Arli's POV

"Achilles, this way!" I whispered harshly to him as we crawled up the sand dunes. I knew a secret way into the palace that Priam had once shown me and it was still there.

All of a sudden, Achilles grabbed my waist and pulled me close to him. "Get down! See the guards?"

I nodded and then continued quietly up the sand dunes until, at last, we had to perform a dangerous feat: running past the guards unnoticed. "Can you sprint fast, Soldier?" I asked Achilles slyly.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "I can sprint as fast as Athena herself."

"Hm, is that a challenge you have set? A race, then? Ready….set…" I said and when I saw the guards had turned their backs, I whispered: "Go!"

I ran so fast and he ran beside me the whole way, so we ended up having a draw. I patted some of the bricks in the wall and then a section of the wall opened and I pulled Achilles through just as it closed.

"That's some secret entrance," he told me and then somehow, deep down, I had a feeling of regret; regret that I showed him a way to get into Troy.

The streets of Troy were deserted, except for a few prostitutes and drunk men. Achilles did not bother hiding his infamous face because of the darkness and neither did I. I grabbed his hand and ran for the palace and climbed up the lattice outside my room. We got to the top and walked down the long balcony that was connected to both my fathers' rooms.

On the other side of the balcony, there was a man leaning on the railing. He had curly, brunette hair and wore his armour with a cape, I knew who he was.

"Father!" I called, and Hector turned around with shock and happiness across his face.

Hector called back to me. "Arli?!"

I did not speak, just cried, as my father and I ran along the balcony to get to embrace each other. He opened his arms to me and I gladly accepted them. He was warm and I breathed in his scent, the scent of home.

Father asked me: "You're back? How did you escape?"

I stepped out of his embrace and looked at him. "I did not escape…" I told him, but he just looked at me.

Then there was no need for words, when Achilles stepped out of the shadows and walked towards us.

Instinctively, Hector pulled me behind him and barred his teeth at Achilles. "You stay away from her! Don't come any nearer!" he said, and looked over his shoulder at me. "Did he hurt you? Did he touch you?!"

"No—" I started to say, but Hector cut me off, just as Achilles took a step towards us.

"Get back!"

Achilles sighed and put his hands up. "I assure you have not harmed your daughter in anyway. I have brought her to you for a few minutes, as a sign of faith, for a deal I want to make with you."

"What deal?" Hector asked, now holding me protectively beside him.

"I will stop fighting in this war, and so will my men, in exchange for your daughter's hand in marriage," he said calmly.

"What kind of deal is that?! I would never let my daughter marry a Greek like you, especially one who has no morals! No, this deal is an impossible one! Now leave!" Hector boomed, and then we turned to see Paris, Helen and Andromache coming out of their chambers.

"What is happening out here?" Andromache asked, then she saw me and ran to hold me, followed by Paris and Helen. They each took turns holding me and crying, then they realised that Achilles was standing behind Hector and I.

"Who is that man?" Helen asked Hector.

"That's Achilles; a Greek," Hector replied, and then signalled me to stay with Andromache and Helen, as he and Paris went to talk with Achilles.

"Go back now, Greek, and do not return," Paris told Achilles, but he only shook his head.

"I cannot leave without her."

Hector looked mad. "No, you will leave without her! She is our daughter and she is not going back with you anywhere!"

"I do not wish to kill you both in front of your wife and your lover, but I will if she does not leave with me," he said, gripping his sword.

"I'd like to see you try!" my father said, unsheathing his own sword.

That is when I had enough and ran between them with my arms raised. "Stop this! Father, please accept his deal. As much as you would hate to admit it, this deal could help Troy!"

"What? What has he been filling your head with?" Paris asked me and looked back at Achilles. "What have you been telling my daughter? You've corrupted her judgement!"

It was Hector's turn to lecture me. "Arli, he's been lying to you! Whatever he's told you is not true! This man cannot 'love'!"

"Father, I would've liked to have thought that you trusted my judgement, but I see that it is not the case. Achilles has not harmed me in any way, nor has he taken advantage of me. I hated him when he took me prisoner this morning, but now I feel differently, since he has proven himself worthy of becoming my husband," I said, and paused once I saw that Hector lowered his sword. "His influence on this war is great, and if you make this deal with him, the Trojans can attack and be victorious! Paris, Hector, if you love me and Troy at all, then you will make this deal. If you do not, you hurt me deeply and let our homeland down."

Hector sighed. "How can you feel affection for this man after one day?"

I hesitated and looked at Achilles, lowering my head. "I did not say I felt affection for him. I do not know what I feel for him, but I do know that it is not hate or anger. Please, my fathers?"

They looked at each other; both not knowing what to do, but then Helen stepped forward and talked to Paris. "I think you should accept this deal. It is better to let them be married with your consent and take a powerful enemy off the battlefield, than to have him marry her without it and antagonising the enemy."

