Celebwen Telcontar: A new chapter in Queen of Kings. Now, you'll get to witness the birth of the Princess of Kings!
Balrog: And I wanted to?
Celebwen Telcontar: Balrog! Be nice! Please review, people.
Briseis' eyes narrowed and she stood tall in the chariot. Eudorus held the reins to Enyo and Areia, and as the two black mares catapulted forward, she stared at the Mycenaean's that were arrayed before her. Clytemnestra was standing in the back, she was sure, and Agamemnon's son, Orestes, was in the front of the lines, being driven in his chariot by his charioteer.
"Drive to him; make him stop and parley with us."
"What do you want, woman?" Orestes asked, ridicule in his voice.
"I have come for your lands. As your father wanted to rule all of Greece, I, as the woman who brought him to the Boatman, if he ever got there, wish to own his lands. I will not leave until this land is mine."
"With a mob of Ithacans and Myrmidons?" Orestes laughed. Enyo looked back at Eudorus, as did her sister.
"No," he said, his voice brooking no argument. Both horses sounded defeated when they sighed. Orestes looked at the mares.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think your horses were trying to rule your men for you!" the pompous king's son sneered.
"They're smarter than you think, child," Briseis said, contempt in her voice.
"Turn about," Orestes said abruptly. His charioteer wheeled the horses and drove back to the lines, where the king cried out: "Charge! Wipe these miserable idiots off of our lands!" Briseis cried her own charge, gripped her spear, and let it fly as Orestes came into range.
Her spear went right through his solar plexus, knocking him off of the chariot and into the dirt. He spat up some blood as the Myrmidons and Ithacans, led by Odysseus, charged and easily routed the now leaderless Mycenaean's, most of which joined up with the Ithacans and Myrmidons. It was only a matter of time now before all of Greece was under her control.
As Briseis came into the throne room, her abdomen gave a sharp twitch.
"What the!" she muttered, confused and angry as to why her body was doing things she didn't want it to. She had been ill, then she started eating more than she was used to, now she was getting fat and her abdomen was coming to life! Why wouldn't her body obey her as her men did?
Suddenly, she drew in a sharp breath. Andromache, when she had been expecting Astyanax, had the same things done to her. She also blew up like a pig's bladder when used as a toy for youngsters. Come to think of it, Andromache had lost her monthly bleeding when she was pregnant. Briseis hadn't had her bleeding in about five months. Everything added up. She was pregnant. With Achilles' child. She put her head in her hands.
"What am I going to do?" she whispered to no one as she sank onto the Lion Throne. She was terrified. Men, she could handle. Soldiers, she could command. A sword and spear, she was expert with. A shield she could use as easily as breathing. But she could not handle children. She had no idea how to deal with them. Frankly, they were the only force in the world that scared her. Put her in front of a battalion of armed men, and she would fight fearlessly until her last breath was dragged from her body. Put her in front of a green soldier, and she could teach him how to fight and defend himself. Put her in front of a child, and she would all but flee. There was no order to them. They didn't have a schedule, or a way to shut them off when they were screaming senselessly. They had to be carried around everywhere.
"My Lady?" Odysseus said.
"Odysseus, no 'My Lady's' or other crap around me, please."
"Briseis?"
"Yes?" Thank the gods, someone to take my mind off of the child!
"It seems to me that you need some assistance. My wife, in Ithaca, would be happy to help you. She's been through pregnancy before. Even if only once."
"I am indebted to you, Odysseus! Thank you!" The Ithacan king bowed and she was sure she saw a slight smile on his face. Her stomach lurched, and she looked around to find Eudorus with a pot in his hand tactfully holding it out to her. She took it, and used it to empty the contents of her stomach, as was her want nowadays with the child.
What am I going to do? she thought, trying in vain to keep her scattered thoughts from fleeing.
Achilles looked down at Briseis.
"She's pregnant?" a voice asked. He turned to find Hector.
"I believe so."
"Oh, no. Oh, no."
"What?"
"She can't handle children. Doesn't know the first thing about them."
"Didn't you have a son?"
"Yes, Astyanax. But when Briseis first held him, she nearly dropped him. She nearly had a nervous breakdown when he wouldn't stop crying. Andromache had to take him from her because she was literally terrified of my son."
"Oh, Gods," Achilles muttered in horror. He saw her put her head in her hands.
"She needs to get rid of her one fear, children. Having a child will definitely aid her overcoming that particular fear."
"Or kill the child," Priam's voice called form the "doorway". Achilles glanced at the Trojan king, and said simply:
"I refuse to believe that. My child will grow—"
"You can't be a father!" Hector laughed. "You're dead!"
"I can watch my child grow! So what if I can't interact with him?"
"Or her?" Priam said. "Don't forget that having a child can mean either having a son or a daughter?"
"And if it is a daughter I will love her just as much as if she were a son."
He looked into the fire, and saw Briseis walking into the stable, where Eudorus was grooming Enyo and Areia.
Enyes, Enyo's colt, was nursing at his mother's side, and came to head butt Briseis, whickering his happiness. Enyo walked over and whinnied, whuffing into her hair. Eudorus patted Enyo's neck and turned to Areia.
"They're comforting her, better than anyone else can," Hector said in wonder. "I've never seen horses so loyal to one person as them."
"I do hope Enyo didn't pass her eating habbits to her colt," Priam said emphatically. "We don't need another killer horse."
"He'll be as good a warrior as his dam if he is," Achilles said.
"And as useful. I've never seen a more useful pair of horses in warfare as those two mares. Did you see how they ripped apart the Thessalean army?"
"I did, King."
"Please, call me Priam. I didn't have anything to do with that blasted war, and since we're both looking at the same woman, hoping she succeeds, I think we should be a name basis?" Priam said.
"Alright then, Priam."
Briseis ground her teeth as the pain washed over her. It was not as painful as a spear in the leg, but it was very excruciating. Enyo and Areia looked over her, worried, as the midwife encouraged the Queen of Kings to push again. Enyo snorted, and Areia nuzzled her.
"Come on, Highness. Just one more; I can see the head." Briseis took a deep breath, held it, and pushed with all her might. She felt a tear, and cried out with the pain, and Enyo caught her as she was about to fall. "One more, for the body, and then another for the afterbirth." Briseis felt the midwife reach in and grab the baby's shoulders. She pushed, and felt the baby's body slide out, followed by an excruciating shove as the placenta followed.
The Queen of Kings collapsed on the birthing couch, and was handed the baby girl. She was screaming and flailing her tiny red fists, and Enyo summoned up a disgruntaled snort as the baby kicked her in the nose with her flailing legs.
"Highness, put her to your breast. She needs to eat!" the midwife said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Briseis did, and she felt the pain as the baby latched onto the nipple and began to suckle. Warmth washed out from Briseis' chest as she looked at the baby.
"Theogone," she whispered. "My little Theogone. What am I going to do with you?"
"Raise her!" the midwife cried.
"What is happening to me? What did you do to me, little one? Eh, Theogone?" Briseis felt like she would want to keep her daughter safe, no matter what.
"It's the maternal instinct, Highness," the midwife said, almost laughing. Apparently, she had never seen a woman so frightened and confused of her child that she was nearly laughing. Briseis glared at her.
Celebwen Telcontar: How was that chapter?
Balrog: Not all that bad, but it could be better.
Celebwen Telcontar: Silence. Please leave a nice juicy review, people! Next chapter will have a bit of a time jump in it!