A/N: if you haven't noticed, i changed the title. well, sort of. i translated it into greek and then anglicized it to fit the english alphabet. so anyways, "nea ilia: phreskos archies" is the angliscized greek of "new troy: fresh beginnings." you have no idea how glad i am that we did a study of greek in sunday school (my teachers are college professeurs...er, proffesors...and one of them teaches greek). very handy. but there's one problem: i can't put the accents on the nouns. does anyone know how to do that? if so, tell me, so i can write the title and any other greek terms that i use correctly.

note: i have deliberately changed some of the things that happen to diomedes to fit my story. please do not complain about inconsistencies with the book, because i am not trying to be 100% accurate.

::disclaimer:: these get harder and harder to write, because i try to think up new ones for every chapter so you guys don't get bored. got any ideas for some disclaimers? post a review and tell me! p.s. i don't own troy or the iliad, though i need to buy a copy of the book so i can be sure i'm canon.

Chapter II

I wandered aimlessly through the smouldering wreckage that was Troy. I went to the temple. They had removed the bodies of Agamemnon and his two guards. The only traces left that even hinted at that greedy son of a Carthaginian whore were a smatter of blood and the dagger. My dagger, the one that Achilles had given me after Hector died.

"Keep it with you," he had said. "I will not always be able to protect you." I had protested at first, saying I did not want to kill, but he persisted, and now I was glad of it. That dagger had saved me from a fate worse than death.

I picked the blade up. It was crusted with blood. I cleaned it off and looked at it. It had saved me once--could it save me again? I would be with Achilles, I reasoned. We would be together again. I took a deep breath and brought it to my breast, ready to plunge it into my heart.

"Lady Briseis?" I jumped slightly and dropped the dagger. I turned. It was a Greek soldier--one I didn't recognize. He wore the livery of one of Odysseus's personal guards. He was handsome in the way that all Ithacans were. His hair was dark and curly, his nose long and straight. The man stood at the steps in the same place where Paris had stood the night before. "Lady Briseis, my lord Odysseus sent me to tell you that it is time to light the funeral pyres. He wanted me to escort you to the main square." He walked down the stairs and extended his hand.

I managed a small smile and accepted his assistance. He linked arms with me. "What is your name, sir?" I asked as we walked toward the square.

"Diomedes," he replied. "Might I ask you a question, Lady Briseis?"

"Briseis, if you please. I've never held with titles for the sake of titles. And yes, ask away." I assumed that he would ask me why I had not escaped with Andromache the night before. It was a question I had asked myself more than once, and I still did not fully know the answer.

"What were you doing, just now, in the temple?"

I took a deep breath. "I was contemplating. I was--how should I say this? I was considering ending my life."

"Why? If you do not mind my asking," Diomedes said evenly, not batting an eyelash.

"Have you ever been in love, Diomedes?" I asked in reply.

"If you mean, have I been with a woman, then yes. In fact, I have been married twice, but my first wife was unfaithful. My second wife does not truly love anything but money and jewels." He looked at me. "Does that answer your question?"

"Aye, it does." I sighed. "I shall try to explain my actions to you. You know how I met Achilles, yes?" He nodded. "And you know that we were together. In a matter of a few weeks, though it felt like eternity and at the same time a fleeting moment, I fell in love. Despite his ruthlessness on the battlefield, Achilles was kind to me in what I thought to be my darkest hours." I laughed bitterly. "I realize now that those were the greatest, most beautiful days of my life. After Hector's death, my uncle came for his body. Achilles allowed me to return to the city. These last twelve days, I was a mere shadow of my former self. I did not want to be safe inside my city. I wanted to be with Achilles. And last night, when I thought for a moment that we would be together again, Paris, my cousin, took it all away. Since you have not been in love, it is impossible for me to try to explain the emptiness I feel. It is like my heart has been ripped out and thrown on the ground."

We walked for a while in silence, and then we reached the main square. Already they had placed Achilles's body on the pyre. Odysseus stood at the bottom of the ladder, waiting. "Lady Briseis?"

"I would like to help lay him to rest," I said quietly.

He nodded and gestured for me to go up in front of him. It was a solemn affair; the men watching stood in silence as we climbed to the top of the dais. It was the highest funeral pyre I had ever seen, taller, even, than the one constructed for Hector. At last we reached the top. My breath caught in my throat. To see him there, on the stack of wood and incense, was almost too much. I gulped as Odysseus placed the coins upon his eyes. I leaned over and kissed his lips one last time. "I will never forget you," I whispered. Odysseus handed me one of the torches. Together, we lit the pyre, I at his head, he at his feet. We climbed down the ladder as the rest of the wood caught fire.

I stood and watched the pyre burn long into the night. It was horrifying and at the same time, glorious. No one stood with me, for even Odysseus went to his tent to celebrate. I did not leave my station until after dawn when Diomedes came, saying, "Lady Briseis, Odysseus wishes to speak with you."

I turned my tear-stained face to look at him. "Will you take me to his tent?"

"Aye. He asked me the same."

For the second time since Achilles's death, I walked with Diomedes. He was--how should I say it?-- kind to me. Not in the same way that Achilles had been kind to me, but in a way that no man has been before or since. He was a companion in my sorrow, a silent statue of comfort in my garden of darkness.

We reached Odysseus's tent and entered. "You wanted to see me, my lord?" I asked.

"Ah, yes, Lady Briseis." He gestured for me to sit. "I have a matter of utmost importance for you. It does not have to be resolved immediately, but I wanted to give you enough time to consider your choices."

My choices? What did he mean? Was I to choose between being stranded in the devastation of my city or becoming a slave? "I'm not sure I understand," I said.

"It's quite simple really. In twelve days--after the mourning period is over--the fleet will sail home. However, we shall be separating. You must remember, we are from all over the Aegean. We need to know where you would like to be taken, if anywhere." I sighed in relief. I would not be taken as a slave, then. "I can take you back with me to Ithaca," he continued, "or we can send you with any of the ships to any city you choose."

"I will have to think on it awhile," I said, smiling. "I thank you for giving me the choice, though." I inclined my head and took my leave.

Diomedes was waiting for me outside. "You could come home with me," he said, "to Argos. I think you would like it there. It's not as big as Troy was, by any means, but we manage well enough."

"You have been dropping eaves, good sir. How rude!" I laughed. It felt wonderful--and right--to laugh with Diomedes. For the first time in a long while, my life was truly looking happy. It was as though a great weight had been cast from my shoulders, and I relished in the freedom.