Standing outside the temple's hall, Helenus tried to decide what to say.
He could not picture himself giving an inspirational speech or comforting people. He would just stick to the facts, no frills.
And now he had to walk into the hall and speak. Aesacus and Cassandra were waiting behind him, he couldn't just stand there forever.
The temple was even more packed with people than before. There weren't just women, children and the elderly now: there were a few men, too.
Everybody fell silent upon seeing them. All the eyes went to him and then to the ring he was now wearing.
Feeling very self-conscious, he walked to the center of the hall.
"The king is dead. Prince Deiphobus... is also dead" he said tersely, trying to keep his voice steady. He didn't add that he was now the king: it was obvious.
Several people broke into sobs and Helenus felt even more uneasy.
He wasn't well-liked, he wasn't popular. The Trojans would never trust him, especially in such a moment.
He couldn't remember what he had wanted to say next.
He closed his eyes and put his hand on Apollo's altar for support. The people probably assumed that he wanted to have a moment of reflection, because they went silent again.
When he opened his eyes, he noticed that Aesacus had left his side and was now mixed with the public. Helenus looked at him, trying to ignore the rest of the crowd.
"Our warriors have fought bravely until now, but the earthquake left us defenseless. The Achaeans... will hopefully respect this sacred place and spare your lives. But even if they do... we will become their prisoners. We have... no means to prevent that"
This statement was met with silence.
Helenus remembered what Deiphobus had told him months before: he should try to limit the damage.
"If anyone of you, free or slave, wants to try and flee the city, I will not object. It is night and there are breaches in the walls, you might be able to avoid the Achaeans"
The people looked at each other, but nobody moved.
"That is all I wanted to say to you" he concluded briskly.
A bad speech in a bad moment.
"Why don't you flee, my king? The city is lost" asked a young man.
"To what end?" Helenus replied, more harshly that he had intended. "The Achaeans already saw me, they know that I survived the earthquake. Every Achaean king will want the only living son of Priam as his war prize. If they don't find me, they will take revenge on my sisters, on my mother!"
The man stood up, taking his wife's hand.
"I will try to leave" he announced.
"May the gods protect you" Helenus replied. The two walked cautiously out.
Another man and his wife did the same but the other Trojans stayed in the temple, probably afraid that the Achaeans might catch and kill them.
Helenus wondered what was going on out of the temple. Probably, many Trojans had died during the earthquake, just like Grymas. And certainly some others had fled the city without seeking refuge in a temple.
But where were his mother, Andromache, the child? What about his sisters, what about Aeneas and his sister Creusa, who didn't live at the palace?
Looking around, he saw Cassandra walk into the hall and sat next to Aesacus, bending over to whisper something to him.
Maybe he should ask her where the rest of their family was. She would know that...
Whatever Cassandra had told Aesacus, it was certainly bad news, because Hermes' priest looked at her in utter shock.
Helenus walked over to them.
"What did she say?" he asked Aesacus in a whisper.
"Andromache has arrived, alone" the older priest replied softly.
Scamandrios, Hector's son, wasn't with her.
What had happened to him? Had he died in the earthquake or had he been killed by the Achaeans? Whatever had happened, he was certainly dead by now: Andromache would never have come here alone otherwise.
And what about his mother? She hadn't arrived with the king or with Andromache. He assumed that she, too, was dead.
He knew that he was supposed to feel something. He should be angry, sad, scared. But he felt nothing.
It was as if he were shutting everything out, only dimly aware of the people sitting around him in the temple.
He was doing it wrong.
He was the king now, it was his duty to lead his people, give them strength, instead he was sitting in a corner, silent and inactive. Cassandra and Aesacus, on the other hand, were walking around and giving whatever comfort they could provide.
He should do the same but he didn't know how. He didn't have charisma, he never would.
He should walk out of the temple, look for his mother and sisters. But then someone would recognize him and take him prisoner - and then what? He was the only man in his family, now.
His thoughts were interrupted when Cassandra sat next to him. At first, he feared that she would reprimand him for his inactivity.
"Yes?" he asked defensively.
"Later, Agamemnon will claim me as his war prize" she stated matter-of-factly. "Don't oppose him"
Helenus studied her for a long moment. Of course, no matter what he did or said, he was in no position to stop Agamemnon. He was utterly powerless. And Casandra could see that with terrible clearness. Or maybe it was Apollo speaking in her.
What should he say to her?
"I wish I could prevent it" he admitted eventually.
Cassandra smiled sadly.
"There is no need for you to do that. I will be provided for" she explained.
"What does that mean?" he asked with a frown.
