Unforeseen

Andromache stretched in her sleep but slowly came too when she felt she was the only one in bed. She opened her eyes and didn't see Hector beside her. She sat up and looked around the room to find him standing at the window. Looking out over the land and ocean. "Hector?" she called quietly so she would not wake Astyanax. When he didn't give notice to her she crawled out of bed and approached him. "Hector…are you alright?" she asked putting her arms around him in a loving, comfortable embrace.



He glanced over his shoulder then returned his gaze out the window. "Did I wake you?" he asked guiltily.



She kissed his shoulders. "Only your absence woke me, " she assured resting her chin on his shoulder. "What is troubling you at this hour? Is it Briseis?"



He sighed and turned in her embrace wrapping his arms around her waist. "I fear for her, " he whispered worriedly. "I fear what they have done or are doing to her. Every fiber of my being is telling me to take every soldier we have and rip through every tent in their camp until she is found."



She rubbed up and down his arms, "Briseis is a strong woman Hector. She grew up with you and Paris after all. It's amazing she survived her childhood, " she tried to make him feel better but it wasn't working. "If she is still alive she knows you will come for her just as you always have." She paused for a moment. "If she is dead…it is a better fate than what she would have to endure."



He closed his eyes not wanting to believe for one moment she was dead. Deep down he felt she was safe where she was. He couldn't figure out why and he hadn't expressed his feelings to anyone, not even Andromache. He feared their reaction to his thoughts.



She leaned forward and kissed him lightly. "Come back to bed. You must have your rest before morning, " she coaxed taking his hand and leading him back to bed. "The greatest warrior of Troy must have his beauty sleep." She teased crawling back into bed.



He smiled tiredly and didn't resist being pulled onto the bed next to his wife.



"You won't be any good to anyone least of all Briseis if you aren't at least rested, " she berated softly as they settled into the covers. "You must have faith Hector that the Gods are watching over her." She settled against his chest and closed her eyes. "Goodnight my love."



He kissed the top of her head and caressed her back softly. "Goodnight my darling, " he returned as she drifted back into her peaceful slumber.



However, sleep did not succumb to him so easily. He stared at the ceiling as thoughts of the upcoming battle plagued him. Would Achilles fight in the morning battle? Why had he dismissed himself from the earlier battle? What was going on amongst the Greek's to make Achilles withdraw? Did it have to do with Briseis somehow?



His mind raced out of control with reasons and questions. Finally, exhaustion won and he fell into a troubled slumber.



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It was a clear cool night on the beach of Troy. The wind was strong as the waves crashed making a soothing sleep aid. A beach that no longer belonged to the Trojans but to the Greeks that invaded the land. It was nearly dawn and there wasn't much going on in the camp. Most of the men were lounging around, waiting. Waiting to see if they sailed home or attacked again.



"This is insane. I cannot believe he is going to leave when our fellow countrymen are being killed left and right. He knows it will kill the men's moral if he leaves, " Patroclus snapped whittling a piece of wood with his dagger.



Eudorus sat across the fire from Patroclus and was sharpening his own blade. "I am sure Achilles has his own reasons for leaving this war behind. I have served with him for many years and I've never doubted his leadership abilities or his decisions. Perhaps he is tired of the constant war in his life, " he explained. He wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Patroclus or himself.



"Achilles was born for this war. Aunt Thetis has even given him the prophecy of his glory and he is willing to give it up? For what, that slave woman he keeps to himself, " Patroclus accused. "Achilles only loves himself."



"Be careful what you say Patroclus. No matter how angry you are with Achilles he cares for you deeply. But even he has his limits, " Eudorus warned lightly. "Do not go against his wishes…you will regret it."



"I want to stay, " Patroclus affirmed. "I am going to stay and Achilles isn't going to stop me."



Eudorus laughed lightly then quieted himself. "This is not your time Patroclus. Every man is remembered in his own way. All men want to be remembered. Achilles just wants it more than most, " Eudorus explained. "But you must wait for the opportune moment to make your mark on the world. I fear your mark will come in a different way than war."



