7DeadlySins: What tells you that Thetis asked Achilles to do this? She may have warned him about this, but he didn't listen. Maybe he asked her a prophecy in order to win the war and she replied without expecting him to do something so foolish. Well, we will never know what was written exactly in the letter beside the prophecy. But it is true that Achilles put himself in a big mess! And I'm feeling sad for Apollo as well. He doesn't get a rest. The triangle conflict between Achilles, Apollo and Delphina will still continue.
Thank you for your review!
I want you to know that the subject of the chapter is a pure coincidence with what is happening right now! But it is truly convenient, I admit!
Chapter 23: The plague
Delphina approached the captive woman carefully. She was such a mess. Her clothes all dirty, her hair so tangled and with some wounds on her body. But on her stare, she tried her best to not look afraid. She demonstrated a fire and an anger very impressive. The goddess admired this courage. If she would have been in the same situation… Having lost your family, your home, being prisoner and anticipating the worst fate….
Behind her, Achilles and Patroclus stood. They was expecting her to help them to resonate her. They said that a woman would be better fit to deal with another woman.
Well, it would still not be easy.
"Hum. Well… I'm sorry. Let's begin in the right way. What is your name?"
Silent. She refused to answer. Ok. Fine. Let's try something else.
"I guess what you must be thinking. But trust me about something. Nobody is going to hurt you. You are a prisoner but you are safe. No man will touch you, you will be well fed and you will get a good bed to sleep in."
Silent remained. Delphina began to worry. In front of her, she saw the meal of bread and fruits untouched. She had to insist. "Please, if you don't want to speak with us, at least eat something. Starving will not be good for you."
She turned her head. Delphina's worries increasing. She brought her fingers to touch her knee and said. "Please, listen!"
Suddenly she slapped her hand to the surprise of the deity who stepped back a little. The prisoner looked with pure furry and finally whispered some words. "Don't dare to touch me!"
Oops. This wasn't how she hoped things would turn to be. The woman added with a powerful voice. "All of you! Don't even try to tame me! I only hope that the God Apollo will punish you and make you taste the torture of Tartarus!"
Well, at least, they got a reaction. Then, she dared to do something.
She took off her hood and spread a little of her divine halo before saying. "I don't think so. As you can see, my name is Delphina, the Goddess of Dolphins. Now that you know who I am, can I know who you are?"
She got the reaction expected. The woman freaked out, amazed to discover that she was in the presence of a divinity. "I… My name is Briseis."
"Nice to meet you Briseis! This is truly a pretty name!"
Instead to be reassured, the woman just lost it. "How could you?! Not only you betrayed Apollo, give up your duties at Delphi but you also allied yourself with theses monsters?! Are you not supposed to be the kindest of all gods? I am so disappointed!"
"Hum…" To be fair, she really didn't expect that flame even if she should have. It was disturbing since she wasn't used to this kind of accusations from mortals.
Achilles decided to intervene. "She is here because my mother bound her to me with an oath a long time ago. But she had nothing to do with what happened. I didn't even let her know."
"And this is supposed to make me feel better? By the way, why are you not killing me? Why are you offering me nice things if you don't intend to use me?"
Achilles replied. "I am not the monster you think I am. I do kill people, but this is war. I just regret this raid when it wasn't my intention, but I had to get rid of our own obstacle to the victory. I saw your courage when you fought the soldiers despite your weak position. I ordered the guard to not touch you because I though you deserved a better fate after your demonstration of strength. This is why I promise to protect you, even if it doesn't excuse what I did."
She calmed down. Probably because she was beginning to trust them. Patroclus approached. "Please, eat now. You need to. Don't hesitate to ask us anything."
"What about the others." She asked, worried. "Are you protecting them as well?"
Now…that was a though question to answer.
…
Chryses raged deep inside him. But more of despair than anger. He had been made prisoner alongside the other priests. They remained in a tent, well kept by Greek guards.
But the worst happened when the lead of the armies, the king Agamemnon, decided to claim his daughter, Chryseis, as his own spoil of war.
