Hi! I can't believe I'm writing this much for the story!
Up till now, I still don't know when is my story going to end!
Oof, your chapter 27...
Chapter 27
Was it a dream? No. It did not seem to be... It was real. Patroclus and she had talked before.
She must not say anything now. It was only a vision after all. It was impossible for her to talk to Patroclus before when she did not remember anything.
So Briseis remained silent for a few days. Achilles had returned normal, and was treating her with great kindness and friendliness.
Briseis was always in the courtyard these few days, thinking of her feelings towards Achilles. She suddenly remembered that Achilles had said that they had slept together before... Was Achilles her lover before? How come she knew nothing about it? No, it was impossible. She would never love him. She was Apollo's priestess. She would have controlled herself. But... it seemed so familiar. The feeling when Achilles was on top of her seemed so familiar to Briseis. Even his scent, his eyes... She seemed to have a very faint impression of them. Oh, and Eudorus. Briseis remembered his blue eyes and his grey hair too. His name had been ringing in her head when she saw him on the ship of Achilles, which had a black sail.
The black sail! Briseis remembered. Achilles must have been to Troy before. She recalled that she had seen a ship with black sail when she was in the temple. That one ship with the black sail had stood out from among all of the ships of Greece which had white sails.
Briseis turned sharply when she heard someone approached her. It was Achilles. The man she had been thinking of a lot these few days.
'Thinking of me?' Achilles asked teasingly.
'Will I be? No.' Briseis said, turning her back to him.
'Now, angry with me?' Achilles asked again.
Briseis pouted, and did not reply. Achilles was always teasing her these days, and she always did not know how to respond or where to look when Achilles had teased her flirtatiously. 'Why are you not talking to me?' Achilles said, pretending to look crestfallen, and he sat on the bench Briseis was sitting on. Briseis glanced sideways at him. Why was he here? Achilles was always busy with his political meetings and such. Why was he so free today? So, she asked what she wanted to ask, 'Why are you so free today? No troublesome kings? No Eudorus talking about policies? No Patroclus going out to hunt?'
To her surprise and astound, Achilles held out a single red rose.
He smiled at the dumbfounded girl. 'I'm free enough to give you this.'
Oh... he is so engaging... Briseis thought sweetly, and accepted the gift. She tried to find a place to place her fingers on, as she knew that there must be thorns on the stem of the flower. But she could hold it anywhere she wanted to. There were no thorns on the stalk to prick her fingers. She gazed at the flower. It was so beautiful. The rose's bud was half opened, and it gave a lovely scent. She studied the stem and ran her fingers on it. It was smooth.
'It's beautiful!' Briseis exclaimed.
'The rose has no thorns.' Achilles informed, although he already knew that she had noticed.
Rose represents love. There are thorns. Thorns are the flaws of the love and relationship between the couple. Achilles' voice suddenly rang through Briseis mind. But somehow, she could not recall Achilles saying these words. But she was so sure that she had once heard it from Achilles... (Well, I haven't included this in the previous chapters... But I cannot include all their boring conversations, right? So, just let it be...)
'Do you like it?' Achilles asked, as Briseis had frowned. He was anxious to know if the girl liked the flower or not.
'I love it, thank you.' Briseis said smiling at Achilles, and kissed his cheek. She did not intend to do it, but she had acted by herself automatically, as though she had nothing to do with it. Briseis did not watch when Achilles' eyes were lit up in excitement and joyfulness; as she was too busy blushing with embarrassment. 'I... I didn't mean to-'
'To what?' Achilles asked, grinning like mad.
Briseis' savior, and Achilles' most hated person at this certain moment, Eudorus, decided to step into the embarrassing scene of Briseis at this moment. To Briseis' relief, Eudorus told Achilles that there was again, some troublesome prince. So Achilles rose and left Briseis alone in the courtyard again. Her face was still hot, but she could feel that it was cooling down rapidly. She sat there very still, feeling so confused again. Her heart had raced so much when she saw the rose. It was from Achilles. She could swear that it was the most romantic moment (she had forgotten the seashell necklace moment then...) in her life.
What did he mean giving her a rose without any thorns? She clearly remembered his philosophy about rose not having thorns, yet she could not recall him saying such things to her... But those words rang in her mind like a bell! Briseis held the rose tighter. He had cut the thorns off. What did that mean? She really wanted to know. Was he implying something? She was not sure about that.
Well, don't think of the rose anymore, go back to your room and put it into a vase. Briseis rose and headed back to her room. She found a white vase, and put the lovely flower into the vase, which was put on the table. She sat on a chair, and rested her head on her hands. She smiled at the fact that the gift was from Achilles. She admired the shape of the half opened flower, the slender and delicate stem without thorns, and crimson colour of the petals. At this moment, all her troubles: when was she going back to Troy; if Acoetes and Cleo were still alive; having a little crush on Achilles, which she should not, as (in her heart) she was still Apollo's priestess etc. were forgotten.
However, Briseis did not sit there for long, as she had just started to daze, Eudorus knocked the door, and Briseis came back to reality. She ran to open the door, and it revealed the smiling blue-eyed Greek. 'My Lady, someone wants to see you.'
