Disclaimer: The characters are taken from Homer's Iliad, and also from the
awesome movie Troy! Warner Brothers did an excellent job with all of the
characters. I have added my own creation, Daphnea, for this story.
Paris/OC, Achilles/Briseis
Author's note: So many my reviewers figured out my latest challenge! What intelligent people, you guys know your chemistry and your Orlando news. Btw, I'm so psyched about Kingdom of Heaven. I can't believe that we all have to wait until May 2005. KOH=potassium hydroxide. We are all such geeks! LOL
Ch. 7: Briseis in Captivity
While Daphnea was nurturing her close friendship with Troy's most handsome prince, Briseis had been much less fortunate in her company. That night when she'd been held hostage by Achilles and his Myrmidons, greedy King Agamemnon discovered her and had his cronies move the young priestess into his extravagant tent. The Mycenaean ruler kept poor Briseis tied to a chair; only freeing her to eat, drink, and relieve herself.
I'm lucky I haven't been harmed, the royal Trojan priestess realized after two weeks of such treatment. But I'm so bored, she thought. It's too bad that my only other company is another priestess who loathes me.
Indeed, Alexandra was bound to a chair across from her, but she'd refused to answer Briseis' questions about how they could possibly escape. Needless to say, Briseis was extremely annoyed with the less than virtuous priestess.
"Alexandra! Why don't you talk to me? I know we weren't exactly best friends back at the temple, but can't that be changed given our current circumstances?" Briseis pleaded. "Don't you want to even try and escape?"
"No." Surprised she'd gotten a word from the other priestess, Briseis pressed her further.
"Why not?"
Alexandra tossed her head snootily. "It's not like I have anything to go back to if we did manage to get out of here. Besides, Achilles will come for me eventually." Briseis frowned.
"How can you be certain of that?"
"He was eyeing me before. And I know when a man likes what he sees. If only," she paused as her eyes darkened, "he hadn't been distracted by a certain someone who was struggling to get away from his men." Briseis thought back to that day everything went to Hades, the day her freedom was snatched away by a foreign warrior.
"Yes, I remember. Achilles told me that he wouldn't allow any harm to come to me," she recalled, dreamily.
Alexandra snarled, "Now listen to me, you little bitch. Achilles will be mine, and I will do what ever is necessary to have him, got that?"
Briseis retorted angrily, "do your best, but I doubt Achilles would want to be your possession since..."
Agamemnon burst into their sequestered section of the tent. "Hello my pretty little priestesses," he greeted them, his voice practically dripping with lust. He glanced at them appreciatively and they both grimaced with disgust.
"One of you will be getting lucky tonight. The other," he chortled evilly, "will remain here. As my personal slave." Briseis recoiled in horror.
"Send in Achilles!" he roared to his guards. The sandy haired fighter walked coolly before the King and the bound priestesses.
"Good, you decided to show yourself!" said Agamemnon.
"You said you were willing to make a deal with me, oh high King?" Achilles asked pointedly, almost mockingly.
"These last few days, you didn't fight for us, Achilles!" The great fighter shrugged.
"My men are tired of this pointless war and we want to return home. There is no reason for me to remain here; I've found glory and fulfilled my duty to Greece."
"Just because we are winning the war at the moment doesn't mean it will continue that way!" the high King yelled. "I need your sword; you rally the troops like no other." Agamemnon paced the length of the tent. "I've respected your request to have the girls unharmed," he said, gesturing to the priestesses. "But my patience has worn thin. You may keep one of them for yourself if you swear by Peleus, your father, to stay with my army for three more weeks." He muttered under his breath, "We should've conquered Troy by then."
Achilles glanced at the girls, then turned back to the king, smirking. "Can I have them both?"
"Only one!" Agamemnon roared. "That was the deal! Going once, going twice..."
"Agreed," said Achilles as they clasped hands.
"Girls, go on, do your best to try and convince him!" The avaricious ruler laughed, enjoying the entertaining scene. Alexandra promptly let down the straps to her thin dress, completely exposing her top half to Achilles. He raised his eyebrows and smirked as she told him, "Brave Achilles, I give you all that you see and more. I will be completely yours tonight."
Briseis inwardly panicked, as she saw that her skinny form could never compare to that of Alexandra's curvaceous body. I'll end up the captive of that horrible, disgusting monarch, she thought helplessly.
"Briseis, what have you to offer me?" Achilles asked her, still smiling. A lone tear tricked down the royal priestess' cheek as she despaired, picturing the many ways that Agamemnon would surely abuse her this night. Her frightened brown doe eyes looked up at Achilles' kindly blue ones as she prayed to Apollo to send her a miracle. Anything, to save her from the clutches of Agamemnon, she thought desperately.
