AN}--Here we are again! I'm hoping you enjoyed the last chapter. AndAmanda!! I forgot to mention something. In response for more Katri/Paris scenes, your wish shall be granted after this chapter is over. Until then, I hope you can enjoy the build up. =)

My Immortal
By BluWine

Chapter 12: My Once Pleasant Dreams

Acacius raced into the walls of the city, his horse being pushed beyond its limits. As soon as he got to the military building, he saw Hector coming out, his armor already on.

"Your highness! I came as soon as I saw the fires!" Acacius reported, a fist to his chest and his head bowed in respect to his superior.

"Where have you been, soldier?" Hector said, calmly leading Acacius, Acacius' horse, and the group that had been inside.

"I was with Katriana, your highness," Acacius murmured. Hector briefly froze, his glance flickering to the towers of the well protected palace. He knew Andromache would be up there, fearing that he wouldn't return to meet his son. He also knew that a miniscule part of that fear was with the woman outside the protection of the walls of her city.

"Is she all right? Did you bring her in?" Hector asked as they got to the stables to ride out to meet the Greeks.

"No... I could not ride fast enough if she were with me," Acacius said.

"Fool! You risk the life of one whom you call dear for the sake of speed!?" Hector snapped. Acacius stepped back, ashamed at the reprimand and the error of his rash decision.

"I apologize, sir," Acacius replied. "If I would be permitted, I shall ride back and fetch her."

"No... you stay with me. I cannot afford to lose your skills in battle." Hector turned to a younger warrior, small and feeble, shivering in terror of what he was about to step into. "You, boy!" Hector pointed to the inexperienced one. "There is a cottage north of walls. There is a woman there. Go and fetch her and ensure her safety. Bring her to Andromache as soon as you return."

"Yes, your highness," the young one nodded. He turned on his horse and rode out, thinking he had evaded death from the Greeks but he was wrong.

The boy talked to the guard at the gate. Only one was present since most others had gone to the southern and western front of battles. This one remained to open the gates for it could only be done so from the insides but he was to leave soon as well. He told the guard of his mission and the guard had agreed to stay there for two hours time and no more. The boy agreed and began to ride his horse out of the walls towards the cottage.

Achilles was riding around the city alone. He held no fear of the wall's shooters. Their strongest arrows would not even cut him. He wanted to see the extent of the city. It was large and as magnificent as the tales told of the city of Troy. He had begun to reach the northern side of the walls when he saw a warrior on a horse, running into what he thought was open and empty land.

"... a coward?" Achilles thought, stopping his horse and halting his chariot. "... Ahh... He runs towards Mount Ida... He surely thinks to hide. No matter..." Without another thought, he took out a spear, throwing it with almost no effort. The spear lodged itself into the rider's head and he fell dead even before he reached the ground. The horse, feeling the malice that occurred above him, whinnied and ran faster, heading into the protection of Mount Ida.

Achilles, feeling as if he assumed correctly, turned back towards the battles for more kills and the guard at the door, even before Achilles had taken notice of the messenger, had retracted from his agreement and left, thinking nothing of the girl that the boy was meant to save.

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Four days went by and Katri heard nothing. Literally... Well, excluding the waves, of course, for even the mightiest hand of the Greeks could not stand against Poseidon. But otherwise, no other life touched her own.... After the pillaging of the ports and temple, there was absolute silence. Even the gulls seemed to sense the evil that touched their homes and had fled for safety.

Katri had stayed as she had promised Acacius. Her necessities were packed for the moment someone was to come and rescue her into the city walls. So far none came. She didn't dare wander outside her fences and only gathered a few sheep to keep her company and sustained but as the time passed and her sight telling her that the Greeks were moving north to surround the city, she began to worry even more. She slept little for she didn't trust that the Greeks slept as well. She ate little for she had little food and she didn't know when Acacius would come for her.

Finally, on the fifth night, she had to run. The Greeks were coming in from the shore line, probably to scour the walls for weaknesses. They would surely find her and the consequences of that would be much too vast to risk. Grabbing a bag from the floor, filled with some belongings and food, she made her way out of her cottage just as some Greeks were beginning to come over the crest of the hill. Weak from not having enough rest, she made very slow time on the plains when there wasn't much of a downward slope to help her forward. The Greeks also began to unknowingly gain on her.

