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Chapter 5: Hearing Evil

My eyes fluttered open against the bright light streaming in from a crack in the wall. I sat upright, fear enveloping me as I remembered where I was. 'Oh Gods! Why couldn't it have been a nightmare?' I thought to myself, my mind racing once more. With the scant light of morning I could see the room in which I had been thrown into. It was more like a wooden box than a room for it only had one door and nothing else. There were a few barrels but other than myself the box was bare.

I was washed with relief as I remembered that the pig Agamemnon had not come to take me, or to make me give him a bath as he had threatened. My mind flashed back to Achilles; he had stood up for me against the guards and Agamemnon. If I had not stopped him he surely would have proceeded to slit each of their throats in my honor. 'Maybe I should not have stopped him.' I thought as I pictured The Pig lying on the ground, his neck severed.

But why had Achilles stood for me in the first place? 'Because he wanted me for himself.' I cringed as the thought registered. Achilles had not done it out of kindness. No, I had come to the conclusion that no such emotion could be found in the Greek champion's heart long ago, or atleast, yesterday. He had done it out of jealousy! There was no other explanation.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE REFUSES TO FIGHT! I OWN HIM! HE CANNOT DEFIY ME!" An angry voice came from the other side of the door. I jumped in surprise at the outburst, but my curiosity got the better of me. I slowly crawled across the hard floor and put my ear to the door.

"Achilles and his men refuse to fight, sir." A male voice said meekly.

"I KNOW THAT!" The angry voice shouted again. It was Agamemnon, I knew. "BUT WHY IN THE GODS' NAME WON'T HE?"

"Be-be-because sir, h-h-he…" the other man started.

"Never mind. I don't need him or his men. I have a war to win. Hector and his men will all lay dead by sunset, and Achilles will have had nothing to do with it!" I gagged as bile rose in my throat. I had managed to remove the rag they had stuffed in my mouth earlier, but now my stomache churned at the thought of my cousin, dead. Hector couldn't die! No! "That old dolt Priam will be on his knees begging me to spare him! My brother will have his wife and that idiot Paris' hide as a new rug!"

"NO!" I sobbed. I couldn't suppress my cries. I had to stop this mad man before he destroyed my entire family! "Not Hector! Don't hurt Paris!" I banged on the door in my sorry attempt to stop the entire Greek army. I heard a venomous laugh from the other side of the door.

"Stupid priestess! You think your pitiful cries can stop me! Your precious city will be burnt to the ground by nightfall, and I will make sure you have a front row seat to the show!" He laughed as he kicked the door. I screamed in agony as I heard him exit.

"HECTOR!" I screamed, though I knew no one could hear me. No one could save me. No one could save my city. I felt myself slip to the floor, my body racking with dry sobs. "Why Apollo? Why?" I asked the God that I had pledged myself to. "What have we done, what have I done, to deserve this?"

When I was young and foolish, someone had told me that the Gods did things for a reason, and that everyone had a place in their plan. What was the reason for this? How did my city's destruction fit into the 'plan'? Was my place here, in this dark box? I made up my mind that I had been lied to. There was no Apollo, no Zeus, nothing. We were all alone, and I had lived a lie thus far in my life.

With this new conclusion I was given a new form of calm. My sobs were silenced and I waited for death to take me. I imagined what Paris would have done if he had known what I was doing. He would have laughed at me, for I was always the one defying what everyone said. Now, I was giving in. I was excepting what was happening without a struggle.

I imagined his grin and taunting laugh. He was always the one to push me to stand my ground. "There's nothing to stand for anymore, Paris. Nothing to have hope for. We are alone." Who was I talking to? Had I finally let my mind slip away? A new wave of tears began to flow from my eyes. I only ceased when I heard the footsteps of many men outside the ship I was being kept in.

I crawled toward the crack that had let the light in earlier. I squinted against the sun to see the entire Greek army in front of me. They were prepared for battle, clad in armor and each carrying a different weapon of slaughter. I felt bile rise in my throat as I saw some of them laughing. Agamemnon had obviously convinced them that this would be a war easily won.

'None of them have ever seen Hectors men, obviously. Otherwise they would be shaking in their boots!' I thought as I watched them. I mentally cursed each of them as they passed. I had to do something! Even if there weren't any Gods, atleast I could do something.

I began to claw at the small crack, making an effort to try to make it bigger. Small splinters came off between my nails and I sucked in a quick breath of air in pain. This wasn't one of my brightest ideas. I turned to the room and began to search for some way out. The only way seemed to be the door, but I knew better than to think that there wasn't a guard on the other side.

I slumped to the floor again, just focusing on breathing as I listened to the distant marching of the imminent force on it's way to destroy everything I had ever loved. I held my breath as the marching ceased. I could faintly make out a voice shouting something. Then there was silence.

Had we given up? Had Hector surrendered to the overpowering force of the Greek army? Then there was yelling. Cheering of some sort. There was no sound of movement besides the banging of shields, no stampeding mass. What was happening? All of a sudden there was laughter filling the tense air. Laughter! What in Hades was going on out there! I was about to begin ripping at the crack again when silence once again fell on everything, but this time it was dead silence. (A/N: This was during the fight between Paris and Menalous. Poor Paris. sighs)

A loud, sorrowful cry rang out over the sand hills and met my ears. Someone had died, someone important, I was sure of it. The stampede of foot soldiers sounded in the air, followed by agonizing cries of pain. I covered my ears. I couldn't listen anymore. Men were dying! I could only hope that they were not Trojan men.

"Please! Stop it! Forgive them! What do you want from them? From me?" I cried to Apollo. I had to believe, now, that there was some purpose for this. 'Is this punishment for Paris' love? For Hector's foolishness of not making him take Helen back?' My mind raced for an explanation, but none came.

I don't know how long I prayed, but I didn't cease until I heard the sound of men's feet running over the sand hills. I got to my knees to look out of the crack that was now my only source to the outside world. I watched as men with arrows in their limbs limped through the camp. Others carried only sweat as a sign that they had been in battle. Some were carrying others on stretchers, their blood staining the sand as they were carried along.

'They are all Greek! They retreated! We've won!' I truly believed that Hector had led Troy to a great victory, and that the war was over. The filthy pigs would get back on their Gods for saken boats and go back to Hades where they belonged. I was naïve to the fact that the worst was yet to come. So much more would come.

A/N: If you didn't know most of this chapter takes place during the first large battle in the movie, and while Paris tries to defeat Menalous (did I spell that right?). So I hope this one made up for the short last chapter. Please review! I need all the help I can get! Next Chapter: The return of Achilles! Yeah!

Thanks, LR