A/N: this week, with personalized messages!
dreamingebony: thank you for correcting my mistake. i was using an apparently untrustworthy translator for the title.
c'est magnifique: yes, it is definitely b/d! i was researching the story (b/c i'm obsessive like that), and i found out that he actually fell in love with her and tried to kill her fiance in battle. don't know if he ever succeeded or not, but it doesn't really matter for this. also, i've put tmmdts on hold for a little bit...i had writer's block and then this showed up.
belladonnarue: i will most definitely try to get into her mind a bit more...after all, it is from her pov.
artemis: thank you! i'll update as quickly as possible, but i'm leaving for canada on sunday (06/06/04).
romancenpassiona: sorry, but he's not coming back. nope...no way am i going that route. i will make sure that briseis has a happy ending, though.
hawaiikel: i don't think hecuba was actually dead in the book, so i'm going with that. and i'll try to expand on some of the sub-plots of the original story.
luckyschmucky: what gave you the idea that this was a one-shot? lol..i'm glad i knocked paris off, too. he needed to go. stupid elf-prince-git.
aldariel: thankies muchly!
autumn xavier: i'm sure there has to be something you can nit-pick about. thanks for the review! now, you have to update!
lotr-nutcase: hooray for achilles-is-eomer fans! we should start a cult....artemis is with us, too, i think. and yes! she'll find love!
sheesh, that was long.....
::disclaimer:: hahaha! i have suddenly acquired a rather large sum of money and was at last able to buy troy and all of its affiliates (including the actors for my own twisted purposes!). btw, did i mention that i'm lying and that i really own none of this?
Chapter III
That freedom lasted for many days. Diomedes was my near-constant companion, leaving my side only at night and when he was called away to relay messages for Odysseus. We explored the many caves that dotted the hills surrounding Troy, or rather, I guided Diomedes through them. We also scavenged through the rubble of the city.
This was the one task that occupied part of everyone's time. Every soldier that was able--and that was most of them--helped sift through the debris, removing bodies for burning and any treasure for stashing. I was unofficially put in charge of cleaning out the palaces and temples in the highest circle of the city. It was surreal, walking through the ashy remains of my former home. I think the hardest thing was sifting through the remains of my family's rooms. When we arrived at Hector and Andromache's rooms, I burst into tears. But, after I had dried my tears, Diomedes and I entered the apartments and began to clear them out. We found half-melted jewelry and weapons, twisted from the heat of the fires that had rampaged through the rooms. The silk sheets and drapes were so much ash on the wind, while the charred wood of the bed and cradled were silent testimony to the family that had once inhabited the halls.
All of the royal household's apartments were like this. First Diomedes and I would gather up any gold or silver or bronze we found and place them in baskets. Then the soldiers would come in and sweep the ash out. I am not entirely sure why we scrubbed the city down; after all, no one would be living in it any longer. I suppose it was to give Odysseus and myself peace of mind and the soldiers something to do to wind down during the days after the war. What Odysseus did not realize was that I would forever berate myself for not listening to my cousin Cassandra when I had the chance.
I said as much to Diomedes. His reply: "Who is Cassandra? I have not heard of her."
So, I decided I would have to enlighten my new friend. "Cassandra was Hector and Paris's sister," I said, sitting down on a only slightly blackened bench. "She and her twin brother, Helenus, were prophets. Or oracles, whichever you prefer. Unfortunately, everything she told us has come true. Paris left for Sparta and stole Menelaus's wife. Menelaus and his brother came to avenge the insult. Hector died. The horse...was built. Cassandra warned us of all these things. She told us to burn the horse before it burned us. Everyone laughed, saying the Greeks had left Poseidon an offering and we would be cursed if we did not take it to the temple. The rest, you know."
Surprisingly, sadness filled Diomedes's eyes. "I am sorry that no one listened to her, but then again, I am not. Many things that happened would not have, had your people listened to your cousin. One of those things is our meeting."
"Yes." I smiled, albeit weakly. "And I would be living with Troilus."
"Troilus?"
