Chapter Nine
Note: I am not sure on the spelling of Skyan Gates, the gates of Troy. Is it Skyan or Skiian? Anyone who knows please tell me!
The Trojans are expecting a fast victory. Apollo is celebrating with Cassandra because she made her first believable prediction. Everything seems to be going well. But the power of a power-hungry king might outlast every effort that was meant to accomplish a goal of victory. Meanwhile, the mighty Achilles, having lost all faith in winning the war, has finally found love instead- with one of the priestesses of Troy. He is so desperately in love that the Fates give him a rare opportunity to reverse the prophecy, and by his mother's will, give him his last chance at glory. But can the mighty warrior choose between love and fate, before all hope of his comeback is lost?
Cassandra
Lord Apollo had said that people would pay attention to my predictions of the future. He said no lies. When I told my father my the words of Apollo- that our city was ill-fated as it was beautiful, my father listened. He took me out of the dungeon at the top of the tower at once.
"Lovely daughter, I have committed a dreadful crime of locking you in the morbid tower. All this time, we thought you spoke riddles. I knew Apollo had spoken his word through you, but his charm worked well, for no one believed you. Come, Cassandra, it is your time to lift your face up to all of Troy."
"I am honored to, Father. But first, where is Paris?"
Father's face turned grim at the sound of his son's name. "Paris is on the battlefield, like all his brothers. He challenged Menelaus to a duel. I wonder what has become of their single combat." I understood Father's anxiety. When was the last time Paris picked up a sword for battle?
I concentrated hard. Immediately, I had a vision. I saw Ares, the god of war, with his sister Eris riding their war-chariot. And Hades. That only meant one thing.
Menelaus had died.
"Father, Menelaus has been killed," I began slowly. Like an omen, the vision unraveled. "Agamemnon…he has threatened to kill Paris! He has secretly boarded Paris onto a ship to sail to Mycenae so that he will have Paris executed, unless we can pay him a ransom."
Father looked ill. "I will pay any price to ensure the safety of Paris' return.
"Do not worry, Father. Apollo will protect him."
Father nodded, and then began to begin his prayers.
Apollo
I came down from Olympus to greet Cassandra. She was waiting for me outside the Trojan Gates. I smacked my lips in satisfaction.
"Good job, my darling. Your words will gain you the freedom of Troy soon."
Cassandra didn't smile.
"What's the matter? Tell Apollo what is the matter."
"I suppose I shall."
"If it has anything to do with your brother…"
"They have taken Paris. Agamemnon took him away as his hostage. You promised, Lord Apollo, that in return for my kiss you would protect Troy."
"And I will, lovely Cassandra. Your brother is safe with me. If that bastard Agamemnon thinks he is better than I, well, we shall see about that."
"Farewell, Cassandra."
Now, to find Agamemnon and the poor unlucky prince…
Achilles
That Agamemnon is getting on my nerves again. Yesterday, a murder, and today a plan to kidnap the prince of Troy. I came here for glory. Glory. A simple word has a whole stream of meaning behind it. Glory comes at you like a gush of wind, a rush of seawater, a clash of thunder. It comes once in a lifetime, glory. Yet I have wasted my years trying to conquer it, to seize it between two hands as if it were a piece of sand.
I was a fool. A fool indeed. A fool doesn't ever falter. A fool doesn't believe in a tyrant, and then fights in search of something that is impossible to find.
I always thought that love was impossible. I never fully understood what it was to be in love. I heard that love meant that you would do anything for one person, and that you would be willing to give up anything if it meant that you two could be together. Was such a feeling impossible between man and woman? If there ever was such a feeling that existed, I knew I had never felt it. Not once.
Until I met Briseis.
Briseis, the Priestess of Apollo's Temple. As soon as my eyes laid eyes on her, I couldn't stop watching her. Her dark hair was as black as the night sky. My heart thumped animatedly.
I was in love.
So much in love, as a matter of fact, that the Fates felt sorry for me that they said they were considering reversing the prophecy. That if I fell in love and understood true love, they would give me another chance at glory. Another chance to defy Troy.
But I didn't want to defy any country. It was no use, killing people, taking that as glory and gaining something to your name. That wasn't enough. The glory wasn't enough to make me satisfied.
What I really wanted was Briseis. And I didn't want to die young. I wanted to live long enough to be with her, live with her, be with her for all eternity. But that couldn't be, for she is a mortal, I, a half-mortal, being able to reach a state of eternal living only after death. That is one of life's most vexing laws. But I knew that if I could, I would do anything and everything for my dear Briseis.
