Charis sighed as she stood in the doorway of the room where Liberty was recovering from her wound. She looked out the nearest window and watched the dark purple of the sunset give way to the night.

"No...must...stay away....Trojan Horse..." Liberty muttered as she slept.

Charis blinked as Liberty muttered repeating what she had said before bolting out of the room and in search of Prince Hector, "Lord Hector! Lord Hector!" Charis ran down the dim hallway and rounded a corner crashing into both Paris and Hector both having heard her calling for Hector.

"Charis? Are you alright?" Hector asked once he got his bearings again.

Charis nodded as she quickly rose to her feet and bowed an apologetic bow to him, "Yes my lord. I am alright. However, quickly you must come with me; the Lady Liberty is speaking in her sleep. She speaks of the thing she spoke of earlier...the horse of Troy...no no what was it?"

Paris piped up as he helped his brother off the floor, "You mean the Trojan Horse?"

"Yes! That's it! She's been saying to stay away from the horse. But I don't understand it. Perhaps she is awake now and we can find out more about this Trojan Horse." She then grabbed a hand of each of the princes and literally dragged them off with all of the strength in her tiny five foot five frame.

Once he caught his footing, Hector raced ahead of the others, skidding to a halt next to the trembling body of his new love. He rubbed her exposed back gently, looking down at the angry wound just above her tailbone. To the right of it was a strange black marking he'd never seen before. It almost looked like writing of some sort.

He reached down and began to gently massage her legs, hoping she would regain feeling in them. "My love, my Desert Rose, are you awake?"

Liberty's nose wrinkled up and she sneezed. "Stop," she rasped wearily. "Your rough hands are tickling my legs."

Hector's face broke out in a smile. "You can feel this?" He traced his finger down the center of her left foot. She kicked at him.

"Yes, stop."

Paris appeared shortly after, clutching the hand of his former servant. He inspected Liberty's wound before pointing to the black markings. "What is this?" he asked. "You have writing of some sort on your skin." He ran his fingers over it and looked at them. "It doesn't seem to come off."

Liberty tried to laugh, ending in a coughing fit. "That's a tattoo. It's ink embedded in my skin. It won't come off. It says 'Freedom' in... a language that never existed."

"Liberty," Charis whispered. "Freedom. How befitting for this girl."

Paris grew confused at the mention of a language that never existed, but decided not to question it. "Come, love, we should leave these two alone. They have much to talk about, and so do we." He took his lover's hand once again and escorted her out of the room.

"Hector?" Liberty asked meekly. "This table is very uncomfortable. Do you think it would be okay if you helped me to my bed?" She reached out an arm for him and he rushed to her side, scooping her limp form into his arms, as well as the linen sheet that was barely covering her.

She draped her arms around his neck and smiled at him. He attempted to look angry, but could only smile back. "That was incredibly stupid of you, girl. What made you think you could face Achilles like that?"

Liberty bit her lip thoughtfully. "I had to do something to change the circumstances. If you had gone out there first, alone, you would have died. I'd forfeit my life before I'd let that happen."

"Apparently you tried to," the prince broke in. "Why would you do such a thing?"

Liberty's face grew sad. "Because I love you, even though I know I can never have you."

Hector turned into her room and carefully deposited Liberty on the bed. "You have me. You always will. I love you too." He crawled onto the mattress beside her, gently running his fingers over her stomach, still covered in only a linen sheet.

"What about Andromache?" Liberty asked, confused.

Hector was preoccupied with something under the sheet. "Didn't Charis tell you? Andromache left. She left my son here, but took one of the guards with her. Apparently they'd been lovers for quite some time." He pushed the sheet aside to expose her navel, and the silver hoop protruding from it. "For someone who claims to have never been a slave, you sure have a lot of metal on your person." He fingered the hoop lightly. "What is the purpose of this?"

Liberty giggled. "It looks pretty. Don't you think?"

Hector raised an eyebrow at her. "It's only purpose is to look pretty? I'd have thought your master would attach a chain to it and drag you around like a dog on a leash." He tugged lightly on the piercing, an amused look on his face. "But in a more serious matter, what is this horse you've been speaking of?"

Liberty's mouth went dry. "The horse. Oh God." She tried to sit up, but hissed in pain and fell back onto the mattress. Hector resumed his position beside her and cradled her head in his hand.

"Don't try to move. It could tear the wound," he ordered in a soft tone. "Relax and tell me what you know. What has the future told us of this 'Trojan Horse'?"

