7DeadlySins: You have no idea how your comment makes me happy! You have completely understood the purpose of this chapter. Character development is so important for me, so I am glad that you managed to learn more about her through the chapter. Delphina is going through a lot of internal conflicts between her morality, desires and pride. I hope I will be able to develop it more in the next chapters. And sorry for making you frustrated. I will make sure you will rewarded at the end.
Guest: Interesting theory. We will see in the next chapters if you are right!
Thank you for your reviews!
Chapter 21: Iphigenia
"What?" A king whispered, stunned in horror, wishing he had been deaf.
The bald priest looked at the dark haired and bearded sovereign whose brown eyes let see a fire of distress. Yet, he could only report the fact.
"That's what the goddess Artemis required, your Majesty. Nothing else will do. That's the condition if you want the wind to calm down."
In the tent, another man nearby that looked similar to the other monarch but with brown hair like wood didn't hesitate to comment imperatively. "Brother, you have to do it."
"Shush. Just give me time, Menelaus. We are talking about my daughter! How could the Goddess ask me something like that?!"
"It's not up to us to question the gods, Agamemnon. And you promised to help me to get Helen back! And you cannot betray all the armies of Greece that came here. They all expect us to sail soon! They are growing impatient and menace to leave! You must do it!"
"It is so easy to talk for you! You are asking me to give up something in order for you to get back what you lost! It is your fault by the way! If only you could have watched more carefully your wife to maintain her to her place, we would not be here right now!"
"Excuse me but that's only the fault of this bastard of Paris who stole her to me! And also, you are the one who offended Artemis when you killed one of her favourite deers! Now, you have to correct your mistake! Do you want to lose your face in the eyes of all the kings of Greece?"
"Can I help you, gentlemen?" A new guy said while entering the tent.
They turned to face a man with a tick and long hair that shined like bronze with a thin beard always well-trimmed. He displayed a huge majesty in his polished armour that recovered his well-shaped body. A halo of power and intelligence surrounded him.
Agamemnon responded to him. "Odysseus! Why are you here? Do you have anything to tell us?"
"Indeed. The men sent me to tell you that they are truly impatient. They give you three more days to do something about this wind or else they will go back home, even if the former suitors swore to help the husband of Helen."
"Exactly what I said!" Menelaus couldn't resist to comment.
Agamemnon ignored him. He had to reflect. His father's heart was conflicted with his king's honor. He had to make a decision.
As the king of Mycenae, he was the most powerful sovereign of Greece and this was how he ended up as the commander of the Greek army in this war declared against Troy which its prince named Paris had dared to kidnap Helen of Sparta, wife of his brother Menelaus. Since most kings were former suitors of the Spartan queen, they all took the oath to help whoever would get to marry the most beautiful woman on Earth.
But this wasn't the only reason it was easy to convince them to come. Troy had for so long provoked so much envy. They were prosperous, powerful and possessed the advantage to control the Carrefour between Europe and Asia making them an important player in the trade system. That status provided them a huge influence on economy and politics.
In conclusion, Greek had always waited for an opportunity to go at war against them.
Cancelling it right now because of his own personal decisions would put him in shame forever. And he would still have the wrath of Artemis on him. He couldn't tarnish his honor like this.
Ho! By Zeus! He cannot believe he was going to do this. Suppressing his heart, he said. "Odysseus, I will need your help."
"For?"
"To find a way to convince my wife to make my daughter Iphigenia come here."
…
In another tent, two men chatted with each other while sharing some wine. One was blond-haired, the other was brown-haired. But they both displayed force, strength and majesty. Well, the first just appeared fiercer. His body had been sculpted by countless years of tireless training. He had the particularity to be almost invincible, tougher than most men. But the other one still possessed a good stature.
Achilles and Patroclus had truly grown up.
And now, they conversed. "So, do you think we are going to depart soon?" Patroclus asked.
Achilles only growled. The other reacted. "What? It is only a question."
"You have already asked this question yesterday and the other days before. And I still cannot answer it. I am just as tired as you of waiting. If Agamemnon doesn't find a solution really soon, I will be the first to leave. After all, I am not even linked by the oath!"
