Abduction of a Princess
By: Sheiado
Author's Note: Thank you all for your patience! Don't worry, I DEFINITELY haven't forgotten about this story LOL (My favorite one to write? Are you kidding me?! lmao). I have some great plans in store for this :: evil grin :: Anyhoo, I just got the DVD (OMG! Woo hoo!) I'm driving my bf from watching it too much (anyone else have the case ofTroy syndrome? hehe). I'll either be writing the next chapter for this story or my Immortal Knight fic (King Arthur) next... it depends on my writing mood (and those two stories I have greatplans for...). So, without further ado... here is the next chappie so please read and review (I'll highly appreciate it!)...
Chapter Fifteen: A Message
The sun rose, rising above to break the sky and the serene moon that glistened and shimmered in beauty above the horizon of man's prosperous Earth. The island, once drawn with war and struggle, now raged into a peaceful, settling calm. The battles, the war, and all the bloodshed had finally died out.
Achilles departed as promised, attending to the discussion of political issues that would no doubt arise from the possession of land by King Agamemnon, the primary ruler of Greece. Briseis sat alone, in the tent of her new master, with Eudorous guarding the front flaps of the entrance, his old, piercing eyes gazing in vigilant precaution. He sat tense as the lady slumbered, his guarded stance unrelenting. They were the two most treasured by Achilles, the greatest warrior and Prince of Pthia, on the desolate island they occupied, now conquered by Grecian blood and combat.
Lazily her eyes had once blinked open, seeming as a glimpse to a hazy vision. Her gaze caught a blur of smooth motion, a clash of leather, flesh, and metal. The impulse of fear and danger vanished quickly. The presence of the other occupant quickly merged and melted upon her, giving way to the familiar feeling of protection and safety. It wouldn't harm her.
Unconsciously, she shifted atop the furs, her head lolling sleepily as the form stopped in brief hesitation to hover over her. "I will return soon, Briseis."
A warm, calloused hand caressed her cheek softly, almost lovingly. It was a whisper of a touch that propelled a searing shot of warmth through her, setting her numb limbs and body afire.
Then, as quick as it came, the touch disappeared. "Sleep," the smooth voice commanded, so softly that Briseis could do nothing but obey. Her eyes closed heavily, her vision swimming into darkness and into the depths of images and unknown senses.
The darkness began to take shapes within it, a vision of an unforeseen fate of another. Someone she knew. A vision of peril and horror…
Coldness stabbed through her body, a biting chill that sliced and gnawed at her raw legs as she skidded through the mounded sands beneath her feet. Her body, cold and pulsating, was bare, covered in cuts and bruises and concealed only by tattered rags of a gown. Adrenaline and fear consumed her, encouraging her forward as she ran on quivering legs. Her lungs burned as she rasped for breath, her world spinning out of control as her head swam from lack of air. Her hair, curls of brown, were knotted, and caked with blood dried by the day's hot, scorching sun.
The rocks, water, and trees were a blur around her, nothing but a ball of motion as she swayed and trudged wearily through the dry sands of Agamemnon's island. Yelping as her feet tripped, Briseis caught herself. 'Keep moving', a voice rang into her head, 'Don't stop, just keep moving…'
Her heart roared wildly in her ears, stirring her blood and encouraging her onward. 'Keep moving…'
She pushed herself upward from the scratchy sand, albeit clumsily, and continued to trudge farther from camp… Agamemnon's camp…
The reminder of it sparked a sheer sense of stark terror in her. It was terror. Utter terror…
She saw new images; they ran like pictures of a circular train, a train of never-ending memories. With the images, with each clip, she felt the emotions chip into her. She felt the full force of each sound, each picture, and every presence.
She saw a blur of men…
… Felt dirty hands clamp themselves all over her body…
… Felt blood run across her skin…
… Heard the deadened screams escape from her dry, parched lips…
Blood pumped in a frenzied rush through her ears and the only sound she could presently hear was the distinct sound of her heart racing, pounding rhythmically in protest against the flesh of her chest.
She saw herself standing in rags on the beach, standing in silence beneath the moonlight with her hair splaying in a dirty array of raven curls. Her mouth moved slowly, releasing a low hissed, "Briseis."
The eyes that she bore seemed not her own, they were wild and full of mysterious emotion that she could not fathom nor tap into. "Briseis…!"
The features shifted into a new guise, grey eyes and chestnut hair, and her face, seeming as a rippling glamour, morphed into more prominent features associated to the one she called 'friend'. It was then that Briseis understood.
Omen of danger. "Briseis…"
The knowledge and compulsive action to help awoke her, screaming the name of her messenger as her eyes snapped open and she bolted upright from the bedding. She gazed disoriented, her breath coming to short, heavy rasps, around the tent. Her heart raced and she could still feel the full force of the dream; the pain, the terror, the wounds, the loneliness…
Peeling the furs from her body, Briseis arose from bed, quickly moving to put on a decent chilton to wear before exiting through the flaps.
