What Legends Are Made Of Revised

by angle of death103

After the fall of Troy, the people are left scattered, hunted, and are slowly becoming extinct. Achilles is still alive, but he’s changed somewhat maybe for the better or maybe not. Troy cries from the grave for revenge, will her people answer her cry or

2. The Fight For Gold

Disclaimer: I own none of this. Achilles belongs to Homer and those whack ass people that made that whack ass movie. Everyone else is mine.

Chapter Two:

The Fight For Gold:

When they reached the edge of the camp, it was practically empty. Where did everyone go? Naomi silently wondered. As they walked further and further into the center of the camp, Naomi started to see signs of the soldiers hard at work; mostly likely fixing up all the damage she'd caused both last night and this morning. With a raised eyebrow, Naomi thought I didn't remember making so much of a mess. I wonder what time it is. I want to get this over and done with. Looking up at the sky, she could tell it was about 6 in the morning by the lazy ascent of the sun and the still pink/purple sky. Time seems to be real slow today. I could have sworn it would be 2 in the afternoon by now.

The men seemed to be done with their work, or at least taking a break for breakfast, as the two walked into the center. They pulled out tables and barrels of water and wine, the camp fires were being lit underneath their morning meals, and the shouts of the men in their boisterousness became louder as they gathered round and sat at their tables. Achilles turned his head towards her and smiled, as if telling her that it won't be long before she met her horrible fate at his hands.

When they were closer to the gathering of men, he pushed her down before she could get a good look at how many occupants there were; it would have been good to know when she escaped. After she killed Achilles, of course. After falling flat on her face because of his unexpected push, Naomi could hear dust move because of the uncomfortable silence that her more than unceremonious entrance made. She didn't have to look up to see the grin on the bastard's face as he walked gracefully beside her, to stand right in front of her as if to say 'I own you'. Goddess I hate this man. Couldn't Artemis put an arrow through that puffed up head of his? Goddess knows if I had an arrow right now, I would.

Achilles stood before his men proudly as he received roars of adornment for taming the witch, welcome backs, and standing ovations from all his men. One of the men bravely stood up from his table and walked over to Achilles to share a brotherly hug. "Eudorus you act as if I've come back from the dead. I know I've been distant, but… we'll catch up old friend." Achilles laughed off his slight pause. Eudorus replied, "Yes my friend, but you had us all worried. So, what do we have here?" he looked down at Naomi as if just now noticing her. Achilles smirked happily like a child who'd just found the greatest toy in the world and is about to brag about it to all his friends. "This, my friends… is a gift from the gods, for my good work." All the men ohed and awed all at once.

Naomi couldn't stop her eyes from rolling at Achilles' response and his men's reaction. She stood up, struggling a little with the effort. "What you going to do with her?" one man bravely asked in the crowd. Achilles' eyes lit up at the spoken question. He took an arrogant stance with one hand in the air and his other hand pointed towards Naomi; head back, shoulders squared, legs spread wide apart and mouth open as if ready to tell a story about an epic battle. It was hilarious to watch him, yet he didn't seem to care and it got the desired affect since his men were practically on tiptoes waiting for his next words. "Well, I had offered her the chance to become my slave after she released all my other ones…"

Before he could finish another man interrupted "She's a Trojan whore and a witch! We should slit her throat!" the men all yelled their agreement until Achilles silenced them. "Shut up! Let me finish. Impatience is not a virtue amongst my men. If I bring someone to you, regardless of where they're from or what they do, you will not do or say a thing until I say so. Do I make myself clear?" Achilles' authoritarian voice boomed over the soldiers like a mother scolding a child, with the volume of a thunderstorm over a plain. No wonder he does that shit to me all the time. It works on these pansies. Look at them cower before him and most of them are twice his size. If he thinks that he can intimidate me, then he has another thing coming. Though, I guess he must be a great warrior to have such an effect on Greece's greatest warriors; all the male ones anyway. Naomi thought while she watched the spectacle.

"As I was saying, when I approached her she attacked me." There was silence except a small almost silent gasp from the man Achilles called Eudorus. Eudorus looked from Naomi to Achilles as if asking both of them if it were true. Why is it so hard to believe that I attacked him? When cornered a lioness would attack, no matter the odds stacked against her; it's called self-preservation. I killed their other comrades, no problem, why should he be any different? Men, they think so highly of themselves and so little of us; Why, I'll never know.

Naomi was thrown from her thoughts when a boom of laughter erupted from all the men in the camp including a slight chuckle from both Eudorus and Achilles. All the men stared at her while they laughed at the ridiculousness of what Achilles just said. Naomi was both speechless and seething in indignation. No one laughs at me! All that came to an end though, when both Eudorus and Achilles stopped laughing. Eudorus took a closer look at his friend and realized there was a thin veil of blood coming from a wound on his throat. "Master, where did you get that cut on your neck?" Eudorus asked. Achilles put a hand on his throat as if just remembering the cut she gave him. Almost forgetting that she had cut the little bastard Naomi nearly let out a chuckle herself, but settled for a cheesier cat grin.

Naomi didn't think the nick on his neck was a big deal; Wait till they see the new gaping mouth piece I give him later, she snickered, but the nick would show them she meant business and will shut them up; maybe put some fear and doubt into them too. Who knows with these spineless bunch of sissies, but their reaction made her feel pretty darn good about herself and her chance of defeating Achilles. "Oh, this scratch? The little wild cat gave it to me when I tried to calm her down. It nothing really." he said nonchalantly as he patted Naomi on the head like a good little kitty; smiling all the while as she tried to get his hand off her head.

The men in the camp all gasped at the great warrior's admission. (The woman actually drew blood. A feat only a great few men could accomplish. Those that have are dead by Achilles' hand the next moment), was the though going through all their minds. "She has actually challenged me for her freedom at noon and I have accepted. So I brought her back here for safe keeping." Achilles finally finished.

Once again there was silence all around and once again Eudorus was the only one brave enough to speak. "You can't be serious Achilles. What would you have to gain in fighting a woman? It wouldn't even be a real fight; you'd win hands down." There was a grumble of agreement all around as Eudorus continued his tirade "Take her and be done with it or better yet, kill her. There is no sense in entertaining such foolishness as a female's death wish. You have better things to do." Eudorus finished. Achilles was quiet for a moment as if he were seriously considering his friend's words then he shrugged it off and replied "She has shown me that she is worthy of a request since she has drawn first blood. She has also shown me that she is a fighter. If it's a battle she wants, it's what she'll get."

Eudorus walked closer to Achilles, obviously not wanting the other men to hear what he was about to say. "Look sire, I know you like your women lively, but this is a bit hasty; don't you think? I'm sure you don't want to mess that pretty young face or that gorgeous body, when I know you have other plans for them later." Eudorus whispered hurriedly; probably not liking to bring his lord's private life up.

Achilles glared at his friend that claimed to know him so well. "I assure you Eudorus; I have no such intentions in mind. I only would like to spar with the girl. No other woman will grace my bed until Briseis is returned to me. Is that clear to all of you out there who think I'm doing this for a pretty face? This woman has shown all of you up this morning, I'd give her my respect since she is a much better warrior than all of you spineless filthy pigs that chase after any thing with a hole between its legs! If anyone else objects to my spar, then speak now!" yelled Achilles.

All the men were silent and Naomi for a moment was speechless as he defended her honor in front of his men. Could what he say be true? Is this nothing, but a spar? You sound a little disappointed. He's only saying that so he can keep face in front of his men; he's no better than them. He supposedly loves his little whore, Briseis, yet he touched you like any other dog sniffing around a bitch in heat. Hey! I'm no bitch and I am most certainly not in heat. You could have fooled me back there. I was caught off guard, my body reacted on instinct. Exactly, you were in heat. No I wasn't. So the filth between your legs is not the product of your attraction for this man. I am not attracted to him, for the last time! I was confused; I haven't been touched like that manner for years. So your excuse is that you're in withdrawal?

Stop twisting my words! I love my husband and my heart, body, mind, and soul only belongs to him; they only desire him. Only him? Yess! What about 'Blue Eyes'? That's different. I'll always have a place in my heart for him, but we are nothing but brother and sister now. You two have done things that no brother and sister I've seen have done. Apollo and Artemis. They don't count they're gods. Anyway, he is not my real brother, but we grew up together and we shared everything; including our bodies. Now I share everything with my husband; I love both of them more than anything, but in different ways. So, you love your husband like Achilles loves Briseis? More! Keep telling yourself that, you might convince yourself one day. Shut up!

Naomi grimaced at the ongoing battle her thoughts seem to be in. Lately she's being second guessing herself and her mind has been filled with nothing but confusion and doubt. It all started a month ago, around the same time this new voice in her head began to show up. Naomi was no stranger to voices in her head, no one was in this time, but this voice was different; for the simple fact that she actually listened to it instead of flushing it out like the rest. Must be another god trying to get some kicks. I've told them to stay out of my head! If they can't be there when I need them then they should not be there when I don't. There will be Tartars to pay when I find out who it is.

Looking up at Achilles' smiling face, Naomi couldn't help but wonder about they man's mood swings. One minute he's madder then Ares on the losing side of a battle to Apollo at a Dionysian festival of the vine. She sneered when she listened to his conversation with his men about the up coming fight between him and her, with obvious excitement. She didn't know whether the man really wanted to die or if he didn't realize that she was going to kill him; either way he was acting like he had a real chance. Naomi wasn't one to brag, but from what she had seen and heard of him, she was fairly confident she had all she needed to defeat him; a brain. She was going to kill the mighty Achilles, the bastard. The thought sent euphoric tingles down her spine and made her smirk. This didn't go unnoticed by Eudorus who was watching her out the corner of his eye while he listened to Achilles' tale of what happened back at the Trojan's palace steps.

Eudorus wasn't happy that his lord didn't just kill the woman, but not for the reasons he told his lord. Both he and his lord were honorable men and everyone who followed them. They didn't believe in killing people that were weaker than them like: old people, women, children, and the sick and the wounded. They've been known to make some exception on unavoidable occasions; but this woman unsettled Eudorus and he was willing to make an exception right now. He couldn't put his finger on what bothered him about her the most. Her eyes were too cold for the shade of gold they were, yet they held this wildness about them. She was reckless and arrogant, he could see it in her fighting skills, but she was better than anyone he'd ever seen; except his master. There was something that was a miss with her though; she was so mysterious yet so blunt at the same time. Everything about her was controlled; from the way she moved during battle to the way she walk and spoke; even to the way she looked at you. It's like this annoying puzzle that you can't figure out yet the answer is right in front of your face, taunting you. What unsettled Eudorus was the answer to her puzzle.

What made him even more nervous was the way his lord acted around her. Eudorus noticed the open stares he gave Naomi, both now and at the city. It was the look of awe, anticipation, respect, curiosity, confusion, amusement, challenge, and lust; looks an animal would give another it wants to pursue, capture, and conquer. A look a man only reserve for a woman that he means to pursue and take for his own. It wasn't complete lust; any man with all the components to make him male would find this woman beautiful beyond compare, but the stare Achilles gave this woman was more than that. That's what scared Eudorus most of all, Achilles never looked at anyone like that; not even his beautiful Briseis, whom he claims to love. And the vibes he was getting from this woman made it impossible for him to keep quiet.

Eudorus knows the pain his lord goes through now with the trouble his love is in, but to covet this woman who has a wildness that can match or even out match his own; would be fatal. Eudorus did not believe his lord would survive a woman like this. It wasn't that he had no faith in his lord, he'd die for the man, condemn his mortal soul for him, but this was a battle that he didn't see his lord wining. When it came to wars of the heart, his master was at a disadvantage and though it may seem to the two that this 'spar' would not escalate into something more; Eudorus was certain it would.

So with thoughts of his master's well being in mind, Eudorus cleared his throat to get his lord's attention. "My lord, can I have a moment?" asked Eudorus. Achilles dismissed the other men he was talking to in order to hear what Eudorus had to say. "Achilles, I've known you for almost all of our lives; I've been faithful to you and have followed every command and decision you've ever made. But I cannot see why this woman is so important to you that you feel as if you owe her anything, much less a spar because she nicked your neck while you were off guard; it doesn't make her a warrior, just lucky and pretty. Are you so bore as to have the blood of a woman on your hands? What would Briseis say?" Eudorus countered.

