The first few months of married life, between Andromache and Hector, passed by happily for them. Hector had begun training with the army; Andromache was unaware as to why, but thought this to be perfectly normal as she hadn't heard whispers of war from the servants. And Andromache was kept busy at her loom, but often strayed out to the royal gardens and enjoyed an afternoon with Polyxena or Cassandra.
One afternoon, while Hector still remained outside Troy's walls and trained with the army, Polyxena visited Andromache.
"May I sit with you?" asked Polyxena. She startled Andromache, with her sudden appearance, who was engrossed in her work.
"Of course," said Andromache and stood up from her loom, "you never need ask."
"Thank you," said Polyxena.
Andromache looked at her sister-in-law and noticed that she looked quite pale. She walked over to Polyxena, and motioned for her to sit with her at the table in the room. "Are you alright Polyxena?"
Polyxena nodded her head, and succeeded in smiling. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you. How're you?"
"I'm well," said Andromache, still worried about her friend. Over the months since Andromache had arrived in Troy, Polyxena and herself had became very close friends. Polyxena usually told Andromache anything that troubled her mind, without hesitation, but that was obviously not the case today.
The door to Andromache and Hector's chamber opened, Hector stepped into the room, still wearing his armor, and appeared to be immersed within his own thoughts. He didn't realise that his sister was there at first, but then he heard her speak and quickly tore himself away from his thoughts.
"Polyxena?" said Hector, which caused his wife and sister to jump with fright. "I don't usually see you here, how're you?"
"Very well, thank you Hector," said Polyxena, and stood up from the table. "Thank you for your time Andromache, I'll leave you both now, goodnight." She then left the room.
"Is she alright?" asked Hector, and placed his sword beside his bed.
"I hope so," said Andromache, slightly bewildered by Polyxena's behavior.
Hector nodded and carefully removed his armor, placing it in the corner of the room. He then straightened his back and stepped over to his wife, who was now standing by the balcony. "Andromache, there's something I need to tell you."
"Yes, what's that?" asked Andromache, starting to worry.
"The army is being sent to the East," said Hector, "I leave with them in three days time. We've received word that our ally in the East is going to be attacked, so it's our duty to help them."
"The East?" murmured Andromache, she knew that there was only one ally of Troy's in the East and that was Thebe. "Thebe … Thebe is going to be attacked?"
Hector nodded, sadly. "Achilles and his Myrmidons plan to attack Thebe soon."
Andromache cried aloud and steadied herself on Hector's arm. "Thebe … my home, my family … they'll be attacked?"
"Troy's army will sail to Thebe and protect it," reassured Hector and held his wife in his arms.
"You'll not get to Thebe in time!" cried Andromache, and tears began to escape her eyes. "It takes weeks to sail there, and with an army!?"
"Achilles doesn't plan to attack until a month from now," said Hector, "and he doesn't know that Troy's army is sailing to Thebe. We'll get there in time."
"Let me come with you," said Andromache, suddenly.
"No, Andromache …," stuttered Hector, shocked by her question. "I'm your husband, I'm to protect you, taking you to war is dangerous, I'm not going to risk your life also."
"You said that if you could take me to Thebe then you would!" sobbed Andromache. "You're going to Thebe, so take me!"
"Andromache!" said Hector, sternly. "You're not going to Thebe."
Andromache tore herself from Hector's arms, she then grabbed her cloak which lay on their bed and made to leave the chamber, but Hector's hand suddenly pulled her back.
"Where are you going?" he asked, trying to remain calm as he could see the torment Andromache felt and he didn't wish to add to it.
Andromache snatched her arm from Hector's and fled from the chamber. She heard Hector follow her, but she ran down the hall.
"Andromache!" shouted Hector, but then sighed heavily and returned to his chamber, he knew his wife would return, and that she needed time alone.
Andromache continued to run down the halls, but when she heard the footsteps of Hector fade, she turned around and saw that he had returned to their chamber. She stopped and caught her breath before walking down the halls and to the stables. She decided to ride Hermione.
It was also improper for women to ride alone in Troy, like it had been in Thebe. However, Andromache needed the comfort she received from riding, and didn't care about proper etiquette that evening.
When she reached Hermione's stall in the stables, she quickly put on her cloak and pulled the hood onto her head. She wasn't wearing her crown this evening, and never did wear it except for special occasions within the palace. Andromache quickly prepared Hermione for riding and was about to lead her out of the stalls when she heard movement outside of it.
"Princess Andromache?" asked a small voice, it was the stable boy that often cared for Hermione.
"It is me, Isus. I'm going to ride Hermione for a while; I'll put her back in the stall when I return." Said Andromache, and led Hermione out of her stall and greeted the stable boy: Isus.
The stable boy nodded and quickly left.
When the boy had left, Andromache mounted her horse and wiped away her tears, though inside she was still crying softly at the thought of her homeland and family being attacked. She decided to ride to the beach, the place she found most peaceful, but knew that getting there would be difficult because she would have to pass through Troy's gates, which were heavily guarded at night.
Andromache trotted through the citadel and eventually arrived at Troy's gates. She sighed as she looked at the gates of Troy and finally realised what she was doing. Andromache knew that running away from Hector had been wrong and that he didn't deserve such behaviour from her, but she didn't turn back.
