*****New chapter. This chapter is set about 2 years prior to the current events of the story. For those of you who do not remember, Minka is a waitress at a tavern where Achilles took Merina in chapter 2 or 3, I believe. Minka plays a crucial role in this story. This will not be the last you read of her*****

Eris's poem

"A woman full of mystery.

A tale of love and dignity.

A war to come caused by the Gods.

Something will come that is very odd.

His life will end tragically, it has already been foreseen.

The woman from the distant land to the west is not who she seems.

If her heart chooses, her fate is sealed. Happiness will come and all will kneel.

Her life is in danger, that is why she is here, the Gods sparred her once.

Little does she know; she has something to fear. Something in her homeland and something near.

Destiny is taking its course. I gave the warning, she seemed to not care. So, I will continue to

Watch in the distance."

"Eris". A deep voice called out to the woman. She closed the cloud she generated in her hand.

"Yes, father?"

"We're you speaking to yourself?" He asked. Eris looked into her father's golden eyes. She

stood from the golden mat she was sitting on to answer her father's question.

"No. I wasn't father." Eris lied.

"Ok." He responded. Eris smirked.

Time had passed and Achilles and Minka had gotten very close. Despite hearing about Achilles's womanizing habits, Minka had fallen for Achilles deeply. Who wouldn't fall for Achilles? He was insanely handsome, strong and had a divine body. He had a slight sense of humor. He was also bold and audacious. He was also very confident. Minka gazed at the sky as the clouds passed by. Her cheeks flushed red at the thought of Achilles. She was spending time with her friend Amelia, who was also a waitress at the tavern she worked at. Amelia giggled.

"What are you thinking about?" Amelia could tell Minka was thinking about something. She saw the flush on her cheeks.

"Amelia, can I ask you something?" Minka asked still staring at each passing cloud.

"Sure! Go ahead!" Amelia beamed.

"Well. Have you ever. Well. You know."

"Have I ever what?" Amelia was confused.

"Um. been with a man before?" Minka said in a low voice.

"Huh?" Amelia leaned in closer to Minka to hear her better.

"Have you ever been with a man before?" Minka repeated once loud enough for Amelia to hear her.

"Oh! Yea. I've had a few boyfriends here and there."

"No. I mean." Minka sat up to face her friend. "I mean like." Minka took her index finger and thumb and combined them together making an O. She used her other had and moved her finger in and out of the O.

"OOOOOOOHHHHH!" Minka exclaimed loudly. She then laughed. "Yes. I have. You know, you can just say sex. We're old enough to talk about it. We aren't children."

"Yea. Sorry. But, what's it like?" Minka cleared her throat. "How does it feel?"

"Let's see. The best way I can describe it as is a great explosion. Or maybe a good massgage?" Amelia scrunched her eyebrows. "Why?"

"No reason." Minka lied.

"I know you better than that Minks. When ever you ask me questions like this, you're thinking about doing it. Oh my! Are you think of having sex?"

"I am."

"With whom? Is it with that mystery guy you have been seeing? Why won't you tell me who he is?"

"Because, I need to make sure he is going to be long-term." Minka replied to Amelia.

"But you're thinking of sleeping with him so, I still can't know?" Amelia whined. Minka rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I didn't tell you before because A, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, B, I prefer privacy."

"Yeah. Yeah." Amelia said anxious to hear about the man who captivated Minka's heart.

"C, he's very well known." Minka continued.

"How well known?" Amelia asked.

"The son of a goddess well-known." Minka chuckled. Amelia took a moment to think. There was no one who came to mind.

"Who?!" Amelia shouted at her friend.

"Achilles." Minka said sheepishly. Amelia's heart skipped a beat.

"Hold up. I don't think I've heard you correctly. So, I'm going to close my eyes and open them again." Amelia did so. "So, who are you thinking of sleeping with?"

"Achilles." Minka replied once more.

"As in the son of Peleus and Thetis, the sea goddess?" Minka nodded. "The handsome man who sometimes visits the palace here in Sparta to aid King Menelaus?" Minka nodded yes once more. "The Achilles who is said to be one of the most handsome men in the world?"

"God damn it yes! Is it that hard to believe?" Minka yelled.

"I'm just shocked." Amelia answered. "All this time you have technically been dating a prince and you just tell me who he is. I thought we were better friends than that."

"You know you are one of my most beloved friends Amelia. This is new to me as well. I just needed time to see if this would get serious."

"What's he like? I heard he's the ultimate lover." Amelia blushed. Minka's heart sank.

"What do you mean 'ultimate lover'? Minka asked with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"You do know that he has a history of bedding women. Mainly noble or wealthy women."

"Sheesh, thanks."

"All I am trying to say is, he's an experienced man. Remember the group of women who came in a little while ago. Their chariot wheel broke, so they came into the tavern until the wheel was fixed?"

"Yea. They were all so beautiful."

"Well, I was listening in on their conversation and they were mainly daughters of wealthy merchants or advisors to King Menelaus."

"Now that you mention it, they were dressed very finely. Beautiful gold and jewels." Minka remembered.

"Mhm. Anyways to make a long story short, one of those women was talking about Achilles. Of course, at the time I didn't really care but, she said he was the best she ever had sexually." Amelia said extending her finger into the air. Minka's cheeks turned a deep red.

"You remember that?" Amelia nodded her head yes. Minka sighed. "I assumed he wasn't a virgin and I was right. I can never compare to those women." Amelia took Minka's hand.

"You know I support you no matter what, but are you 1000% positive this is something you want to do?" Minka smiled and nodded her head yes. Amelia sighed. "Well, it's going to hurt since you never done it before." Minka cringed at the thought of pain.

"How bad will it hurt? Between a scale of 1-10."