Her breath already began to become labored as she entered the trees and made her way through the brushes, not wanting to go through the paths. Greeks might have already come through there and were waiting for their comrades. She slipped into the hidden gate, knocking on it firmly.

"Open up..." she muttered, knowing that if she shouted, the Greeks would surely hear her. "Open! Anyone!"

Katri turned back. The light of the torches had begun to grow beneath the trees. Their shouts and orders began to echo through to her and her heart began to pound. In her form, it was too dangerous. She could be hurt. She pounded again at the door, not caring if the sound could be heard.

"Open up! Please!" she shouted, her fist banging on the wood. No answer still came and the enemy drew nearer. She knocked one last time, risking her presence being made known and that was when the Greeks hushed for a moment.

"Did you hear that?" one warrior asked, his voice hushed. Achilles was with the warrior and nodded, his keen eyes scanning his surroundings.

"Someone is here," Achilles murmured. He gestured for silence with his index finger pointed up to gather his group's attentions. His ears now listened. All others could hear nothing but the wind blowing through the branches and leaves but to Achilles, he could decipher the sounds of heavy breathing other than his soldiers'. From the rustling of the trees, he could tell someone was beginning to climb in hopes of hiding but Achilles was much too skilled to succumb to such a trick. Achilles grabbed a torch from one of his closer comrades and swept it down to the roots of the nearest tree.

"Torch the forest!" he ordered. "Leave no tree standing!" The soldiers hollered at the order and began to make the bonfire.

A little farther down into the woods, and right by the gate she was just trying to enter, Katri clutched her bag, sitting on a large branch of a tree. She recognized Achilles' voice, hearing it before in some long forgotten memory. She clutched the trunk praying that it would not be chosen as a tree to burn but the voices that used to protect her were absent.

"They can't kill me, they can't kill me," she tried to chant softly but it did nothing to slow down her pulse. She knew that she couldn't be killed but that didn't mean she couldn't be hurt. "Stupid bloody loopholes," she muttered.

Katri closed her eyes, the smoke beginning to reach her. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Air was becoming scarce. She tried to open her eyes once more and in the blurry colors of the world, she could just barely make out the blaze she could only guess that used to be her home in the distance. Everywhere she turned was red and orange, the blacks of burnt wood, falling to the ground and the grey of the smoke filling her lungs.

The screams were not only that of the Greeks anymore. If she had the strength to look up, she would have seen Trojans awakened by the sound of crackling wood lining the walls above her. They were calling for soldiers and warriors to fight away the enemy from the forest lining but the trees were already burning down one by one.

Katriana was falling limp in her hiding place. Below, she spied a Greek with a torch just about to set fire to her tree when her eyes and consciousness finally gave way to something resembling sleep for she began to dream though some part of her was still aware of her predicament.

She was with Alexander. It wasn't Paris before her, the one who broke her heart, the new prince. It was Alex. HER Alex, the one she loved... still loved.... And they were in the front yard, having lunch on a beautiful day. He was about to lean down and kiss her when the temperature began to rise. She opened her eyes and Alexander was gone. She looked up and the sky was black. Her home was burning and the charred bodies of her livestock were everywhere. The grass around her was beginning to burn and the fire was starting to trail towards her. She tried to run but she only stumbled backwards. The fire was licking at her feet now... Her dress was singeing... She could hear voices screaming around her and then horses galloping away. The ground shook and a crevice opened up, swallowing her. She squeezed her eyes together, praying that she would not feel the sting of the fall and her prayers were answered. As she started falling, her perception of anything at all was gone.

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[[ Earlier that same night ]]

Hector groaned in frustration. He hadn't seen his wife since the Greeks attacked. He slept little since then as well. In the company of only men, he had been becoming more and more agitated as time passed. Paris had been doing the little he could in the face of war and for that at least, Hector was remotely proud of him.

'So the boy has grown a bit and has taken the responsibility that is his to bear,' Hector thought. 'It's a start.'

He looked over to his brother who was trying to use his mind in formulating some sort of plan, though Hector knew it would be fruitless. Paris never studied military strategy. The chances of his eye catching a hole in the meticulous Greek troops was very slim especially with the warrior Achilles' spear at their side. He noticed however that his younger brother's face was drawn in, tired from the exhaustion that his body had never experienced before. In reward for his attempts to help, Hector offered Paris leave for the rest of the night.

