For what felt like an eternity we waited for the Greek envoys to arrive. I shifted my weight from foot to foot. Trying to ease my discomfort of standing for so long. But that soon ended when the doors of the throne room opened. I felt myself go stiff, one of the envoys was my husband. A man I had been forced to marry at the age of five and ten. A man that had brutalized me for the last five years. He came for me, to get me back. I knew that he would not care about Hermione, he did not see her as a human being. The second man, I knew too. It was Achilles, the greatest out of all the Greek warriors. I felt fear pool in my stomach. If they can recruit Achilles, a man who despised both Agamemnon and Menelaus. And had vowed to never fight for them. Somehow he is here now. No doubt that Odysseus, The third man who made up the envoy convinces Achilles to come to fight. Though I was surprised that Odysseus was here in Troy. And not back in Ithaca with his wife. He had fallen in love with my cousin Penelope when he came for my hand, and it was a love match that was celebrated in all of Greece. Their young son Telemachus was just a few years old. So to leave both of them to come fight for someone he really did not have great love for was surprising. They came to stand in front of the three stools. Both Achilles and Odysseus bowed to Priam out of respect for his title. But Menelaus only glared at Priam with absolute loathing. They took their seats and Menelaus' gaze shifted to mine. I could see the anger blazing in his eyes. He was furious about what I had done. Furious that I had fled to Troy with our daughter to seek safety from him.
"Welcome great king Odysseus of Ithaca, Achilles son of Peleus, and Menelaus, king of Sparta to our fine city of Troy. Though you must forgive my surprise when I hear that you have brought an army with you," Priam said. Menelaus' eyes only blazed brighter with anger.
"We mean no disrespect to you, King Priam of Troy. But we have come here with an army because your sons have offended all of Greece by stealing both the Spartan Queen and the heir to the Spartan throne," Odysseus replied. I met Achilles' eyes, he looked bored by this envoy. Clearly he was itching for a fight. That was what Achilles did best. Achilles was not one for politics. He was here for the fight. And if Menelaus had anything to say about it, there would be fighting like we have not seen in a thousand years.
"I did not know that by offering a battered woman asylum was an offense to the whole of Greece," Priam mused. He laced his hands together. I tightened my hold on Paris' hand. Feeling wince at the pain I caused him.
"She is no battered woman, she is a temptress. She seduced both Trojan princes in bringing her here. No doubt faking her death to lure both men to her bed," Menelaus spat. I felt my anger flare up inside my body. I was anything but a temptress. I did not seduce anyone. How could I? When I was heavily pregnant and had just given birth to my daughter when they gave me the choice. My own heart had stopped beating, and I was unconscious. Did he truly not know the woman he made me. The woman who was scared of her own shadow. I could see Pollux shaking with anger. Menelaus was insulting my honor, my reputation in front of everyone.
"Forgive me, my lord. But none of what you say is true. Helen was not taken by my sons. She made the choice to come to Troy on her own. To seek asylum from a husband that has no love for her, or their daughter," Hecuba added. Both Achilles and Odysseus turned to me with curiosity in their eyes. Everyone had heard about how Agamemnon and Menelaus took Sparta by force. And there were rumors about my treatment. I let go of Paris' hand and stepped forward. Taking a step down. Where I was closer to Pollux.
"Is this true, my lady? Did you choose to come here to Troy to seek asylum for both you and your daughter," Odysseus asked. I looked at my husband. Looking Menelaus in the eye as I answered He needed to know that no one othe then myself made the choice I did. That all of his was his doing. He made his choice when he and his brother took my father's head.
YOU ARE READING
Beautiful War
Historical Fiction*All Characters are based of off Homer's great work the Illiad You have heard my name before. I am the face that launched a thousand ships. The face that destroyed a city. Many men have told the story of Helen of Troy... That is me. But they never t...
