𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔

𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐕𝐎𝐖𝐒 🕯️

The garden seemed to close in around me, the walls of Troy pressing tighter and tighter. I couldn't breathe. My heart pounded in my chest, a rhythm so fast I felt it in my throat. Get out, my mind screamed, run. The weight of the palace, the weight of war, the weight of my heart—they all crashed down on me at once, and I was drowning. My vision blurred as I stumbled through the garden, my golden blonde hair whipping across my face in the cool breeze. Strands clung to my skin, sticking to the sweat on my brow and cheeks, tangling in my lashes. I pushed them away, but they only fell back into place, curling against my skin like waves crashing to shore. I ran faster, the world a blur of moonlit marble, olive trees, and shadowy columns.

The night was cold, but my skin burned, flushed with the heat of panic. The marble pathways seemed endless as I darted past statues, barely seeing them, my thoughts consumed by the storm raging inside me. Each breath came harder, sharper, as though my lungs couldn't find the air.

Achilles. Hector. Troy. Love. War.

The panic tore at my chest like claws, and the familiar palace grounds became a maze. My heart raced faster than my feet could carry me, my sandals slipping on the dew-covered stone. I didn't know where I was going—I only knew I had to get away.

My legs gave out. My knees hit the ground hard, and the world spun. The stars above blurred into a single streak of light as I gasped for air, collapsing against the cold earth. My vision dimmed, and the last thing I felt was the weight of my hair falling across my face, the soft tendrils a mocking comfort as everything went black.

—

I awoke to warmth, the soft touch of linens against my skin and the muted glow of daylight filtering through the thin curtains. The familiar scent of chamomile and lavender filled the air, calming, soothing. I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the pale light of the healer's chamber, but everything felt... distant, like I was floating just above reality.

"Saby." My mother's voice was a soft melody, laced with worry and love. Her fingers brushed through the golden curls that had fallen into my face, tucking them behind my ear with the gentleness only she knew. I looked up, finding her eyes—so full of warmth, so full of me.

"Mother," I croaked, my throat dry, my voice weak. It felt like it had been days since I'd last spoken, since I'd last breathed. She smiled at me, that tender, knowing smile, and it soothed something deep inside me.

"You're safe," she whispered, her hand moving to rest on my cheek, her thumb gently wiping away a tear I hadn't realized had fallen. "You ran yourself ragged, my love."

I tried to sit up, but my body protested, and she guided me back down, her touch firm yet loving. "No, rest. You're too tired. You've been holding the weight of Troy on your shoulders...it's no wonder you collapsed."

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I tried to blink them away. "I...I don't know what to do," I admitted, my voice cracking as more tears spilled over. "I can't breathe. It's too much. Achilles...Hector... Troy. I don't know how to choose. I feel like I'm being torn apart." My hair curled around my face again, the soft golden strands falling against my cheek like a curtain. Mother's hand moved to smooth it away once more, her fingers lingering on my temple as she looked at me, her eyes soft but wise. "It's a heavy burden you carry, Saby, but you don't have to carry it alone. You've always been so strong, but even the strongest need rest."

I closed my eyes, her touch and her words a balm to the storm inside me. "But...what if I choose wrong?"

Mother's hand moved to clasp mine, her skin cool against mine. "There's no right or wrong choice, Sabryna, only the one you can live with. But you must remember, this is your path to walk. Not Achilles'. Not Hector's. Yours."

The tears came faster now, and I let them. I let her hold me, let the weight of her love ground me. "But how do I know? I don't feel strong. I feel lost."

She smiled, brushing a final curl from my face. "You've always known your heart, Sabryna. Even when you were a child, you had the courage to stand firm in what you believed, even if it made the road harder." She kissed my forehead softly, her lips cool against my fevered skin. "Trust in yourself, as I trust in you."

—

The air outside was cool, but inside my chamber, the air was stifling, the weight of the day still pressing down on me. Sleep evaded me, no matter how hard I tried to close my eyes. The only sound was the soft rustle of my bedding as I turned, restless.

Then I heard it—a soft scraping sound, just outside my window.

My heart leaped into my throat as I sat up, my body tense, waiting. The scraping came again, and I moved quietly to the window, pulling aside the sheer curtain.

There, framed by the moonlight, stood Achilles.

His face was shadowed, but his presence filled the space, larger than life, more intense than I remembered. His armor glinted in the pale light, but his expression—there was a vulnerability there, an ache in his eyes that sent my heart pounding.

"Achilles," I whispered, my voice barely a breath. "What are you doing here?"

"I should have left you in peace," he muttered, his voice deep, tinged with regret. "But I couldn't. Not when I know what's in your heart. You don't belong here, Sabryna—not in a city that will fall. Come with me." He reached out, his fingers brushing a strand of golden hair from my face, his touch softer than I remembered. My hair, as always, curled and tumbled back into place, a constant reminder of how things seemed to fall back no matter how hard I tried to fix them. The warmth of his skin sent a tremor through me, and for a moment, I wavered.

But then, I pulled away, swallowing the lump in my throat. "I can't."

He stilled, his hand hovering in the air where I'd been. The pain in his eyes was unmistakable, but beneath it lay something darker. "You can't, or you won't?"

I blinked, feeling the tears well up despite myself. "I won't abandon Troy. My family, my home...I have to stay."

He stared at me, his eyes hardening. For a moment, he said nothing, and the silence between us grew heavy, unbearable. Then he took a step closer, his voice a deadly whisper, low and cold. "You would choose a dying city over me?"

I shivered at the venom in his words. "It's not about choosing you," I said, my voice breaking. "It's about everything I've ever known. I owe my loyalty to them."

His jaw clenched, the muscles in his neck tensing as if trying to hold back a storm. "Loyalty? To a city that will burn to the ground? To men like Hector who hide behind walls, waiting for the slaughter?"

"Hector is—" I began, but he cut me off with a bitter laugh.

"Your precious Hector." His voice dripped with disdain. "You think he can save you? Save Troy? He can't. And I'll prove it."

His next words were like a blade to my heart. "I will bring Troy to its knees, Sabryna. I will tear down its walls, brick by brick. And when I'm done, when this city is nothing but ashes, Hector will die by my hand."

My blood turned to ice. "No," I whispered, shaking my head as the horror of his words sank in. "You can't...Achilles, please."

He advanced on me, eyes burning with a mix of anger and heartbreak. "I warned you. You had a choice. But now...now you'll see what happens when you defy me. I will destroy everything you hold dear."

His words left me breathless, my mind spinning. Hector. Troy. It was as if the world had tilted, my feet unsteady beneath me. I looked into his eyes, once filled with warmth, now cold, unrelenting. The man I thought I knew was gone, replaced by this force of nature, a storm that would not stop until everything in its path was laid to waste. Before I could say anything else, Achilles turned, disappearing into the shadows, his final words echoing in the air like a curse.