The distinct sound of swords being sharpened greeted Achilles when he returned to the Greek camp. It was barely morning and the soldiers were already ravenous for war after a nine day famine.
Ignoring the questioning glances of his men, Achilles entered his tent and collapsed on the bed. He had rested only once during the walk from the hills and so he still felt fatigued.
Sleep had almost come to Achilles when he was once again disturbed by the thought of Polyxena. He could not think of her without thinking of Hector, and so he had tried to push her away from his mind, but each time she would return to his mind, and Hector's image would fade.
The flaps of Achilles's tent were suddenly parted and Odysseus entered. His face was pale and thinner looking and his hair appeared as if it had not been groomed for weeks.
"Where have you been?" Odysseus asked angrily as he looked at Achilles. "Agamemnon called a meeting this morning and he wanted you there, where were you?"
Achilles sat up on his bed, surprised by his friend's unusually perturbed temper. Odysseus was commonly known as the definition for calmness, but the sight of him now proved that the war was holding its toll on everyone.
"I was occupied elsewhere," said Achilles, reluctant to reveal to Odysseus that he had entered Troy. He knew if he told Odysseus that he had entered Troy, then the king would demand to know how.
Odysseus sighed heavily and rushed a hand through his unkempt and graying hair. "Agamemnon is in a foul mood, he has been ever since Priam entered and left this camp freely." He then looked at Achilles again, but his eyes held no accusation or judgment.
"I gave Agamemnon the ransom from Priam," said Achilles, "what more can he want?"
Odysseus sneered. "Agamemnon would have the world if he could, but for now he wants Troy. He knows that Troy's army is leaderless and that the army is weak with grief, which is why he is eager to attack and end this war."
Achilles nodded as he took in Odysseus's words. He knew Agamemnon was right to be eager now that Troy's army was severely wounded, but he could not help feeling remorse.
In the palace of Troy, Helen watched Paris as he delved into the recent battle plans Hector had made just before his death. She watched with scrutinizing eyes, still feeling the bitterness of her sudden revelation that he did not love her, because she could still remember what she now thought was a pitiful attempt to fight with Menelaus, although at the time she had thought Paris the most amazing man alive.
Helen had not spoken to Paris of the day that Hector's body had been returned to Troy. She had not told him of how her heart had broken when she realised that he did not love her as she had thought.
Even though she knew Paris did not love her like she loved him, or at all, Helen still continued to love him. It was her attempt at not admitting that the war had started for nothing, that the war was not because two people loved each other more than life itself and that they were willing to risk all for that. And in the depths of her mended heart, Helen feared that if she argued with Paris then he would leave her, showing everyone that lives had been lost for nothing, and despite everything, she could not bear to be parted from him.
A knock suddenly sounded on their chamber door which startled Helen as she had been absorbed within her own thoughts.
"Enter," said Paris clearly, not removing his eyes from the scrolls he poured over.
A servant girl entered the room carrying more watered wine for Paris. She did not seem to notice that Helen was in the room and rested the fresh bottle of wine on the table Paris sat at.
The girl looked down to Paris with flirtatious eyes and a sweet smile. She was yet another one of his conquests.
"You may leave now," said Helen sternly. Her voice surprised the servant who left quickly.
Paris did not look up from his papers; he had not even noticed the looks the girl had given him, or the agonizing look on Helen's face.
Helen rose from her chair and walked towards where Paris sat. She could not contain her pain anymore; she could not contain her anger while Paris's mistresses flaunted themselves in front of her eyes.
"Did you ever love me?" asked Helen, her voice abnormally weak and cheerless.
"What?" said Paris, and he turned to look up at Helen who stood by his side. He slowly stood to his feet and stared at Helen with confusion.
"Did you ever love me?" repeated Helen, although her words were more vehement this time. She glared into Paris's eyes, daring him to speak the truth.
"Of course I did," insisted Paris, "I still do love you." He tried to take Helen's face in his hands so he could kiss her, but she stepped away from him.
"Don't lie to me, Paris!" cried Helen and she was alarmed to feel tears rushing down her face. "If you love me then why do you bed servants and temple-maids, when you have me? If you love me then why do you not show it, why did you not defend me against your mother when Hector's body was returned to Troy? Why, Paris?"
Paris turned away from Helen; he was not able to look at her unusual hurt and joyless face. "I'm sorry, Helen." He was then silent, thinking of something to say to rid Helen's mind of thoughts that he didn't love her, even though it was true. He had loved her in the beginning and in a way he still did, but that love could not compare to the love he felt for another.
