Disclaimer: Well, it's been a long time, so: Troy is property of Warner Brothers and Homer. Some lines are from the movie, some are my own.
Chapter Subjects: Hector and Andromache
Language Note/ Summary: This is about the battle scene after the Temple of Apollo is desecrated, and Briseis is taken from Achilles, who is watching the battle with his men. Hector is fighting for his life. Menelaus has already died by Hector's hand. Andromache is watching from the walls (again) with Helen, and thinks about Briseis. The quote is something that I have Hector say to Andromache in the story. You'll understand the title later in the story. This story is also the first story to have a "flashback".
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Hunter Among the Stars
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"Blood will meet blood. I will fight. Our fates bind us. Our duties bind us."-Hector
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A deafening roar. Shields being shattered and the screech of metal on metal, the sound of two nations clashing. Men falling like oaks, toppling like towers. Death raining down like the monsoons. Our expert Trojan archers shoot volley after volley, unceasing in their defense of our city. The Greeks were the on the offensive when they beached their ships on our shore; now they were on the defensive. Few of our warriors fall. That is good.
The Greek morale must be dramatically reduced, after they saw Menelaus, Helen's former husband, killed by Hector. Paris is somewhere behind these walls; Hector had sent him back, and his injuries were being tended to. I knew this because Helen had gone to fetch the best healers in Troy herself.
Oh! Hector, what will happen now? Agamemnon's brother, Menelaus, is now dead. Will Agamemnon retreat and never return? Or will he be seeking the blood price in this war?
A few days ago, she had talked to Hector about the war. Although by then it was inevitable, she had still protested. But he had said something which had silenced her.
"Blood will meet blood. I will fight. Our fates bind us. Out duties bind us."
Our duties. Our fates. What a cruel twist of fate has put us in this position.
A strange sight caught my eye, a sight which made some kind of fear swell up inside of me and blossom, an unwanted kind of flower.
In the midst of the chaos, a small circle has formed, and inside it are two men, one of them my husband. The other is no less than a giant, and towers over Hector. A real oak. He carries no shield, but has in one hand an enormous hammer. I doubt that any other man would be able to lift it, save for Achilles son of Peleus.
To my horror, he lifts the hammer and strikes at Hector, who raises his shield just in time to block the blow. No! Get out of there, my husband! I fear that his shield arm has been shattered, yet it is not so. Hector hacks at the man with his sword, yet it does not seem to even scratch him.
Trojan soldiers, who surround the two, are either too engaged in their own small battles, or are dead, (their heads no doubt smashed to a pulp by the giant man's hammer), to help their prince and commander. Once again, he slams his hammer at Hector, and this time Hector stumbles backwards and lands on his back from the strength of the blow, his shield thrown aside.
Gods above, help me now! Help me save my Prince of Troy!
And they do. They hear my desperate plea. The giant's hammer is kicked aside by my husband and Hector picks it up, and smashes it at the huge man. The giant falls, and does not rise. A great cheer goes along the Trojan ranks. Suddenly, I realise that the giant is the greater Ajax, son of Telamon of Salamis.
Odysseus is speaking to Agamemnon, though there is no chance that I will be able to guess at what he his saying. But it must have been a call for retreat, for Agamemnon turns his chariot around. And his men follow.
The Greeks are retreating. Achilles would never let the Greeks retreat. I scan my eyes over the fast-moving horde and spot no shining immortal son of a goddess.
If Achilles is not here, where is he?
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He hit the ground hard, a dull thump drowned out by the screams of wounded, dying and fighting men around him. For a brief moment, a flash of white light passed before his eyes. Not now, he thought. I will not be defeated and die now.
The next moment, the greater Ajax was the one on the ground, still, lifeless. He could hear his countrymen cheering. He could see the Greeks retreating. Adrenaline rushed through him, and lifted himself up.
The Trojans raced after the Greeks, spearing the ones who lagged behind in the rear. Soon, they were at the edge of the Greek camp. His men continued to rush forward, thinking that they would drive the Greeks from this land which was theirs.
"Retreat! Fall back!" he shouted.
"But my lord, we are winning. We can drive them back and have them run home in their ships!" protested his second-in-command, a man with wisps of white hair, whom he had fought many battles with.
"No! We are in range of their archers! We must retreat. We can drive them off later," he said in a commanding tone, but secretly inside he wished he could chase them from their shore.
The other furrowed his brow disapprovingly, but he was not about to refuse a direct order from his prince. Both called out the order.
"Fall back! Fall back!"
Andromache, I am coming.
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Her robes dragged on the marble floor behind her and hurriedly whisked a stray strand of hair from her face, and adjusted the gold bracelet around her wrist. She pushed aside a curtain which covered the doorway to the private chambers she and Hector shared. With a quick flick of her hand, she dismissed the servants, knowing that this would be a rare moment alone with him.
His armour was hanging on a rack near the window, and he held Astyanax in his arms, one hand holding an ivory horse which he had carved himself. When she had been with child, he had sat near the hearth, carving the horse with the utmost care in the night, and she remembered seeing his blade flash a stunning silver, the flames of the fire dancing on it.
"There you are. For a moment I thought that you were looking after Paris."
"And I would put my brother before my husband?"
He laughed softly. "No, I did not think that, Andromache," he replied, turned back to his son. "He's grown overnight, it seems. So much larger than before."
I sat myself down next to him, and looked into Astyanax's big brown eyes, so much like Hector's, yet missing that look of wisdom. But he would gain it after years. What Hector said next made me wince.
"He'll grow up to be a great warrior."
"And to do what? Spread death? Make more widows?" After these words escaped my mouth, I felt like slapping myself for them. He almost died out there. Who are you to criticize him now?
"He will be a prince of Troy. He will protect his country and defend what his fathers have built. He will have a duty to fight for Troy when the time comes. But there will be more than bloodshed in his life. There will be happiness also. But come, now; the sun is setting."
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As Andromache and Astyanax slept, he thought of the days before the war. Once, on a night when the sky was clear and the moon was full, he had taught Astyanax the stars. Of course, he was too small to understand anything, but he had heard Hector, for he had been silent the entire time.
Now, Hector rose from the bed, and walked silently to the balcony and looked up to the heaven above. One constellation stood out.
"See that group of stars there? That is Orion, hunter among the stars. He guides warriors on their paths. He has guided me. One day, he will guide you."
Hector blinked and the vision was gone. Troy was sleeping. Sleep well, tonight. Tomorrow is another day.
"Let us make the most of it."
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