Rosy-fingered dawn appears. The seagulls cry above the waves.
Achilles watches Briseis sleep. She looks very young and fragile, her face bruised, her eyelids fluttering as she dreams. Achilles watches her with great tenderness. Eudorus opens the tent flap.
"My lord, there's-."
Sunlight streams in. Achilles puts a finger over his mouth. Eudorus sees Briseis and nods. Achilles gently pulls the blanket over her naked shoulders. He stands and exits. Odysseus waits for Achilles outside the tent.
"Eudorus, have the men start loading the ship. We're going home."
"Yes, my lord. Gather the stores."
Eudorus, surprised, looks at Odysseus for a second before bowing to his commander and walking away.
"You found the girl?"
"I found her."
"Is she hurt?"
"Not as badly as those who hurt her."
Achilles stares at the sea. Seagulls patrol the skies.
"Do you miss your wife, Odysseus?"
"Always."
"I've never missed anyone in my life. I used to think it was a weakness, needing someone else."
"We all need someone else. Right now, Hellas needs you."
"Hellas got along fine before I was born, and Hellas will be Hellas long after I'm gone."
"I'm not talking about the land. The valleys, the mountains. They don't care what we do. The men need you. You should have seen the slaughter yesterday."
"I saw it, and I saw who led the men to slaughter."
"Agamemnon is a proud man. But he knows when he's made a mistake."
"The man sends you to make his apologies? He doesn't understand honor. What are you doing in thrall to that pig of a king?"
"The world seems simple to you, my friend. But when you're a king, very few choices are simple. Ithaca cannot afford an enemy like Agamemnon."
"Am I supposed to fear him?"
"You don't fear anyone, that's your problem. Fear is useful. Stay, Achilles. You were born for this war."
"My life is war. Is that what you think?"
"Am I wrong?"
Achilles stares at the sea again.
"A week ago, you were right. But things are less simple today."
"Women have a way of complicating things."
Achilles smiles. He turns to Odysseus and clasps his hand.
"Of all the kings of Greece, I respect you most. But in this war you're a servant. And I refuse to be a servant any longer."
"Sometimes you need to serve in order to lead. I hope you understand that one day."
Odysseus walks away. Achilles watches him go and then turns back toward his tent. He sees that Patroclus has been standing by the tent throughout the previous conversation.
"We're going home?"
"We leave in the morning."
"What about the girls? Are we leaving them here?"
"I intend to ask Briseis to come with me. It will be her choice."
"Should I do the same with Chryseis?"
"That is up to you."
Achilles goes back into his tent to see if Briseis is awake. His suspicions were correct.
"Good morning."
"Good morning. This deerskin is more comforable then I thought."
"I am sure you've slept on finer things. How are you feeling, Briseis?"
"I am fine. Just a little sore."
"I can bring in a tub for you to take hot bath in if you wish."
"Thank you."
Achilles puts a plate of fresh fruit in front of her. Knowing of their energy the night before, he knew she would be hungry. A tub was brought in so she could take a bath, and the hot water soothed her sore muscles. After she cleaned up and put on her new robe, she stepped outside the tent to get fresh air. Chryseis was sitting outside Patroclus' tent with Cassandra.
"Briseis. Don't you look well loved this morning?"
"Good morning to you too, Cassandra."
"I think I know what went on between you and Achilles last night, dear cousin."
Briseis could only glare at Cassandra. She did not know if her cousin would chastise her for breaking her vow to Apollo.
"What would you know of it, Cassandra?"
"It's alright, Briseis. The same happened between Ajax and I. And I did it willfully. Apollo can curse me all he wants. But I do not have to bow to the advances of a god."
Briseis and Chryseis were not shocked by their cousin's blazen words, they were used to that from her. But still, they never thought she would actully insult Apollo.
"Cassandra, how do you not fear the wrath of the gods?"
"It is simple, Chryseis. My father forced me to become a priestess when I told him I refused to marry. And I only refused to marry when a man who called himself Apollo practically forced himself on me."
"How do you know it wasn't actually Apollo?"
"If the gods are to be feared and respected, why are they capable of rape? Why is Zeus known for forcing himself on countless women? Some of whom are supposedly descended from him."
