#AND MENELAUS APOLOGISING

[kindred-spirit-93]

PARIS YOU SHOULDVE KNOWN BETTER

survived todays exam & finished my first round of the musical!!!! more thoughts and an art ahead :D

this is a continuation of my very initial thought process, i absolutely plan on several relistens bc 1. im in love lol, but also 2. im still a little confused? and want to see if i missed anything while listening and read more, but other than that

LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about this musical it really is a gem

delulu prince paris is so funny to me (so sorry helen)

cassandra my queen i will get to drawing u i promise

AGAMEMNON YOU DIVIDE US ALL..... WITH YOUR BITCHING! AND BROODING XD

the part with the achaeans in the horse was hilarious i think one dude was like u come here often? and a guy was like fuck yeah i do

LOVE HAS POWER SLAPS. EVERY SONG SLAPS. *slaps paris*

i love literally everyones vocals, theyre all perfectly cast and the melodies feel like they were composed for them individually aaaaa

love the parallel from seems even the gods laugh with me to must be angry with me. im always weak for repeated motifs & callbacks

--

unfinished helen lol (ft. sea foam green eyes and pearls for 'dite):

and this idiot twink (inspired by @kyleesarthell awesome animatic :D)

uncoloured bc he dont deserve it. also im cold & tired lol maybe later

@yourlocalhellenic hey bestie :]

paris the musical!!

im officially losing what little marbles i had to begin with. anyway about half way through and i have initial thoughts :3

first off love the vibe its so funky and idk why i find it absolutely hilarious yet fitting. i want agamemnon to be break dancing while planning paris' murder

speaking of which, paris is so delulu its hysterical and im so here for it. i want to punch him he has that vibe

also the part where hes singing his heart out and having his disney princess moment while im assuming hector is yelling at him to get down is too funny

so far cassandra is my favourite, her vocals & melodies are the best so far imo i love her and need to draw her immediately

helen! is such a vibe and im kinda confused bc im listening to this without a. lyrics to follow, b. background knowledge on this adaptation, and c. while studying (not my brightest idea lol)

point is is she being influenced by aphrodite when she sings abt the 'perfect stranger'? shes totally in love with and happily married to menelaus right? and is being manipulated or am i reading it all wrong?? someone pls help :')

PATROCLUS BEING LIKE GUYS WAIT FOR MY BF LMAO very cute ngl, he gets a 9 for being a supportive 'friend' lol

business is now stuck in my head yay :')

will add more tomorrow hopefully as i continue lol. feel free to add thoughts and stuff in the meantime :)

[christotokos]

lets get crazy: 7, 17, 18, 23, 27 👀

7. greekverse “You did what?!”

Menelaus, all of a skinny fourteen, wipes at his bloody nose, while Ponyboy keeps the package of peas pressed to his cheek. Both of them are roughed up from the damn near brawl they'd had outside, with stained shirts, bruised faces, blood in places where it shouldn't be. "Scott called Daisy that word, the bad one. I ain't repeating it, so I hit him in the face with my baseball bat." He gives Atreus a defiant look, mixed with pride. "It's not my fault he couldn't dodge a bat."

Atreus turns his head to Ponyboy. "And you, Daisy? What's your excuse for it?"

Much like his brother, Ponyboy mirrors that look of defiance and pride. "Jason's an asshole."

Coming from a normally soft toned ten year old, Atreus can't muffle his laughter.

17. ageswap

“This is all your fault!”

"Darry, I didn't just fall on his knot and get pregnant!" Ponyboy snaps back, moving in front of Dallas. "You know I had to give my suppressants to Soda, you know we could only afford it for one of us —"

"So why the hell weren't you careful?" Darry almost growls out, and Ponyboy doesn't pull back. "Dammit, I thought you'd care enough about your future not to fuck it up! How are you gonna go to college with a kid?"

A hollow, upset laugh bubbles up from Ponyboy's chest. "You think I'm still going to college? With what money, Darry? The scholarships are gone, Soda still has the entirety of high school to get through! Who's going to give a damn about me in four or five years?"

The silence that descends is deafening with everything that's gone wrong, with every reminder that things weren't the same anymore.

18. red, white, and bruised — soc au

“I shouldn’t be in love with you.” Ponyboy writes the words down, across the sketch of Dallas Winston in his sketchbook. They're in forlorn loops on the paper.

He shouldn't be. Dallas would hate him if he knew the full truth of things: that Ponyboy knew exactly who had hurt Curly weeks before. He would despise him if he knew that Ponyboy was terrified of Johnny, that he was trying hard to navigate what Johnny was dangling over him, a future outside of his brothers, and how unstable he was with liquor.

He thinks of it again, how Dallas looked angry, the way the greasers talked about Johnny.

He thinks about Johnny in that car, the alcohol on his breath, and thinks about his split knuckles.

The accusatory look on Dallas' face stares back at him and he knows that he can't keep this secret for any longer.

23. peepshowverse

“Just pretend to be my date.” Dallas says, ticking off his fingers, "Better, pretend to be my husband, if it's better. Pick out the expensive clothes, spend money as much as you want, stick out in however way you can as a mob guy's broad. That's what will get Randy's attention."

Beside him, Antonio goes on, "If you want to keep whatever you get afterwards, it's yours. The expenses, we're more than good for. We're in this til the end, and your services are essential to this heist. If you do exemplary, we'll even get you setup better than what you have now."

This is a lot to take in. Dallas knows it is, but he's counting on what they dug up too, a need for vengeance against the guy who killed Ponyboy's childhood friend, and he knows that they've done it when Ponyboy reaches for the liquor he previously hadn't touched. "Alright. I'll do it."

27. soc au

“I’m not going to apologise for this. Not anymore.” Ponyboy's voice raises, tinged with so much anger and spite to it that Paul is taken aback. "I'm tired of being here day in and day out, angry at you, at Darry, at everyone and no one caring about how I feel!"

Everyone is turning to look at him, everyone is getting a show to their dysfunction and Paul stands up. "Ponyboy, you're not feeling well. We should get you —"

"You fucking touch me Paul, and I'll shove my boot so far up your ass you'll be tasting it for another year!" Ponyboy snaps so sharply that it's almost a physical blow. "Stop treating me like I'm crazy, like I don't know what my own needs and wants are. I never wanted to come back, do you hear me?" He stands up fully, teeth bared, "I never wanted to leave Texas, and I never wanted to leave Dallas cause he never kidnapped me in the first place!"

[nausikaaa]

WIP Wednesday

thanks @forabeatofadrum for tagging me, and for all the tags on sunday! those tags motivated me to keep writing blow on the tinder, but then i actually finished the chapter so instead of sharing six lines i just posted the whole thing on ao3!

here’s a bit from my novel, a vision Helenus sees:

Two little boys run across the beach, while an older girl sits on the sand and watches. The boy in front is smaller, with black hair, while the other boy is a redhead, like her. But where her skin is white as milk, both their complexions are closer to mine.

The bigger boy catches up to the other and pushes him over.

“Pyrrhus!” The girl shouts, shooting to her feet. The little boy rights himself.

“I’m okay, mama!”

“Pyrrhus!” She shouts again. The redhead runs on ahead, laughing. “Come back here and apologise to your brother!” The younger boy runs to her, tugging on her dress. She picks him up and smooths his curly hair back from his face. “You’re really alright?”

“Yes. It’s not Pyrrhus’s fault.”

“Yes, it is. He pushed you!”

“I don’t mind. Don’t be mad, mama.”

The girl- woman? She’s far too young to be mother to these two boys, really. She shakes her head and bites her lip. “You’re just like your fathers.” She sighs, looking out across the sea. “Too similar, I worry. Don’t be too quick to forgive, Oneiros. Don’t fold to others so easily.”

I see another flash, a vision within a vision, a split second of Oneiros, a few years older. A rock collides with his temple and he crumples to the ground, eyes rolling back. Then I return to the beach, and the woman kisses the same vulnerable spot on his head.

“Let’s go, dinner should be ready.”

The vision fades.

i tag @martsonmars @ileadacharmedlife @otherpeoplesheartachept-2 @ionlydrinkhotwater @confused-bi-queer @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @bazzybelle @castawaypitch @gekkoinapeartree @ivelovedhimthroughworse @erzbethluna @facewithoutheart @sillyunicorn @moodandmist @tea-brigade @stillgeekingout @whatevertheweather @wetheformidables @onepintobean @basiltonbutliketheherb and @theearlgreymage

a long explanation of who the characters in the snippet are below the cut!

so Deidamia and Pyrrhus are a bit more well-known because of The Song Of Achilles, but Madeline Miller absolutely butchers them because she needed as many hate sinks as she could get (and quite frankly i think she has issues with women characters in general) so ignore all that.

