Spirits Forged in Fire

"Agamemnon! I request an audience with the king immediately, or else I will be forced to castrate each and every one of you! Agamemnon!" The voice boomed loud and clear, and Briseis was struck with momentary hope.

"Curse him" Agamemnon swore, and pulling on a robe, strode to the door.

"You will not enjoy this one Agamemnon. She is not for you." Agamemnon spun, and looked into the eyes of Achilles, that were flashing with anger.

"And who are you to dictate to a King, soldier?" Agamemnon challenged back, furious at the behaviour of the fabled hero. Ignoring his question, Achilles stepped closer, staring the king down.

"If she remains here with you, the Myrmidons will be on a boat sailing for home tomorrow. But not I. I will remain here until I stand over your bloody corpse and spit on your mangled body. You may be a leader of minions, but I am a killer of men, and no matter what you think, you are only a man." Unable to speak for a moment in his anger, Agamemnon was silent. Odysseus, one of the kings other warlords, stepped forward and placed a hand on the kings shoulder.

"My lord, the men might not fight without Achilles. If you want to win this war, give him what he requests." Even as he spoke, he looked directly at Achilles, and knew from Achilles expression that, shoudl the woman be returned, there would be no further trouble. Odysseus knew that Achilles was bold, but not needlessly spiteful.

"Bring her out here" Agamemnon growled to Kale, who went into the tent, and pulled the terrified girl back out into the light. Agamemnon wrenched her from Kales posession, and threw her forcefully to the ground, kicking her. Achilles flinched, and his hand moved to the dagger at his side, but no further.

"Foolish warrior, who would challenge a king for a whore? You take your trojan slut, for I have no need for such filth in my presence. Isnt it sad how a man such as you is in such desperate need for release? I will feast on much finer flesh tonight." Agamemnon barely hid his seething anger in his attempts to degrade the younger man in front of him. Achilles was not shaken though, and still had a calm expression on his face, utterly void of emotion. Briseis was thrown at his feet. As she slowly began to stand, still reeling from the blow to the head that Agamemnon had given her, Achilles hand clamped on her arm and hauled her to her feet. She turned to him, her eyes venemous, and opened her mouth to verbally attack him for such roughness. Instead, his hand moved quickly to her throat, and with very little pressure, cut off her speech and breath momentarily.

"Know your place woman." He snarled, shocking her with the look of total distaste on his face. Confused and scared that he would hurt her in the same way as the king, she tried to pull away to release the grip on her neck. Immediately though, his eyes softened for a moment, and looked at her in such a way that begged understanding. Although his hand remained on her neck, the pressure at her windpipe ceased. She gasped in air, but resigned herself to following Achilles directions, for she had little fight left in her. Little matter, she thought, for the man will be dead within the hour. Achilles spun around, and strode off towards his tent, dragging the exhausted woman behind him. The moment that the entered the tent though, her energy returned full force in a surge of adrenaline. She pulled away from him violently, yanking his arm free of her, and scrambled to a far corner of his tent.

Achilles turned to watch her, surprised at the change in her. She huddled in the corner, with her knees drawn up to her chest, and her hands clasped protectively around them. Achilles slowly walked up to where she sat, trembling, and slowly kneeled down.

"My lady, I did not mean to scare you. If I had spoken to you with any sort of respect, the men would have questioned your importance, and most likely found out your relation to the royal family. They would kill you, you know, torture you and send back your remains to try to encourage surrender from your grieving uncle. If the men think you are just a slave, you will be safer." Achilles spoke softly, and reassuringly, but received no reply. "Briseis?" He questioned. When he lifted up her chin with his hand though, he saw the tear stains on her cheeks, and immediately pieced the situation together. "Did he violate you? Did he?" Achilles practically shook her. "Tell me!"

"No, but he...he tried. I..." Briseis trailed off, her will broken and her spirit drained. Achilles frightened her by standing up quickly, running a hand through his tousled hair.

"By Zeus I swear, Agamemnon's days are numbered." His fists clenched as he watched the young woman cry. "Let me get you something to clean up with." He walked over to the water pitchers, and began to pour water in a cleansing bowl, and two cups. He carried them over to where the princess sat, and placed a cup and the bowl in front of her. He lifted the other cup to his lips, and would have drank had Briseis not knocked the cup violently out of his hand. Shocked at her outburst, Achilles only stared at her in confusion.

"Have you gone mad?" He yelled, but then was cut off.

"I...today...I put poison in the water, hoping I could spare the lives of my family if you were dead. But I can't. The god's forgive me, but I cant watch you do it, watch you die." Achilles remained silent, his face unmoving. Briseis threw herself at his feet. "Back there, I would have rather died then let Agamemnon....then let him....I would have died. You saved me though, when I would rather have killed you. You saved me, why?" She sobbed, with guilt and with emotional pain. For several minutes, she didnt dare look up, for Achilles wasnt moving and wasnt speaking though. Slowly though, her face was lifted by Achilles' hand on her chin. She rose to face him, and looked at him, searching for a response in his face. Within his eyes though, she saw a storm raged upon wild seas, as the turbulent blue bore through her, causing her to cringe, to pull back. When she retreated though, Achilles leaned forward, kissing her once more, one hand locked on the back of her head. The other hand, previously at his side, suddenly wrapped behind her back as he pulled her to her feet while he stood. She gasped, but did not struggle. After her surprise abated, she leaned into the kiss, as the legendary warrior softened his attack, and caressed her bruised lips with his.

"Briseis, you do something to me." He whispered, his eyes tightly shut and his forehead leaning against hers. Another tear slipped out of her eye, but Briseis found herself leaning her head against his hard chest, feeling its rise and fall, and listening to his heart pound beneath the muscular surface. Achilles hand stroked her back softly, and he rested his head atop hers. Without words, the famed Greek warrior comforted the broken woman, his arms locked around her in protection and his lips brushing across her forehead, alleviating her pain.


Hey ya'll, hope you liked it. To those who reviewed, thanks so much for your positive input! I am trying to write as often as possible, so please bear with me. Keep up the reviews, we are just now getting into the good parts!

megs