Author's Note: here, Helenus is not very descriptive about Hector's death, especially about Achilles disrespecting Hector's body. This is because Molossus is Achilles' grandson.
-O-O-O-
The palace was quiet now. It sounded like everybody else had already gone to bed.
In the dimly lit megaron, Helenus and Molossus were silent again.
Molossus didn't feel like talking. The things Deiphobus had said to his stepfather were very similar to the ones he had said to the older man some years before. Almost the same words.
"Did things improve with the worshippers?" he asked eventually, wishing to change the subject.
"With practice, I slowly got used to dealing with them. It never became easy, though, and I never enjoyed it. I got used to keeping anxiety under control, but it was... it is... still there".
"What do you mean with is still there?" Molossus asked skeptically. "You talk to strangers all the time, with foreign kings, in councils... how can you do it?"
"I have practiced very much, By now, I know that I can do it even if I feel... uncomfortable. But I prefer not having to do it at all. For example, That is one of the reasons why I have abdicated in your favor, although your maturity is questionable to say the very least"
"Thank you so much, this is a very nice thing to say!" the younger prince said loudly. "Another thing which is still there is your terrible attitude"
"You take everything seriously, don't you?" asked Helenus, unperturbed.
Molossus shook his head.
"My bad. I should've understood that you were making the first joke of your entire life" he replied sarcastically.
But Helenus looked lost in his thoughts again.
"What is it?" asked Molossus after a while.
"My joke was just an attempt at dragging it out, because the next part of the tale is... quite hard" his stepfather replied quietly.
"We can stop here if you..." offered the younger prince, but Helenus waved his hand.
"No".
-O-O-O-
When Hector killed Patroclus in battle, Helenus thought that it was just a matter of time before Achilles reacted. So he wasn't surprised when he heard about the upcoming duel.
Helenus had spent a long time wondering whether he should watch the duel or not.
The very thought of a duel made him feel sick. He had never watched a man die, let alone in a violent way. He wasn't sure that he could stand it. But his whole family would be there, his absence would be a scandal, especially now that they were on speaking terms again. And he couldn't bear the thought of staying at the temple, not knowing what was going on.
He had to go.
Shortly before the duel, he went to pick up Aesacus at Hermes' temple.
"Helenus! I thought we would meet on the walls!" the older priest greeted him, slightly surprised.
"I don't like the idea of you climbing the walls alone at your age" replied Helenus.
"It's very kind of you. I am an old, creaky man after all" answered Aesacus with a small smile.
He was indeed old, although in very good shape, and Helenus wondered how much longer he would live. The thought of Aesacus dying gave him chills. He tried to dismiss that thought but he knew that it was useless. Whenever he was worried about one thing, he always started worrying about everything else.
And there was plenty of reasons to worry.
The war had already taken many of his brothers: Polydorus, Polites, Kebriones, Troilus...
Now, besides him, only Hector, Deiphobus and Paris were still alive. But how long would they live?
He had believed that the city was doomed from the moment the Achaeans had attempted their first attack. The Trojans had fought bravely and the city's defeat was taking more time than the Achaeans expected. But defeat was inevitable... and if Hector died it would be quick, too.
Lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed that they had reached the walls.
"Do you wish to stand close to your family?" asked Aesacus, interrupting his musings.
"I'd rather not" he replied flatly. He didn't want to be sick in front of everybody.
He glanced at his family. His parents looked collected, but he wondered if they could take one more death. They had both aged heavily in the last few years.
Deiphobus and Paris were standing as far as possible from one another. Paris kept glancing at Helen, who had decided to stand at some distance from the rest of the family, too.
He looked around but didn't see Cassandra anywhere. She had become very reclusive in the previous years and he wondered whether she would show up at all. But eventually she arrived and went to stand on Aesacus' right side.
Helenus looked at her inquisitively. She was pale and looked very calm, as if she already knew what was going to happen. For a moment, he considered questioning her but he was afraid of what she might say. For some reason, her calmness filled him with dread.
Hector would not survive, he could feel it.
Maybe it was just his fear influencing him. Hector was a brave and strong warrior, there was no reason why he couldn't...
Why was everybody screaming?
It took him a moment to realize where Achilles' spear was, to notice the blood.
He closed his eyes and leaned on the walls, feeling dizzy. He didn't dare to look at his brother.
Hector was going to die. One could not be hit like that and survive. When he heard a shout of joy from the Achaeans, he knew that it was over.
He inhaled deeply and finally opened his eyes, looking at his brother's body on the ground. He had expected to feel sadness or anger but he just felt... empty.
Memories of the time he had spent with Hector started filling his mind. That times when he had snapped or yelled at Hector, when he had yelled back... but also that day when they had gone swimming together, a very few personal conversations...
They should have been closer. Helenus should have tried harder, he should have visited more often, especially on the day before the duel... he had always wanted to be closer to Hector but he had never dared...
His family was devastated. Beside the pain, Helenus could see the hopelessness in their eyes. Hector's death was like a sign, the sign that the city was going to die with him. And maybe Hector's siblings, parents, child... would die with him too.
Helenus was glad when Aesacus led him and Cassandra away and they all went to Hermes' temple.
The last time they had been here together, Cassandra had kept chatting with Aesacus, which had annoyed him to no end. Now she didn't say a word. How he wished that they could go back to before the war and that she could chat without worries again...
Helenus couldn't say how long they sat there in complete silence.
"I should go back to my temple" said Cassandra in a voice that, Helenus thought, didn't sound like her one.
"I will accompany you" he said, standing. She didn't look like she could make it back on her own.
"It's not necessary" she replied, but Aesacus interrupted her.
"Helenus is right, dear. You are very pale. What if you have a crisis on the way?"
"Very well" she replied flatly.
They walked up to Apollo's temple in silence.
Clearly, Cassandra knew something about the war. She looked so calm, as if she had been expecting Hector's death.
He wanted to ask how much time they had but he couldn't bring himself to speak.
When they arrived, Helenus wondered whether he should say something. Apart from that time in that very temple, when they had been newborns, he had never been completely alone with Cassandra before.
She was probably wondering the same thing. They looked at each other for some time, then she said "thank you".
"You are welcome" he replied, and turned around.