Hey, thanks for the advices! And also thanks to everyone that like to ready my story. More thanks to those who review. I can't believe that I've got 31 reviews in, like, a week! Woohoo! I promise you a decent (that means happy) ending for my story, OK? So don't worry! Enjoy yourself!

Okay, let's see together what's going on with the story.....

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Chapter 10

Achilles was not by her side when Briseis woke up again.

In a snail's pace, Briseis flew open the flaps and walked out of the tent. It was evening. The sun was setting. The sky was pink, and the only streaks of cloud in the sky were reflected light blue from the soon-to-come night. Clearly, she had slept through breakfast and lunch. But she did not felt the least hungry. The Myrmidons were there, already enjoying the dinner.

'Lady,' said Eudorus when he approached. Briseis was surprised by his words. When had she become his lady? 'My lord had ordered not to let you leave the tent...' he said courteously. 'It's for your safety,' he added. Briseis smiled a bit and went back into the tent. Eudorus was a good man. She said to herself.

She wondered where Achilles had gone, since the Myrmidons were there. Maybe he was at Odysseus' tent again? She sat on the bed again, feeling bored.

After a while, when Briseis had been dazing for some time, the flaps flew open again and in walked Achilles. He did not seem to be in a good mood. He washed his face again, just like when Briseis and he had first met, and he looked at her, 'I see that you are awake at last.' Briseis blushed a bit, 'I was tired.'

'You should be,' Came the answer, which was muffled in the splashing sound of water when Achilles washed his face again. 'The army was back.' He said, this time seriously.

Briseis looked at Achilles questioningly. She did not understood what he was implying.

When Achilles had not heard Briseis' response, he looked into her eyes straightly, with a hint of worry in his eyes. 'They had taken the city of Thebe. The palace was sacked. One of the royalties was captured. All of the others had escaped to Troy.' Briseis looked at Achilles in fear and disbelieve. The Greeks had captured Thebe? How? Thebe had nothing to do with the war between Troy and Greece. Briseis thought of Chryseis immediately. Had she been captured? Was she fast enough to escape to Troy?

'I believe the captive is one of your cousins.' Achilles said again.

'May I see the captive?' said Briseis eagerly.

'She had been brought to the hog, Agamemnon.' Achilles said.

If Chryseis was the one which was brought to the High King, Briseis could never imagine what would happen to Chryseis. There was no doubt Agamemnon would take the beauty almost immediately.

'Is the captive... a girl?' Briseis asked Achilles. She was desperate to know if the captive was her dear cousin.

Achilles nodded. 'I've not seen her. But I've heard she's a beauty.'

Briseis almost fainted. No doubt that girl was Chryseis. And Briseis knew she must save her. A beauty like Chryseis would be very dangerous in the camp of the enemies'. Sure she couldn't let her lovely and playful cousin wasted in the filthy hands of Agamemnon, right? So, always being the first one to react, she anxiously asked Achilles to take her to the High King's tent. 'I'm not sure if I can help you, seeing that Agamemnon is so stubborn, yet stupid. He may not release the girl, but keep her to himself.' Achilles explained, but he was already walking towards the flaps of his tent. Briseis scrambled out of the tousled bed quickly and followed him out of the tent.

Now the sun was completely set. The stars had started their gleaming and glistening. Those were the stars that had always shone brightly on Thebe and Troy. Briseis, together with all her cousins, Chryseis, Hector and Paris, had always had fun under those faint and dim lights of the stars. Briseis remembered the time they had seek out of their palaces and met under those stars, sometimes caught by the guards of the cities; sometimes they could come out 'safely' and enjoy themselves. But now, Thebe was captured, as well as Chryseis and herself. Those joyous and happy days would never come back, yet, Briseis knew, and was sure of that, that those moments would live in her heart forever, even though the four of them had different future paths lying ahead of them: Hector might die in the war between Greece and Troy; Paris might live with Helen, now his wife happily ever after; Chryseis might not be saved by Achilles and her, and might remain a captive of Agamemnon forever, which she might have to live with a ruined and destroyed life; And her, Briseis, together with Achilles, would sail back to his homeland and might never come back. However, she was not sure if they would be even leaving Troy and Thebe now, seeing that the first thing in her own heart was to save Chryseis, her cousin, which she cared so much for a cousin, like a sister.

