A bitterly cold wind blew through Menelaus's balcony as he slept on the morning after Helen and Paris had left Sparta for Troy. He was still unaware that his exquisitely beautiful wife had left him for another man, a man she actually loved.

Menelaus's dreams that morning were filled with sweet memories, the memory of his daughter Hermione being born, of marrying the most beautiful woman in the world, and becoming the King of Sparta. He inhaled and exhaled peacefully, savoring each drop of sweetness that came from these memories, until he was forced awake by his daughter.

Hermione ran to her father's bed, tears streaming down her eyes. She carried the delicate necklace her mother had left for her, in her small hands. Hermione knew the necklace had once belonged to her grandmother and was confused to wake and find it on her pillow that morning – only after she had grown in age would she truly understand.

"What is it?" Menelaus asked, as his eyes slowly adjusted to the blazing sunlight coming through from the balcony. He rarely allowed Hermione to enter his room, only with his permission, and was annoyed with her until he saw that she was crying.

"I can't find mother," mumbled Hermione, as tears slid over her lips. "Where's mother?"

Menelaus narrowed his eyes in confusion. He looked down to Hermione's right hand and saw that she held a necklace in it – a necklace he immediately recognised. Menelaus knew that it was Helen's necklace, Helen's favourite necklace. He quickly stood up from the bed and hurried out of his chamber.

"GUARDS!" shouted Menelaus as he stepped out of the chamber. He immediately saw guards running towards him, and also his friend and councilor.

"King Menelaus," panted Solon, Menelaus's friend and councilor, "your wife, Queen Helen, is gone – she has left with Prince Paris!"

"What?" Menelaus said incredulously. "A Trojan has left with my wife!"

Solon ordered the guards to research the palace; even though he knew the Queen would not be found as she had been seen boarding the Trojan ship with Prince Paris by men who worked at the docks.

Menelaus didn't reproach Solon for ordering his guards away; he was too shocked to even speak. He had never thought Helen would have been taken away from him, even though the possibility was proved even more likely when thousands of men swore their lives to defend Menelaus's right to have Helen.

"You are sure?" asked Menelaus, even though he already knew the answer.

"Yes my lord," answered Solon.

On the afternoon Menelaus discovered his wife had left for Troy with Prince Paris, he rode to Mycenae which was to the North-East of Sparta. It took him three days and nights of almost constant riding before he reached the city of Mycenae, which was his past home before marrying Helen.

Shortly before Menelaus married Helen years ago, the Kings of the Aegean swore an oath to defend Menelaus's right to have Helen. This oath would come into effect if Helen was taken away from her husband. The Kings of the Aegean had to unite their swords and armies against anyone who challenged Menelaus's right to Helen.

Menelaus went to Mycenae to seek guidance from his brother. He wished to burn Troy to the ground and to take back his wife after killing Paris, but knew he would need his brother's help if he were to achieve this.

Even though Helen had never shown any love to Menelaus, and barely any kindness, Menelaus still loved her. He was infatuated with her, with her beauty. Helen was his prize, and something that his brother Agamemnon didn't have.

Agamemnon had always reaped the glory by being the eldest son, but he didn't have the daughter of a God for his wife – something Agamemnon was well aware of. Menelaus had always felt bitter-sweet content because he had something his brother didn't, for once.

Night had already fallen when Menelaus arrived at the palace of Mycenae. His brother greeted him at the entrance hall of the palace. Agamemnon had already heard that his brother's wife had left him; news had reached him earlier that day.

Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife and Helen's sister, stood in the shadows of the entrance hall, listening to her husband and brother-in-law's conversation. She had also heard that Helen had left Menelaus for a Trojan Prince, but was still unwilling to believe it.

Agamemnon stood proudly in the plain entrance hall of his palace. As he watched his brother dismount his horse, fury and anger washed across his lightly tanned face.

"Your news precedes you," said Agamemnon as he watched his younger brother walk up the stairs to the entrance hall. "You have brought dishonour on yourself and shame to the house of Atreus!"

"I'll have the Trojans head on a spike," whispered Menelaus, not daring to look into the dark eyes of his brother.

"Not without my help," said Agamemnon, and watched his brother carefully. As he waited for his brother's arrival, Agamemnon had planned how the situation could work to his advantage.

