Will More Strongly

Will More Strongly


Chapter XIII


"Exhausting yourself with worry will do nothing to return Paris safely to us," Andromache murmured as she gazed at her husband who was pacing about their bedchamber.

"I trust him enough in Achilles' care," Hector said as he wandered towards the balcony that extended the length of their rooms. "I believe he truly does care for Paris. What worries me is that Helen seems to have disappeared as well. No one has seen her since shortly after Achilles abducted my brother."

Rising from the chaise, Andromache glided across the room until she was able to wind her arms about Hector's waist. "If it is as you said then Paris is safe enough for the time being. You would not have allowed him from your sight if you believed otherwise."

"Paris was determined to leave whether he had my consent or not," Hector sighed as he leaned into her body. "He has himself convinced that he loves that faithless brute."

"Have you found a reason to believe otherwise?" Andromache asked her husband, touching her lips to one of his broad shoulders in a gentle kiss. "For all his naiveté in palace matters, Paris does not strike me as a man who trifles with matters of the heart. He has always been very sure of himself and is a good judge of character. He knew that you would not kill him that first day."

Though she could not see his face, Andromache could clearly envision the smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "I should have gutted him on the spot."

"I am here for the bull!" the young man shouted as he walked into the center of the ring. "It was stolen from my family and I will see it returned!"

"Who are you, boy?" Priam called from his seat of honour in the king's gallery.

"My name is Alexandros and I come from Mount Ida," the shepherd declared, holding his head up high even as his hands shook terribly, the motion visible in the trembling staff he held clenched in his fists. "I have come to win these games and reclaim my family's honour."

"You do realize that to win these games you must first best me?" Hector returned as he rose to his feet and stepped to the edge of the dais.

Alexandros heaved a great sigh, his shoulders shrugging. "Then that is what I must to do for I am leaving with the bull."

The slender shepherd said the words with such conviction that Hector could not stop the smile tugging at the corners of his lips. It was not bravado that brought on the words, but simple determination. He tested the staff in his hands, twisting and spinning it about and doing quite an impressive job of it.

"Very well then, Alexandros of Mount Ida, let us see what you are made of," Hector declared as he stepped down from the dais.

"You must trust your brother," Andromache murmured into the nape of his neck. "He knows what he is doing."

~*~*~

Despite having given orders for Alexandros to rest, Achilles could find no peace himself. He had set the best of his men to guard against anyone Agamemnon might send for his beloved but even that offered him no comfort. Several times he had begun to drift to sleep, but shook himself awake each time. He would be unable to protect Alexandros while he slept and would not leave the younger man vulnerable.

The braziers provided for enough light that Achilles could see Alexandros' features clearly, the earlier lines of stress now eased into peace. Achilles had been saddened earlier to see the deep furrows bisecting Alexandros' once smooth brow. His beloved had had far too many cares and worries thrust upon him in a very short time. It was unfair to Alexandros who had lived his life as a shepherd before being forced into the life of a prince.

As he felt himself about to drift off again, Achilles heaved himself into a more upright position, leaning against a mound of pillows as he lightly caressed Alexandros' rumpled hair. Many a time he had watched the dark-haired man vainly attempt to control the errant curls only to be defeated each and every time.

Though he fought off sleep to the best of his abilities, the events of the day had placed a great deal of strain upon him and it became next to impossible for Achilles to keep his eyelids from drifting down heavily from time to time. So many times over the course of that one day Alexandros had nearly been taken from him. Devastated as he had been before when the priest had told him that Alexandros was no more, to have been returned his beloved only to lose him again so soon after would have been a blow Achilles did not think he would recover from.

"Keep him safe," Achilles murmured to any god that would hear his plea.

The light in the brazier flared momentarily and Achilles knew he had his response. With tsmalsmall peace of mind the warrior finally allowed himself to sleep.

~*~*~

Yawning, Paris snuggled deeper into the soft cushions he was laying upon. He slowly blinked his eyes open, the dimness of the tent indicating that the sun had not yet risen. Paris was utterly content and would have drifted back to sleep in his beloved's arms were it not for the pained whimper that slipped from Achilles' lips.

Carefully lifting himself up onto an elbow, Paris began to smooth the tangled locks away from Achilles' face. "Hush, my love. I will not allow anyone to harm you."

Achilles' quieted for a moment, but his body remained tense as though awaiting some greater pain. Muscles stiff, Paris attempted to wind his body around Achilles' so that the older man would have no doubt of his presence. He wanted the other man to feel as safe as he had been made to feel earlier.

"'Xandros...." Achilles' groaned, still wrapped tightly in the clutches of sleep. "'Xandros, no...."