Annoyance flashed in Achilles' eyes again at Eudorus' audacity to doubt him. "Don't you dare bring her into this; this has nothing to do with her! Don't even speak her name! How dare you think that I'd be foolish enough to let my guard down, ever! What does it matter to you? It's my time and my slave; if I want to waste time with her then I will. It's none of your business what I do. If I say she is worthy, then she is. If you are as loyal and as true a friend as you believe yourself to be, you will no doubt me. Do I make myself clear or are there more flaws you think you can pick out in my behavior?" He snapped.

Eudorus shook his head quickly in the negative and backed off after that, but silently swore to try again. He then turned to the men and announced "There will be a fight between Achilles and his new slave at noon. Be there! Eat up, you bums!" he yelled with the same authoritarian voice as Achilles yet not as confident and arrogant. Silently the now shamed Eudorus approached Achilles once again. "Sire, we still need to discuss the plans for the arrival of king Agamemnon and Ulysses in three months." "What do you want to discuss?" Achilles asked in a bored tone. Eudorus turned his attention to Naomi and observed her closely. He noticed she looked dirty and tired, but he wasn't sure if Achilles would want her cleaned up or not. He summoned two remaining guards "Take her inside Achilles' tent and tie her up." Achilles didn't even spare her a glance when Eudorus commanded that she be taken away.

Naomi stiffened in alarm as the soldier nodded and turned back toward her. "Come woman," he ordered as he grabbed her arm. Naomi glared at his audacity to touch her and with one swift punch of her free hand; the soldier was out cold on the ground with a cracked jaw. All three men wore different faces at the scene. The soldier was frightened out of his mind, Eudorus was shocked beyond belief, and Achilles was trying hard to hold back his laughter with pride shining in his eyes by the woman's no nonsense attitude.

After a while Eudorus woke out of his stupor and called for four more men to take Naomi away. Naomi was glaring at all of them as they approached her, getting ready to tackle her if necessary. Achilles seeing that his pet was not going to cooperate, pulled the rope of the net she was unknowingly standing on. She fell backwards so fast that she nearly got whiplash. The men were getting ready to pounce on her, but before they could, Achilles' shout stopped them. "Stop! You will escort her to my tent, not drag her. If she doesn't want to be touched, then don't touch her. She'll behave or she won't get any tonight. Now, won't you, dear?" At that all the men within hearing distance laughed at their lord's patronizing joke.

Naomi growled at this and jumped to her feet, ready to fight him right then and there, but she halted at the answering growl he sent her. There was something in his eyes that dared her to challenge him in front of everyone, but that wasn't what stopped Naomi. It was the wild animalistic yellow glow that flashed behind his icy gray eyes, which she'd never noticed before. She couldn't figure out why, but there was almost like an answering purr to his challenge coming from her throat; and it was then that it seemed the whole world stop with just the two of them in it. The two alternated between growling and purring at each other, leaving all their bystanders flabbergasted. No one made a move because they were all shocked by the animalistic behavior of the two people and did not know what to do. It wasn't until the fire behind Achilles was doused did the two snapped out of their trance like state; the yellow glow in their eyes faded. Looking at his confused looking men, Achilles snapped his fingers and told them to go.

Naomi kept her eyes on the ground when the soldiers told her to move. All of them stayed a few feet away from her as they directed her to his tent. When they got there, one of the idiots grew back his balls and decided it would be funny if he pushed her inside the tent, since she made no move to enter it. Naomi was about to kick the fool for making her smash into the tent pole, but saw his buddies flocked around him with their swords out and ready; so she decided against it. The loser took out a piece of rope and laughed as he stared at her. "It's too bad that the only freedom you will ever see again is in death, my precious; you and I could have had some real fun." he grabbed her wrist and made her put her arms around the pole. He tied the rope around her wrists as painfully tight as possible and left her feet untied. "Don't go anywhere," they all laughed and then they all left.

She frantically looked around the large tent for any weapons she could use, but she only saw a sword in the far corner of the other side of the tent. She slumped against the pole and slid to the floor. She exhaled deeply and closed her eyes. She was extremely tired, but couldn't imagine falling asleep. So she sat in Achilles' tent …waiting.

She couldn't stop the anger that coursed through her body. There had never been a moment in her life where she was treated with such disrespect and low regard. Not even when her father named her bastard and gave her birthright to her cousins. She was sure they wouldn't figure out that she was royalty, but their ignorance to her station would not excuse them. She was a woman, a lady; they should automatically treat her with respect and care. The only reason she didn't complain was because one, she didn't like using her status for anything; two, a real lady would never kill. Three, she killed their comrades; Four, she was basically was the enemy, and five, she didn't want to be used to find the rest of the survivors of Troy or against her new family; whatever was left of them.

Naomi was the adopted sister of Helen and adopted daughter of Tyndarecus and Leda, king and queen of Sparta. When she was told of her sister's plight she moved all the way from Greece to Troy to support her, despite the disapproval of her father and husband. Since then she's made many friends and gained a whole new family that accepted her way better than her old one.

Out of everyone Hector was her favorite, he was the first to gain her respect and friendship. He was a good fighter, but she thought of him at his best as a father, brother, son, nation loving citizen, proud prince, and as a husband. He would have made a great mate, she once thought, but she was never in love with him. Some how he earned a place in her heart; whether it was because of true brotherly love or a suitable mate attraction; she did not know. If both of them weren't already married, she might have chosen him to be her husband, but it wasn't meant to be; no one in the world was more perfect for Hector than Andromache. She prayed Hector got away, even though she knew deep down inside he didn't. When the war started Naomi was commanded by King Tyndarecus, King Priam, and her husband not to participate in the war. She would have fought anyway, but Hector, Helene, and Andromache begged her not to. Hector told her that she could be Troy's last defense incase the walls ever fell; at the time she thought he was being patronizing because, at the time, the fall of the Trojan walls was impossible; how wrong she was.

Five years in, Helene's father called Naomi back to Greece to help protect it from those who were taking advantage of Greece's weakened state because all her troops were in Troy. The country was in a riot; slaves were rioting and killing their masters. Foreign warlords closest to the borders were breaking all their Treaty rules, plundering and pillaging the villages closest to the borders, and not paying their tribute to the Hellenic empire. Bandits and gangs that would usually have no type of strength to dare go against Greece because of her army, were now ganging together to take down the city sate while it was at its weakest.

The fool Agamemnon was so prideful that he did not think anyone was stupid enough to try and take down Greece while his back was turned; how wrong was he. The place was a mess when Naomi got there. It took her the rest of the five years to help her adopted father clean half of it up. She did the dirty work like assassinations and the battling with the small army left to watch over Greece as her ruler was away; and her father handled the politics and the internal turmoil.

That was why she didn't know what happened till she came back to find Troy pillaged and burnt to the ground. She rounded up as many people as she could find; most of them already in caves led by Aeneas, so she brought the rest there. She didn't know who survived; she asked around and all she got was that Briseis and Helene were taken by Agamemnon back to Greece; so was Andromache, but she killed herself on the way there. Hector's son was nowhere to be found, presumed dead, which would explain why Andromache killed herself; she was too strong and smart of a woman to do so otherwise. Naomi had deep respect for the wife of Hector; she thought her wise beyond her years. She would have made a good warrior or politician. She was the right woman for Hector; although, I suspect she learnt everything from being married to a great man like him, Naomi once thought. Naomi could only imagine what must have gone through Andromache's mind as the blade entered her heart.

Hector, they would not speak of. Their champion's demise was still a mystery, but Naomi knew he was dead; he would have never let his people suffer like this if he were alive. He was a great warrior and an honorable man in Naomi's book; the first man in years to give her a real run for her money at sparring, and he had a good strategical mind. He will be deeply missed, she thought sadly. Then there was the unthinkable demise of Paris. Agamemnon had him used by his men on the ship as a whore. Paris was tortured and scar beyond belief. He was the little brother that Naomi never had and she often consoled him when he doubted his love for her sister; he was a good boy, but he was terribly spoilt. Helene and Paris truly deserved each other, both children in a grown up world that they could not escape. Naomi at first didn't think their infatuation for each other would last, but over the years, she realized that their love was deeper than most. Naomi was still not as close to Paris as she was to Hector, but she felt for him enough to miss him and to shed a tear for him as well. It was said that when they reached Greece, he was publicly burned at the stake in front of poor Helene's eyes. They said she never shed tear after that and it rain for days; a week later she was in a catatonic state from which she is never to wake from. Naomi cried many nights for not being there to hold her dear sister even though she knew the comfort would not help her now.

Naomi blamed herself for all their misfortunes because she was not there when they needed her. Last defense indeed. This is why you blame Achilles? Because of your failure? He was only doing his job. He did not rape, torture, and burn Paris to death; nor did he kill Hector or put that knife in Andromache's breast. It was Agamemnon! Don't blame Achilles for your failure and Agamemnon's greed. Shut up!

Now she was here in the company of enemies. The Greeks were her enemies the day they destroyed Troy, the day they made her dear sister a hollow shell of a woman, when they murdered Paris and unknowingly widowed her sister; and Achilles was one of them, he was the best of them. She vowed vengeance for them all, those who were lost in the battle of Troy and those whose lives will never be the same because of it.

She was brought from her dark thoughts of revenge, when she heard voices outside the tent. She looked around for no reason forgetting that she couldn't grab something to defend herself.

"Will you be eating breakfast with the men?" She recognized the voice as Eudorus.

"Yes, I think I will. I'm just going to wash up. Find Maim for me and have her bring food for our guests. I don't want the advantage of a full belly when I fight her. "

She froze when she heard the second voice. It held so much power, but calmness all at once. It had to be Achilles; such arrogance could come from no other, but it was strange hearing the voice without seeing the face it came from. She gasped as a tall muscled man with blonde hair stepped through the tent. It was Achilles of course, but the way the sunlight showered his body as he stepped into the tent, made him an even more magnificent sight to be seen. She glared daggers at him with every move he made.

A few long moments passed with her heated glare directed towards his back as he move around his tent. When he began to remove his clothes, she swallowed the lump in her throat and didn't dare look at her captor. She didn't move, didn't breath and didn't blink as she averted her eyes towards the floor away from him at the sound of clothing falling to the floor. She tried to keep her breathing under control as the insane urge to watch him undressed plagued her mind.

Then she heard water being splashed and curiously looked in his direction, only to see him naked and dosing his body with water from the makeshift basin. She couldn't stop her mouth from falling open at the texture of his smooth, bronzed-skinned and cut body; he was well muscled and tanned from many hours in the sun. Are you insane Naomi? He is the enemy and has you captive against your will! She berated herself mentally. She was forced from her thoughts when he spoke to her.

"Where are my manners? In all the commotion I forgot to ask you your name. It will not do to yell girl across the camp when I am in need of a bathe. What is your name?" he inquired glancing in her direction as he slapped the water on different parts of his body. "Even a slave has a name." He chuckled as he straitened up from the basin and ran his hands through his hair. When he didn't get an immediate response from his baiting he looked at her. "Did you not hear me?" he asked softly, but in a commanding voice as he grabbed a white toga nearby and wrapped it around his waist. While he dressed himself, Achilles felt like he'd been in this scene before. 'A female Trojan prisoner tied up in my tent with a fiery attitude. I ask her for her name and her shy reaction to my state of undress as I wash myself in front of her. Hmmm' he thought, but then it just hit him 'Briseis' reminisced sadly. 'Is this how I'm going to meet all my women from now on?' he asked amusingly trying to get away from the depressive memories of his absent love.

Naomi heard him alright, but she didn't answer him because her blood boiled too hot to give him any type of reply in a lady like language. The only way I'd give that fucker a bath is if it was in a pool of his own blood and I was drowning him in it. "My name, you maggot infested sack of swine, is LADY…Naomi. I'm not a slave and I most certainly am not a girl. I'm a grown woman!" She kept her head held high as she voiced her name and title proudly and screamed her indignant reply.

