Our lives became routine again a few weeks after Jason's birth. Jason began to sleep for longer periods throughout the night, which came much to mine and Achilles's relief. Both of our sons grew and remained healthy. Leo reached his second year of life just three months after his brother's birth. He had begun to speak more frequently, using words he picked up from myself and his father. Achilles mused that Leo had my mouth, constantly going and saying something. I playfully rolled my eyes every time he mentioned it and continued what I was doing at the time. We were a family and I loved every moment of it.
By the time Jason was five months old, Achilles had decided that it was time to visit my family in Troy. I was excited to see them again and for them to meet our sons. It was going to be a special trip for all of us because neither of our boys had ever traveled by ship before. Leo ran around for days excitedly when we told him we were going on a ship and told practically every servant in the household. Everyone loved his babbling and played along with him. Achilles and I spent most of our time packing for our journey, only we had to pack for four this time instead of only two. Though I knew my sons were too young to understand, I wanted them to be familiar with my homeland and where I came from. I hoped that they would someday share the bonds with Hector and Paris's children that I had with Hector and Paris when we were children. This had been the trip I had been looking forward to for the last four years, since we had left Troy after the war had ended.
As I folded clothes for myself, Achilles came over and wrapped his arms around my waist. He kissed my neck. It had been several weeks since we were able to be alone. I turned around and faced him. He was smiling.
"Are you looking forward to seeing your family again?"
"Yes, I can't wait for them to meet our sons." I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"They grow everyday. It seems like Leo gets taller every time I see him. Even Jason is getting bigger by the day."
I laughed. "They're very much like their father, always moving and always getting into things."
"Yes, but Leo talks more like you everyday."
I started to cut him off when he kissed me unexpectedly. All my playful anger melted in a matter of seconds as he held me there in his arms. When we broke a few minutes later, he rested his forehead against mine. Our moment was interrupted when Jason began stirring from his nap in his cradle, whimpering and waving his little arms about. I knew he would be hungry, so I walked over and picked him up. When I sat down on the bed and began nursing Jason, Achilles came over and sat next to me. He rubbed the back of Jason's head gently and kissed him. I smiled because I knew how much Achilles loved our sons. They meant the world to him and the fact that he was able to be there for them meant everything to him.
Jason nursed contentedly for a while, making little noises that caused me to smile at my son. Achilles stayed beside me until Leo unexpectedly came running into our room, completely naked and wet with Lyra running right behind him with a towel. He had obviously escaped from his bath and wanted to come see his parents. Achilles got up from the bed and Leo ran directly to his arms, giggling the entire time. He took the towel from Lyra, who excused herself exhaustedly from the room. Achilles returned to our bed with a soaked Leo in his arms, wrapped in a towel. He sat down and had Leo in his lap.
Leo looked at me with a big smile on his face. "Mama!"
I leaned over and kissed his forehead, which had wet, blonde curls stuck to it. He giggled again and leaned back against his father. Achilles pointed to Jason in my arms.
"Who is that, Leo?"
"Ja!" Leo bounced excitedly in Achilles's arms. "Ja-son!"
"Is he your brother?"
Leo looked at Achilles and nodded. He knew that Jason was his baby brother. It made my day to have both of my sons nearby and to know that Leo had grown to love his brother instead of being jealous. It put my mind at ease knowing that they were not going to completely kill each other outside that of what normal brothers do. Inwardly I laughed because the two of them reminded me of Hector and Paris. I hoped they wouldn't be as much trouble as my two cousins had been as children otherwise Achilles and I would never get any sleep. Though, some part of me hoped that they would be. I knew that they would be into everything in a few years and wanting to spend all their time with their father.
Achilles took Leo into the next room to dress him while I remained on the bed with Jason still nursing in my arms. I looked down at him and smiled, remembering the moments like this I had shared with Leo when he was an infant this small. These were the precious moments I would treasure the rest of my life, even when my sons were grown. His little body melted to mine as he drifted to sleep. I pulled my dress down and lay Jason on my chest, his head right on my shoulder, and rubbed his back. He was sound asleep as his once tense body became loose. For a while, I just held him so that I could hold him.
When Achilles returned, he saw me in the bed with the baby and smiled at me. He came over and gently took Jason from my arms to hold him for a moment before softly putting him in his cradle and covering him up with his blanket. Once the baby was back in his bed, I began to fold my clothes again for the journey. However, Achilles came over and took my hands in his.
"Let Lyra finish packing, come with me." He pulled me towards the door gently.
"What about the babies?" I turned back towards the room and our sons.
"Lyra will watch them. I already asked her to and she gladly agreed."
