Disclaimer: It's not mine. The characters belong to Homer and the movie rights belong to Wolfgang Peterson and Warner Bros.
Happy Halloween to all my lovely readers!
Sara: Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad you appreciate this story because a lot of time does go into the plot. Keep reading and reviewing!
SenatorSolo: I'm glad you still like it! Don't worry, you will see what happens when Paris tells Hector about Helen.
Ellie: I'm so glad you liked Larissa! I just love little kids… Thanks for the review.
Ch. 6: New Daughter
Larissa reached Odysseus and Penelope's chambers without incident; the guard who'd escorted her had long since left and she was starting to get tired of waiting for the Ithacan king. So she did what any curious eight year old girl might do – she knocked on the door.
"Knock knock!" Helen was rudely awakened from her mid-morning nap. She staggered out of the bed to see who was at the door. But it wasn't Odysseus or Penelope, as she hoped. Instead she saw the small, frail form of a servant little girl.
"Who's there?" Helen called, still debating whether or not she could trust the girl. Much depended on her answer.
"It's Larissa," answered the girl. "I'm here to see Callista, the new nanny. Odysseus sent me." That settled it; Helen knew she could be trusted as she must've spoken with the Ithacan king. As of now, no one knew that Callista existed except for Helen herself and the royal couple of Ithaca.
"Come in quickly," Helen told her, and unlocked and opened the door. Larissa ran in and Helen nervously locked the door behind her.
"Are you Callista?" Larissa unabashedly stared at Helen, who nodded. "Good, because I'm supposed to help you take care of Telemachus," the eight year-old said importantly.
"Thanks; I could use your help," Helen told the girl. "He can be a handful sometimes. By the way, where is Odysseus?" Helen sat back down on the bed and motioned for the girl to do the same.
"He had to go see Penelope. The guard said she was really sad because Queen Helen had died."
"Did he say when he'd be back?" Helen asked, avoiding the comment.
"No," Larissa said slowly. "I can't believe Queen Helen died…my friends and I used to play Queen of Sparta all the time. We all wished that we could be as pretty as her, and live in the palace and never have to worry about going hungry again."
Helen felt a tiny pang of guilt. Even though she had been forced to marry Menelaus, she still had led a very privileged life.
"But my mama said that she didn't envy the Queen; she saw her once and told me how unhappy she looked. Mama also said that she wouldn't want to be married to the King – she didn't like him very much. She said he was mean to people," Larissa told Helen matter-of-factly.
"What do you mean 'she said'? Where is your mother now?" Helen immediately realized it was the wrong thing to say when Larissa burst into tears. Wanting to remedy her mistake she hugged the sobbing girl and rocked her gently.
"I'm so sorry dear, I didn't know," said Helen. "I'm sure she loved you very much." Larissa sniffled and looked up at Helen.
"Yes she did. I really miss her – she was all I have except for my mother's relatives and they don't even live here. This morning was when she finally died, but she'd been sick for a long time." Helen gently wiped Larissa's eyes and helped her blow her nose.
"It's not fair! My mama was a good person; why did she have to be taken from her home, her family, and everything she knew?" Helen gasped in horror.
"By the gods! That's terrible; were you taken too?" Larissa shook her head.
"No, I was born here. My father was the one who enslaved her and took her away from her family in Troy." Helen's eyes widened at the mention of her lover's country and Larissa noticed.
"Callista, will you let me go to Troy with you? Odysseus said that if I pretended to be your daughter I could go whenever you do." Helen was speechless. Take this girl to Troy? What would Paris say? They'd have to go to the trouble of asking around to find the girl's family. I'm sure he'd understand, it's Paris after all. He wouldn't want me to leave her behind, especially since she has no place to live in Sparta.
"Of course you can," Helen said firmly. "I promise I'll do everything within my power to reunite you with your mother's family."
"Oh thank you, Callista!" The little girl threw her arms around Helen's neck in jubilation and she had to smile at the girl's affections.
"But if you are to go to Troy with me, you must keep it a secret – no one is supposed to know that I'm leaving for Troy except Odysseus and Penelope. Oh, and Diana, Penelope's maid knows as well," Helen added.
"I can keep a secret, I promise!" vowed Larissa. Helen was debated whether or not to tell the girl about her true identity as she got up to brush her hair. "You don't walk like a servant," Larissa observed. Helen froze; what could she say? She decided that the truth would be the best.