"Naomi," he repeated softly trying her name out on his tongue as he rolled it around in his mouth like a drop of honey; ignoring her insult. He took a few steps towards her, but stopped out of reach so he wouldn't alarm her. He had no interest in using this woman; he found no honor or glory in forcing women; he liked his women willing, but then again he never had to force them. If anything he had to push them away.

He took a few more steps and kneeled before her putting his hand under her chin and making her look at him. Achilles was never the type of person who had a weakness for beauty. He was, after all, the son of a sea nymph, Thetis – what kind of mortal beauty could hold a candle to her? Thoughts of battling and wars, consumed him and nothing was pretty in the context of war. He'd seen too many intelligent men be turned into blubbering idiots and barbarians at the first sight of anything even halfway enticing. This is what brought him here in the first place, two blubbering idiots creating a war over a stupid whore. All in all, Achilles was quite happy to remain immune to the temptation of anyone's beautiful features.

That was before he'd laid eyes on this Naomi woman.

Briseis was cute, pretty even, but he didn't fall in love with her because of her looks. Helene in his opinion was another pretty face; both girls having a more childish beauty more than anything else. Naomi, on the other hand, is an in your face, to die for, not to be confused with a child, eye gauging, drop dead gorgeous beauty; a beauty, in his opinion, that can't be ignored. It didn't radiate from her like it did Aphrodite, but it was plain to see; it is a part of her like her hair or her foot. Though you might miss it once in a while with her attitude. No Naomi was definitely not to be confused with a girl, but he'd do it any because he liked the fire tat burned in her eyes when he angered her. He almost felt ashamed to resort to such childishness; almost!

He was almost startled at the look of anger and loathing in her glaring golden eyes. He noticed then, that there were no injuries to her face, when he could have sworn that he'd at least split her lip that day. "Did the men clean you up?" he asked softly.

She only jerked away from him and averted her eyes, but didn't look down. "No I did it myself" she spat. She quickly braced herself for a slap or punch, but was surprised when she heard him chuckle.

"You must be royalty," he rationalized. "But I don't know of any royal women who can fight or at least try and take on a man twice their size and actually wound him, much less kill with such little emotion." He finished. He reached into her thick mass of hair and took an ebony curl between his fingers and played with it; then leaned forward and inhaled her scent deeply from the strained of hair. She was stiff as a board as he did this; she couldn't think for the life of her what he was doing and why'd it turn her on so much. "Nor have I smelt such a divine scent on royalty. It's true they smell good, but it is all false. Yours is strangely pure, almost like a priestess or one of those virgins who worship Artemis. Are you a virgin? "

"I worship no one and that's none of your business." Naomi spat. "Of course you're not. You were so quick to tell me that you were a woman, not to be confused with a girl. And you know what a real man is as you so earnestly stated earlier. No, Naomi, I'm pretty sure you have enough experience in the area of men to know that type of information. Plus, you said you had a husband; if I were he, I would have chained you to the bed until I was stated, which would probably be never with your appealing shell. I suppose you wouldn't bow down to any god with that attitude, though. No god would want you at their temple; you'd steal their magnificence. A woman like you should be worshipped. But I wonder… You talk like a man, you fight like a man, and in some odd way you are as hard as a man. Hmm, maybe…" he mockingly pretended to muse, as he let her hair fall from his fingers; when in truth, he just wanted to rile her up again. There was something in her eyes when she was angry, that seem set his blood on fire; he felt addicted to that fire.

The indignant look on her face made her look like a cherry, how mad she was. Did he just call me a man and a whore! Achilles nearly fell over laughing at the look on her face; he could feel the tell tale signs of his mirth from the water in his eyes, but he played it cool and only let a smirk grace his face. Drawing back from her before she killed him with the daggers in her glare, Achilles continued "No, only a woman would feel so soft and smell so sweet; although I find that amazing since you don't seem like the soft type." He rested his elbows on his knees and tilted to the side looking intensely at her. "Are you soft?" he asked amusingly.

She forced herself not to sneer at his comment or his laid back attitude. "Are you?" she retorted. He regarded her for a moment, taking in her response. Against his better judgment he found the woman interesting, maybe even entertaining. He stared at her trying to watch her reactions, to learn about her. She wasn't an easy woman to grudge, but from what he could tell, she was hiding something. He assumed that is what made her interesting; she was a mystery. It had been a long time since he's had a good challenge or a good mystery. Everything of late had become so common, contrived, and boring. He couldn't help but feel suffocated by the world's inability to give him sport. That's why he couldn't wait to unravel all this woman's secrets and mysteries. He sighed and shifted on his legs, "You have nothing to fear from me, girl. You're the only Trojan, at this point, that I can say that to."

Naomi's blood seared from his insistence in calling her girl, but she would let it slide for now. What she wanted to know was how he knew she was from Troy. Your not Trojan, you need to stop denying your heritage and adopting these barbarian's ways. Whatever, the fact of the matter is he couldn't have known that I helped the Trojans by just looking at me. The way we got caught was too easy, something was up and I think I know what. I just have to confirm it. Thought Naomi "Who said anything about me being from Troy?" Achilles was ready for her to deny her involvement in the freeing of his slaves and any type of association with the Trojans. His smile faded and his face became as hard as stone. "Then who are you little one and why were you in my camp?" he asked seemingly curious, but Naomi knew better; her quick mind already coming up with a smart answer as he supplied the question.

"I came here looking for my husband. He was a historian; he traveled the world looking for worthwhile tales that he could put down in history books. He heard of the war in Troy and decided to come and see it for himself; he's been missing for 9 years. I finally got up the money and courage to come down here and look for him myself."

Smiling at her smart answer, Achilles continued his interrogation. "So, you're telling me that you're just a brave and loyal widow looking to take back her husband's body?" at the question Achilles saw a little pain flicker in her otherwise cold eyes. 'Maybe she's telling the truth? Or she's telling a half truth, or maybe she's lying all together. You can't disguise the pain of losing someone dear.' With that thought Achilles truly was stumped, again he was amazed by the way this woman baffled him; where otherwise he'd be able to tell if someone were lying by just looking into their eyes. Most people were untrained in the art, but what Achilles had was unattainable to regular men; he had an instinct. It was also like he could feel, see, touch or smell the lie; how tangible it was to him, but this time it didn't seem to work. This woman had a skill to her, like most women, in the art of deception; that much he could tell, but it wasn't regular lying that made her master of this skill; it was her ability to control her emotions. A treat that Achilles himself was master of when necessary. That's why he could detect it so easily with her, but he could not tell when she was using it; especially when it came to divulging information that she did not want to give. This he got all from the quickness of her response to his questions. Achilles was very analytical man and could tell you what an ant was thinking about while taking a piss. Nothing was simple with him; no answer too short or too long.

"Yes" she answers earnestly letting in some of the hurt at the question into her voice. 'Too long.' He thought. 'A regular widow would have been angry not indignant. There is something she is not telling me.' Achilles wanted to pat himself on the back for figuring that out and he knew now that this woman will definitely give him a run for him money in the future, but he was slowly catching onto her.

Don't get Naomi wrong, she was hurt by the death, or the presumed death, of her husband, but she would have more time to grieve it out later; right now she didn't want Achilles to have the satisfaction of seeing her unfocused. One small slip could cost her more than her life. So she poured it on thick so he'd be more likely to believe her, knowing that he'd look into her eyes as any smart person would. The eyes are the key to your soul. They never lie. Someone once told her, but again she could not remember who. "I'm sorry for your lost, but these are still dangerous times and a dangerous place." His warm rich smoky voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"As you can see I'm well aware and well equip to handle myself." She replied rather smugly. "That I know, now. So, then why were you with three Trojan men?" he asked boredly, knowing that he'd caught her. Naomi gave no outwardly sign that he was right or wrong, but she did blink and that's all he needed to know that he was on the right track. "They weren't Trojans; they were my husband's family. They insisted on accompanying me for my protection." She countered quickly, a little too quickly. Naomi saw the big grin on his face grow with the victory of her small slip up. She knew the cat was out of the bag, but she'd get the information she wanted now, so that put a ghostly grin on her face as well. She already knew he knew she was as guilty as sin, but their game, of sorts, was for show. "I could see why they'd want to do that, but you're a big girl. The problem with your story is, though it is a nice one, that I know for a fact that they were Trojans and that your whole story is bullshit." He stated monotone, waiting for her to deny it once again. "And where, may I ask, do you get your information from?" she inquired in mock innocence. At this Achilles chuckled, "One of the men that accompanied you to my little camp; I think his name was Hepatitis. He told me everything in return for his life." He continued with an emotionless voice.

Naomi nearly snapped her fingers and said uh huh with the new found knowledge. So it was the bastard's brat. I knew they were all up to no good. They sent Aeneas and me here on the intention of selling us out to the Greeks. I wonder what else that coward told him. Naomi pondered.

At her silence, Achilles deduced that she was looking for a way to turn this, but he could see no possible way; he had cold hard evidence that she was Trojan or at least helping them. "What did he say exactly?" she asked nonchalantly, which caught Achilles off guard because she neither admitting to the man's accusation nor denied it. 'Was she guilty or not? It's obvious fool, she is!' he berated himself mentally. "Why does it matter? All I want to know is if it's true or not." He snapped back at her. "Well I have to know the charges put against me and since you're interrogating me like this is some sort of trial, I would only think that fair." She retorted with a playful huff. 'She finds this funny. She jests when, if true, I'll have to kill her. Who is this woman?' he screamed in his head. "I am supposed to be asking the question not the other way around. You've killed my men, ruined my camp, and freed my slaves, slaves of Greece. That can not go unpunished." He raised his voice only a little and some of his anger was laced in the words, but not all.

If you were to witness this conversation between the two, you would think they were talking about the weather how out of touch they seemed with their situation. "Look, are you going to tell me or not because it doesn't matter anyway. And for your information, those slaves are people, they should not be own by anyone; especially their inferiors." Achilles wanted to laugh at her comment, but settled for a grin instead. "You don't know how right you are, but it is the way the wretched world is. People with more honor and pride are sent to their deaths while men of ignorance and disgrace sit on thrones of gold." He said in disgust yet mild acceptance. Naomi lowered her head and said "Yes, I know of the world's atrocities and imbalance. The unfair and unjust triumphs over the fair and the just, but it is not always so. As long as there is a person out there that is willing to do good just because it's the right thing to do, no matter their lot in life, there will be light in this otherwise dark place." She said soberly, but with more conviction than Achilles ever heard in anyone's voice.

"You speak of fantasies and dreams, but you surprise me with your conviction." He said boredly. "And you surprise me with your lack of conviction. I would think the mighty Achilles would be more passionate in his life. You didn't seem the type to just lie down and let anything roll over you." She said curiously. "You're right I'm usually not the type, but I have gotten wise to the games of man and their politics. I realized that I only play a small part in it. I haven't accepted things, but I know how to choose my battles." He replied almost in a whisper to himself. "I know the feeling. You can't jump on ever little injustice you see; your feet will soon fall off." She chuckled and surprisingly enough, so did he.

There was a small silence between them until Achilles interrupted it, "Hepatitis said that it was your idea to come to my camp. He said that you were planning an attack on it, but you wanted to weaken it by stealing the food and weapons and gathering more men by freeing my slaves. He also told me that you weren't even Trojan, that you were sent here to protect Helene and that you've been nothing but a menace to the people and you're a godless whore…" he started, but was interrupted by Naomi's throaty chuckle. "He said all that? Wait till I get my hands on him, that little worm." She said amusingly. Truly puzzled by her amusement Achilles continued what he was told by the Trojan horse master. "He said that you were gathering up food for the half dead people that still hide in the caves and that in exchange for his life and that of the rest of the survivors that I may have you and the boy named Aeneas, who possess the sword of Troy, to do with as I please. He made some suggestions for what I should do with you, none of them pretty in my book, but they're doable." Achilles smirked knowing he hit a nerve from the tell tale signs of anger on Naomi's face.

