Abduction of A Princess
By: Sheiado
Author's Note: Yeppers, I used the name from the novel! (Guess I shoulda used that in the disclaimer.. hehe) . Wow, I'm not the only one to read it! As for my quote... yes, it is semi mine. "The sea takes and the sea gives" is a quote that kinda stuck with me from the movie "Secrets of the Roan Innish". I just added my own part to it.
Chapter Note: This is a chapter set for a scene in Pthia. Now, can u guess who the girl is? grins Well, I got to get this one out and then we'll get back to the Briseis/Achilles scenes (which i KNOW ppl wanna read! LOL).
Chapter Ten: Waters of Pthia
Light glimmered from atop the ocean's waters, sparkling from shore to distance along the horizon of Pthia. The sun was beginning to fall from sky to Earth, releasing clashing colors of pinks, purples, and oranges. Waves of the water tumbled and crashed repetitively against the rock of the land, its low rumble reverberating to the shoreline. The salty air and the soft wind made a serene and calming addition to the sights of the ocean or, at least to Thetis, it did. It was even better during quiet and lonely nights.
She walked barefoot in purple and blue skirts along the shore, her lips curling into a fond smile as her toes sank against the squishy, damp sand. A breeze had caught her hair, sending tendrils of gray and brown swirling into the open air around her. Being here reminded her of her youth and when Achilles was yet a young boy.
All she had in her mind when she thought of the ocean was good thoughts, pure and untouched. The ocean was her innocence and she admired its beauty, the shiny, clear surface of it, and the vast life which was held within it. The ocean is and always will be eternal, it is of the past and the present, and it possessed so many untold stories…
Her blue eyes, old eyes full of wisdom and compassion, glided along the horizon. And for moments she stood, admiring the beautiful and sparkling mixture of untouched colors no artist in the world could master or recreate.
As she gazed admiringly within the silence of sunset, she stopped her thoughts, her senses becoming heightened. The natural elements of her world often ignited a divine spark within her; it was both a gift and sometimes a troubled tendency given. A soft, pleading whisper floated to her along the breeze, a message aided no doubt by the Goddess herself. 'Help me please…'
The whisper, the soft unknown plea, began to pick up a series of images within her mind's eye. She saw a young woman, bright and beautiful with auburn hair; smile kindly to her, followed by horrific images of blood and savage beatings. Pain radiated from the girl's emerald eyes, a feeling suddenly consuming Thetis herself, and her cheeks were stained and reddened with sticky tears. Screams, pleas, and angered shouts of a man invaded her mind and Thetis sharply turned her head from it.
The voices from the vision ceased into silence.
The premonition was lost to her, but her eyes continued to follow and venture the shoreline with an ill-fated sense... and they stopped right upon the sight of a limp and unconscious woman lying within the sand. It was the same woman she saw in her vision. Not hesitating for a moment, Thetis ran toward her, calling out loudly for her nephew.
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She followed quietly behind as Patroclus, with extreme care and tenderness, carried the unconscious woman slumped within the crook of his arms from the shore. They walked toward the gates of the palace calmly, already knowing that the girl was in a slow process of dying. Despite her unfortunate condition, Thetis knew the young woman's journey to Pthia had not been one of accident, but of purpose from the Gods. The reason for her presence, however, had yet to be understood by Thetis.
The guards, upon their approach, opened the gate in silent compliance and respectfully bowed their heads.
"Where do you wish me to place her aunt?" Patroclus asked, turning to gaze questioningly at his elder.
"In Irelia's old quarters," She answered, "It is made up and being unoccupied."
Patroclus nodded and continued his journey, his posture revealing uneasiness. His parents had died in a condition similar to the young woman's and sickness was both a harsh and far worse way to perish in death.
He placed her gently upon the bed and looked to Thetis as she informed him rather hastily, "Tell Amora to boil some water and leave for my hut, Patroclus. You know of what herbs I wish for you to bring back."
"Yes, Aunt." The young man walked with haste out of the room and as he left, Thetis began to get the woman out of her clothes with the help of her personal maid that followed obediently inside.
One, Dia, as she was called, gasped aloud, "My Lady, she is a slave," she whispered, fingering the mark embedded onto her skin silently, "she has been branded."
"And also beaten," Thetis noted dryly, her eyes following the various bruises along her flesh. "Despite her status, she will be healed and treated as a guest. Tell no one of the mark you have seen on her, for I fear there are people that may be after her."
"Yes, My Lady," Dia acknowledged meekly.
Thetis continued to work diligently at pulling off the damp fabric from the girl's clammy limbs. She knew Dia would be silent of what she saw if Thetis requested it. The woman was far from being a palace gossip anyway.
After the woman was dressed in dry underclothes and her hair was laid out in a more neat disarray, Patroclus was admitted entrance with the fresh cut herbs that Thetis bade him to bring and Amora strolled in with the requested water.
"Good," Thetis accepted approvingly. Her eyes met gravely to her nephew's. "You need not stay if that is what you wish. She is in for a long and troubled night."
Patroclus nodded solemnly but found himself drawn to the young woman lying helpless, weak, and consumed with fever in bed. "If you should need anything, Aunt, call for me. I will watch her for you if you should need rest."
"I will do just that then," Thetis replied with a fond, loving smile, briefly cupping the young man's face before turning back to her patient. She was in for a long night indeed…
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Sorry, I just had to put another pair in here... what can I say? I'm a sucker for Patroclus/OC stories. More to come! Please read and review!