Hector sheathed his word and yelled in defeat, kicking and then breaking a potted plant at the same time.

Paris looked sad. "Helen is right. I accept this deal, but I want her to stay here tonight."

"No, she has to stay with me at all times," Achilles told him firmly.

Hector widened his eyes. "It's not proper," he countered, just as firmly.

"I have to stay at the beach and keep up pretences with the Greeks. I cannot tell my Myrmidons as this would risk being spread among the soldiers. Tomorrow, we will come back here and you will hold us a ceremony, in secret, do you understand?"

Paris nodded. "Yes, we do, but can I at least give my daughter some suitable clothes?"

Achilles looked me up and down. "Yes, of course."

Helen looked at me. "I'll go get some," she said and walked off back to my room.

"Achilles, may my brother and I speak to you alone?" Hector asked, and Achilles nodded so they walked to the end of the balcony.

Andromache spoke to me. "Arli, are you really serious about this? You don't have to marry him. Your fathers and I would prefer you not to marry him."

"Please, Andromache, do not think I am doing this against my will. If Hector saw what I have seen in him, then he wouldn't mind so much. I will be happy with him and he promised me our family's security."

Andromache still looked worried. "If anything happens—anything—you run up to that wall and you shout my name as loud as you can, as loud as you can, and I will come running."

I embraced her and, as I looked over her shoulder, I saw Achilles' expression becoming annoyed….I wondered what they were discussing.

Achilles' POV

I walked over to the end of the balcony with Hector and Paris behind me and, I must admit, I had the suspicion they were going to throw me over the railing.

I stopped walking and sighed. "What do you want to talk about?"

Prince Hector stared right at me with his dark eyes. "I just want to mention that if you hurt her, I will kill you; if you betray her, I will kill you, and if this is all a lie, I will kill you. Is that clear?"

"As clear as day, Prince. I would rather die than do anything to make her miserable. I love her and I need her. I think somewhere in her heart she needs me, too. I have never felt like this before and today—" I paused to take a breath. "Today, I felt love."

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Paris asked, his eyes darting from me to his brother.

I smirked. "Why would a man like me—a trained soldier, a natural born killer—tell my enemy my only weakness?"

Hector and Paris both looked at each other and nodded. "You seem genuine," Hector told me and held out his hand to me. "You have my consent to marry our daughter, though my warning still remains."

I shook his hand and then Paris'. "Thank you, my brothers," I told them and looked over at Arli, who was now receiving clothes from Helen.

We walked back to our women, and I whispered to Arli: "Say 'goodbye' to your family: we have to leave."

The moment I told her that, a sadness washed over her face that I had never seen before, and I hated myself for making her that way. I took steps away from Arli and her family and watched her being enveloped in their love.

She hugged Hector and Paris especially tight and then she turned and looked at me. "I'm ready," she said quietly and walked over to me.

"Remember: this meeting never happened," I told both the Princes, and Arlina and I left, being especially careful on the way back with the clothes in her hands, and went back to the hut on the beach.

She did not speak to me on the way back, she only cried in silence. In the hut, she just lay down on the furs and cried without saying a word. I went over to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Please, stop crying, Arli. You will see your family again, I promise."

She looked at me and smiled through her tears. "I know, but I have never spent a night away from them before. Now, we must go to bed."

I smiled. "Yes, let's," I said and took off my kilt, though Arli looked away.

When I came down beside her, she sat up and looked at me in shock. "Why are you here?"

"To sleep," I said, lifting up the furs.

"I am not sleeping beside you!" she said, crossing her arms.

"You are. You have the only furs and it's too cold tonight to sleep alone," I said, and pulled her in closer to me.

Arlina lay stiff beside me, but having her so close to me gave me a sense of fullness.

"There is no need to be frightened of me now. I will not hurt you," I whispered in her ear, and slowly she began to relax. Her shoulders loosened and she bent her knees, as well as letting me touch her hair.

We lay together for hours and I knew Arlina was sleeping, but then I heard her voice; she was dreaming. "No…I will… not…yes…Hector…Parissss….Achillesss….I love…you…"

"Who do you love the most?" I asked her dreaming mind, and she turned on her side, still sleeping, and laid her head on my chest.

I heard her response, just barely. "Hec…tor…"

I felt anger and jealousy all at once, but I didn't stir. I wanted to be the only one she loved. I wanted her all to myself, only belonging to me. I wondered if she would ever love me if she could read my thoughts, thoughts of killing her fathers and taking her away. I wondered what would happen in this war if Hector died, would she love me more then?

I can understand the love Hector has for Arli as a parent; it's the same love I Patroclus. Patroclus is young and bright, and, the fact that I had a hand in raising him, made him the closest thing to a son I have.

If anything happened to Patroclus in this war, I may become mad.