At her swift movement, Eudorous arose from his crouched position in front of the tent. "My Lady?"
"I need you to accompany me down river," she spoke quietly, withholding the urgency in her voice. She knew where her friend was. She felt it. She would hide near the riverbed because it was the only safe place to do so. It was the only place one could go without being fully sighted by a man.
Eudorous nodded compliantly. He knew that Briseis went to that specific area to bathe and one private quarter was reserved only for Achilles. "Yes, My Lady."
Briseis smiled kindly to him. She was grateful to have someone that would follow her orders without question. She liked Achille's second-in-command. Their first meeting had been… well, odd and, if she hadn't been in the position that she had been in; she would've found it quite humorous. She had seen lessof him up until the attack Creceden had made on her while the camp had nearly been deserted. Afterwards, he was a frequent visitor and, more or less, a personal guard to her.
She did find it odd, however, that he addressed her as 'My Lady', when he knew full well her actual station. She was a slave now, nothing more than what she had once been, not too long ago in her life…
Continuing with her pretense, Briseis grabbed the usual items that she used before leaving. They walked far up river, Briseis watching wearily at the brush around them, before coming to her usual spot.
She feared informing him of her dream. Things she often saw did come true, alike to her cousin, the seer Cassandra. But she refused to make her keen sense of perception public. She didn't like to sound fanatical or foolish. And most men tended to be optimistic about the abilities of seers. She even feared informing Achilles himself…
After Eudorus left her, Briseis quickly began her search, walking and eyeing the brush around her. "Lalianes?!"
Walking along the riverbed, Briseis made her way through, and stopped when she finally found the very person she had been searching for. "Oh Gods…"
The search had been a difficult feat. But once found, however, Briseis had made very certain that her efforts toward her friend had gained a very positive outcome.
They remained alone, together, as she attended the woman's wounds in Eudorous' tent; she noticed every cut, bruise, and burn that had embedded itself on the flesh of her once delicate, pale skin. Seeing it made tears swell up in her eyes, soulful eyes that drowned even the toughest and bravest of warriors. Eudorous stood watch outside, giving them full privacy. He, alike to Briseis, had been horrified at the sight of her body, battered and lifeless in the shallow waters of the river…it was a vision that would no doubt disturb anyone who gazed upon it.
"Lalianes?" Briseis called, hoping to awaken the woman that had bravely limped and crawled from the mob of men that had tried to break her, to the camp of the Myrmidons. She had gone in search of Briseis… instead, Briseis had found her.
She seemed almost as being near death; her skin was pale and smeared with heavy layers of dirt and blood, her hair was grimy and had a loss of it's once brilliance in color. All of her seemed dead, but hopefully, just hopefully, her spirit would not seem also.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," She whispered, her long, slender fingers gently smoothing out the woman's tangled, mussed hair. "… Just like Ctimene…"
"You can only do what is in your power," a familiar voice broke. Briseis sat in silence, unmoving even as the intruder stirred patiently behind her.
"She didn't have to follow me… because I didn't object; I left her to this fate."
A rough hand came to gently rest on her shoulder, a gesture of comfort that, even now, Briseis felt unworthy of. All of it had been her doing… my fault… Droplets of tears leaked from her soulful, brown eyes as she gazed upon her battered friend and realized her failure.
At her bowed head, he replied softly, "It was a choice that she made for herself. Neither one of you knew what was to happen upon getting on this island. You are not at fault."
"It doesn't feel that way," she whispered, "I should've been in her place. She didn't need to go through this again…"
Achilles sat quietly at her side, his expression somber. "Neither of you should have had to experience what she did… Agamemnon and his miscreants are the lowly of all men, consumed with nothing but evil and greedy intention."
"She was innocent…"
"Aye, she is. And you are also. You can help her only as much as you can help yourself in the given circumstances."
She sat in silence, her eyes unmoving.
"Eudorous will care for her until she awakens, Briseis," Achilles spoke quietly, placing a calloused hand upon her petite shoulder. "Come with me?"
She was about to snap at him, wanting to stay and never leave. How could he even suggest that she leave Lalianes' side?!!! But one look into his serene, cobalt eyes, Briseis was deterred. She saw the emotion that he held under his calm demeanor, the worry and guilt that shined through his eyes. He wanted her to leave with him because he was worried about her, because he knew she felt nothing but pain and guilt sitting in front of her battered, unconscious body.
Tears glistened from her eyes and she nodded compliantly in silence. "Yes."
"She will be in good care until you return," he replied sincerely, his eyes intense and sorrowful, "This I promise you."
More To Come! Please Read and Review!