Warning: in this chapter, Helenus is subjected to a physical assault. It is not of a sexual nature and it is not torture. The graphic depiction is very limited. It should be suited for a T audience.

OOO

Just one practice, thought Helenus, walking to Ares' stadium.

One more practice and he would be done with his military training and ready to join Artemis' temple as a novice.

He had been looking forward to this day since he had started his training, several years before. Now it was finally over!

The thought of joining the Huntress' temple made him nervous. What if he wasn't good enough? What if Grymas, Artemis' priest, sent him back?

With a shiver, Helenus tried not to think about it.

Well, at least he was going to leave the royal palace. Cassandra, who had joined Apollo's temple a few days before, said that she already missed their family. To be honest, he felt relieved: no more judgmental parents, no more brothers to live up to.

One month before, he and Cassandra had completed their education at Hermes' temple. That made him feel somehow relieved too. He would miss Aesacus and his kind and considerate nature. He had learned many interesting things: reading, counting, making curative potions, Hittite, Achean and Cretan. Stll, answering questions and practicing foreign languages made him feel on his toes. Now that was over, too.

Nothing could ruin this day.

He wasn't even annoyed when he repeatedly missed the target with his bow and arrow, or when his wrestling opponent took him down.

But the master of arms immediately pulled him up.

"Could you at least pretend to try?" he yelled. "You let your opponent take you down without even fighting! Does your father the king mean nothing to you? Does honor mean nothing to you?"

Helenus stayed silent. He was used to Zeritos ranting at him like that. Although it hurt every time, there was very little he could do. He just waited for it to be over.

But Zeritos wasn't finished.

"That's what I despise the most about you, you undeserving little nobody! Your father is so ashamed of you that you sit with your sisters during the games. Any prince with the slightest bit of self-respect would feel compelled to prove his worth. But you? You're the city's laughing stock and you don't even care!"

With the corner of his eye, Helenus noticed that the other boys were looking at them. They weren't even pretending to be focused on their work, as they usually did. Two of his older brothers, Polydorus and Polites, were practicing on that day. He hated so much to be humiliated in front of his siblings.

"Thank the gods, this farce is almost over now! From tomorrow on, you will be hiding in a temple, because that's what the whole thing is about. No god chooses his servants among the mediocre. I could bet that the Huntress never called you. The Huntress! You are going to consecrate bows and arrows and you cannot even handle them!"

How could Zeritos know that?

Cassandra could stroke the sacred snakes of Apollo's temple and they wrapped themselves around her arm. She had epilepsy, a sign of Apollo's touch. Aesacus talked about the Herald like he knew him personally.

But Artemis had never sent him a sign or a dream.

"I'll tell you why you're joining Artemis' temple" said Zeritos viciously "it has nothing to do with the goddess calling you. It's because you're not able to do anything else. It's very convenient that you're going to become a priest because you would be useless as a royal prince"

Helenus could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest.

Zeritos was right.

If he hadn't been meant to serve Artemis, what would he have done?

Princes went to war, sometimes even helping the Hittite king or some of their allies. In peacetime, they had diplomatic duties, like making new alliances and negotiating with their neighbors. He just wouldn't be able to do either of those things.

Of course, there were things he could do. He could read and write well, speak several foreign languages, he had a good knowledge of plants. But a prince couldn't work as a scribe or as an interpreter.

He turned around and covered his face to hide the tears.

But Zeritos had no intention of letting go.

"And there we go!" he yelled again "in a few years you will be a man and you keep crying like a baby! But this time I'll teach you a lesson"

Helenus didn't move. He was used to the master of arms slapping him. But Zeritos was quick-handed with all of his pupils, Helenus certainly wasn't the only one to be slapped.

"You are a poor excuse for a prince" said Zeritos, very close to him. Helenus heard a cracking sound and one moment later he screamed in pain.

It took him a moment to realize that the master of arms was whipping him.

He tried to run away but Zeritos grabbed him by his arm and kept whipping. He tried to break the master's grasp but he couldn't.

Helenus never opened his mouth when the master of arms hit him, but this time he couldn't restrain himself. He had never been in so much pain.

But Zeritos was indifferent to his screams, to his tears, to his pleas.

Eventually, after a time Helenus couldn't quantify, Zeritos stopped whipping him. He went back to the other pupils without a word.

Helenus was in so much pain that he was shaking. His back was burning and he thought that it was probably bleeding too.

He had never felt so ashamed.

Whipping was something the Trojans did to petty criminals like thieves or drunkards who picked a fight in the street. It wasn't something one would do to a prince, never ever. It was dishonorable, a terrible outrage. If Hector or Deiphobus had been whipped, they would have taken a bloody revenge without a second thought.

But his brothers Polydorus and Polites, who were respectively four and two years older than he was, had watched without interfering. Apparently, Helenus wasn't worth defending.

On the way home, none of them asked whether he was still hurting, although he was still visibly shaking. Once at the palace, they just said good-bye and left. He didn't move from his room and nobody checked on him. Helenus refused help from the handmaid and bathed alone: he didn't want anybody to see those wounds.

He had thought that at least Hector would bother to check on him. That Hector would be offended by Zeritos' outrageous act. It looked like this wasn't the case.

Of course, Helenus could complain with his father, but for what purpose? The entire royal family was certainly informed by now. If his father had cared, he would have already come to check on him.

On the following day, he would join Artemis' temple. Just a few hours before, he had been happy: now he was nauseated.

The Huntress had never talked to him, she had never sent him any kind of sign. Yes, there had been the snakes at Apollo's temple. But they were likely meant for Cassandra, and Apollo's priest had concluded that, if Cassandra was meant to serve Apollo, Helenus was therefore meant to serve Artemis.

He dutifully prayed to the goddess every day. He had asked her to make him more accomplished with bow and arrow, but she clearly hadn't listened.

Helenus hoped that he wasn't committing a sacrilege, but he didn't feel particularly close to the goddess he was going to serve.

But what was the alternative?

He couldn't become a warrior or a diplomat, nor he wanted to. If he refused to join Artemis' temple, he would just become a burden for his family - a family that clearly didn't care for him.

Joining the Huntress' temple was better than staying at the palace.