*****Back with another update! Please leave reviews and tell me what you think of the story so far. Thanks. I've been busy so with work I haven't had the chance to write. Sorry for the delay! Again, everything doesn't match up with actual history. Please, don't be offended. It's just a fanfiction.****
"Neo!" Achilles yelled. He marched down the alley ways of Phthia frantically in search of his son. Achilles saw a fruit stand. A woman was selling the fruit from behind the stand. In front of the stand, he saw a young boy with long brown hair tied in a ponytail just like Neoptolemus. Achilles extended his hand out to the boy turning him around. When Achilles saw the boys face, he realized it wasn't his son. The boy's facial features and Neoptolemus's features were completely different. "Sorry." Achilles apologized to the boy with a face stained with pomegranate juice. Achilles turned around and walked off in the opposite direction of the alley.
Merina clenched her shawl as she made her way through the streets. She was scanning the crowd thoroughly in search of Neoptolemus. "Excuse me?" Merina asked an elderly man sitting on a crate. He was tan and frail. He seemed quite poor.
"Yes?" He answered meekly
"Have you seen a young boy? He's about this tall and has long brown hair tied into a ponytail. He has golden eyes and freckles. He's missing a tooth at the bottom. Have you seen him?" Merina was hoping he did.
"No dear. I'm sorry. I haven't seen a child like that." Merina groaned.
"It's ok. I'm sorry to have bothered you." Merina turned around to face the crowd. "Where could he be?" Merina turned around in a full circle. Her heart skipped a beat. She saw a familiar face. "Her." She said running after the gloomy goddess. The goddess chuckled. "Wait!" Merina yelled as she ran after the goddess. The goddess was making her way down a dim alley way. Merina quickly pushed through the crowd to catch up to the goddess. When she did, the goddess stood still staring at Merina blankly.
"You." Merina began. "Are you behind this? Where is Neo?"
The goddess laughed. "You didn't heed my warning I see."
"I don't care about that right now. If you know where Neoptolemus is help me find him." Eris smiled.
"I know where he is." Merina was hesitant. "What's wrong? Do you not trust me?" the goddess asked.
"Quite frankly, no, I don't." Merina backed away from Eris.
"Well, I guess you have to find the boy on your own." Eris said as she began to walk off. Merina thought about it. Although the kid was a tyrant, she valued his safety.
"Fine. Show me. So, I can bring him back to Achilles." Eris's back was turned to Merina. She smirked. She turned around to face Merina.
"If you go down this path, you'll see an entrance to a forest." Eris said.
"Ok." Merina replied. Merina gazed down the dirt path that led to the outskirts of Phthia city. In the distance she could see trees. The sun was getting lower and lower in the sky. Merina started to walk down the path that led to the forest. When Merina turned around, she saw that Eris was gone. Merina took her shawl from around her arms and folded it in half. She started pulling the clear beads that were sewn into the stitching of the shawl and dropped them on the ground as she left Phthia city.
Achilles stood against the wall of a tavern. The coldness of the clay wall made him cooler. He was tapping his feet anxiously waiting for everyone to return. Before Patroclus, Menilos, Odysseus, Merina and Achilles went off to search for Neoptolemus, a meet up point was established. The sun was setting, and Achilles hadn't found his child. He prayed that someone found him. Achilles stopped tapping his feet when he saw the two myrmidons approach the meeting point.
"Have you found him?" Achilles asked. Both myrmidons shook their head no in response.
"I'm sorry Prince Achilles. We didn't find him."
"Damn it." Achilles said clenching his fist.
"Achilles!" Achilles jumped when he heard Patroclus's voice. Menilos and Patroclus's faces were red from frantically searching for Neoptolemus.
"Any luck?" Menilos and Patroclus shook their heads no. Achilles gritted his teeth. Just then, Odysseus appeared from the opposite direction of the tavern. Odysseus's wife and charioteer went back to Achilles's home to wait while Odysseus helped Achilles look for his son. Achilles's eyes were full of hope when he saw Odysseus. When Odysseus reached Achilles, Odysseus shook his head no. He too did not find Neoptolemus.
"DAMN IT!" Achilles yelled angrily punching the wall of the tavern.
"Achilles. We will keep searching. If we must have every single myrmidon search the city and beyond, we will do so." Patroclus said trying to reassure his friend.
"Where's Merina?" Achilles asked trying to stop himself from punching another wall. He was now pacing.