"And what if they finally leave just after we depart? You are going to miss all the glory?"
"If that happens, they will come back for me. Odysseus has been clear. They cannot win without my help. And I'm sure Agamemnon knows that."
"Well, let's hope the King of Ithaca will convince him to finally find a way to appease Artemis. I am impatient to be on the battlefield!"
Suddenly, somebody penetrated their tent. Both men stood up. It wasn't one of their men and they were unarmed. They stayed alert. But it wasn't a man at all.
The unknown person was covered by a blue cloak with a hood which was taken off to reveal the face of someone too familiar.
"Aunt Delphina?" Achilles said with confusion. "What are you doing here?"
"Forgive me if I look like an intruder. But time has come."
"Which time?"
Delphina told him everything about what Thetis had asked her to do. Achilles didn't appear pleased by it. "What does it mean? I don't need you or anyone else to babysit me!"
The goddess tried to keep her confidence. She knew that this moment would come. She had made a promise to Thetis and had sworn upon the Styx River. She had no choice but to do it. Of course, she didn't planned that Achilles would be reticent to have her presence.
But she needed to insist. "I have to do this. Your mother wants me to."
"I know why. My mother told me about the prophecy. I am not afraid of my destiny. And I don't understand why you should be with me if it is my fate, anyway. You can hardly help me."
"You are probably right. Nevertheless, I gave my word. Anyway, it's not like I am going to prevent you to fight. I will just stay by your side, not far from you. Is that ok?"
Achilles grumbled a little but nodded in resignation. She gave a look at Patroclus. He hadn't dared to say a single word. In fact, he felt confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"So, Achilles chose to not tell him anything." Delphina concluded in her mind. Well, he probably didn't want to worry his old friend now turned into his lover from what she heard from Thetis.
"Patroclus, war is ugly. So you may expect that bad things could happen to us. You cannot blame my mother for being worried." Achilles responded with a great ability to hide the truth.
Then, he added. "Ok! I am just going to accept that I am stuck with you. You can come and sit. Do you want some wine?"
"No thanks. I don't like it."
Delphina sat and conversed with them. It had been a while since she had seen them. They had grown up so much. No more children. They were men. And Achilles, in particular, had transformed himself into a pure alpha male that displayed a strength that wasn't corpulent like a giant but mostly intense in the way he moved, the way he looked at people and the way he spoke. He was grandly beautiful but still incarnated the perfect warrior.
She had the impression that her task will not be easy.
…
"I can't wait to meet Achilles! I hope he is just as handsome as the rumors say!"
Those were the words of a fourteen years old girl. She owned short hair with the color of the fertile soil all curled like a ball on her head. She could charm everybody with her cute green eyes and her childish smile. She had a luxurious dress made of silk and gold. She was going to live a very special moment in her life and she wanted to look pretty.
In front of her in the carriage, her mother Clytemnestra looked at her. Less beautiful than her twin, the famous Helen of Sparta, she was still gorgeous in her own way with her short hair of the same color as her daughter decorated with a circular golden crown, her bombed face that enhanced her greenish irises and her large smile.
Because, yes, she smiled. Her daughter was about to marry. To be honest, she had always feared this moment. But when her husband told her that Iphigenia was to marry Achilles, she was happy. She heard about the demi-god as a really honorable, courageous and caring man. For Iphigenia, she desired a marriage where she could be respected and loved. She felt certain that Achilles would have the capacity to protect her and make her happy. Unlike Agamemnon…who killed her first husband.
But despite her happiness, she felt sad. Because a wedding meant that her daughter would now leave her family to go join another.
But the time had come.
When they finally arrived at the camp, they were welcomed by the guards who appeared surprised to see her presence. "My Queen, what are you doing here? The king had ordered that the princess had to come alone."
"You think I would miss the wedding of my daughter? Sorry but I have to be there. But before seeing my husband, I would like to meet Achilles, my future son-in-law. Can you bring me to him?"
