Notes: PARIS ARRIVES!!!! YAY!!!! Ok, sorry this has taken so long, updates will most likely be every few weeks now (ah, the blissful, so-not-busy days of summer.) And they'll be even longer since I'm updating Daughter of Troy at the same time as this one. Enjoy!

I can remember the day I first met Paris as though it was yesterday. Some memories never dim, never grow old, and this is one of them. As though branded into my mind, it never fades…

"Polydora, is everything prepared for the princes?" I asked her. She nodded.

"Their ship has been sighted, Menelaus just left."

"Do not serve the food until they have arrived at the palace, it will grow cold otherwise," I said, tiredly leaning back on my pillows. "And I do not wish to be disturbed."

She bowed and quietly left the room, and I was left to myself for the next hour. When the servant girl came with Menelaus' bidding, I did not bother to reply. I wordlessly rose from my bed and followed her to the private chamber where they were dining. I signaled to the guards to be silent and I quietly opened the door myself.

"You did not set a place for yourself," Menelaus said, turning his head to look at me. One of the princes had his back turned to me, the other was studying the far wall and did not hear me enter.

"I am not inclined to dine tonight, the preparations left me weary," I answered. At my voice, both the princes spun around, but I paid no attention to them.

"It is my desire that you dine with us tonight," Menelaus said, his eyes speaking words. I did not answer for the longest time, staring dully into the eyes of the man who was my husband.

I knew I'd not win this battle, nor did I care. I bowed my head mockingly and slipped into the room to make my introduction and sit through another long evening of men acting as though they were beasts.

"Princes Hector and Paris, I present my wife, Queen Helen," Menelaus said. I looked up and locked eyes with the man who was clearly Hector. Shock was registered in his eyes, but he was an honest man, that much was obvious. I smiled at him as he addressed me then turned to the younger prince.

My heart skipped a beat.

To this day, I cannot describe what I felt at that moment. It was the same feeling I had when I was with child, though different in a way. I could not speak, breathe, or even think as I stared into his eyes. They were brown, a deep, dark brown like the coat of a shining stallion. His eyes were probing into mine, and I felt as though he was staring into the depths of my soul.

But oddly enough, I didn't mind.

His voice shook me out of my thoughts and I smiled and nodded at him before taking my seat. I did not look at him for the entire meal, certain Menelaus would see and notice. A rational person would point out that I'd done nothing wrong, but my heart knew otherwise. My cheeks were flushed and I felt faint, as though the room had not been aired properly.

I was both relieved and crushed when the princes finally said goodnight.

When they left Menelaus turned to me and I forced my face to stay neutral. I was petrified of the words that would come out of his mouth, somehow knowing that he knew what I'd felt when I'd looked into Paris' eyes.

"They stay for seven days, then depart the following morning. Make sure the feast is ready by then," was all he said.

I breathed out a sigh of release. "It will be so," I said, standing up. "I bid you goodnight."

I had planned to return to the sanctuary of my own room, but instead I went into the gardens. There was a part that was forbidden, set aside for myself only. It was by far the most beautiful part of the gardens. I'd overseen its growth and imported exotic plants to create my haven. It was a small taste of paradise; a pure, lovely area surrounded by wickedness and greed.

I went over to the lily pool and scooped up a flower, resting it in my hands. The water was still warm from the heat of the day, but the lily had stayed fresh, floating in the water. I peered down at my reflection, wavering in the ripples. The moonlight was casting a glow about my head, and my reflection still held that same beauty that I did not possess. I quickly stood up, throwing the lily back into the pool. I hated my reflection.

"The lilies are not to your liking?" a mocking voice asked me, and I spun around.

"Prince Paris!" I gasped, quickly gathering my wits. "I am just not in the mood for flowers," I answered coolly.

"And what are you in the mood for?" he answered.

"I do not believe you are one of those I shall privilege with that information," I said, arching an eyebrow.

"Then who will get the privilege?" he asked, coming to sit by the edge of the pool and gently pulling my wrist so I joined him.

"None other than myself."

"Have you so few friends in whom to confide?"

"I have no friends, nor do I need them."

"Everyone needs a friend."

"Then you have many, I suppose?" I retorted. His probing questions should have made me angry, but they didn't.

"A few close friends."

"A friend is different than a lover," I pointed out, knowing very well that with his good looks and charm he must have many women fall in love with him. I myself was not immune to him, though I'd never admit it.

"And a wife is different than a slave," he answered gently. I was stunned into silence. Is it that obvious?

He stared at me for a few moments, then turned to scan the garden. "I must admit, I was not so impressed with your gardens when I first arrived, but now I'm finding them to grow more lovely the more a person explores them."

"You'll not find a more beautiful area, this is my private garden," I answered, gazing around the high walls framed by flowers and ivy.

"I am in a forbidden area?" he clarified.

"You are," I answered leisurely, both of us knowing I'd not make him leave.

His hand lightly brushed my cheek. "Good."

"Why?" I neither resented his touch nor welcomed it. Truth be told, it was awakening feelings in me that I'd not felt my whole life, but I quickly crushed them and locked them safely behind the stone walls of my heart. No good would come from loving.

"A forbidden thing is more beautiful just for that reason," he told me.

"But it is still forbidden, making it unattainable," I replied.

"Nothing is ever unattainable, simply farther out of reach than regular objects. And this forbidden garden is purer than others of its kind, simply because it is untouched."

"This garden is not untouched, nor pure." We both knew it was not the garden of which we spoke.

"There you are mistaken, Queen Helen," he said, standing up. "This garden is a pure and untarnished, simply because it has never been properly tended." He plucked a white flower from a nearby tree and handed it to me. "Its petals are beginning to wilt, because it has not received the nourishment it should have. A little bit of care and it would be spotless again. I bid you goodnight," he finished, bowing to me and quietly slipping out of the garden.

I remained there for hours, tenderly gazing at that flower which held so much meaning. Its silken petals stood out white against my soft hands. It was in the earliest stages of blooming, its petals hesitantly opening to welcome in the warm rays of the sun.

My walls were beginning to crumble.