"It means that I will be safe" she replied.
Should he believe her, or was she just trying to comfort him? But she looked so earnest, so sure of what she was saying. If Apollo had protected her from Ajax, maybe he would protect her from Agamemnon too.
"Very well" he conceded.
Sooner or later, the Achaean chieftains would show up and claim their prize. Not only their gold, their weapons, their precious fabrics and the other valuables - they had certainly sacked the whole city by now. No, they would claim the people, they would have the Trojans as slaves and concubines.
And there was nothing he could do about it. If the Achaeans decided to murder them all in the temple, there was no way he could oppose that. He was alone.
He felt sick.
He would certainly talk to Agamemnon sooner or later: what should he say?
Trying to make a deal was out of question since there was no way for the Trojans to keep fighting. Should he appeal to their humanity and respect for the gods? Should he beg, then? Or should he just allow the Achaeans to do whatever they pleased without even trying to fight back?
The last king of Troy, a puppet who lasted for one day and could do nothing for his city...
He suddenly felt a burst of rage and stood up, unable to stay still.
What did he know about the Achaeans and their chieftains?
He had talked only once to Patroclos and a couple of times to Helen. He had heard something from Hector and Aesacus, but that was all.
"Where is Helen?" he asked Cassandra, as soon as she passed by.
"In my room, with Andromache"
"I need to talk to her" he said urgently. He suddenly felt full of energy.
Cassandra led him away from the hall and into a small room, where Helen joined him shortly after. She looked pale but composed.
"What do you need?" she asked quietly.
"You once mentioned that your sister has married Agamemnon, is that right?" he began. She nodded.
"What kind of man is he?"
She considered the question for a long moment before speaking.
"He is impulsive, violent and proud. He has rows with the other Achaean kings all the time. They accept his authority only because he is the most powerful of them, but he is unpopular among them and he knows it. Things were particularly tense with Achilles, who was stronger than him in battle and deeply revered by the warriors. Agamemnon doesn't listen to advice and he is easily convinced that everybody is plotting against him"
Helenus sighed.
Now this was familiar. A man who was aware of being disliked. But much more powerful and violent that Helenus was.
Helen kept looking at him expectantly but he didn't know what to ask now. The very idea of him trying to discuss with Agamemnon was ridiculous.
Eventually, she spoke.
"You might want to know that he is especially afraid of Artemis"
He stared at her in silence.
"He almost sacrificed his own daughter because he believed that Artemis wanted him to do that. My sister saved her just in time, made her leave the city"
Helenus shivered. If a man was able to sacrifice his own daughter, what would he do to his enemies?
On the other side, the fact that Agamemnon was so afraid of Artemis might prove useful. But how?
He needed some time to think.
"Thank you" he said tersely to Helen, turning his back to her.
"When Cassandra told me that you wished to talk to me, I thought you wanted something else. I thought you wanted me to leave the temple and go to Menelaus now"
He snorted, turning around to look at her again.
"Like that could change our fate. No offense intended, but this war has never been about you! Or do you really think that they'll just take you back and wave goodbye?!"
She stared at him in shock and he cursed himself. So typical of him, snapping when he was under pressure. It made him look ridiculous.
He wondered whether he should apologize, but Helen smiled sadly.
"And they told me you were the quiet one".
She turned around and left without another word.
He sat with a sigh. The burst of energy had disappeared as suddenly as it had come and he just felt emptied. He tried to think about what he could say to Agamemnon but nothing came to his mind.
It wouldn't make any difference after all, Agamemnon would have his way in any case.
This thought left him oddly indifferent. He felt as if he were looking at the whole situation from the outside.
Summoning all of his willpower, he forced himself to walk back to the temple's hall. He was the king now - he couldn't hide.
In the hall, the people were praying again, lead by Aesacus. Hermes' priest was standing but leaning on a column for support. He looked calm and concentrated but extremely tired.
Helenus felt ashamed. His venerable old teacher had taken charge of the people because the king couldn't manage.
"Thank you, Aesacus. I will take over now. Do take some rest" he told Hermes' priest as soon as the prayer ended.
Standing close to the altar, he started reciting a prayer to Artemis, hoping that the Far Shooter would not be offended. This would normally make him feel very self-conscious, talking in front of all these people who expected something from him. This time, he just felt absent. The words came out of his mind and he knew that they were right, but he couldn't concentrate on them. He couldn't concentrate on anything. He just kept going, he couldn't say for how long.
Suddenly, he noticed that the people weren't praying after him anymore. Instead, they were staring in horror at the temple's door.
He turned around and felt a shiver run down his spine.
Agamemnon had arrived.