The guards looked nervous. They could not tell her the truth. One of them got the wrong reflex to turn his eye in direction of the tent of the famous hero. Being a good observer, Clytemnestra automatically walked toward the place she would find the one she was looking for.
As a coincidence, Achilles got out at the moment she stood in front of his tent. Surprised to find a woman there, he asked. "Hi! May I ask who I have the honor to welcome here?"
"My name is Clytemnestra, Queen of Mycenae. I wanted to meet you and discuss with you at once before you wed my daughter."
Patroclus got out at the moment she pronounced those words. He stared at his beloved for an explanation. Achilles looked totally confused. "I'm sorry. You must be mistaken, but I have never agreed to any offer of marriage."
Iphigenia arrived at the moment he pronounced those words. She stared at her mother for an explanation. Clytemnestra looked totally confused. "I don't understand. In the letter, my husband was very clear. He said that you would refuse to sail with the rest of the army to Troy until he gives you my daughter's hand."
Both sides understood there was something up in their backs. Delphina chose this instant to join them with her mortal disguise. She had listened to this and possessed the same questions.
Achilles finally shared the real facts. "Dear queen, the real reason we hadn't sailed yet, it is because your husband has offended the goddess Artemis and she made a dangerous wind awake. Therefore, the travel on the sea would be too dangerous."
"So… My husband lied to me." She tried to reflect about what he truly intended to do. "He asked my daughter to come here alone. I found it strange to have a wedding organised so fast. Even more bizarre that I was forbidden to assist it. If the real reason of your delay is the actions of Artemis, then, she has to be appeased… Certainly a sacrifice."
She suddenly gasped and closed her mouth with her hands. She had understood what Agamemnon attempted to do. No! She needed to escape, but they were surrounded by guards, probably there to prevent any attempt at resistance against the will of their superior.
She took the hands of her daughter. She looked frightened. She was young but not so naïve. She had perfectly understood what kind of ceremony truly awaited her. "Iphigenia, my darling…" She couldn't control her emotions and hugged her child with all the strength of the love of a mother while was immense.
Delphina had been frozen the whole time. She hated the fact that she recognized this pain. She shouldn't be having a habit of it, but she was!
Artemis… How could she ask something like that?! What this child had done to deserve this?! Ho! Yeah! Always the same thing! The parents offense you so you are going to punish their offspring. Damn! She was tired of this trope!
"And you call yourself the protector of young girls, Artemis?" She laughed in her head with sad sarcasm.
Now, what could she do? Go to Artemis and talk with her? Would she listen to her? What would she even say in order to change her mind? She learnt a long time ago how the pride of a god, in particular an Olympian, was as though and cold like a rock.
But she would not forgive herself if she didn't at least try!
But suddenly, Achilles took his decision quicker than her by advancing with the stature of the commander he was. He uttered. "Agamemnon dared to use me to lure you here for achieving his scheme. By doing so, he tainted my honor by dragging me into this affair. However… I may not have really been your betrothed but I am willing to help you to save your life. On my honor!"
Instantly, the guards reacted all around with their hands on their swords ready to take them off if he ever dared to execute his threat. But Achilles watched all of them with a cold stare devoid of fear. He was the greatest warrior of his era and would manage to defeat them with his men if it was necessary. In particular if it could annoy Agamemnon.
But Iphigenia, now aware of what real deals she was getting involved in, thought about it deeply and reacted. "No! Please, don't do it! Don't put yourself in trouble for me!"
"Don't worry. You…"
"No! I…" Iphigenia wanted to cry but she knew that it was unwise to fight the fates. "I will do it! I will sacrifice myself!"
She stunned everyone there who listened to her. Her mother could hardly hide her shock as she just heard the resignation of her child. As for Delphina, she waited for her to explain, because she didn't understand at all!
"Why?" Achilles simply asked.
"I may be young, but I am not so naïve to not know that it is pointless to fight if it is just for honor. In fact… I think it would be more honorable if I give my life in order to appease the goddess so the army can safely go to Troy to take my aunt back. I'm willing to do this!"