"We are descended form Zeus, Cassandra."
"Supposedly, Briseis. If that is true, than Zeus abducted his great-great-grandson, raped him, and then made him his cupbarer. I don't know about you girls, but I don't want to be descended from a god who does that."
Briseis and Chryseis knew Zeus had many lovers, but they never regarded it as rape, because he was a god.
"So, what do you think will happen to us now?"
"If Ajax takes me back to Salamis with him, I think I would like to become a priestess of Hecate. I would fit better in with her than Apollo."
"What about you and I, Briseis? If Achilles and Patroclus leave here, will they us wit them?"
"I believe that if Achilles leaves here and goes back to his homeland, he will take me with him. When he first saw that Agamemnon had captured me, he almost slaughtered all of the soldiers in Agamemnon's tent."
"I haven't given myself to Patroclus. I remain the only one who has not broken their vow to Apollo. I do think Patroclus is handsome, and he is kind and gentle to me. But I fear retrobution from Apollo."
As the girls were talking, a man all three of them recognised came walking up to them.
"Teucer, it has been a long time since we seen you last."
"Cassandra, I see you remain as rebellious as your twin brother. Though, not as stupid."
"I take no offence to anyone calling Paris stupid. One might say Helen is as well. Surely, by now, the Hittites have heard my brother practically abducting her. He is either as bad or worse than Zeus."
"When I heard my brother had been given a redheaded priestess of Apollo, I knew it was you."
"Oh yes, I had forgotten that Ajax is your brother."
"And Briseis, beloved of Achilles. Do you know how many women want to be in your position?"
"And yet, here I am, Teucer."
"Better you than a girl with no sense. And what abut you, Chryseis?"
"I don't need to tell you my business, Teucer."
"You know, Aunt Aglaia never wanted you to become a priestess, Chryseis. But when she passed, only your father had any say. Not even Priam would sway him."
Achilles then came walking up to the group, with him glaring at Teucer the whole way.
"Teucer, isn't Ajax looking for you?"
"Mighty Achilles! All my brother needs to know is that I will look for him. I just came by to say hello to my dear cousins Briseis, Cassandra, and Chryseis. I am glad they are still alive. My mother would have been devastated is they were not."
"Briseis, is this true? Are Ajax and Teucer your cousins?"
"Just Teucer. He has a different mother than Ajax."
"You are lucky she vouched for you, Teucer."
"I am, aren't I? Well, I suppose I should go find my brother."
"I will go with you, Teucer. He is probably looking for me as well."
Teucer walked Cassandra to Ajax's tent, while Chryseis went back to Patroclus. Achilles then sat down next to Briseis.
"I have never understood Teucer's mind. He has the tricks of Odysseus, and-."
"And the stupidity of Paris. Sorry for interrupting."
"It's alright. But come back inside. Our bath is ready."
Briseis followed him back inside the tent, where he then took of her robe and then his own. He then guided her into the tub and got in the water behind her.
"Am I still your captive?"
"Captive is a harsh word. You are my guest."
"In Troy, guests can leave whenever they want"
"Strange custom."
Achilles takes her hand and inspects her uncalloused palms.
"You've never worked the fields. Never chopped wood, never carried a milk pail. These are the hands of royalty."
He then puts his own hands over hers.
"My hands are gates to the underworld. All my life I've walked with Atropos. But I grow tired of his company. Come with me to Larissa."
A hint of a smile crosses Briseis' lips.
"Larissa, is that where you're from? It's a pretty name."
"I thought I'd never see it again. Before I left home my mother told me my fate."
"She speaks with the gods?"
"She knows things. She told me if I stayed home I'd have a long, peaceful life. And if I came to Troy, life would be short, but my name would never be forgotten."
"And you chose Troy?"
"But what if the Moirai brought me here for another purpose? What if I had to go to war to find peace? To find you?"
She cups his face between her palms, pulls him closer, kisses his lips. For a moment they gaze at each other. She struggles in her mind to fathom the words to say to him, and then they come out.
"Would you leave this all behind?"
"Would you leave Troy?"
Briseis does not respond. She lays back in the tub, in Achilles' arms, and lets out a sigh of content. He believes he has his answer.