Ivo Phillipson And The Trojan Horse

V - Troy

Ivo

"So I am to believe that you came from another world, that you used magic to get here and have been wandering around aimlessly for almost a week until you came to our walls and convinced Hector here that you are not Greek spies and have been using our luxuries in the last few hours of this afternoon?" Asked the king skeptically as he sat upon his throne in the hall. The hall was wide and long, with a long thin pool of water in the centre of the hall. The pool was lined with benches, most likely for the King's council to sit while important matters were discussed. Priam was like an older version of Hector. Same eyes, same look in the face. The only main difference was the hair it was stark white on Priam's head while it was jet black on Hector's.
"Yes, your majesty." I replied, "All of it is true. Please believe us." He nodded twice as if accepting that our plea was legitimate. He then turned to Hector and said:
"And you, my son, believe them? You believe their story which seems fairly unrealistic?"
"Yes Father, I do."
"Has it occurred to you that they may have out you under a spell? They are clearly sorcerers."
"Father, I do not believe that they have done that. Everything I have done since noon today has been of my choice and my own decisions."
Priam huffed and then was silent. Finally, he spoke.
"Fine. They can stay where they are. East wing is it?"
Hector nodded.
"I don't want any trouble from them. Anything, anything at all and they are gone. Give them to the Greeks for all I care! You are dismissed. All of you."
"Thank you father." Hector said with a bow. We bowed deeply and followed Hector.
"Sorry about my father." He started. "The war has been very stressful for him."
"It's fine, we understand." Will replied.
"Come, surely you want to see more of the city?" We nodded and exchanged eager looks.

