Oh....thanks... I've got lots of reviews for the last chapter...
Love you all!!
Chapter 29
After that night, Achilles and Briseis spent very little time together. Achilles was always involved in meetings and political matters, while Briseis spent most of her time in the courtyard, sitting on the same bench Achilles had given her the rose, thinking of the dream and the flashback of the conversation of Patroclus and her. Sometimes she would be dying to see Achilles, to talk to him, or just to hear his comforting (to her) voice. But part of her was afraid to see Achilles too. She felt uneasy about that night. Was there something between them? She found herself always wanted to ask Achilles this question. But what if Achilles said there was not? He would then know how she felt about him.
Maybe if there isn't anything between us, I can go back to Troy, and forget about him... Briseis had once thought of it, but she still could not gather her courage to talk to Achilles.
This was what had been troubling her those few days. But when Acoetes came to talk to her (he was still staying there, to Achilles' dismay...), she would find herself engaged in those easy and humorous jokes of Acoetes, and she would laugh and clapped her hands. Sometimes, she would catch Acoetes staring at her in a very odd way, which she could not understand. Achilles sometimes would look at her that way too. Why do men always look at me in this way? She would ask herself silently.
Sometimes, when Acoetes was not there, she would go to Patroclus. He was always free for a talk or such. She had asked him about the way Achilles and Acoetes looked at her. He would laugh and shrug, although Patroclus would always refuse to tell her what that was. Then they would talk about other things, and Patroclus once told Briseis about a girl he loved. But when Briseis asked him who the lucky girl was, Patroclus' eyes had looked so sad and he refused to talk about it.
Briseis did not know why, but she had always thought of the girl Patroclus loved was Chryseis. But she would laugh it off, and rationalize herself that Patroclus and Chryseis never met.
But the rationalization did not last long.
This day, after Briseis left Patroclus' room, she sat on the bench in the front courtyard again. She closed her eyes, and titled her head upwards, welcoming the warm sunlight on her face.
Even she closed her eyes; she could still see herself sitting on the bench. But there was someone else sitting next to her. It was Patroclus.
'How are you?' Briseis asked.
'Fine.' Patroclus answered shortly.
'I recon you are not having meals with us these days.' Briseis stated.
Patroclus remained silence. 'Do you miss Chryseis?' Briseis asked, already knew the answer. 'There is no need to lie.' She added.
'You already know the answer.' Patroclus said simply, still not looking at Briseis.
'We can go and visit her.' Briseis suggested.
'I want her to stay with me,' Patroclus informed.
'Love is always selfish,' Briseis told him. 'You can ask uncle Chryses' permission to wed her. You are a fine young man. I'm sure uncle Chryses would love your pairing.'
What? Briseis opened her eyes, and stared next to her. She had intended to stare at Patroclus, but there was no one. Briseis gaped. It was a memory. She was so sure of it. But she did not even know that Patroclus had been in love with Chryseis! And what about that feeling of Patroclus had always been in love with Chryseis that she sensed before the flashback? This was the answer: Patroclus was in love with Chryseis from the start, and there was a part of her memories that was missing.
Briseis shut her eyes tight again, wanting to know more. But this was life. You could not get what you want when you were desperate.
So, there was no flashback.
She had been so mature in this memory. She seemed to be so sophisticated, so different from she was now. Why?
She suddenly thought of the dream... the dream of Achilles' death! It was not a dream... Briseis did not want to tell it to herself, but it was a memory. Was it the thing Achilles wanted to tell her that night when she was in his bed that the dream had happened before, and it was a memory of her? Had Achilles been her lover? Had Achilles once said that he loved her? But... how could it be? If she had been Achilles' lover, it would mean that she had already broken her vow to Apollo...
Briseis knew what she must do. She must go to either Patroclus or Achilles. She must ask them to tell her. She stood up, and suddenly felt so dizzy. The world in front of her eyes turned upside down, and she found it very hard to walk on the ground. It seemed to be throwing her to the ground, although she was already in someone's arms...
Achilles yawned loudly as he walked back to his room after that tedious meeting with the king of Anakharon. The king was a plain man. His eyebrows were black and heavy, his eyes were hot and fierce. He had got a funny long nose and big ears, and there was a scar running down from his left cheek to his chin, and he had big red ears and a long nose with a twisted tip. Achilles found it hard to concentrate when he was talking to him today. Eudorus helped him do most of the talking, and shot him alarming glances now and then.