He had witnessed his own child being dragged forcibly inside the tent of this lustful man! What was happening inside…? No! He didn't want to think about this! Nevertheless, he couldn't fight the terrible images haunting his mind and shaming his father's heart! If only he had listened more seriously to her concerns… But it was too late to have any regrets.
He had to save her now!
As he expressed the wish, Agamemnon himself got out of his tent, looking all satisfied and smiling devilishly. He left no doubt about what he just did.
Chryses saw red. It disgusted him.
"Hey! You! Give me back my daughter!"
Suddenly, he felt a huge punch in his stomach as a guard just came to give him a lesson for his impertinence. "It is "His majesty", understood?" He told him. "And you wait for the king to come after you. You don't just yell at him."
"That's ok. Leave him alone." The King of Mycenae ordered. "I will talk to him."
Chryses, still hurt, found the courage to stand up and hold the stare of his enemy while seemed to appreciate this act of defiance. He replied. "I want to ask you to give me back my daughter!"
"You think it works like that?! That you can simply ask me and that I will obey you! You know I really don't want to. Ten years far away from my wife felt so lonely for me and your daughter is such a great company."
The enemy playing with the nerves of the prisoner. Such a classic move… But that always ended up seeing the tables flipping. Chryses was a priest and he would use that power at once!
He rose his arms, he looked at the sky. It was breaking damn and the sun was about to rise in the sky. He uttered. "I beg you, Great Apollo! God of the Sun and God of Light. I beg you to punish the Greek Armies who offended me, my family and your own name! Allow your wrath to hurt them with your divine powers. Let them suffer as I suffer as long as my daughter will not be safe once again under my keep. I ask you this as your devoted servant."
And nothing happened. Only a disturbing silence.
Which was just as scary. Everyone around who witnessed the prayer felt cold and shivers in their spine. Because they were too much aware that the god had been truly offended. And no one could underestimate the influence a high priest could have.
Agamemnon just rolled his eyes, pretending to not be bothered and returned to his tent.
But for the others, they waited anxiously…whatever was coming.
…
The following morning, Delphina could felt it.
She stepped a foot outside. The rising sun shot its rays on her skin. It was burning more than usual. Then, her senses detect it all too well.
A dark divine power had dispersed everywhere. Very familiar, she easily recognized it.
Apollo
She breathed. She could detect and identify his exact mood. He was highly mad and dangerously angry. His powers made the air so heavy that she became almost numb. It was overwhelming. She knew it wasn't toward her. Or she hoped…
It increased.
She had witnessed Apollo's wrath before… But rarely of this scale. But with the offenses he had received towards his own sanctuary, she expected it. She advanced. She knew the worst could happen. The god seemed determined to impose the cruelest kind of revenge. But what exactly, she was about to know.
Sooner than expected.
She saw a rat ran and disappear. She jolted. The symbol of his power as…
The God of Plague.
…
Someone coughed like if he was vomiting before catching his breath. Another came to his help quickly before going to the other one on another bed where the patient was almost losing conscience. And then, a man entered holding his sick friend and calling for help.
Many screamed because of pain in their backs. More severe cases had developed black skin or buboes. Weakness, headache, fever…
Each day, the Greek camp transformed itself more into a hospital. The disease stroke its victims one by one gradually at each hour. While was very fast and began to be overwhelming for the medical service.
They knew why so many soldiers were suffering: the curse of Chryses had worked. Apollo had doomed and punished the Greek with the plague and will continue until the daughter of the priest was given back.
Yet, Agamemnon had refused to give up his own slave for the well-being of his army. Odysseus was trying to resonate with him but it was rather difficult.
In conclusion, they were dealing with a huge problem!
Delphina entered the tent where the patients were all situated. She shouldn't be there, but she couldn't resist the little voice inside her telling to go see by herself how it looked.
When she put the first foot in, her eyes discovered a sea of men about to meet their death. With the context of war, it was nothing new. But the power of the man she still loved surpassed the damages caused by the influence of Ares.
She was shaken. Yet, how could she blame Apollo? He would always riposte if someone offended him. And for once, he was kind of justified… Achilles had destroyed a village, killed a young boy and enslaved many people. The God only wanted justice for the priest who had always well served him and save the little girl trapped with the king of Mycenae.