We walked through the maze like palace following Hector as he led as out. We eventually made it to the front steps. I stopped at the top of them and looked out of the city. I could spot the stables to the left and the barracks next to it. There were temples for different gods and goddesses dotted around the town, their shrines rising above the rest of the buildings. Smoke was rising from a chimney on the right-hand side. Not a regular, house's hearth, this was clearly a blacksmith. The smoke was thick and black, slowly rising into the fading light.
"My lord, do you know where our horses are?" I asked.
Hector smiled, as if he was waiting for this question. "Yes, I do. I put them in the stables while you bathed. Would you like to see them?"
I looked questioningly at Will and Alice, seeing their opinion. Alice shook her head while Will gave a small nod. "No thank you, my Lord. I trust that they are in good care." I answered, "However, what do we do for dinner?"
Hector raised one eyebrow at this before he answered, "You can order from your rooms. Just tell the servant provided and he will get the kitchen to make it."
"Thank you, your Highness." Alice said graciously.
Hector nodded as he turned around and headed back inside. "I will be unable to be with you tomorrow as I have duties to attend to. However, I will task my brother and Helen to be with you, they too, speak your tongue." He told us as we walked back to our rooms. "On that note, it will be more prudent if you learnt our language, then you can speak with others, buy things and just generally get about without needing a translator with you." We nodded our agreement.
"Would we have a teacher?" Will enquired.
"Of course you will! You think I would allow you to walk around the city, willy nilly, trying to learn our language that way? The thought gives me nightmares." He replied with a shudder. We walked for another minute until we got to our rooms. "Well, I wish you a pleasant evening. I will send my brother over three hours after dawn and the teacher the day after next. Goodnight." We bid him goodnight and the three of us went into Will and I's room.
A servant knocked on the door after about ten minutes and took our orders for dinner. Half an hour later, we sat at the monstrous table, eating our delicious meals. Once the meal was completed, we had tea and sat by the hearth, talking for hours. Eventually, Alice declared she must go to bed, so she got up, and left the room, waving as she closed the door. At the mention of sleep, I yawned loudly and went to my room, bidding Will goodnight. On the bed, I found a light pair of pants and shirt, clearly sleep ware. I changed into the pyjamas, threw a ludicrous number of pillows off the bed, pulled back the covers, and slipped into the soft sheets.
Although I was in a luxury unlike I have ever experienced before, for what seemed like hours I tossed and turned, unable to find sleep, until I head a knock on the door. Curious, I slipped out of bed and stuck my head out of my door. I saw a shadow through the crack of the "front door". The person knocked again. I unsheathed my sword from where it hung and silently made my way to the door. Then, without warning , I flung it open and pointed my sword into the open doorway. I heard a small scream and realised it was just Alice.
"Sorry," I apologised, "I didn't know who it was and, well, I am in a strange place and someone knocks on my door in the night. I'm going to be prepared."
"No, no. It's alright. I shouldn't have been knocking at this time." She replied, just as sorry.
"Why were you knocking?" I asked curiously.
"I couldn't sleep and I was wondering if either of you were up. You know, to have some company." she replied, not meeting my gaze. I nodded sympathetically.
"Well, I couldn't sleep either. I'll stay up with you. However, it would probably be best if we went into your room, as I heard Will snoring earlier." Alice smiled as she led me into her room. I closed both doors silently and took the offered seat by the fire, sitting in the chair closest to he door. Retesting my sword on the side of the chair, I turned to Alice as she sat in the other chair, playing with the tip of her hair nervously.
"So, what is keeping you up?" I asked. She didn't reply immediately, only continuing to play with her hair.
"Lots of things really. I mean, there is the incident with Will still being prominent, this whole thing," indicating to the city outside her window, "I mean. Apparently we just landed in the middle of a war. Who knows what is going to happen to us? I'm scared Ivo. Really scared. Not just of the war but in this room too. We are in a completely strange place and I'm sleeping in a room on my own. I don't know anyone other than you two well enough to trust. I lay in bed, worrying about all the things that might happen to me and then there's the stuff wi-" She stopped abruptly, I couldn't tell whether from crying or from stopping herself saying something. I dismissed the matter. There were worse things to worry about.
I stood up and pulled her into a hug. We stood there for what felt like minutes, her crying silently on my shoulder and me trying to comfort her but probably failing.
"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down." I said softly, pulling her to the floor as I sat down. I broke the hug, leaning back a bit so to look her in the eyes. "You don't need to worry about all of that. Let's sum up. You are worrying about Will and your relationship with him. You're scared of what may happen to us during this war; and you are scared of what may happen to you while you are alone in a place you don't know. Correct?" She nodded. "Well, I can say that my rant this morning really shook Will and I know that he is trying to fix it. His comment earlier was a mistake, so that is that problem solved. As for the war, we will survive it. I promise you, we will survive it. And for the being alone, why don't you stay in our chambers tonight, and as many nights as it takes for you to feel safe? That, or Will and I can take turns each night sleeping here, by the fire in your chambers, until you feel safe?" I said, working through each problem as solutions came to mind.
"I think," she said slowly, tears still flowing, "that I would appreciate it very much if you would sleep here tonight. It might give me a sense of security in my own bed."
"Okay. That is that problem done. What of the others?"
"Well," she said in the same tone, wiping tears from her cheeks, "I will try to get better with Will. But I am not budging on the fear of the war. I am utterly terrified that we will get caught up in it and one of us gets killed."
"I am scared too. Terrified. And I'm not just saying that to try help you feel better, I am actually terrified of what may come." I replied truthfully. We sat in silence until she stopped crying. Once she had, I quickly popped back to my room, got a pillow and a couple of blankets.
"What are those for?" Alice asked questioningly as I returned, indicating at the pillows and sheets.
"My sleeping by the fire." I answered, confusion all across my face.
"Oh. Of course. Silly me." She replied, acting as if she had implied something inappropriate. I shook my head to skip over the matter. "Well, goodnight. And thanks for doing this, it's a big comfort."
"That's okay. Just remember, you have your sword and bow. Also, lock your bedroom door. If anyone unexpected comes in, I will yell 'I have always loved knitting, haven't you?'" I told her, in all seriousness.
"Got it." she replied, laughing at my warning call.
"Goodnight, Alice." I said, turning to make something that resembled a bed.
"Goodnight," She replied, closing the door behind her.