"Is that all you can say?" Helen asked quietly.
"No," said Paris sadly. He looked at Helen and smiled weakly, he then raised his hand to gently caress her smooth skin. "I love only you, Helen. I feel nothing for the women I bed, nothing. I could not defend you against my mother because she was already in such a state of grief … I couldn't hurt her more, not when she had just seen Hector's body."
Helen wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her thin, red robe and smiled. With just a few words her mind was soothed and she once again felt herself enclosed within Paris's arms as he embraced her.
With a cool breeze drifting through from her balcony facing towards the sea, Polyxena lay in her bed as night rested over Troy. She looked up to the ceiling of her chamber, thoughts whirling through her mind.
She felt her body tense with guilt when she thought of how she had helped Achilles away from the city, but she felt her heart soften when she thought only of him.
Polyxena had imagined Achilles to be a cruel and merciless warrior, even more so when she had watched him kill her brother, but when she thought of how he was last night, she knew that was not him. She had seen the emotions of Achilles, she had fought past his defenses and searched within his eyes and found a man worth loving.
The thin veil that hung at the side of Polyxena's balcony, which she would draw across it each night, suddenly billowed with the wind.
Polyxena sat up and turned towards the balcony, intending to draw the veil when she saw Achilles standing there.
Feeling as if their hearts had drawn them together, and not the mighty gods, Achilles and Polyxena walked up to one another.
"How did you get here?" asked Polyxena and her eyes wandered over Achilles's face.
"Sshhh…," whispered Achilles and he took Polyxena's face within his hands and softly kissed her.
Dawn soon sprinkled light over Troy and Achilles awoke. He gently turned his head to look at Polyxena who slept beside him and he smiled faintly, recalling the feel of her hands over him in the night, and the feel of her skin against his own.
Achilles leaned on his left hand and with his other he softly rushed his fingers along Polyxena's back while she slept.
The son of Peleus had never felt such love for another before, he felt as if he could smile and be happy forever, just because he was with Polyxena. He had found a woman so wonderful and beautiful, a woman he could love.
Polyxena slowly woke as she felt the gentle hands of Achilles race down her bare back. She smiled when she saw him gazing intently at her, and felt her skin tingle with delight when he caressed her face.
Together in the chamber, Polyxena and Achilles felt as if they were living in their own world. All thoughts of the war and of family and friends had vanished from their minds, but the horns of battle sounding from the walls of Troy soon smashed their ideal world apart.
Achilles looked at Polyxena and then out of the balcony, where he could see the horns on the walls in the distance. He had forgotten all about the war, the war which had been fixed in his mind every day for over ten years, because of Polyxena, she had brought him peace.
Polyxena stared at Achilles with horrified eyes and she quickly lowered her head so he would not see. She felt as if she had suddenly woken from a dream, a dream where Achilles was not the murderer of her brother, but the man she loved. And as the war horns echoed throughout the city, Polyxena realised that she was no longer in a dream.
Silence consumed the chamber as Achilles chose whether he would stay with Polyxena or fight. He knew he could not slaughter her countrymen each day and then go to her, and so as he looked at her he decided that no, he would not fight.
"You have to go," said Polyxena quietly and continued to bow her head, "you can not be found here." She could not bear to look into the eyes of Achilles when he stared back at her with love, a love she could not return.
The gods had wrapped Polyxena and Achilles into a world where there was no war, a world that did not exist. As the war horns had sounded, Polyxena had broke free from that world and knew she did not love Achilles, but he had not broke free from the world the gods had spun for him, and so he still loved her…
A/N: Sorry for the lack of Andromache, but I have a lot to get into the remaining chapters. I can say that she'll be in the next chapter. Thank you for the reviews :)
meitsiwong36 – Priam certainly had a lot of children! I knew Helenus was Priam's son and not a horse, but I liked the name Helenus and decided to use it :) And I'm sorry I mentioned Andromache indirectly and only once in the last chapter. Thank you for the review!
Queen Arwen – Thank you for the review and I'm glad you liked how I wrote the last chapter :) I'll definitely kill Achilles soon, in about three chapters I think.
Priestess of the Myrmidon – I'm glad you liked the writing in the last chapter and the Achilles/Polyxena interaction, thank you! Polyxena's end will be the same as in the myth, and thank you for the review :)