"Where are you going, madam?" asked one of the many guards at the gate.
"To Apollo's temple," said Andromache, the words had suddenly come to her, Apollo's temple was on the beach, and she knew that women were allowed to go there alone.
The guard looked at Andromache with a peculiar expression, but he certainly didn't recognise her to be a Princess of Troy. He ordered for the gates to be opened and Andromache muttered words of gratitude before trotting through them.
Hermione galloped over the plains, and Andromache shivered slightly because the night air was bitterly cold and whipped across her skin. She looked up to the sky and smiled, the stars were shinning brightly tonight, they hadn't been visible to her eyes for days.
Once she had reached the beach she dismounted Hermione and then sat on the sand. Andromache felt miserable to be here without Hector, especially when she hadn't informed him of where she was going. She pulled the cloak off her head and breathed in the night air, she smiled as the wind tossed her loose hair.
Suddenly Andromache saw a figure approach her, her body tensed and she fought the urge to run to her horse and ride away. But as the figure approached her, she saw that it was a man, and there was something that intrigued Andromache about him, especially about how he looked at her.
At first he looked at her with a shocked expression, but it swiftly altered into a slight smile. She scanned his body and supposed him to be a man of some wealth, he was clothed in the finest robes she had seen for purchase in Troy's marketplace, and wore a few gold rings. He was strikingly handsome, with bright green eyes that seemed to be gleaming under the night sky, and appeared to be only a year or two older than Andromache.
The man smiled broadly when he reached Andromache, and then he sat down beside her. Andromache was unaware of what to do; she had failed to run away as soon as she saw him.
"It's a lovely night," said the man, and turned to look at Andromache.
"It is," replied Andromache.
"I'm Alexander," he said, "and you are?"
Andromache sat silent for a moment, she didn't know how to reply to this man, she knew that she shouldn't tell this man her name in case he recognised it, but yet she told him. "Andromache."
"Andromache?" said Alexander, slightly shocked. He knew who she was immediately, he had heard of Princess Andromache and how she had recently arrived in Troy to marry Prince Hector. "And what are you doing on this beach without your husband?"
"I wished to have time alone," murmured Andromache, inwardly scolding herself for revealing her name to a stranger, especially now that he recognised her.
"Ah, well perhaps I should leave you," said Alexander and stood up to leave.
"You're welcome to stay," said Andromache, quietly, "like you said, it's a lovely night and I wouldn't wish to deprive you of the fantastic view."
Alexander smiled and sat back down on the sand, although this time he moved closer to Andromache, but she didn't notice. "Thank you Princess Andromache."
Andromache nodded and continued to look out across the sea, but then turned to speak with Alexander. "Why are you here? It's uncommon for anyone to come to this part of the beach, especially at night."
"I've recently returned to Troy from the south," answered Alexander, "I've always loved the view of the sea from here, so I decided to come, but I didn't expect a Princess to be here. How is married life with Prince Hector?"
"Very agreeable," replied Andromache, although she was slightly puzzled by his question, "I'm very happy."
"If that's true, then why are you here alone?" said Alexander and turned to watch Andromache.
"I needed time away from the palace," stuttered Andromache, and reddened slightly. "Hector and I had argued and I … left." She didn't understand why she allowed herself to speak so freely to this man, other than the fact that she felt herself at ease around him.
"Does Prince Hector know you're here?" asked Alexander.
"No," said Andromache.
"He's probably worried," said Alexander, "I would be if my beautiful wife had left my chamber at night."
Andromache smiled, but suddenly felt horrified at doing so; she didn't wish to encourage his kind words. "He knows I'll return."
"Hector does have the tendency of knowing everything," said Alexander, almost bitterly, which caused Andromache to flinch slightly.
"You know him?" asked Andromache, and was slightly annoyed that this man had called her husband by his first name only, instead of using his proper title.
"Yes," said Alexander, "I'm a friend of his. I would have attended your wedding to Hector, but I was abroad at the time."
Andromache remained silent, she felt so foolish for speaking like she had, and regretted her decision to ride to the beach. She wished to strike herself for acting so improper, especially to a friend of Hector's. "It was very nice meeting you Alexander, but I must return to the palace."
Alexander nodded and stood to his feet, like Andromache did. "I won't tell your husband that you were here, so please don't worry."
"I won't," said Andromache, growing more annoyed. "I never expressed a wish for you to conceal this evening from my husband."
"I know," said Alexander, "but I can tell that you don't want Hector to know."
Andromache scowled, she hadn't even thought about explaining where she had been to Hector, but now that she did, she realised that she wouldn't have told him, in fear of him being even angrier with her. Earlier thoughts of being intrigued by this man quickly faded from her mind, at first she was merely curious about why he had looked at her so strangely, but now she didn't care.
Slowly Andromache lifted her head to look at Alexander, but saw that he had already began walking away. She quickly hurried over to Hermione and mounted her, then rode back to the palace. Andromache returned Hermione to her stall and fed her some fruit, to show her appreciation to her horse for being so well behaved, and then returned to her chamber.
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A/N: Don't worry, Andromache won't fall in love with Alexander or have an affair with him, just in case anyone was wondering :) Thank you for the reviews! :)