Deidamia was Achilles’s wife, the oldest of seven daughters of King Lycomedes of Skyros. She liked to dance. She and Achilles were married young at the behest of Achilles’s mother Thetis to try and protect him from the war, and Achilles lived among the sisters disguised as a girl until Odysseus found him and tricked him into revealing himself. By some accounts Patroclus was with them on Skyros too, and how long they stayed varies from a couple of months to EIGHT YEARS. i went with the middle ground, four years.

Pyrrhus was Deidamia’s son with Achilles. He joined the war in it’s tenth and final year, after Achilles’s death, and was a part of the Trojan Horse scheme. He killed some princes of Troy then came face to face with Priam, the king. Priam told him he was nothing like his father, who had respect for him, and Pyrrhus responded with essentially “you tell him what a disappointment his son is when you meet him in hell”, then dragged him over to an altar and killed him. he took Andromache, Hector’s wife, as a slave, and in some versions killed her son, my novel’s main character, Astyanax. in most versions Odysseus did that though. he also sacrificed Polyxena, the youngest princess of Troy, to Achilles, because she had lured him into the trap that killed him. fucked up? yes. does this justify Madeline Miller making him a homophobic jackass with zero complexity? no. he was a goddamn child soldier! anyway, he married Hermione, daughter of Menelaus and Helen of Troy, but they didn’t have any children. He did have 3 sons with Andromache though. Orestes eventually killed him because Apollo had it out for his whole family and Orestes wanted to marry Hermione.

and then there’s Oneiros. nobody ever remembers that Pyrrhus had a brother and I’m gonna change that. Oneiros, whose name means dream in Greek (Sandman fans, that’s why Calliope calls Dream that) was the son Deidamia and either Achilles or Patroclus. in my story it’s the latter, i think the three were polyamorous. however he was ALSO killed by Orestes, over a misunderstanding when they went camping together as children. it’s interesting to me that Oneiros died in a similar way to how Patroclus killed another boy as a child, an accidentally fatal head blow, and that he was killed by Orestes, who later killed his brother too. Orestes really is the worst. killing your mother wasn’t enough? you have to destroy another family too?

i have so many feelings about Deidamia!! having children so young (13 when she had Pyrrhus, 17 when she had Oneiros), then Achilles and Patroclus going off to a war they’re doomed to die in, leaving her to raise them alone. all those years. her husbands never coming home. Oneiros being killed when he’s still a child. Pyrrhus, at only 14, going off to fight in the same war that killed his fathers, and coming back wrong. she gets a somewhat happy ending, finds love and has a family again in my story, but it’s still pretty sad.

[menelaiad]

(My question might be a bit weird. I wish this question never disturb you.) Do you ship Odyssey and Menelaus? I think there are many interesting interactions between them in the epics. ·They were both sent to Troy as ambassadors. They must have talked a lot! ·When Odyeesus get wounded in Iliad 11, Mene was one of the commrades saving him, and held him out of the battlefield. ·In Odyssey, Mene was the only person who believed Ody was alive. And Ody included Mene in his make up in Odyssey 14.

NEVER apologise or be apprehensive about coming to me with menelaus/odysseus content. i need it to live.

i do ship them. i think there's so much you can play with and look at and interact with and it's absolutely a lot of fun!

but, on a more serious note if you will, you're right! their dynamic in general is just fascinating!! we don't get a lot of 'backstory' for these characters and by the time we get to the iliad they just work together. a lot. like a well-oiled machine!

it's so interesting as well that in the ambassador scene (or the recollection from priam that we get) menelaus lets ody do all the talking. like. it's HIS wife they're tryna get back but he trusts ody more to speak well and clearly about their intentions etc.

and i think that's part of the reason they work well together, like their personalities. menelaus .... knows who he is (in homeric works we're talking mostly here) he doesn't try to be stronger or more arrogant than he is. even when he offers to fight hektor, he backs down when he's told 'no'. menelaus doesn't have an ego, he's not proud - he's just a dude, and he's okay with that!!!

and whilst odysseus absolutely has survival as his main motive, he's not above flexing from time to time. and menelaus lets him SDFGHJK 'you wanna do all the talking? cool.' 'you wanna show off in front of loads of trojans and then need me to save your ass cause you bit off more than you can chew? sure. i'll do it without complaining.'

they're just a good balance, i think.

also give me the text of them going to lesbos?? or give me death?? CAUSE THAT HAPPENED. after troy, odysseus left with menelaus. they ended up in lesbos, menelaus watched odysseus wrestle??? men??? for a bit???? and then odysseus went back to agamemnon.

WHERE IS IT?? HM??? I WANT DETAILS.

DON'T GET ME STARTED ON ODYSSEY 4. what was that?! menelaus your wife is RIGHT THERE. talking bout another mans thighs like that. i can't even elaborate on it tbh. it speaks for itself.

his destiny was suffering, and mine the endless pain of missing him.

[streets-in-paradise]

Royal Treatment

 Troy (2004) Reader Insert Fanfiction - Part 10 

Word Count:  + 9 K

Characters ( most mentioned) : Achilles, Mycenaean Princess!Reader, Helen, Patroclus, Ajax, Agamemnon, Menelaus. 

Pairings: Achilles x Mycenaean Princess!Reader.

Warnings:  Very light smutty undertones.

Summary: Since her last private encounter with Achilles left her with more doubts than certainties, the princess keeps trying to obtain a clear answer from him. During the celebrations, she comes up with an idea to test his interest. 

Disclaimers: This was inspired by a mix of greek music ,various drum solos and improvisations of greek folk that I found on youtube and some mediterranean, egyptian and turkish music I have been listening to. Also, I want to apologise if part of this sucks. i’m still learning how to write some stuff and I don't know if this is as good as it was in my head when i pictured it. 

Note: My use of the name Alexander here is only a reference. I know that’s how Paris was called in some versions of the myths and I’m only playing word games with that. 

Tags: @yerevasunclair @mother-dearest-loves-me 

The celebrations started with a short formal gathering in the throne room. The place was slowly getting crowder and the princess arrived later than usual but it wasn’t a concerning time range. Wordlessly, she returned to her spot alongside her father. She noticed the cup of wine he was holding and smiled to the pourer that remained close to him. The servant boy smiled back and the king looked at him like he was ready to order his execution. As a soft gesture of support against his bad mood, she holded his free hand. She knew that words of reassurance trying to explain herself or a convincing tale weren’t enough, so she tried something else. The sudden contact made him stare at her. He was still upset, she saw it in his eyes. Quickly, she changed the intention of her approach. Instead of acting like a caring daughter giving him reassurance, she showed the support of a loyal subdit. She kissed his knuckles and bowed her head in sign of respect, pretending to recognize his absolute authority over her. Agamemnon reacted positively, giving her a half smile that wasn’t exactly of approval but showed forgiveness. He was vainglorious about his self perceived but non existent mercy, appealing to that was more effective than trying to show affection.

The obsequious flatterers of the king started to gather around them, since that part of the festivities was nothing but an excuse to formally celebrate himself. Inevitably, some of the praise fell upon her and she kept her attitude towards it pleasing and passive, avoiding smart remarks or destacable commentary. She wished she could be left alone with her friends, but she had to keep performing for a bit longer. Helen was close to her and right next to her husband, but the distance that implied was a real bother. They shared some complicit glances despite being under the watch of the brothers.

Using their unexpected presence as an excuse to flatter their own egos, both kings started to show off some of the treasures of the conquest presented as gifts for the ladies. Argos wasn’t sacked, there was no need for excessive violence because Achilles speeded up their surrender. Still, as it did for other cities, their submission implied some concessions. Agamemnon got the military control of the land and demanded a share on the treasures of the city. Since he didn’t have a queen, his daughter had to occupy the passive role in his acts of ostentation. She had a collection of jewelry that was entirely based on stolen relics from every city he conquered, having at least one for every place. That wasn’t going to be the exception. The acquired riches were everything he had to brag about after Achilles took the symbolic glory. Knowing that most of the presents must have heard about what the warrior demanded of her, it was also a good way to reinforce her royal magnificence and the image of his control over her. On that occasion, the commemorative object of the victory she got was a necklace.

The young women were the centre of attention, as luxury objects whose value was being increased. Menelaus was acting like a loveful husband to Helen while he filled her with gifts from his share of the spoils, his older brother almost looked like a sweet, prideful father. The ceremonialize praise was hypocrisy, but it was fun for both girls to see their despicable owners pretending to be caring. Fortunately for their exhausted selves, the last and most expectant arrival stole all the attention.

As always, Achilles showed up very late. He tended to skip the pointless ceremonies that weren’t about him and he liked to leave his public hanging. Eudorus and Patroclus entered the room at his right and left side, wondering what he was going to do next. Without minding the context or any appearances of propriety, he walked right to the front of the crowd. Once he found his spot to stay, he blatantly stared at the ladies and saluted them from afar with a smile. Before his entrance, Agamemnon was in the middle of a self complacent speech that he interrupted. The sight of such a simple act creating more distraction irritated him even more. The king tried to save words with him, but Achilles robbed him of the speech before he could carry on.