"Hm. Maybe a 7-10." Minka's face went pale. Amelia laughed when she saw her friends face. "Everyone is different."

"How was it for you?" Minka asked.

"The pain was probably a 7. I bled too." Amelia said smiling cocking her head to the side.

"What the hell?"

"Relax. That's why when you have sex the first time it's referred to as deflowering or taking one's virginity." Amelia added.

"How long does the pain last for?"

"A few moments. Not too long. Sex isn't pleasurable until maybe your 3rd-4th time. Like I said, everyone is different. He isn't pressuring you, right?"

"No. He isn't." Amelia smiled.

"Good." Amelia wrapped her arm around Minka's neck. "Before you make that big decision, do you think it would be possible for me to meet him? You know, just to make sure he is good enough for you?" Minka smiled.

"Fine." She agreed.

As promised, Minka let Amelia meet Achilles. Like every woman Achilles came across, she was captivated by his looks. It was now 7 months into their relationship and Minka cared deeply for Achilles. She may have even loved him. He often travelled around Greece and to other neighboring lands so, she they made time for each other when they could. She was even considering telling her family about him. Minka combed her dark hair as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. Her freckled face was a rosy red color and her heart was beating fast. Tonight, was the night. She would no longer be a teenage girl. She would become a woman at 19 years of age. She figured 19 was a good age to lose one's virginity. Minka had just bathed. She was so nervous. Achilles had brought Minka to one of his homes that was about an hour south of Sparta. It was a lavish estate with marble white walls and gold trimmings. Servants made their way around the estate carrying out their daily tasks. Minka was in Achilles's bedroom. His room was huge and simple. The walls were painted a light brown color. There was only a wardrobe, a loveseat, a vanity, and a queen-sized bed. This was probably because Achilles travelled often, and it wasn't his primary residence. The room didn't have much personality despite Achilles being the character that he was. Minka jumped when she heard the door open. It suddenly became hard to swallow. She turned around to face Achilles who was drying his golden-green locks with a towel. She smiled warmly. He smiled back at her. Achilles threw his towel on a chair besides his wardrobe. He sat on his bed inviting Minka to talk. He could tell she was nervous. Achilles decided to talk to Minka to loosen her up. The two conversated gazing out of the balcony window that overlooked vast hills and distant lights. The moon was out as well. The conversation was pleasant as they always were. Once Achilles saw the opportunity to kiss Minka, he did. After kissing each other for so long, Achilles broke the kiss and placed his hand on Minka's cheek.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Achilles asked concerned. Minka nodded.

"Yes." Achilles smiled. He went to kiss Minka again. Soon Achilles made his way to her neck and to other parts of her body. Clothing and undergarments fell to the floor and soon the scent of sex could be smelled. After the lovemaking had ended, Minka slumbered in Achilles's arms. Sex was painful and she did bleed as expected but, she was happy that her first time was with one of the most handsome and noble men in the world.

A few more months passed, and everything seemed like it was going well. Like Amelia said, sex would get better in time. It did. The sex she had with Achilles was amazing. Never had Minka felt such pleasure and excitement. Minka was madly in love with Achilles. She even thought they could get married one day in the future. However, little did Minka know that Achilles did not share the same feelings. Achilles had military duties to attend to up north. It was cloudy and the wind was mild. Achilles sat on the railing of a bridge waiting for Minka. The wind continued to blow placing strands of Achilles's hair in his eyes. He saw Minka in the distance and knew she wouldn't be happy with what he was about to say. Minka finally approached him. As usual, she was happy to see Achilles. She ran up to him to kiss her but, he turned his head away.

"What's wrong?" Minka asked. Achilles swallowed.

"We need to talk." Achilles began. Minka's heart skipped a beat.

"About?" Achilles inhaled once more. He decided to rip the bandage off the wound.

"Minka, you are an amazing woman. You are. You're kind, strong, caring and beautiful." Achilles paused. "I know you're in love with me ad at one point I was in love with you but." Achilles saw Minka's rosy red cheeks turn pale white. "Now, my feelings have changed. Minka, I don't think you are the one for me. I think we should move on from each other." Achilles said. Minka's eyes started to water. She was lost for words. Achilles went to touch Minka's shoulder. Minka roughly pushed Achilles's hand away. She was now crying. Achilles didn't like to see women cry.

"Don't touch me!" Minka yelled wiping her tears with the shawl she wore around her shoulders.

"Minka." Achilles didn't know what else to say. "I'm still willing to be friends with you. I'm grateful for all of the times we had." Minka wanted to sob so bad. She was holding her wails in.

"You can't be friends with someone who you love." She said biting her lip. She couldn't believe Achilles had just ended their relationship of a year and a half. "Is it another woman?" Minka asked. Achilles knew that Minka was in pain. He wanted to ease it. He looked at his feet placing his hands in his pants pocket.

Achilles remained silent. Minka scoffed looking away from Achilles. Minka soon felt her legs turn around. As much as she loved Achilles, her love quickly turned to hate. She quickly walked off sobbing. Achilles ran his hand through his hair. He knew he had to do it. He didn't want to lead Minka on however, the amount of pain he saw in her eyes really made him feel horrible. Achilles sat on the cobblestone bridge.

"Fuck me." He said to himself. Minka had walked as far as her legs would take her. She made sure to get as far away from Achilles as possible. She found a wooden bench that was against a tree. She decided to sit on it. She placed her hands in her lap and watched as the tears fell from her eyes. She tried to make them stop but, they wouldn't. Minka's sobs soon turned into wails of a broken heart.

***********************Like I said earlier, this is just a back story but, I will get back to the original story line next chapter. Again, Minka will have an important role in this story. I will be implementing some important themes into the story. I didn't want to do a lemon for this chapter and there are reasons why which you will discover in future chapters. Hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review*************************