Delphina trembled, not knowing how to react. Clytemnestra wanted to cry and fight back but she knew she was trapped and understood the arguments. She gave up. Achilles and Patroclus didn't answer back. They totally accepted her decision.
But the Goddess of Dolphins couldn't…. She couldn't accept that someone would accept that a goddess would reclaim her life when she hadn't done any wrong!
Many centuries had passed… She still couldn't comprehend why the gods always acted like that! Was there something wrong with her?!
Of course, she wanted to protest and she was about to shoot something when Achilles took her wrist and send her a stare telling her to not intervene.
Her heart beat strangely. This single action…had somehow reminded her of Apollo. Again, preventing her to act…because it would probably be foolish.
She observed Iphigenia once again. So young. She was going to die in order for a war to happen. A war that would bring more deaths. All in the name of honor.
Honor… What made it so special to be put above life?
Feeling atrociously powerless, she excused herself and ran back to the water. She needed to evacuate these emotions somehow.
And she felt like it was only a beginning… A war was coming.
…
The fated day had come. On a cliff, a sacrificial table made of stone stood. The king Agamemnon appeared almost cold, merciless like the stoic commander he was expected to be. But it remained a façade. A fake image of an unshakable monarch devoid of emotions expected to lead with duty an army which was possessed by a bloodlust against a long-time rival of Greece.
Iphigenia approached. Her mother was nowhere to be seen. Great! One less worry to care about. Still… He observed his daughter. His child that he had once held tenderly in his arms. She just reached her maturity and there she is, already ready to leave this world. He thought of how it would be difficult for him. In fact, few people had wanted to assist to this scene. At first, it was a relief. But now, he wished there was an audience.
He would have wanted the people to watch how strong his daughter was. How much courage she displayed. How much selflessness she demonstrated in order for them to go wash their honor.
She fought the desire to cry, she simply smiled sadly at her father and without even waiting for him to ask her, she went to climb on the table and lied down on it. She wanted him to know that she was somehow doing it on her own will.
The king approached her. He held a dagger in his hand. He looked at her one last time. The wind was blowing her beautiful hair vividly and moved her sumptuous white dress like if she was dancing. He lifted the sharp weapon above the body. And the longest minute in his life passed before…
A scream pierced the vast sky and sea.
And the wind disappeared. The hair fell on the table. The dress stopped its dance.
A single… A single tear found its way through his left eye to slide on his cheek as cold as stone to reach the chin and finally fall on a lifeless body.
But the body in question…although it appeared like a feminine child, it was only an illusion. Under the veil of magic, the immortals would be able to see the truth. On the table of stone…there was a deer, symbol of Artemis.
…
Achilles didn't know why he invited his aunt on his ship, but since his mother made sure that she would stick with him, better to learn to deal with her early.
It was nighttime, they were alone inside his cabin. She looked devastated, sat on the wooden chair, head low. Achilles would lie if he said he didn't feel the same. However, his warrior's training taught him to not let his weakness be shown.
Nevertheless, he needed to speak with her.
"You are so much older than me… Yet, you seem more surprised by the wickedness of the man's world than I am. With your current experience, you should learn that it is bound to happen more often than we wish it would. It's a circle we cannot break."
A silence passed. Achilles waited patiently. She finally rewarded him with an answer.
"Trust me. I know it more than you think. But I have never succeeded to stop being hurt by this. In particular, since it involves Artemis… An ex friend of mine whom I helped her mother to give birth to her. I held her in my arms when she was only a tiny baby. And now, she kills children. Trust me, no matter how many times I encounter tragedy, I still fall in the same trap. It's a circle I cannot escape."
"Well, we are going to a war. Injustice and tragedy will happen. Are you sure you want to observe this?"
"I repeat. I promised to your mother to watch over you. I don't have other choice."
Achilles sighed. Then, he stood up. "Fine. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to sleep. So I am going to join Patroclus. I am sad to tell you that I don't have any room for you."
"It's ok. I will just go back in the sea and continue the road by swimming. I don't want to disturb your men too much with my presence."
