to Dana Trinity Briseis Scully : I apologize for taking such a long time to update!
to Chandramukhi : Well I don't know... Just a little something to add to the tension. :) And Achilles is rather strong, so he roughly pushed Aretha away, and I think if he bit onto her he wouldn't really care.
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Chapter 11
Briseis awoke in the morning to find herself alone. Again. She took a brisk shower, and clothed herself, before setting off to the dining hall.
On the third level, while Briseis steered right, she chanced upon Thetis emerging from her chamber. "Morning, mother." she greeted rather uneasily, recalling Achilles' injury. Had she seen it?
"Good morning, Briseis." Thetis smiled. "Would you like to walk with me to the dining hall?"
"I would love to." Briseis replied, strolling up beside Thetis.
"Doing fine? How is the little offspring?" Thetis questioned.
"Thank you for the concern. Yes, both my and the child are doing fine." Briseis answered. "Though, I am still adjusting to my surroundings. I do still miss Troy -- it was where I grew up. Back there, there were no possessive feelings towards Achilles, because no other woman was there as a threat to take him from me. I do not see him as often as I would like, but I am in no position to be upset about that, for he must have several tasks to attend to."
"A week will pass." Thetis assured.
"Are you not worried for a war?" a surprised Briseis asked.
"King Leander is arrogant, yes, but I do not think that he will so stubbornly send his weak army to our doorstep. We shall see, and hope that everything is settled peacefully." Thetis calmly replied.
Three, two, one. They were on the doorstep of the dining hall. "Another breakfast with the princess." Briseis grumbled. Thetis laughed lightly, and Briseis apologized, realizing that she had blurted out her thoughts again.
Thetis pushed the large doors open, and Briseis did her usual surveying of the long table. Instead of taking her place beside Achilles, she walked over to an empty seat beside Andromache, who looked a little weaker than before. Briseis noticed that Aretha was flirting with Achilles, but Achilles seemed to be ignoring her. She realized, too, that he had removed the bandage, and frowned a little.
The food was soon laid out, and Briseis watched as Andromache played with her food. "You should eat, Andromache. You look worse than before. It is no use torturing yourself." Briseis persuaded, with a concerned look on her face.
"How can I?" Andromache asked. "Every night, when I do fall asleep, I see Astyanax being killed. When you bear a child, you will understand."
"Actually, I am pregnant. I did not tell you on our last meeting, for I was too concerned with your forgiveness." Briseis revealed. "I do not yet know the pain of losing a child, and hope I never will. I understand that you are depressed, but do not play with your life. If cousin Hector and little Astyanax were alive, they would hope for your safety and health, would they not?"
Andromache sighed. "I know."
--
Briseis spent the rest of the day pacing about, with nothing to do. No more usual temple offerings, no more Trojan festivities. She was stuck here, in this BORING palace, where she cannot even spend much time with her beloved. Briseis gave a frustrated shout.
"Anger will harm the child." Achilles said in a relaxed tone, walking towards Briseis, whose pacing had ventured off into the garden.
Briseis spun round, surprised by his sudden arrival. "Don't you have matters to attend to?" she asked, seeming a little irritated.
"What is it, Briseis? You seem agitated?" Achilles queried, putting his forehead to hers. He placed a hand on her cheek, and looked into her eyes.
"I'm fine." Briseis lied. She felt uneasy, but she could not decipher why.
Achilles leaned in and lightly kissed Briseis' lips. The kiss was gentle, not like the first he gave. Briseis gave a sigh of contentment. "Now will you tell me what is wrong?" Achilles asked.
"I was just feeling bored. There isn't much to do, and you're not with me very often." Briseis confessed.
"Come." Achilles instructed, pulling Briseis' hand, leading her out of the garden. They walked across the empty entrance hall, their footsteps echoing behind them. Achilles opened a small gate on the other side of the entrance hall, hidden by a tapestry on the wall, and continued to lead Briseis.
The passage was narrow, only wide enough for one person to walk. It was dimly lit by very small torches on the left wall. At the other end, another door emerged out of the gloom. Through that, the couple were faced with three dark passages. Achilles took a torch, and walked through the left passage.
Right at the end, Achilles opened another door, and Briseis shut her eyes at the sudden ray of sunlight. They walked out onto a large field, with several large stone platforms. There were soldiers practising there, and they bowed in Achilles' direction when he entered. Achilles nodded his head, and they continued their practice.
"This is where I mostly spend my time, training up the Myrmidons. If not, I would be with my mother, discussing issues about the kingdom." Achilles explained. "When you need to find me, you may come here, or to the Royal Court on the fifth floor."
Briseis nodded. "May I ask where the other two passages lead?"
"The second leads to the servants' quarters, the third is an escape route. The escape route has many turns, but I cannot elaborate further yet. Perhaps if you'd like, I can tell you more after I have finished attending to matters." Achilles replied.
"Alright. And when is that?" Briseis inquired.
"After dinner."
--
Briseis left the field quietly, leaving Achilles to train the soldiers. When she reached the Entrance Hall, she hid behind the tiny gate. Aretha was pacing in the entrance hall. When she stopped her pacing, her face seemed to light up, and smiling, she walked slowly back up the stairs to her room.
Briseis gave a sigh of relief and appeared from behind the tapestry. What was Aretha up to? It seemed like eternity before Aretha would return home.
--
After dinner, there was nothing for Briseis to do again, and she sat on the bed, pondering on what to do. Her gaze fell on a chair by the corner that resembled the dining hall's chair. She got up, suddenly having a craving for prunes. She did not know why. She used to dislike them.
Slowly, she opened the bedroom door, and turn left. She froze.
"Foul play?"
