Because Andromache had to attend the festival, the next two mornings she woke up next to her husband and Hector assumed she'd given up the fight. So one morning- four days before Cassandra's scheduled departure- he was slightly perturbed to find the bed next to him empty, and the servants once again unaware of his wife's whereabouts.

He managed to ward of Priam's questions and entertain Othronus for the day- besides performing all his regular duties- but by sunset he was exhausted and more than a little angry. His wife's return was met with sharp words and a stony silence as they went to bed. Hector was determined to wake up before his wife and so mentally steeled himself to rise before sunset. It worked, and his body woke up of its own accord, but his wife was already long gone. The same fight ensued when she returned and he managed to force himself to wake up even earlier. He once again failed to catch his wife in time and by this point he was furious. Priam was more than a little annoyed at finding that Cassandra wasn't spending her time with Othronus, as he was at being ignored by his bride. Hector was inwardly fuming, he wasn't use to losing arguments, especially not with his wife. Besides that, he was now lacking sleep because of his early risings, whereas his wife seemed to be unaffected by weariness upon her returns. She never gave him any information on where they were going and sharply retorted any attempts to chastise her.

Andromache, on the other hand, was quite pleased with herself at finding a solution. She would wait until her husband had fallen asleep beside her, then silently creep to the women's quarters and take her slumber on one of the couches. The three of them would always go to the same place and spend time talking and lounging around.

"Wouldn't it be nice to be a nymph?" Briseis mused, leaning back and letting the sun's rays hit her face. It was a few hours after noon, they wouldn't return to the palace for a few more hours. "Never have to marry or follow the rules of decorum."

The three girls' hair was free and they'd donned their lightest dresses. They brought their cloaks each day, to hide their faces from the prying eyes of the soldiers at the gate, but other than that they were unrestricted. It was their last day together, Cassandra's boat would leave the following morning, but none of them spoke of that.

"To follow in the train of a goddess, roaming free in the woods." Cassandra smiled at the thought. She cast a shrew glance at Andromache. "But I fear one of us wouldn't enjoy it."

"I'd enjoy it above all things," Andromache retorted. "Or perhaps just to have my own bedroom. That would be enough."

Cassandra shook her head but smiled, refusing to reply. There was a moment of easy silence, then Andromache stood up. "I'm going bathing in the stream, coming?"

The two girls grinned and climbed to their feet, shrieking as the cold water lapped at their ankles. Andromache smiled wickedly and took careful aim, sending a wall of water spraying onto Briseis and then Cassandra. The two girls tackled her, sending all three of them under. They came up laughing, thoroughly soaked and happy. A water fight ensued, and for a short afternoon they forgot of their duties. They forgot of their impending separation, their roles as royal women, and all decorum that must be followed. They were simply three best friends, enjoying an afternoon alone together.

…

"Hector, I am not pleased at your lack of control over your wife," Priam said softly, leaning over to his son. Othronus was annoyed and bored, though Paris was trying to keep him entertained. "Cassandra is just a girl, but Andromache should know better."

Hector sighed. "Yes, Father."

"Please speak with her about this when she returns."

Hector set his jaw. "I will."

…

"Shut the door," Hector ordered quietly when his wife finally returned. It was hours past sunset, long after the time he expected her back. She gave him a glaring look, but obeyed.

"Thanks to you, Othronus is now annoyed, Father is angered, and Cassandra has just gone her entire week without spending any time with her betrothed." His voice had begun softly, but it was slowly getting louder until he was yelling at her. "Did it ever occur to you that it would have been better for Cassandra if she'd become familiar with her betrothed before leaving with him tomorrow?! Thanks to you, she no longer has that option!!!"

"And did you ever think about the fact that he will have her for the rest of her life?! Did you ever think that she is a grown woman, who chose to spend her last week with her closest friends instead of a man who's a mere acquaintance?! Did you ever think that she is having to leave her home, her life, to be with a man she no more regards than a person passing by?!" Andromache shrieked, not caring that the servants could hear them clearly.

"It would have been easier for her if she had gotten to know him, that's what we wished for!" Hector yelled back.

"She made her choice!" Andromache cried, clenching her fists. "Why is that so hard to understand? Do you think it's easy, living her life? Ridiculed by those who don't believe her prophecies, forbidden to take the path her heart desired, forced to marry a man she does not love or esteem? She is leaving her home, her family, her closest friends. Don't you think, that after going through all that, she should be allowed to choose how she wants to spend her final days?! Does she not even have that small right?!"

"Even if she did, the three of you were roaming about alone! Think of what could've happened!"

"Look at what did! Absolutely nothing, and we now have this short week to look back and smile upon. You don't know what it's like, Hector! You are not required to have a male in attendance everywhere you go. You were never forced to marry someone you didn't want to! You weren't required to leave your home! Is it such a huge task, to give Cassandra just a week of peace?!"

Hector's eyes grew cold. "So that's what it will be like? Whenever we argue you're going to point out that I made you leave your home? Am I going to have to relive that every fight of our marriage?" He gazed upon her for a moment, then strode out angrily.

Andromache gritted her jaw, refusing to let herself cry. She angrily undressed and crawled into bed, a bed she'd barely slept in for the past week. And then the tears came. She did not cry for her husband, who would not rejoin her that night. She cried for Cassandra, who's short life would soon end. She cried for their friendship, which would be brought to a close. She sobbed for the woman she'd grown so close to, who'd befriended her and taught her many things.

For some things end too soon.