And yet…
She couldn't think further when a loud voice called her. "Hey! You there! What you, a woman, are doing here?!"
She felt caught red-handed. She panicked a little, unsure of what to respond. It was often dangerous for a woman to be alone surrounded by so many men. She couldn't reveal her identity to them.
Luckily, someone behind her intervened. "It's okay. She is with me to give me some assistance."
She recognized that voice! She turned around to confirm her guess. "Podalirius!" She greeted one of Asclepius' sons.
"Happy to see you, god grandmother." He replied with a smile. "It had been a while."
"Indeed." She went to visit him and his sibling often after the death of their father as much for them than for herself. They were still a family after all. "What are you doing here?" She asked him while was now looking so much more like his father.
"As you can guess, they needed more healers working for the Greek Army so I came to help. Looks like I arrived at the right time now that I realise what my grandfather just did."
Try to not be too sad, she told herself. Useless, though. They both perfectly knew how difficult it was to handle such a situation when a very close relative of both of them was the cause.
Podalirius looked at her wondering. "I don't have that much time to talk with you because of my job, but why are you here?"
"That…would be complicated to explain."
"Please, help!" Cried one of the patients agonizing on a bed nearby.
Obeying his healer's instincts, Podalirius went fast to his bedside, ready to assist him. "Don't worry, I am here! I admit that we are overwhelmed, but we still going to do everything to save your life."
"I know you. You are the son of Asclepius. I saw you while I was still a child when you healed my father."
"Really? Well, I hope to save you as well."
"It is your grandfather! Can you not talk to him?!"
"Well…" His face looked very sad. But he couldn't complete his sentence.
"Help us right here! We got a serious problem with a patient!" Screamed another healer.
The young demigod swore and then, sadly excused himself before going toward a most urgent matter. And there, the patient was left alone like many others. They were too many and not enough people to help them. The worst cases were prioritized.
This was a huge catastrophe never seen before. And Delphina was very old.
The guy left on his bed then looked at her. "Please, can you come here?" He requested with a truly weak voice.
As a goddess, she was immune. So she risked anything but did he know that? She still approached him because her caring instincts kicked out. "You are not alone."
"I know who you are, Goddess."
She gasped. Her mortal disguise should be impeccable, yet. How it could be possible?
"You are different from when I first saw you. I was a little boy. I didn't know how to swim. I foolishly went too far in the water and almost drowned myself until a dolphin came to save me… You were there, not far. I caught a glimpse of you and I have never forgotten your face since."
Delphina was troubled but also touched. It was unusual to meet once again someone she had once saved.
And sadly, someone she couldn't save again!
She tried to chase these thoughts and engaged a conversation. "You are right about my identity. I am really sad about what you are going through knowing it was caused by…"
Damn! Why she couldn't say his name out loud?
Suddenly, his hand approached to touch hers. His was thin, dark and weak. Hers was light, soft and healthy. He opened it and on his palm, she found a letter. He said. "Please, bring this to my son. The address is written inside. Please… My wife was pregnant was I was forced to come here to serve my king. I have never seen him one single time and never will. I want him to receive this message from his father."
Frozen in place, she couldn't bear to respond. An image of Asclepius as a child went through her mind. And Asclepius himself with his children in his arms. And she looked at the sick man. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that these soldiers were human beings with families on their own.
She took the letter. The man closed his eyes. She panicked. "No, stay here! I will search for help!"
"I am too weak… It is too late." He whispered. "Please, let me go."
"No!"
His hand fell.
…
When Podalirius came back, he found a goddess crying silently on the bedside of the patient who sadly died.
She didn't even noticed his presence, she seemed stuck by this new trauma.
And the healer didn't know what to say… He just failed himself to save two other men.
And right now, others entered the tent calling for help. He didn't have the time to comfort her. And so, he approached the deity and told her. "God grandmother, I am sorry, but you need to leave. I think it's the best for you. Also, I would have to take the body elsewhere. To liberate the bed. Sorry."
She nodded and stood up before leaving slowly. It hurt him. He always knew that she remained someone sensible despite her old age and long experience. His father had been the same. Always compassionate, wanting to help people. And yes, he could say he felt the same. He related to her pain.