His lover's eyes were fluttering madly behind his closed eyelids and he twisted about in the thick blanket that protected him from the night's cold. Rising to his knees, Paris attempted to free Achilles from the blankets that were wrapping themselves tighter around him with each moment that passed. He took a firm hold of Achilles' shoulders and shook him with all the strength he could muster, hoping that it would be enough to free him from his troubling dream.

In the next instant, Paris found himself flat on his back with the tip of a dagger pressed to his throat and a wild man bearing down upon him.

"Achilles...." Paris gasped, scared to take a deep breath for fear of the blade's tip piercing his flesh.

All at once Achilles seemed to shake himself from his stupor. His blue eyes widened in terror as he realized that he was doing and he scrambled backwards, allowing Paris to carefully lift himself onto his elbows before sitting up completely.

"By the gods," Achilles moaned, covering his mouth with his left hand as he stared in disbelief at the dagger he held in his right. “'Xandros, I--"

"There is no need, beloved," Paris whispered as he shuffled onto his knees so that he was able to crawl forward and hold Achilles' face between his palms. "The fault was mine. I should not have woken you as I did, only I could not bear to see your dreams so haunted."

~*~*~

Winding his arms about Alexandros' waist, Achilles' heaved the smaller man bodily into his lap. He pressed their bodies together so that there was not a fraction of skin that was not in contact from their groins to their shoulders. Alexandros' skin was slightly chilled so Achilles held him all the tighter, hoping to share some of his body's own heat.


A tremor shook itself through the warrior's body, the dream still tugging on the edges of his mind. He could not fully remember what it had been about, only recalling the fear that it left in its wake. That it involved Alexandros he had no doubt. The only time Achilles could ever recall experiencing any type of fear involved Alexandros. Above all else he wanted his lover to be safe. That he knew of, Alexandros had never done a single thing out of spite. The younger man was often drawn into folly with his inability to envision the end result of his actions, but his intentions were never malicious.

"Do not apologize," Achilles whispered into the shell of Alexandros' ear. "I would rather not sleep away any moments of peace that remain."

Alexandros turned his head so that he was able to touch his lips to the corner of Achilles' jaw. "Then I fear you will not sleep for many long years."

Achilles could immediately feel a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Is that so? I was under the mistaken impression that we were in the midst of a great war."

It had been a mistake to say those words and Achilles wished immediately that he could call them back as Alexandros slid away from him. Alexandros kept his eyes fixed down as he drew a blanket around his body to hide his nakedness. Scrubbing a hand across his forehead, Achilles slid the fingers of his free hand into Alexandros' hair and did his best not to react as the brunette flinched away from him.

"I did not mean it as a chastisement," Achilles said softly as he brought his hand back down to his side. "This war is not your doing. That Helen has aligned herself with Agamemnon is proof enough of that. Agamemnon has always desired to be ruler of all the world. To him this war is little more than a means to an end."

"Even so, I am the one who flung open the gates of Troy," Alexandros sighed dejectedly, curling himself up on his side.

Achilles followed him down, gathering the younger man into his arms. "You have nothing to blame yourself for, Alexandros. Nothing at all."

The shepherd remained silent, burrowing himself as deep into Achilles' arms as possible as though he were attempting to lose himself entirely. Achilles held onto him tightly, murmuring nonsense into his ear in hopes of calming him. Alexandros had no need to feel guilty, not when events were so clearly showing that it was Helen and Agamemnon who had orchestrated the entire thing.

That Alexandros was well and truly exhausted Achilles had no doubt. It was therefore not very long before the youth drifted to sleep once again. Even after he gave into his body's demands for sleep Achilles did not release him. He held the youth tightly, wanting to keep him safe from any other force that would harm him.

"ord.ord...."

Achilles perked up at the sound of Eudorus poked his head into the tent. "One moment, Eudorus."

Carefully extracting himself from Alexandros' arms, Achilles crossed over to the opening of the tent and slipped out into the night. He kept the flap in his hand so that he was able to keep his lover in sight with just a simple turn of the head.

"Agamemnon has blockaded our ship on the beach," Eudorus revealed once he was certain he had his commander's attention. "We will not be able to leave with the morning tide."

Achilles released a series of curses, turning his gaze to the heavens. He wanted to take Alexandros away from Troy and the threat of Agamemnon. Achilles had never trusted the Greek king and now he despised the man for what he would have done to his beloved. He would have taken Alexandros against his will then allowed his men to do the same.

"I want men guarding Alexandros at all times. He is not to be left alone under any circumstances and if any unknown person attempts to enter that tent he is to be killed on sight. Am I understood?" Achilles demanded, his voice a dangerous growl.

