Disclaimer: Still don't own anything, just write for fun, not for profit, and so on...
Yup, I'm updating really slow, I know. And I sorta feel like it's a bit boring. So if anyone have any ideas of how the story should go, I would be very grateful to hear your ideas!
Kinda short chapter as well, and not really a lot of Achilles in it (not any, actually), but its getting there, just wait..:)
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"But I'm mortal. I can't go into the Underworld." Briseis stared into the gods eyes, with a puzzled look on her face.
"No. But nymphs can."
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Chapter four
The prophecy of Themis
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"What do you mean?" Briseis could hardly believe what she was hearing. The thought that she might get to see Achilles again was clouding her judgement and she would have gladly have said yes to anything to be with him.
"You want Achilles back, don't you? Well, Apollo is granting you that wish." Hermes grinned widely at her before continuing.
"But since not everyone can enter the Underworld as they please, your only choice is to become someone who can"
"But I can't become a nymph... I mean..." Briseis flicked her eyes self consciously to her feet before carefully continuing. "You have to be born one. Don't you?"
"Anything is possible for the Gods, dear Briseis. Haven't you learnt that by now?" The playful look Hermes sent her was quickly replaced by concern.
"But there are some terms. You must realise that you can never become mortal again." The god approached Briseis, before turning around to face the clear blue sky.
"And I have another thing to tell you." Suddenly Briseis became worried about what he was about to say, he didn't sound as playful as he had done before.
"Years ago, a woman named Thetis was desired by the great Zeus himself. She was a very beautiful nymph, a Nereid to be exact, one of the fifty daughters of the Mediterranean Sea. But the goddess Themis revealed to him that she was fated to bear a son who would become mightier than his father. Zeus feared this prophecy, and instead gave the Nereid to the mortal Peleus." Hermes turned around to face Briseis, who was listening to the god with great interest. Relieved to see he hadn't lost her in the complicated story, he continued.
"Thetis bore a child not to long after their wedding, and the boy was named Achilles." Hermes stared intensely into the woman's eyes to see the revelation dawn on her.
"That was why he was such a great warrior. His mother was a nymph." Briseis seemed relieved to have received this information and smiled to the god standing before her.
"And that's not all," Hermes continued.
"Thetis tried many times to make her son immortal like her, but she never succeeded. Though one time, when Achilles was just a child, she brought him to the river Styx and dipped him into the water, holding him by his ankle. It made his entire body invincible. Except from his heel."
Briseis looked quite baffled by all the information she had just received, but after staring down on her feet for a while, she turned to Hermes and brought her hands out to his.
"If becoming a nymph is what I need to do to see Achilles again, then I will do it. Please Hermes..."
Before she had even completely finished her sentence, an overwhelmingly bright light surrounded Briseis for the second time that day, and she could again feel a peculiar feeling flowing through her body. But this time it was different. She couldn't see her lover, her soul mate. In fact she couldn't see anything other than the light. But she could feel... the world spinning in and out of focus for a while, before she finally came back to consciousness.
"What...happened?" Briseis brought her hands to her head and let them cover her eyes. Her world was spinning so fast she felt like she would fall down any minute. Then she realised that she was already sitting on the ground, wearing a dress she had never seen before in her life. The light blue, thin fabric stuck to her body covered in cold sweat. It felt like she had awoken from a nightmare.
Briseis quickly got to her feet and looked around, her gaze widening when she realised she was in some sort of cave, lit by hundreds of candles. The sand beneath her told her she was at a beach, and she could feel the cold salt water if she dug into it with her foot.
'Where am I?' She thought to herself before panic started to consume her thoughts. Briseis shouted out loud for the God that had aided her this far, sincerely hoping that he hadn't just left her there.
"Hermes?!"
"Hermes isn't here, dear Briseis."
The sound of the gentle woman's voice didn't frighten her as much as Hermes' voice had done the first time she had heard it. The time she had been consumed by the light of the Gods. Briseis carefully turned around to face it, only to see a woman smiling at her.
"Welcome Briseis. I'm Thetis."
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I know, it sounds a bit like a history lesson, but I felt I should give the background of Achilles and his mother. And it also shows why I wanted Briseis to become a nymph. Thank you to everyone who took the time to review!:) Binx (You've reviewed all of my chapters and I'm soo grateful, thanx!!), Achilles- Briseis (Thank you for the great review, I was really encouraged by it!), Dizzy izzy (Loved your review! But sorry, no purple Briseis:)lol..) Delia (thanx!), romancenpassiona, shallow tears, shfuen, Lisa Midnight Ocean (Don't think you'll like my story if you don't like cliffies...lol), lili, XqUsItE ChErRy, Lady Bulma Ishtar, shinning laurel, lili, OrliNKeira.
