The Trojan Princess by JJ Hilton

Author:JJ Hilton
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: 2i Publishing
Published: 2015-04-28T05:00:00+00:00

* * *

Hector approached the gate calmly, the guards looking weary as he neared them. Through the grille of the gate, Hector could see Achilles, golden hair flowing about his shoulders, pacing back and forth, shouting out his name, “Hector! Hector! Come and face me!”

He fell silent at Hector’s approach and stormed the short distance from where he paced to the gate. It remained closed, and Achilles cursed and shouted and kicked out at the gate, though it did not move. The guards eyed him with uncertainty, even though there was no way for the man to get through.

Hector stopped at the gate and looked upon the warrior he thought he had slain. He wished that it were so – for then the war would be over, and they would be celebrating, rather than commiserating – and Achilles looked at him for a long moment.

The guards were frozen as silence filled the gateway and both men regarded each other, sizing up the opponent and thinking the terrible unspoken.

Hector broke the silence.

“You sought an audience with me,” he said.

“I seek no audience,” Achilles said, his words filled with anger. “I seek combat.”

Hector had expected such words, though he did not cherish them.

“You wish for vengeance,” Hector said. “You grieve for your friend.”

“Do not speak of Patroclus, you dishonour him with your words and with each breath you take,” Achilles said, anger flaring, and he kicked at the gate again. Hector wondered if the rumours of their love affair were true.

“I apologize,” Hector said. “But he was slain in battle; it was a fair fight, and he died an honourable death.”

“At your hand,” Achilles pointed out. “So it is you I seek vengeance upon.”

“I believed that it was you I was fighting,” Hector said. “He wore your armour; he fought with your skill.”

“You believed you had killed me?” Achilles mocked him. “If it had been me that you fought, Patroclus would be alive and it would be you who would be left dead upon the sands.”

“But you did not fight,” Hector said. “You let your friend don your armour and die in your stead.”

“You dare think to blame me for his death!” Achilles shouted. “I let it be known that I wouldn’t fight on Agamemnon’s behalf, but now I seek only to kill you and all the men who fight on yours.”

Hector sighed, exasperated. Perhaps Achilles would have sailed away if he had not slain Patroclus, perhaps the war would have been won today? Alas, it did not do to dwell on such things, Hector thought.

“I would gladly face you on the battlefield,” Hector said. “I –”

“No,” Achilles said. “I wish to face you one-on-one. Single combat. Then, when I kill you, I can say that no man helped me.”

Hector considered the man before him. He thought of Achilles’ anger and grief. It made him dangerous, but it also could have its advantages. Achilles was unbeatable when he was on form, but Hector knew him to be filled with anger, and that would make him take risks, and that in turn would make him vulnerable.

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