I turned back to him and began to follow where he was leading me, holding his hand. We walked down the stairs of the palace and outside towards the stables. When we got there, a chariot was waiting for us. He helped me step up into the chariot and got in behind me. Before we could leave, he pulled out a piece of cloth and tied it around my eyes insisting that I could not see where we were going. I went along with what he was doing without a fuss. Once I could not see, he clicked his tongue and the horses began pulling the chariot. Along the ride, he would periodically lean over and kiss my neck, always taking me by surprise because I could not see anything and making me giggle. Everytime, he would begin chuckling afterward and would lean in and whisper "I love you" softly in my ear.
I felt the chariot pull to a stop sometime later and Achilles helped me down with my eyes still covered. Holding my hand, he slowly lead me across the sand. A few minutes later we stood perfectly still and he untied the cloth wrapped around my eyes. I opened them and saw one of the most beautiful things in the world. He had brought me to a cove. The sun was setting over the ocean, bouncing light off the waves and hitting the rock of the cove, causing the rocks to change color to purples, blues, and reds. A pool of water, naturally created by the rocks, was just against the cove wall. It too danced with color on the top of the water. I turned to my husband and smiled.
"This is beautiful."
"When I was a child, I used to come here to find quiet and time away from home." He took my hands. "I wanted to share it with you."
"This is truly a wonderful place." I stood on my toes and kissed him.
"It's the one place where I could think. Sometimes when I would want to stop training for a while, I would come here." He wrapped his arms around my waist. "Things just made sense here."
"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you had not come to Troy?" I immediately regretted my words the moment they left my mouth.
"That is a question I ponder from time to time, when I look at you and the boys." He paused and looked out at the ocean rolling in and out with the tides. "I made my decision to come to Troy here. After I sought advice from my mother, I came here and stared out at the sea for a long time. I decided to go." He looked back at me. "It was the best decision I have ever made, besides marrying you."
"Then I am glad for this place. It took part in bringing you to me. Now, I'm here in this place and we have two beautiful sons that adore you."
"Leo reminds me of Patroclus as a child so much. I remember when my mother told me that he was going to live with us permanently."
"Patroclus worshiped you during the war, he still does even now. He wants to be everything you are."
Achilles laughed. "I still remember the first time he picked up a sword. He was no bigger than Leo and it was a wooden practice sword. When he did, he looked at me with such pride. I had been training for several years, but my cousin was so eager to join me."
We sat down in the sand together and I sat in front of him, leaning my head back on his shoulder. The sun was warm on my face and the sand beneath me. Achilles pulled my curls back and kissed my neck softly.
"Leo will very soon be wanting to learn everything from you." I laughed.
"And I will teach him all I know, as well as Jason if he wishes to learn as well."
I knew Achilles took great pride in our sons. They were our world and had been since before their births, when they were growing inside of me and I knew more love than I had ever felt before. Everyday I see them, my heart continually grows with love and devotion to them as their mother. I knew that they would grow up to be great men because of their father. He would teach them all the things a father should teach a son and more. Even now I saw how lovingly he handled them and played with Leo to make him laugh. It was wonderful to see such interaction between them. And yet, he still had time to spend with me and bring me to places such as this cove. I was the happiest wife in all of Greece and the world.
When we returned to the palace, things were ready for us to leave the next morning. I was excited to be returning to Troy for a while to see my family that I had left behind. I had missed them all dearly and could not wait to see how much my cousins' children had grown since I left. They were going to be proud to know that I had given birth to two healthy sons and that they were growing wonderfully strong, like their father. My family was happy and healthy, which was all that mattered to me.
That evening, we put our sons to sleep and crawled into bed ourselves. I curled up next to my husband and he wrapped his arms around my waist. Tonight would be our last night at home for a while as our travels would begin early in the morning. I could hardly sleep the rest of the night and neither could Achilles. He left a trail of kisses down the back of my neck, pulling down my nightgown slightly to reach the beginning of my spinal cord. Shivers went down my spine. I could hardly believe that he still had that affect on me. He continued the torture of kissing my shoulders, pushing my nightgown further down my arms and exposing the top of my back. I rolled over and locked eyes with him. He brought my lips to his, kissing them tenderly and lovingly. My body melted into his as he pulled me closer, pulling up my nightgown over my head and continuing to passionately kiss me. He began to make love to me, caressing the curves of my body and paying special attention to my needs. My breathing became rapid and I felt myself beginning to climax. This was the first time we had made love since I was five months with child before Jason was born.
As I came down from the heights of our lovemaking, I lay contently in Achilles's arms. I could hear his heartbeat as I lay my head down on his chest. He kissed the top of my head as I lay there. My bare skin was damp as it pressed against his, but neither of us cared because we were comfortable. This was a moment we had both longed for for many months and it had been fullfilled. Without any further qualms, I fell asleep just before the morning sun dawned over the horizon. I dreamed happy dreams of my family reuniting for the first time in years and found peace in my few precious hours of sleep. For soon enough, we would be sailing to Troy.
A/N: Well, another chapter and the beginning of a new adventure. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reviewing!!