"What I'm about to tell you must never leave this room – if I'm found out, I could be killed." Larissa nodded solemnly.
"I won't tell a soul," she vowed. Helen took a deep breath, not sure how to explain her situation in a way a child could understand.
"Larissa, as you might've guessed, I'm not really a servant. And Queen Helen isn't dead – she faked suicide." Helen paused for a moment, hoping the girl would put two and two together.
"Are…are you really?" Larissa whispered. Helen nodded and Larissa gasped.
"Your highness!" The girl gave a little curtsy and Helen giggled.
"You don't have to call me that, Larissa. The Queen is supposed to be dead."
"Oh yeah," she remembered. Then the little girl frowned. "Why did you fake your own death? Why on earth would you rather be a servant than the Queen of Sparta?" Helen sighed.
"You'd rather be a servant too if you were married to my husband." Larissa gave her a sad look.
"I'm sorry. I guess my mom was right – is he really as mean as she thought?" You have no idea.
"He's worse. The man has no respect for women, or those not of noble class – it's disgusting. And he's always abusing his power, conquering countries just to expand his territory." Larissa nodded understandingly.
"So you're escaping to Troy pretending to be a servant. Why are you going there?" Helen bit her lip.
"The man I love lives there. He promised to come back for me in a week or so." Larissa smiled at her.
"That's so sweet! He must be a lot nicer than King Menelaus then, huh?" Helen laughed.
"Oh yes. The two are complete opposites. Menelaus is a greedy, bloodthirsty pig and Paris is a peace-loving, sweet, funny, caring man."
"I'm so happy for you, Helen," said Larissa. "Oops; can I call you that?" Helen grinned at the little girl.
"Sure. But only around people who are in on our secret." The eight year old nodded. Helen was glad the girl had finally stopped sniffling, and that she wasn't dwelling on her mother's death.
"How did you meet Paris?" Helen smiled dreamily, remembering the passion-filled nights that they'd shared.
"He was here last week as an ambassador from Troy," Helen explained. Larissa's mouth dropped open.
"You mean Prince Paris?" Again, Helen nodded. "Wow! I knew that the Trojans had come for the peace talks because my mama told me so. She was able to get a glimpse of Prince Hector when during the parade – it made her cry to see a reminder of home." Helen patted her head in a motherly way.
"I can't wait for you to meet him, Larissa," Helen enthused. "You really haven't been around nice men, have you?" The girl shook her head.
"No. My father beat my mother when he was around. Thankfully, when I was three, he sold her to someone else that left us alone."
"You were so brave," Helen told the little girl, who continued to cling to her.
"Are you and Prince Paris going to get married? If you do, you'd get to be a princess of Troy, right?" Larissa's question caught Helen off guard.
"Well," she began slowly, "technically I would be a princess. But he hasn't asked me to marry him yet." Now a new worry began to form in Helen's mind. What if Paris didn't have any plans for marriage? Would she be viewed by the Trojans as another of Paris' many flames? I wish I'd thought to discuss this with him before I agreed to run away with him. Larissa noticed Helen's look of concern.
"Don't worry; I'm sure he only wants to wait until you are safe in Troy before he proposes," the girl assured her. Helen sighed.
"I hope so." Just then, another knock sounded at the door. Luckily it was only Odysseus and Penelope. Larissa let them in and Penelope immediately gave Helen a hug.
"I see you two have met," Odysseus grinned wryly at Larissa. "Is she letting you come to Troy with her?" Larissa beamed at Helen.
"Yes. And then she promised to help me find my family!"
"I'm glad to hear that," said Penelope. Just then a loud "Mommeeeee!" rang out from the next room and Penelope groaned.
"That would be my son." She moved to the adjoining room, but Helen stopped her.
"That's ok, Penelope. Let Larissa and I tend to Telemachus for now."
"Thanks," the Ithacan Queen said gratefully. Helen moved towards the door and motioned for Larissa to follow.
"Are you ready for this?" she asked the girl.
"Yes," she answered determined. "How bad could one little boy be?" Helen grinned inwardly. Larissa was about to find out.
End Ch. 6
Sorry this one is so short! The next one will be longer, I promise!
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