An Alliance of Love

An Alliance of Love

Prologue:

Aphrodite walked though the golden halls of Zeus and into the perfect gardens of the Kingdom of Olympus. Ahead she saw Athena goddess of wisdom waiting for her. They had arranged a secret meeting betwixt them.

“Hello Love Goddess. I’m glad you could tear yourself from guarding Aeneas to speak with me here.” Athena said pleasantly as she made herself invisible to mortal and immortal eyes and made clear that Aphrodite should do likewise.

“It is no fault of my own that my son needs protecting from those brutish Greeks of yours. The ones you inflame with the passion to fight and destroy all that Aeneas holds dear.” Aphrodite said coldly.

Athena smiled; the gods had become split over this war in Troy. Some gods were all but enemies now, all over a petty mortal battle for love.

“And that is why I have called you here.” She replied. “I have a proposition for you. To end this Trojan War and bring the gods together again in peace. To save your Aeneas. Save Hector and Paris.” She continued. “If you help me, we could save Troy.”

“And let me guess, your precious Odysseus too?” Aphrodite inquired bitterly.

“Well, I won’t deny that I have a soft spot for him but we are all a little guilty of blatant favouritism are we not?” Athena remarked pointedly.

“I see what you are making at. How do you think we could possibly end this war O’ Goddess of Wisdom?”

Athena smiled once again; the way one does when about to share a secret delight. “To end a War of Love, you must make an Alliance of Love…”

Chapter One

Troy –The Greek Camp

The night was chill. The moon was a sliver of white and a breeze was blowing east, whistling past the ships as the men slept. The man trudged through the sand dunes, trying to avoid the light spanning from where the guards stood. He pulled the robes over his head to keep warm. Even though the day had been hot the only memory of it now was the heat of the sand under his feet.

He was seeking peace. A hard thing to do when Troy and Greece had been at war for months now. A seemingly endless war with no point it seemed now. All he desired most now was peace and solitude. He did not fear attack even as he moved further away from the protection of his army and towards that of his enemy. It was calm enough and the god Morpheus had covered all the sky with her shadow of sleep and though this eluded him for the time being it had given him the chance to escape under the noses of his men.

He looked back. All he could see now was the flicker of red from the fires and the shadows of the ships behind them. He sighed as he continued on, he could see up ahead a broken chariot, he decided he would rest here and reflect back on the previous months past. Something he had been unable to do up until now. The gods were smiling on them tonight.

Grasping the overturned wheel of the chariot he lowered himself to the ground and groaned slightly as his muscles complained. He was no longer as young as most of the other men, he was a seasoned warrior and knew all the secrets and ways of war, but this did have its drawbacks. His muscles where horribly tense and now that he finally had time to relax and pause for a while from fighting they made their presence known all the more. He sighed and rubbed his shoulder, then leaned back against the wheel… suddenly he felt a rush of wind past his head and he felt the cold touch of metal against his neck. He froze and waited for the owner of the knife to speak. He didn’t have long to wait.

“Who are you?” the rough voice said.

“Who are you?” he replied.

“I have my blade at your throat. Would it be presumptuous of me to ask who you are?”

“If you take your knife away from my throat maybe I could show you,” he grinned, as dangerous as he was playing things right now he couldn’t help but enjoy playing this mind game with the man whose mercy he was at. He hadn’t killed him yet at any rate so at least he had some power over him.

The knife pressed closer so that the vein running in his neck began to throb warmly against the cold edge.

“ Do you think that you are so great that I would change my thoughts about killing you if you show me who you are. You are nothing but a foolish soldier who has wandered too far from his company. So how about you just answer the question: Who are you?”

“I could say the same for you but since I am at the disadvantage it would be prudent of me to answer you. I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, King of Ithaca. Now, will you allow me the same courtesy of your name before you take my life, soldier?”

Immediately the knife was withdrawn. And a shadow from behind the chariot rose up.

“I am Hector, son of Priam, Prince of Troy. Why do you come here, Odysseus?” The shadow of Hector moved out of the darkness of the chariot and the light of the moon caught his face… and the length of his uplifted knife.

“I come here for solitude and peace, though I see I have failed in both.” Odysseus said grimly, staring passed the knife and into the scratched, handsome face of the Prince. “What of yourself? Why have you left your great walls to come so close to danger?”

