Disclaimer: I wish I could own Eric Bana… or Brad Pitt… sigh.
Language Note/Summary: It is highly suggested that you read my fic A Ripple on the Surface before reading this story (and leave a review while you're at it). Anyway, Achilles regrets his earlier actions towards Briseis, and goes to search for her… only to find that she has disappeared; gone off to Troy. Achilles goes off to battle the next day, but doesn't reach Hector, or at least might not want to. He's busy looking for his special someone… but doesn't see her. Meanwhile, Briseis is revealing all to Helen and Andromache, suffering some hatred, getting some love. HECTOR DOES NOT DIE IN THIS FIC. Obviously, I am a big Bana fan (a Banatic), and I didn't like him dying. Achilles' opinion is first, then Briseis'. I think that Hector and Andromache's is going to be next. The quote by John Keats (great guy, translated the Iliad, great books), is said by Achilles in the story, but I've changed it a little.
Announcements: Just REVIEW!!!!!
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A Handful of Soul
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"I cannot exist without you. I am forgetful of everything but seeing you again. My life seems to stop there, I see no further. You have absorbed me. I have a sensation at the present moment as though I were dissolving. I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for religion... I have shuddered at it... I shudder no more. I could be martyred for my religion: Love is my religion. I could die for that. I could die for you. My creed is love, and you are its only tenant. You have ravished me away by a power I cannot resist."-John Keats
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I watched as Patroclus' funeral pyre went up burning. Red, orange, and yellow of flames, grey of the smoke which curled up into the air. Because of Hector. I wanted revenge. And I was going to get it.
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It was dark as Hades when I crept inside Troy. All of a sudden, the air smelled different. It smelled of home. I am home! Quickly, I rushed up the steps of the royal palace, only to be met by two gaurds.
"Who goes there?" they cried. The voices of my people!
"Briseis, cousin to Lord Hector, Priestess to Apollo," I answered in a quavering voice. What if they did not believe me? There was a long silence.
"Briseis?" asked someone uncertainly. I knew that voice… Paris?
"Paris?" My cousin ran down the steps and gasped.
"We all thought you were dead! The Greeks…" his voice faded off. "Quickly, everone else is inside. We've all been so worried… Hector will be glad to know that you are safe."
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I could not find her. When I returned to my tent, I expected to find Briseis, sitting there. But she was not there. My earlier actions towards Briseis were rash. And foolish. How was I to claim that I loved her by striking her? How could I have been so blind?
Eurodonus and the other Myrmidons did not speak as I walked over the sand dunes to look for her. But she was not there. She was not in my tent. She was not in the Greek camp. But I knew where she was: in Troy.
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"Briseis!" Hector's arms crushed mine to my side as he embraced me. He kissed my forehead before Andromache came to me, tears streaming down her cheeks, and kissed me too.
"Come, Briseis," mumured Andromache softly, taking my arm as if I was a child. "I'll speak to you privately…"
"The Greeks had her," I hear Paris whispering to Hector. "Who knows what they did to her?"
I thought of Achilles. Although I was here, I felt as if he still had a grasp on my heart, tugging me back. He had not only a claim on my hear, he had a handful of me; a handful of soul. Yes, I needed to speak with Andromache. She would understand.
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So, what do you think? I know this chapter was short, but I didn't want to reveal too much too soon. REVIEW!!! And read A RIPPLE ON THE SURFACE!!!