I can't believe that bastard went that far. He gave away the other's positions, now they know where they are. It will be a slaughter; they're not ready to fight these men. How could Iciles take his little vendetta so far! He's doom them all. That vile snake! "If you truly know where my charges hide then why haven't you sent your army after them yet?" she asked truly curious and a little hopeful. "One, my men haven't fully rested yet and two, I don't know their exact location. It could take weeks to search all the caves on the cove, not to mention the ones in the woods. So don't worry your pretty head." He said again like it was the most natural thing in the work. He'd just given away information to the enemy, yet he could not see the wrong in it or have the strength enough to berate himself for it. "I'll do what I please. It is you who shouldn't worry about my pretty little head. Where is this fool so I can kill him myself?" she whispered darkly. Achilles noted the change in her tone and almost grimaced from the easy way in which she could change from an almost laid back teasing voice to a dark foreboding voice that sent shivers and shocks through his spine.

Clearing the lump in his throat, Achilles' mask of cold indifference was in place as he passionlessly replied "I killed him. He annoyed me with his cowardly whining; so I gutted him then slit his throat when he still wouldn't shut up." He said as flatly without even blinking. He felt no remorse for killing the girl's comrade and actually enjoyed it. 'You can't teach a dog new tricks no matter how appealing the trainer is. I haven't felt a power better than that of having a man's life seep through my fingers like water.' Achilles reminisced, 'It felt good, but I know the guilt will come soon. It always does. But Briseis is not here to cause such guilt and shame within you. It was there before her. It is the looks I get every time I look into a woman's eyes; the wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, cousin, friend or lover of the men I've killed. Their eyes killed me with each dagger filled glare. I only need to look into hers now and the guilt will surface. You torture and punish yourself unjustly. Do I? I deserve worse, I deserve death. That's the coward's way out. I'm a man who kills to be remembered through the ages and wants never to be forgotten to the dark oblivion of time. I've risked life, partner, and pride for a legacy I no longer want. How tragic; get over it! You have too much in front of you to mope about feeling sorry for yourself. Easy for you to say; you're the part of me that has no conscience or remorse. You're damn right I don't! It's no sweat off my back what others think. I do what I am destined. I don't make the rules, but I need not make excuses for who I am; and look how well I'm doing. Obviously not too well since you're stuck with me; you're inside my head, you are apart of me and so you must bare part of my struggle. Humph'

Achilles was staring at the ground intently as if waiting for it to swallow him up; all of a sudden he was reluctant. He was reluctant to look up in Naomi's big golden eyes and see fear, disgust, anger, or pain; all the emotions he remembered seeing in the women's faces that haunted him more than his victims did. True the man he killed was a traitor but that would not change the fact that he killed him with reason. The man had given him the information he needed, even though he didn't ask for it, in exchange for the life he took anyway.

He didn't understand this sudden urge for Naomi to judge him; he wanted to hear her tell him how horrible, cruel, and barbaric he was. Sure, she said that already, but to know he killed her comrade in cold blood even though he gave what information he had and practically begged for his life. What would she say, what was she thinking right now? Was she scared now that she realized he was a man with no type of morals; one who toyed with people like a child's toys and an animal's prey. Would she shun away from him like all those countless other women did. Even his mother flinched at every graphic detail of his battles and Briseis would hear none of it. She would go into a fit of rage if she knew what he did last night or she'd probably cry with grief and despair for loving such a blood thirsty monster.

'When has anyone's opinion mattered to you? Why do you take this from these worthless females? They are weak! They know nothing; they can't understand the feeling you get from fighting. They aren't fighters, they're leeches. What does a woman know other then what dress makes her look good and how deep her husband's pockets are. Why does it matter? You were happier before all of this, now you doubt yourself constantly. You know what this can do to you in battle? It can get you killed! It is a weakness that you cannot afford, you have too many enemies now to let you're guard down ever and letting these foolish thoughts plague your mind will only make it worse. If she is angry, brush it off like sand in your boots. If she is disgusted give her something to be grossed out about. If she cries, laugh.' Shaking his wicked thoughts away Achilles finally looked up into Naomi's eyes, which were giving him a confused stare.

Naomi couldn't understand why Achilles seemed so quiet after telling her that he just killed someone and he enjoyed it. Zeus, she must really have him whipped. I don't understand why he's beating himself up. She thought bewildered. Finally getting tired of the deafening silence in the room, Achilles' impatience won out," Well, aren't you going to say anything?" he asked, still no emotion in his voice. "I killed your countrymen." He stated plainly and at that Naomi laughed. I can't believe he called Hepatitis my countrymen after all the shit that bastard said. Trojan or not, he is no countrymen of mine, but I wonder how Iciles must feel knowing he just sent his only son to his death. I can't wait to rub it in his face. You try to destroy me and you get something that is most precious to taken away instead. I warned him, but he didn't listen and now look what his malice and greed have done. Naomi thought pensively. "What is there to say? What do you want me to say?" she asked curiously.

At that Achilles was speechless. He truly didn't know what he wanted her to say, but he knew what he thought she was going to say; and what she just said wasn't it. "No parting words for the deceased? I killed a man who begged for mercy." He added the last part as an after thought more to himself than to her. "As far as I'm concerned you did what you had to do and you also did me a favor. I knew there was tension because of my leadership and I now know why. You did what any honorable general would do in the times of war; it was your duty. For a true battle to be recognized in the pages of history, both armies must be ready and formidable. Even if it is not on your side that there is discord, it is your duty to make sure your opponent's army is in the best shape. No one should gloat about a battle so easily won because the rival couldn't keep his people together; it'd be pathetic. So if there is a traitor among my ranks you are bound by honor to kill him and I the same for you. Hepatitis was no countrymen of mine. He was a mindless slave to his father's whims and now a traitor; that's all he'll be remembered as now. There in lye the unrest among the people because of this discord in leadership. He was just following his snake of a father's wish to get rid of me so he could have all the glory; now he's lost his life and his place in time because of it. I doubt that you even told the fool that you would spare his life; the idiot just spilt his guts out like the pig he was. He deserved death. Who am I to be judge when I would have and have done the same. I'm not your naïve little virgin priestess." She replied smartly.

Achilles was again taken aback, 'She knows the art of war. She's amazing. Get your head out your ass and put your tongue back in your mouth. So what if she knows a little something about war? She's a cold murdering bitch and she'll turn you back into the murdering bastard you were before. I didn't murder; I fought valiantly and with honor; there's a difference. What would Briseis say if she heard that? I don't care! She doesn't understand; no one does. So what you think she will. Maybe. Bullshit! It doesn't matter, I don't intend on pursuing anything outside what was said with this woman. Right... tell yourself that, you're already racking up points for her. It is noting; she is just a potential mate and I am reacting accordingly. But aren't you supposed to pursue those who are potential mates? Yes, but I already have a mate. You didn't mark her. I'm not an animal! So what's all this take about mates? It's just a side effect of my survival training. I don't get it. Ask me if I care, now shut up!'

Shaking away his thoughts, Achilles realized a long silence had passed between them and he was staring at her as if he were memorizing her. "What are you staring at!" she yelled. "One of the most beautiful women I have ever seen." He replied emotionless, but his eyes showed how serious he was and how much he believed in what he'd just said. "Then I guess you don't get out much." She chuckled uneasily. "I get out plenty. I've had many women, so I know what I'm taking about." He replied matter-of-factly. "A regular man whore I hear. Me being a woman and all, I think I'd know true beauty when I see it." She countered. Achilles smiled and let out a small chuckle. "I guess you would, but all women see invisible flaws; even Aphrodite." "You've met her?" she asked "once or twice. I'm visited by the gods quiet frequently. If you want I can introduce you to one." He added non chalantly. This time Naomi smiled and chuckled, "No thanks. I regrettable have my own annual visits from the gods, as well." She replied. "Hate their guts too?" he asked amusingly. "Is it that obvious?" she asked in jest. "Let's just say it comes with the perks." They both laughed at that.

"But seriously do you find me appealing?" Naomi stop laughing instantly as the question left his lips. Looking up at him confused Naomi answered "Are you trying to psyche me out for the battle? Because if you…" "No. I just see you staring at me a lot and you're very defensive when I give you compliments." He interrupted. "Oh! Well… you shouldn't feel special; I do that to all men who want to get into my pants! I'm a married woman and you're supposed to be in love with someone else, so you shouldn't be bothering me in the first place!" she shot back, thinking she'd won the argument. "I do love Briseis, but there is nothing wrong with having a little fun or appreciating what is before me." He countered. "Fun? You call aggravating me fun?" she asked incredulously.

As she spoke he waked up to her tied form and kneed before her. He came so close to her that their cheeks were touching as he whispered into her ear "Yes" he purred seductively, purposely blowing hot air on her ear and sending shivers through her body. Naomi was unknowingly panting as she felt his body heat so close to her and moved her head to the side, forcing Achilles to look deep into her eyes. They stared at each other like that for what felt like an eternity; each of them with their own thoughts.

'Wait a minute! What am I saying? I couldn't possible be flirting with her! Could I? She is beautiful and feisty and it has been a while since I've had a good lay. But I can't! I love Briseis, I could nor would I ever take another! But you are attracted to her, very attracted to her. I don't even know why, she hasn't done anything to warrant my lust, but there is something about her that calls to me. Yeah it's the thing between your thighs called a penis. No, there is something more. She calls to my instincts, not just my lower half. Really? No woman has ever called THAT before; not even Briseis. Don't start! I've had enough with your confused heart. Ever since you started listening to it, there's been nothing but trouble. I love Briseis and no one else. No one else could create the peace her presence brings me. So, when Briseis returns, you will marry her. For now, you've denied yourself the pleasure of a woman as a sign of your love for her; you can take this woman as your concubine after you marry. Think of it as a wedding present to yourself. Briseis could not deny you that if she truly loved you. Is that what I was doing? I'm not sure anymore. I don't remember making such a vow. It could be that I love Briseis so that spoils every other woman after her, but why not this woman? None have caught my interest till now. It's because she's beautiful, smart, willful, and she fights; not even Briseis could compare to this woman. Your right, but I still love her; this woman is nothing but a mystery and like all mysteries they have ends. True; then let us solve her puzzle for now, till Briseis is returned. I will not sleep with her. Didn't say that you would, but you can play with her.

Jerk! Naomi snorted inwardly as she watched him stand up and walked over to his discarded clothes. He pulled out a knife and she glared at him menacingly, silently daring him to try and lay a hand on her. He walked back to her and kneeled before her. "I wouldn't glare at people like that; it might give them the impression that you don't like them." he smirked as he grabbing her wrists and put the knife between them; the knife sliced through the bonds releasing her. She crawled backwards to the furthest point of the tent and stayed in a ready crouched position; discreetly searching for the sword she saw earlier with her hands.

He threw the discarded rope to the side and put his knife in his toga then returned his attention back to her. He watched her couch in the corner like a cornered tigress. Oddly, he felt his blood boil at her defensiveness. Slowly he knelt down to a kneeling position watching her reaction the entire time. "There's no need to be so defensive. I'm a man of honor and would never lay an unwilling hand on you." He offered soothingly. "You have my word I will not harm you."

"I don't give a cow's dung about your word, Grecian. It means less than dung to me. I only trust actions and so far you have not shown me that your intentions for me are honorable. So save it for the next trollop that comes around." She spat. Achilles was quiet for a moment before he answered with a gut-wrenching bout of laughter. It was the first good laugh he's had in a while and this woman seemed to amuse him, far better than any comedian could, with her poison tipped words; but like all poison, it was nothing but a tickle to Achilles. Naomi shifted in place as his gaze began to make her even more nervous. Why is he staring at me? She wondered uncomfortably. When she could not feel the sword, she began to rub her injured wrist and grimaced as she scraped the open wounds.