“Do you think I see you and your men as a danger? No, not at this time of night. The darkness is deep and I know this country well. I could come to your King Agamemnon and slit his throat before he knew it. But that is not why I am here. I come also for peace and for solitude. I cannot find it in Troy where tension lays apon me like a dead horse and I hear the groans of injured men from my bed. So I came here. And though, as I said, I could take many lives of your men here tonight, while I am here, I choose not to. It is not right to take your enemy at unawares in the dead of night.” Hector replied.

“Though you had no qualms taking me unaware it seems.”

Hector looked sharply at Odysseus, then seeing the light of the joke in his eyes he couldn’t help but smile slightly. He lowered his knife.

“So it would seem. Though it is an odd thing for us both to be unable to find peace with our own men and so escape and find it with our enemy.”

“Yes, it is. Hector, share peace with me. Discard your knife. I have not brought my own, I promise. A foolish thing to do perhaps but I am in a fey mood. Come, sit with me.” He patted the still warm sand beside him.

Hector frowned slightly and did not loosen his grip on his knife, but something outside of himself made him feel at ease and safe with Odysseus; he trusted him. Something willed him to drop his knife and he did so, leaving it in the sand he crossed the distance between himself and his enemy and sat beside him. There was a peaceable silence between the two men. Finally Odysseus spoke up:

“The last time I saw you was in the halls of Troy at a banquet. Now you’re on the front line. Funny.” He mused; he was not prepared for the reaction he got.

“This is ridiculous, this is totally and utterly ridiculous! I do not know why I am fighting you! I do not know why the Trojans and Greeks are fighting each other! What is it for, the love of one woman? The world is mad.” Hector burst out, then fumed. He jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Odysseus’:

“Aye, the world is mad,” he said quietly.

Hector stared at Odysseus. His eyes were grey-green as the sea, and his tussled, dark hair fell into his them as he peered out from under his hood. The moon caught the wrinkles on his face as he smiled empathetically at him. Something moved within Hector near the region of his heart, a bit of a flip-flop within him. He felt something for this man, his compassionate and handsome enemy. Invisible to Hector’s eyes stood Aphrodite behind him whispering silent, seductive words into his ear as Athena stood behind Odysseus setting a heavenly moonbeam apon his lips and in the very depths of his eyes. Hector shivered and turned away, confused at his feelings for the Greek warrior.

Odysseus now turned from Hector too. “Yes, you speak what I have known all along. The world is mad.” Then he clutched the wheel of the chariot and pulled himself up again, rubbing his back a little at the ache forming there.

“You don’t mean to go so soon do you?” Hector asked, sounding a little too concerned to himself.

“I have found peace with you Hector and I thank you. Now I must return to my men to rest for tomorrow’s battle. No doubt you will be there?” The joke was half-hearted and he yawned. “You see me now, I am tired. I need to sleep.”

“Yes, of course. Well, goodnight Odysseus.” Hector said chancing a smile at the older man.

“And to you too. Perhaps we shall meet again between our armies another night. It would please me. Goodnight Hector.” Said Odysseus, smiling in return. Then he turned his back and left to walk back to his own camp.

Hector watched his back for awhile as Odysseus, now at peace enough to feel exhausted, stumbled through the sand back to camp.

“It would please me too…” he said quietly.


The next day was just as bloody and horrible as every other was. Hector could not even begin to start counting the number of Greeks he slaughtered by the minute. But he was more distracted than usual, more distant. In a way this served to pull him away from the disgusting brutality he was forced to commit, in another he was becoming clumsy. He had gained more cuts and bruises than any other day combined, but he was ever aware, every careful to look out for Odysseus. Some how he knew he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to kill him, not after the friendship he had showed Hector last night, so he had to be sure Odysseus wasn’t around to get killed by accident. At the same time Hector’s heart leapt every time he thought he saw Odysseus, brave and cunning, in front of him cutting down his fellow Trojans. He was so confused today.

Odysseus leapt forward, ducked the sword of a Trojan to the side of him, cut one of his legs off and stabbed him as he fell, turning to the one now in front of him he slit him across his chest. He wiped his brow and breathed deeply as he plunged himself once more into battle. Ajax was at his side but Odysseus was ever watchful and worried about what Ajax was doing. He wanted to make sure that he wasn’t going to find and attack Hector. Odysseus suddenly paused as his realised his own thoughts as if for the first time. What was he suggesting? Turning against his own people for a man he had spent moments with last night? Some how it felt as though he knew Hector a lot longer than that and he wondered what he would do if he were confronted with Hector face to face in battle. What would Hector do? What would the other Greek soldiers think if he did nothing? Thankfully Odysseus did not have to answer this question today as he did not see or come anywhere near to where Hector was fighting. He only hoped that Hector would still be alive to see him again tonight…

