"Well, they were your first games... it's not that bad" Molossus said politely.
"Do me a favor!" Helenus snapped, glaring at him.
The young man shrugged. "Fine, I give up. It was one heck of a disaster" he conceded quietly.
His stepfather stayed silent.
"Why were you so rude with your brother? I think he was trying to be nice" asked Molossus.
"He called it a bad day while we both knew that I was just inept" replied Helenus.
"He just wanted to cheer you up, Father! What was he supposed to say?"
The older man didn't reply and slowly took a sip of wine.
"This Zeritos was quite the unpleasant guy" said Molossus after a while, to break the silence.
"Zeritos had to prepare us to be warriors. And he did it" Helenus replied in a detached voice. "I just wasn't cut out for it"
"You also weren't meant for it. You were going to be a priest" reasoned the younger man.
"Would you please stop sweetening the pot? I don't need you to make excuses for me" Helenus replied in a bitter voice.
Molossus stood, enraged.
"Why do you always have to be like that? I try to say something nice and you snap at me! Why do I bother talking to you? At least now I know that your bad attitude is not my fault!
"Stop shouting" Helenus answered, unfazed.
"I'll shout as much as I want! You know? No wonder your brothers disliked you!"
Helenus grimaced and Molossus knew that he had crossed a line.
He went silent, expecting to be thrown out of the megaron.
"Do you think it was easy for me to tell you what I just told you? That I failed miserably at one of the most important tasks of a royal prince?" his stepfather asked instead. He sounded almost emotionless.
"No"
"Right. It wasn't easy. So please don't pity me. It is embarrassing enough"
"I was trying to be nice" Molossus said resentfully, in a low voice. Then he sat next to the older man again.
"You will need to control your temper as a king" Helenus said casually.
"I apologize, Father"
Helenus waved his hand.
"I have been called worse".
-O-O-O-
It was a summer day and Helenus swam in the Scamandros river.
He enjoyed swimming like that, slowly, sometimes even stopping to stay afloat and look at the sky.
There was no hurry. No master of arms hitting him, no other boys to compete against, no witnesses judging his performance.
Yes, there was the handmaid who had accompanied him. But she couldn't care less whether he was slow or fast.
The sun was starting to fall and Helenus swam ashore, accepting a towel from the handmaid.
On his way back to his room, he met his brother Hector.
"There you are! You went swimming" said the heir apparent with a smile.
"Yes"
"It must have been wonderful. It is so warm today, I would like to swim too. Maybe we could go together sometime" Hector proposed.
"Maybe... yes..." he conceded.
He didn't dare to contradict his older brother. Hector was ten years older than him, almost a man. He exuded confidence in a way Helenus couldn't even dream of. Priam was already getting him involved in the city's administration: Hector was always present when the king received guests, listened to petitions or discussed with his advisors. As a consequence, he seldom participated in his younger brothers' activities. He was never the one insisting that Helenus went hunting or racing. He was polite and, maybe because of his young age, he looked much less threatening than the king.
Helenus sort of liked him.
But going swimming together?
Hector would be a faster swimmer. Well, there would be no shame in that: he was almost a man and he was the heir apparent. But what if Helenus sank or made a fool of himself in some other way? And what would they talk about? He hated talking.
But he didn't dare to say no.
His ramblings were interrupted by Hector's voice.
"By the way, Father wants to see you in his room. That's why I was looking for you"
Helenus walked to his father's room, unsure of what to expect. His last sessions with Zeritos had been the usual disaster. His father had reprimanded him several times about it - most notably after Ares' games. He had stayed away from his father for days after that. But apart from that, Helenus was quite sure that he had done nothing wrong.
He found Priam sitting comfortably. He didn't look angry.
"Ah, Helenus. You will start attending school at Hermes' temple tomorrow"
Oh, not that.
He knew that the king's sons attended school but he had hoped that his father would somehow forget.
Well, at least he would attend alone, like his other brothers had. Apart from Hermes' priest, nobody would witness his humiliation.
"Cassandra is going to come with you" added the king.
What?
"Cass-Cassandra?" he stuttered.
A girl? Why did she attend school? Polyxena hadn't!
He was going to look ridiculous in front of a girl. And Cassandra, no less! His twin sister was so confident, so talkative... he couldn't stand her.
"Yes. It is unusual, but it is my wish. And I expect you to become accomplished and make me proud. What I don't want is to hear from Aesacus the same complaints I hear from Zeritos. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Father" said Helenus without looking at him.
There was no way Helenus could protest, let alone change his father's mind. He went back to his room, defeated.
On the following day, he dressed slowly, trying not to think about what was to come. He had spent another sleepless night.
What if Hermes' priest slapped him in front of his sister? What if he cried? She would mock him for days and tell it to their other sisters. Everybody would laugh at him.
Well, maybe he was overreacting. He had met Hermes' priest several times and he didn't look mean. Maybe he would be a good pupil. Just because he was bad at the military exercises, it didn't mean that he couldn't succeed elsewhere.
But how? He hated to be at the center of attention. He hated questions. He hated talking.
He felt sick.
At the palace door, Cassandra and a handmaid were already waiting. His sister was bouncing on her feet, overflowed with enthusiasm. Of course, she would be great. Aesacus was going to praise her.
"About time!" she said loudly.
He didn't acknowledge her and went out of the door.
"Good day to you too, by the way" she laughed after a moment.
"Let me be, will you?" he answered rudely.
"Fine!" she yelled, offended "then sulk alone!"
She took place at the handmaid's other side and quickened her pace. She stayed silent until they arrived at Hermes' temple.
It was very early in the morning and the market square was still quiet. The temple's front door, however, was already open.