"I will tend to your wounds." he offered then stood and prepared himself to do so, but then Naomi hissed "I don't need your pity or your help. It is your fault I have these wounds in the first place." Naomi didn't know what to make of the man before her. He was her enemy yet he didn't treat her as such, he treats you worse. How so? He's only trying to help. He's only trying to get in between your legs. Goddess I hate being a woman. At least as a man I would know his intentions. If you were a man you'd be dead. For the most part he treated her with respect; at least he wasn't throwing her down to the furs and beating her half to death or worse.

"You will stay in my tent till it is time for our little match. I will come for you then. I will not bind you, but you must promise not to try and escape or I'll have to kill you." without another word he exited the tent.

She let out a shaky breath and laid down on the furs close to her. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but she was afraid to close her eyes, in fear of being attacked in her sleep. No, Naomi. No sleep for you. You must find a way out of here. I thought you were going to kill the mighty Achilles? I am, but not today. Now that I know he knows where the rest are, I have to go warn them and find out how far Iciles' treachery goes. You're worried about the boy? Yes, he might have gone back to a den of wolves. He's a big boy; you've taught him well, he can handle himself. Are you insane! He is my responsibility; they all are. I can't just abandon them. You did before. Besides, they'll understand. This is Achilles we're taking here. And unless some god takes his life, he won't go anywhere; I'll just come back another day. Suppose he wants you to run back to the caves so he can follow you and kill the others? I...I forgot about that. I'll just double back. I have to go; I have to make sure Aeneas is alright. Fine! But don't say I didn't warn you. Those fools don't deserve you. Awww, are you worried about my well being so I can fight Achilles or are you actually worried about little ole me? Shut up! Naomi chuckled at her small victory against the voice in her head and cautiously stood. She walked to the opening of the tent and peered out, and then was immediately shoved back inside.

"I thought I told you to stay in this tent and not to try and escape?" Achilles stated more than asked as he stood just inside the tent.

She backed up into the pole she was originally tied to and tried to come up with a convincing lie. "I was hungry. I was coming to ask you if I could have some food." She replied rather snappily. Achilles smiled at her blatant lie. He'd been waiting outside for her to see if she'd try to escape. He was surprised it took her that long. "How about I tell you that I don't believe you and that now I've added lying to your name; lying tricky Trojan whore. Sound better?" he teased, but he could see the name didn't settle well with her one bit. "Why you…" she charged him and with a simply turn he dodged her, but he didn't turn back in time to catch her before she ran out the tent. Naomi ran as fast as her legs could carry her, but only got two feet away from the tent before Achilles tackled her from behind. He grabbed her by the arms and dragged her back into the tent.

He pressed her against the pole with his body as he shackled her wrists together behind her around the pole. The small fur padded manacles were made especially for a woman. The bastard has done this before. Funny he didn't look like the bondage type; hahahaha. Shit! Not a good picture to give me when he's pressed up on me and tying me up like this! Well we all know what type you are; hahaha. Shut up! She looked up at him with pure hatred in her eyes and discreetly clamped her thighs together to hide the evidence of her reaction to the voice's warped imagination and their close contact. "Now be a good little girl and don't move until I return. I'll have someone bring you food in a bit. You might want to take a nap, you look tired and you smell! Sleep tight. Don't let the poisonous bugs bite." He chuckled as he walked out of his tent to go eat with his men. "YOU BASTARD! Let me out of these things, right this INSTANT! You can't keep me chained up like this. It's cold in here, there's a bunch of men hanging about, and these things are itchy and uncomfortable. Are you listening, YOU JERK!" all she got was a collected bunch of shouts from the men all around camp telling her to shut up.

Naomi was left to wallow in her self-pity until she passed out from exhaustion three hours later. The last thought she had was Goddess I hated men.

WhenNaomi finally woke up, her golden eyes instinctively scanned her surroundings for a possibly threat to her being. Once her brain possessed the information her eyes had acquired she remembered what happened the night before and that morning. She looked back at her wrists, which had started to sting as soon as she woke up. She looked at the lock to the manacles and realized without any tools it'd be impossible to open. She smirked at her discovery and went straight to work looking through her rags for her secret stash. After a couple of moments of fiddling with it she finally found the right knot in her belt and slipped out a hairpin she'd gotten from Helene. After a few trail and errors, she finally got the pin into the lock and twisted it about a little until the thing opened. The manacles fell uselessly to the floor and Naomi quickly got to her feet. She glanced at her now red skin from the irritating fur and thanked the goddesses that she had healing powers.

This time she peeked outside the flap slowly and little by little she stepped out of the tent. As soon as she was sure that there weren't any men in sight, she stretched in the warm rays of the late morning sun. She slowly made her way to the other side of the camp. She couldn't go the way Achilles and she came last night because then she'd have to pass by the armory, which was to her dismay heavily guarded once again. She crawled and crept pass tent after tent, hoping that nobody would suddenly pop up out of nowhere and finds her free.

She could see the end of the encampment and the beginning of the woods going towards the shore; only a few yards away. She was a few tents away from freedom, when suddenly a big burly smelly man stepped out his tent; probably forgotten something in it, since it seemed most of the men were off training or taking a bath. Naomi crouched lower to the ground quietly cursing her luck. Maybe if I stay low he won't notice me, Naomi secretly hopped. But as her bad luck would have it, the oblivious soldier dropped what had to be his wash bucket on the ground; and when he moved to retrieve it, he noticed her watching him from behind his neighbor's tent. Damn it, she cursed inwardly not daring to move a muscle, hopping that'd he'd just think his eyes were playing tricks on him and move on, but again fate was not on her side. She could see from the corner of her eye that the occupant of the tent that she was hiding next to was coming out with his wash bucket and the first thing his unfocused eyes fell upon was her.

Naomi no longer had the element of surprise, so she was now in clear view of both confused and slowly becoming frightened men. Well anything easy has its cost. Might as well get this over with and make a run for it. I'll have to hide in one of the coves now, until they stop looking for me. This is going to take forever. She whined in her head. The two men straightened up looking at one another then at Naomi. They silently asked each other which one should go get help (that one being ridiculed for life for running from a woman) and who would stay and distract her until help arrived or till they died. Both decided it'd be better if they both attacked at once instead of only one staying and fighting. With a quick nod of their heads; they pulled out their swords, got into fighting positions, and got ready to charge.

Naomi prepared herself for the attack that never came. There between her and her opponents was the man of all her torment, Achilles. Achilles had his back turned to her as he spoke to his men. "I do remember telling you all that only I was allowed to fight this woman. She is here for my pleasure and mine alone." he sneered at his men. The older of the two men named Lucas bowed his head out of respect, but replied, "Sire, I have no desire to go against your wishes, but this woman was trying to escape, we were merely defending ourselves." At this Achilles chuckled and the group of soldiers that were with him laughed along with him. When he stopped they all stopped. "You're afraid of a little woman?" Achilles asked amused. At that all the soldiers began to snicker. Lucas looked horrified, then furious at the insult. "I'm not afraid of any woman. Especially not a Trojan whore like her!" everyone was silent as Lucas pointed to a bored looking Naomi.

When she realized all attention was back on her again, she stopped examining her nails and looked up with a confused 'what' on her face. Achilles slowly turned his head around and stated what Lucas said. Naomi was blue in the face how angry she was, but the closeness of his body distracted her from her thoughts. With each word Achilles came closer and closer to her until he was so close that her nose was almost in his chest. His bare, bronzed, hairless chest and broad shoulders; all golden and glistening with sweat. Look at how well formed his muscles are and his ripped abdomen. Naomi tried in vain to ignore the low throb in her abdomen.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the whispers coming from the men. While she was spacing out on Achilles' chest, the other man that caught her trying to escape had gone and gotten the others incase she gave their master any trouble. "I'm no little woman. You can ask him, if you want." Naomi chimed in with almost a childlike innocence to her voice as she pointed to the man that she remembered from that morning that had spit on her. The huge man now sported long horrible gashes on his face and two of his fingers were missing; the pointer and the middle finger that she bite off why charging him. Achilles looked over to whom he could only identify as Isander. "Why you little…" Isander advanced on her as he said those words. Naomi just smiled teasingly, waiting for him to strike her, but she was sadly disappointed when Achilles once again interrupted. "I have seen and heard enough. If it is vengeance you want then I'll be the punisher. No one else may lay a hand on her." He roared to the crowd. Eudorus and Lucas just shook their heads as the soldiers agreed with their champion; who better than their lord and leader, the best of them and the worst of them all in one. (He will make sure that justice is served) they all thought, but Lucas and Eudorus knew better. Achilles was doing this for fun; he had no intention of killing her. But Lucas wasn't brave enough to voice his opinion and face the wrath of the might Achilles, so he quietly conceded and joined the rest of the men in the crowd.

"And I thought I told you to stay put until I returned?" Achilles stated calmly in a monotone voice to Naomi when he turned to her. "I take orders from no one! And besides, I never gave you my word; you just assumed that because you had spoken it would be done. You should know better than to assume anything about me," she yelled back. "As true as that might be, I thought you weren't the cowardly type." He retorted. "Running away from a fight is quite a yellow thing to do. I thought you didn't fear me." He continued.

Achilles caught her wanton look and his mouth turned up knowingly; his deep eyes flashing with barely suppressed mirth and smug satisfaction. Naomi shifted uncomfortably under his knowing stare refusing to look up at him because his stare was so intensely set on her head; she didn't want to get lost in it if she looked him in the eyes, so she concentrated solely on his chest. "Well?" he prodded when she didn't respond and quiet annoyed that she didn't look at him with her challenging glare. Using his forefinger and thumb he caught her chin and pulled it upwards, so that her eyes were on him. The gesture was so gentle that the men's whispers all around them became more distinct. Naomi turned her head towards them and yelled "Would you shut up, I'm trying to think!" all the men quieted.

Jerking her head back to him, Achilles smirked "Ignore them. Why were you leaving, little one?" he asked quietly. The question was so innocent and sincere in the normative tone it was asked that it almost sounded like he was hurt or disappointed. This puzzled Naomi, not to mention the gentleness with which he touched her. What is he doing and what is he getting at? She thought and decided the silent treatment wasn't going to work on him right now. "I had pressing business to attend to. A friend is in need." She replied honestly. Achilles was a little taken aback with her blunt answer and decided that she was speaking the truth and not just trying to run from him. 'She doesn't fear me.' He mentally sighed, for reasons that he did not understand. "Who is this friend and how do you know he is in need of your aide?" he asked in a monotone voice and dropped his hand from her chin, staring down at her with dispassionate eyes. "I don't think that is any of you business, but since you asked. I know because of the information you gave me this morning. He was wounded when I sent him away and I know now that I have traitors among the people, so I must make sure they haven't killed him." She replied in an authoritarian voice. 'Ever the general. Who is this male that she wants to protect so earnestly? Is he a child? Mostly likely. A student? Maybe. A friend? Possible. A lover?' that last though seem to anger and disappoint him a little, again for reasons he did not understand. "Your lover can wait. You have a match with me in a couple of hours, you should rest. If he is man enough to have you then he should be man enough to take care of himself." He said in disgust with a sneer plain on his face.

Lover? Where did he get that idea from? Didn't he hear that I am married; for like the forty seventh time! Is he jealous? Hahahaha, wait till he finds out it's just a boy……Wait! That's none of his business whether or not it's my lover; and why do I feel like I must console him? Argh, I hate him! Naomi screamed in her mind. Just then Eudorus spoke up, "Do you mean the man who was hiding in the bushes when you attacked us?" oh god they found him! Naomi panicked. She turned her eyes towards him and the glare in them would have doused the sun three times over. She began walking towards him. "If you've hurt him, so help me Zeus, I will kill you in the most painful and slowest way possible. I'd make you suffer so much, the gods Ares and Hades would vomit at the sight of your tortured soul in the afterlife. Do I make myself clear?" she shouted in his face; the look on her face was that of a mad woman possessed by the spirit of evil. Eudorus was so taken aback by her outburst that he backed away from her and tripped on one of his men's feet, Naomi caught him by the neck of his tunic and glared into his face as he quickly shook his head in the affirmative. "Now, where is he?" she asked menacingly.

