Sorry for not posting in a while. I've been busy all week with work so, now I finally had time to write. Please leave reviews and comments. Let me know what you think. I appreciate it. Enjoy the chapter. (Again, some things in the story has not occurred in history. Please don't get overly sensitive about it. It's just a fanfiction.)
The sun was bright, and its heat was intense. Merina pulled the sheets over her head trying to block out the suns rays that were hitting her face. She groaned and rolled over on her opposite side. There was a slight breeze but, Merina could tell it was going to be a hot day due to the humidity in the air. Merina heard the clashing of what sounded like swords. She pulled the sheets over her head more. She was already annoyed that she couldn't catch up on extra sleep. She heard Achilles's obnoxious laugh from the floor below. She sat up throwing the sheets off her body. Her hair was a mess. She scratched the tip of her button nose and stomped towards the bedroom window. She looked down and saw Achilles, Menilos, Patroclus and two men she didn't recognize. It appeared that the men were sparring. She watched as Achilles tossed Menilos on the floor. Menilos regained his composure and went to strike Achilles. Merina was amazed at how fast Achilles was. He dodged the punch extremely fast.
"Menilos. You're hitting like a woman today. That's not like you." Achilles said to his friend as he dodged every single one of Menilos's throws. Menilos tried one more time to strike Achilles but, he couldn't. Achilles grabbed Menilos by his arm and put him in a chokehold. Menilos patted Achilles's arm for him to let go.
"Sorry sir. I'm just a little bit tired. That's all." Menilos said breathing heavily.
"Fatigue should not be used as an excuse. On the battlefield, will you let your fatigue consume you causing you and your comrades to die?' Achilles asked.
"No sir." He said looking down at the ground with his green eyes.
"Come on. Let's go again. Fight me as if we are on the battlefield. Come on." Achilles said taking a fighting stance. Merina was bending over in the window watching the men. Her rear was propped up in the air. She didn't hear the bedroom door open. Tip toe, tip toe. Merina didn't know he was behind her. She continued to watch the men fight. Tip toe, tip toe. He got closer. Tip toe, tip toe. Now he was right behind her. He extended his little hands and pushed Merina from her rear. Merina let out a loud scream as she flipped over falling out the window. Achilles, Patroclus, Menilos and the two men stopped their sparring session when they heard the loud scream. They looked around and saw Merina dangling from the window.
"What the hell?" Patroclus asked slightly confused. Achilles quickly ran to the area where Merina would eventually fall. She was able to catch herself by grabbing a large vine that grew around her window. It wasn't strong enough to hold her. She felt It breaking. She gulped nervously. Her feet were dangling. She felt her hands grow sweaty. The vine started breaking. She heard the vine getting ready to snap. Merina bit her lip. Crack. The vine completely broke. She screamed as gravity pulled her down to the ground. Merina thought she would break a bone for sure hitting the ground. Merina had closed her eyes when she started falling. When she opened them, she was greeted by a familiar face. He had his arms wrapped around her. He looked at her confused.
"What are you doing?" Achilles asked Merina. Merina pulled away from Achilles letting her feet touch the ground. Merina looked up and saw a pair of golden eyes looking down at her. When her eyes made eye contact with the pair of golden eyes, she saw brown hair swoosh by as the young boy made a run for it.
"It's your son. He grabbed my rear and pushed me out the window." Merina said angrily. Achilles looked up at the window where Merina had fallen from.
"You sure you just didn't fall?" Achilles asked Merina.
"No. I was pushed! I saw him in the window!" Patroclus and Menilos watched as Merina stomped her feet.
"Fine. I'll go talk to him." Achilles said leaving Merina behind. Patroclus and Menilos walked over to Merina. Patroclus was familiar with Neoptolemus and his antics. He knew Merina wasn't lying.
"You ok?" Menilos asked Merina.
"I'm fine. I guess."
Achilles made his way into the room where his son was staying. He turned the brass door knob and entered the room. He glanced over to the bed and saw a figure underneath the sheets. He heard fake snoring. He sat on the edge of the bed. He inhaled.
"Neo?" Achilles began. The fake snoring continued. "Achilles pulled the sheets off Neoptolemus. Neoptolemus pretended to wake up. He sat up stretching his arms while yawning.