"I don't know." Patroclus said.
"I haven't seen her since we split up." Menilos added.
"Great." Achilles groaned.
"Let's give her a few moments. Maybe she found him." Odysseus chimed in.
"Yea. You know Neoptolemus. He's a spunky runt. He's probably giving Merina a hard time." Patroclus said. Achilles glared at Patroclus. "Sorry." Patroclus apologized. Achilles went back to leaning against the tavern wall.
"I hope you're right. By the time the sun reaches the lower east side of the sky; if Merina doesn't return with Neoptolemus in hand, then I say we call my men. We can cover more ground quicker." Everyone nodded in agreeance to Achilles's idea.
Merina wasn't used to forests. The sounds of animals frightened her. As she walked through the forest, she continued to drop the beads from her shawl onto the ground. It was getting darker and darker. The darkness was not helping Merina at all. When Merina stepped forward she tripped over a tree trunk. When she fell over the trunk, she scraped her head against a nearby rock. Merina slowly stood up and cringed from the sting coming from her forehead. Slowly, she moved her hand to where the pain was coming from. She felt wetness. When she looked at her hand, it was stained red. She was bleeding.
"Damn it." Merina cursed. She needed to stop the bleeding. She ripped a piece of her shawl and placed it on the wound applying pressure. She continued to walk through the forest.
"Hey Phebes." A man whispered hiding behind a tree. "It's a woman. You think she's looking for that rich brat?" A deep voice asked.
"She could be. Why else would she be out here in the woods?" Phebes responded.
"What do you want to do boss?" Phebes thought for a moment.
"Capture her too Pillios. We can probably get a higher ransom for them both." Pillios smirked.
"Roger that captain. Let's go Auguster." Pillios said as he made his way from behind the tree.
"Fine." Auguster said in compliance. Auguster, Pillios and Phebes were three bandit brothers who went from city to city stealing goods and riches from wealthy people. Auguster was the youngest brother, Pillios was the middle brother and Phebes was the eldest brother. Auguster and Phebes were slender men with a muscular build. Pillios on the other hand was chubbier. All three of the brothers had black hair. Phebes had the longest hair while Pillios and Auguster kept their hair cut short. Pillios was in the city of Phthia in search of new prey. He saw Achilles and Neoptolemus shopping in the city. He could tell by the way they were both dressed that they were wealthy. He followed Neoptolemus and Achilles back to their home. He then decided that they would be his next target. Merina's head started to sting more. At that moment, she was thinking about turning back around to go tell Achilles about the lead. She still had time before the sun set. She placed her right foot in front of the other to make her way back Phthia city. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her waist and another hand cover her mouth. Her screams were muffled. Pillios had placed a glove on his hand that was covered with sleeping powder. Merina struggled only for a few moments and soon enough she had fallen to sleep. Pillios laid Merina on the ground and tied her hands and feet together as tightly as he could. He tossed Merina over his back. Auguster and Phebes joined their brother and soon the trio made their way deeper into the forest.
"She's not here." Achilles said. "It's unlike her to be late. Something is off." Patroclus agreed with Achilles. In the short amount of time that Merina had been with them, he could see that she was a well grounded and very punctual person. He too felt something was off.
"Prince Achilles, do you want me to send for more myrmidons?" One of the myrmidons asked.
"Yes. Only a few. Send 8 more men. That should be enough." Achilles replied.
"Yes sir." The myrmidon said bowing before he took his leave.
"Now we have to find Merina. What part of the city did Merina go off to look for your son in Achilles?" Odysseus asked. Achilles was in deep thought.
"We both went off to the western side of Phthia. She wondered off. I figured she'd be alright." Menilos then started to speak.
"This has to be someone deliberately attacking you Achilles. First Neo, now her. That's not a coincidence."
"You're probably right." Achilles gritted his teeth. Achilles was often the target of many violent and vicious attacks due to his status and his wealth in Greece. Achilles always had to be on guard. Since Merina arrived in Greece, he had let his guard down a lot. "Where could she be?"
"U-u-um excuse me?" Achilles, Patroclus, Odysseus, Menilos and the myrmidon that remained turned around to face a young girl standing behind them. She was very thin with jet black hair. She was pale and looked like she was poor. Her clothing wasn't the best. Her nose was witch like and pointy. She spoke with a stutter.
"Yes?" Achilles responded to the young girl.
