A Stranger in the City – Chapter Twenty-One

Hello everybody! As usual, thanks to those who are reading and liking this story. I am always happy to read any comments or reviews.

Short notes about this chapter can be found at the bottom of this post.

OOO

“Hold on, hold on” Molossus interrupted. “This Eudorus you keep talking about… is our Eudorus?”

“Of course it’s our Eudorus, who else?” Helenus replied impatiently.

“Every second Achaean is called Eudorus!” insisted the younger man, shaking his head in disbelief. “I can name at least five in this town! How was I supposed to know that you were talking about him? He tried to make you betray your city and now he’s your right arm?!”

“It happened about twenty-five years ago” Helenus replied, unperturbed. “Things change. The Achaeans conquered my city, now they accept me as their king. And Eudorus is one of the reasons they do. He is much smarter than I am, he could have become the king if he had wanted to”

“Then why didn’t he?”

“Because” Helenus replied with the hint of a smile “he is much smarter than I am”.

OOO

Back on Neoptolemus’ ship, Eudorus told his story. Agamemnon’s arrival had been delayed because of a storm. On the day of his arrival, he had been murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover, he had learned it from one of the palace’s guards. They had come back without meeting the new king.

Everybody listened to this tale in silence. Helenus, even without looking around, could feel the Achaeans’ eyes on him. It was hard not to blush under that scrutiny, and he looked far away, trying not to meet anybody’s gaze.

Of course, it was a lucky coincidence that what he had said to Agamemnon had actually come true. At least for a while, the Achaeans would think that the Huntress did speak in him. But for the same reason, now he was the centre of attention – and he hated it.

All he wanted now was to lock himself up in a room, far from everybody’s eyes. He hoped that they would reach their destination soon: at least he would not be forced to control his face and his eyes like he had to do on the ship.

He didn’t dare to ask what had happened to Cassandra. It would sound very suspicious, the Achaeans would certainly ask him why he didn’t know that as well. His duty now was to provide for Andromache and Aesacus – and they would be much safer if the Achaeans believed that a goddess spoke in him.

But the truth was that he was also scared of hearing the answer, provided that Eudorus knew anything about her and that he told him the truth. For some reasons, Helenus was more and more convinced that his sister had known what her destiny would be, just as she had known that Agamemnon would claim her.

They set sail immediately. Neoptolemus made the ships travel as fast as it was possible, clearly wishing to get away from that region.

A few days later, they stopped at Pylos to supply water and learned that king Nestor hadn’t returned from the war, either. Neoptolemus decided to make a sacrifice to Poseidon in Nestor’s honor, then they set sail again.

Pylos seemed to be the very last city of that part of the world. While heading north, they only encountered small villages or scattered houses.

“We are almost there” Neoptolemus finally announced one day. Pointing at a large island in the distance, he added: “That island is Corcyra. Buthrotum is right behind it, on the mainland”.

They sailed up the channel between the mainland and Corcyra until they reached the mouth of a river, then headed upriver.

Helenus had to admit that the sight was magnificent: a lush valley surrounded by smooth hills and green mountains. At some point, he could spot a small settlement in the distance. There were a few houses which seemed to be made of stone and plaster. A larger building was located on an embankment, behind the other houses. It was built according to the Mycenaean style, with a yard and a colonnade on the front part. At some distance there was another large building, maybe a temple.

Many villagers were already gathering on the embankments. A few were dressed like soldiers, the others were likely peasants.

Nobody spoke until they had landed. Then, one of the soldiers went to meet Neoptolemus with open arms.

“Welcome back, Neoptolemus. I am glad to see that you are unharmed. You come with strangers”

“Yes, Leocritus. The city of Troy has been destroyed, these people are my prey”

Helenus suppressed a grimace. The word prey, uttered in such a casual way, irritated him. The people were staring at them with curiosity, studying their foreign features and clothes. He hid the hand with his father’s ring under the cloak, hoping that they would move. He felt like an animal at the market. Andromache probably felt even more observed than he did. Shooting a sideways glance at her, he noticed that she had wrapped herself tightly in her veil, so that her face wasn’t visible.

“Let’s thank the gods for leading you to success. And where is your father Achilles?” asked Leocritus hesitantly.

Of course, the news of Achilles’ death hadn’t reached this end of the world…

“My father has died” answered Neoptolemus solemnly.

Helenus expected that people would cry like the Trojans had done at the news of Priam’s death. The reaction, however, was much more composed: only a low murmur ran among the people.

“I am sorry to hear that. It’s good that you have returned home and can now take his place”

After this, to Helenus’ great relief, a chariot arrived and they moved towards the palace.

The king’s residence was much smaller than his father’s palace in Troy and looked more like a large house. In the hall, only the columns were painted, while the walls were just plastered. It had to be difficult to find a painter here.