The pain of knowing it was his grandfather behind this.
But with so many hundreds of patients to look after, he had no time for his emotions.
…
After sending the letter to her dolphin, she isolated herself on the beach. She needed to be alone to do this. She felt the wind blowing her hair, the perfume of the salt sea hit her nose and, more importantly, the sun warming her skin.
She looked up but not too much since the sunray remained blinding, even to her. She took a breath and reflected about what to say while made her incredibly nervous. She feared what could happen. A voice inside asked her if she was foolish. Maybe she was.
But deep inside her, she knew it was the least she could accomplish if she succeeded.
She talked. "I know you are watching me and ready to listen from where you are with the power of the sun. I don't even need to say your name out loud to catch your attention because I know that I always have your attention, you stalker! But anyway! I know that I didn't talk to you for a while but please stay where you are. I don't want you to appear near me, yet."
She lied. As the God of Truth, he clearly knew it. Still, he would respect this wish even with the lack of sincerity.
She struggled a little before finding the capacity to say. "I truly hate to have to do this. But I feel that I have to… Please, stop this!"
Damn! To be fair, it sounded humiliating to beg like this. But this kind of soft power was all she had.
"I guess what you feel. You are mad for what they have done to your priests and your temple. You want to save the daughter of a loyal servant of yours. I can understand this. Your anger is relatable. You are justified to intervene for their justice…just not like this."
Silence. Bu she felt a change in the intensity of the power of the sun on her. A way to communicate with her.
She sighed. "You want me to explain? Well, you should know me well after all this time. Many of the people you are punishing were not part of the raid. You are doing this to weaken Agamemnon's army to hurt him but you are also harming other people who are innocent. Yeah! You are probably thinking of me as a hypocrite. I am close to the exact people who committed the crime! If it was only them, I would certainly understand a little more…but…"
Courage! She needed to find the right words to say. "You have to save this woman and their priests but I want you to do it the right way!" She fell on her knees, held her hands together and screamed. "Please, I beg you to do this!"
Again, she felt shameful. Why would he listen to her?! Would she forgive him if he did? Would she finally give him an opportunity to talk with each other face to face?
He would be justified to stay stubborn considering her own stubbornness.
She gave up. She did what she could. She should resign herself.
She walked away, praying for the well-being of those men, even if she had no clue which god she should pray.
…
Extenuated represented a weak word to describe Podalirius. He was devastated. How many had died in the previous hours? How many he failed to save because no one had the time to take care of them or because it was too late? How many left this world in an execrable pain without any solution available to appease them? How much smoke was spread by the fire of the funeral pyres?
What would his father do in his place if he was still alive?
Fatigue and despair were winning over him. He wondered if this was worse than battlefield or not. Difficult to judge.
One of the physician came to him. "Podalirius, I…"
"Please, don't announce more deaths uselessly. I know it and don't need to hear it."
"No, it is the reverse! We do have more cases of people infected but they suddenly stopped to die!"
"What?"
"It looks like the symptoms are prevented to develop to the next levels. We cannot explain how."
That was…very strange.
At the exact moment, he felt somebody penetrating the place. Prepared to see someone else sick, he turned around just to see his god grandmother again. What did she come?
"I'm sorry. I failed."
"What?"
"I tried to talk to your grandfather. To ask him to stop this. But I'm pretty sure he didn't listen. I did my best but it wasn't enough. For this, I'm sorry."
He opened widely his eyes. "So, that's why!"
She appeared confused. He clarified. "They just told him that deaths had stopped. We still have cases of infection increasing, but no more demise."
It was her turn to open widely her eyes. Apollo did listen to her! In some way. Now, no more will die from it!
Yet, the healer stopped the birth of this optimism by saying. "It's not that much good news. After all, we are still going to lack beds for everyone and medicine to ease their misery. People are now going to suffer without any solution to escape it."
She nodded. No matter what, you don't fight Apollo's wrath so easily. He took out some consequences but not all of them.
Not until Chryseis would be sent back to her father.