"Thank you, brother. That would be very welcome," Paris murmured, rolling away the sheets. Hector stood up and led Paris back to the palace. On the way to their own chambers, they passed by the reading room. Hector was eager to return and had passed it immediately without taking notice of the room but Paris held out a hand and grabbed Hector's shoulder.

"What is it?" Hector asked.

"Your wife and mother," Paris said gesturing towards the dimly lit room. Hector turned and saw Andromache sitting in an armchair, and Hecuba across from her. Both women were asleep but the creases of worry were obvous even in their rest. "Shall we put them to bed?"

"Yes... But let us wake them. We are far too weak to carry both and I fear for dropping either of them," he smirked. Paris smiled in return and went to his mother as Hector went to Andromache.

"Mother... Mother, you should be in bed," Paris murmured, his hand gently shaking the shoulder of the queen. Hector was doing the same but his words to wake up Andromache were to hushed to be heard.

"Paris?" Hecuba called her voice raspy from sleep.

"Yes, mother. Come, I'll walk you to your bed," Paris said, softly.

"Oh, Paris," Hecuba smiled, her eyes still slits to see through. "I was so worried. What of your brother? Has he returned with you?"

"Oh course, mother..." Hecuba's old and wrinkled hand went to her son and put it against his cheek.

"So proud of you... You are just as I wanted you to be," she said proudly, standing up with the help of her son. Paris blushed and smiled his thanks. He looked towards his brother and wife, their voices slightly raising as if in an argument and he frowned.

"... She was sent to you. Four days ago! The moment the Greeks had come and Acacius returned without her, I sent someone for her!" Hector said.

"Hector, I have NOT seen her. She is NOT within these walls or at least has not been with me," Andromache snapped.

"That is impossible. My order was clear. I saw him leave for it!" Hector shook his head.

"Did you follow through to know the job was finished?" Andromache asked and Hector stood there silently. "Half baked, Hector! You cannot leave things like this!"

"It is one mistake," Hector muttered.

"Of whom do you speak?" Paris asked, his hand still at his mother's elbow. Andromache and Hector looked up and frowned. Hector just shook his head again and looked back at Andromache.

"The Greeks have not come to the north. It can be mended," Hector said calmly.

"Actually, that is not entirely true," a voice said from the door. Everyone looked up and saw Helionos, a captain under Hector, standing at the doorway.

"What do you mean?" Hector asked, his grip tightening around Andromache's hand.

"The Greeks are torching the north lining. Achilles leads them, your highness. They have already burnt down a home a little ways off..."

Paris' head snapped up and realized just what his brother was speaking of.

"Katriana... You speak of her." His eyes widened and Hector could tell genuine fear was starting to come over him.

"Glad to know you still care," Andromache sneered, her bitterness towards the one that broke her friend's heart. Paris flustered, remembering the same words coming from Katriana the one time he had visited her after coming to the palace for the first time.

"I never stopped," he said almost repeating the same reply he had given Katri.

"That is a lie and you know it!" Andromache stood up and against Paris. "The moment that little wh..."

"Andromache, that is enough... If Katriana is still in danger then we can't waste time arguing," Hector interrupted. Andromache still crosed her arms and glared at Paris.

"Andromache, I can't tell you how wrong you are. No matter what has happened between Katriana and I hasn't changed that I still care for her." Andromache stood, unmoving. "Please, take Mother. I need to get to the northern gates." Paris handed Hecuba to Andromache and he turned to run out, Hector quickly on his heels.

In the midst of the run, Paris' mind raced. The past month's suppressed emotions were coming back to beat him over the head. The argument echoed in his brain and he realized that what Katri had said was rational... and what he said was downright unforgiveable. Something inside him squeezed painfully at the thought that maybe his neglect of Katriana in the last month might lead to her death tonight.

No... She'll be safe... Katri... By the gods, please be safe...

Paris headed into the crowds gathering at the north wall the only other thought in his head that maybe he could save her tonight, then he could be redeemed for the way he acted before.

AN}--I'm updated quite quickly haven't I! Hehe. So I guess I won't have any review responses this time around. Next chapter! AND PLEASE DO REVIEW!!