The day was blistering hot and as the day drew on, it grew even hotter. Enjoying the rise in temperature, Hector and Menelaus decided to sit outside in the palace gardens and discuss the issue of peace between Troy and Sparta there.
Paris was left to entertain himself after showing a strong wish to not join his brother and King Menelaus in what he thought was tedious talk. He was slightly tired after the voyage to Sparta, but he knew he could not rest while Helen was in the same palace. Paris did not love Helen, at least not in the beginning. Aphrodite soon worked her magic over Paris and he came to love Helen, but never in the same great way he loved Oenone.
At first Paris was merely driven by lust, he had seen Helen and desired her. The fact that she was married to King Menelaus and that he was in Sparta concerning peace only added to the thrill of a chase. He had been correct in assuming there was no love for Menelaus by Helen, which would only make the task of wooing her even easier for him.
Bitterness had sunk into Paris's heart. He thought he hated Oenone; he wanted her to suffer like he had … like he was. Paris no longer wished to feel the sharp sting of losing the woman he loved or the stab of vicious grief that overcame him when he remembered his time with Oenone.
Paris thought that by wooing Helen into his bed, a woman who was so perfect and radiant in appearance, he would realise that Oenone was not the greatest woman in the world, like he thought. If the tales about Helen were true, then she was certainly the most beautiful woman in the entire world. Paris held no true emotion for Helen at this time, only lust and passion concerning her.
After a few moments of thought, Paris decided to take a stroll through the palace. The idea was innocent enough, but he wished to see Helen again and hoped to find her somewhere in the giant palace.
Helen looked out of her balcony and saw her husband and Prince Hector in deep conversation. She continued to survey both men for a few moments, comparing and contrasting them. Then, as if feeling her eyes on him, Menelaus looked up to where Helen stood on her balcony overlooking the garden he and Hector sat in. He smiled at her. Helen stared at him for a fleet of seconds and then walked back into her room.
She went to sit on her bed but then grew restless and left the room. Helen did not share a chamber with her husband. The only time she stepped into Menelaus's chamber is when he wished to spend the night with her, and when he did she would completely detach herself from every feeling within her heart. She felt nothing when she was with Menelaus, no feeling flashed through her slender body when she saw him - she felt nothing.
Helen walked to her daughter's room, presuming her to be there with her nurse, but was surprised to be wrong. As the day was hot Helen thought that Hermione's nurse would keep her in shade of her room, but she was wrong. Helen began to walk through the halls of the palace, growing impatient, and was about to call for a servant when she saw Hermione and the nurse by a pond in a garden of the palace. But Hermione was with Paris also.
For a moment Helen stopped and watched her daughter laugh as Paris playfully tickled her. Helen smiled broadly and was content to watch them from afar when Paris suddenly turned and saw her.
Paris saw the Queen of Sparta and felt a gasp escape his mouth; Aphrodite's power had begun to take effect over him. The wind seemed to have been forced out of him because he found it grueling to even breathe. He stood up and slowly walked to where Helen stood, she was clearly nervous by his sudden movement towards her.
"Your daughter is an amazing child Queen Helen," said Paris, his voice low and soft.
"Thank you Prince Paris," whispered Helen, too nervous to speak any higher. She felt like a young girl again, embarrassed by a man as he looked at her. She turned to look at Paris and into his eyes; she smiled faintly when she didn't see the desperation and desire in his eyes.
"Is the Spartan weather usually this pleasurable?" Paris asked, and smiled kindly when he saw the look on Helen's face when he emphasized the world 'pleasurable'.
Helen could only nod and felt her cheeks begin to burn.
"Queen Helen, would you think me rude in asking for a tour of the palace?" asked Paris. "Of course you do not have to be my guide, but the palace here is magnificent and I would love to explore it."
"I would be more than happy to show you the palace Prince Paris," stuttered Helen, but quickly gained confidence and spoke again. "Shall we start now?" She looked up to Paris once more and couldn't help but smile again.
Paris nodded. "Thank you Queen Helen."
Helen began to show Paris the palace in which she had been born and raised. She passed the afternoon away happily by showing Paris every hall and pointing out various rooms to him from time to time. On more than one occasion Helen's body brushed past Paris's and both felt an electrical wave of attraction shoot through their bodies. Almost unwillingly, Helen began to feel herself relax around Paris. Her whole manner was at peace, she felt free to say anything to Paris even though she barely knew him.
After the long and thorough tour, Helen suggested they sit together in a room that only she sat in. Even Menelaus did not sit in this room with her on the evenings. Menelaus had tried to sit in the room once but she had been not spoken a word to him and he felt the coldness towards him ooze from her and decided to leave. Helen knew Hector and Menelaus still spoke with one another in the garden, and thought they would remain out there for more than an hour at least.