"Good morning father."
"Cut the crap. What did you do?" Achilles asked.
"What do you mean?"
"To Merina." Achilles said sternly folding his arms.
"Who's Merina?"
"Neo." Achilles said giving his son a serious look. "Did you push Merina out of the window a few moments ago?" Neoptolemus refused to make eye contact with his father. He could tell his fathers tone of voice was changing. "Did you? Look at me. Now!" Achilles yelled. Neoptolemus made eye contact with his father. "Did you push Merina out of the window? Yes or No? Last time I'm going to ask." Neoptolemus sighed.
"Yes father. I did."
"Why would you do that?" Achilles asked now furious. "She could've been severely injured or worse Neo!"
"I was just playing a prank." The boy whined.
"Those kinds of pranks are not ok. Get out of bed now." Neoptolemus knew he was now in big trouble. He stood up. "You're going to apologize to Merina. For your misbehavior, you owe me 30 laps around the gates of the house."
"Father! That's a lot." Achilles ignored his sons complaining. He exited the room. Neoptolemus stomped his feet.
Merina laid in the grass gazing at the clouds. She was still upset with Neoptolemus. He was a child so, she couldn't stay mad but for so long. Her dark hair was tied into a high braided bun with strands hanging out on each side. She twirled a piece of her hair around her finger. She had to admit, Achilles's home was comfortable. It was a pleasant place to stay. There was lots of grass and his land was spacious. Sometimes the wind at night was strong but, it was quiet. Merina thought that Achilles would prefer to live in the city. Not out in a rural area. In Egypt, there wasn't much grass. The coolness of the grass felt great against Merina's skin.
"Mimi." She heard a familiar voice say. She deliberately ignored Achilles. He was now sitting beside her. "Um, hello?"
"That's not my name." Merina said staring at each puff that went by. Achilles laughed.
"Anyways, I came to tell you that I spoke to Neo. Did he apologize to you?" Achilles said sitting in the grass crossing his legs.
"No. He didn't." Merina replied.
"He's probably still running laps."
"Running laps?" Merina asked
"Yea. That's his punishment. He needs to do it anyways. One day, he will be a fine warrior just like I. He needs to train his body early and keep up at it." Merina sat up and looked at Achilles.
"Let me ask you something."
"Go ahead." Achilles folded his arms across his chest.
"Are you married to his mother? I forget her name. The princess from the party."
"Deidamia?" Achilles usual audacious smile spread across his face. "Why? Are you jealous?" Merina scoffed.
"Get real. I was asking because I think Neo gets the impression that we are a thing. Maybe that's why he tried to push me out the window." Achilles closed one eye and looked at Merina. "What?" She asked.
"You see, Neo is like this with every woman that graces my presence." Merina was confused.
"What do you mean?" She questioned. Achilles laughed nervously.
"Well you see. I brought a girl home from the bar one night and Neo was here. She was sleeping, and he tied her hair to the bed post. I didn't even hear him come in. I guess I was exhausted from all of the-." Merina cut Achilles off.
"Too much information Achilles. I don't want to know about your love affairs." Merina paused. "Wait, you left your child unattended and went to the bar?"
"No." Achilles lied. Merina could tell he was lying.
"Liar. How could you do that to a little boy?!" Merina yelled. "You should be ashamed."
"Believe me. I got scolded. Neo told his mother. She really gave it to me. She threatened to never let me see him again. I didn't want that so, I straightened up my act."
"Didn't you go see a woman not too long ago?" Achilles's cheeks turned red at Merina's question. "You seem to have women everywhere. How many women have you been with?"
"How many men have you been with?" Merina's cheeks flushed at Achilles's rhetorical question. She grew extremely flustered.
"Don't answer questions with a question. You answer mines first."
"I thought you said you didn't want to know the details of my love life?" Achilles taunted Merina by pulling a curl that was hanging on the side of her face.
"You're right. I don't want to know." Merina could only imagine how many women Achilles had been with. If she knew the exact number, she might look at him differently. There was a pause in the conversation. Merina cleared her throat. "So, do you love Deidamia?"