"Ah, yes. Well, as always I must bear the weight of your shadow," said Menelaus bitterly.

Agamemnon grabbed Menelaus's shoulder and clenched onto it tightly. "You're a smudge on history's ledger, Menelaus, but you are my brother. What's more, the Kings of the Aegean have sworn an oath." He then removed his hand from his brother's shoulder.

"To unite, as I recall. The oath did not place you in command of me, or my army, or any other," said Menelaus angrily.

"Do not incur my wrath, little brother, do not!" growled Agamemnon. He thought for a few moments before speaking again. "These are my terms. You may have the Trojan Prince … and your whore. I will take Troy, and you will share no spoils – not even a scrap of broken clay. Agreed?"

Menelaus was silent, looking at his brother with hatred flooding through his eyes.

"DO YOU AGREE?" shouted Agamemnon.

"I am your brother," Menelaus said quietly.

"DO YOU AGREE?" repeated Agamemnon, his anger rising.

A few moments passed before Menelaus obtained courage to speak. "What makes you think the armies will unite behind you?"

"The Gods have written it," Agamemnon said simply.

"And you know for certain that they favour you in this?" Menelaus asked furtively.

"For certain!" Agamemnon answered.

"Then I agree," said Menelaus quietly.

Clytemnestra bowed her head and felt tears slip from her eyes. She prayed to the Gods that her sister would be safe and that no harm would come to her. As she raised her head she saw her husband watching her – hating her. Clytemnestra quickly hurried away from the hall and to Iphigenia's chamber.

Iphigenia, her daughter, was the sole purpose for why Clytemnestra chose to live. She received no love and rarely any kindness from her cruel husband, but she always received plenty of love from her daughter.

Clytemnestra was the obedient wife, always following her husband's orders, and she tried to love Agamemnon – it was her duty, the duty of all women – but she couldn't.

Cassandra watched the sun rise on the walls of Troy; she had ordered to be taken there by her handmaiden and guard. Her face was pale and her eyes squinted slightly as she adjusted to the light after remaining in her dark chamber for days on end. She placed her frail fingers on the wall in front of her and gasped loudly.

"Princess Cassandra?" said her handmaiden.

"Leave me," whispered Cassandra, speaking to both her handmaiden and guard. They were hesitant to leave, until Cassandra screamed at them to go.

She fell down to her knees, tears sliding from her eyes. Cassandra knew Hector would be returning to Troy that day, and that he would be returning alone. She had prayed to the Gods to change their minds, change the fate of Troy, but received no answer from within their cold temples.

Cassandra did not know how Troy would fall at this time; she saw flickers of it in her dreams at night but no more yet. Fire would always surround the brief images of death and suffering for the Trojan people.

Slowly, as she felt faint, Cassandra stood up from her knees and quickly wiped away her tears. She inhaled deeply, hoping the chilled wind coming from the sea would ease her mind. Then she returned to the palace, ignoring the stares of those around her.

In her white night robe, as night flooded through Troy that day, Andromache walked out to her balcony and allowed her long hair to thrash with the wind behind her. She placed her hands on the balcony and wished to the Gods that Hector would soon return to her safely. Hector and Paris were due to return to Troy any day now, and each day they did not return caused another weight to drop into the pit of Andromache's stomach.

As Andromache's eyes searched the seas, she suddenly caught sight of a Trojan ship – the same ship Hector and Paris had left for Troy on. She cried with happiness and ran from her chamber, not caring that she only wore her night robe.

The halls of the palace were almost bare as Andromache hurried through them. A perfectly gleeful expression spread across her face as she picked up the ends of her robe so she could run faster. It would be one of the last great expressions to cross her face.

King Priam and his wife, Queen Hecuba, already stood in the entrance of the palace. Andromache presumed they had been told of Paris and Hectors arrival.

Hecuba turned to look at Andromache as she stopped running and walked more properly towards her and her husband. There was something in Hecuba's eyes that Andromache could not read; it looked like pity, but more like sadness.

Priam smiled and greeted Andromache by kissing both of her red cheeks. "Hector will be glad to see you, my child."

Andromache nodded, although she wasn't paying much attention. Her attention was instead drawn to the men that rode across the beaches of Troy. When the men entered the walls of Troy on their horses, Andromache could distinctly see her husband leading them and she smiled. She searched for Paris but could not find him, she opened her mouth to say something and turned to Hecuba – who had turned as pale as snow and had clutched onto her husbands arm.

