5. To err mortal to forgive divine.

The sun was setting, casting beautiful colours across the sky. Apollo was going back to his palace, sans a resentful, annoying, betrothed. 'Lucky bastard.' Hector thought. His hair was unbound by clips again, blowing across his neck and face, simply from laziness and nonchalance on his part, and he wore a short, loose, black, chiton with golden embroidery. Yesterday she wouldn't speak to him or even look at him. He had wanted to break her neck. He was still annoyed, oddly enough about her jumping overboard. Normally he calmed easily, and it had been almost a week ago to the day but she had seriously riled him up. He had never, ever shaken a woman like that. Granted he had never lost his temper with one before, but still. She had been unreasonable, yes, but he was at least twice her size. He couldn't believe that he was still thinking about it. In retrospect, it had been her fault sort of. What in the name of Hades was she doing jumping off the side of the ship!

'Trying to get away from you.'

'What do you want?'

'You shouldn't have shaken her so hard.'

'She was being so difficult!'

'She is allowed to be difficult she's alone in this world now.'

'If she would stop trying to kill me, I wouldn't have to be so harsh with her.'

'She is weaker than you! Her wrist is half the size of yours!'

'Shut up.'

'And you broke your word.'

'What word? I made no promise!'

'You said 'I'll take you back.' 'Will' is a promise and you know it.'

'I had no choice.'

'You were wrong Hector.'

'She would have died if I didn't.'

'You lied. Loopholes and double standards mean nothing here. You lied.'

'Leave me alone. I'm going crazy already as it is without you.'

'She's hurting. You need to make her feel safe.'

'How?'

'Do I have to do everything for you?'

Hector growled underneath his breath and shook his head bracing his body with his hands on the railing. How the hell did he make her feel safe, she was resolved to drive him mad. It had been a week since they had set sail and still she was reticent and hardheaded. They didn't so much talk as spar and argue, and the fact that he had to share chambers with her wasn't helping matters at all.

"My lord, Hector." He heard Eliod say and he turned to see him standing with Andromache. Even though she had pinned back part of her hair the wind was blowing the rest of it across her body and face, the setting sun casting a golden glow about her. She was wearing a long, flowing peplos in mixed colours of red and brown and dark taupe with golden fibulae. For once she didn't seem angry with him but the fire was still in her eyes, the passion that drove her. He hadn't really taken time to notice the positively golden hue of her skin, and with the slight tan that the sun had given her she looked like Demeter.

'She is rather beautiful isn't she?'

'Yes well so are sirens and look at what happens with them.'

'Be quiet.'

'Likewise.'

Hector nodded to him and fixed his eyes on her waiting for her to speak. She looked down, probably the first sign of nervousness that he had seen since they had left Thebes and then took a couple steps toward him.

"Prince Hector." She said before seemingly gathering her courage and raising her head to look him in the eyes.

"Princess Andromache." He replied.

"Um... supper is ready." She muttered and he raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked, thoroughly shocked.

"Dinner. Will you dine with me?" she replied, more loudly this time. He just stared at her. She wasn't attacking him, or being sarcastic...rather she was attempting to be pleasant, genuinely pleasant. It was an odd yet welcome change and it had his stomach contracting and his hands itching for his hair again for the first time since he had met her.

"Of course Princess." He replied. She smiled at him then, a small smile but a real one, and his heart all but stopped. She really was a goddess was all that he could think as she walked back down below decks. He followed her slowly, somehow still on edge waiting for a knife in the throat, or a bucket of pigs blood to fall on his head, or something, some prank to make him relax but nothing came; only the scent of sandalwood incense and the soft glow of candles, and Andromache waiting for him to sit down with her. He complied, sitting across from her and she began to serve them both.

"Would you think me rude if I asked you who you were?" he asked watching her long slender hands distribute fruit and meat and cheese. She smiled again, a bit sheepishly and bit her lip as she poured some wine for him.

"No." she replied. He nodded silently as she served herself and drank some wine as if to reassure herself.

"Who are you and where is the woman I am betrothed to?" he asked. She grinned a bit and then looked up at him.

"I've been behaving very badly haven't I?" she said.

"We both have." He replied. She shrugged and drank some more wine. So, she does have a nervous habit then. He thought to himself.

"I am sorry for hitting you." She whispered. He smiled at that.

"No you're not." He replied. She winced and tried not to smile but ended up laughing instead. It was a glorious sound that warmed and ....stirred his heart, and made her seem more of flesh and blood than of ice and stone.

"You're right I'm not. Is it wicked of me?"

"No it's not at all, it's expected rather. You were angry, I understand that."

"You didn't deserve my anger." She said.

"All husbands deserve their wife's anger at some point in time." He said. She chuckled at that and nodded.

"Perhaps." She replied biting her lip. Another one... he noted. His eyes dropped down to her wrists and saw the faint discolouration there. She followed his eyes and saw what had caught his attention. "They didn't even hurt much." She said trying to put his mind at ease, but he saw the other marks on her arms and waves of self disgust flooded his throat.

"I'm sorry."

"I know that you are." She replied.

"I had no right to do that." he said roughly. She smiled a bit sadly.

"You saved me from myself." She replied turning her hands to take his in hers. "It's alright."

"No," he said firmly. "it's not. It won't happen again."

"I feel that it will." She said.

"You think that I am like that? Do you think that I would ever deliberately harm you in anyway?" he asked, strangely hurt that she would think that.

"No." she replied shaking her head. "I don't believe that you are a violent man by nature, but I can be a trial whenever I am in one of my moods." He raised his eyebrows at that and nodded.

"You noticed that eh?" he asked. She smiled and nodded pulling her hands from his.

"Arimedes always told me that I was enough to drive a man to drink." She said. He laughed at that and nodded as he started to eat.

"Indeed."

"I...I wanted you to know that I would try." She said. His eyes flew up to hers his hands pausing. "I promise nothing but... I will try, as you asked me to, because it's only fair. After all, you are willing to, and you're a good man I think, and... you deserve to be loved." He smiled gently and nodded.

"Thank you." He replied.

"You can start by calling me Hector." She smiled and nodded.

"Of course my lord." She said, a spark of mischief in her eyes.

"Wench." He muttered and she laughed. They spent the rest of the dinner in comfortable and contented silence. The ice was not only broken, but melted and it wasn't until he had gone to bed that he noticed that with her, he hadn't been nervous at all, not really.