Spirits Forged in Fire

"Paris!" Achilles called out to the younger man, who stood engaged in a heated conversation with several of the cavalry riders. Paris' head shot up, his curls falling into his face, but still doing little to hide the look of brief worry that flashed across his handsome features.

"Somethings wrong." Paris said, as he walked up to Achilles, who only nodded. "What? What's happened?" He asked, grabbing Achilles arm tightly.

" Two men tried to poison our water supply. Two young, foreign looking men." Achilles said briskly, anger creeping into his voice.

"Greeks?" Paris asked, his eyes lighting up in anticipation.

"I would bet my life on it. We need to go get the women and children into the tunnels beneath the city, and then we wait. The Greeks are close." Achilles directed in a monotone voice, but Paris could see that he too was eager for things to begin.

"And we are close to the end of this." The prince said, brushing a stray lock out of his dusty face. Achilles grasped Paris' arm in a gesture of friendship.

"Lets get started then." Paris smiled back at the older men, and the two began walking up the stairs towards the main hall.



"My lady, they wont let me draw water from..." Mina cut herself off midsentence as she realized that she had just entered an empty room. "Guards!" She cried out, seeing only a broken jar on the far side, signs of a struggle, but no sign of Briseis. "Andromache, Helen, help! Someone!" She continued screaming, standing in the doorway staring at the empty bed.

"Mina? What is it, whats happened?" Came Helen's voice, who ran up behind the young woman. Andromache entered right behind Helen, followed by several of the royal guards.

"Oh Gods!" cried Andromache as she ran towards the window, looking desperately for her younger cousin. "Helen, go find Achilles, please!" She said, tears of fright running down her cheeks. Helen took off around the corner, as the guards began to fan out down the halls, searching for a sign of the young Trojan princess' disappearance.


Helen burst into the great hall just as the two men entered. Seeing her distress, Paris immediately ran to her.

"Are you ok? Where are Andromache and Briseis?" he asked, concern clouding his youthful face. He brushed one hand comfortingly over the side of her delicate cheek, and she took a deep breath before beginning.

"Its Briseis, we dont know, she's gone." Helen said, looking directly at Achilles. He strode quickly up to the pair, and placed a hand on Helen's arm. The young woman continued, half-breathless with worry. "She went into labor, earlier this afternoon." At this information, Achilles stiffened visably, his face paling. "She didnt want to worry you until later, but then she disappeared out of her room. I think someone grabbed her, and went out through the window." As she spoke, Achilles jaw went rigid, and the veins on his arms and shoulders began to stick out over his tense muscles. Not waiting to hear any more, Achilles ran back out front of the hall, and called out for someone to bring him his horse as Helen began to cry uncontrollably. Paris kissed her soundly on the lips before speaking.

"I have to go with him. Take Andromache down to the tunnel, and anyone else you see. The Greeks are here, and you need to find someplace safe. I love you! Now go!" and with that said, Paris took off in the direction that Achilles had just gone. Helens tears flowed freely as she left in search of Andromache.


"Achilles? I am going with you." Paris called out as he approached the greek warrior. His face set in concentration and worry, Achilles only nodded. Paris grabbed the reigns of the horse offered to him, and mounted up. Pausing a moment to think, Achilles turned back towards Paris.

"I cant ask you to follow me Paris. I intend to go straight into the Greek camp. I want my wife back. If they have harmed her, then I intend to kill every single one of them."

"If they have harmed my cousin, then you will have to leave half of them for me." Paris shot back, his jaw stubbornly set. Achilles looked at him for a moment, his blue eyes revealing a storm of anger underneath the surface. For the first time, Paris realized that somewhere inside of Achilles there was an extremely deadly man. Achilles nodded in approval of Paris' company, before wheeling his horse around and heading towards the front gate of the city, with Paris galloping close behind.

Briseis awoke with a scream, as her entire body siezed in pain. Breathing through the contraction, Briseis struggled to sit up. The world around her was dark, as she vaguely become conscious that she was in a tent. Although her mind was fuzzy with pain, and her head ached from the force of the blow she had been dealt, the young woman still managed to struggle to her knees, and then finally to her feet. She stumbled towards the door of the tent, and began to pull back the flap just as Kale burst in. She stepped backwards, as he began to laugh.

"Wanting some fresh air? Come my lady." He grabbed her arm harshly, and yanked her outside. She saw the setting sun before her, and then glanced around, her heart sinking when she realized that there was not a soul in sight. At least in a camp, the presence of other soldiers would have attracted the attention of the Trojan army, but as one man's prisoner, she was unlikely to be rescued. Another contraction tore through her body, close on the heels of the first, as Kale pushed her back into the tent. "Go ahead and scream, no one will hear you." was the last thing he said to her before he left her alone in the growing darkness. Tired, scared, and in pain, Briseis huddled in a corner and let the tears come, hoping desperately that Achilles would find her if only she she could call to him in her mind. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, hoping that at the very least, her child, their child, might be spared