As night fell Odysseus washed the grime from his face and sat down with the other Kings to supper. He spoke little; unusual for him as he was usually quite outspoken when it came to voicing his opinions and ideas about the war. His mind was once again on Hector and escaping the company of his men to spend time with him. Strangely he felt now that he couldn’t speak to anyone about his feelings for the day. He always felt the dreaded pressure of being a leader and making war plans with his fellow Greeks but in the company of Hector he felt that he could relax without worrying about the war. He finished his meal swiftly and excused himself, walking out into the dusk along the dark bays of the Aegean Sea.

He began to think very deeply, so deeply in fact that for the first time he couldn’t do two things at once and had to sit in the sand in order to think more clearly. He thought of everything: all that had happened that day, wondering what Hector had been thinking that day, whether Hector had paid a thought to him at all that day, and whether he should really be thinking this way about Hector at all. He did not care that the sky darkened and that the tide was coming in and the cold sea was creeping up around his toes, then his ankles until he was sitting in the sea, all the while thinking about Hector. Then dismissing him knowing that he would only make trouble for himself by consorting with the enemy. But that smile, and that face… secretly he wondered in the very back of his mind if Hector liked him. ‘Nonsense!’ the other half of him told him, ‘he’s just a Trojan who I happen to get along with. He’s not even my friend, I doubt I shall see him again tonight.’ But then suddenly a new thought occurred to him: Hector had not killed him. Even though he had been at his complete mercy and Hector had promised that he would, regardless of whom he was…. And he had smiled at him… Just the smallest tweak of his lips in response to a witty comment he had made. What he had noticed about it most of all was the way it had made his dark brown eyes sparkle so… he sighed.

Then he sneezed, realising how wet he had become as a result of sitting in the bay. He had probably got himself a chill now and that wouldn’t have been the smartest thing he’d done. He should go back to camp now while it was still light enough to see clearly, but for some reason he felt like he had to at least make an appearance at the overturned chariot in case Hector was there. There he was thinking about Hector again, he chastised himself. What was his problem? He was beginning to act as though he loved the man! His heart jerked at this thought. He couldn’t deny it; something about the thought of loving Hector had made him feel a strange emotion. But it couldn’t be love. He had only met him yesterday and that had been hardly romantic. Odysseus chuckled to himself, ‘Yes the world is mad,’ he thought and made his way towards the city of Troy.

It was dark by the time he arrived at the chariot and Hector was already there. He stood up to greet Odysseus who was snuffling slightly as the wind had picked up as he left the bay and he had definitely had a chill now.

“It is good to see you here, Odysseus. I was waiting for you. I wondered if you would come.” Hector said as he waited for Odysseus to sit down than took a place near to him.

“Well, it is still early yet. Much earlier than we met yesterday, but then we hadn’t specified the time had we?” asked Odysseus and followed it up with a big sneeze.

“Excuse me,” he said a little embarassedly as he rubbed his arms in an effort to get some warmth back into them. It was then that Hector realised that Odysseus was soaked and smelling very salty.

Odysseus chuckled at the surprise and concern on Hector’s face as he registered his state of being.

“Yes. This is my excuse for being slightly late,” he said. “I decided to have a bit of a swim, or rather the sea decided to have a bit of a swim up to me!” he finished this off with another, more restrained sneeze.

“You must be freezing!” said Hector, “it is hot here at day but the cold comes quickly here at night. Come, take off your armour… it will make you more cold than warm… and put these blankets around yourself. I decided to follow your example this time and bring some blankets to put round us.”

“Thank you,” said Odysseus as he gratefully received the warm, blue stained, Trojan woollen blanket. He noted also that Hector moved a little closer to him as he passed the blanket over. There was a pause, then Odysseus once again took the initiative and asked a question that had been eating at him for some time on his walk to the chariot:

“Why did you not kill me?” he asked suddenly.

Hector’s eyes widened and he looked surprised as though it had only just occurred to him that he hadn’t. Now the thought of killing Odysseus was a shock to him and did not agree with his heart.

“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully.

He had fully intended to, to cut down a key leader of Greece. It wasn’t until Odysseus had made him smile by teasing him gently that he had lowered his knife and the thought of killing him vanished from his thoughts. He wondered at this. All of a sudden he was grateful he hadn’t killed the Greek, he proved to be good company.