The Greek warrior's gaze became concerned as he gently cupped her face with his rough hands and wiped the tear into nonexistence with his thumb. While whispering, "I was going to choose you from the beginning, sweet Briseis," Achilles felt her sigh with relief.
"Please don't cry; I can't bear to see you hurting," he pleaded. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he deftly untied her binds and gathered her in his arms.
"So Achilles, is this your choice?" boomed Agamemnon.
"Yes. Briseis stays with me," he answered with a note of finality in his voice.
As the pair exited the tent, an astonished Alexandra seethed, "You little bitch! I warned you; you haven't heard the last of me yet!" Briseis glanced back and heard the priestess scream as Agamemnon advanced towards her.
"Don't worry, Briseis, I won't let either of them come near you again," Achilles promised as he effortlessly carried her light form back into his welcoming tent. Briseis truly felt safe at that moment, for the first time since her initial capture. Achilles, my protector, she thought contentedly. The priestess yawned quietly as they entered her new home. Achilles placed her down on his bed of animal skins, and removed his outer garments in preparation for bed.
"Why did you choose me?" she stated simply. He sat down beside her and kissed her forehead.
"Because you are a mystery to me, Trojan princess," he truthfully replied. "Your pure soul intrigues me."
"Well, whatever it was, thank you – for saving me from a fate worse than death."
"You are most welcome," he sincerely told her.
She pressed on. "Sometimes, the Gods do work through people. You know, I prayed to Apollo to deliver me from that evil King today." Achilles nodded, lost in thought.
"Sometimes they do."
Exhausted from the outcome of the day, Briseis hardly made a fuss when he protectively pulled one of the warm skins over her. As she drifted into the realm of dreams, Briseis was vaguely aware of the man who slept beside her, guarding her life with his.
End Ch. 7
I wrote this on vacation for you all – that is because I am incredibly dedicated. Or I was bored. I hope it was good, since I knew the Brad Pitt fans were going to hunt me down if I didn't write more Achilles/Briseis. So I did. On a random note, I saw the movie King Arthur, which sucked. Keira Knightley was the only redeeming factor about the movie, and she didn't show up until the 2nd half. On a happier note, Spiderman 2 totally rocked! It is a sequel worth your money; Tobey MacGuire was awesome again as our hero.
New Challenge: In what newly released movie did the quote, "Sometimes fantasy is better than reality," come from? Who said it? If you know this, I'll feel better with myself for going to see this teeny-bopper flick.
Author's note: So many my reviewers figured out my latest challenge! What intelligent people, you guys know your chemistry and your Orlando news. Btw, I'm so psyched about Kingdom of Heaven. I can't believe that we all have to wait until May 2005. KOH=potassium hydroxide. We are all such geeks! LOL
Ch. 7: Briseis in Captivity
While Daphnea was nurturing her close friendship with Troy's most handsome prince, Briseis had been much less fortunate in her company. That night when she'd been held hostage by Achilles and his Myrmidons, greedy King Agamemnon discovered her and had his cronies move the young priestess into his extravagant tent. The Mycenaean ruler kept poor Briseis tied to a chair; only freeing her to eat, drink, and relieve herself.
I'm lucky I haven't been harmed, the royal Trojan priestess realized after two weeks of such treatment. But I'm so bored, she thought. It's too bad that my only other company is another priestess who loathes me.
Indeed, Alexandra was bound to a chair across from her, but she'd refused to answer Briseis' questions about how they could possibly escape. Needless to say, Briseis was extremely annoyed with the less than virtuous priestess.
"Alexandra! Why don't you talk to me? I know we weren't exactly best friends back at the temple, but can't that be changed given our current circumstances?" Briseis pleaded. "Don't you want to even try and escape?"
"No." Surprised she'd gotten a word from the other priestess, Briseis pressed her further.
"Why not?"
Alexandra tossed her head snootily. "It's not like I have anything to go back to if we did manage to get out of here. Besides, Achilles will come for me eventually." Briseis frowned.
"How can you be certain of that?"
"He was eyeing me before. And I know when a man likes what he sees. If only," she paused as her eyes darkened, "he hadn't been distracted by a certain someone who was struggling to get away from his men." Briseis thought back to that day everything went to Hades, the day her freedom was snatched away by a foreign warrior.
"Yes, I remember. Achilles told me that he wouldn't allow any harm to come to me," she recalled, dreamily.
Alexandra snarled, "Now listen to me, you little bitch. Achilles will be mine, and I will do what ever is necessary to have him, got that?"
Briseis retorted angrily, "do your best, but I doubt Achilles would want to be your possession since..."
