Chapter 3: Buying the Jewel of Troy
Achilles let Briseis sleep while he went down to see Agamemnon. He hated the man, and now that he saw what he did to Briseis, he hated him even more. When he knocked on the door, Adara opened the door in tears. "Adara, is Agamemnon present?" He asked. Adara opened the door wider and as Achilles walked into the room he had Adara quickly go down to see Briseis. He entered the room to see Agamemnon sitting in a chair near the window.
"Achilles, how can I help you?" He asked
"I would like to buy one of your dancers," Achilles replied.
"Ah! Which one, Adara, Charissa, Damara, Eleanor, Georgia, Helena, Irene, Jacinda, or Karen?"
Achilles noticed that he skipped over Briseis. "No, I would like to buy Briseis," he answered. He threw a few pieces of gold onto the table. Agamemnon looked over the pieces of gold and chuckled.
"A few mangy pieces of gold will convince me to give her over to you?" He asked.
"I'll give you even more as soon as you hand Briseis over to me," Achilles answered.
Agamemnon sighed and clapped his hands and the doors opened. Briseis was dragged into the room with tears in her eyes. She looked horrible, he could tell that they had touched her. Her dress that he gave her was torn and her hair was a mess. "Briseis!" He gasped. Briseis lowered her head in tears.
"Yes, Achilles, you look upon the once Jewel of Troy. I took her when she was young and I made her into a beautiful slave dancer that every man would want. Did you not enjoy her presence last night?" Agamemnon asked.
Achilles was about to answer when Briseis spoke up. "He didn't touch me last night, my lord. He took care of me instead. He treated me like a woman. That is what I am after all. I am a woman," she snapped. Agamemnon got up from his chair and walked over to Briseis. He raised his hand and she winced when she felt his hand go across her face. Achilles saw that Agamemnon threatened to strike her again and stood in front of her.
"Don't touch her," he snapped.
"She is still my slave and I can touch her anyway I want and however I want to touch her," Agamemnon snapped right back.
Achilles looked at Briseis to see the tears in her eyes. "Let her go, gentlemen. The Trojan whore belongs to Achilles now," Agamemnon ordered. The soldiers threw Briseis into Achilles' arms. "Enjoy her company, Achilles. You can't predict what a Trojan whore would do," he taunted. Achilles picked her up and carried her out of the kingdom.
Briseis closed her eyes tight as they rode through the town. When they finally stopped, she opened her eyes and they were standing before a beautiful home. "This is my home, welcome to it, Briseis," he sighed. He got out of the chariot and picked her up. "It's okay," he whispered. Briseis finally was able to cry. Those men were all over her and she had no way of stopping them. She curled up against Achilles and cried as hard as she could. He tried to hush her as he carried her through the house. "My lord, would you be needing anything for the girl?" A woman asked.
"Yes, Agneta, please bring clothes and food up to my room. I'll be in there, make sure no one disturbs me," Achilles ordered.
"Yes, milord," she answered.
Achilles continued on his way upstairs and nodded to the servants that were greeting him.
When he came to his room, he placed a sleeping Briseis onto his bed and stroked her hair. She was beautiful. A very beautiful woman. He remembered his mother telling him stories about the Jewel of Troy, then all of a sudden, the stories disappeared and it seemed like that the Jewel of Troy had disappeared. He looked at Briseis, now he was looking at the woman that was the Jewel of Troy. There was a knock on the door and Achilles went to open it. Agneta stood there with a gentle smile. "Agneta, please come in," he inquired. Ademia bowed and entered the room. She gasped slightly when she saw Briseis on the bed. Achilles had her stay quiet before having her set the stuff down on a table nearby.
"Where did she come from?" She asked.
"Well, from the home she belonged to just over an hour ago or where she originally came from?" He asked.
"Both," she answered.
"I just bought her from Agamemnon and she was once a Princess of Troy, she was taken from it when she was seventeen."
