers are trained to wait until they are sure they can shoot over our men. They should never fire before, no matter how bad the situation looks."

Andromache watched, interested. Hector had formed the men into lines and was getting ready to order an attack.

"Once he orders the attack, the men will run out as though they're charging for the opposing army," Priam informed her. "After a significant distance, Hector will order a retreat and the men will take off back towards our archers."

Andromache watched as Hector rode up and down the lines, making sure everyone was in position. He shouted the orders, then gave the signal for an attack. It was beautiful. Thousands of men charged forward, shouting out their battle cries. The further they ran, the more disordered the line became and Andromache wondered if they'd even be able to form a line again, let alone quickly. When they had almost reached the shore Hector- along with Artrides who was riding beside him- gave the order for a retreat. Quick as a flash the men reversed directions and sprinted back towards the archers. Hector and Artrides rode through the lines- in a real war they should be in the front of the retreating army, for safety purposes. As they ran around the sprinting soldiers, Artrides pulled ahead. Hector was right behind him and Andromache laughed as she saw the two were having a sort of race.

As Artrides passed a retreating soldier, the soldier's spear flung out as he ran, jamming itself between the horse's legs. At a full gallop this proved fatal; the horse shot forward, falling to the ground, and Artrides was flung up over his head. He went down in the crowd and Andromache gasped as she saw what was coming next. Hector had been riding too close to Artrides to stop, and his horse- Rabbit- tripped over the fallen horse and pitched forward. Hector was flung into the crowd and Andromache jumped up and ran forward, trying to pick him out. The soldiers were still in a full retreat, though those who'd seen the fall had stopped running to help the injured leaders.

"They're going to trample them!" Andromache cried out, seeing soldiers running past the accident. Her face was white and she prayed the other generals would get control of the situation. Those who had seen the fall were abandoning their retreat and running over to help, while those who hadn't witnessed it were still running towards the archers. Pandemonium reigned as thousands of men ran every which way.

The other generals were riding through the crowd, quickly issuing orders and bringing the madness to a halt. Priam quickly ran from the wall to see if there had been any injuries and Andromache followed at a sprint, praying to the gods that Hector was alright. Hecuba grabbed her, stopping her madness.

"Wait," she commanded, shielding her eyes from the sun. "You cannot help up there, wait until a messenger returns with the news." Andromache nodded and quickly took her place back up at the top of the wall, trying to get a glimpse of her husband. Priam had reached them and was engulfed in the crowd around them. Moments later a soldier rode quickly from the group and Andromache rushed down to meet him, Hecuba following right behind.

"My ladies," he greeted them. "They are alive."

Hecuba and Andromache both breathed out a sigh of relief and motioned wordlessly for him to continue.

"Artrides has broken his arm and has a gash on his forehead. Prince Hector has a severe cut on his left arm but it is not life threatening. He has stated that he'll meet you in your quarters," he informed her.

Andromache nodded and called for a horse, quickly returning to their quarters and getting everything ready for Hector's return. She had a servant bring a needle and some strong thread; his wound would most likely require stitches. Not fifteen minutes later she heard a commotion as Hector came in, loudly protesting all the fuss being made over him.

"Here now, you see?" he told them. "My wonderful wife has everything prepared, you may trust me to her administrations."

Andromache smiled at the group of men who'd accompanied him, and assured them that she was capable of taking care of her husband. Hecuba came in as the men left.

"Do you need any help, love?" she asked Andromache, motioning for her son to remove the bandage he was clutching against his left arm. Hector obediently showed it to her and she studied it critically, careful not to touch it.

"No, I can manage," Andromache replied. "With seven brothers one must learn how to dress wounds."

Hecuba nodded. "I'll check in later, right now I must make sure poor Artrides is being cared for. No wife, you know," she informed them, taking her leave.

Hector sighed and sat down, examining his wound.

"Keep that bandage on it, please," Andromache commanded him, bringing over a bowl of warm water and some clean linen. "Don't need any more dirt getting in there."

"Well, aren't we quite the bossy wife all of a sudden," Hector teased her.

"That was incredibly stupid of you, riding that close to him," Andromache scolded, removing the bandage and gently bathing the wound. Hector winced and Andromache looked up. "No more than you deserve, pulling a stunt like that. And get used to it, with all the dirt you've gotten in here this will take awhile."