“ My apologies to the ladies, I almost miss their honors.” He simply commented. “ Quite a charming pair, very sweet. I hope they enjoy what my effort got for them.”

The women stared at each other.

“ It’s not my wish to offend you, brave Achilles, but I don’t depreciate my husband’s courage.” Helen replied with extreme politeness.

“ Father knows my taste in jewelry.” was the princess’s defense.” And he is a smart strategist and clever politician. The brightest conductor of the army, of course.” She smiled to the king, trying to look like a sweet praiser. “ Your alliance is a treasure we must cherish because your accomplishments together are an honor to us all.”

” You honored me, I’m doing the same. “ the myrmidon replied.

“ It was no bother, the glory is yours. Nobody questions that.” The princess gave him the most formal answer that occurred to her in the moment.

Trying to keep with the ceremonial tone, she created an immediate distraction to relieve the tension of the moment.

“ Can we all thank this man as he deserves? This is an historical day for the city. He is the first fully consecrated hero in the times of my father.”

To her exhortation, claps and cheers filled the precinct. After that, Agamemnon decided to put an end to the formalities. There was no way of making it about himself again, so he concluded it. The festivities continued in the banquet hall.

Helen tried to reach her niece so they could do the short walk there together, but her very pleased husband stumbed in their way. Unlike his brother, he was radiant of pride because of the fervent defense that his wife did of him. If he didn’t love Helen, at least he loved how she made him feel.

Agamemnon grabbed his daughter by the wrist before she could escape to their side. Holding hands for the appearances, the started a whispered argument.

“ This is your second mistake in a row. What do i have to do with you?” He reprimanded her.

“ I got away from that shameful situation in the most elegant way, that’s what I’m supposed to do. If i were a man, I would have punched him.” She lied.

“ If you were a man, I wouldn't need him.”

“ Do you think that you would have had your own Hector of Troy if I would have been your baby boy? Quit dreaming, father. This is what you have, I do my best to serve you.“

“ You call this serving me??”

“ Who do you think I was serving when I agreed to bathe him ? Do you think that I enjoyed being degraded into servant work for him ? ” She fakely complained. ” I hate his petty audacious attitude as much as you do, but I stand him because it is what I have to do. You don’t know how hard I’m trying for you.”

She released herself from his grab.

The banquet involved less tension because the informal ambient demanded less interaction between them. She had to sit next to her father and keep with the good behaviour but the distractions kept him too busy to keep bothering her. She remained silent most of the time, but she didn't mind.

Achilles and Ajax were the centre of attention. They had a toast in their honor and people started doing them all sorts of questions. Ajax looked a bit upset because the myrmidon stole what he perceived as his chance to get major glory. He was doing a relatively good act pretending not to care about Achilles's decisive role in the victory and she felt a bit bad for him. One of her very short interventions on the talking was an attempt to validate him, but Agamemnon used her comment as a startpoint for malicious comparisons against Achilles. Using his massive amount of knowledge on heroic tales, Patroclus solved the situation. He did a magnificent defense of both heroes, talking about the complementary balance of their best traits with examples of some of their past feats. His eloquence was impressive for someone of his age, as it was his audacity to argue with the king.

Helen was having the time of her life just by witnessing how Menelaus's nervousness was growing at every instant. It was very strange for her to see him like that, fearing that anything could trigger a suspicious response from his brother. He was having a small sample of the life of lies he forced her into and she loved it. The funniest aspect about the situation was that Patroclus maintained a respectful tone the entire time. He was polite in his corrections and Agamemnon would have been the one looking bad if he would have reacted harshly.

While hearing their argument, Achilles glanced at the royal ladies for an instant. He noticed a slight change in his cousin's attitude, a rush of confidence that he wasn't expecting him to display at least there. He started suspecting their involvement and it's possible partial influence on him. The women glanced back innocently and the three shared their prideful approbation.

Patroclus's shift on the conversation frustrated the king's intentions of turning one hero against the other. Ajax got his well deserved acknowledgement and the curious boy took his chance to do all sorts of specific questions to him, giving him a moment to shine without entering in disputes with Achilles.

Since her comment started the argument,the young myrmidon tried to engage the princess in his rambling. She wasn't versed in the technical aspects of combat, but she tried to remain as a curious listener. Ajax's point, supported by the boy, was to affirm that he was the strongest man in Greece while Achilles was the fastest. He was trying to impress his listeners with less known anecdotes referring to that quality. Achilles didn't bother in refuting him and he barely paid attention because he was amusing himself by subtly ruining the girl's focus on whatever he was telling. Imperceptible gestures, smirks or just staring at her for longer than necessary were enough to achieve it. Staying concentrated in the talk was impossible for her, but she managed the situation adecuately.

When the meal concluded and the dancing started, Ajax offered her to join the festivities with him. She declined in favor of staying as Helen's companion. Ereny asked the princess's permission to be released from her daily duties and, once it was given to her, both handmaids got it. They knew that the young girl was going for the myrmidon captain and they wished her good luck.

The queen was left once more to witness how her husband chased the concubines. She didn't love him nor cared for what he did with them, but the blatant display was humiliating. She struggled to keep the appearances of love between them, but he made it harder everyday. The prideful public aspect of his cheating upsetted her because it was an insult to her pride as a woman. Her niece stayed with her, promising her that they would only have to wait until the brothers would leave the room with their respective companies.

She was feeling slightly disencouraged as well. That was a great time to lose herself in the dispersion of people, but there were too many stares following Achilles and she would never get there unnoticed. An insane amount of women were expectantly waiting to be chosen by him for the night. The ladies were competing for his attention, some being less subtle than others. She wasn't jealous, but she didn't want to engage in that game. She never tried to compete for attention and she wasn't sure of wanting to start there.

While she remained in her seat watching the crowd, her mind kept focused on one thought: Achilles seemed to fancy her in some way, but she still didn’t know how. She started fearing about the image he had of her. He described her as cute, he said that her face was adorable. Those were compliments fitting for a sweet girl, not an attractive woman.

She didn't have any certains but, if it was the case, she wished she could prove him wrong. He teased her for a very long while and she wanted revenge, but she was the princess and she couldn't allow herself such behaviour. She urged to show him how perfectly capable of displaying sensuality she was and the first thing that occurred to her was dancing.

She never showed off in public about the full capacity of her skills. Immediately as she got older enough to be allowed to stay late night in festivities, she got enraptured by the dancing of the concubines and she ended up learning to dance from them. She wanted to learn it only for herself, because she loved the graceful aesthetical aspects of the movements and she admired their performances. Her father didn’t allow her to do it but, like almost every other thing bringing joy to her life, she did it behind his back.

It was her secret talent. If she could disguise herself in the group of dancers to participate in their performance, it would be hard to difference her from the actual performers. With that in mind, she started imagining Achilles's reaction if he could see her dancing like that. She wondered if he would feel as teased as he made her feel, if he would acknowledge her womanhood and if he would want her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Helen.

" Do we have to stay like this the entire time?" She complained.

" We have to wait until they leave. It’s the best for now. " The girl replied. " I don't get it. Does he enjoy himself thinking that everyone is watching him cheat on you or what? Anyone would expect that after the devotion you faked he would think it twice and be more discrete but no, there he is... making you look like a fool. "

" I'm thankful to get him away from me. I only wish he could have some decency and keep it private.” The queen confessed. ” I don't deserve this humiliation. I'm a good wife, I do everything he demands of me. All I ask in return is to be respected, at least in public." Her voice was breaking a bit.

“ It’s never enough with them, they only think about themselves. “ the princess reminded. her.” I think we should do the same more often.”

“ What we did classifies as such.”

“ It wasn’t entirely selfish. We saved lifes … and their egos from an historical defeat. I mean a bit of real selfishness. A good payback. ”

“ I just want to be left alone. A lover wouldn’t repair the scars in my pride.”

“Many men would give everything they have for a night with you.” The princess commented to her. “ Do you never feel the need of being desired by a man that you want? “

“ Where did your good judgement go?” Helen mocked her.

“ You know everything about my sentimental life, but we never talk about yours.”

“ What most of those men have to offer is not what I would wish.” The queen explained. “ I have experienced desire. If we are talking about impossible aspirations, I want love.”

“ Why choose? You can have both.”

“ What did I do of you? Are you hearing yourself? Aren’t you the same girl whose goal was to have a nicely arranged marriage planned by herself using political strategy ? ”

“ You don’t want me to give up on love. Why should I let you do it ?

" You know better than anyone why I have to."