Achilles just stood back and watched the spectacle with a big grin on his face, but inside he was anxious to meet this crowdedly man who'd hide in bushes as his woman fought to keep him safe. Eudorus snapped his fingers and told a man to bring the boy that charged them this morning. At that Naomi released Eudorus and shook her head, that boy. Probably woke up to find me gone and thought I'd been killed, so he charged them blindly to avenge me. He could have gotten himself killed and I wouldn't have been there. Like always of late. Naomi thought to herself angrily. Achilles watched her as she paced like an angry lion, she was anxious to know of the man's condition. "Naomi, since we have your friend I can guess that you will want him released with you as well if you win the match." he asked more then stated. Naomi stopped her pacing and gave him an incredulous look, "Of course. I will not leave here without him." "But when you lose, you both become my slaves." He continued. "No! He mustn't. He will be freed regardless." She demanded. "I'm afraid you're not in a position to argue." Achilles replied darkly. "Neither are you." Naomi countered. "How so?" he asked amusingly. "If you want your little match to be entertaining then you'll have to go by my rules." She replied. "Which are?" he asked. "If I win then Aeneas, the rest of the Trojan prisoners and me are free to go." She stated. "And if you lose?" "….. You can have me, but you have to let the rest go." She replied softly. The men roared with their displeasure at her ludicrous request. Achilles again chuckled at his men's anger, "I don't have to do anything. It seems to me that is not much of a deal, since I lose all of my slaves either way and gain one when I win; either way I look at it, you'd win. Do you think me a fool?"

"No, I thought you a man and a lord. You act like a servant or the mindless people that you are so disgusted with. Only a coward would follow a man that they is think lower than them; and only a slave would do their bidding even if they thought it was wrong and it went against everything they stood for. Are you then, great Achilles, a coward or a slave?" "I'm neither woman, are you blind?" "Blind people see more clearly than the rest of use who are gifted with sight. If I were called blind I would be honored. The Trojans have done you no wrong and you even love one of their kin, so why can't you tell that pig king of yours to shove it?" "You're still missing something important. All of this is for my pleasure, for my entertainment; it has nothing to do with Agamemnon. You do not have to convince me of what I already know and believe; what you're suppose to convince me of is how much you're worth to me. Are you worth all this trouble and the more you intend to bring with your continued existence or should I just kill you and every other Trojan I find, and for once and for all be done with it?" Achilles stated as dispassionately as ever. There were loud gasps and whispers amongst the men once again and Achilles vaguely remembered comparing them to the old women back home, sitting on their porches exchanging the last piece of gossip to lighten up their otherwise dismal lives. Achilles made no secret of his hate for Agamemnon, but to admit it to the enemy. There was also the direct hit Naomi made to their lord's pride both with his compliance to Agamemnon's will and his love for the Trojan priestess of Apollo. The men have become used to these blights on their lord's records because they truly believed in him, he was a god to them, and they have already pledged their lives to him; but to have it so blatantly thrown back in their faces by this woman brought up some old doubts and disagreements with their lord's ways.

Naomi was silent for a moment before she finally decided her course of action. "Achilles, I'm worth more than all the slaves and soldiers in this camp." She said matter-of-factly. " I'm not into the whoring business." He retorted amusingly and all the other soldiers let out loud snickers. "If you win, you get all of me to do with as you please." Naomi hesitantly offered. At this, Achilles raised an eyebrow, "I thought I was getting all that before." He asked. "No, before I was just going to be your slave. I would pick up after you, feed you, bathe you, and serve you; but this new offer is more than that. I'm giving you permission to do anything you want with me; on my word." Having her head held high, shoulders squared, chest puffed out, and her back straight, like a good little soldier; Naomi said this with a little more confidence; not much, but more. "So are you offering your virginity to me?" he chuckled. Naomi was not amused and glared at him as she nodded her head. "Well you may find this amusing, but I do not want you in my bed, Naomi. You're breathtaking on the eyes and perfect to touch on the skin, but you're dangerous to the throat, but that last one is a good quality in some cases. I will make you my sparring partner and a soldier in my army." He stated. There was a loud bout of disagreement and astonishment through his camp as the men heard this. "You don't even know if I can fight. I have a problem with authority, as you already know." She said a little surprised by his offer. "True, but it's nothing I can't handle" he said confidently, a little too confidently for Naomi's tastes. "So you think" she replied menacingly.

"Is this a deal?" asked Achilles as he held out his hand, waiting for her answer. "Deal" Naomi took Achilles' hand and shook it firmly, making sure to put all her strength in it. Achilles smirked as he felt her do this and was a little surprise to hear a creak as her grip tightened. Not one to stand down from a challenge, he began squeezing her hand as well and watched as a new flame seem to burn in her eyes, not realizing the same burned in his. The two refused to give up, both gripping as hard as they could and never tearing their eyes away, even as the men bombarded Eudorus with their displeasure of the present happenings; their loud ruckus deafening the poor man as he pleaded to his master to quiet them down . No one in the world existed but Naomi to Achilles and no one existed in the world besides Achilles to Naomi; the two were immersed in a battle that could only be seen by them (AN: Think the movie Big Trouble In Little China. The part where the good and bad sorcerers fight, but with their fingers and made these like shadowy warrior figures in the air that fought for them. If you haven't seen the movie then imagine that you saw someone you wanted to fight and in your head you imagined how the fight would pan out, but in this case, both you and the person you want to fight are doing that at the same time. Let me guess, I made it more complicated then I needed to. Well, figure it out for yourselves. Sheesh, can't help people! They're always complaining!)

Finally Achilles felt a tap on his shoulder and woke out of his imaginary battle. "Sire, are you alright?" asked Eudorus. Achilles pouted at his friend's interruption, but mentally yelped when he tried to take his hand away from Naomi, only to have his wrist dislocated. Naomi was panicked for a mere second at Eudorus' interruption, but when she realized she dislocated Achilles' left writ, she burst out laughing. Achilles, never liking to get laughed at, glared hateful daggers at Naomi. When she finally quieted Achilles let a small smile grace his face as he popped his wrist back into place like it was nothing (AN: you know that shit hurt! One time I dislocated my pinky and I thought if I just did like Xena: warrior princess, my favorite show back then, and popped it back in with a rock it wouldn't hurt. I was 8, leave me alone! I learned never to do it again after they took me off the morphine at the hospital. LOL, Memories! Can't always believe what you see on TV.) He turned to Eudorus and conceited to save him from the men. Achilles walked up to the crowd of raging men and just screamed. It sounded more like a roar to Naomi but then again Naomi thought everything sounded like an animal. There wasn't a sound made at all; you could hear a feather drop. Turning to Naomi once again Achilles amended his earlier deal, "Oh, Naomi, one more thing. There is always room for renegotiation." Achilles stated with a weird twinkle in his eye that unsettled her. Shaking away the serious shivers he seemed to send her constantly Naomi smirked and replied with a mocking bow, "As you wish, my lord." Achilles just smirked and returned the bow.

Finally three soldiers arrived dragging a struggling man behind them. Naomi nearly ran to him when they dropped him two feet in front of her. 'They must be lovers. Eudorus told me of the man they caught today, but I did not go and see him. I want to know what kind of man she considers worth dying for.' when Achilles peered down at the man, he was surprised to see a boy. 'She goes for the younger type?' he thought confused. He looked at Eudorus and asked, "I thought you said this was a man, not some child barley out of his teens." "I'm 18, you bastard!" Aeneas shouted at Achilles, his head still firmly rest on Naomi's breast; much to Achilles' displeasure. "My point exactly, he's still in his teens." Achilles said to Eudorus and completely ignored Aeneas. "I'll show you a child!" continued Aeneas. He tried to get out of Naomi's embrace so he could unsheathe the golden sword of Troy and defeat the mighty Achilles once and for all. "Boy! I suggest you stay on that woman's bosom like the suckling pup you are. If you draw that sword I'm obligated by honor to meet your blade with mine; and you don't want that." Stated a stern Achilles. "Oh yes I do, you filthy dog. Don't tell me what I do or do not want; you're not my father." Yelled a still struggling Aeneas, who was trying desperately to stand, but the gash on his leg did not permitting him to do so.

The men in the camp all started to laugh at the boy's challenge when he could barely stand on his own two feet. "Then come boy. Stand and meet me." Stated an amused yet stoic Achilles. With that, Aeneas' efforts intensified to the point where Naomi had to restrain him so he wouldn't open his cut and bleed to death. Finally getting fed up, Naomi snapped, "Shut Up!" everyone went quite once again. Looking around Naomi settled her eyes back on the boy, now by her side. "Aeneas, behave yourself." She commanded, but he still glared up at the smirking Achilles. Getting truly ticked off by being ignored; Naomi snatched his single braid and pulled him towards her. "Excuse me; I do believe I was speaking to you. I mean right now!" with a defeated whimper, Aeneas backed down. "You! Stop your silly shenanigans and stop teasing wounded little boys!" she shouted at Achilles while pointing an accusing finger. At that Achilles started to protest "Now wait a minute. He started it first, you were right there…" "Not another word. I don't want to hear it. He's younger than you; you are the adult, act like it. Grow up!" Huffing in defeat Achilles waved his hand in dismissal. Aeneas snickered at this, truly amazed by the few hours that Naomi was there, she already had the mighty Achilles cow towing to her will. That all stopped when he felt the withering glare she place upon him that he feared.

Figuring his quiet submissiveness was due to her embarrassing him in front of everyone, Naomi softened her glare. "Are you alright?" she asked sternly, trying not to be too motherly of him in front of the other men. "Yes Naomi" he replied in a similar huff as Achilles. "Good" she said tonelessly. After the confirmation of his well-being Naomi smacked him upside the head with a loud slap. "Ow! What was that for?" he whined rubbing his now aching head. "That's for worrying me have to death. I didn't have children because I don't want to worry about anyone like that. What were you thinking? I put you there to keep you safe and you come charging down the hill like a moron into what could have been your death." She yelled "You don't have children because you'd probably eat them, ya harpy." Aeneas grumbled under his breath. "WHAT was that?" Naomi asked. "Nothing! I'm sorry for worrying you, but these ruthless bastards wouldn't hesitate to do horrible things to you, you're a very beautiful woman. I had to act fast for I feared your well-being." Aeneas quipped quickly. "Nope! He said that the reason you don't have children is because you'd probably eat them alive and he called you a harpy." Replied a chuckling Achilles. Again with another glare from Naomi that stopped. Turning back to Aeneas Naomi smirked, "You're probably right." and then she laughed. Aeneas let out a nervous laugh figuring the coast was all clear, never being certain with Naomi.

Naomi stood up and dusted her robes off. "I do believe that we have a match sir and I am in need of different attire." She stated regally. Taking another mock bow Achilles replied with a smile. "Anything the lady wants." He bent over and took her hand in his; giving it a gently kiss before giving its owner a broad smile, revealing deep dimples in his cheeks; making him even more attractive. Sinfully so, she mused. He snapped his fingers and his men dispersed in different directions. "I suppose you will be wanting to see the show?" he asked Aeneas as Naomi bent over to help him up. Taking a quick glance at her prosier, which didn't go unnoticed by Aeneas, Achilles waited until the boy was safely supported on Naomi's shoulder and standing to his neck. "What show?" he asked confused and little perturbed by the man's obvious interest in his mentor. "Your lady friend here will be battling in return for all of your freedom." Aeneas turned shocked eyes to Naomi and nearly fell over with the effort to try and turn to face her. "You're doing what!" he nearly screamed. "I'm fighting him in order to free the rest of the slave and you and me. We fight at noon." She stated plainly. "What do you mean your fighting him? Alone? By yourself?" "That's what alone means." She stated playfully. "You can't! He'll kill you." He said in disbelief. "Actually, if I win, she will become a member of my army and my personal slave; but you and the others are still free to go." Achilles once again supplied the enraged boy. "What! You can't do this. Naomi I will not let you sacrifice your life for me; and you can't join them!" "It's not only for you. Besides don't you have any faith in your old mentor?" "Of course I do Naomi, but this is Achilles; not even Hector could defeat him." "Difference is that was Hector; it's my turn now. Wish me luck!" she said as she walked off behind Eudorus to get new clothes for the upcoming battle. "Come with me, kid. I'll make sure you get cleaned up and feed. You'll have a front row seat." Achilles patted the boy on the back as he led him in the same direction that Naomi and Eudorus went. "Oh joy. How do I know you won't poison me or your men won't kill me on the spot?" Aeneas stopped to ask. Achilles just chuckled, "Poison is not my style. I'm more of a stab'em in the throat so they can die slowly and painful as they watch me ravish their wives. You have my word no harm will come to you." "That means a lot. How many have you said that to before you gutted them?" Aeneas asked. "Too many." Achilles replied darkly. At the look of fright on the poor boy's face, Achilles laughed out right and dragged the struggling boy to the center of the camp where the food was.