He had been so involved in his own business those few days that he seldom saw Briseis. He missed her a lot, and the last time he saw her, it was from the window. He was looking down at the front courtyard, and found Briseis and that hateful prince of Eretria talking. Briseis had looked very happy as Achilles had recalled, she was clapping her hands at some silly jokes he had told her. Achilles did not go down to disturb their moment, but he just grinded his teeth and went away. He had had some important people to meet.
He decided to find Briseis. It had been a few days since they talked, and he really missed her sweet story-telling voice. He went to the room next to his, and knocked the door. There was no answer.
She must not here... maybe she's in the courtyard. Achilles always found the girl in the courtyard those days, just sitting on the same bench, sometimes looking up at the sky, sometimes dazing.
Achilles went to the courtyard, and he saw Briseis, walking towards him. She did not seem to feel well, she was walking unstably.
'Briseis?' Achilles asked, 'are you alright?'
She did not answer him, and started to fall. Achilles caught her in his arms, and sat on the grass. He studied her face. She did not seem to be sick, her lips looked soft and pink, and her cheeks did not seemed pale. He observed her closely, and found that her brows were furrowed, and she seemed to be very anxious and worried. Achilles wondered what had happened. Had she seen something scaring? What could be frightening in his palace? He could think of nothing. Had she seen his death again? But he had comforted her that night.
Maybe she remembers.
Achilles did not dare to hope for so much, so he decided maybe some of her memories came back to her. But what memory would cause her that worried? He recalled that most of their time spent together was happy. The most frightening memory, which Achilles was nearly killed by Agamemnon, she had remembered already. So what was that about?
Of course, Achilles knew nothing of Briseis' worry of breaking her vow to Apollo. So he lifted her up, and carried her back to her room. Briseis was so small and delicate in his arms, and he felt like he was holding a little girl. Briseis felt the warmth of his arms, and she came to. Realizing she was in his arms, Briseis kept her eyes shut, enjoying the feeling. She was afraid he would ask her to walk instead of carrying her. At this moment, the reason that had caused her fainted was forgotten.
Achilles pushed Briseis' bedroom door opened, and sat on the bed, not wanting to put the girl onto the bed. This was his chance: he could kiss her without her knowing. No one would see them, no one would tell the girl. He had been dying to do it since he had found her in the palace of Eretria. She would not slap him, or push him away like she had when they were in the ship after he had found her. He missed her soft, sweet lips so much. It had been a few months since his lips had met hers. Suddenly, her lips looked incredibly soft and lush, and he was feeling the strangest desire to kiss her. The desire was even greater than back when he was in Troy, when he was lying on top of her, and she was holding his dagger, the night he had saved her from Agamemnon's men.
When he could resist no more, he lowered his face until his lips touched hers. Briseis shut her eyes tight, and another vision appeared in her mind.
It was a starry night. The wind was blowing, and Briseis had to tug her hair behind her ears now and then. She, together with Achilles, was standing on the deck of a ship. Briseis observed. It was a ship with a black sail. It was the ship of Achilles.
Achilles was standing in front if her, holding a seashell necklace. 'Here, let me put it on for you.'
He helped her to put on the necklace, and then they stared at each other. He was staring at her eyes intensely, and in his blue sapphire ones', held passion and love, also caring and obsession. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and drew her towards him. He titled her head up, and leaned down to kiss her...
Achilles slowly withdrew the kiss, causing Briseis to come back to her senses. At this moment, all she could think of was the vision on the ship. She was so sure Achilles and she had been kissing. He had given her the necklace, and then he kissed her.
Briseis tried hard to search her mind, but her last vision was the kiss.
Achilles put her on the bed, and left the room quietly, leaving Briseis to her own confusion and puzzlement.
She remembered that she had fallen asleep, her hands tied to a post... then when she woke again, she was in the palace of Eretria already. Something had happened between the time after she had fallen asleep, and before she came to, in the palace of Eretria. She was so sure about that.
Wait. What about the kiss that Achilles has just given to me?
Briseis groaned, and covered her head with a pillow. She was already disturbed by the flashback of the ship, and now, Achilles' kiss had added another burden to her already hard-to-solve problems...
How was that? It's so hard to write...
I'll update as soon as possible, ok? I'll update Forgiving Love soon...
Just give me some time... it's just so hard to write