" That's not going to happen. My mother was alone, we have each other." the princess remarked. " Look at what we accomplished. We stopped a massacre, made a new friend and I got closer to the man I love, more than I ever thought I would be. "

" I told you, it is too late for me. "

" Helen,I used to think that my feelings for Achilles were a fantasy. I was ready to accept it as a comforting dream and carry on with my life. Thanks to you, I changed my mind. " the girl explained. "You have helped me so much. How can you think that I wouldn't do the same for you? "

" I doubt I would find love in a place like this, but I appreciate your concern. " the queen stated.

" Promise me that, if you do someday, you will let me help instead of giving up."

" We won a battle, dear. Not the war. " Helen clarified.

" We can win many more. " her niece reassured her. " You deserve to be loved and to own your desire."

"To be honest, I feel I’m more aware of what I don’t like in a man than of my actual preferences. I don't know what i like anymore. "

" Don't worry. We have time, i would love to help you to rediscover your taste. If it is not now, we will keep digging into figuring it out."

" It's not wise to get involved with someone that would never be mine. "

" You know what? I think I overcomed that. '' the princess declared. " I don't care anymore. Maybe Achilles will never be mine and so what? I want to be with him, I don't mind how. Perhaps he will never make me his wife and that's fine, I don't need to own him to love him. Love is not only about marriage. If marriage can exist without love, love can exist outside of marriage and you can find it. "

“ You have to tell me now what happened in that excuse of a bathing ceremony.” Helen teased her, encouraged and excited.

The princess tried to explain it to her carefully, watching over her expressions and paranoidly checking for the presence of unwanted listeners. Listening to her cheered Helen up.

“ What are you doing sitting here? “ she reprimanded her.

“ If I’m going to do a move, it has to be safer than this. “ The girl clarified. “ I can’t risk being seen by my father or inspiring gossip.”

“ He could have kissed you right there. “

“ Reason in the form of Hesione stopped me from finding out if he would have .” The princess added. “ I don’t know if i can do it now. Have you seen all those women ready to step on each other's heads for him? I’m not going to do that.“

“ You don’t have to be part of that,you are one step ahead.” Helen stated “ If you want a moment to get things clear. This is it.”

With that, she dragged her up from her seat.

The young ladies mixed themselves in the crowd, trying to have fun on their own. The princess procured not to concentrate in trying to find Achilles and just enjoy herself in the company of her aunt. Helen’s mood improved from the brief downfall it had because she redirected her thoughts. Instead of thinking of the public humiliation brought to her by her husband’s behaviour, she focused on the victory over him that she got. She humiliated him indirectly, her actions caused a situation that made him feel like an idiot in front of his brother. Some justice was served that time and she was able to celebrate. It was a small triumph, but just thinking about that made her start laughing without an apparent reason. The sudden boost in her joyful mood started to manifest in her dancing.

The queen’s grace was famous, but Helen never looked prettier as she did when she was really happy. She irradiated her emotions and the ambient felt renewed around her. Bright of happiness, she started dancing right in front of the musicians and the magnetic effect of her approach made them play the same song for longer, just so she wouldn’t leave. The percussionist was jaw dropping with her and even the princess was impressed by how obvious he was.

He was bewitched, but not in a lustfull way. The handsome young man was worshipping Helen with his music and she started responding with her dancing straightly to him. Since she realized that her niece was right next to her evaluating the situation, she encouraged her to follow her moves instead of teasing them with stares. Then, both girls found themselves dancing for the musicians and letting themselves go to the beat of their music.

Unlike the queen, the princess tried to keep her moves as chaste and cheerful as possible. Still, forgetting all her concerns to the sound of the music almost ruined her intentions . The fastening of the beat betrayed her for an instant and some very inappropriate hip flicks she did under the influence of the stimulation around her impressed her dancing companion. She isolated the movement of her hips to the rhythm of the song with a great synchrony. Sharp hip flicks combined with contractions of the lower belly creating a single circled swing. Cheering from the crew of artists made her realize of how she let herself go completely and she calmed down, going back to her usual style.

It was too late, Helen was too curious to let it go. Once the song ended, she had to abandon her admiror. Then, she started questioning her.

“ What was that?? It was incredible! “ She complimented her.

“ Sorry. The beat was great and you were pushing me in the wrong direction.”

“ When were you going to tell me about this?” The queen recriminated her.

“ Our mystery is solved. I think you are into pretty boys worshipping you with respect. Sweet admiration, not those looks of when you know that the man is mentally undressing you.” The princess teased her to avoid the topic.

“ Don’t try to get away from this. “ Helen teased back. “ You have to teach me that.”

“ I lost control, I wasn’t supposed to do that here .” the princess excused herself.

“ You will explain to me later where that came from, now I want to learn how to move my hips like that.”

“ We all have our unique ways of expression. You have your makeup skills, I have this.” the girl joked. “ I didn’t mean to hide it from you, the occasion to show you never presented. “

“ It presented itself now.” Helen rectified. “ We have music and a proper space. “

She was reluctant, but agreed.

“ Only because it’s you who is asking. I owe you too much to say no.” She admitted. “ This is absolutely inappropriate so i will only show you hip moves. For a proper lesson, I need secrecy."

“ Forget protocols, we are having fun.” Helen encouraged her.

Her niece took the position of instructor and decomposed the otherwise integrated steps of the movement so Helen could learn it and copy it. Very slow like at first, the queen achieved it with great enthusiasm. The princess oriented her into repeating it a few times before trying to find a pace with the rhythm. She guided her into picking that pace and, soon, both were dancing at a matching tempo. Helen looked bright with happiness.

" I don't want to brag, but this makes me feel beautiful." she joked.

" It's not very lady-like, but it's fun." her niece replied.

They were being happy with themselves, not caring about anything else. The relegated corner of the place they picked as their fun zone wasn't the safest spot to feel some freedom, but it was the best they had. For once, they ignored the certain chances of attracting stares, the perceptions and everything that tied them. The princess showed the queen two more combinations of hip movements. They were trying hip locks to the sides when a sudden but partially expected intromision ruined their bubble of concentration.

" Watch out, princess. Those moves look so sharp that you could have cutted me with your hips." Achilles told the mycenaean as he passed by right next to her.

The sound of his voice was enough to make her jolt and she lost herself to it, immediately stopping what she was doing.

" I’m glad to see you having fun. I tought you weren't going to get up. " Patroclus cheerfully saluted them, appearing right after him.

Both ladies at once responded to his greetings.

" What are you doing over here?" Helen inquired. " We saw you dancing right in the center with some girls a while ago. You are doing great."

" To be fair, most only looked at me because I'm standing next to him." the boy admitted. " When we came nobody cared but now everyone does because they found out I'm the cousin of Achilles."

" I'm doomed to always being the daughter of Agamemnon, very few people care beyond that." the princess commented. " I treasure those and don't mind for the rest. "

" Don't worry. You will make a name for yourself soon and that will end." Helen added. " Younger noble girls from big cities can be like that but growing up makes them wiser. In a few years, you will start to be seen as yourself and they will adore you. "

Achilles was impressed by the soft naturality of their interactions. They were comforting him as close friends. He kept listening to their conversation.

" It's fine, It doesn't affect me that much. " Patroclus tried to explain himself better. " In fact, I'm hiding from your husband."

To the mention of him, Helen looked exasperated.

" What has he done now?"

" He was talking with Achilles and I was there with them. " the boy started telling them. " He must be too drunk to care about being too friendly. He started saying nice things about me and ended up offering me a woman. "

Helen got second hand embarrassment.

" I'm sorry, darling. Did he make you feel uncomfortable?"

" He said some stupid thing about how he had her before and she was perfect to make me a man. It was disgusting."

" That's the House of Atreus at it's best. Imagine them at their worst. " the princess added. " Ignore him, Pat. You may be too young, but are already a better man than him."

" I have faith in you." Helen emphasized. " I think you 'll be a great hero because your morals match your potential as a warrior. You will make us all proud."

" We love you. " the princess concluded. " Keep ignoring anything you hear from him or my father. They think they know better than everyone else but they are the worst combination of cruel and stupid. "

" I leave him with you just once and you are already pampering and overprotecting him?” Achilles commented, his mocking hiding a shade of happiness. " He knows that Menelaus is not a good example of what truly means to be a man. "

" He has you. " the queen complimented him. " You aren't perfect, but you are guiding him right. It doesn't matter how many battles you win. To me, he reflects the best of you. "

Patroclus smiled at her. Helen's praise impacted him in a positive way.

" She wasn't a strong supporter of you." The princess clarified. " Her opinion changed after meeting him."

" Spending so much time with people who love you changes the perspective. " The queen hinted, indirectly including her niece in the affirmation." I used to think you were a cold, emotionless man with no care for anything. Your bond with Patroclus is only one of many proofs of how wrong I was. I commited with you the same mistake everyone does with me: I judged you by what you appear to be. "

" Good, It's mutual." Achilles simply replied. " You are stronger than what I thought you could be. I started to see it in all the stories that your niece has told me about your shenanigans. I like you a lot more thanks to her."

