Time slowed in Othryoneus' absence. Without him, Cassandra had no one to speak to. She often stood on the fringe of a room and watched her family. When she commented or asked a question, her voice went unheard.
The only one to take notice of Cassandra was Polyxena, but just to glare.
Depression taunted Cassandra, but she refused to succumb to it. Othryoneus wouldn't want her to.
To fight boredom, Cassandra returned to the habits that had filled her days for years. Though now she went about her devotions with determination and even offered a prayer to Apollo and Hermes every so often. She hadn't forgiven them yet but felt she'd taken a substantial first step.
Once spring set in, Cassandra often took trips to Troy to visit the various temples with the idea the priests and priestesses could aid her cause, not that she told them of her reasons. They welcomed her, and her extensive knowledge delighted them. One priestess remarked that Cassandra might have missed her true calling.
It seemed her increase of prayers brought about more prophecies. They plagued her throughout the day, though she experienced the bulk of them at night. Cassandra saw ones she'd seen for years: the horse covered in eyes, Polyxena's beating, Troy engulfed in flames.
But she had many new ones, most about the gods' involvement in the war.
Their vast deeds shocked Cassandra.
Yes, she'd known they'd taken a personal interest in the fighting, but she hadn't realized to what extent. The fighting affected the gods worse than the mortals. From what Cassandra witnessed, she dreaded the civil war would lead to a cosmic battle reminiscent of the Titanomachy.
All could end quite peacefully, for the gods and mortals, if Zeus chose a side. But the God King refused. A vision hinted that Hera kept him from acting, but why Zeus would allow his wife to cow him, Cassandra didn't understand.
While Cassandra worshipped him, in her heart, she cursed the Olympian for his cowardliness.
Helen never decided between Deiphobus and Helenus. She bawled or went into a screaming fit whenever the King brought it up.
With Helen's lack of decision, the brothers' rivalry spiraled out of control, and many people got hurt in the crossfire.
To settle the feud, Priam forced his sons to compete in three physical tests to win her hand. All the palace was ordered to partake in the spectacle, to humiliate Helen.
The palace itself seemed to sigh in relief when the King made his announcement.
The day of the competition dawned bright and warm. Deiphobus and Helenus met before the horse stables, shook hands as the King instructed, then refused to look at each other.
Polyxena dragged Helen to the center of the constructed arena where the brothers would fight for her. Helen tried to bolt away, and Polyxena had to loop her arm around the older woman's waist to hold her in place.
Helen sobbed, but no one paid her any attention.
The first test compared the brothers' archery abilities. Each had to knock as many cloth balls out of the air as possible in a set time-frame. Both displayed superior talent, but Deiphobus won nineteen to sixteen.
Then came the racing portion. Though Deiphobus had sturdier legs, Helenus' were lengthier. And all his time being a messenger for the military paid off. With ease, he left his older brother in the dust.
Right after the race, the two had to wrestle. Helenus had added considerable bulk to his form over the years, but he looked small beside his brother. Cassandra's twin put up a good struggle, but Deiphobus pinned him and won Helen.
Priam intended for the wedding ceremony to take place right after the competition, but just as Deiphobus was declared the winner, Creusa cried out. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and bent forward.
Aeneas scooped his wife into his arms and ran with her to the palace. Hecuba trailed after them, while the King called for the physician and midwife and ordered the staff back to their duties.
The area cleared as everyone responded to Priam's demands. Most of the family returned to the palace.
Helen faded into the forest. Deiphobus noticed and followed.
Helenus watched the pair leave; his face red as tears streamed from his eyes.
Cassandra touched her twin's arm. "You can do much better than her."
Helenus jerked away, and, without a glance or comment, fled for the palace.
Cassandra sighed.
She considered going after him but decided against it. Instead, she walked the grounds as she waited for news of Creusa's condition.
Though Creusa had gone into labor two months early, her son's birth went as smoothly as one could hope. By nightfall, Aeneas declared for all to hear the news of his firstborn. Cries of good cheer echoed all over the palace, and that night everyone drank to the boy's health.
Creusa and Aeneas named their son Ascanius, after Aeneas' father's best friend. The first Ascanius had died protecting Aeneas from a murderous thief. Priam grumbled about the name (he thought by now one of his grandsons should bear his name), but the King forgot his grievance once he held his infant grandson.
