A/N: Oooh, I love the suspense...

Briseis halted, but did not turn around. Andromache hastened her steps, and thought about the way she was going to approach this tentative issue. The girl had been orphaned at a young age, and ever since she married into the family, Andromache had always looked out for her. The two were more than friends, and Andromache had almost acted like a protective big sister. Well, big sisters were supposed to find out what troubles little sisters got themselves into.

Briseis looked at her expectantly. Andromache looked at her with soft eyes.

"Come, we will take a walk," she said. They headed away from their camp.

"I understand you are upset," she started out carefully. Briseis stared at her feet and said nothing.

"We all are, it's been a devastating time for all of us." Briseis nodded, looking into the trees.

Andromache sighed in exasperation. The girl is not talking!

"All right, I will skip the small talk. What is bothering you?" She asked bluntly.

Briseis stopped walking abruptly, and looked at her cousin (A/N: by marriage, but I will just call her a cousin because it sounds weird if I always refer to her as a cousin by marriage).

"It's no big deal," she said quietly.

"Well, it is if you are not sleeping, eating, or talking. You are like a ghost these days."

Briseis said nothing.

"Look, you have to talk to me, trust me, it will help. I was silent and bore my grief by myself when Hector died and it did not work very well. I talked to Helen about it then. It helps, Briseis, it does."

Oh how she wanted to share her sorrow with the rest of them! But somehow Briseis felt it wasn't right for them to know her feelings, especially Andromache. However angry Achille was, it did not justify him killing Hector, and surely Andromache would be bitter about that. And Achilles would not be on the good page of the woman. It was very difficult to explain at any rate, and she did not want to confuse or disturb herself even more by trying to probe into her feelings. There were somethings that Andromache should not know. And this was one of them.

Briseis sighed heavily, "I appreciate your concern, cousin, I really do, but you know I don't want to talk it." She started walking again, hoping that Andromache would take the hint and leave her be. But the woman was determined.

"Briseis," she began sharply, "This isn't doing anyone any good. You can't just curl up in your shell and be a hermit for the rest of your life. There are things to be done here, and lives to be rebuilt. All your depressing looks and such must stop! For all of us."

Briseis was getting annoyed. What business of hers was it to nose around her doings? Her privacy?

"Andromache, I do not need this right now," she said tightly.

"Oh, I don't think so, in fact, I think this is exactly what you need. Ok, so you won't tell me. But let me take a guess. I'd say your depression has something to do with the famous warrior - Achilles?" There was a slight distortion the way she said his name, as though his very name did not deserve her breath.

Briseis stopped again. Her face betrayed her emotions. How could she possibly know about it? Unless Priam told her about what he had seen? Still, it wasn't that strong of a possibility. She was shocked.

"Bull's eye," Andromache murmured with a smug look on her face.

Briseis regained her composure, "All right, I would like to be alone right now, our discussion is over." With that she straightened her shoulders and strided purposefully away from Andromache.

"Not so fast," Andromache muttered under her breath. She quickly caught up with Briseis and matched her stride to stride.

Seeing that she couldn't shake her, Briseis stopped again, and whirled around with an angry expression on her face.

"What do you want?" She practically breathed through her teeth, which was clenched together tightly. She reached up and fingered the necklace absently. The smooth feel of the rocks soothed her.

Andromache smiled. At least the girl was feeling something, getting some of her temper back, not unlike the old Briseis. She was silent for a little while. Briseis glared at her.

"Did he give that to you?" Andromache asked suddenly.

Briseis started. She wasn't even aware that she was touching her necklace. It had become such a habit. She had no answer.

"He did, didn't he? Well, let me tell you something, men like him wouldn't give a thought about girls like you. You know what I think? I think he must be miles away now, romancing some other poor soul who had fallen for the brute," Andromache challenged.

Briseis felt color rise to her cheeks. How dare she! How dare she incriminate Achilles like that? Not when he was-

"You have no idea what you are talking about, so don't even try to talk about it!" Briseis' voice was dangerously low.

"Oh, I know all right. I know you have fallen for the wrong person. He doesn't care a penny about you. Men like him have to moral, no honour. I know he must have bribed you with kindness, but what did he know about kindness? Look at what he did! He killed Hector in cold blood!" Andromache finished, her own heart rate spiraling out of control. Just thinking about the man's crimes made her blood boil.

Briseis narrowed her eyes, "Cousin, I warn you one last time," she pronounced her next words clearly, "let, me, be, this is not something you should know about. You would not understand."

"The hell I don't. You think about what I said. You think very carefully. Don't let your feelings get in the way. Use your head, Briseis, why would a man like that fall for you? He obviously have no feelings, no capabilities to feel, and you should not associate yourself with such a man! Have some sense, Briseis," she paused, breathing heavily, "And that ugly piece of jewelry, you might want to consider getting rid of it. I can't make you, but I trust you know better. Don't let him get to you. He's nothing but a brute!" With that, Andromache marched back to the camp with her head held high, leaving Briseis on the verge of tears.

Briseis fled into the woods, her heart thumping wildly. She hadn't felt like this since Achilles- She shook her head fiercely. She did not know what she was talking about. She didn't know what know. I cannot blame her for thinking that way when her husband fell under his sword. But no matter how Briseis reasoned with herself she couldn't stop trembling with rage.

She ran on mindlessly, finally stopping to lean against the bark of an ancient tree in despair. It was true Andromache's words had stirred some deep feelings inside her, and no matter how hard she tried to control herself, it was no use. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will-

Tears streamed freely down her cheeks. She slid down to the ground, and sobbed uncontrollably. He's dead. There is nothing I can do about it. No use crying. After a while, Briseis stopped thinking and just cried, the pressure and sadness rolling round twisted inside her in overwhelming waves.

Finally, after a long time, she had no idea what time it was, but it was getting dark, she dried her eyes with her sleeve and stood up. Her necklace came unclasped and fell to the grass at her feet. She did not bend to pick it up.

Maybe Andromache is right on one thing, maybe I am wallowing too much. He is dead, she told herself firmly, it is time I forget some of this. Maybe it was time to start a new page. Feeling calm and oddly reassured, Briseis started to head back.

The necklace lay there, glinting in the moonlight, not forgotten, but left behind.

A/N(again): forgive me for any grammar or spelling errors, as I did this chapter in quite a hurry...