Chapter 13: Escaping Troy

Twelve days passed and Briseis was with Helen. "So, do you and Paris plan to have children after this is all over?" She asked. Helen smiled at the thought.

"Yes, I would love to have children with him. After this war is over though. I refuse to have my children born during a horrible war," Helen replied.

Briseis smiled and then Paris came back into the city in anger. Helen walked over to him. "What is the matter, my love?" Helen asked. Before Paris could answer, the doors opened and they brought the Trojan Horse into the city. Afterwards, a ceremony was put on for the horse. Briseis looked up at her cousins to see them looking at the horse.

That night, Briseis walked over to the horse and looked at it. "I know that if you are home, I guess I didn't get the chance to say this. I'm sorry, Achilles. I'm sorry for doing what I did. I love you, Achilles. I just wish you could forgive me," she apologized. Then she walked away from the horse.

Achilles heard her words and pushed back her confession. He waited for her to be completely gone before he had his soldiers to go. "Make sure to kill every man, capture every woman, and kill every infant," Agamemnon ordered. Achilles flinched at the thought of mothers losing their children. Then a certain widow came into his mind.

"Andromache! Hector's son," he thought.

He climbed down the horse and hurried through the city.

Briseis just lied down in her bed when she heard people screaming. She jumped from her bed and ran towards the window. She gasped to see her home, beloved city burning. "NO!" She screamed. She ran down the hall to search for her family. "PARIS! ANDROMACHE! UNCLE!" She called. Only screams from her people answered her cries.

Achilles ran through the city and then he knocked a soldier to the ground. "Please, don't kill me. I have a son," the soldier begged. Achilles put his sword away and looked at the man.

"Then get him out of Troy immediately," he ordered.

He then ran through the city to search for the woman that stole his heart.

Briseis searched through Troy, desperately trying to find her family. "PARIS! ANDROMACHE!" She called out. No answer. She even ran towards their bedrooms to see nothing. She found Andromache's son's cradle flipped over. She gasped when the door was broken down. She saw the medallion that Hector gave Andromache the night they wedded on the table next to Hector's helmet. She picked it up and put in in the pouch on her dress. Briseis was able to escape the room before the Greeks caught her again.

When Briseis touched her neck, her medallion that was given to her by Priam was gone. She turned and remembered that it was still in her room. She ran into he room and picked it up. She gasped in horror when a torch was thrown into her room.

She ran as fast as she could while screaming for her family. "PARIS!" She called. Briseis ran as fast as she could through the running and screaming people. "PARIS!" She called again. She then found herself standing in the temple. She saw her uncle lying on the floor, dying. "Uncle!" She gasped. She kneeled beside him and held onto his hand.

"It's too late for me, Briseis," he mumbled.

"No, no, no. I'm going to save you, uncle," she whispered.

Priam smiled at her. "You already did by letting me see you again," he whispered. He held onto her hand and took a deep breath. "Remember this. I always have and always will love you. You have been like a daughter to me. I will always be with you," he added. Briseis placed her head against Priam's and cried when he died. She placed his hands on his chest and ran out of the temple to find her family.

Achilles continued to search for Briseis. Then he came towards a statue of Apollo.

Briseis kneeled in front of the statue of Apollo praying and gasped in pain when she felt a strong hand grabbing her hair, picking up from the ground. "It's too late to say a prayer now priestess. I'll have you as my slave again. You'll be waiting for my every call. Then I'll have fun with you like I have during the first few months you stayed in my kingdom," he cackled. Briseis brought a knife out of her sleeve that she took out of Andromache's bedroom. She took it out of her sleeve and stabbed it into the evil king's neck and watched as he died. Two soldiers grabbed her and she struggled against them. Someone killed the soldiers before they dragged her away.

"Achilles!" She gasped.

She fell to the ground and Achilles gently picked her up from the ground. "Come with me," he whispered. Achilles held her in his arms and began to leave. Briseis looked over his shoulder and saw Paris standing there with his bow loaded.

"NO!" She screamed.

Achilles cried out in pain when an arrow went through is heel. "PARIS, NO! PLEASE, PARIS! DON'T!" Briseis yelled. Paris kept shooting the man that she loved. "NO!" She wailed. She kneeled in front of him when he fell.

"Briseis, we have to go," she heard Paris tell her.

"You have to go, Briseis," Achilles whispered.

"No," she objected.

He placed his hands on her face and pressed his forehead against hers. They shared a passionate kiss and he stared at her. Achilles opened her hand and placed the necklace his mother gave him. Then his memories of his life went through his mind. When he took Agneta into his home and let her become a part of his family, when he first met Briseis, and the times they shared together. "Go, do this for me, please," he whispered.

"Achilles, I love you," she whispered sadly.

"I love you too," he answered.

Achilles then looked at Paris. "Take care of her, please," he murmured. Paris nodded and grabbed Briseis' hand. Achilles and Briseis shared one last glance before he died.

Briseis cried as hard as she could when they came out of the tunnel. Andromache walked over and wrapped an arm around her. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Briseis cried against her shoulder.