In the morning the army dragged in a large wooden horse to the temple of Posiden. Briseis agreed with Paris that they should have burned it or at least left it on the beach. But then she realized he was inside. She waited a bit before going out to see the wooden horse. She looked up and realized that Achilles was in there somewhere. Paris came out to see his cousin.
"Briseis" Paris called out to her
"Paris, what are you doing out here?" she asked
"I don't trust this thing. The priests insisted that we take it to the temple of Poseidon"
"Sometimes they don't know what they're saying"
"Briseis, you dedicated your life to the gods, why do you question them?"
"I no longer serve the gods"
"The gossips have stopped. Father put an end to it. He would not have them question your virtue"
"But the rumors are true"
Paris reached out to her and held her shoulders at an arms distance.
"Did he hurt you? Did he force-"
"No," Briseis turned away
"My prince!"
Paris turned and saw it was one of his father's advisors.
"The king wishes to speak with you"
"Very well," Paris turned back at his cousin, "We'll talk about this later"
Paris went off with the advisor leaving Briseis alone. She looked up at the horse and walked to the head of the horse.
"Gods forgive me, I carry his child"
Achilles who was inside heard this and bumped his head on the wood above him. He looked out at her looking up as if she knew he was there. She seemed to know a lot of things. He watched her walk away slowly. She was still beautiful and radiant as ever. He regretted letting her go.
It was night and the Trojans had celebrated their victory and gone to sleep. Slowly the Greeks inside the horse began to make their way out. Achilles slide down the rope and went in search of her. The soldiers began running through the city killing everyone. Odysseus waved the signal and opened the doors to Troy. The army charged in and it was a quiet chaos in the night. Achilles paid them no mind, he scaled the high walls of the palace and searched for her.
Briseis awoke and realized it was happening. She quickly got up and went in search of him. The city was in chaos, as the flames lit up the sky. Priam looked out at his city, it was being destroyed and the gods had betrayed him. Adromache and Helen were heading to the temple, while Paris went in search of Briseis.
Briseis was running down the hallways searching for him. She didn't call out for Andromache, or Paris. Instead she called out for him. The gossips, advisors and servants looked at her and realized the rumors were true.
"Achilles! Achilles!" she screamed out as she ran down the hallway
Achilles was searching for her in the chaos. He had hoped to find her soon. Brisies looked around and found herself near the statue of Apollo. No. She must not be here. Agamemnon will find her first. She would have to go elsewhere. Achilles would find her. He had to.
Paris was running through the hallways searching for his cousin. He heard her calling out for Achilles of all people in the world. Brisies was running and found herself at the statue of Apollo again. She had the blade in her hands and looked around. She called out for him again. She dropped to her knees. Where was he? What was taking him so long?
But then she heard a voice, a loud booming voice that snaked around her. Agamemnon. He said the same things to her, the same disgusting things, as he yanked her up by her hair. This time she did not hesitate. She waited and held onto the handle and then struck him in the neck. She pulled it out and dropped it. The two guards with Agamemnon grabbed her. For what she did, they would kill her. She screamed out and saw him. She saw him running towards her, the two guards never had a chance. She fell to the ground as Achilles disposed of the two guards. He bent down to her and tried to carry her up.
"Come with me" Achilles said
Briseis looked up and saw Paris. She had not called out to him. She saw his bow being raised.
"NO!" Brisies screamed out
But it was too late, Paris released the arrow and jerked down a bit before releasing it when Briseis screamed. She reached her hand out as she knew where it would strike. The arrow pierced through the flesh of her hand and stopped. She screamed. Paris lowered his bow and ran over to the stairs. Achilles looked over and saw the arrow in her hand. She looked up at him, tears down her face, afraid and shaking.
"Briseis!" He turned and took her hand and looked at it.
Paris raised his bow again and aimed it at his brother's killer. He stopped as he was hesitating, as his first arrow hit his cousin. Achilles looked up and saw Paris standing there pointing another arrow. He was angry and picked up his sword and stood up.
"Achilles! Please!" Briseis screamed out to him
Achilles stopped and looked back at her. He knelt down next to her and touched her face. He held her hand in his.
"This is going to hurt" Achilles said as he snapped the arrow in half.
She screamed out in pain, as he slid it out slowly. He reached over and ripped off the hem of her dress and then wrapped it around her hand. And then he kissed it gently. Paris was confused at the exchange.
"Come with me" Achilles said as he lifted her up into his arms
Paris raised his bow again. Achilles looked up at him.