" It's the first time ever when somebody likes me first. In Sparta, you will be addressed as Patroclus's cousin." the boy added, mocking him with pride.

" Seeing you again in my lands would bring me great joy. '' Helen stated." I hope that this shameful experience with Menelaus didn't scare you away."

" Don't worry, queen. " Achilles reassured her. "If you are guilty of anything, is of cherishing so much that he doesn't want to leave your side."

" I have new friends that like me for me. Get over it. " his little cousin kept joking.

" I celebrate it. They are a good influence for you. " Achilles replicated." Today you humiliated a king for the first time and you did it so cleverly that he couldn't find a way to argue. Agamemnon, of all kings. I can't be more proud. "

" He deserved it. He was trying to create spite between you and Ajax. That's low, even for someone like him. '' Patroclus explained.

" Thanks for helping me there. If it wasn't for you, he wouldn't have stopped until offending one using the other." The princess told him." Not so long before he used to say that Ajax was a brute fool from an insignificant kingdom, now he wants to make him the next Hercules. He is desperate, he wants so badly to get rid of your cousin that he is willing to accept any other who would obey him.``

" I feel bad for any contestant in the army aspiring to get the same glorification he has." the boy affirmed. " Achilles has you, that's a great advantage. They will never make it."

The princess laughed softly, glancing at the warrior.

Achilles's gaze followed hers, in complicity.

" You are the queen's favourite, you will run with the same advantage. "

" The bright daughter of the highest commander designs political strategies for you… All the rest are doomed."

" You are so sweet!" the princess thanked him.

" I don't see why not pointing it out. "

" Agamemnon is too foolish to see it, but you think like a politician." Helen told her.

" What's greatly convenient, because having to stand polítical tangles is what Achilles hates the most about his work. " Patroclus insisted.

" Odysseus had helped him with that countless times. " the young lady reminded him.

" He is a king, his polítical work is for his own benefit." Helen remarked. " I know they are good friends, but the goal of Odysseus's work is not to raise him up above all the heroes."

" His competence has no chance because now he has you aligned with him and working with his interests. Honestly? I think that's a bit unfair." Patroclus concluded.

" They must have their own tricks." Achilles defended himself. " I guess she is mine now."

" We shouldn't be discussing this here. " the princess warned them. " Can we bring up something else ? This is a party, we are supposed to talk trivial things. "

" Where did you learn to dance? " Helen asked, pretending to be innocently curious.

" Seriously??"

" It is a trivial topic. " the queen remarked before explaining herself to the recently arrived men. " What you just saw was me attempting to learn some incredible moves I saw her doing. I had no idea, it was a total surprise and I'm very curious."

" The story behind it is not as interesting as you think it is." the princess clarified.

" When she says that, assume the opposite." Achilles mocked her.

" I have been secretly involved in dance practices of the palace's concubines for years. I don't like to show it at parties because it is something I learned for my own gratification and my father is not supposed to find out. " She confessed " Helen looks so happy, she inspired me to relax and I forgot were I was."

" Wait, are you a dancer? That explains a lot of things. " Patroclus commented, impressed. " I wrecked you when we were trying to teach you self defense but I noticed that you have some flexibility. "

" It's nothing compared with what it requires to be a fighter. '' the princess corrected him. " Being more specific, I'm not a dancer because it's not my occupation. I learned from actual dancers and I practice for fun. It's very liberating for me, a great pastime during the absences of my father. "

" How is it that we keep discovering secrets of yours? " Achilles asked.

" You are one of the few who know me as i am. " she tried to explain herself. " I discovered my fascination with dancing right after I started being allowed to stay all the way during parties. I saw a performance and I knew then that I wanted to do that. I wasn't paying attention to the lustful men around the dancers, I loved their movements. Men may see it only as their entertainment, but the dance looks like a celebration of femminity. I wanted that."

" How did you do it?" Helen insisted.

" It took some time. " She started telling. " When Agamemnon saw me following the girls at a gathering because I was trying to learn from them he was scandalized. He forbade it to me, he said that dancers were whores and no daughter of his was going to humiliate him behaving like a whore. He tried to make it up for me by sending me to the temple of Artemis to dance with the priestesses."

" Of course, you had to learn from the virgins. How would you dare to question his expectations? " Helen joked, sarcastically following the line of the reasonament.

" It wasn’t my wish, I did it because he said it. Dancing like a priestess was not what I wanted.” the princess kept explaining “ I went to the temple, behaved well, learned what they wanted to teach me and worshipped the goddess in the ritual dances. The priestesses liked me and my father started bragging about how his girl was so pure that the temple of the virgin goddess wanted her."

" He didn't let them have you because he needs grandchildren if he wants his bloodline to continue. " Patroclus guessed.

" I wouldn't have joined them. I honor the gods and sometimes i pray, but i never felt loved by any of them. I respect the dedication of their priestesses, they find fullfilment in serving them. It's not for me, I never felt the mistic call. " She commented. “I did what I was sent to do, I was respectful and that was the end of it. It didn't erase my original interest for the profane dances as Agamemnon thought it would."

Helen laughed briefly. It was always funny to hear examples of the complete ignorance about the sensibilities of women that the Atrides had.

" I waited until his next absence and I went to learn with the concubines of the palace. " The princess kept explaining. " They are not used to being respected by ladies. When I told them that I admired their dancing and I wanted to learn from them they didn't know what to say. It must have impacted them, because they agreed to instruct me in secret. That's how I learned. I keep joining their practices when I can. It helps me to relieve tension and it is my secret way of self expression."

" You managed to make yourself be equally liked by temple maidens and palace dancers? You are a true politician, even outside of politics." Achilles pointed out.

His comment made her smile.

“ Now that I think about it, It is the first time I see you dancing. I didn’t have the pleasure at the wedding party.” He reminded her.

“ I didn’t dance much that time and, certainly, not as i like to when I’m not being watched.” She replied.” This was an accident, Helen was flirting with one of the musicians and the ambient inspired me to lose control.”

“ I wasn’t flirting, I was dancing to his interpretation.” The queen defended herself.

“ You don’t need excuses with us. If you want me to kill your husband, just make a sign.” Achilles joked.

Helen laughed more than what she should have.

“ She is thinking about it!” Patroclus added, cracking of laughter.

“ It is not worthy to ruin your reputation for it, but thanks for the offer.”

“ It can be an accident in the middle of a battle. We can say that he got in the way of my spear.”

The princess laughed harder then.

“ See? She gets me.” The warrior commented.

“ It’s the same kind of grim joke I would have made.” She explained, still laughing. 

They shared glances, looking deeply into each other’s eyes for an instant. 

“ Do you want to dance with me?” Achilles offered her. “ We couldn’t last time and you are making me curious..” 

She took his hand as a sign of approval, smiling with delight. 

“ You can dance with me, Helen.” Patroclus playfully added, remarking how they seemed to have forgotten of them. 

Helen grabbed his hand and both were laughing, 

They walked following the intensity of the music’s sound with the intention of finding the group of musicians again. When they resumed dancing the princess stopped caring about anything else but her partner. It was reciprocal, because Achilles couldn’t take his eyes off her. Remembering some of the wild thoughts she have had before, she unveiled her sensuality for him within her dancing. Her movements were like a soft tease implying that there was so much more that she could be showing to him if the show would have been private. Her hips, waist and chest were the areas of her body that the moves highlighted. Combined with the graceful gesticulation of her hands and arms, it was a very appealing sight. 

She knew that he wasn't able to touch her more than what would look necessary because of the context and she was using it at her advantage. Still, since he wasn't able to express himself with actions, he did it with words. 

In a particular moment, when he ended up behind her while she was doing torso undulations, he got a chance to grab her hips and whisper close to her ear. 

" You should have done this in Phthia, behind closed gates." 

They were so close that he was able to smell the scent of her hair. 

" It wasn't the right time, but if you invite me back i can take my dancer suit for a private performance." Was her tempting reply. " I have one, you know? My friends helped me to make it." 

" I don't think I would let you go after that." 

She was melting, her heart was throbbing and her head racing with thoughts of him. However, she did her best to keep going as before because she needed to feel sure of being a woman in his eyes.

While his hands were still on her hips, she changed the move and started doing internal hip circles. The sharp motion, first of her right hip and then the left, incited him to pull away one hand at the time, following the rhythm of her every action. The roundness of the hip rotation made her push her butt slightly against him in a movement that looked accidental but didn't feel as such. 

She put some distance between them, enough to spin around and face him again. The song ended shortly afterwards. 

" Sorry, It was the music. I almost forgot that you were there. " She apologised, faking innocence. 

" Some people may be staring ... Don't you care for discretion anymore?" He teased her. 

“ Most people here are drunk. They couldn’t care less, I couldn't care less.” She answered. “ Besides, this was pretty discrete compared to what I can actually do.” 

“ Why are you doing this? ” 

“ Because I want.” She simply admitted. “ You are the only man I ever wanted to dance for, the first one who has me like this.”