'Who is that?' Briseis asked curiously. Someone wants to see me?
'In the courtyard,' Eudorus smiled lightly as he said. He did not tell her who that certain person was.
So Briseis stood up and went to the courtyard. She was quite eager to know who was that 'someone'. She knew only a few people in Phthia after all. Not in the front courtyard... Briseis realized when she found that there was no one in the front courtyard. She would prefer to talk in the front courtyard. She loved the benches there. Achilles had given her the rose there too... She hurried to the back courtyard. There were more trees at the back, and it was darker, giving the girl a gloomier impression.
When she arrived, there was already a small and round tea table set under the shade of a large tree. Achilles was there, his face expressionless. There was also someone else, his back facing her.
'Acoetes!' Briseis cried out, delighted to see the prince of Eretria again. Just as we have estimated, Achilles' face darkened a bit.
'Briseis! You are alright!' Acoetes stood up, 'Has he hurt you?' he asked softly.
Briseis shook her head and said, 'He treated me with absolute kindness and caring.'
Acoetes looked at Briseis skeptically, 'Really?'
Briseis took a seat. 'True.'
'Where's Cleo?' Briseis asked, concerned about the little girl.
Acoetes chuckled, 'She was very fine, back at Eretria. She had begged to come with me. But this time, father forbad her to come. She had broken a vase from Troy, which is the only one in the world.'
'Oh.' Briseis said softly. Now, after this, the two gentlemen remained silence, and kept on shooting hostile glances at each other now and then. It was Briseis doing the talking the whole time, asking them about the relationship between the two nations, or talking about the differences between Phthia and Eretria, the different foods and tastes, or the weather, or the different habits, obviously oblivious to the antagonist between the two. She had been talking for a long time, until at last she noticed the awkwardness between Achilles and Acoetes. 'Why aren't you two talking?' she asked, and showed her displeasure by pouting her soft and kissable lips.
Both smiled kindly at her in response, and Briseis smiled back at them, all her discontentment forgotten. 'Hey, it's getting cold out here, maybe-'
The two men took off their cloaks at once, and both tried to wrap theirs around Briseis. Briseis, astounded by the two's actions, laughed at bit. 'No, thanks, you two will be cold also, maybe-'
'No!' Achilles and Acoetes said at the same time, and shot daggers with their eyes at each other.
Briseis stood up, and said, 'I'm going back to my room to get my cloak. You can talk for a moment yourself.' And she disappeared into the door. The two men turned their heads from Briseis to glare at each other once Briseis was out of sight. They had been like this for a moment, until Acoetes decided to break the silence.
'If you have hurt her-'
'I will never hurt her.' Achilles cut him off.
'How about the day when your sword had-' Acoetes reminded, but was cut off by Achilles again.
'That was an accident!' Achilles growled.
'You cannot keep her forever. You must send her back to Troy.' Acoetes said, changing the topic.
'Why? You're afraid that I will take her as my wife?' Achilles asked smugly, as if Briseis had already promised to marry him.
'She's not your property!' Acoetes yelled at Achilles, both men's faces were red with rage.
'She used to be my girl.' Achilles said quietly.
'What do you mean by this?' Acoetes heard Achilles words, and stood up furiously, overturning the table, his hand on the silver pommel of his sword. He was readied for a fight with Achilles for Briseis.
'You want to fight?' Achilles smirked, and stood up also, his hands also reaching for his sword.
Fortunately, Briseis appeared at this moment, wrapped in a pure white silk cloak, looking like a goddess. 'Stop!' Briseis screamed out, and ran towards them, drawing both of the men's attention. Achilles and Acoetes looked at Briseis. Her brows were furrowed, and she looked exasperated. 'What are you two doing? Fighting? For What?' She reprimanded. The two men panicked. They could not let Briseis know about it.
'We're just... practicing our swords.' Acoetes said, trying his best to lie.
'Yes!' Achilles nodded, 'I want to see how the Eretrians use their swords!'
'Oh...' Briseis said mildly, 'I thought you two were fighting... Sorry.' She smiled at them, and went back to her seat. However, the table was overturned. She looked at them again, but this time, suspiciously, and inquired, pointing at the table, 'What is this?'
'I accidentally knocked it over when I stood up.' Acoetes lied.
'And I told him not to rearrange it again,' Achilles added quickly. 'After all, I can call for the guards, right?' He smiled at Briseis, hoping she would buy the lie.
'You two seem so weird...' Briseis said doubtfully.
'Because I'm just so excited to see how Achilles uses his sword.' Acoetes said hurriedly.
Achilles nodded vigorously, 'So as I. I mean, Acoetes...'
Ah!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm dying! So hard to write!
Anyway, tell me about how you do you feel about this chapter.
Thanks a lot.
Hey, Review!
By the way, I'm starting to write another completely different story now...
I'll post it up soon, and please, support.
But don't worry, I'll still keep on updating this story too. =)
To Trojans: I think it's spelled Phthia... at least it's the spelling in the Iliad...
Bye!