She looked at everybody inside the tent. Lied down and weak, trying to be strong and have hope. Those were soldiers ready to die while fighting but disease had often the default to represent such a slow way to die.
And now, they would not die and just endure.
She definitely didn't help that much and she felt bad for this.
Podalirius still felt concerned about something. "Did you…really talk with Grandfather?"
She looked at him. This was someone who prayed for the end of an internal familial drama. She crushed this hope. "No. I just talked out loud while being exposed to the sun. I could not hear him or see him."
"But why? Why don't you go talk to him? I know you cannot go to Delphi! You swore to never go back there, but you could have organized a true meeting and he would have accepted for sure!"
"I can't."
"But why? I am just as mad as you with what happened with Niobe's children, but this attitude is futile."
"Probably, but we are not on the same side of this war. It is not the right moment to resolve this."
"I know it's not just that."
She sighed. "Don't push me, please. I don't have the energy for."
Podalirius stared at her seriously and told her. "I now understand. You were right."
"Right about what?"
"Remember when I was young, my siblings and I asked you why you didn't marry Grandfather. You simply responded: "It is complicated". Now, I see how."
She didn't say anything.
Then, suddenly, someone else entered while opening the canvas so brutally that it caught the attention of everybody.
Achilles had entered the place with his famous dominance that always commanded the attention of everyone present. His face was cold and serious, almost furious. But overall, very afraid. What was wrong? He stared straight at Podalirius and Delphina before yelling. "I need you! It's Patroclus!"
…
Patroclus was lying down on his bed. Feverish, tired, burning, suffering, almost turning crazy. Sweat covered his red face as he breathed fast. He couldn't move without having his body reminded him in which state he found himself recently.
He heard sounds. He opened slowly his eyes. His vision was blurred but he could recognize the silhouette above his front. Comforted by the sight, he closed his eyelids to let himself rest the best he could.
Achilles looked at him. Fear was not something he was used to. He was invincible on the battlefield. He was the one who caused fear around him.
But when it came to his only weakness besides his ankle… He put his hand on the front of his lover, trying to guess the temperature. Alarming for sure. Beside him, Briseis wetted a towel with cold water in a vase before giving it to the demigod who put it on his beloved's forehead.
He turned his head to the healer and his aunt uttering. "He suddenly felt sick like everyone else and the symptoms became terrible strangely fast. The same with many of my men. Can you do something?!"
An Achilles impatient, worried and angry was never reassuring. Podalirius answered by lowering his chin while Delphina bluntly responded. "I don't want to scold you when the situation is difficult for all of us, but… You are the one who did this!"
She now realised that being mad toward Apollo was not useful when he was trying to do his best for what it was fair for him. This whole tragedy began because of the cruel actions of someone else!
And Briseis turned her face, desiring to hide her agreement with the statement.
As expected, Achilles riposted. "I did this?! It is Agamemnon who refuses to give back this woman to her father! And this is the Act of Apollo!"
"And who captured this woman first? Who profaned the temple of the God of Disease?! Are you that surprised that he is punishing you as well?!"
Delphina cared for the safety of Patroclus as much as her nephew did. But she knew there was only one single solution. Achilles had more power in this case than herself. He just knew to wake up!
But the quarrel was far from finished. Achilles approached her, measured himself with his tall size to impress her, but she wouldn't let herself be scared. On the edge to plunge deeper into his potential wrathful state, he asked. "Then, why him? Why Patroclus and not me?"
"You are immune to every disease, but not to heartbreak."
"Damn! What does he expect me to do?! He cannot kill him! If it ever happens, immortal or not, I will avenge him!"
"Don't be a fool! And you know what you have to do! Not only for Patroclus, but for the entire army!"
Achilles calmed down, now ready to listen.
…
Agamemnon slept very hardly recently. He had the company of a new concubine to appease the absence of his wife, but bore the anxiety of having almost his entire army in a very bad shape. Yet, despite the pressure, he refused to let go of his war's price. In particular since the deaths had stopped. He convinced himself that they would probably heal sooner than later.
Odysseus had scolded him about this stubborn thought, pledging to recognize the gravity of the situation and to assume his own responsibilities. Once again, he had shown himself deaf to those supplications.