 It was a strange confession of feelings. Metaphorically disguised, but it was there. 

Achilles didn’t answer. Not because he didn’t wish to, he couldn’t do that at the moment. First, because of the context surrounding them but mostly, because it wasn’t a good time to be open with her. He didn’t want her to confound his own growing feelings for her with a rush of lust. He cared deeply for her, it started fast and it took him by surprise. He felt good having her in his life, even when it was at moments. After each of their reunions he felt a bit more infatuated. 

Right there, she was making his body crave for hers, but he didn’t want that to be his first response to her affections. He guessed that she was acting so sensually because she wanted to confess herself but didn’t know how. He thought that she must have heard that was the way in which he prefered to be approached, that she had to make herself be wanted for him. He would have lied if he would have denied that he was enjoying it, but he was trying to avoid thinking with his crotch. 

She had given him plenty of subtle signs about her feelings before and he never gave her a direct answer, mostly because he didn't find a good moment for it and part of him felt like he couldn't allow himself to do it. He didn’t want her to assume that he only reacted then because he was horny. 

He was trying to do better for her, but she didn’t understand it like that at first.

 The princess interpreted his silence as rejection. For the sake of her own pride, she pretended not care. She kissed his cheek,smiled at him and went back to Helen’s side. For the rest of the night,she tried to carry on as it never happened. Internally, she felt stupid, but it was the only way she found to overcome it.

She focused again on helping Helen. Acting carelessly, the first thing she did afterwards was to take advantage of a short pause of the music to talk to the man she was sharing glances with as a way to stimulate her to get closer. The princess started by praising his playing and asking his name in front of her and Patroclus. Smiling proudly, he told them to address him as Alexander. The princess didn’t hesitate in starting calling him Alex. He was very respectful, especially of the queen. He expressed his admiration for her in a kind way and didn't attempt anything on her, clearly seeing her as unreachable. Helen seemed to enjoy his harmless attention. In the conversation, they also found out that Patroclus had musical inclinations. Alexander was a percussionist playing Toubeleki and Patroclus made his contribution to the small talk speaking about his experiences learning to play the khitara. Helen was grateful for the care of her friends, both trying to make efforts for her just because they saw her getting along with him. For obvious reasons, the talk was short, but it was a good start. 

They lost sight of Achilles and the princess was secretly relieved for it. She was mortified thinking that her attempt of pursuing him ruined everything between them. Over the course of the party, the three stayed together because they were already comfortable enough with each other.

They got involved in trivial talks with many different people. At one moment, they crossed paths again with Ajax while they were waiting for servants to bring them something to drink. The salaminian hero was doing the same and he greeted their encounter. He was a bit tipsy, but he was good company because he was funnier to be around than what most people assumed. The four fooled around together for a while. They were drinking and joking and the princess almost forgot how bad she was feeling, until he reminded her that she still owed him a dance because he was the first one trying to get her away from the table. He was just joking and It wasn’t his fault, so she tried to keep being sweet to him. Her polite reply explained her refusal linking it to his circumstantial state. Avoiding to sound mean, harsh or sarcastic, she promised him that she was going to dance with him the next time she would find him sober. Fortunately, It made him laugh. 

He resumed their previous conversation in an infinitely less formal way, saying that he was perfectly fine because he was the strongest man in Greece and the effect of a few drinks weren’t an impediment for him. He told them that he could show them on the spot how he was able to lift both women from the ground at the same time and Helen considered the discussion about his state over, fearing that he would actually try it. She felt relatively comfortable with him and it was a grateful surprise. For such an intimidant looking man, he was very nice and likeable. After sharing some more laughs, she ended up dancing with him.

Their brief encounter cheered the princess up a bit, simply because it was very hard not to laugh with the amount of funny insanity that they came up with. Still, she kept feeling out of place, like if nobody really needed her there. Helen was probably waiting until the end so she could have a longer conversation with the percussionist and Patroclus deserved some time to have fun on his own if he wanted that. She couldn’t help to think that she was ruining the party for them . Openly expressing her wish of not being followed, she excused herself saying that she had enough fun, was too tired and prefered to rest. She hugged her friends, thanking them for their company and wishing them goodnight.

In her walk to her bedroom,the princess speeded up her pace to avoid being disturbed. She didn’t want to be approached by anyone else, wishing to forget about her feelings of shame. She almost reached her destination, but the hold of Achilles's strong arms deviated her in an empty hall. 

“I can't deal with this now. " she admitted. " Would you let me go? I will talk to you in the morning"

 " If we wait any longer, we will never do it. " He stated, embracing her waist. 

" What are you talking about??" She complained. 

“ Don’t play the fool now. You can’t try to hide anymore.” 

" I know that I ruined everything. " 

While hearing her, he seemed slightly confused. 

" By now, you must know how I feel for you. '' She explained herself. " I may be good at reading the feelings of others, but I get easily overwhelmed by mines... I have spent my lifetime training myself to suppress them, I don't understand myself sometimes... I wanted you to see me as the woman I am because only then I could make you understand how I feel."

 Her explanation made him chuckle for an instant. 

" What's so funny ??." She tried to pull away from his contact, but he was obviously stronger than her. 

" I see you as a woman, I have always done it. " He replied. 

" I know how you act around the women that you like. It is not how you acted with me. " 

" Do you think that I don't want you?" A light chuckle escaped from his lips again. " You are so lovely." 

" That's it. I'm always the sweet innocent lamb, I can't escape from that. " She complained. " I'm a living, breathing woman with feelings and desires. "

 " I'm aware of that. " He reassured her. " That was a very interesting reminder of it, but I know it." 

" Then why do you keep ignoring me? " Her voice showed frustration. 

" Things between us are not so easy. " 

" You know, before you start thinking about it, I have to say that stepping into helping you was a choice I made based on my convictions. " She clarified. " I believe in you, I didn't do it looking for any retributions. Even if you don't correspond my feelings, that wouldn't change anything. I'm still commited to our pact."

" Calm down." He caressed her hair. " Can you stop assuming that I think the worst of you? I don't." 

" I don't know what else to do to get a concrete answer from you.” She insisted. “I just want that. I don't mind the outcome. If you don't feel the same, I will respect it. " 

Then, he crashed his lips against hers. It was a sweet kiss, intended to serve as a response confessing his affections, but it was charged with the passion of the long craving for it that he also had. She was in such bliss that he felt her body trembling. 

He smiled against her lips. 

" Are you alright?" 

" It’s the longing. " was all she could answer. 

“ You didn't have to do anything else to get me. " He clarified. “ I liked you in Sparta, now i think it’s something more than that.” 

" I haven't stopped thinking about you since the day we met." She confessed. " I didn't know then that it was going to get that far, but here i am." 

.” Odysseus spent half of the way back telling me to stay away from you like a father scaring away a suitor that he dislikes. “ He confessed. “ I did it for a good long while, but you came to me on your own and you dazzled me."

 " He doesn't dislike you, you are his friend. " She clarified " He knows of somebody who hates you and he tries to protect me from him. " 

" I will never allow that old drunk to hurt you. " He said, in what sounded like a promise. 

" Would you steal me from him?" She playfully joked. 

" If it's what I have to do to keep you safe, I would." 

She kissed him, clinging onto him and refusing to pull away until being breathless. In that act, she condensed years of hidden adoration for him and all her hopes. 

Achilles felt it, and he couldn’t help to love her for it. 

“ My room is close. “ She offered. “ It’s safer to continue there.” 

She giggled and headed first. It wasn't wise of them to be seen getting inside there together, so they had to do it in turns.

The princess arrived first, leaving the door unlocked. Her heart was racing with expectancy. The warrior appeared shortly afterwards, closing the door behind them. Immediately after seeing him, she kissed him again. 

" Slow down, lioness." He teased her after she finally pulled away. 

" I wish I could." she joked in reply. 

" This is what I mean when I say that you are adorable, not that I see you as a cute little girl. " He commented." You are so tender, it gets me."

 " Really?" She asked, impressed. 

" I love it. " He answered, honestly. " I also loved what you did for me tonight. " 

" It didn't look like that. " She pointed out. 

" It didn't have to look like that. It was dangerous. " He reminded her. " I like some risk, but you took a pointless one." 

" I wanted you to want me and I think it worked." 

" You need to know that I don't want you because you did that.” He confessed. “ I want you for you and I want all of you, not just this." 

" Then take me." Her proposition sounded like a beg. " I'm ready." She was talking against his lips, holding his hands and pushing them against her body. 

" Not tonight, princess." He was teasing her, his cheeky tone got on her nerves. 

" Why?? " She complained, her frustration almost made her raise the tone of her voice. “ I want to be with you, I don’t care for anything else. Father will end up selling me for power anyways, It will be the buyer’s problem. ” 

" You didn't let me finish." He corrected her. " I'm not going to take you for myself tonight. " He explained as he started to leave a trail of kisses from her jaw in direction to her neck. " But I have many other ways to show you how good you make me feel. " 

She gasped and he smiled against her skin.