"Then why has he been teaching me to fight and why did he bring me here with him?" Patroclus asked frustrated. "If he doesn't want me to be a man yet he should have left me at home with Aunt Thetis."



Eudorus pointed at Patroclus, "That is the point boy. He brought you here to show you the way of the world. To show you it's grotesque nature. To give you the opportunity to choose for yourself."



"But what you and Achilles don't realize is that I have already chosen my path, " Patroclus noted. "I want to be a soldier."



Eudorus shrugged in defeat finding it useless to talk to the boy a moment longer. It was obvious he and Achilles were cousins. They were both stubborn as a bore and once they set their mind to something there was not deterring them. "Regardless, we sail home in the morning."



"We shall see, " Patroclus stood and walked off leaving Eudorus to himself.



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Briseis stood on the beach with her arms wrapped around her waist and watched the waves crash against her feet. The feeling of the cool water was refreshing and she was tempted to take a swim but decided against it since Achilles was not with her. The wind blew her hair away from her face and she closed her eyes enjoying the underrated sensation.



She was broken from her thoughts when she heard a slight rumbling sound and turned around to look over the camp.



What is that?



A moment later, fireballs began to roll from over the hill into the camp exploding when they made their impact. She was frozen in place as watched the tents and ships being destroyed left and right. Greek soldiers screamed and ran for their lives, as the unexpected attack was unleashed.



A nearby tent was struck with a fireball breaking her from her haze. "Achilles…" she breathed and started to run for their tent quickly. "Achilles!" she yelled pushing through the flaps of the tent opening. "Achilles the…" she stopped when she noticed he wasn't in the tent. She covered her mouth in fright then backed out of the tent only to run into a passing soldier. The camp was in turmoil as the Trojans began to invade the Greek camp.



"Achilles…where are you?" she whimpered as she started to run through the camp in search of him. "Achilles!" she called out hoping he would hear her through all the horrible screams. "Achilles!" she called again frantically.



A loud cheering sound in the distance caught her attention and she looked to see Trojans and Greeks surrounding two men. She narrowed her eyes to see if she could identify them and gasped in horror when she saw who they were.



"No!" she screamed running toward them. "No!"



Achilles and Hector were circling one another, waiting for the other to strike.



"No…stop!" she screamed breaking through the crowd into the opening of the circle. "Don't do this!" she cried desperately but neither seemed to notice or pay her any attention. They began to fight matching one another blow for blow when Hector got the upper hand and slit Achilles across the throat. "No!" Briseis screamed in horror as Achilles dropped to his knees and fell backward on the ground. His helmet fell away to reveal not Achilles…but Patroclus. She gasped and covered her mouth and saw the same look of horror on Hector's face.



NO!



"Briseis!"



She jerked awake and found Achilles hovering above her with a worried expression.



"Are you alright? You were screaming in your sleep, " he asked concerned.



She shook her head frantically and sat up bringing him with her. "Patroclus…you have to stop him…" she rushed in between her hurried breathing.



"Shhh, calm down, " he coaxed stroking her hair away from her face. "What about Patroclus?" he asked.



"You have to stop him before Hector kills him, " she rushed with tears streaming down her face.



He stiffened at her words, "What?"



She closed her eyes and shook her head making more tears fall down her face. "I dreamt that Hector and his men stormed the camp and Patroclus led the Myrmidons into battle without your knowledge, " she paused catching her breath. "He engaged Hector in battle and…Hector killed him."



"Patroclus would not do such a fool thing, " Achilles reasoned.



"Please Achilles, you must stop him, " she begged. She knew if Hector killed Patroclus that Achilles would kill him and she didn't want anyone to die.



The desperation in her voice was enough to unhinge him. "Stay here, I will be back soon, " he instructed and left the tent to find Patroclus and Eudorus.



"Eudorus?" Achilles demanded as he approached his Myrmidons camp across from him.