---
Sorry that I had to stop here because continuing would not make a good chapter ending...
to Chandramukhi : Well I don't know... Just a little something to add to the tension. :) And Achilles is rather strong, so he roughly pushed Aretha away, and I think if he bit onto her he wouldn't really care.
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Chapter 11
Briseis awoke in the morning to find herself alone. Again. She took a brisk shower, and clothed herself, before setting off to the dining hall.
On the third level, while Briseis steered right, she chanced upon Thetis emerging from her chamber. "Morning, mother." she greeted rather uneasily, recalling Achilles' injury. Had she seen it?
"Good morning, Briseis." Thetis smiled. "Would you like to walk with me to the dining hall?"
"I would love to." Briseis replied, strolling up beside Thetis.
"Doing fine? How is the little offspring?" Thetis questioned.
"Thank you for the concern. Yes, both my and the child are doing fine." Briseis answered. "Though, I am still adjusting to my surroundings. I do still miss Troy -- it was where I grew up. Back there, there were no possessive feelings towards Achilles, because no other woman was there as a threat to take him from me. I do not see him as often as I would like, but I am in no position to be upset about that, for he must have several tasks to attend to."
"A week will pass." Thetis assured.
"Are you not worried for a war?" a surprised Briseis asked.
"King Leander is arrogant, yes, but I do not think that he will so stubbornly send his weak army to our doorstep. We shall see, and hope that everything is settled peacefully." Thetis calmly replied.
Three, two, one. They were on the doorstep of the dining hall. "Another breakfast with the princess." Briseis grumbled. Thetis laughed lightly, and Briseis apologized, realizing that she had blurted out her thoughts again.
Thetis pushed the large doors open, and Briseis did her usual surveying of the long table. Instead of taking her place beside Achilles, she walked over to an empty seat beside Andromache, who looked a little weaker than before. Briseis noticed that Aretha was flirting with Achilles, but Achilles seemed to be ignoring her. She realized, too, that he had removed the bandage, and frowned a little.
The food was soon laid out, and Briseis watched as Andromache played with her food. "You should eat, Andromache. You look worse than before. It is no use torturing yourself." Briseis persuaded, with a concerned look on her face.
"How can I?" Andromache asked. "Every night, when I do fall asleep, I see Astyanax being killed. When you bear a child, you will understand."
"Actually, I am pregnant. I did not tell you on our last meeting, for I was too concerned with your forgiveness." Briseis revealed. "I do not yet know the pain of losing a child, and hope I never will. I understand that you are depressed, but do not play with your life. If cousin Hector and little Astyanax were alive, they would hope for your safety and health, would they not?"
Andromache sighed. "I know."
--
Briseis spent the rest of the day pacing about, with nothing to do. No more usual temple offerings, no more Trojan festivities. She was stuck here, in this BORING palace, where she cannot even spend much time with her beloved. Briseis gave a frustrated shout.
"Anger will harm the child." Achilles said in a relaxed tone, walking towards Briseis, whose pacing had ventured off into the garden.
Briseis spun round, surprised by his sudden arrival. "Don't you have matters to attend to?" she asked, seeming a little irritated.
"What is it, Briseis? You seem agitated?" Achilles queried, putting his forehead to hers. He placed a hand on her cheek, and looked into her eyes.
"I'm fine." Briseis lied. She felt uneasy, but she could not decipher why.
Achilles leaned in and lightly kissed Briseis' lips. The kiss was gentle, not like the first he gave. Briseis gave a sigh of contentment. "Now will you tell me what is wrong?" Achilles asked.
"I was just feeling bored. There isn't much to do, and you're not with me very often." Briseis confessed.
"Come." Achilles instructed, pulling Briseis' hand, leading her out of the garden. They walked across the empty entrance hall, their footsteps echoing behind them. Achilles opened a small gate on the other side of the entrance hall, hidden by a tapestry on the wall, and continued to lead Briseis.
The passage was narrow, only wide enough for one person to walk. It was dimly lit by very small torches on the left wall. At the other end, another door emerged out of the gloom. Through that, the couple were faced with three dark passages. Achilles took a torch, and walked through the left passage.
Right at the end, Achilles opened another door, and Briseis shut her eyes at the sudden ray of sunlight. They walked out onto a large field, with several large stone platforms. There were soldiers practising there, and they bowed in Achilles' direction when he entered. Achilles nodded his head, and they continued their practice.
"This is where I mostly spend my time, training up the Myrmidons. If not, I would be with my mother, discussing issues about the kingdom." Achilles explained. "When you need to find me, you may come here, or to the Royal Court on the fifth floor."
Briseis nodded. "May I ask where the other two passages lead?"
"The second leads to the servants' quarters, the third is an escape route. The escape route has many turns, but I cannot elaborate further yet. Perhaps if you'd like, I can tell you more after I have finished attending to matters." Achilles replied.
"Alright. And when is that?" Briseis inquired.
"After dinner."
--
Briseis left the field quietly, leaving Achilles to train the soldiers. When she reached the Entrance Hall, she hid behind the tiny gate. Aretha was pacing in the entrance hall. When she stopped her pacing, her face seemed to light up, and smiling, she walked slowly back up the stairs to her room.
Briseis gave a sigh of relief and appeared from behind the tapestry. What was Aretha up to? It seemed like eternity before Aretha would return home.
--
After dinner, there was nothing for Briseis to do again, and she sat on the bed, pondering on what to do. Her gaze fell on a chair by the corner that resembled the dining hall's chair. She got up, suddenly having a craving for prunes. She did not know why. She used to dislike them.
Slowly, she opened the bedroom door, and turn left. She froze.
"Foul play?"
---
Sorry that I had to stop here because continuing would not make a good chapter ending...