"Yes, my lord," Eudorus mumbled, bowing his head.

After his second-in-command had disappeared from sight, Achilles remained outside staring up at the stars. He could feel his body vibrating with anger and did not trust himself to be near Alexandros when he was like that.

"Achilles...?"

Spinning about on his heel, the warrior was met by a sight that immediately brought a smile to his face. Alexandros was standing just inside the flap of the tent with a dark red towel draped around his waist, his hand holding the loose ends together at his right hip. His hair was rumpled and there were creases on the left side of his face from where they'd been scrunched into the pillows. Only the few scattered bruises and scratches marring Alexandros' upper body kept him from appearing fragile.

"You should be sleeping," Achilles said quietly as he re-entered the tent.

"As should you," the youth echoed, releasing the blanket so that both of his hands were free to unfasten the knot that closed the cloth wrapped around Achilles' middle. "Now come, this night has gone on long enough."

Achilles allowed himself to be guided back to their makeshift bed, a smile appearing instantly on his lips as Alexandros spread himself out upon the dark cushions, holding a hand out towards the older man. Winding his fingers through Alexandros' slender ones, Achilles slid first to his knees and then stretched himself overtop the dark-haired youth. Alexandros' arms came around his torso, his fingertips tracing absent patterns against his skin.

Despite himself, Achilles felt himself beginning to drift off to sleep once again. Even as he felt sleep closing him, he kept his body wrapped protectively around Alexandros.

"I want you safe," he whispered against the dozing man's ear. "I want you around for a long time."

"And I as well," Alexandros yawned before giving in to Morpheus' insistent call.

~*~*~

Hovering at the edge of the tent, Patrolcus listened to the quiet whispers that passed between his cousin and the Trojan prince. He felt uneasy about the closeness between the two men. Achilles appeared to be losing himself with his lust for the young princeling. Patrolcus did not believe that Paris had been unknowing of his heritage when he'd presented himself as a shepherd when he and Achilles had first met. It was far too convenient for his tastes that Alexandros the shepherd and Prince Paris of Troy were one and the same.

"What are you doing skulking about out here, boy?" Eudorus said quietly as he crouched down next to the youth.

"Making certain that Achilles is kept safe from the Trojan prince," Patrolcus answered, keeping his voice soft so that his cousin would not hear him. "He is the one who began this war and unlike my cousin I am not so ready to believe that it was an innocent act."

"You should be careful of your words," the veteran soldier warned, "for Achilles is quite enamoured of the boy. You have never seen them together outside of this war. I have. Achilles' loves that boy desperately. I have seen it with my own eyes. Achilles was content as I had never known him to be those few times he was able to visit Alexandros and never more despondent as when he thought the boy taken from him. He will never again allow Alexandros to be far from his sight and will strike down all those who attempt to stand between him and the boy. Even you, Patrolcus."

Having said his piece, Eudorus rose to his feet and crept away into the encroaching night.

Patrolcus remained where he had been, his mind turning over the information he had just learned from his cousin's second-in-command. He did not want to believe what Eudorus had told him, but knew that there must be some truth behind the words. Achilles had known Eudorus since he was a boy and even though the latter was the elder of the pair, he willingly followed Achilles' command.

Shuffling about in the sand, Patrolcus turned his body so that he was sitting perpendicular to the tent opening. Not knowing whether the two men inside the tent were asleep or not, Patrolcus parted the flap of the tent just enough so that he could peer inside.

There was no denying what he saw was proof of what Eudorus had earlier claimed. Achilles was wrapped around the dark-haired youth in his sleep and for once his elder cousin's slumber appeared peaceful. When Achilles let out a contented sigh and burrowed his forehead against the curve of the former shepherd's throat, Patrolcus released the tent flap. He did not want to believe what he had witnessed, but could do little else.

Out of the corner of his eye there was a sudden flicker of light. Firelight was flickering off Achilles' bronze shield. His armour lay nearby, the distinctive suit having been retrieved by men gathering their dead from the battlefield and brought back to the camp.

Scrambling to his feet, Patrolcus gathered up the armour and took it back to his own tent. He would not allow Achilles to shame himself by hiding away in his tent with his siren when there was a battle to fight. Patrolcus did not want his cousin to be thought of as a coward. Achilles himself had taught him to fight and Patrolcus was quite certain that he could mimic the warrior's fighting style to the extent that others would think him to be Achilles. Their facial features were similar enough that with the helmet on it would be assumed that he was Greece’s most fearsome warrior.

He would lead the Myrmidons into battle and pray that his cousin regained his senses.

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The line "I want you safe. I want you around for a long time." comes from a season 2 episode of Queer as Folk.