 " The massage was amazing. " He added as he kept descending. " And that dance? You are spoiling me, that’s royal treatment." 

" There is nothing I wouldn't do for you." 

He stopped for an instant just so he could look at her in the eye, feel the intensity of her love, and kiss her lips once more.

[streets-in-paradise]

The Bride’s Misery

Troy (2004) reader insert fanfiction - Part 1

Word count: 1.742

Characters: Helen, Mycenaean Princess Reader. Mentions of Menelaus, Agamemnon and Odysseus. 

Genre : Angst with a bit of comfort

Relationships: Platonic, fríendship, family.

Warnings: Sexism, forced marriage, mentions of adultery being punished by death. 

Summary: Setted during Helen and Melenaus' wedding party. Being fully aware of the horrible fate upon her, the reader approaches Helen trying to offer some comfort and opens up to her about her own fears for the future.

Disclaimers: This follows Troy's style, tone and approach of the characters. Since Clytemnestra is not in the movie i tried to adapt at least a bit the story to mention her somehow but the idea i used is far different from the source material. Here she and Helen are still sisters but they have very different ages and the story has a lot of changes fitting the vision of the movie and mine. 

Originally, i was going to write an oneshot vaguely inspired in the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia but the concept kept growing in my mind even before i started writing it and my idea changed constantly over time. This is an introduction for a story that i will continue somehow.I also want to clarify that i changed a detail of the movie. There it is stated that Helen married Menelaus at 16 but since i’m too horrified and creeped by that i decided to change it and she is +18 because the forced marriage is enough creepyness. Also, as always, i want to say that this is a translation of a text i wrote in my native language, which isn’t english. I did it with the support of an online translator and i apologise for any mistakes. 

Special thanks to @yerevasunclair​ , who inspires me and encourages me all the time into sharing my writing and @hrisity12​ for all the appreciation to my Troy content and my ideas. You are awesome. 

Thanks for reading and i hope you ‘ll enjoy it. 

 The most influential people in Greece had gathered for the celebration of Menelaus and Helen's wedding. The King of Sparta was overflowing with pride at having obtained the hand of the universally proclaimed "most beautiful woman in the world". Naturally, among the most renowned guests were his brother, King Agamemnon of Mycenae, and his young daughter. Their presence, although absolutely expected, was somewhat controversial. The Greek king of kings had been married to the older sister of Helen, but the marriage did not have the best outcome.

Stories circulating about it said that after his daughter was born, Agamemnon was disappointed that his wife did not give him a first-born son and began to develop a gradual resentment towards her. Her husband's disdain caused the queen to become so spiteful that, after enduring it for a few years, she ended up committing infidelity. It was said that her lover was the son of an enemy of the king’s family and had seduced her as part of a conspiracy. Although it was not proven,the rumor implied that the queen had been executed by her husband’s orders after the infidelity was discovered. Supposedly, a punishment administrated in secret to avoid the shame of public exposure.Since he was a king particularly famous for his pride and cruelty, the story was questioned by very few people and implicitly accepted by most. For this reason, his open support for his brother's marriage was quite remarkable. The most daring people commented that Helen had been given to Menelaus in search of family redemption, to hush the stories and to strengthen ties with the most powerful family in Greece.

 The King of Mycenae seemed to share the groom's excitement while his daughter shared the bride's misery. She was lucky not to hear too many comments about the tragedy of her family's past, but she had enough to put up with her father. The little contact he had with her always ranged from flattery and ostentation in front of the public to cruel reproaches in private. Although he did not seem to have much affection for her, Agamemnon considered her a reflection of his power and demanded nothing less than perfection from her. From a very young age she had understood that she would never be able to fully please her father, so she was used to his horrendous treatment. She had grown up a prisoner of his ambition and was used to it, knowing that nothing would ever be enough for him. Even in the middle of the event, during a while beside him that felt eternal to her, the only thing he had said to her was a kind of joke criticizing her bad mood. According to him, there was no one who had better reason to be happy about Helen's wedding than she herself. His argument was that, after her uncle’s marriage she would not have to participate anymore in an impossible competition against a woman she would never be able to compare herself to. 

 She tried to ignore the comments and concentrate on something that would make her happy in some way, but she did not succeed until she saw King Odysseus of Ithaca among the crowd of nobles and her day seemed to light up a little. He was the only ally of her father whom she personally considered a friend, with the exception of Nestor who was already like family. He was very sweet to her and always gave her nice words of encouragement. On that occasion, as soon as she approached him, he commented that she looked very pretty and suggested her to have fun in spite of the difficulties. She happily thanked him for his advice, but there wasn't much she could do anyway. The fun was meant for men and there was nothing left for her to do but sit at the banquet table looking at Helen as if both of them were wondering what they were doing there.

 She did not know much about her mother's youngest sister, Agamemnon did not leave her much freedom around her maternal family. She was only aware that they were around the same age and yet Helen was already world famous for her beauty. She was very sorry for her situation, it sounded like a nightmare crowned by that horrendous forced marriage. She tried to reach out to comfort her. She was able to relate to her because oftenly she wondered if she would ever end up in the same way: tied to some unpleasant man whose only interest in her was to brag about her as a possession, changing her father's prison for her husband's

" It's going to get better. Once you give him his first son or at least a pretty daughter that will continue your legacy he will stop caring. Slave girls have it worse, they don't seem to want to let them be any soon" she said to the queen in the most friendly way she could for such a grimm statement. 

" The entire kingdom has commented about what your father did to my sister. Should I be afraid? "Helen asked, not caring enough to hide her panic and disgust. 

"My uncle is the nicer brother, you can feel a bit safer. I know of some versions claiming that Agamemnon killed his wife because she gave him a girl but the generally accepted motive was cheating. Menelaus will not kill you if your firstborn is a girl, he may do it if you cheat. " 

Helen realized that her question was  uncomfortable for both of them. 

" I'm so sorry, I was insensitive. I didn't mean it. It is a hurtful topic to discuss. She was my sister but she was your mother, it must be even harder  to you than what it is to me. Don't get me wrong, it hurts me as well, but i'm too scared right now and i'm not thinking right. " 

" I understand you, i would be worried and terrified if i were you. I'm getting older, I'm not a little kid anymore. Your concerns are also mine, my father will sell me for the highest price pretty soon... but I'm smarter than him. I'm already making my own plans," she told her in a friendly tone trying to deflect the topic of conversation into something happier.

" Lucky of you. Are you sure you will be able to trick your father into not ruining your life? " 

" My plan is so flawless that I doubt he would be able to ruin it. I had analyzed some of my posible prospects from a polítical and personal standpoint and i got a perfect match. I will marry a trojan prince because i heard that respect for women seems to be a cultural value there." 

" How many unmarried princes do the trojans have? "

" I already checked it. Prince Hector is the oldest and gossips say he is in love with a woman most people assume he will marry. He has a younger brother, Prince Paris. All the information I gathered on him presents him as a a handsome young man, lover of freedom and not very fond of traditionalism. Women seem to be his weakness so he is easy prey and my chance to escape the fate of most of the women in our family. "  she explained pridefully 

" That is a brilliant work of strategy but I fail to see how Agamemnon would consent on it. It's said that he craves to conquer them " 

" He will not do it at first, Menelaus will. He has been talking about the remote idea of making stable peace with the trojans for a while. My father hates it but if he takes that choice he would want and need to have the trojans bonded to him somehow. If he can't try to conquer them by force anymore having someone inside that he thinks he can control, like his daughter, it's the closest thing he can get. He will accept it because he will find it convenient. He would finally get rid of me and he would get a way to bond the trojans to him in the same operation" 

Helen was fascinated with her odd but pragmatic way of thinking.

" I'll admit it. I'm impressed. At first it sounds crazy but it's brilliant. " 

" I wish we would have met in better circumstances. I would had plotted a special exit plan for you against this. Of course, it would have been a different one because this is my own plan of salvation but we would have figured something out together. "  she assured her. 

" Your concern is more than what i could ask for." Helen replied and smiled briefly. 

" Welcome to the other side of the family. The only perk this situation has is that you will have plenty of time to spend with your new favourite niece. Menelaus will have to stand me here more often." the princess teased, trying to cheer her up. 

" The company would be great, thank you. " 

" You don’t need to, we are family. Let me give you some useful advice.If he gets too drunk try to get away. He is a cheerful, clingy, horny drunk. I know he is disgusting but at least he is not my father. My uncle acts fríendly most of the time and tends to be more relaxed than him. If he bothers you, make me a sign and I will help you out. " 

Helen seemed to be touched by her genuine concern. 

