Chapter 7: One Year Later
Briseis watched as Hector and Paris got ready to leave Troy to got to Sparta to make peace with King Menelaus. "We'll be back in a week," Hector informed. Briseis hugged her cousin with a sigh then she watched as he hugged Andromache and kissed the top of his son's head. Paris walked over to her and hugged her as well.
"Stay safe," she whispered.
Paris pulled away and touched her cheek. "We'll be just fine, we'll see you in a week," he assured. He kissed her cheek before getting on the ship with Hector. Priam placed a hand on her shoulder and watched as their ship sailed off.
"They'll be all right," Priam assured.
"I know, I just can't help but feel that something terrible will happen," she sighed.
Priam smiled before they went back to the city.
Briseis was lying on her bed thinking of Achilles, she missed him. She was happy to be home, but she missed him. She heard a knock on her door and sat up. "Come in," she answered. Andromache came into the room with a smile. "Andromache, is there something you needed?" She asked. Her cousin's wife sat on the edge of her bed and held onto her hand.
"Briseis, did you ever wish to fall in love and getting married?" She asked.
"Of course I do," Briseis replied.
Andromache nodded before standing up. "What about children?" She asked.
"Children, I would love to have children to call my own. I just haven't found the right guy yet," Briseis lied.
She had found the right man to have her children with, but the problem was that he lived in Greece, she lived in Troy. A Greek warrior and a Trojan Princess just wouldn't please her people. Many men sought for her hand in marriage, but she refused to marry the men that proposed. Half of the men she never even saw before. Andromache left her room and Briseis went back into her thoughts.
A week passed and Briseis was getting dressed to welcome her cousins back to Troy. She placed her tiara on her head and went to greet them.
When she came downstairs, she saw Paris being greeted by their people. "Paris!" She gasped.
"Briseis," he chuckled.
He kissed her cheek with a smile. "Dear cousin, you grow more beautiful each time the moon rises," he complimented. Hector came over and kissed Briseis on the cheek. Priam came over with a smile.
"Our beloved Briseis has decided to become a priestess," he informed.
He kissed Briseis' forehead with a gentle smile. "Briseis, I want you to meet someone. Briseis, meet Helen of Troy," Paris informed. Briseis gasped and stepped back.
"The Queen of Sparta," she whispered.
Helen held onto Paris' hand and looked at Hector. She excused herself from the couple and walked over to Hector. "How could you have allowed him to bring her here?" She demanded.
"Paris was going to go back to Sparta with her. I'm not going to allow my brother to die over a woman," he replied.
"Menelaus will want a war to get his wife back, you know it."
"I know that, cousin. I can't stop my brother anymore than you can."
Hector left and left the young woman alone.
That night, Briseis was brushing her hair when her thoughts went back to Achilles once again. She shook the thoughts away. "I cannot think about him now. I am to be a priestess," she whispered to herself. She then placed her brush onto her table and stood up from the chair. She climbed into bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Achilles on the other hand was practicing sword fighting skills with Patroclus. Odysseus, his best friend, came to ask him to fight for Agamemnon. Achilles didn't want to fight, he had locked his heart away since he took Briseis back to Troy. He wanted to see her again, his heart ached for the young princess of Troy, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to see her again, even if he did fight for Agamemnon. Odysseus tried to get him to go, but Achilles refused. "I'll think about it," he sighed. When Odysseus left, Achilles decided to see his mother.
Thetis was picking seashells up from the water when Achilles came to see her. "I know they have come to get you to fight for Troy. If you stay here, you would meet a wonderful woman and you'll have children then they would have children. When they die, your name would be forgotten. If you go to Troy glory will be yours. They'll be writing stories about your victories. The world will remember your name. If you do go to Troy, you can never come home," she explained. She touched his face with sadness in her eyes. Achilles held onto his mother's hands with a sigh.
"Mother, I already met a wonderful woman, but I can never see her again," he sighed.
"I know of whom you are speaking of. Do not play with fate, my son."
She then walked away and left her son alone to think. Achilles sighed and thought about the two things he must choose from. The thought of never seeing his mother or Agneta again bothered him greatly. He made his decision, he was going to Troy.
Agneta came into Achilles' room to find him getting his armor on. "So, it's true, you are leaving," she whispered. Achilles looked at her and sighed sadly.
"Yes, I am leaving," he answered.
Tears were falling from her eyes and walked over to him. "Achilles, please don't go. Please don't leave Phtia. Stay here where it is safe," she begged.
"I can't do that, Agneta. I have to go, I must fight," he answered.
He held onto her hands and smiled at her. "Don't worry, Agneta. Remember that as long as you hold the memories of our times. The time when I first brought you home and gave you a place to live to be loved. When we first became a family. Those are the things you need to hold close. I'll always be in your heart, always," he whispered. He kissed her forehead and grabbed his things before leaving.
"Achilles," she whispered.
He stopped and looked at her. "May the gods protect you. We love you," she whispered.
"And I love you," he answered.
He then left to get on his ship. That was the last time that Agneta and Thetis saw of Achilles and Patroclus.