"I-I-I overhear y-you talking. Y-you're l-looking f-for someone?"
"Yes, we are. A young boy and now a woman."
"I-I-I'm not s-s-s-sure about a b-boy but, I saw a woman go into the south west part of the f-f-forest."
"Really? What did she look like?!" Achilles asked touching the girl's shoulders.
"She, she was average height, s-slim, h-had a-a-a shawl and chiton d-d-dress w-with o-one sleeve. She had b-brown skin. Black hair."
"Sounds like her." Patroclus added.
"Please. Take me to where you last saw her." Achilles demanded.
"O-ok. P-please. F-f-follow me." The young girl turned around smirking.
"Please wait here for the rest of the myrmidons. When they arrive, tell them we went to the south western part of Phthia forest."
"Sir!" The myrmidon said as he saluted Achilles. Achilles, Patroclus, Menilos and Odysseus followed the young girl. Odysseus watched the young girl. Something seemed very off about her.
There was only a bit of sun present. The sky was turning a deep purple with streaks of yellow and orange. There was still some pink in the sky. The young girl led Achilles to the entrance of the forest alongside his friends.
"I saw her go d-d-down h-h-here. I-I-I never seen a woman l-like her b-b-before so, I-I followed her to around h-here. She w-w-went down t-t-this path."
"We're going to need light." Patroclus said as he looked down at the ground. He felt his foot step on something hard. He bent over to pick it up. He examined the bead. Achilles took the bead from Patroclus's hand.
"It's a bead from Merina's shawl."
"My, you examine her closely." Odysseus said. Menilos was making a torch to help guide them through the forest. Achilles noticed that there were more beads on the ground.
"She left a trail. She must've found Neoptolemus." Achilles said as he picked up another bead. "Let's go. They must be in there somewhere." Achilles turned to face the young girl. The quad had forgotten about her. When Achilles turned around to thank the young girl, she had disappeared. He disregarded the young girl from his mind and led everyone into the forest.
"My. She's pretty." Phebes said admiring Merina's face. "She's not Greek. Maybe she doesn't know the kid. What if we captured her by mistake Pillios?"
"Oh no. We didn't capture her by mistake. She knows the kid. I've seen her before. While I was spying on the kid and his father." Pillios said as he paced back and forth in the cabin they used as a hideout. It was dark and full of mold.
"Who is this kid?" Auguster asked his brother. "Is he the son of a wealthy merchant?" Pillios shook his head no. "Then who is he?"
'At first, I didn't know who he was. Some strange lady appeared and told me that this brat was Achilles's son. Knowing that Achilles is the son of Peleus, I figured they'd be loaded. So, I decided to kidnap him." Phebes and Auguster stared at their brother in disbelief. "Why are you guys looking at me like that?"
"YOU IDIOT!" Phebes yelled slapping his brother on the head. "If this brat is really Achilles's son, we are all dead! DEAD! Why didn't you consult with us before making a move?!"
"Uhm. I don't know. I was just thinking of the money Achilles would pay to get his son back. He'd probably pay an abundant amount of drachma. At least that's what that woman said." Pillios said twirling his fingers.
"Who is this woman you speak of?" Auguster questioned his brother. "Have you gone mad?"
"I never heard of Achilles having a child. Regardless. We need to think of a good ransom amount since this brat is Achilles's child. I'm guessing the woman has some value to her. If she's dressed finely, we can conclude that she means something to Achilles. She doesn't appear to be a slave or a servant. Pillios is right. We possibly could get a high price for these two." Phebes walked over to Merina again. He threw Merina over his shoulder. "In the meantime, I'll have some fun with the girl."
"Leave her be." Auguster suggested.
"Why? It would be an honor to have a maiden that the great Achilles has had. It would piss him off even more to know that she's been bedded by someone else." Phebes didn't know that Merina had come around. She was pretending as if she was still unconscious. She made sure Neoptolemus was safe. He was tied up and seemed to be unconscious next to Auguster. Auguster sighed.
"Fine. Do whatever you want." Phebes smirked.
"I'll be back." He said as he took Merina up the creaky stairs. Phebes walked down the creaky hallway and opened a room door to the right of him. He laid Merina down on the wooden floor. He placed the candle he was holding in his right hand in the candle holder near the door. The candle's light lit up the room. He walked back over to Merina and examined her face. He noticed the gash on Merina's head. It had stopped bleeding and blood was dried up around the cut. His eyes traveled down to Merina's breast. He licked his lips.