Eudorus stepped out from his tent and approached Achilles. "My lord?" he asked hearing the concern in his leaders voice.



"Where is Patroclus?" Achilles demanded forcefully.



"He went for a walk my lord, " one of his other Myrmidons answered.



"Where!" Achilles yelled impatiently.



"He didn’t say my lord, " he replied innocently.



Achilles was fuming, "I want him found and brought to me! Now!" He watched as Eudorus and the other Myrmidons scurried about as they went in search of their missing comrade. "My orders still stand…no one will fight!" he reaffirmed his order then made his way back to Briseis. He entered the tent and found her sitting with her knees drawn to her chest on the bed.



"Did you find him?" she asked.



He shook his head in defeat and walked to her. "Tell me more about this dream, " he asked taking a seat next to her.



She wiped the leftover tears from her face and met his eyes. "It felt so real…I could feel the heat from the fires and the shrill screams of the men…" She started. "…Until I head you call my name I didn't know it was a dream. I watched Hector strike Patroclus down…thinking it was you…I don’t want anyone to die."



"Achilles!" Eudorus called from outside the tent.



Achilles stood from the bed and made his way outside to see Eudorus with Patroclus at his side, wearing his armor.



"He was preparing for battle when I found him, " Eudorus explained hesitantly. He like Patroclus very much and knew Achilles would be angry with him for his rash actions, or almost rash actions.



Achilles looked hard at Patroclus. "Explain yourself now, " he demanded calmly.



Patroclus stood tall and stared his cousin down. "I was merely doing what needed to be done to win this war," he insisted defiantly.



Achilles approached him and ripped his chest plate away and held it up to him. "You think dressing like me will give you victory?" He shook his head in disappointment. "All you would have achieved was your own death."



"You don’t know that, " Patroclus insisted.



"I do know that, " Achilles retorted then pointed towards the hill that led to the city. "Do you know what is over that hill…the great warrior Hector who would have killed you today if I had not stopped you."



Patroclus looked down ashamed, "I only wanted to show you I can fight."



Achilles nodded, "I know you can fight Patroclus, but your reason for fighting should be different than why I fight."



Patroclus nodded, but still did not understand why Achilles wanted him to be so different from him. "Are we still going home?" he asked.



Achilles thought for a moment, "I have something I must do, then we leave." With that he turned and headed towards his tent. He pushed through the flaps and found Briseis fully dressed.



"Was it true?" she asked hoping it wasn't.



He nodded and put his chest plate down and approached her. "There is something I need to ask of you, " he said taking her hands in his.



"What?" she asked looking into his eyes.



"Do you wish to go home?" he seemed to have to force the words from his lips.



She was torn by the question. "I don't know what I want anymore, " she answered honestly.



He took a deep breath, "My men and I are sailing home today. I would never ask you to leave your home. It won't be safe for you here after I am gone."



She felt a panic rush through her, "You're leaving?"



He swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, "It is time for me to go." He rested his forehead against hers. "I cannot take you with me this is your home and your family would never believe you came with me willingly."



"The Greeks will not leave our shores just because you have gone, " she insisted trying to hold back her tears. What was she doing! If Achilles left then the Trojans would have a great advantage against the Greeks. If Achilles stayed they would most certainly meet their doom.



He pulled away and kissed her deeply letting her feel how much he cared for her. In all his life no woman had made him feel so alive. There was nothing more he wanted than to take her home and make her his wife. But in the eyes of the Gods she was already his wife. He broke the kiss and caressed her face. "Here, I want you to take this, " he reached down and took out his dagger. It was the same dagger she had tried to kill him with. "I want you to keep it…as a souvenir."



She took it and ran her fingers up and down the thick side of the blade.





Everyone has a destiny…but there are many paths to each destiny…



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This is where my story begins to differ from the movie and I would really like everyone opinion on this. Please read and review! I apologize for taking so long to post it here at the site but I'm just now getting around to it. Thanks!