Eudorus and Aeneas just looked at the now two isolated challengers in the middle of a ring of soldiers. It had been three hours since the negotiated challenge was made and they were here at exactly noon, about to commence the fight. During that time Achilles had him find armor that would fit Naomi; Achilles didn't want to have an unfair advantage so he made her wear the exact same armor he wore.

It was a battle uniform; she had on black armor with the sea goddess' royal crest inlaid in it and silver straps, just like Achilles' armor; only his was gold. Both wore no helmets, but she had black sandals, while Achilles had brown sandals. Naomi raised an eyebrow at these uniforms and shook her head. They were the damnedest things I've ever seen. Naomi flexed her muscles and stretched her arms out. This outfit was pretty nice, it was like a second skin, but it wasn't tight or constraining.

"I thought you'd never come around," Achilles arrogantly stated. "And I thought you'd never wake up; correction, I was praying you wouldn't." Naomi sneered. "Why? You scared?" Achilles chuckled. "Why don't you stop your useless chatter and just fight me. I'd like to get this over and done with before I'm 60. Honestly you boast and squawk as much as that gutless pig you call king." Naomi smiled. Achilles chuckled at this as while. "Are you ready?" Naomi took a final breath, in and then out, and finished centering herself the way she always did before a match or battle. With a small smile gracing her lips. Getting into a fighting position Achilles asked "Are you ready to spend the rest of your life serving my every whim?" Naomi replied, "If you mean, serving your undeserving corpse on a brass platter to Hades…" she took up a fighting stance" then I'm ready."

They circled each other for what seemed like hours to the bystanders, but what they were really doing was sizing each other up. "Ladies first." Achilles commanded. "I doubt a barbarian like you knows what a lady is. Since you are ignorant enough to start this battle with one then I shall withhold my right to go first, so you can have your first lesson." Naomi smirked as she through some of his own words back at him. Naomi knew never to attack first; she had learned from her mistakes long ago and knew that arrogance could get you killed in a battle. No, she would use this warrior's overtly passive attitude against him, if at all possible, and it did look possible.

Achilles saw the twinkle in her eye and let a sly grin crease his face. Wanting to start the show already, he attacked first with his sword raised high and his legs charging his body at hers. Naomi easily dodged the swipe of the blade, but she almost missed the kicked aimed at her side. Naomi's head snapped up, her eyes flew open and she quickly evaded the blow, body shifting to Achilles' blind side and did a spinning hook kick to the back of Achilles' head. Achilles dropped his sword and went down, but not for long; he rolled over onto his back and jumped to his feet. Naomi attacked with a back kick. Never a good idea when matched up against a bigger opponent. Achilles simply leaned back to avoid the blow, and then spun around with another hook kick to Naomi's head while Naomi was still off balance, making her loose her sword in the process. Naomi turned around after a quick recovery and aimed a devastating punch at Achilles' face. Achilles deflected the blow with his forearm and ducked the hook that followed it. Naomi countered with a few quick fluid punches to Achilles' face and midsection. Achilles stumbled back, but grabbed Naomi's shoulders as he went down and flipped Naomi face first into the ground behind him.

Naomi's face hurt from the nose breaking impact, but she came away uninjured. Getting up, Naomi shook it off and was now thoroughly pissed. Achilles had gotten used to Naomi's technique and secretly admired it 'Whoever trained her did it well. She has the perfect counter for all my moves, but not enough strength to hold my blows. She can probably take five hits in the same spot, but anymore would seriously weaken her. She's very fast, almost as fast as me. She isn't weak, I know she's holding most of it back in hopes to surprise me, but she's still nowhere near as strong as me. She knows the right places to hit to weaken me-I actually feel pain from the places that she's already hit me.' Achilles analysis from their little test run was interrupted when Naomi took the defensive and waited for him to strike first.

Holy crap, Naomi thought, this man is one hell of a warrior, an asshole, but still one hell of a warrior. I can't believe I've gotten this far without all my powers. He's quick and light on his feet, which is surprising with all that bulk he has carrying around. I can almost see his brain calculating my every move with his eye; it's like he can read my mind, but he's still not quick enough to block my attacks. He's actually quiet flexible and resourceful, he can change almost ever situation he's in to his advantage. He is something else, but I will not give up. This is my freedom we're talking about here and who knows what else. With that Naomi took up her defensive position signaling him that she was ready. Achilles ran at her swiftly, silently, and gracefully, almost like a dance; no footing taken that wasn't necessary and his steps were in perfect alignment with his body and hers. Naomi then set him up for a head blow, which left Achilles totally unprepared for the painful gut shot. Naomi threw her hips and everything she had in the shot; and Achilles went tumbling across the ring into the gasping crowd of his men. When Achilles stood again he had in his hands two swords, retrieved from one of the soldiers. Naomi cursed when she thought Achilles was going to attack.

"Now girl, play times over. Let's show them what you've really got!" Achilles shouted across the ring. Naomi just smirked as Achilles threw her a sword and attacked her. The Myrmidon attacked with blinding speed, but thanks to Athena's training, Naomi was able to track the movement. She didn't draw the sword yet, biding her time. A blinding roundhouse kick was aimed at Naomi's head. She was just able to move out of the way. She wasn't sure if she could take one of his hits yet, but she was a lot faster than before and she continued to dodge the blows. What she couldn't dodge she did her best to block. One particularly nasty ax kick broke her left arm with a nasty snapping noise, but Naomi pushed on. Evidently Achilles grew tired of chasing Naomi around the ring. So he started to slash at her with his sword.

Naomi did her best to avoid the damnable weapon, but still got cut across the face. She got another cut across her left forearm as she protected her head with an overhead block when she was unable to avoid the blow. Naomi ducked then rolled to the left around Achilles forcing him to turn around and face her blindly. This gave Naomi enough time to easily disarmed Achilles and tossed both there swords out of immediate reach. Achilles just charged at Naomi intent on launching his head into her stomach and getting her on the ground again, where she was most vulnerable. Naomi used a simple body shift and using Achilles' own momentum against him, tossed him easily into the crowd again. Naomi walked over to Achilles clutching the wound on her arm, which she strongly suspected, was a whole lot worse off than she had first imagined. Achilles lay on his back breathing heavily. Naomi stood over him, face hard, a bit of blood dripped down into her eye from the slash on her face, which traveled from right above her left eyebrow, bisecting it on the end closest to her ear and then going diagonally down to just above her jaw line. Naomi cursed and whipped the blood out of her eye with the back of her hand. Achilles worse shape, but he was grinning like a child at a festival. Even with the ugly scare he regrettable gave her, Achilles still swore she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen; especially after she kicked his but all over this sandy earth and was now bloodied and messy heaving before him. Yep, he was in a paradise with a killer body ache.

In one swift move he jumped to his feet and head butted Naomi in her face, making her cut sting more. He upper cutted her jaw and sent her flying to the other side of the clearing into a group of the unsuspecting audience. She hit the back of head on the one of the soldier's helmet and was pretty sure there was a cut. Achilles gave her no time to collect herself as he strolled up to her fallen body and grabbed her hair. Pulling her up on her feet by her hair, he kneed her in the gut, spun her around, released her and sent her flying once again into the other side of the ring. He through his hands up, like he was the victor, and the crowd went wild. Cheering, roaring, shouting, the throwing of helmets in the air and whistling was sure to be heard all the way in Greece, but it all ended the moment Naomi stood back up. Everything went silent and there were gasps and whispered conversations in the crowd. Achilles smirked before he dramatically turned around to face his opponent, who was now stretching and creaking her neck and knuckles.

"Will you not lay down for me!" he shouted amusingly. Naomi just looked at him and smiled, "Never in all eternity, will I lie down for you." The underlying remark not going unnoticed by the men. The two walked gracefully towards each other into the center of the ring. The men watched in awe as they grasped each other's hands and proceeded to wrestle each other to the ground. It was like watching a Turkish oil-wrestling tournament, sadly without the oil. One minute Achilles was on top the next, Naomi was. Some men swear they were going to get sick if someone didn't stop the spinning. Naomi had Achilles on his stomach while she straddled his ass and pulled his arm behind his back; with her foot underneath his jaw, she bent as far back as she could to increase the pain in his jaw, back, and arm. Achilles eyes were bulging out of their sockets, he was sure he'd never felt so much pain in his life and Naomi didn't seem like she would be satisfied till his arm, back, and neck were broken. So, he makes a grab for her neck with his feet and flipped her into a reverse move where he is the one on top doing the same thing she had done to him. This time Naomi took one leg and kicked him in the back of the head, but he refused to move; so then she wrapped her leg around his neck and pulled with all her strength. The move only served only to pull Achilles down in a chokehold with her leg and her now dislocated jaw.

Achilles tried to use his other arm to try and release his neck from her hold, but she wouldn't budge; so he punched her in the back of her neck, both of them going slack when she fell face first to the floor and released Achilles from her hold. But she was the first to stand and Achilles struggled to follow. 'She is good. She's so flexible.' Achilles smirked at his thoughts and what he hoped would be a good trait for the best sex in his life. 'Oh, how I will enjoy her. Wait... what! What am I thinking? I will not bed this woman, no matter how strong her thighs are, or how soft and sweet smelling she is, or how flexible and responsive she is….oh damn it I'm losing it. Focus!'

The two charged each other once again meeting in the center of the ring; they attacked each other with a fury of blows. Naomi first punched Achilles in the stomach then into his face. She kicked him in behind both knees making him kneel before her; then she kneed the left side of his head. Achilles caught himself with his hand before he fell to the floor after Naomi's attacks; he took her thigh and punched her straight in the abdomen. When she doubled over he flipped her by her hair on to the ground, where he dropped his elbow into her stomach.

Naomi narrowly missed the next elbow to her head when she rolled out of the way. She sent the heel of her hand into Achilles' face and upper cutted his jaw. She then chopped him in the throat and swung an ear shattering punch into the side of his face. Achilles was the down on the ground still trying to recover from the chop to his throat when she came around to punch him in the face; he saw stars. When she tried again he caught her wrist this time and used his other fist to punch her in the chest. Both were now in a sitting position coughing. This time Achilles was the first to recover and as he stood he grabbed Naomi by the neck and lifted her up into the air. With a bloodied grin, Naomi unsheathed her dagger from the belt tied secretly around her upper thigh and ran it through him. Achilles and all his men gasped. Achilles released Naomi from his suffocating hold after she yanked her dagger out of his chest plate and he started to falter.

Naomi rolled with the impacted as her butt hit the ground. She grabbed the sword she dropped earlier and coming to her feet, she stood ready as Achilles knelt on the ground and blood gushing through the wound in his chest. It wasn't deep enough to be fatal, but Naomi knew it would leave a scar and she waited for him to charge. He stood from his one bent knee and stared at the blood like it was his newest discovery. "It has been a long time since I've seen my blood." Achilles stated, intrigued with the bright red liquid. "Me too" Naomi replied. He looked up at her and smiled. Without warning he finally charged Naomi, underestimating her flexibility with a sword, as so many people did. Naomi fell back catching herself with her free hand and sticking her sword out towards Achilles, allowing him to impale himself on it. Achilles' eyes grew wide as his armor made a screeching sound as hit scratched his armor and went through it; he felt the sharp tip of Naomi's sword on the skin of his stomach, 'That was a close call. It was lucky thing I decided to get dressed in armor today. How could I have been so stupid? It was so obvious that she would do this, although, I never expected her to be this flexible.'