"This should be fun." Phebes untied Merina's feet and made his way in between them. Merina didn't panic but, she needed to act fast. She continued to pretend she was unconscious. Thinking she was, Phebes untied Merina's hands. Merina was cringing inside as he felt all her womanly assets. Phebes stopped for a moment. He stood up on his knees to take off his shirt. Next, he stood up to drop his pants. He watched an unconscious Merina. To him, she looked as if she was in a peaceful dream. Just as he was going to begin his assault on her, Merina's golden eyes flew open. She used her feet to trip Phebes on the floor. She quickly did a summersault backwards and stood on her feet.
"What the hell? I thought you were knocked out? No matter, I like it when my women put up a good fight." Phebes charged at Merina. Merina dodged to the left and ran behind Phebes. She found a vase and slammed it over Phebes head. It wasn't enough to knock him out completely but, he was groaning in pain. He touched the back of his head and felt blood. He was pissed. Merina needed to act quickly. She was in danger and so was Neoptolemus. Merina's eyes switched from a golden color to a golden red color. Merina placed her hands together in a triangular formation. In the middle of her hands formed a red light. It was hot like fire. Soon enough, the light turned into bright orange, red and gold flames. She didn't want to kill the man but, needed him to stay down. She released the fireball from her hands and a shape of a phoenix appeared. The bird flew towards Phebes. Phebes was in disbelief. He tried to run but, it was too late. The bird had caught him. Phebes screamed in pain as the bird turned into flames and scorched his flesh. Merina waved her hand and the flames disappeared. Phebes collapsed to the ground in pain from his now burnt flesh. Merina quickly grabbed the ropes she had been tied up with and tied Phebes hands and feet with them. She tied his mouth with a drape she found so that way no one could hear his painful screams. When Merina was done, she made her way out of the room making sure to seal it by melting the door knob and its lock.
Neoptolemus had awakened and seemed to not show any fear. He was giving Pillios and Auguster a deadly glare. Auguster walked over to the boy and removed the cloth that was covering his mouth.
"Why do you keep looking a us like that? Is there something you want to say brat?"
"Yea. There is." Auguster and Pillios waited for Neoptolemus's response. "When my father finds you along with his myrmidons, he's going to kick your ass. You too fatso. He will beat your ass so bad that you'll become skinny." Auguster clenched his teeth. He kicked Neoptolemus in his rib then grabbed him by his hair.
"For a little runt, you sure talk a lot of shit. You know that?" Merina was watching from behind a wall. Auguster and Pillios hadn't noticed that Merina was downstairs. She needed to help Neoptolemus quickly. She couldn't send her phoenix out. Neoptolemus would get burned too. She had to separate the men from the boy. Merina looked around and saw an unlit candle. She took her hand and waved it over the candle lighting it up. She rolled it over towards the two men. Neoptolemus saw the candle rolling across the floor. He was confused and didn't know where it came from. The candle rolled next to Auguster's feet. Auguster looked down when he felt a warm feeling on his foot.
"Where the hell did that come from?" He threw Neoptolemus on the ground. Pillios blinked in confusion. Auguster walked towards the old staircase. He looked up the staircase. Merina was hiding behind the wall that hoisted the staircase up. She slowed down her breathing making sure Auguster didn't hear her. Auguster started to climb up the stairs. He had noticed that Phebes was awfully quiet. Once Auguster got to the top of the stairwell, he picked up a candle that was in the candle holder next to the room Phebes had taken Merina in. When he went to open the door, he noticed he couldn't open it. He struggled with the door for a while. Auguster placed the candle near the door knob to give him better lighting. He saw that the door was fused together to the hinge. The key hole was also melted.
"What the hell?" Auguster was in disbelief. He had gone into this room the day before and the door wasn't like that. Merina needed to act quickly. She saw a bag that looked like it was used for collecting straw, fruits and vegetables. She took the bag and opened it. She made her way from behind the wall. She looked up the stairs to make sure Auguster wasn't coming. Pillios had his back to her. He didn't see Merina tiptoeing behind him. Neoptolemus's golden eyes widened when he saw Merina. Merina signaled Neoptolemus to not make a sound. Merina drew closer and closer. She counted to three and placed the bag over Pillios's head. She pulled it tight enough to suffocate him and cause him to go unconscious. Merina quickly ran to Neoptolemus to untie him.
