Chapter Six
I opened my eyes as I felt the soft breeze from the morning inside the tent.
I felt it caressing my hair--or wasn´t it the breeze? I felt too the human touch and turned to see it was Odysseus hand but this time that made me feel good. Nevertheless I didn´t like what I saw on her face--
I had a headache, it was like a hammer hiting my head. I felt too that I had a new wound on my lip.
I tried remembering what had happened but it was all very confusing.
I remembered arriving to my city and going into, and my conversation with Achilles and those men. It seemed like it was just a moment ago when they ordered my friends to come back to the tents and--I think they hit me and made me fall unconscious because I can´t remember anymore.
I looked at Odysseus again, he seemed to be afraid of something but why?
I tried to get up and he helped me, then he sat in front o me.
He looked away and explained why he was like that. I was going to be punished for what I had done the night before. The punishment was twenty whip strokes.
I couldn´t hide my fear when I heard it. I hadn´t been treated like that before and now thery were going to hit me like an animal.
My first reaction was trying to run away. It was my instict and I went out of the tent.
But Odysseus went after me and grabbed my arm strongly. Anyway I couldn´t have gone far.
I looked around me, they were all out of their tents and they seemed to wait for something or someone, they were waiting for me--
I wanted to scream, I wanted to run, I saw the face of my friends who seemed very frightened. They were asking for my pardon but the warriors threatened them with being punished too if they didn´t shut up.
Then I saw the man who hit me the night before, he was going to punish me.
But who was the boy near him? He wasn´t a warrior, he was one of the prisoners, one of us, a troyan, but I didn´t know his name. Anyway he was near the man and refused to look at me.
The warrior ordered me to go where he was and the others made a circle around him.
I disn´t know what to do but Odysseus agreed and took my hand to go with him.
I was trapped, nobody was going to help me, neither my lord who had always been at my side when I needed him. Now he wasn´t going to help me.
I felt tears running down my face, I couldn´t do anything, they were going to stroke me.
We were four steps away from the man when I saw the whip, I had seen them stroking horses with that. They were going to use that over me.
I couldn´t help it, the fear was inside me and I turned and tried to run away again but Odysseus was grabbing me. I heard some laughs but I didn´t care, I had to go, I was not so strong, they would kill me with that thing.
I looked at my lord and I begged, tears over my eyes, I asked for some help.
"I´m sorry" he whispered. But I felt it was truth. There were tears over his eyes too and I felt anguish in his voice.
"Why?" I asked for the reason why he let them do that to me.
"I can´t do anything,I wish I could, but you must be punished, there are some rules" he said softly, he embraced me although they were all looking at us "I´m so sorry Arish" he repeated.
I agreed and looked down as I heard the man ordering me to go near him again.
When I looked up to go with him I felt a hand over my shoulder. "Achilles--" I whispered surprised when I saw him.
"Just don´t let him hear you cry, he would enjoy it. Be strong Arish, I know you are, and the gods can be proud of you" he told me. I smiled. I thanked his words because I thought he hated me. Then I walked near the warrior who waited for me.
When I arrived at his side I looked at the young boy again. Odysseus and Achilles were just in front of me but some steps away. Then I felt the boy was nervous.
"I suppose you would be asking yourself about this boy" the man said. "Well, Arish, meet Ecletus, he was afraid of your security you see and he told me about your plans so whe could help you before somebody get hurt."
So he was the one who betrayed us- I thought. Damned boy, why should he help the greeks instead os us? I couldn´t understand it.
But the boy didn´t look at me.
"Damn you" I whispered "What now? you are not brave enough to look at me but you were brave enough to betray your friends?
Ecletus didn´t answer.
"You stupid! tell me!" I shouted while I grabbed his neck, but they push me away.
"They have won" the boy said "you´d better stay at their side"
"Clever idea" the man smiled
"You coward!" I shouted angrily "we would have got it!"
"They would have trapped us and now they would punish all of us instead of only you" the boy said.
I couldn´t help it an hit him on his face, I would have killed him if they had let me.
But this time they took me to the center of the circle so everybody could look at me. The other prisoners were near me too.
I looked at Odysseus, in front of me, I knew he didn´t want to see what they were going to do with me but he had to because I was his slave. Achilles was near him.
Some warriors put my dress away to show my back, then they made me kneel and put my body over a stone, face down.
I felt the first stroke.
The pain ran over my back as I haven´t feel it before. I felt the heat and my chest near the cold stone that hurt me too.
But I didn´t scream, I couldn´t, the pain was horrible.
I felt my tears again.
And there were nineteen left.
The second stroke was worst than the first, that one hurt a lot. I felt the blood running down my back. I shouted this time. I looked at Achilles, I was sorry but I couldn´t help it although he had told me not to cry. But he didn´t seem angry. Anyway I wouldn´t shout again.
I had to bit my lip at the third stroke not to shout. I didn´t think it could be any worse but it was. I felt too much blood running down. My back hurt a lot and tears were all over my face.
When the next stroke came I wanted to die. I cried in pain as a baby, I damned myself for that but couldn´t help it. The stone was hurting me too.
I think I begged him to stop them although they didn´t do it. They stroked me again, the fifth, the sixth and the seventh. I can´t remember when I felt unconscious but I thought I was going to die.
I think I heard Odysseus ordering them to stop, or it was Achilles? anyway they didn´t do it and I thought I would die because of the pain.
-------------
--That´s all by know, I will write Achilles or Odysseus POV on the next chapter. Tell me if you liked this one and what do you wanted me to write on the next.--
--Review please!!--
