Here it is! Part 2, the chapter you've all been waiting for (sort of, you just didn't know it *wink*wink*) PLEASE let me know what you think because this did not start out as my original plan.

Disclaimer: I do not own Troy or any of the affiliated characters

Chapter 14: A Blow to the Heart, part 2

Only an hour or so later, voices brought Adara halfway to consciousness. "Anything...Don't know... Insane... Agamemnon... impossible...Agamemnon..." Words simply floated in her mind, not making any sense or coming in any sequence.

"Forget Agamemnon!" someone hissed loudly, finally bringing her completely out of sleep. She recognized the speaker easily.

"Patroclus," Odysseus's voice of reason said quietly, "if he were to find out-"

"I don't care as long as she gets out." His words were met with silence. "Now why won't the beach work?"

"If you stick to the shoreline, there are fewer guards, but you run the risk of being seen by both Greeks and Trojans. Either side could think you are a spy." This voice belonged to Achilles, and his presence surprised Adara. But she didn't spend much time thinking about him; she was trying to discern what they were talking about.

Odysseus added, "And who's to say Troy will even let her in the gates? We're at war! She could be left standing out there all night."

"There has to be another way," Patroclus mumbled. "If only we knew the land better..."

"Remind us why this is so important to you?" Achilles asked, obviously not fond of whatever his cousin was trying to accomplish.

There was silence, during which time Adara, though her eyes were closed, knew she was being watched. When Patroclus next spoke, his voice was quiet, and contained something unusual. "Her brother was killed today. He was a mighty warrior. She should be present for the funeral."

"A noble cause," Odysseus said with approval. "But be realistic, Patroclus. We have no safe or successful way of getting her into Troy."

That fact weighed heavily in the air. Adara took the opportunity to raise herself up and look around at the crowd in the tent. Achilles was indifferent; Odysseus and Eudorus were sympathetic; Patroclus looked frustrated.

"There's a tunnel," Adara said quietly, her voice cracking a little.

Patroclus rose and poured her a cup of water. She sipped it slowly, feeling the coolness coat her throat. "Tunnel?" Odysseus asked.

She nodded and swallowed. "It can get me into the city." They looked at her expectantly, but she would leave out the details until she knew they were necessary to give. She was not comfortable telling any of them about a secret way to get into Troy, even though they had proven themselves to her and did not fight for Agamemnon in this war. Then she corrected herself: Patroclus she could tell.

In the dead of night, two figures exited a tent, keeping low to the ground as they ran around the outside of the camp, staying away from the fire pits. They moved deftly, despite having no light; the moon and stars were hidden by dense cloud cover. It wasn't until they were away from the camp fire and the watchful guards that they relaxed a little.

"Patroclus?" Adara whispered. "I can barely see!"

A moment later, a hand grabbed her outstretched one. She felt silly having to be led by someone else in her own land. "We have light right there." In the distance, Adara saw a faint glow, dim and apparently covered. From it, she could see the silhouettes of a group of people, as well as the temple behind them.

Patroclus helped her slide down the final sand dune, and she had just regained her footing when a force nearly knocked her back down.

"Adara!" Briseis cried as loudly as she could without drawing any attention to their gathering.

"Briseis? What are you doing here?" Of all the people there, she'd expected to see her friend the least, though was most elated by her presence.

"To see you before you left, of course!" she replied, grabbing her free hand and leading her to the group.

Adara listened to the words carefully. She knew this was the way it had to be, but she couldn't help her voice from sounding so sad. "You're not coming with me, are you?"

Briseis lowered her voice. "No, I can't. One of us disappearing is risky enough."

With the group now, Briseis turned around and embraced her friend again. "You remember how to get to the tunnel?" Adara nodded into her shoulder, afraid her voice would betray the tears she was trying to hide. "Tell them I'm all right."

She stepped back to Achilles, who nodded to Adara and actually said, "Good luck."