" You are very kind" 

" You don't need to go through all of this alone. Us women we have to help each other out because no one else will. " the princess stated " That is the biggest downside of my plan. If i succeed i will be far away but until then i will do my best. I have plenty of time yet to get my trojan prince." added, joking in the conclusion. 

" You are strongly determined. You speak as if you were already in love with him. I wish you good luck." 

" I don't have any idea of who he is but the descriptions sound like a husband that would not bother me. He travels all the time so,even if i don’t get to like him that much, he would be away having other women and I would be left alone. He is not the heir of the throne so no children required. If my father asks about it, Prince Paris of Troy is the love of my life. " 

Her joke made Helen laugh genuinely and hard for the first time in days. It was pretty contagious and both couldn't help to laugh harder than what they should.

[streets-in-paradise]

I want to talk about some of the main family relationships in Troy

As I already told once in one of my posts, I adore to overanalyze family relationships in the media I consume. I’m still in the process of writing another one as a second part to my sibling relationships post talking of more family relationships from various of my fandoms but, since that one is taking me too much time to finish, I'm writing now this shorter one for my Troy appreciation series. 

I already started this ramble in the same post I referenced. There I talked about my favourite family bond in the entire film, the sibling relationship of Hector and Paris. Still, there is a lot to discuss about family dynamics in the story this movie tells. Even since I was writing that post I kept thinking on how many family related story arcs this movie has and how, if you pay close attention to those, you can capture the essence of the characters. Because of this, I decided to dedicate a separate post to the main family relationships portrayed there and the important role they play in the development of the story. I will try to skip the ones i already talked about before. This are, for most part, the relationships inside the trojan royal family. Since i already discussed those, most of this will be about family bonds of the greek characters. 

As i stated in previous posts, this is a talk about the characters and actions in the movie. I’m not talking from an adaptation” movie vs book” point of view. I can occasionally mention some of the differences but there would be more references than comparisons. 

As always, i apologise for any possible mistakes in my writing. I’m still in the process of getting used to writing long texts in english. Also, I give proper credits for the images to the original sites hosting them. 

Agamemnon and Menelaus 

The movie establishes them clearly as the main antagonists. Precisely, one of the many scenes I love in this movie is the one in which they show up to the gates of Troy commanding the greek army and they argue with the trojan princes over the terms of the combat between Paris and Menelaus. The first thing I always notice in that one is how alike Hector and Paris look when they get down from their horses, it reminds me of the actual part of the Iliad in which it is said that Paris gets confused for a brave man because of his looks. Going back to my point, in that scene I get the vibe of opponents these characters have just by the display of the dynamics between siblings. 

Agamemnon is using his brother’s problem as an excuse for a war highly profitable for him. Menelaus is aware of this and he doesn’t care because he is too consumed by his wish for revenge and, it seems that this mutualistic beneficial goal is what sticks them together. Their first scene together, when Menelaus goes to Mycenae asking his brother for help, summarizes their relationship in a great way. Menelaus seems to have a rather servile attitude towards his brother and Agamemnon clearly takes advantage of that, having in that particular time a perfect excuse to attack an enemy he had wished to conquer for a long time. If you think about it, this is the exact opposite relationship of Hector and Paris. I love how well this scene fits as a contrast to the argument in the ship scene of Hector and Paris . In both, Menelaus and Paris are basically asking for the help of their older bros, one doing it on purpose and the other one half aware. Their family relationships are established so well by those two scenes. 

Going back to the one scene I mentioned first, the exchanges between characters are awesome. Not only because you can appreciate directly how this differences play a role in the conflict, but also because you can totally appreciate how every character involved is the exact opposite of the one who challenges. The exchange between Hector and Agamemnon is fantastic. I love how Hector cuts the crap on Agamemnon’s cocky bullshit, their short interaction is priceless.Also, i almost feel bad for Paris because “ the sun was shining when your wife left you” is his best line in the entire movie and he gets his ass kicked by Menelaus immediately afterwards. I like how, despite being a coward, Paris is a sassy little shit. 

Something i need to add about these brothers is that the Director’s Cut adds a better perspective on Agamemnon’s care for Menelaus. There are many short hints, especially after Menelaus’s death, that show how he actually cared for him. I think that this small glimpse should have stayed in the final version. Even when Agamemnon is a piece of shit of the worst kind and his brother was not very different, it is nice to see him caring for something else than his own imperialist desires from time to time and to get a real family vibe from those two.

Achilles and Patroclus 

Before starting with this two i want to clarify that i am fully aware of the very different interpretation their relationship got in this movie. I heard that the romantic approach was explored in Troy: fall of a city. I haven’t watched it yet, it is on my to watch list and at some point i will do it. Now, speaking of what we have seen in the context of the movie, i have to say that i love the adorable family bond they have since the first scene they share. This is by far my second favourite family bond in the film. 

As i said before i have a weakness for family relationships and tragedies regarding them are the biggest pain i can imagine. I don’t have anything against romantic Achilles x Patroclus, i just enjoy a lot the family approach it took here. First, i think it happens because i saw the movie far before reading any piece of trojan war related fiction and second because I happen to enjoy seeing family bonds more than romantical ones. My basic example for explaining this is the complaint I had over Kili x Tauriel and how it kinda shifted the focus of the previously established family story of the Line of Durin. If i have to choose between  a family or a romance story of any kind, I will always end up more interested in the first option because i relate to and enjoy those better. 

In this version, they are cousins with a very brother like relationship. I feel like here Patroclus acts like a little bro that hero worships Achilles. We know that his parents died and Achilles took care of him but we don’t know when that happened. What we do know is that his protection is the only aspect Achilles feels responsible for in his life. His bond with him reflects the best and the worst of him. It displays his softer and his most terrible side. Without paying close attention it looks like the romantic subplot with Briseis is the part of the plot that is supposed to show his soft side and, partially, it does but i think that job is already done earlier with the introduction of Patroclus. The story with Briseis serves mainly as support of what was already established there. The kindest, more human side of Achilles is clearly there when you look at his interactions with Patroclus. 

One of the main reasons why i enjoy this relationship so much is because, plotwise, it serves as a perfect point of encounter for the two main heros’ characterizations. Despite all the effort the storytelling makes in pointing out the many differences between Hector and Achilles, these two apparently opposite men share the same limitation. Hector’s goal is to protect his country, Achilles’s goal is immortality through fame, but both find themselves lost when their reckless younger relatives endanger themselves and both react the same way. When Paris was at instants of dying by the hands of Menelaus Hector had to choose between saving him or letting him get killed for the good of Troy. The man who serves as paradigm of honesty and sacrifice, the most noble hero of the story, broke the agreement and killed Menelaus. He broke a pact and gave his enemies an even better excuse for war that will doom Troy because his brother’s life was at risk. Achilles’s madness over grief for Patroclus fits so well family related in this particular narrative because it originated in the same feelings. Paris and Patroclus may be opposites, one being a coward and the other the embodiment of reckless courage, but both become the limit of tolerance for Hector and Achilles. At the end, both heros are driven by love for their families. In this version where Hector and Paris have this strong bond that works perfectly as a mirror for Achilles and Patroclus, it fits so well for them to be family. The chain of deaths unleashed with Patroclus’s death becomes a natural response to the bonds previously mentioned between the four characters involved. Everything becomes a big family tragedy and that is devastating. 

One more comment i will make about them is that i also love how some of Achilles’s friends add some more sweet or happy hints to some scenes. Eudorus, despite the formal servant-like way in which he speaks to Achilles, gives me a long time friend who is almost family vibe. Of course, i have to mention Odysseus here as well. Patroclus and Achilles sparring scene has an amazing chill domestic fun tone and he adds even more fun to the moment once he arrives. They are the most likeable greeks of the movie and you get such a friendly feeling of them. I live for these guys. The main scene they shared is the happiest of the film. 

Bonus mentions 

The Director’s Cut has a lot of scenes that help you understand some of the characters' motivations and lots of them are family related. One small scene I wish really hard the should had kept is the one in which Priam explains the reasons for his deep religious devotion. He listens to the high priest’s terrible advice and ignores his son’s wiser words not because he is a nice but dumb and inept king. He believes Apollo saved Hector from a disease when he was a baby boy. There is a reason for his blind, sometimes naive, faith in Apollo’s protection.Other cut out moment with a similar meaning is the one in which Andromache tells Hector she lost seven brothers in a previous war. She is tired of losing people, her husband is all she has. Having this in consideration her story turns even more tragic. 

I could mention a few more characters and moments but this is getting too long so i will end it here. I think it is enough for the topic i wanted to write about and the only main character i feel i skipped a bit here is Priam but i had talked enough about the trojans and how much i love them so i think it is enough. 

I enjoyed writing this, as fast as i can i will upload the general post for family relationships i’m working on and i’m thinking of making a special one like this for lotr.  @hrisity12​  I tag you as i always do in all my Troy content. 

Thanks for reading this ramble i intended to keep short but, as always, ended up longer than i expected.