"Pillios? Are you ok down there?" Auguster called out to his brother. Merina needed to act quickly. She finished untying the rope that was tied around Neoptolemus's arms.
"We have to get out of here. Let's go." Merina said grabbing the boy's hand. Neoptolemus nodded his head and followed Merina to the cabin door. When Merina went to open the door, she screamed when she felt someone grab her by her hair. It was Auguster. He must've caught onto Merina. He grabbed Neoptolemus by his hair as well. He dragged them both across the cabin floor. Merina's eyes changed from gold to red mixed with gold. She took her free hand and placed it on Auguster's wrist. Soon enough, Auguster started screaming in agonizing pain. He dropped Neoptolemus and let go of Merina's hair. He held his wrist groaning in pain. He watched as smoke came from his wrist.
"YOU WITCH! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" Neoptolemus saw that Merina's eyes were different. Merina ran over to Neoptolemus's side. Merina didn't like using her powers to hurt people. It brought back memories that she so desperately wanted to forget. Despite the pain he was in, Auguster picked up his lance. He backed Merina and Neoptolemus into a corner. Neoptolemus held onto Merina's dress terrified of the man before them.
"Now, you die!" Just when Auguster was about to throw his lance, Merina had motioned her hands to generate a flame phoenix. Luckily, she didn't have to. Auguster tried to swing his spear but couldn't due to someone holding it. When he turned around, he was met by a pair of golden eyes. They were sharp and stern like a falcon.
"Father!" Neoptolemus yelled. Achilles pulled the lance out of Auguster's hand and snapped it into two pieces tossing it to the ground.
"So, you're the great prince Achilles, son of Peleus, aye?" Achilles facial expression showed that he didn't feel like having a conversation. He was pissed off. Merina had never seen Achilles that mad before. Auguster threw a punch at Achilles. Achilles swiftly dodged the punch grabbing Auguster's arm and twisted it behind his back. Auguster yelled in pain
"How dare you take my son?! I'll have your head mounted on my spear for all of Phthia to see, you bastard!" Achilles yelled. He pulled Auguster's arm tighter fracturing the bone in his arm. Auguster cried out in a louder and more agonizing pain.
"Achilles! Enough!" Merina yelled. Achilles had dislocated Auguster's arm. He kicked Auguster to the ground feeling no remorse.
"Father! Behind you!" Neoptolemus yelled. Pillios had regained consciousness. He ran to grab Achilles from behind. Just as fast as he charged at Achilles, he quickly fell. Merina and Neoptolemus saw Patroclus with a bow and arrow in his hand. He pierced Pillios's calve. He too was now screaming in pain. Merina watched as a few of the myrmidons came inside the cabin to assist Achilles. The myrmidons grabbed Auguster and Pillios. Merina told Menilos and Odysseus that there was another man upstairs. The two went up the stairs to find him. Achilles was hugging his son tightly. He stroked Neoptolemus's soft brown hair.
"Neo. You had me worried. Are you alright?" Neo nodded his head yes and hugged his father tightly. Merina smiled seeing the two reunited. Achilles truly loved his boy. Merina's heart skipped a beat. She started to feel as if she was on fire. Her vision changed. She knew what was going on. She quickly fell to her knees lowering her head to make sure no one saw her eyes. She knew that they had changed colors.
"Merina are you alright?" Patroclus asked kneeling next to her. Achilles and Neoptolemus saw Merina fall to the floor. Merina did all she could to fight the power inside of her that was trying to consume her. It used up the last of her energy. Soon enough, Merina passed out onto the floor.
"Merina!" Achilles yelled running to her side.
"You freak!" A young boy yelled.
"You're a monster!" Yelled another girl.
"Yea! We don't want to be friends with you! You weirdo!" Another girl cried out. One of the girls picked up a rock and threw it at Merina's head. Soon enough, the other children that were mocking her joined in. They picked up rocks and started to swing them at the slender underdeveloped girl.
"Get out of here freak!" The young girl wept in sorrow from the cruelty her peers bestowed upon her. She stood there with teary golden eyes not understanding why the gods had cursed her and made her different from all the other children. A rock hit Merina's forehead. Merina touched the area where the rock had contacted her skin. She felt wetness. When she looked at her hand, she noticed she was bleeding. Merina quickly ran off home and cried her eyes out. She just wanted friends. No one liked her. She felt so alone and so afraid.
