The boat pulled closer to shore and Brisies gasped. There were literally thousands of people waiting at the dock yelling, jumping and chanting "Achilles, Achilles". Brisies looked up at Achilles.
"You seem to be very popular here," she whispered in his ear. Achilles laughed.
"I only need to be in good favor with you," he replied kissing her lightly on the lips. Brisies looked back onto the dock. The people seemed to be making a path down the middle. There was a lady, an old lady walking down the path. She had on a flowing white dress and her black hair had streaks of gray in it. The woman made her way to the front of the dock and raised a hand. Everyone went silent. Achilles looked down at her and his eyes watered with tears. Brisies was confused. Who was this woman? Then it hit her, this was Achilles' mother, it had to be. She had the same intense blue eyes that he had. Brisies took his hand and squeezed. Achilles squeezed back, thankful for her support.
The boat docked and Achilles and Brisies walked down the plank side by side. The woman met them at the bottom and looked from Brisies to Achilles. She smiled.
"Welcome home, my son." She said. Achilles threw his arms around her and hugged her. The woman broke away from his embrace and looked at Brisies. Brisies lowered her eyes respectfully.
"Achilles, who is this beautiful girl you have brought with you?" Achilles smiled.
"This, mother, is the love of my life, Brisies. Brisies this is my mother, Thetis." Brisies looked up at Thetis. Thetis smiled.
"Welcome, my child," she said in a motherly voice, embracing Brisies. Brisies was shocked for a second, then embraced her back. Achilles smiled and said "Mother, Brisies, let's go home." He took Brisies' hand in his right and Thetis' hand in his left and the trio started the walk to the palace.
Brisies gasped as they entered the palace. It was humongous. The floors were all made of a deep, rich colored wood she had never seen before. The walls were white marble with mosaics of flowers on them. As Achilles and Thetis talked, Brisies walked around. The doors to the rooms were dark mahogany. The tapestries looked like they were made of silk, it was perfect. She walked down a small corridor and saw one of the doors open. She timidly walked in and found it to be a bedroom. There was a large bed against one wall with crisp, satins sheets in light blue. The pillows were made of cotton and were as white as the clouds themselves. There were two end tables on either side of the bed, both made of mahogany. The floor was a light pink marble and there was a large rug filled with many light colors next to the biggest fireplace Brisies had ever seen. As her eyes scanned the room she noticed two lightweight curtains blowing in the breeze. She walked through them and onto the balcony. The view took her breath away. It seemed that you could see the end of the world from here. She sat down in one of the chairs that were placed on the balcony and admired the view.
After a few moments Brisies heard Achilles call out her name. He's probably wondering where I am, she thought to herself. She walked out of the room and went back down the corridor. She turned a corner and literally ran into Achilles.
"I was wondering where you had gotten to," he said. Brisies smiled.
"Oh, just admiring the view," she replied calmly. Achilles smiled. "Come, I have something to show you," he said pulling her hand. Brisies followed. They walked down a few flights of stairs until they reached the door to the palace. Achilles pushed it open and Brisies gasped. There were thousands, no hundreds of thousands of people waiting for them. Achilles raised his hand for silence. Then he started to speak.
"Before I left for Troy, my mother told me that if I went, my glory would walk hand in hand with my doom. She also told me that if I stayed here I would find a beautiful wife, and raise my children, but my name would be forgotten. So, I went to Troy, not knowing what would befall me. Yes, I did fight, but when Troy was raided I did not kill any men. I went looking for the woman who took my heart." He stopped and looked at Brisies. She smiled. Achilles went on.
"I found her. People of Phtia, I give you your princess!" There was a huge roar from the crowd and everyone dropped down to one knee. Brisies stared at everyone in wonder and awe. They were kneeling to her. She was a princess of Phtia and Achilles' wife. The thought consumed her and she fainted. Achilles caught her and carried her to the bedroom. It was the room Brisies had walked into before. Thetis made her an herbal remedy and she was awake in no time.
"What… What happened?" Brisies asked. Achilles, who was sitting on the edge of her bed, laughed.
"Well, I announced you to the crowd and as is tradition, they kneeled to you and then, you fainted." Brisies laughed. "Well, that sounds like something I would do." Achilles leaned down and kissed her. "Either way, you are now a princess of Phtia." Brisies smiled.