Agamemnon burst into their sequestered section of the tent. "Hello my pretty little priestesses," he greeted them, his voice practically dripping with lust. He glanced at them appreciatively and they both grimaced with disgust.
"One of you will be getting lucky tonight. The other," he chortled evilly, "will remain here. As my personal slave." Briseis recoiled in horror.
"Send in Achilles!" he roared to his guards. The sandy haired fighter walked coolly before the King and the bound priestesses.
"Good, you decided to show yourself!" said Agamemnon.
"You said you were willing to make a deal with me, oh high King?" Achilles asked pointedly, almost mockingly.
"These last few days, you didn't fight for us, Achilles!" The great fighter shrugged.
"My men are tired of this pointless war and we want to return home. There is no reason for me to remain here; I've found glory and fulfilled my duty to Greece."
"Just because we are winning the war at the moment doesn't mean it will continue that way!" the high King yelled. "I need your sword; you rally the troops like no other." Agamemnon paced the length of the tent. "I've respected your request to have the girls unharmed," he said, gesturing to the priestesses. "But my patience has worn thin. You may keep one of them for yourself if you swear by Peleus, your father, to stay with my army for three more weeks." He muttered under his breath, "We should've conquered Troy by then."
Achilles glanced at the girls, then turned back to the king, smirking. "Can I have them both?"
"Only one!" Agamemnon roared. "That was the deal! Going once, going twice..."
"Agreed," said Achilles as they clasped hands.
"Girls, go on, do your best to try and convince him!" The avaricious ruler laughed, enjoying the entertaining scene. Alexandra promptly let down the straps to her thin dress, completely exposing her top half to Achilles. He raised his eyebrows and smirked as she told him, "Brave Achilles, I give you all that you see and more. I will be completely yours tonight."
Briseis inwardly panicked, as she saw that her skinny form could never compare to that of Alexandra's curvaceous body. I'll end up the captive of that horrible, disgusting monarch, she thought helplessly.
"Briseis, what have you to offer me?" Achilles asked her, still smiling. A lone tear tricked down the royal priestess' cheek as she despaired, picturing the many ways that Agamemnon would surely abuse her this night. Her frightened brown doe eyes looked up at Achilles' kindly blue ones as she prayed to Apollo to send her a miracle. Anything, to save her from the clutches of Agamemnon, she thought desperately.
The Greek warrior's gaze became concerned as he gently cupped her face with his rough hands and wiped the tear into nonexistence with his thumb. While whispering, "I was going to choose you from the beginning, sweet Briseis," Achilles felt her sigh with relief.
"Please don't cry; I can't bear to see you hurting," he pleaded. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he deftly untied her binds and gathered her in his arms.
"So Achilles, is this your choice?" boomed Agamemnon.
"Yes. Briseis stays with me," he answered with a note of finality in his voice.
As the pair exited the tent, an astonished Alexandra seethed, "You little bitch! I warned you; you haven't heard the last of me yet!" Briseis glanced back and heard the priestess scream as Agamemnon advanced towards her.
"Don't worry, Briseis, I won't let either of them come near you again," Achilles promised as he effortlessly carried her light form back into his welcoming tent. Briseis truly felt safe at that moment, for the first time since her initial capture. Achilles, my protector, she thought contentedly. The priestess yawned quietly as they entered her new home. Achilles placed her down on his bed of animal skins, and removed his outer garments in preparation for bed.
"Why did you choose me?" she stated simply. He sat down beside her and kissed her forehead.
"Because you are a mystery to me, Trojan princess," he truthfully replied. "Your pure soul intrigues me."
"Well, whatever it was, thank you – for saving me from a fate worse than death."
"You are most welcome," he sincerely told her.
She pressed on. "Sometimes, the Gods do work through people. You know, I prayed to Apollo to deliver me from that evil King today." Achilles nodded, lost in thought.
"Sometimes they do."
Exhausted from the outcome of the day, Briseis hardly made a fuss when he protectively pulled one of the warm skins over her. As she drifted into the realm of dreams, Briseis was vaguely aware of the man who slept beside her, guarding her life with his.
End Ch. 7
I wrote this on vacation for you all – that is because I am incredibly dedicated. Or I was bored. I hope it was good, since I knew the Brad Pitt fans were going to hunt me down if I didn't write more Achilles/Briseis. So I did. On a random note, I saw the movie King Arthur, which sucked. Keira Knightley was the only redeeming factor about the movie, and she didn't show up until the 2nd half. On a happier note, Spiderman 2 totally rocked! It is a sequel worth your money; Tobey MacGuire was awesome again as our hero.
New Challenge: In what newly released movie did the quote, "Sometimes fantasy is better than reality," come from? Who said it? If you know this, I'll feel better with myself for going to see this teeny-bopper flick.