And with this last sentence, she left the room.
On the deck, it was desert. The sea was calm. The sky wide open, showing off all the constellations shining in the darkness. Among all those small sparkles, one entity glowed massively: the moon.
Looking at it, Delphina tightened her fists and yelled with a low voice. "That's it! You have definitely chosen this path, Artemis! It took me so much to finally accept it!"
Deep inside, she hated herself. She should have done something. She should have gone to the goddess and pleaded her to not ask for such an atrocious sacrifice. But she gave up too fast! She hated her situation! She felt weak, tormented and burnt inside.
She just wanted to scream. The trauma of her loss of Asclepius coupled with the death of many other children she had seen. It had just become unbearable. Real life that was. Yet, she still desired to hang on at the naivety that this world could grow in a better way.
Suddenly, she heard something. Like a wind whispering in her ear. She turned her head to find nothing. Did she imagine it? After all, the sea was moving a little but remained quiet.
It couldn't be Artemis reacting to her?
But then she felt something again. Like a breeze that hit her back and made her spine chill. Her body shook under the emotions it created. A thrill of familiarity that her divine nature could manage to decode.
Stunned, she turned around. Now, she knew it wasn't Artemis.
"Apollo?"
As soon she uttered the name, a white cloud with the texture of a mist appeared in front of her like a summoned ghost coming to haunt her. She jolted. She was frozen in place, anxiously anticipating what was going to happen to her.
In the following minute, the cloud ran to her. She screamed. The mist simply went through her and made her mind go on a roller coaster.
Suddenly, she felt like she was embraced. This almost non-physical object seemed to possess her and make her experiment an unreal blissfulness. She entered a state of weird but sure comfort. Her body trembled because she felt like a child in the arms of her mother. Despite the fear, her brain was telling her she was only surrounded by love.
And all of a sudden, it stopped. The mist disappeared. Coming back to reality, Delphina began to breathe heavily, too overwhelmed by the intense emotions. She looked all around her. It was gone. She was once again alone.
Well…until a worried Achilles debarked on the place, armed with a sword yelling out loud. "Aunt Delphina! I heard you scream! What happened?!"
She gasped. She was managing to retake control of her own body and spirit right now. Her blood still shook under the powers it got exposed. She looked at Achilles, his face being only lightened by the moon and the stars.
Still breathing fast, she whispered. "It was him."
"Who?"
"Who I didn't see for a big while but I used to see often." She was afraid the phenomenon would repeat if she said his name out loud once again.
Achilles reflected. He knew enough about the past of the goddess to easily guess who she was referencing. The knowledge now triggered him. "Did he hurt you somehow? Where is he now?!"
"He is gone. He wasn't even in a physical form. It was strange. He didn't hurt me. He… I think he wanted to send me a message."
"What? What message?"
"I don't know. It is the first time he attempted to get a single contact with me since… Well, your mother told you about this."
"I know. She also told me that it wasn't the first time you expulsed him from your life."
"Yes. The other time, he completely left me alone until I came to him."
"Really? Then why did he come to you this time? If he wanted to give you a message, he could have used Hermes. He should not disturb you like this and respect your need of space!"
"I know, but… This is different."
"How it is different?"
Delphina could feel her throat burning. Her hair stood on end. Memories flooded her mind and invaded her like a tsunami. Her brain was torn between being sad or in panic.
Unable to have this conversation, she climbed the guardrail. And without even looking at him, she responded evasively. "Sorry, I have to go now."
And she jumped in the water. She sank in the darkness of the abyss while her legs changed into a tail. She had no strength to swim for a while. She only closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being enveloped by water. She needed to relax her spirit and calm the beating of her heart. Not wanting to think about how she should react.
Because it was different, of course.
This time, before leaving, she had told him she loved him.
Thank you for reading.
In the many versions of the Trojan War, Patroclus is either a cousin of Achilles, his lover or a close friend. I chose the version where they are lovers, because it makes their tragedy...well more tragic!
Don't think that I forgot Artemis! She is not going to escape this story!
I hope you enjoyed it.
See you soon!