Liberty reached up and ran her fingers through his dark locks. "The Greeks built this giant horse out of wood from their destroyed ships. They leave it on the beach as a supposed 'gift', but it is no gift. Though you will see neither ships, nor living men anywhere near, the Greeks have stashed their ships in a bay nearby and the horse is actually filled with men. They are planning on your bringing the horse into the city to celebrate your victory. Come nightfall, the warriors will leave the horse and burn Troy to the ground."

Hector smiled and kissed Liberty lightly on the lips. "That is a small worry. I will not let that thing in this city."

"Not if your father has his way," Liberty said seriously. "Follow Paris' advice. Burn it where it stands on the beach."

Hector sighed. "That means this stalemate of a war will just keep raging until the Greeks think of something else."

"Better a stalemate for now than Troy falling." Liberty blinked back some tears. "Preventing the Trojan Horse entering the city will surely change the future. I may have just killed countless men in a future war." She turned her face away from the prince and cried silently.

Hector rose off the bed and went over to the table and got the bandages and other crude medical items before returning back to Liberty's bedside, "Roll over, let me check those bandages." He gently placed his hands on her shoulders and rolled Liberty onto her stomach, "Fear not we will come to that whenever it comes. Just knowing you are alive is enough for me right now." Hector carefully removed the bandages and dabbed a damp cloth over the stitches, cleaning off the dried blood. Liberty winced under his gentle touch. Her skin was still sensitive. "You know, the scar this wound will leave behind will be a great story to tell one day."

Liberty snickered, "Yeah right. By the time this thing becomes a scar you guys will be bored to death with hearing about it."

For the first time since she arrived in Troy, Hector let out a loud laugh that filled the room, "Perhaps, but then again – you and I can compare stories about our wounds." He then leaned down and gently kissed the wound.

Liberty gasped, taken by surprise by the actions of the eldest prince and giggled, "Your beard's tickling me."

Hector smiled, "Apologies. I shall have to find another area to kiss so that it will not tickle." He then applied a small amount of aloe onto the wound before redressing it. He then leaned over, kissed Liberty's right shoulder blade, and caressed her cheek gently. "I will stay here and take care of you, for now just rest and do not let worry burden you."

Liberty smiled, cupping his face in her hands, her eyes slowly drifting closed. "Worry? You're alive. That's all that matters. If you want, I could fly." Her hand slowly moved to the bed.

Hector brushed her long bangs out of her eyes. "Fly, then, to the land of dreams. Dream about something beautiful and wake to me in the morning."

As she drifted off, Liberty whispered. "Something beautiful. I'll dream of you."

Hector kissed her forehead lightly, slowly sliding off the bed. "Goodnight, my beautiful Desert Rose," he said softly, leaving the room to find the nurse and his son.

"I wonder if Hector's son is really his," Paris thought aloud, stroking Charis' arm.

They lay together on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Charis leaned into him and wrapped her free arm around his waist, propping her head up with the other one. "I can't believe Lady Andromache would do such a thing. She always seemed so kind and loyal to Hector."

"And I seemed so in love with Helen," Paris said regretfully, pulling Charis closer. "I cannot believe I was so blinded by her beauty. She threatened me when she heard of my talking with Liberty once, did you know that? She always wanted me to look only at her. She even got angry when I went to the temple of Apollo to visit my cousin Briseis. That's when we brought Liberty back with us." He sighed. "I'm glad she's back. She had been Achilles' captive, but when he died, she escaped. How could Helen have been jealous of my cousin?" He kissed Charis lightly on the lips. "I have heard that Helen went back to Greece and took a husband there. I'm glad to be rid of her. It opened my eyes to see you."

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the ceiling. "I don't think I would have noticed you as anything but a servant, if it weren't for Liberty. I feel so ashamed about that."

Charis brushed the hair off his forehead lightly, turning his face to look at hers. "It's the way you were raised. I don't blame you."

Paris smiled, studying her face. "How would you like to become a Princess of Troy?" He laughed. "That would make my father so angry, taking a servant for my wife. But I don't care. It's not like I'm in line for the throne. Hector will be king, and Liberty will likely be his queen. That leaves you and me to live peacefully in Troy. Me and my beautiful wife, Charis." He kissed her nose and looked into her eyes. "What do you say? Would you marry me?"

Charis' eyes welled up and her face glowed with a bright smile. "It's all I've ever dreamed of, Paris. Of course. I would marry you yesterday." She smiled and kissed him.

"Thank the gods!" Paris exclaimed, turning over so Charis was underneath him, kissing her deeply.