A/N: This chapter is real short, but oh well... I don't know, I felt obliged to write this as today is 06/06/06, June the sixth of the year 2006...I don't know if that has to do with anything, but it is either an extremelylucky day, or an extremely unlucky day, I have no idea. I just thought it was a special date, it only comes once a year, and only for twelve years per century, so it's pretty cool. Ok I'm blabbing now, so I will stop. And I think I'm supposed to be studying...oh well..to hell with that.

Briseis tucked her cloak around her tightly, and pulled her hood low. With one last sweep around the area, she was satisfied that no one had seen her slip away. She turned and walked in the opposite direction. It couldn't be that hard, all she needed to do was to back track the way that they'd come during the day. Then she would end up at the old camping grounds from yesterday. She would go from there.

Easier said than done, like most things.

The icy pellets pounded down unforgivingly, and the wind bit into her skin. But she did not care, instead she angled her shoulders against the rain and hurried on in determination. She didn't know what made her do such a crazy task, but something inside her drove her on. She paused for a second as lightning forked the black sky. She barely started counting when a clap of thunder followed the flash immediately. The storm was directly above her. Help me, Apollo, she prayed.

She had to get it back. She felt now that she had made a terrible mistake in leaving the necklace behind. It gave her comfort when she needed it, and she was certain that he died loving her. She was not about to abandon his love.

Achilles awoke with a jerk. He did not know what made him wake so suddenly. The storm was still raging outside, and it was, by all means, still pitch dark. So what had happened? He had long ago tuned out the sounds of the forest, the moans of the wind, the lapping of streams, the shrill voices of the birds, and the deafening explosion of thunder. Suddenly a large shadow crossedin front ofa tree in the distance, illuminated by the flash of lightning, accompanied by a crunching sound of twigs snapping. Instinctively Achilles groped for his dagger. It was fashioned crudely from stone, but it was sharp and handy. He blinked and the shadow and sound was gone but for the whisper of the wind in his ears.

He shook his head clear. Had he been dreaming? There was nothing there, nothing at all but for the sleet and the moist air. He must have been hallucinating, what could it possibly be? There was no other human lives in the forest. What had he wanted it to be?

It was not easy, finding her way around the dense forest with near zero visibility. But she was fairly certain that she had come the right way. She did not know how long she walked, just that it was still dark. It was a good thing that they had not made much progress during the day, since Helen was not feeling well. They had set up camp early, and thus Briseis had less miles to cover.

She finally slowed, feeling that she had came to the right spot. There was still traces of their bonfires from the night before. Yes, it was definitely the right place. Blinking against the tiny rivulets of water running down her forehead, Briseis glanced around, trying to remember which way she hadwalked with Andromache. After a little debate with herself, she decided upon a small trail. She would have to see where it led her. Bracing herself against the wind, she hurried on again, all the while mentally noting where they've gone the day before, to help her follow the right track. But there wasn't that much of a marker for her to follow.

When she felt that she had gone far enough, she began her search.

All the trees looked the same to her. All ancient, all looked as though they'd lived forever. She wondered briefly if they had their own tales to tell, of all that they'd seen over their enormous lifespan. She felt awed, inspired even, but quickly returned to her task. She checked beneath many trees, many bushes. How was she to tell? For all she knew some wild creature had spotted it and carried it away to their lair. Maybe she was in the wrong area. For a fleeting moment she worried that she was lost. I must be optimistic, she told herself firmly.

After an exceedingly long time had passed, it dawned on her that her search just might be fruitless, her determination began to wilt. Finally the sky started to lighten, and the storm receded, did Briseis decide to head back. The others would be awake soon, and she needed to get back in time. This urgency, however, did not help her crushed spirit. She heaved a long sigh. Maybe she wasn't destined to retrieve it.

The rain stopped as she trudged back to her tent, dripping wet and trembling. She was exhausted, not to mention freezing. It seemed that while she was back there, she immune to any physical discomforts, and now she had time to rest her sore feet, all the little pains and aches caught up with her.

Tossing aside her water-laden cloak, she curled up in her furs and slept, her mind too tired to wander.

At dawn Achilles opened his eyes again and was greatly relieved to see the storm tamed. Droplets of water dripped from the mouth of his cave, splattering into a puddle. All was calm now, and almost too quiet compared to the wreck of last night. With a start, he remembered that shadow. Again he wondered what it was. Stretching out from his little nest, he cleared his head of the image.

It couldn't have been anything.