Disclaimer: Those that you recgonise, I won't try to claim them. Those that you don't, they're mine. Thank you very much. :)

A/N: Hey! So sorry I took so long to update! Been catching up with homework and exams and stuff... but it sure felt good to update on my birthday! I meant, the last time. A holiday over here, you see, that's why I had the time. :P

Enjoy!

Chapter 7

He glanced at the sea of faces before him. They were waiting expectantly. Waiting for him to do it. But he didn't want to. No, he definitely didn't.

He looked to his right. There they were. One holding onto his horse; the other admiring his bow. His heart wept. What more could they want?

Slowly, the people surrounded him. He was trapped in this particular circle. There was no way he could escape. The only way to get out of this circle was for him to do as he was told. Simple as that, like Kyriakos has said. I complete the forfeit; I can get out of here.

But he wasn't comfortable with so many people watching.

"Take them off! Take them off! Take them off!" The crowd began to chant. Of course, it was Kyriakos who led the chant. "Strip! Take them off! Strip!"

The crowd seemed to be closing in on him. "No!" He tried to shout, but the words would not obey. He could only watch helplessly as the people around him shove him to the ground and began attacking him. Everything was a total black and grey – a blur. "Go away!" He yelled. "Get off me!"

Just then, everyone started to get up. They backed away from him slowly, whispering and pointing at him. "What?" He demanded. Why did they back off so easily? He stood up as he searched for Kyriakos in the crowd. Ah! There he was, by the large oak tree. He was leaning against the trunk, smirking at him in glee. He seemed to be the only one smirking.

Turning back to the crowd, he examined them closely. Some girls were turning their heads away and others giggled, while the guys were smirking and pointing; some even whistled at him.

Suspicious, he glanced downwards, where the guys were pointing.

Oh no! What in Apollo's name! He was naked, from head to toe! Every single shred of clothing has been taken from him! He screamed as he quickly squatted down, trying to cover some parts of his body. But he knew he could not do that forever. He had to break the circle and get out.

Springing up, he raced to the nearest boy and yanked his jacket from him. But the boy held on steadfast to his clothing. There was a brief tug-of-war until Paris decided to let go – the most probable outcome was that the piece of clothing would tear into two.

Then, he saw his friends pushing their way through the crowd. Silas stopped short when he saw the state his friend was in. "Oh, Apollo!" He exclaimed, racing towards his friend with Dinys and Kikos following closely behind. Taking off his shirt, he handed it to his friend, who quickly wrapped it around his waist.

They were about to leave for the palace when Kyriakos and his gang blocked their path. With one quick movement he pulled the shirt from the prince and spun him round, twisting his hand behind his back and pushing him forward.

"This," he barked, "is what happens when a young prince goes back on his word." He cackled an evil laughter.

To his horror, the people around him laughed too. They were laughing at him!

"Noooooo……"

"Noooooooo!!!!" Paris sat up in bed, panting heavily. It was just a dream... it was just a dream... He tried to reassure himself.

Taking in deep breaths to calm himself down, he lay back down on bed, trying to get rid of the nightmare. He tried closing his eyes and going to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes he saw Kyriakos' smirk. That face haunted him.

Finally, unable to bear it anymore, he got off his bed and slipped on his bunny slippers. Hugging his pillow, he trudged to his brother's room, briefly knocking on the door before opening.

"Brother?" He whimpered at the sudden flood of light in his eyes. Hector had been studying.

"Yes?" Hector spun round quizzically.

Paris stepped in and closed the door behind him. He walked over to Hector's bed and sat on it, kicking off his slippers, and then lying down.

Hector kicked off his own slippers and crawled onto his bed, lying beside his younger brother. Both stared at the ceiling silently.

Just then, Hector turned to his brother, "So, want to talk about it?" Hector always knew when Paris had nightmares. His behaviour was always a clue.

"Not really."

"Okay." Hector waited as he silently counted to fifty. "... Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty!" He counted mentally.

As if on cue, Paris suddenly turned his head and asked his brother, "Hector, what will happen tomorrow?"

Hector smiled. He always predicted correctly. There was a pattern to it, anyway. If Paris answers "Not really", he would have to count to fifty. If he says "I don't know", count to seventy. It was a little something Hector discovered.

"Well... you don't have to worry about it, you know," he told Paris. "And if you're afraid that Kyriakos would haunt you again, you can sleep here tonight. That is, if you don't mind the light, because I still have my homework to complete."

"Okay." Paris agreed. "But what will happen tomorrow?"

Hector smiled. "That, I will take care of."

TBC...

So how was it? Please review now! Thanks! Your support is what keeps me going! Okay, that sounded a bit too, errrr... LOL.

devilzlave: hi! thanks for your review! hmm... yea, ur suggestion - that was what i was thinking too. but i'll see how this goes, yea? meanwhile, if you have any other suggestions, do feel free to write! thanks, again!

divya: hey there! thanks for dropping by and leaving a review! yep. cuddles Paris nah, just kidding. i don't even know him. LOL. hope this update is "soon" enough! haha.

Jenmm31: hey! blushes i hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well!

FelsGoddess: hi there again! thanks for your constant reviews and support! (hint: do please review for this chapter too!) )

darkdestiney2000: hey, thanks! this update came late, but i still hope you enjoyed it!

till the next time!