"I was betrothed to him before the war, but he left with Hector and Paris for Sparta. I hated him, so while he was gone, I became a priestess of Apollo. It was a rather harsh blow to his manhood, but I knew I couldn't live out the rest of my life with him. Instead, I chose the virgin road." I snorted. "And you and I can both see how well that turned out."
Diomedes laughed outright. "I daresay you were happier those few days with Achilles than you were as a priestess."
"You are right. I doubt I would have truly made a good priestess in the long run. It was just the safest solution for me at the time. Not even Troilus would have taken advantage of Apollo's priestess. That would be like putting a death curse on yourself." I sighed. "But let's not dwell on my dismal past. We have much work to do. This is only the first palace. There are still those of my fifty cousins as well as that of my brother, Aeneas. I only pray that he made it out of the city safely with the others. Paris said that he was there, that he gave him the sword of Troy, in case he fell."
As I said before, when we were not cleaning out the palaces, Diomedes and I explored the caves that dotted the countryside. I showed him the passageway that my uncle had used the night he came for Hector's body. It was actually a well-known tunnel that many of us noble children had used to escape our tutors. We laughed bitterly at the fact that the children of Troy could have very easily snuck in and out of the Greek encampment if they had wanted to.
"Imagine," Diomedes said, "all the children of Troy putting itch powder in the beds of the soldiers as they tried to breach the city walls. That would have been a sight to remember in the morning."
That was one thing that surprised me about Diomedes: he did not seem to really care which side he had been on; he offered ideas of how the battles would have gone better for either side. He was as gracious to me (or perhaps moreso) as he would have been to any woman of his own race. I asked him about it once. His only reply was: "No one ever really wins the war. Memory is the only thing that gains anything. And that means both sides lose. Because both sides are forever held hostage by memory. The way I see it, the war could have easily been a victory for Troy, but Hector still fell, as did Achilles. And in some ways, the victory is not so important when you see how many lives were lost and families destroyed."
A/N (again): i stole the thing about memory being the only winner of the war from ann rinaldi's book, the staircase. i probably won't have a chance to update this until i get back from vacation. i'll be gone from the 6th to the 23rd. hope to update tmmdts before then! watch for it!
dreamingebony: thank you for correcting my mistake. i was using an apparently untrustworthy translator for the title.
c'est magnifique: yes, it is definitely b/d! i was researching the story (b/c i'm obsessive like that), and i found out that he actually fell in love with her and tried to kill her fiance in battle. don't know if he ever succeeded or not, but it doesn't really matter for this. also, i've put tmmdts on hold for a little bit...i had writer's block and then this showed up.
belladonnarue: i will most definitely try to get into her mind a bit more...after all, it is from her pov.
artemis: thank you! i'll update as quickly as possible, but i'm leaving for canada on sunday (06/06/04).
romancenpassiona: sorry, but he's not coming back. nope...no way am i going that route. i will make sure that briseis has a happy ending, though.
hawaiikel: i don't think hecuba was actually dead in the book, so i'm going with that. and i'll try to expand on some of the sub-plots of the original story.
luckyschmucky: what gave you the idea that this was a one-shot? lol..i'm glad i knocked paris off, too. he needed to go. stupid elf-prince-git.
aldariel: thankies muchly!
autumn xavier: i'm sure there has to be something you can nit-pick about. thanks for the review! now, you have to update!
lotr-nutcase: hooray for achilles-is-eomer fans! we should start a cult....artemis is with us, too, i think. and yes! she'll find love!
sheesh, that was long.....
::disclaimer:: hahaha! i have suddenly acquired a rather large sum of money and was at last able to buy troy and all of its affiliates (including the actors for my own twisted purposes!). btw, did i mention that i'm lying and that i really own none of this?
Chapter III
That freedom lasted for many days. Diomedes was my near-constant companion, leaving my side only at night and when he was called away to relay messages for Odysseus. We explored the many caves that dotted the hills surrounding Troy, or rather, I guided Diomedes through them. We also scavenged through the rubble of the city.