"No Paris! NO!" Briseis begged
"He's Hector's killer. He cannot live!" Paris yelled out
"Who made you the judge and executioner?" Achilles asked
"Put her down!" Paris demanded
"Why so you can miss and shoot her again?" Achilles said flatly
"You pig!" Paris released another arrow
Briseis threw her arms around Achilles and covered him. She felt the arrow in her back as she looked up at him. Paris stood there in shock as he had shot his cousin twice.
"Briseis!" Achilles lowered her down onto the grass, "What have you done?"
"I couldn't let you die. Not again"
"You are a mad woman"
She reached up to touch the outline of his face with her bloody hand, it left a trail on his face. He reached up and held it and kissed it. He could taste the blood and pain in her hand. His other hand was holding her up, he felt the arrow in her back.
"It will hurt when I pull it out"
"Don't. One of us is doomed to die tonight. I couldn't let it be you. I'm sorry"
"No, it's alright. It's alright" Achilles held her closer and then took a piece of her hair and inhaled the scent.
"I'm sorry I couldn't change things for us. I tried but it seems like the fates have doomed us"
"Briseis, you will live, you won't die. Do you hear me?"
"Hades will have me again. I'm sorry my love. The loom, the fates, no matter what I did, nothing changed."
Briseis felt cold, and tired. Her eyes began to close. Achilles held her closer and shook her.
"No, Briseis. Stay with me"
"I'm so cold, so tired. I've loved you for two lifetimes. I'm sorry. I love you"
"No. NO! NO!"
"I'll wait for you always"
Achilles lowered his head down and kissed her one last time. Her fingers played with his braid and then it fell limp and to the ground. Achilles slowly moved his lips from hers and looked at her lifeless body.
"I love you Briseis" Achilles whispered to her
Paris heard the Greek soldiers coming, he dropped his bow and ran. He ran and escaped to the tunnel. Achilles looked up and saw Paris run off. He looked back down on Briseis and held her close to him as he stood up carrying her. He heard something fall and looked down. It was the old pair of scissors she carried. He never knew why had it in the first place. He kicked it up using his foot and caught it in his hands. He then saw the scissor cut through the air, and something else. He looked at it, and it was something strange. A portal of sorts. He walked closer to it. He placed Briseis down and pulled the arrow out of her. He saw a smile on her face. He took the scissor the then sliced it through the air more and the portal became bigger. He reached down and picked Briseis up and carried her through the portal.
Once he stepped through he was in a different place, on a different plane of existence. He looked around and saw a giant loom. The loom had gone array, the cords and threads grew off and out of the loom, it began taking over everything, wrapping themselves around everything in the room. There was chaos. He saw a broken spindle, and a dead woman laying near it. He saw another woman holding a child huddled in the corner.
"The loom" Achilles said
The child walked closer to him, draped in white she looked at both of them.
"The loom has been changed and tainted, nothing is the way it was. She changed it, but she could not change her fate"
Achilles looked down at Briseis, she was not mad, and she had told him the truth. No matter how unbelievable it was.
"Can you fix the loom?" Achilles asked
"No, she killed out sister and stole her sicssor. Those who were meant to die cannot, and those who were not are. She has toyed with the loom and created a world that should not exist."
Achilles kissed Briseis's forehead and placed her down.
"You did all this for me. And I never once thanked you." He touched her face again and then stood up and walked towards the loom. He looked up and searched for his thread in the loom. His fingers traced along other people's lives, and then he found it. He found hers. He saw that it his was intertwined with his and then stopped. He reached up and pulled them both out.
"What are you doing? Stop! You cannot!" the child Clotho cried out
"Your loom is already destroyed. What does it matter?"
"You cannot toy with the loom! She did and look what happened to her?"
"I would gladly join her" Achilles said as he twisted the their two strings together. He bent down and placed it around her wrist and tied it, making it into a bracelet for her. He got up and unsheathed his sword and tried to cut the loom. But it didn't work. He looked over and reached over and picked up the candle the Fates used. He then lit the loom, and it quickly went up in flames. The two remaining Fates began screaming. Achilles paid them no mind and went over and held Briseis in his arms.
"We'll be together soon" Achilles said as he watched the loom burn
"You have cursed us, all of us!" the child yelled out
"No it is you that have cursed us! You no longer tend to the affairs of mortals anymore!" Achilles yelled
The smoke filled the room, Achilles held onto Briseis and let the smoke consume his lungs. His arms held onto her as he fell next to her. And slowly his eyes closed with the last vision of her laying next to him. The fates had already doomed them, both of them for tampering with the Loom. But the fates and destinies of mortals were no longer controlled by the Fates. Instead they were in the hands of the mortals themselves.
There is one more chapter!