Menelaus, the king of Sparta, stood at the head of the massive table that spanned the length of the hall lit by torches. Beside him sat his wife, Helen, the only one dressed in white and rumored to be the most beautiful woman on earth. Menelaus was already half drunk, but Helen has not touched the plates of delicious food in front of her.

The grand feast was in honor of Sparta's venerated guests - the children of the Trojan king. Hector sat at Menelaus' right hand, beside him sat Philana, and opposite the two sat Paris. Everyone in the banquet hall appeared to fully enjoy the feast except for Philana who truly felt out of place.

"We've had our conflicts before, it's true. We've fought many battles, Sparta and Troy, and fought well!" boomed Menelaus.

The crowd replied with drunken cheers, which sent shivers down Philana's spine. She wanted to leave the banquet hall and its drunkards as soon as possible. Sensing the young princess' unease, Hector held Philana's hand and gave her a small smile. Philana smiled back reluctantly.

"But I've always respected your father," continued Menelaus, addressing the Trojans. "Priam is a good man, a good king. I respected him as an adversary, and I respect him now as my ally."

Menelaus grabbed a goblet of wine and held it in midair. All, aside from Philana and Helen, followed suit.

"Young princess," said Menelaus as he offered Philana his goblet, "Come drink with us!"

Philana was about to answer when Hector lowered Menelaus' hand. Hector raised his own goblet and said, "To peace between Troy and Sparta!"

"May the gods keep the wolves in the hills and the women in our beds!" replied Menelaus. The king and princes drank deeply and slammed their empty cups on the table.

The musicians stroke up their instruments and servants roamed the hall filling goblets with wine. A handmaid led dozens of attractive young women into the banquet hall, which the drunken soldiers and the king enthusiastically welcomed.

Philana sighed and shook her head. She thought negotiations were honorable and proper, but what she's seeing is a horde of hungry animals craving for woman flesh.

Hector was about to comfort his silently suffering sister when Menelaus lifted the prince off his seat and grabbed him in a tight hug. For the first time that night, Philana laughed.

Menelaus held Hector's arm and said, "A strong arm. Thank the gods we made peace – I've seen too many of my men struck down by this arm."

"Never again, I hope," Hector replied.

Menelaus motioned to a beautiful young woman and said in Hector's ear, "You see that one over there? I picked her just for you. She's a lioness."

Hector lightly removed himself from Menelaus' grip and said, "My wife waits for me at home."

Menelaus glanced at Helen. "My wife waits for me here," he said in what he thought was a whisper, "but I do know how to enjoy myself."

Overcome with exasperation, Philana made a move to stand when Helen suddenly left her seat and briskly walked out of the hall. Menelaus didn't seem to notice. A few moments after, Paris excused himself from the generals he was talking to and headed for the door. Philana narrowed her eyes and watched as Paris headed to the same direction as Helen.

Philana slowly stood up and followed her brother. She discretely weaved her way through the crowd. As she reached the door, a strong hand held her shoulder. She looked around and saw it was Hector.

"I was just –" Philana began, but Hector shook his head and said, "Let us not draw attention to trouble tonight."

"Does it not bother you?" Philana asked, her voice slightly louder.

Hector bent down, looked Philana straight in the eye, his expression very stern. "Storming after Paris will do us no good," he said softly. He straightened up and said, "For now, we stay put." His usual gentle expression when talking to Philana returned to his face and he said, "How are you fairing this night?"

Philana could not express her goaded feelings with anything but a mocking grunt. Hector let out a sympathetic laugh, understanding how his sister felt.

"This is a joke, Hector," Philana said bitterly. "This whole kingdom is a circus. Look at them!" She gestured towards the drunken soldiers and generals openly molesting the eager young women. "And this is not the first time I've seen them this way."

Hector only shook his head as he gazed at the people around him. He said nothing, but Philana could see the agreement in Hector's eyes.

Not wanting to witness the revolting scene any longer, Philana pulled away from Hector's grip and left the banquet hall. Hector was torn between his duty as a prince to stay and be courteous and his duty as a brother to try and relieve at least one of his siblings of their qualms. After surveying the hall and deciding that no one will notice the disappearance of the Trojans, he followed his sister outside.

Philana stood by an arched window, staring at the billions of twinkling stars scattered across the dark sky. Hector walked towards her slowly and hugged her.

Philana turned to face Hector and saw the familiar knowing look he always has when she does not listen to him. "I want to leave this place," she said.

"Did I not tell you to stay behind?" Hector said failing to mask a sardonic tone.

Philana sighed in defeat and said, "Yes, you're never wrong."

Hector sensed a hint of sarcasm, but he just smiled. Philana hit Hector's arm. "Why did you not tell me how much I will hate these things?" she demanded.

"Because you never listen to your brother," Hector answered half jokingly. "I wanted you to learn a lesson. Now, you finally accept that I'm never wrong."

Philana hit Hector's arm again, clearly annoyed at how her brother is taking this so lightly.

"I don't see why Troy has to ally herself with a kingdom such as this," Philana said disdainfully. She cast a dirty look towards the doors of the banquet hall.

"Philana, watch your words," Hector said sternly. "You should not speak of what you do not know."

"We have been here for three months," Philana answered with equal firmness. "What have they shown us aside from drunkenness and savagery? They will leap at any woman that stands still and drink anything that is poured into their filthy goblets. They treat servants like one would treat a workhorse. Yes, they may be useful with swords in their hands and shields stuck to their arms but they sure lack the necessary intellect that go into battle. They only agreed to this alliance because of fear. They know the next time Troy attacks, Sparta will lose, and it will be the same every time until Sparta finally falls. They will do nothing but use Troy as a defense. We're nothing but their defense."

Philana said her last line with such spite that Hector was taken aback. He never knew that this was what Philana had been thinking about for the past three months. All her somber moments and arrogant behavior finally made sense.

Hector opened his mouth to disagree, but thought the better of it. Try as he may, he cannot deny the fact that part of what Philana said was right. He knew Sparta was using Troy, but peace due to fear was better than any kind of war.

Hector just sighed and put an arm around Philana's shoulder. "Dear sister, you are much too young to worry about these things. You should never have come."

"But I am already here," Philana said sourly.

Hector smiled. His sister's passion amuses him. "I do understand everything that you say," he said gently, "but you must also understand that this is for Troy. We must protect her, at whatever cause and for whatever reason."

"You mistake gallantry for stupidity," Philana said cynically.

"You mistake wisdom for mere sharpness of tongue," Hector answered fiercely, his strong voice echoing through the empty hallway.

Philana was stunned. Hector has never yelled at her before. Philana quickly spun around and headed straight to her sleeping chambers before Hector could stop her. She heard Hector call her several times, and he even attempted to follow her, but she never looked back. When she reached her room, she went through the doorway and harshly closed the wooden door.


I hope you liked it!