"Why me?" She asked herself. "Why did Bennu give this to me? I hate it! I don't want it!"
"The gods knew what they were doing when they gave you that gift Merina." A deep voice said as he wrapped his arms around her to comfort the weeping girl.
"It's a curse!" young Merina whined. She started to weep again. Her father placed a linen bandage over the gash on her forehead. He let his daughter cry all her tears.
Merina's eyes flew open. She touched her forehead and felt that there was a bandage on it. Her eyes started to swell with tears. Her heart felt heavy and soon enough she started to sob. She sat up sobbing into the palm of her hands. The dream she had stirred up so many emotions.
"Um. Excuse me." Merina heard a soft voice. She didn't realize that he was in the room. She tried to quickly dry her tears.
"Neo. I didn't see you sitting there." Merina sniffed. Neoptolemus went into his knapsack and handed Merina a handkerchief. "Thank you." Merina accepted the handkerchief and dried her eyes. There was an awkward silence.
"Merina. I mean Ms. Merina, I'm sorry I pushed you out of the window. It was mean. I shouldn't have done it."
"It's fine Neo." Merina replied.
"No. It's not ok. If I never did that, I wouldn't have gotten into trouble and then I wouldn't have run off. If I'd just been nicer I wouldn't have been kidnapped and wouldn't have gotten you involved. You wouldn't have had that cut on your forehead. It's all my fault." Neoptolemus's eyes started to water. Merina stood from the bed and walked over to Neoptolemus and placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Don't blame yourself." Merina said. "The most important thing is that you're now safe. This wound on my head will heal. I promise you." Neoptolemus looked Merina into her eyes and jumped into her arms wrapping his arms around her. "What's this for?"
"This is for fighting to keep me safe. Thank you." Merina was surprised. She'd thought that Neoptolemus hated her. She had thought wrong. She returned the boys hug. Neoptolemus broke the hug and looked into Merina's golden eyes.
"How did you burn that guy?" He asked.
"What guy?" Merina wasn't sure who Neoptolemus was referring to.
"I don't know his name but, the guy whose wrist you burned. King Odysseus and Menilos found another guy upstairs that had burns on him too. There was also that candle that distracted the bad guys too. How did you do that?" Merina sighed. Kids were very observant.
"Can you keep a secret?" Neoptolemus nodded his head yes. "I need you to swear that you will tell no one. Not even your father." Merina extended her pinky to Neoptolemus. "Swear it."
"I swear." Neoptolemus said as he grabbed Merina's pinky with his.
"This will be our secret." Merina opened her hands. Her eyes turned from gold to a red and gold color once more. Neoptolemus watched as Merina created small golden fire works in the palms of her hands. Neoptolemus's mouth dropped.
"How can you do that? Are you a mage?"
"Not exactly." Merina replied. Just as Merina started to produce more golden sparkles she heard the door knob turn. She immediately stopped what she was doing and jumped back into the bed. Neoptolemus jumped into the chair. Merina laid on her back and pulled the covers over her. She pretended as if she were asleep. Neoptolemus sat in the chair swinging his feet. He felt a strong hand on his shoulder.
"Did she wake up yet?" Achilles asked.
"She did briefly. She went back to sleep."
"I see. Well, if you want to join me downstairs, you're more than welcome to."
"No. It's ok. I'll sit here and wait for her to wake up. After all, I have to apologize to her." Achilles smiled at his son.
"Already you're turning into a fine young man. I'm glad to see you owning up to your wrong doing." Achilles kissed his son on the forehead. He turned around to exit Merina's room. "You still owe me 30 laps and this time, I'm not letting you out of my sight." Neoptolemus rolled his eyes. Merina opened one eye and used her left hand to send a surge of heat to Achilles's rear. Achilles jumped from the sudden heat. Merina went back to pretending she was asleep. Neoptolemus bit his bottom lip trying to contain his laughter.
"OW! What was that?!"
"What do you mean father?" Neoptolemus was pretending to practice arithmetic. Achilles touched the rear of his pants. He looked at Neoptolemus and a still sleeping Merina. He shook his head. Maybe he was imagining things.
"Never mind. I'll see you later." Achilles said as he closed the door. Neoptolemus and Merina listened for Achilles to reach the bottom of the stairs. When he did, the two started laughing.
"You have to teach me how to do that Ms. Merina!"