In the following days, Creusa healed in peace while the Queen carried her grandson all over. She'd stop everyone to remark about his excellent coloring or the intelligence in his pale brown eyes. Hecuba even allowed Cassandra to hold Ascanius, though never with another soul nearby.
Vitality leeched back into the King and Queen with the company of their grandson. They moved as if decades younger.
Deiphobus and Helenus buried their bruised feelings and formed an uneasy truce.
No one snubbed Cassandra, though she still wanted for conversation.
Helen kept to her ways, much to Deiphobus' disappointment.
Three weeks after Ascanius' birth, Deiphobus' and Helen's wedding date was set. Priam invited all the guests he could.
For the first time in years, Cassandra's older sister Ilione came to the palace.
Since Othryoneus' departure, Cassandra looked forward to the future.
Unlike the rest of their family, Ilione held no hard feelings toward Cassandra, though she'd heard all about her younger sister's unsavory activities. Cassandra knew Ilione would chastise her past behavior, but her sister wouldn't linger on it.
Much to Cassandra's joy, the King forbade her from attending the wedding ceremony and the party afterward. She laughed when her father broke the news to her and danced out of the throne room before Priam could yell.
She hid for the rest of the day, and lucky she did. Deiphobus searched the building for her intending to wring her neck.
Ilione spent the entire day before the wedding with Cassandra. Hecuba and Polyxena complained, but Ilione ignored them.
Before Ilione had married King Polymestor and moved to Thrace, she'd been one of Cassandra's trusted confidants. Like Hector, Ilione had seemed more Cassandra's parent than a sibling, and Cassandra had missed her sister so much after she'd first left that Cassandra had been sick for weeks.
Time and distance had changed the sisters, but their bond hadn't.
After they prayed at the gravesites of their brothers (a grim task Ilione performed every morning of her visit), they talked and joked. Cassandra even revealed the extent of her hatred for the way her family treated her.
Ilione promised to speak with everyone, but the way her sister's gaze bolted away told Cassandra Ilione already had. Unsurprising, Ilione hadn't received a pleasing response.
When dusk settled, Ilione held Cassandra tight and swore her lot would improve. Cassandra thanked her and kissed her sister's cheek. Then the two parted ways.
Late that night, an insistent pounding woke Casandra from a rare night of peaceful sleep. She sat upright, and, sure the Greeks had taken Troy and had come for her, her left hand sought a weapon. She wailed when she found none.
Then the pounding came again and drew Cassandra's focus to her bedchamber door. It took another heart-racing moment for her to realize nothing as terrible as Troy's destruction took place.
Only a rude visitor bothered her.
Cassandra slid out of bed and hobbled over to the door. With a sigh, she opened it. "There better be a good reason for this."
The figure in the hall raised its head, and the light from Cassandra's fireplace illuminated Helen's grief-stricken face. Cassandra groaned. She made to close the door, but in a burst of speed Helen stepped into the room; drove Cassandra back.
Cassandra tried to move past Helen. "I'm getting a guardsman."
Helen had a hand behind her back and brought it forward. She held a dagger that had belonged to Hector.
Cassandra's footsteps ceased, and her eyes widened.
"Why do you have that?"
Helen thrust her hand forward, and Cassandra flinched.
But no pain followed the gesture, and when she looked, she found the former queen merely displayed the weapon.
"Plunge this into my heart. Do away with me."
"W-What?"
"I want to die, and you're the only one who'll fulfill my wish."
The offer tempted Cassandra.
How many ways had she killed Helen in her daydreams? How often had she prayed to the gods to stop Helen's heart or strike her down with lightning?
It wouldn't be hard to stage the murder to make it look like a servant had done it. Yes, people would suspect Cassandra, but they'd never trace it back to her.
But the former queen didn't deserve a quick end. Out of anyone, she needed to suffer the most. Without her, Cassandra's brothers would still be alive.
Cassandra shook her head. "No."
Rage contorted Helen's features. "Why not?"
"There are several reasons." Cassandra plucked the dagger from Helen's hand and tossed it into the fireplace. "But the biggest one is because you want it."
Helen shrieked. She clawed at Cassandra's face, but the former queen didn't eat much and had lost most of her muscle mass, and Cassandra fought her off with ease.
She pushed the older woman out of her bedchamber and slammed the door shut. Cassandra locked it.
Helen kicked and punched the wood.
The door wouldn't budge, and Helen's actions stopped. She cried and begged for mercy, but Cassandra tuned her out.
She returned to bed, buried her head under her pillows and blankets, and fell asleep.