Arli's POV

I woke up early that morning to find Achilles staring right at me. He was not smiling, and he did not look angry; he had no expression on his face.

This morning was different, I felt different. I felt like I had just come into such realisation, and when I looked into his eyes, I knew that I no longer was like I was last night. I was no longer a girl who only cared for art and politics; I was a young woman who was about to influence a war.

"What is wrong?" I asked, sitting up.

He did not break out his trance and continued watching me as he replied. "Nothing, you just look beautiful."

I smiled nervously. "Thank you."

He finally stopped looking at me and then pulled me back down so I was lying next to him again. When he rested his head on my stomach, I was surprised that I did not tense up. I unconsciously stroked his hair and then his exposed back. "What are we going to do today? You cannot fight, I cannot return to my palace…"

He turned his head to look up at me and kissed my covered breast lightly, which sent chills everywhere. "I have a few ideas…"

I felt uncomfortable because I knew he was serious. "No, do not play games. What can we really do?"

"We will soon be married, so why should you care?" he burst out angrily at me.

I was now offended, so I sat up again and Achilles mirrored my action. "My family—"

"Don't use your family as an excuse, Arlina! Why can't we just make love and not care? What are you afraid of?!"

I stood up, and so did he, and looked Achilles dead in the eye while I spilled the truth from deep within my heart. "I think if we did, it would cement my feelings for you!"

His expression relaxed. "Why is that such a bad thing? You already own my heart, Arli. Why not let me have yours?"

"Because I still do not know how I feel yet. I am not going to rush myself into feeling nor am I sorry that I cannot say 'I love you', but love is not what I feel," I sighed, and turned around, wiping a stray tear from my eye.

His hands came to rest upon my shoulders. "I am scared that if I cannot fight, and I cannot have you, I will go mad. I have this urge in my heart and mind, and it grows stronger every second I am around you. Every fibre of my being wants you! I need you, Arlina, but you—you tease me with your reserve and purity."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I did not know that."

He came over and stood in front of me. "I cannot wait forever for you, don't you understand?"

"I need to go for a walk," I told him and briskly walked out of the hut.

I walked fast past the Myrmidons who stared at me and I walked around the cliff. I kept looking back over my shoulder to see Achilles, now wearing his black armour, following twenty yards behind me. When I got around the cliff, my strides became faster and then stopped when I felt the water touching my toes. I looked behind me again and I saw Achilles at the top of the beach, watching me. I shook my head at him and then just walked right into the sea.

I swam for a few minutes while he just stood there watching, but then a man came and stood beside him and they began talking, only once facing each other, but they both just watched me swim.

Achilles' POV

I had followed Arli to the other side of the cliff and waited patiently up on the dry, white sand for her to finish whatever she was doing. She looked over her shoulder at me then began swimming in the ocean.

For a while I watched her swim then I could see out of the corner of my eye that Odysseus was approaching me. He stood beside me and watched her with me for a few moments before he finally spoke. "She is a beauty, my brother. Did Aphrodite send you a gift?" he quipped.

I smirked, but did not turn my head to meet him. "No, not a gift from anyone. She tempts me, Odysseus."

He smiled. "I can imagine, but what is wrong with that temptation?"

I scoffed. "Many things, Odysseus, many….many….things."

After a long silence, he asked: "How much do you care for her?"

"I would give my life for her. I only wish I could have met her under different circumstances, things would be much…simpler."

"When I met Penelope, my life changed, just as quickly as lightning. Though, she came at a cost; I had to respect the customs of her kingdom. Everything turned out wonderfully in the end," he told me and for once I actually identified with one of his life tales.

"Thank you, Odysseus," I told him, then he nodded and went back to camp.

I walked right over to the water, and waved Arlina to come over to the shore. I knew she saw my signal, but she chose to only shake her head…I tried again.

"Arlina!"

She ignored me again.

"Please, come back to shore!"

No response.

"I am sorry!"

This time my words got her attention and she began swimming slowly back and when she got to the sand. I finally could make out her expression: scorn. I was expecting her to walk to me, but she walked right past me. I started walking backwards in front of her and explain things at the same time.

"Arli, I'm sorry about how I acted and I know my—"

Arlina suddenly struck me across the face with all her strength. I staggered backwards, doubling over, but her attack kept coming. She kicked my chin upwards and I fell onto my back in response. Next thing I knew she was on top of me, brutally beating her knuckles into my face. She struck me as if she were a fully-grown man, and, if I wanted to escape this encounter with my life, I had to act fast.

I grabbed one of her hands, and then the other, before I rolled us over so I was on top of her. She struggled and tried to move her knee in between us, but I placed my feet on the insides of her legs, while keeping my own knees near her hips. Once she knew she was pinned down, she struggled even harder, even freeing one hand to punch me again across the face, before I took it back again.