"It was a race," Hector protested feebly, hissing as the water touched his arm again.

"Stupid," Andromache retorted, only half-joking.

"And you never do stupid things?" Hector replied cheekily.

"Never," Andromache said haughtily. "I am perfect."

"Ouch!" Hector jerked his arm away. Andromache yanked it back into her lap.

"You have some small stones in the cut, hold still."

"Well, leave them there," Hector snapped, gritting his teeth. "And could you work any slower?"

"Easily, want to see?" she replied, biting her lip as she yanked out a particularly deep stone. Hector almost hyperventilated.

"Done!" she announced proudly, admiring her handiwork. "Your wound is now clean."

"And gushing blood," Hector pointed out dryly. Andromache ignored him, stringing the needle as she prepared to sew him up. Hector watched her warily. She glanced at him and noticed where he was looking.

"Haven't you had stitches before?" she asked him, surprised.

He shook his head. "I've been unusually lucky. Or just skilled at hiding injuries," he added as an afterthought.

Andromache looked at him doubtfully. "Well, just don't move. That'll only make it worse," she warned him. "And try to think of pleasant things."

"Like what I'm going to do to you when this is all over?" he teased, only half-joking.

"Tell me about something," she suggested, stitching him up. The wound wasn't deep but it was wide, it would take a fair amount of stitches. Hector squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think of something pleasant.

"I can't think of anything," he hissed through gritted teeth.

"I'm pleasant," Andromache told him chirpily.

"Not right now," he retorted, grimacing as the needle went through his flesh again. "By the gods, woman, just kill me and be done with it!"

"You don't seem to need my help," Andromache replied. "You're quite skilled at it yourself."

"Considering I'm sitting here having a needle jammed through my flesh, I'm apparently not good enough. Perhaps I shall just throw myself off the walls."

"Make sure you land on your head," Andromache retorted. "Tell me about when you were a boy."

Hector sighed and jumped as he felt the familiar prick again. "It wasn't at all interesting."

"Is Artrides well?" Andromache abruptly changed the subject.

"His arm will heal, though he'll have a nice scar from the gash on his head." Hector winced again.

"Almost done," Andromache informed him, working quickly. A few moments later she'd finished and tied up the thread. "There."

Hector exhaled, looking quite pale. "Have you done this often?"

"Euklides gave me plenty of practice," she replied. "And every once in awhile he'd take another brother along with him so I'd have two on my hands."

He nodded and stood up. "Help me out of this armor, will you?"

She obediently came over and helped him take it off, then left to get a rag and some water. When she came back he was sitting on the side of their bed, closing his eyes.

"Does it hurt?" she asked sympathetically.

"Ever had someone yank a needle through your flesh?" he teased her. "Doesn't feel particularly nice."

"I'm a smart person, I never injured myself seriously." She came over and sat behind him, gently cleaning the dirt off his body. "You're filthy."

"If you took a dive headfirst into the ground you'd be to," he replied. "I could just take a bath; it would be faster."

"You can't get the bandage wet," she said. "Otherwise I wouldn't be doing this."

The cool water felt good against his hot skin and he closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of being clean. She was quiet as she worked, allowing him to rest. He was almost asleep when she finally finished and he slumped to the bed as soon as she moved. She covered him with a light blanket and quietly gathered up the dirty bandages, leaving quietly. Hecuba had just arrived to check on him.

"He's sleeping," Andromache said in a low voice, standing right outside their door.

"Nothing serious?" Hecuba asked just as quietly.

Andromache shook her head. "The cut will heal within a week."

"They leave in ten days," Hecuba informed her. "So all is well. I'd hate for him to leave before he is fully healed."

"He'll be ready," Andromache promised and Hecuba nodded and left. "Oh, stay!" she called out. "How long will they be gone?"

"At least two months just for travel," Hecuba replied. "You've taken the journey, three weeks' good sailing but transporting an army is harder. The enemy is dangerous and the battle will last for quite some time. He'll be gone for at least three months."

Andromache nodded and Hecuba left. She felt strangely unsatisfied once again but she quickly shrugged it off. As she cleaned the blood from the dirty rags, she realized why.

Hector will miss our anniversary, she thought, feeling slightly disappointed. She then quickly berated herself for her feelings. Don't be stupid, Andromache, it's just another day of marriage.

But the feeling didn't go away.