Adara cleared her throat lightly. "Thank you," she replied, her voice only a little rough. Now she turned to Eudorus, who was avoiding eye contact. "Eudorus?" she asked, a little smile growing on her face as she remembered how they had gotten off on the wrong foot what seemed so long ago. He looked up at her, traces of sadness in his eyes. "I think I'm going to miss you very much."

He sighed, and in a quick action, gave her a very brief hug before stepping back to his original place.

"Adara." Odysseus grabbed her attention.

She smiled at the king. "Odysseus. Thank you." Looking back now, she realized just how much he had done for her. "For everything. And I suspect this was most of your doing as well."

"No, actually," he replied honestly. "I only came to say goodbye. This was all Patroclus." He seemed to have lowered his voice, and both turned to look at the young warrior. He was comforting Eudorus is a joking manner, grinning broadly. Then he caught sight of Adara, and his face lost its teasing expression. She saw him smile, a little sadly, in the light of his newly lit torch.

"He's a good friend to have," Odysseus commented, looking between the two with raised eyebrows. Adara didn't notice as she simply nodded. They had yet to break eye contact. After a moment though, Odysseus cleared his throat, pointing at the rising moon. "You must leave now," he advised.

Patroclus nodded, coming over and standing next to Adara, his torch and a second unlit one in his other hand. With final waves and whispered goodbyes, Adara entered the temple with Patroclus.

"Here," he said, handing her the torch. "You know the way. This second one is for you in the tunnel."

She took the light and the two simply stood there in the main chamber. She searched the room with her eyes, but the torch was too dim to illuminate the entire space.

"You know how to get there?" Patroclus said as she slowly worked her way around the room, his unsureness turning the statement into a question. "From where I stand, you seem to be a little lost."

"I know the way," she replied, not really paying him much attention, trying to focus on the stairs she was looking for. She'd gone halfway across the room before she found them and could finally give him a full answer. "I've only been there once, and it looks different in the dark. It's supposed to be hidden."

He came to her side and saw now the staircase, exposed close up by the torch. "So it is."

They descended the small, narrow stairs, Adara in front with the lit torch while Patroclus followed. They walked for a few minutes in silence while Adara remembered which turns to take. She lit the torches on the walls as they went, and she became more confident in her turns as they continued.

"What is that for?" he asked, nodding to her lighting another torch on the wall.

"For you," she said. "You'll get lost in here without them."

"Thank you."

She shook her head. "You don't need to thank me for anything. You didn't have to do any of this."

"I know," he assured her with a smile.

She tried not to let his expression distract her as she attempted to say what had been bothering her since she'd woken up that afternoon. She faced forwards again. "Then why are you?"

"Not all of us Greeks are that bad, are we?"

"No," she admitted, "but what about you?"

"What about me?"

He was avoiding her questions; he knew where she was going. "What about the consequences for you?"

Again, he evaded. "You know, it almost sounds as if you don't want this."

She stopped at the entrance to the semi-circle room, whirled around, and almost slammed into his broad, muscular chest as he kept walking. She regained herself in a matter of moments, annoyed now and not so easily sidetracked by him. "Of course I do!" Her voice rose considerably, and she took a breath, calming herself. "But I don't want you to get hurt."

His eyes narrowed, betraying some suspicion. "Exactly how much of the conversation did you hear before you spoke up this afternoon?"

"Enough."

"Adara-"

"What will Agamemnon do if he finds out I'm gone?" Patroclus opened his mouth, but she interrupted, "And no excuses. Just tell me."

"He'll yell."

Adara blinked, then furrowed her eyebrows. "He'll yell?"

"Loudly," he added.

She waited for more, but none came. "That's it?"

He nodded and entered the circular room. Adara followed closely, heading towards the statue of Apollo playing the lyre, thinking furiously because she didn't believe him for a second. There was something even Odysseus had been worried about, something he wasn't telling her.

When she realized, she wanted to hit him for twisting her question. "And what will he do if he finds out the truth?" Patroclus stopped. "Not just that I'm gone but that you let me go."

