Let The Games Begin.

Plans

I don't know how long I've been laying on my back in the grass, but it is just about nightfall when a tall shadow falls over me. 

     "Princess-" the gruff voice says quietly. "It's getting dark. Please consider coming inside."

I open one eye, closing it again when I see it is only Achilles. 

     "No." I say. "Perhaps I shall die here, in this very spot. Throw some dirt over me and consider it done."

     "Nonsense." He says, nudging my leg with his foot. "Get up. You have much to live for outside of serving your witch of a mother."

Crossing my hands over my chest, I remain quiet. 

     "Don't make me pick you up." He says, nudging my leg again, more aggressively this time. 

I sigh, opening my eyes, lifting my arms into the air. He rolls his eyes, squatting down. I sit up, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. Moving his arms around my body, he stands up. 

     "I thought you'd never offer," I say, my voice tired and strained. I had done a bit more crying and a bunch of screaming while I was out here alone. I try to force a smile, but fail.

     "I don't mind carrying you, but I think you could have found a more appropriate position."

I lean back, looking up at him. "You mean to say you don't fancy having the princess wrapped around you?"

Achilles flushes, avoiding my gaze. "I can't say I don't think of you often but you are my superior and I must conduct myself professionally around you."

Eyeing him suspiciously, I make him stop and set me down. Turning to the side, I hold my left arm up, falling back into his firm grip as he scoops me up. Laying my head back against his shoulder, I say, "I can't be reliant on you, and Petra, Elias and Ajax forever. Eventually I'm going to have to learn to operate independently."

     "What?" He questions. "Of course you can rely on me. That's my job as the captain of the guards, princess. As far as your friends, I can agree it's not fair to drag them into emotional turmoil. However, they're your friends. If they didn't want the potential of being involved, they would have abandoned you."

     "And I'd probably be just as lonely as I am now." I admit.

Achilles pauses, looking down at me. "You are in a unique position and honestly, I am unaware on how to advise you." He takes a deep breath, continuing the walk back to the palace. "In your time away, did you think of a solution for your mother? I suggest immediate death, but that's what I've been trained to deflect to."

     "There are things worse than death." I say, raising my hand to trace my finger over the scars on his chest.

     "Oh? Such as...?"

     "In my case," I start, tapping my finger in place on his chest and then dropping my hand into my lap. "I'd say living is much worse than escaping it all."

     "Princess, please don't be so hard on yourself. You can't let this grief loom over you forever. I suggest you put your mother away and move on. Forget about her and rule as you see fit. You survived and I think that's proof enough that there is more to accomplish yet."

I consider his words. "There is the vacation house on the coast. We stopped visiting after my father passed since I was too young to go alone and my mother had no one to act as regent while she was gone. Although, I wouldn't trust her there alone."

     "I can order my best guards to keep watch." He suggests. "Are you aware of a servants quarters they could reside in?"

I nod. "Yes, a small house but certainly big enough for a handful of guards. That might work, actually..."

Halfway across the grassy field, I asked Achilles to put me down and let me walk. Naturally he obliges, walking a few steps behind me. Lost in my thoughts, I stumbled several times but never fall. We make it to the palace just in time for dinner. 

     "Are you coming inside?" I question Achilles, turning back just before I enter the throne room. 

He shakes his head, pointing with his thumb back over his shoulder. "Unfortunately not. I need to survey the men and select the ones I'll be sending away with your mother."

A saddened look passes over my face. Achilles steps up to me, taking my hand. "Princess, it's not right for us to spend so much time together. Please forgive me, but we have two separate duties. I will serve you until my dying breath but we can not pass the lines of royalty and servant. I want you to invest in someone who was born to reign beside you. Not someone such as me, who has to be given permission to even be in your presence." Patting my hand with his own, he smiles at me sincerely.

I frown, glancing up at him. "I see," is all I mutter before bidding him goodnight and turning away. Turning down the hall to my room, I pass the servants bringing my food and tell them to take it back, informing them that I'm going to be in my room but not accepting visitors. Pushing the door shut, I cross to the window and plop onto the bench, peering out into the evening. The first thing my eyes fall on is Achilles approaching the stables, calling out to a group of men who are attending a horse. He speaks a few words and turns back, gesturing to my room. I suppose he wasn't expecting me to be there, because he pauses and drops his hand to his side. Watching me for quite some time, he only turns away when one of his men calls out to him, startling him. With one final glance back at me, he disappears into the stables. 

Sitting back, I allow myself to disappear into the shadows. Instead of allowing myself to stay there and mope, I move to my desk and start drafting the papers to excommunicate my mother. I draft a formal letter to the magistrates, listing her accusations and requesting a fair trial if that's what they see fit. I draft up a change in title to the vacation house, putting it solely in my name, on lease to my mother. The last thing I draft is a document stripping my mother of all her power and titles. All of her wealth now belongs to me, and I will do with it as I see fit. 

Gathering all of the papers, I exit my room and make my way to the apartment I had allotted to Ajax near the library. Knocking lightly on the door, I step back and wait for him to open it. When no answer comes, I turn around and retreat down the hall, shoving the door to the library open. There I find him, facing the door, nose buried in a stack of poorly bound books illuminated by candlelight. I quietly make my way in, stealing the seat beside him.

I may have been a little too quiet because he makes no move to acknowledge me. It's not until I clear my throat that he glances up. Jumping back, he almost topples out of the chair. 

     "Integra! I didn't even hear you come in. Forgive me."

     "It's fine. I just need you to revise these documents when you get the chance." I slide the papers towards him. "Thank you in advance." I lean close, trying to make out what he's reading.

     "Poetry." He says. "I don't like it, but I'm trying to."

     "Interesting. I'm not one for poetry either. That's why I won't allow poets in the courtyard. They would bore me to death if I did. I do, however, enjoy the occasional musician."

Ajax nods, closing the book he was reading, pushing it away. "Good to know. I'll look over these documents in the daylight. Come find me tomorrow morning. I'm exhausted. I'm sorry, but I must get some sleep." Standing, he pats my back as he passes. Once again, I'm all alone. I stay in the library for a while longer before returning to my room. With nothing else to do besides deprive myself of sleep or give in and rest, I climb into bed and burrow under the covers.