Achilles tried to slowly ease off the elongated knife, but only succeed in the sword making a thin cut on his skin because Naomi moved the sword with him. They smiled at each other "Looks like I've got you" Naomi stated victoriously, but Achilles was not convinced. With one quick fluid motion, Achilles spun Naomi around with his foot and picked up the sword that was now right next to him. When he lunged toward Naomi's tensed stunned prone body, Naomi quickly used her legs to turn her back around and lay on her back so Achilles could lie on top of her. The sight was truly amazing to watch as Achilles' huge form knelt between Naomi's long lovely legs, while she laid on her back with a dagger pressed to his throat and his sword laid flat on her neck. It was a stalemate. After over seven hours of fighting, the two had outmatched and outwitted each other and so proved to be equals in combat.

"Well it looks as if we have no winner." Huffed Achilles; who was now drawing deep long breathes and sweating as if he'd done hard labor for two days. Naomi wasn't any better, so that gave him a bit of hope that he didn't look too badly in front of his men. The two were sweaty, exhausted and bloody, but the refused to give into to their weakness. All the soldiers refused to admit to what they had just witness. A woman had matched the mighty Achilles and …won. "Who is the winner, Eudorus the Just?" the men shouted. It was times like these that Eudorus hated his job. "Are you blind you fool… it's Achilles of course. Our sire could not lose to any man and you think a woman could do a better job?" Yelled a soldier to Eudorus' right. "Well she did last for seven hours against him. That's more than any man and still there is no winner." Said a soldier to Eudorus' left. Then all hell broke lose as the men began to argue about who was the victor of the conflict. Luckily Eudorus was forgotten in the commotion and he just stared out at the two oblivious people still in the ring; they hadn't moved from the spot they were in.

"So what should we do now, oh mighty Naomi? "Achilles teased. Naomi smiled at the title and replied, "You should move a little closer and find out." "You know full well any closer and you'd have my handsome head to adore for the rest of your life." Achilles smirked. "That's the point." Naomi laughed. But at her smile and the sound of her laughter Achilles became lost in all that was Naomi. She was so beautiful right now that he wanted to kill Aphrodite for stealing this lady's title. The two stared at each other for what seem like days, lost in each other's eyes and their own thoughts. Naomi realized that Achilles' eyes were a bright sky blue. When in battle they turned this ocean blue, when angry the turned cobalt, when he wanted to hide his emotions they were a icy grayish blue, when happy or amused they turned electric blue then baby blue depending on the level to which he was contented; and when he desired something and his mind was filled with lust, his eyes turn navy blue. Naomi was confused to how she knew all these things about him already, but couldn't muster the strength to dwell on it. All she could do was look into those beautiful sky blue eyes.

Their solace was interrupted when they heard some one clear their throat. Both looked up simultaneously as Eudorus and all the men stared at them expectantly. Achilles knew what he had to do from the look on Eudorus' face and with one last look to the unsuspecting Naomi, who still had her face turned to Eudorus, Achilles titled his sword at bit and….

Naomi awoke screaming with Achilles' face right in front of hers. She pulled back her fist and punched him right in the eyeball. Naomi sat up panting looking around, finally getting a grip on were she was. She was back in Achilles' tent, in the furs again and from the light outside it was early afternoon. The silk and fur fringed blanket was wrapped tightly around her and she was drenched in sweat. She cursed under her breath and glanced over at Achilles who had a hand over his eye and cursing in his own language.

"Nice right hook." Achilles grumbled. Naomi stared at him for a while still trying to get herself back together when she smiled, "Seems I had to remind you again." She mumbled under her breath and untangled her self and winced at the pain in her arm. It was practically healed, but it still smarted. "You heal fast and very well." Achilles offered after seeing her poke her arm. "I know," she answered almost somberly. Achilles knew there was a story behind why she healed as fast as he could, but she wasn't in the mood to talk about it. "There's some water beside the bed, incase you want to clean up before Maim comes in with your new clothes." At that Naomi's head snapped up, she looked down at herself and realized she was in a small hunter green almost see throw silk wrap that came to her mid thigh. When she realized that she pulled the sheets up to her chin. "Where are my clothes?" she shouted.

Achilles winced at the pitch. "Calm yourself, woman. They were too damned to be worn again so after you changed into the uniform I had them burned. It's not like you going to need them anyway." Achilles grinned incuriously. Knowing that she would pick up on his meaning. "What do you mean I won't be needing them?" she demanded, angry that her husband's gift had been destroyed. "I'm not walking home naked or in this!" she motioned to the wrap she had on with her chin. Achilles grinned at the blow he was about to deal her. Trying to find the most suave words, Achilles moved in for the kill. "But, darling…" he drawled, "This is your home. From. Now. On." He said each of the words slowly and profoundly so it could sink into her confused mind. His smirk grew ten sizes at the widening of her eyes; she looked like she was about to faint 'If she did, I'll be there to catch her.' Achilles though amusingly, but as he expected Naomi immediately snapped out of her stupor. She snapped the sheets back, jumped onto the floor, marched right up to him; never minding her state of dress or intimidating height and form. "What do you fucking mean… From. Now. On? This isn't my fucking home! And if you think that I will stay here with you, then you're crazier than I could have ever imagine. I won that stupid fight and I'm going home with or without your permission." She poked her finger with each word she spat in his face and walked right around him to emphasize her last point.

He quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her so hard she almost fell back. He was now staring at her with a calm calculated face on, "If you take one foot out this tent without me saying so… I. Will. Kill. You. Do I make myself clear?" he said rather icily as squeezed her arm hard enough to break it, but not quiet hard enough to actually break it; to emphasize his point. But through the pain, Naomi just glared at him. "Look around you, girl. If you had truly won, as you claimed, you wouldn't be here. You'd be back in that rattrap where I found you. So obviously I won." Naomi eyed him confusingly "but, but how?" "I knocked you out with the butt of my sword." Achilles stated causally. "No, that is not possibly I had you!" "You thought you had me and in doing so, you let your guard down." Naomi couldn't believe what she was hearing. She lost. She lost to him. She was so she sure had him hard pressed, one flick of her wrist and he would have been dead, nothing he could've done could have stopped it. "But, bbut…" "But nothing! I won, so that makes you mine." He interrupted as he sneered at her refusal to give in, to believe he won. "For all that talk, you were just like everyone else; just words. I would have killed you hadn't I remembered my promise and our deal. So the honorable thing for you to do is to take your defeat with dignity and do what you have promised."

Achilles pushed the now defeated looking girl away from him. He was too disgust with himself to even look at her, so he moved to the other side of the tent. He lied, it was she who almost killed him and he had to do that under handed trick to win the match. While her attention was drawn away he hit her in the back of the head with his sword. No matter how many times Eudorus told him that he won fair and square, he could feel it and he knew his men felt it as well; he cheated. Though it served her right for having been distracted when in a battle, the match didn't end because no one had conceded, died, or pasted out so it was up to him to take that opportunity to end it all. When he saw her eyes pop open then slowly close as she went unconscious, he felt a part of him break into a million pieces. It wasn't his heart, but he was sure it was his soul, along with his pride and honor. What he did was wrong and everybody knew it; except her and maybe even her now.

He watched her as she slowly moved over to the basin he told her of before. She looked so dejected, like she had failed to protect something precious; Achilles could understand what she was feeling. He felt it when Hector killed Patroclus, he felt like he failed him and he could only assume what it felt like to feel like you've failed to protect your freedom. He prayed he hadn't broken her, that was not his intent, he just wanted to have a little fun and looking at her beautiful self bent over the basin made him realize he got more than he bargained for. 'It's just pride. She'll dust it off. Don't worry, she will be back to her old self in no time and then the fun will truly begin.'

She was cleaning her face slowly with the water he'd left in the basin beside the bed. She cautiously brought the water to her face and quickly wiped it away incase taking her eyes off of him would mean the end of her. She watched his, what she thought at first, smug expression across the room as he practically gloated about his victory over her like he did just a few moments ago; but after closer observation of his stiff and inert posture, she realized he was deep in though. His brooding obviously had something to do with her since he hadn't taken his eyes off of her the whole time. I can't believe I lost. I've never lost to anyone! Man, Woman, God or Goddess. I can't believe I went out with nothing but a knock to the head. What do I do now? There is no way I'm becoming that jerk's servant. He can go fuck himself if he thinks I'm going to stay here and wait on him hand and foot. I'll just escape when he sleeps tonight. Hopeful he only wants me to serve him in the conventionally way and not the biblical way. If he tries anything I swear I'll cut his balls off!

Oh, Goddess I wish he'd stop staring at me like that. It's bad enough I don't know what his intentions are, but does he have to further torment me with all this waiting and staring! He's Hades himself, I tell you. His cruelty can be compared to no other. Why are you in such a hurry? You act as if you're a virgin waiting for your first love's first kiss. Yeah, we remember how that one went. You were so nervous you ended up breaking the man's arm and jaw, as well as biting his bottom lip off. Hey! He was getting fresh, I said kiss me not molest me. He should have known better than to show his priestess such disrespect. I should have had him castrated! He was lucky I didn't want word of our encounter to get to my mother or… Naomi's reminiscing stopped when one of Achilles' men came into the tent and informed Achilles of some dilemma he must take care of. With one last warning glance in her direction he went out the flap and left her to her own thoughts. He left at last. She felt relieved. She had felt him watching her, his eyes far too passionate over her body, she could have felt them thousands of miles away; and so close to her body they scorched her

As soon as he left the safety of his tent the harsh sea air hit his smooth bronzed skin. Unlike his men he did not have to squint to find his way under the brilliant glare of the sun, but as he walked his eyes were narrowed in thought about the way she was staring at him warily from the corner of her eye, waiting for him to pounce on her. Zeus knows he would have if it hadn't been for the iron grip he had on the dresser. He had to keep his distance, for her safety and his sanity; he had to stay away from her. How could such feelings come in such a short time of being with this woman he didn't even know, but he didn't want to find out just yet. He'd let the enchantress weave her spell a little longer before he acted and by then he would have what he wanted and be done with her.

AN: I wasn't planning on continuing this because I didn't get enough reviews, but I realized it wouldn't be fair to those who do participate; so I continued it. If it sounds a little off then you guys will understand two months of writers block finally got to me. I've already finished the third chapter and I'm starting on the fourth. What can I say; when it comes to writing I'm a juggernaut. I usually write a whole ton when my brain isn't blocked. Any way, Eudorus is like Achilles' best friend/right hand man; they've been through a lot together and want to share a lot more together. For a while everyone thought they were gay, hahhaha! Achilles is going to be confused for a little while longer in the rest of the story until the middle maybe, when he finally finds himself. Naomi's origins will be explained soon, so keep your breeches on you won't have to wait long. Through the rest of the story she won't be so perfect anymore because this story is more about humility and love against all odds. I'm usually not too good with fight scenes but this one I did when my b/f and I broke up and I was thinking about all the things I wanted to do to him. When I read it over after I wrote it I went pale. Talk about vicious. Am I right? I know I sound like this flaming feminist, but I'm tired of all the boys having all the fun. ARE YOU WITH ME GIRLS! Also if you notice from all my other stories my main characters are always strong willed black women who are also skilled fighters. I don't know about others authors out there, but I can only write from what I see. The Naomi in this story reminds me of me (well how I perceive myself in my mind.), the one in my Elektra story reminds me of my aunt, and the one in the Inuyasha story reminds me of my sister; so in a way all these characters are just a pumped up version of real life people. Also I write like this because I've been fan fiction fan for six years now and I've read all types of fanfic from movie to comic to anime to books; and in all those six years, I've only read three stories with black characters in it. Now I don't want to get all black activist in here, but it's understandable since there aren't that many black people in the media (anime, books, and movies); so I'm not gonna say any of it is racist. So, I made up my mind I would try to add some color to the fanfic world.