"I mean, of course I love her. She's a real pain in the ass and very bossy but, she is the mother of my child. I'll always love her." Achilles said looking up at the clouds.
"So why not be with her?" Merina said.
"Because." Achilles looked at Merina with his golden eyes.
"Because what?" Merina was waiting on Achilles's answer.
"I don't love her that way anymore. It was a young love. We were so young. Also, if I had to listen to her and her king father all day, I'd go insane. Living with them for the time that I did was enough. They were always nagging me to do something."
"I take it you don't like to be told what to do?"
"Nah. Not really."
"King Menelaus told you that you were in charge of me and you obeyed him."
"Only because you're cute and I found you. I didn't want you to become the servant girl for someone else. I'd rather you be mine than belong to someone e-."
"Let me stop you right there." Merina began. "I, Merina, I belong to no one. Especially not to you. I am not an object that you can claim. I am a human being. You men are ridiculous."
"We men?" Achilles said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. You men. In this world, women are just objects. Sometimes even in my country, women are nothing but possessions to men. We are told who we can marry, how many children we can bare, how to act, how to walk, how to talk, how to look. It's frankly quite annoying. Men can do as they please. Women however can't." Merina gazed off into the distance. "I hope one day, even if I never live to see it, women can just be free and live the way they want to without belonging to someone and being expected to play a certain role."
"So, tell me. What is your greatest desire?" Achilles asked.
"My desire?"
"Yes. Your desire. What is it?"
"Well." Merina began. "I wish I could own land like this and have a family."
"Boring." Achilles said yawning.
"Well, what's yours?!"
"Honestly, I haven't a clue." Achilles replied nonchalantly.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Merina sat up on her knees.
"I mean, I was trained to fight, to be a mighty warrior. But, I never thought too much of the future. I've always just went with the flow."
"I see. I wish I could live my life by the currents of the wind. It'd be nice." Merina was now gazing at the clouds.
"You don't live by the currents of the wind back at home?"
"Not exactly." Merina replied. "Women have it harder than men. We can't do what we want like men can. It's no different here in Greece." Merina pouted.
"Well. Soon you'll be back home. After I take Neo back to Skyros, we will sail back to Sparta then to Egypt." Achilles jumped on his feet. "Speaking of Neo, where is he?" Achilles looked around the vast amount of land he owned. "He was running laps before." Merina stood up and brushed off her dress that had particles of grass stuck to it.
"Maybe he went into the house? I'll go see." Merina said walking towards the back entrance of Achilles's home. She took off her sandals and walked down the hall towards the living room. She saw no one. She then walked to the kitchen. No one was there either. She walked upstairs to Neoptolemus's room and he wasn't there. She looked under the bed. She looked out the window and saw Achilles coming out of the stables. He saw Merina peeking out of the window.
"Did you find him?" Achilles shouted.
"No. He isn't here. I've looked in the kitchen and the living room too. Maybe he's with Patroclus." Merina then made her way to the gymnasium. There she saw Menilos and Patroclus training with their two fellow myrmidons. They were practicing pankration. Pankration was a Greek form of wrestling and martials arts. Patroclus had one myrmidon on the floor and Menilos had just flipped the other myrmidon onto the ground.
"Hey!" Merina yelled loud enough for the men to stop fighting. Menilos wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"What's wrong Merina?" He asked.
"Has anyone seen Neoptolemus? We can't find him." All four of the men shook their head no.
"Didn't he get in trouble and Achilles made him run laps around the estate?" Menilos asked.
"Yea. He was running laps before now, we can't find him." Achilles appeared behind Merina.
"I can't find him anywhere. He's not here."
"What?!" Everyone said in unity.
"Where could he have gone?" Patroclus asked slightly worried.
"I don't know but, I need to find him."
"We'll help you Prince Achilles." One myrmidon said.
"Allow us to lend you our assistance." The other myrmidon added.
"Thank you, men. Let's get going."
The city of Phthia was busy. Merina closed her ears from the loud noise. She adjusted her shawl over her head. She gazed around the crowd staying close to Achilles. It was hard to get through the streets. Everyone seemed happy and lively. It was like a festival was going to occur.