"A lovely room," said Paris as he examined the room, though his eyes stumbled on Helen on more than one occasion.
"My mother often sat in here," said Helen, and her expression grew sad, "or so my sister Clytemnestra tells me." She saw the look of confusion on Paris's face and added: "My mother died shortly after giving birth to me."
Paris nodded in understanding. "I am sorry."
Helen shook her head. "It is not your fault." After a few moments she spoke again, wishing to draw the conversation away from her mother. "The palace of Sparta must be extremely small compared to Troy's; I hope the tour did not bore you."
"The tour was excellent," whispered Paris and walked closer to Helen. "I'm beginning to think Troy cannot compare to Sparta."
For a brief second Helen closed her eyes, lost within Paris's words. She opened them and was surprised to see how close the Prince was to her now. Helen raised her head and looked into Paris's eyes confidently.
Paris stepped even closer to Helen and leaned in to kiss her, but she suddenly pushed him away.
"I'm … I'm married," Helen whispered. Even though she had pushed Paris away, she hadn't wished to. She wanted to feel his lips against her own more than anything, but was too scared to allow herself to have feelings for a man that would soon leave her. But as she looked up at Paris once more she felt her heart begin to race and a wave of emotions shot through her veins.
Helen leaned up to kiss Paris. She pressed her body against his and closed her eyes in ecstasy as she felt the gentle lips of Paris against her own. She had never been kissed in such a way, it was magical to her. Menelaus had always kissed her urgently, never slowly and delicately like Paris did now.
Paris slowly brushed his hands down Helen's back and then brought them back up to run them through her silk-like hair.
A noise in the hall outside the room caused both Paris and Helen to spring apart. They quickly smoothed down their robes and Helen tidied her hair. She looked at Paris and couldn't help but smirk, she had never felt so exhilarated.
The door to the room opened and Helen's eyes widened for a split second, but she quickly gathered her wits and sat down on a chair by the table while Paris walked over to the window and looked out of it.
Menelaus and Hector stepped into the room, both laughing over a story Menelaus had just told. Hector slowly looked to Paris whose face was red, then to Helen, but said nothing. Menelaus walked over to his wife and kissed her hand and she smiled weakly.
"I've ordered for us to have the evening meal in one of the gardens tonight," said Menelaus and slowly dropped Helen's hand from his own.
Helen nodded, though said nothing. Once Menelaus had taken his eyes off his wife, she gazed over to Paris for a brief moment but then quickly looked away.
"Did you enjoy the tour of the palace Prince Paris?" asked Menelaus, having heard of the tour by his daughters nurse.
Paris turned to look at Menelaus and smiled. "Yes, I enjoyed it immensely, thank you King Menelaus." He then looked over to Helen. "Queen Helen was an excellent guide."
"I'm glad to hear it," said Menelaus, and looked over to his wife fondly. "She was raised in this palace and so knows it better than most, even me!" He then laughed.
Helen rose to her feet. "Excuse me my lords but I must tend to my daughter." She bowed her head before her husband and then Hector, and finally Paris. Her gaze lingered over Paris for a second and then she left the room.
Paris soon excused himself from the room and he gained a warning look from Hector as he left. He brushed a hand through his hair as he walked down the hall leading to his chamber. He actually felt guilty for kissing Helen, not because she was married, but because he was merely using her to overcome a grief that had been caused by another woman.
He felt intoxicated by Helen, and felt happier around her than he had for months. But then, like now, he would always feel drawn back to Oenone. He shook his head angrily and marched through the palace and into his chamber, where he slammed the door shut.
Paris sat down on the bed and held his hand within his hands. He inhaled deeply and then raised his head. I will forget you Oenone, thought ParisButOenone would never truly be forgotten by Paris. She would always be there, at the back of everything.
Soon his heart would be filled with the love of another a woman, a woman who would cure his pain with her spirit and beauty. But their love would be cursed. As a result of their love for one another they would give Kings an opportunity to unite against Troy and attack it. The love of Paris and Helen would only cause ruin and destruction for all…
MRS.Nathan Scott – I've updated, I hope you enjoy the chapter! I'll try to keep updating at least once a week, and thank you for the review :)
Queen Arwen – Long live the Iliad indeed! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter; I also wish Helen could have been outrageously ugly, lol! Thank you for the review :)
Donna Lynn – I hope Paris's two love interests will get interesting, I think it will get more interesting towards the end of the story though :) Thank you for the review!
idun03 – Thank you for the review! I'm really glad you're enjoying the story, thank you! The war should start soon, although I'm not really sure in what chapter. I hope you take care too :)
Jessie – I'm really glad you're enjoying the story and I'll definitely not stop it now, I'm going all the way till the end with this :) Thank you for the review and for letting me know you enjoy this! You take care too!