"I love you, Arli, now stop this!" I yelled at her, but she only glared back before she used all of her weight to roll back on top of me and pin me down.

My face was bloody and somewhat swollen as I looked up at the beautiful, golden-eyed woman above me. As I lay there, her glare softened and disappeared altogether as a smile spread across her face. She let go of my arms and began laughing heartily. Arlina lowered her face to mine and kissed my lips with immense passion.

My surprise did not last long, and I was kissing her back with as much vigour as she had. We broke from our kiss and a smile was still across her face.

"I love you, Achilles," she said, and got off me and helped me to stand as well. "Come, you must wash that blood off, or you will be laughed at back at camp."

Before she could move off, I pulled her back. "What changed?"

"Any man who can take a beating like that and still say he loves me," she said, ripping a piece of her tunic off, "has got to be worth keeping. Come, I will help you."

I followed her to the edge of the sea and let her wipe my face with the saltwater-drenched cloth. She kept smiling and staring at me in a way that made the fight we had seem to have been a dream, though the pain in my face did not let me forget that it had occurred.

We made our way back to camp hand in hand and prepared to change into clothes that the beach did not ruin.

Arli took one of her dresses from a pile in the corner and stood up. "Turn?" she asked me quietly.

I nodded and turned on my heel, and began undressing myself as I waited for her. I heard her dropping her wet garments, then silence.

Without warning, she placed her had on my shoulder and whispered. "Achilles, turn around?"

I slowly turned around to find Arlina naked in front of me, but before I could ask what she was doing, she placed a finger against my lips. "I cannot wait any longer, either."

I smiled and kissed her. "Are you sure?"

Arli's POV

"Yes, I am quite sure," I told him, and he kissed me some more.

His kisses turned deeper as his hands went everywhere along my back and his arms became tight around my middle. Achilles was so strong, but at this moment, he was so gentle. I felt his lips move from my mouth to my jaw to my neck.

"Lie down," he whispered into my ear, which began to tingle as he said it.

I did what he commanded: I lay down on the bed of furs with my arms by my side and my legs together.

He stood over me and gazed down, his eyes taking in all of my body. Achilles then slowly got down and kneeled beside me on the bed of furs. "You really are a gift from Aphrodite," he whispered and leant over to kiss me.

He straddled my hips and his warm hands moved carefully downwards along my collarbone. They stopped at my breasts for a few moments feeling them, but then continued on the path to my stomach and stopped at my hips. I felt heat everywhere.

Achilles began kissing my breasts and his hand went down between my legs. I did not know what he was doing, but then he forced my legs apart and touched me there. I gasped.

He smirked at my reaction, and pushed two fingers inside of me. He moved inside of me and I pushed my hips upward to meet his hand. I sat up to meet his lips again and kissed him.

Achilles stopped and repositioned himself, moving my legs further apart, while he kneeled between my legs. He lifted my legs onto his hips, and I laughed a little as his fingers tickled me, but then he stopped again.

Achilles took off his kilt and placed himself inside me, taking me gently and slowly. After it was over, we panted together and he held me for a few minutes.

After a while, I felt the need for it again and it seemed Achilles did too. He turned us over, so I was on top of him and then he was inside of me again. It was not painful anymore and before I knew it, we had stopped again.

Achilles smiled at me and covered me up with some furs. "Now we can say the marriage has been consummated."

I laughed quietly. "We are not married yet, my love."

"What did you say?" he asked, propping himself up on the furs.

"That we are not married."

He smiled. "No, after that?"

"'My love?'" I asked, giving a slight giggle.

"Yes," he said, and kissed my cheek. "'My love'…I like that, especially when I hear it from your lips."

I smiled back and lay my head against his shoulder, and we both drifted off to sleep.

The sleep did not comfort me at all. I dreamt that I was walking back to Troy alone, and that all its citizens were lined up on either side of me as I made my way back to the palace. They all looked at me as if I were the most disgusting thing they had ever seen and it continued that way until I reached the palace, though there was worse to come when I got there. My fathers, Andromache and Priam were watching me with the same expression as the people. Hector came up to me and slapped me across the face and said: "You have brought shame to all of Troy and brought disgrace to our family. You have been bedded by our enemy and that…" he continued, and from behind his back he brought out an axe, "is treason; punishable by death."

Two guards suddenly grabbed my arms and pulled me to a stone table where they held down my head. I was screaming and crying, but no one stood up for me; they just watched. Hector swiftly brought the axe down on my neck…

I jolted upright with Achilles beside me, staring at me intently.

"What is wrong?" he asked

My body just collapsed onto his and he held me close. I cried into his chest and he repeated his question: "What is wrong, Arli?"

I could only muster four words. "What have I done?"