"Is today a special occasion?" She asked.
"I have no clue what's going on." Achilles was scanning the crowd for his son. He wasn't paying too much attention to the crowd.
"I think it's best if we split up and search for him. We can cover more ground." Patroclus suggested.
"Good idea." Achilles agreed.
"Ok. You two, take the south of the city." Patroclus said to the two myrmidons.
"Sir!" They shouted before they took off.
"Menilos and I will go east of the city. Merina and Achilles, you two can go west." Merina looked at Achilles's face. He looked worried. She nodded her head in compliance. Just when everyone was going to part ways, the crowd quickly split in half. Half of the towns people moved to the right of the road, the other half went to the left of the road. Everyone started bowing. Merina, Patroclus, Menilos and Achilles didn't understand what was going on. He looked down the road to the south and saw a familiar golden carriage.
"What is he doing here?" Achilles asked. Patroclus shrugged his shoulders. "I thought he went back home.
"I thought so too." Menilos said.
"Who is he?" Merina asked.
"You remember Odysseus? From the party?" Achilles asked Merina.
"You address him so formally." Patroclus said.
"Fine. King Odysseus. He's king of Ithaca, a western island of Greece." Merina watched as the golden chariot made its way closer to them. Odysseus was holding his wife Penelope's hand. He was peeking out of the chariot window to admire the crowd before him.
"Must you do that dear?" Penelope asked fixing her blue eyes on the back of her husband's head.
"I'm just admiring the respect the people of Phthia have for us. It's quite admirable." Odysseus responded. Penelope sighed.
"Only you." Odysseus squinted his eyes when he saw a few familiar faces. He closed the shades of the window and yelled to the chariot driver:
"Halt! Stop the chariot!" The chariot stopped immediately. Odysseus let go of his wife's hand. Odysseus opened the chariot door and jumped out of the chariot. He didn't wait for a servant to put steps before him. The towns people continued to bow. His white and blue chiton made the darkness of his hair stand out even more. He smiled revealing one of his deep dimples.
"Achilles and Patroclus. My favorite duo." He said extending his arms.
"Odysseus." Achilles said. Patroclus elbowed Achilles signaling him to show respect. "What? That's his name." Achilles said rubbing his left rib.
"It's ok Patroclus. I'm familiar with you two. My first name is ok. No titles are needed." Odysseus looked down at Merina. "I see your friend is still here, Achilles. What is your name again dear?"
"It's Merina sir."
"Merina. Merina." Odysseus repeated Merina's name twice. "What part of Egypt are you from dear?"
"Dahshur, your grace." Merina replied hesitantly.
"Isn't that south of Cairo?"
"Yes sir." Merina replied.
"Well, I'd love to hear all about Egypt but, what brings you guys into the city? Enjoying this beautiful day, the Gods have blessed us with? Maybe we can do dinner together."
"It's Achilles's um- "Patroclus paused. Achilles cleared his throat.
"It's fine Patroclus. I told him a long time ago. He knows."
"Really? You never tell me anything mate." Patroclus was shocked that Odysseus knew that Neoptolemus was Achilles's son.
"It's Neo. He ran off somewhere and I can't find him." Odysseus's eyes grew wide.
"My. That's a dilemma. Why would he run?" Odysseus asked Achilles.
"He did something he wasn't supposed to do, and he snuck off. I must find him before Deidamia finds out. He returns home in a few days and-." Achilles was talking fast. Odysseus placed his hands on both of Achilles's shoulders.
"It's ok. Relax. We will find him. I will help you look."
"I can't ask you to do that Odysseus."
"You've helped me many of times. Allow me to help you." Odysseus smiled. He hugged Achilles. "We will find your son. I promise." Achilles nodded his head.
"Well, let's get started. Sunset will approach us quickly. Let's go." Odysseus suggested.
"Thank you." Achilles was extremely grateful that everyone was searching for Neoptolemus. How could he tell Deidamia that he lost their child? Deidamia already viewed Achilles as a reckless and irresponsible father. He didn't want to further prove her point. Merina touched Achilles's arm.
"Don't worry Achilles. We will find him." Achilles smiled.
"Thanks Mimi."