They walked towards the ship of Agamemnon in silence. Briseis felt cold when the sea breeze brushed the whole of her body. She didn't know how Achilles noticed, but he put an arm around her shoulders, trying to keep her warm. Briseis smiled at his action. When Achilles touched her, all her troubles seemed to fade away, and she would feel so safe and relaxed. The man had made her complete. Before Briseis had met him, she was quite lost in her destiny. The only solution that she could come to when she faced difficulties was to pray. And she had even tried to hide herself from reality, and be a priestess when she felt so confused by men.

Adromache's intellectual words suddenly came to her mind: You can close your eyes to reality but not to memories.

She did not really understand those words the day when Hector had said them. But now, being in Achilles arms, she knew what those words truly meant. Perhaps being with Achilles was not a bad thing after all. She felt that she had grown a lot those few days, not physically (although she was a woman now...), but mentally. She had grown more sophisticated, more...intelligent. She had seen death, and had been through humiliation when the Greek soldiers had thrown her around, and she now knew what the feeling to be in love was like. Achilles himself had taught her a lot also. He himself was not afraid of anything, not even the Gods. He told her that the Gods envied the mortal ones, and when Briseis thought about it again, his words totally made sense. And his presence had made her more courageous and a lot braver.

'We're here,' whispered Achilles into her ear softly.

Briseis looked up, and saw the huge and luxurious ship of Agamemnon again. She sincerely hoped that it would be the last time she saw this detestable ship of the despicable King. Achilles had started to enter when two guards stopped him.

Those two guards were never cowards, but Achilles' glare had drained their blood out of their faces. Both get out of Achilles' way at once and let him in. Ungratefully, Achilles entered the meeting hall in a smug way that Briseis had never seen.

The two guards looked at Briseis, both mesmerized by her beauty, and, judging by their facial expressions, not wanting to let her into the hall. So Briseis just hurried into the hall after Achilles, only find her looking at Agamemnon, who was sitting on his throne, and gripping the left wrist of Chryseis. The tent was empty except the four of them. Briseis was sure that Agamemnon had not noticed the couple entered the tent, as he continued to laugh at the way Chryseis winced under his grip.

Achilles coughed loudly in a rude way and Agamemnon looked up, so as Chryseis. Chryseis was so shocked by the existence of Briseis in the tent that her jaw hung low and could not bring herself to believe her eyes.

Agamemnon raised an eyebrow at Achilles, and, in a very commanding tone, asked him, 'Why are you here in my tent?' Achilles did not answer, so Agamemnon raised his voice at him, 'Have you even asked for my permission before you enter?' Agamemnon's face was red with rage. Both Briseis and Chryseis winced at the deafening volume of Agamemnon's voice.

Not feared by Agamemnon's reactions, Achilles answered revoltingly that he needed not Agamemnon's permission in order to enter the High King's places. His words provoked the King even more. Agamemnon was now so furious that Briseis thought she saw steam gushing out from his ears and nostrils. Perhaps he was furious because he did not want anyone to know his shameful performance, just like the way he had looked at Chryseis just then. Briseis would have wanted to laugh at the short, chubby and cranky man in front of her if the situation was not that Achilles and she had come to save Chryseis.

Agamemnon, whom was enraged by Achilles words, had still not said anything, but pushed Chryseis hardly to the plush-carpeted floor of the hall (which had caused Briseis to flinch and Chryseis to moan in pain), and stomped in front of Achilles. Briseis left Achilles to deal with the barbarian King and rushed towards Chryseis, and helped her to stand up again.

'Briseis! I thought you were dead!' said Chryseis shrilly. She had been so thrilled to see her cousin alive in the enemies' camp, as she had been captured for about 3 days already.

'No, I'm not.' Briseis said cheerfully, delighted to know that her cousin was still untouched. 'Now, let's see how we are going to escape.'

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