This was the one task that occupied part of everyone's time. Every soldier that was able--and that was most of them--helped sift through the debris, removing bodies for burning and any treasure for stashing. I was unofficially put in charge of cleaning out the palaces and temples in the highest circle of the city. It was surreal, walking through the ashy remains of my former home. I think the hardest thing was sifting through the remains of my family's rooms. When we arrived at Hector and Andromache's rooms, I burst into tears. But, after I had dried my tears, Diomedes and I entered the apartments and began to clear them out. We found half-melted jewelry and weapons, twisted from the heat of the fires that had rampaged through the rooms. The silk sheets and drapes were so much ash on the wind, while the charred wood of the bed and cradled were silent testimony to the family that had once inhabited the halls.
All of the royal household's apartments were like this. First Diomedes and I would gather up any gold or silver or bronze we found and place them in baskets. Then the soldiers would come in and sweep the ash out. I am not entirely sure why we scrubbed the city down; after all, no one would be living in it any longer. I suppose it was to give Odysseus and myself peace of mind and the soldiers something to do to wind down during the days after the war. What Odysseus did not realize was that I would forever berate myself for not listening to my cousin Cassandra when I had the chance.
I said as much to Diomedes. His reply: "Who is Cassandra? I have not heard of her."
So, I decided I would have to enlighten my new friend. "Cassandra was Hector and Paris's sister," I said, sitting down on a only slightly blackened bench. "She and her twin brother, Helenus, were prophets. Or oracles, whichever you prefer. Unfortunately, everything she told us has come true. Paris left for Sparta and stole Menelaus's wife. Menelaus and his brother came to avenge the insult. Hector died. The horse...was built. Cassandra warned us of all these things. She told us to burn the horse before it burned us. Everyone laughed, saying the Greeks had left Poseidon an offering and we would be cursed if we did not take it to the temple. The rest, you know."
Surprisingly, sadness filled Diomedes's eyes. "I am sorry that no one listened to her, but then again, I am not. Many things that happened would not have, had your people listened to your cousin. One of those things is our meeting."
"Yes." I smiled, albeit weakly. "And I would be living with Troilus."
"Troilus?"
"I was betrothed to him before the war, but he left with Hector and Paris for Sparta. I hated him, so while he was gone, I became a priestess of Apollo. It was a rather harsh blow to his manhood, but I knew I couldn't live out the rest of my life with him. Instead, I chose the virgin road." I snorted. "And you and I can both see how well that turned out."
Diomedes laughed outright. "I daresay you were happier those few days with Achilles than you were as a priestess."
"You are right. I doubt I would have truly made a good priestess in the long run. It was just the safest solution for me at the time. Not even Troilus would have taken advantage of Apollo's priestess. That would be like putting a death curse on yourself." I sighed. "But let's not dwell on my dismal past. We have much work to do. This is only the first palace. There are still those of my fifty cousins as well as that of my brother, Aeneas. I only pray that he made it out of the city safely with the others. Paris said that he was there, that he gave him the sword of Troy, in case he fell."
As I said before, when we were not cleaning out the palaces, Diomedes and I explored the caves that dotted the countryside. I showed him the passageway that my uncle had used the night he came for Hector's body. It was actually a well-known tunnel that many of us noble children had used to escape our tutors. We laughed bitterly at the fact that the children of Troy could have very easily snuck in and out of the Greek encampment if they had wanted to.
"Imagine," Diomedes said, "all the children of Troy putting itch powder in the beds of the soldiers as they tried to breach the city walls. That would have been a sight to remember in the morning."
That was one thing that surprised me about Diomedes: he did not seem to really care which side he had been on; he offered ideas of how the battles would have gone better for either side. He was as gracious to me (or perhaps moreso) as he would have been to any woman of his own race. I asked him about it once. His only reply was: "No one ever really wins the war. Memory is the only thing that gains anything. And that means both sides lose. Because both sides are forever held hostage by memory. The way I see it, the war could have easily been a victory for Troy, but Hector still fell, as did Achilles. And in some ways, the victory is not so important when you see how many lives were lost and families destroyed."
A/N (again): i stole the thing about memory being the only winner of the war from ann rinaldi's book, the staircase. i probably won't have a chance to update this until i get back from vacation. i'll be gone from the 6th to the 23rd. hope to update tmmdts before then! watch for it!