He tried to sleep, to not let himself drown into the nightmares. Even Hypnos wasn't so kind to him. The gods truly hated him! He had sacrificed his own daughter, for Zeus' sake! Give him some mercy!
All of a sudden, a sound forced him outside of his dream world. He opened his eyes and checked around him. The first thing he noticed: the absence of Chryseis!
Growling furiously, he stood up, put on his clothes and put a step outside of his tent.
Waiting for him was a big group of people. Among them, Achilles, the mysterious woman who often accompanied him, Odysseus and other soldiers. What was that? A mutiny or something like this?
"What is the meaning of this?"
"The wrath of Apollo has finally been appeased. Everyone is now healed from the plague."
"What? But that means…"
"Chryseis has been reunited with her father." Achilles said, not hesitating to cut him. "I also allowed them to leave freely.
The king got terribly mad. His face reddened like a fire. How this young guy dared to go against him?! Fine! It is true that the situation was getting very horrible with the divine punishment, but still… He hated to be defied like this!
He growled. "Have you forgotten who the real commander of this army is?"
Stubborn, Achilles replied. "And have you forgotten who led the mission against the village? The consequences were as much my responsibility than yours. I just reacted unlike you."
The King of Mycenae had never been so insulted in his life. Not even the other kings would try to respond this way to him. Maybe his own brother, but that was normal sibling dynamic!
But this man seemed too pompous due to his status as a demigod and as the strongest warrior who ever lived!
He deserved to be punished.
"Guards!" A group of ten men came, ready to obey. "Go take Achilles' concubine and bring her to me."
"What?!" The warrior yelled. "How could you?"
"You may have acted in my back but I remind the highest commander in this army! You took me my slave away! It' only fair that I got yours in return!"
"You don't even possess a merit in her capture! You weren't there!"
"Do you think I care?! Anyway, you don't need her! You have your boy and this woman beside you to entertain yourself!"
Achilles couldn't let those insults pass. He was about to draw his sword when he felt the hand of Odysseus on his wrist. A stare from his trusted friend advised him to not do this. That it would be unwise and provoke unnecessary chaos.
He sighed before giving in to the voice of reason.
Yet, the wrath he felt would not let go of its hold of him. They stole him Briseis! He should have freed her as well. He was a fool to think she was safer with him. He failed to protect her and to fulfill his promise. That was a breach in his honor! And for an idiot who could not even learn from his own actions!
And with this, he used what was left from his powers. "Fine! Take her! But note it in your mind!"
He stared intimidately at Agamemnon before pronouncing. "As long you will have her, I swear to not participate in your war. That will applicate to my army as well. If you insist on it, then, handle the battles all by yourself from now."
Agamemnon laughed. "You think I cannot win this without you?"
"The prophecy was clear. Without me, you are lost! Now, I have to go."
Delphina followed him, not wanting to be left around those men. Achilles didn't look at her. He went straight to his tent.
And she was a little bit scared. Not only for the fate of Briseis, the young woman she had known for such a short time but enough to care for her, but also because Achilles was definitely furious.
Because when he was angry, it was always memorable.
And angry he would remain for she didn't know how long. He stopped smiling, not even for Patroclus. He stopped having real conversations. He stopped thinking about anything else than the offense done to him.
And revenge he will get as he will ask his mother to use her influence on Zeus in order to give victory to Troy during his absence.
And Delphina couldn't say if this new conflict made her job easier or not.
Thank you for reading!
This episode didn't really happen like that. I did some modifications just to make the conflict more intense.
Podalirius was there alongside his brother Machaon. I just chose one of them, because one character was enough.
Now, I want to talk about the current crisis we are experimenting since this was a chapter about a disease. I don't know your own situation, but I want all of you to stay strong. Maybe you have lost someone from this virus. Maybe you are working right now at your own risks. Maybe you are infected. Maybe you have lost your job. I don't know. I wish it was as simple like praying Apollo, but in real life, it isn't. Just stay strong and have courage. We are going to go throught this, I'm sure. And I dedicate this chapter to all people working in the medical service! You are amazing and blessed by the gift of Asclepius!
I hope you enjoyed it.
See you soon!