"What is it?" asked Priam, looking to his wife with worry rising in his tone. He turned to hold his wife in his arms as she began to sob hysterically.

Andromache again looked to the men and desperately looked for Paris, but he wasn't there and she wouldn't find him there, no matter how many times she looked. She stepped down the first few steps from the entrance hall, as if hypnotised.

"Paris … he's not with them," croaked Andromache, and sharply twisted her head to look back to Priam and Hecuba.

Priam looked to the men who had now reached the bottom of the stairs to the palace. He looked over the face of every man, including his own son Hector, and gasped when he could not see Paris. He released his arms from Hecuba and walked closer to the steps leading from the entrance hall.

Hector looked up to the entrance hall, remembering a time when he had walked up these steps to tell Andromache that her family were dead. Nausea swam into his stomach and up his throat, but he choked it back. Hector ordered the men to return to their homes and he alone walked up the steps to his family waiting for him.

Hecuba sank down to the floor, knowing what Paris's absence meant. On the day of Hector and Andromache's wedding anniversary, Cassandra had a vision about the fate of Troy. Cassandra had small visions of Troy's fate before that day, but on that day it was clearer than any time before. Hecuba knew what her daughters vision meant after asking her, though didn't bear to believe it. Even now she couldn't believe Cassandra's visions, even though the end of Troy was beginning.

Andromache hurried to her mother-in-law, and helped her to her feet once more.

"Where is Paris?" Priam asked Hector, when Hector stepped onto the floor of the entrance hall. Priam's voice was shivering as he spoke, and Hector noticed that his hands were also.

Hector looked to Andromache, who looked back at him. His tense stomach muscles relaxed when he looked at her, but quickly constricted when he looked over to his sobbing mother. After a few moments had passed, Hector retold everything he had played over in his mind about the trip to Sparta – including Paris's relationship with Queen Helen.

Once Hector had finished he looked to his father who clung onto the wall beside him for support after staggering slightly. Andromache's eyes widened with shock and fear and her face matched the colour of Hecuba's. But it was Hecuba who appeared to be the most affected by Hector's news. Tears still raced down her pale face, her whole body quivered as Andromache held it, and years seemed to be added to her appearance in the short time Hector had spoken.

Cassandra emerged from the shadows of a hall leading away from the entrance hall. She had heard every word spoken from Hector's mouth, even though she already knew what he would say. She stumbled over into the center of the entrance hall and looked to those around her.

"I told you father," she hoarsely whispered, "I told you to kill Paris when he was born! Paris will bring war to Troy, a war we can not fight!" She walked over to her father and grasped onto his arms, her eyes pleading with him. "Paris must not return to Troy with her, it will be the death of us all!"

Priam shook his head furiously. He remembered when Paris had been born and Cassandra had run through the halls of the palace screaming 'death to Troy'. When he had asked his daughter what she meant, as he was aware of her visions from Apollo, she told him if Paris lived then death would come to Troy. Neither Hecuba nor Priam had wished to believe it and ignored Cassandra's words, even though it had haunted them every day since Paris's birth.

A/N: Some of the dialogue between Menelaus and Agamemnon is from "Helen of Troy". Also, I'm sorry there hasn't been much H/A at the moment. I really need to get a lot of important things in the next few chapters so it won't focus on them for a little while longer.

Queen Arwen – I'm really glad you enjoyed the last chapter; I was trying to make it as original as possible, so I'm thrilled you liked it! Thank you for the review :)

Priestess of the Myrmidon – Hector does have a son, Astyanax, but he won't be along for a while yet because I'm following the "Iliad" more and not "Troy". I'm really glad you liked the chapter, thanks for thinking it was clever and thank you for the review :)

Donna Lynn – Paris is always going to make a fool of himself and of Troy, lol! Thank you for the review and I'm thrilled that you like how I'm writing this, thank you :)

Ithil-valon – I completely agree with you, I want to hate Helen but it's proving to be hard at the moment. I'm really glad you liked the change I made, thanks and thank you for the review :)

Kitera – I'm really glad you enjoyed the last chapter and thought it was well written, thanks! Thank you for the review too :)