"The Jewel of Troy."
"Yes."
Agneta also heard the stories, but being a girl of sixteen, she heard the stories of her since she was a young girl, then she became suspicious when the stories stopped. "I'll leave you alone, milord," she whispered. Achilles grabbed her wrist before she could go far.
"Agneta, no one should know that I have rescued the Jewel of Troy. Don't tell anyone in this house or anyone that you meet about her. I plan to take her home as soon as Agamemnon forgets that she ever existed in his household. It'll be quite a few months, but it'll pass. Please, Agneta, don't tell anyone that I have her," he whispered.
"Your secret is safe with me, milord. You have known me since I was a young girl, you should know that I have kept every secret you have given me," she answered.
Achilles smiled and kissed her cheek. "Thank you," he sighed. Agneta bowed and hurried out of the room.
Briseis woke up and saw that Achilles was nowhere in sight. She then looked over at her side to see a beautiful dress and some food. She pulled the dress on and began to brush her long dark hair out. She sighed at the thought of actually going home. She had to repay Achilles somehow, but she didn't know how. Briseis pushed the thought away and then she looked at the food someone brought her. She began to eat when the door opened. She stood up and spun around to see a young girl maybe around sixteen standing there.
She had waist-length light brown hair, green eyes, she was wearing brown sandals, and a blue dress.
"May I help you?" Briseis asked. The girl walked over with a gentle smile. She curtsied to Briseis before answering.
"I am Agneta, daughter of Arsen. You must be Briseis, niece of King Priam," the girl answered.
"Yes, I am Briseis, um...where am I?" Briseis asked.
"You are in the house of Achilles. You seemed very upset when my master brought you inside, your cried yourself to sleep and I was told to bring you clothes and food."
"You're a slave?"
"Well....no. I mean my parents were killed by robbers when I was very young. Achilles found me running around when I six and he took me in. During the past ten years, I have been living in this place. I know that people say that Achilles is a mighty warrior that cares about no one but himself, but those stories aren't true. He is a very kind man. He took care of me when I was found, protected me. He became like a brother to me. His mother, Thetis, was like a mother to me. I even got to know his cousin, Patroclus. His whole family is kind and I love staying in this family, even if I did miss my parents."
Briseis saw that the girl was very happy staying in this place. "What about your freedom?" She asked.
"I'm allowed to go whenever I please. I normally just go to see Thetis at least once a week. You should meet her someday, she is a very kind lady," Agneta mentioned.
Briseis smiled to see the girl's eagerness of her meeting this "Thetis" woman. Achilles then entered the room with a gentle smile. "You can go now, Agneta," he told her. Agneta stood up with a smile.
"I'll see you later this afternoon, Achilles," she sighed.
She kissed Achilles on the cheek before hurrying out of the room. Achilles chuckled and looked over at Briseis. "She is a very kind girl," she commented.
"Yes, she is. She's like a sister I never had. She was found running around the city, the poor girl was starving and cold. She barely had clothes to keep herself alive. She had no family to go to. I felt sorry for the girl so I took her home, but I didn't expect to love her like my own sister or my mother to love her like a daughter. Agneta needed a family and a family is what she got," he explained.
Achilles then sat next to Briseis. "What was your family like before Agamemnon took you from home?" He asked. Briseis smiled at the thought.
"Priam is a kind man, he took me in after my family was killed. He loves his country just as much as he loves his sons and me. Hector, I suppose he'd be married to Andromache by now. He's a strong warrior and a loving brother to his brother, Paris. Well, what is there to say about Paris? There's nothing much to say, he's always on the lookout for true love," she answered.
Achilles could see that Briseis missed her family so much that she started to cry again. "I just wish I could see them again. I really do miss them," she sobbed.
"I know you do, and I promised to get you home," he vowed.
Briseis nodded before they left the room.
AN: Do you like it so far? Should I keep going?