Odysseus continued to search Hector’s face for clues to his feelings even as Hector let his head drop as he looked down in thought. Odysseus had a skill for reading into people’s thoughts and feelings and he knew that Hector had not lied. He genuinely did not know why he had not killed the man next to him, and seemed to be trying to seek for the answer himself. Satisfied Odysseus looked away and murmured:

“I’m glad you did not. I like being alive.”

Hector could not help himself but laugh softly at this simple comment and laughed a bit harder when Odysseus exaggerated this statement by breathing in deeply and sighing, then shivering.

“You are still cold.” Hector stated, “I shall remember next time to bring a little tinder so we can light a fire. I do not think we shall be seen from our bases this far out. The nights are getting colder and darker.”

Odysseus nodded slightly and his teeth chattered, almost unconsciously he leaned closer to Hector. Even though he was covered with a blanket he could almost sense the warmth coming from the other man. He longed to be closer to him. He saw Hector’s arm and wondered what it would be like to feel it wrapped around him. As though he had read his mind, Hector looked to him and raised his arm, putting it around his shoulders and pulling him closer. Then he began to rub his shoulders and back vigorously, trying to work up a friction of heat to warm him.

“You will become ill if you do not take better care of yourself.” Hector said as way of an explanation for this sudden physical contact between them.

“Maybe you could care for me better?” Odysseus whispered to himself, obviously not realising he had spoken aloud.

Hector heard the sentiment and almost froze, as his blood ran… not chill but hot. Incredibly hot. He blushed as he realised the innuendo was not intended to be heard. So now he knew what Odysseus felt for him, and in realising this he finally understood his own feelings. He wondered how and when Odysseus had felt like this and what he should do in response.

For a while he just kept rubbing at his back, now becoming intensely aware of his attraction to the other man now that he recognised it for what it was. Even through the thick wool blanket he could feel the muscular frame of the other man, not as broadly framed as he was, but lithe like a cat. Hector realised the blanket around his shoulders was feeling much too hot now as hot blood flushed through out his whole body and he felt himself harden with lust as thoughts about the other man’s body under that bronze armour began to torture him. Still he felt his lust now mingled with something else, a fear. Fear of what may happen if he acted on his feelings, feelings that now he was just able to hold back. What would happen to Troy and Greece if something did happen? This was probably why Odysseus had done nothing after this statement… he was wiser than he, and knew the dangers of what may happen and was rightly declining. But he could not help but feel that Odysseus had given him a silent invitation. Should he accept? Was it right for him? It was then that Odysseus pulled away from Hector a fraction and he stopped rubbing at his shoulders.

“Thank you Hector, I am much warmer now.”

He said it as though he had said nothing before. Maybe Hector was just imagining things; but then again he hadn’t imagined the response he had felt to those words that he thought he heard.

“Think nothing of it,” he replied; sounding distant, confused and just a little disappointed.

Odysseus noted the way in which he had replied.

“Are you all right, Prince Hector?” he ventured.

“Yes fine,” he answered a little too hastily.

Odysseus thought hard. What had he done to make Hector so distant from him all of a sudden? Hector seemed to shiver as Odysseus tried to read him, piercing his brown eyes with his own sea green. This was odd, Hector couldn’t fear him. Why then was he seeming so frightened all of a sudden? He decided an apology was best in order.

“If I have done something to upset you, I am sorry,” he said slowly.

“No! No, you haven’t. You haven’t done anything wrong but… maybe you should go back to your men now and get into bed. You want to get warm soon and stop this chill of yours.”

“Yes. You’re right Hector,” he frowned. He was sure he had done something wrong and he wanted to find out what it was.

“Are you sure I have not angered you because if I have –“

“No! No! NO!!!” Hector lost it again startling Odysseus, then he calmed down. “I’m sorry. It is most definitely not you; I just need time to think that’s all. You should go… and get warm,” he said then picked up Odysseus’ still cold wet armour to give it to him.

“Very well. Thank you again Hector for your kindness,” he replied and turned to go.

“Odysseus!” he suddenly called again. And he turned back.

“Yes?”

“I will see you here again tomorrow night, if that’s alright.” Hector said smiling cautiously.

“Of course. Tomorrow night. I shall look forward to it,” he said comforting Hector with a big smile of his own. “Goodbye Hector.” He turned and made to leave, glad that it seemed that he was in fact not at fault.

“Tomorrow night Odysseus!” came the call.

TBC