"He won't," he answered quickly, though he didn't turn to face her.

"How do you know that?" Her frustration was returning as she walked over to him and he continued moving away, not making eye contact. She knew he couldn't possibly be that interested in the other statues of Apollo.

"Because you will tell everyone in Troy that you escaped." He said as if it solved everything. Adara stared at the back of his head, waiting for him to continue. "That way, if news crosses the battlefield, Agamemnon will only hear that you escaped. If we have any luck, he won't even find out about it at all because of his relations with Achilles."

Adara let out at annoyed sigh. "Hypothetically, if Agamemnon did find out the truth, what would he do to you?"

He took a sudden interest in Apollo's lyre. "Is the tunnel in here? I don't see another way out." With more roughness than was necessary, Adara pulled on the string of the lyre and Patroclus watched as the statue moved, exposing the entrance to the tunnel. "I'm impressed."

"Patroclus!" she yelled, placing herself directly in front of him. "Please, just tell me." He had met her gaze, and it was a small battle of stares before he looked away, defeated.

"I don't know. Yell at me, disgrace me, beat me-"

"Could he kill you?" She said the words before she even realized it.

He opened and closed his mouth once or twice before shaking his head, looking down. "I don't know. Odysseus says it's not out of the realm of possibility, but we don't know. This...has never happened before. No one has let a prisoner go."

She took a step closer to him, tilting up his face, making him look her in the eyes. "Then why are you doing this?"

"Because you should be back in Troy for your brother's funeral."

She raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to answer the question correctly. When he didn't, she rephrased her words, something she found he was fond of making her do. But when she spoke, she wasn't annoyed. Her voice was quieter than she'd meant for it to be. "And the consequences for you?"

He laughed a little and his eyes softened, a small smile on his lips. "Not a good enough reason." He took one of her hands. "Don't worry about me, all right? I can take care of myself. You have to do the same." He nodded to the tunnel, but Adara wrapped her arms around him instead. Her heart gave a little jump when she felt his arms encircle her in response.

"I never would have survived if not for you."

"That's...true, actually," he replied. His deep chuckle sent a warmth through her, and she felt a physical ache when she let him go and turned to the tunnel.

She only got halfway before he grabbed her wrist while it was still within his reach. Surprise overtook her as he gently pulled her back to him. His free hand slid behind her neck and he pressed his lips to hers.

As she kissed him back, she found it odd that there, under the temple in the middle of the night, sharing a rather private moment with someone that should have been her enemy, she was truly happy for the first time in weeks. She smiled against his lips, feeling him smile too.

And then he wasn't smiling anymore. He pulled away, and the moment was over.

"I'm sorry," he said, his cheeks red.

"Don't be," she replied quickly, desperate to make things go back to the way they had been just seconds ago. The smile he gave her didn't quite reach his eyes. Something had changed, leaving her previously soaring heart to come crashing down.

"You have to go," he said, taking her hand. "You should have left already." He lowered her into the tunnel, then lit and handed her the second torch.

"Will you be able to find your way out?" she asked, stalling her departure.

He nodded. "I'll just follow the torches. Will you be all right?"

For the first time, she looked into the darkness, suddenly unsure of herself, though she nodded. She took a step.

"Adara." Her heart beat accelerated automatically as she spun back around, looking into his face. His countenance screamed concern and worry, and the look in his eyes as he searched her face was filled with sorrow and something else...Regret? "Remember: you escaped."

Pressure built up around the bridge of her nose and her eyes began to sting, but she nodded and finally brought herself to say the necessary words. "Goodbye, Patroclus."

"Goodbye, Adara."

He turned away first, and moments later the statue went back into place.

Thoughts? Feels? Let me know! It'll be a while before I get the next chapter up while I figure out exactly where I want to go with it, which gives you all plenty of time to leave lovely reviews in the box below :D I love to know what you think, what you like/dislike, what you think will happen, pretty much anything. I'm writing this for you guys as much as I am for myself, your opinions matter to me :)