“The men to the right side now, the women to the left” said Eudorus’ voice, interrupting his musings.

They seemed to have reached the back of the house. In front of them there was a room – probably the king’s bedroom – and at the sides there were two corridors, partly hidden by curtains.

“Wait. Where is Andromache going?” he asked anxiously. He had never been separated from Andromache since they had left Troy. She was still under her veil and hadn’t said a word.

“To the women’s rooms, where else?” said Neoptolemus, annoyed. “I certainly don’t wish to celebrate the wedding today. She doesn’t have a proper dress and we need to organize a banquet”

“I trust that she will be treated accordingly” Helenus replied coldly. Formally, Andromache was a slave and Neoptolemus could do what he wanted to her.

“Of course, she will sleep with her maids. We are not a bunch of barbarians” muttered Neoptolemus.

“Very well” he said, turning to look at Andromache. He didn’t know whether she could see him from under the veil.

Aesacus room was right next to his one. He made sure that the blanket on the bed was thick enough and that nobody would take away Aesacus’ woolen cloak.

Helenus was glad when he was finally left alone in his own room. He had never been really alone since they had left Troy.

He sat on the bed, taking his head in his hands, sighing deeply.

Suddenly, everything began to feel real. He could feel the rubble falling on his head during the earthquake, see the bloody stains on his father’s tunic become larger and larger, he could smell the burnt bodies of his last day in Troy. For a moment, the memory of that smell made him intensely sick. He inhaled slowly and deeply, trying to think about something else.

During the travel, he had been surprised at how little these memories were taunting him, at how little he was aching.

Well, it looked like a part of him had just been holding fast. He had spent the whole travel faking a strength and a confidence he didn’t possess.

He lay back on the bed, too exhausted to sit, but he immediately stood up again, unable to be still.

This was not a dream. He was far away from home, almost at the end of the world, a prisoner in the house of a foreign king. His city would never be again. He would never again wander through the city’s market or look at the sea from the temple’s terrace. His family had been exterminated. Hector’s widow, who should have become the queen of Troy, was now going to marry their enemy.

He leaned with his forehead on the wall, trying hard not to sob. He had to be quiet because Aesacus was in the next room. He didn’t want to bother Hermes’ priest with his misery: his old teacher was certainly aching on his own.

“I’m feeling that way, too”

Helenus turned to see Aesacus in the dorway. Hermes’ priest walked in and sat on the bed, where Helenus joined him.

He felt relieved. He had been craving solitude during the travel but now he didn’t want to be alone.

“There is no way of sweetening the pot, there really isn’t” said Aesacus, taking his hand. Helenus thought that he had never looked so old. “We are going to suffer for quite some time. It will hurt, and it is alright. And then we are going to get through it” Hermes’ priest added with a sad smile, wiping away a tear.

Helenus wanted to ask what if I don’t have the strength for it?, but he thought better. It wasn’t right to seek comfort from Aesacus now: his teacher was barely holding it together.

“Yes, we are” he said instead, squeezing Aesacus’ hand.

OOO

Notes:

• The city of Buthrotum or Buthrint really existed. It was probably founded at the end of the Bronze Age and was located in present day Albania, very close to the Greek border. The landscape around it is a sight to behold (you can easily look it up on google maps).
• The presence of Helenus and Andromache in Buthrotum was mentioned by the Roman poet Virgil in his epic poem “The Aeneid”, but not exactly in the same circumstances (according to Virgil, they got there only after Neoptolemus died).

A Stranger in the City – Chapter Twenty

The Basil Situation

Basil is usually a very easy herb to grow. For me, the easiest one together with rosemary.

This year, for the very first time growing basil proved challenging. My first three plants died despite my efforts to save them. I think it was because of the extreme heat: even my tomato plants suffered this year.

Eventually, I decided to try and move the plants on my balcony’s floor, where they barely get any sunlight. And finally… see picture 🙂

A Stranger in the City – Chapter Twenty

Hello and thank you for reading this story!

Just a short note: Corcyra is the island of Corfu.

OOO

With his hands nestled on his lap, Molossus looked down.

Sometimes he forgot that his mother and stepfather had once been prisoners.

He wanted to ask about Andromache and his half-brother but he didn’t dare.

“I’ve heard that Agamemnon was indeed murdered just after the war… and that many Achaean ships were actually crushed while returning home” the younger man said hesitantly.

“Yes. Agamemnon was killed. As for the ships, there was a storm near Chios. The fleet was disbanded and many ships were damaged. But all of the Achaean kings managed to get back home – even our neighbor Odysseus, with some delay”

“So the Huntress did listen to you” said Molossus, impressed.

Helenus grimaced. “I don’t know. Maybe the gods were angry for their own reasons, maybe Agamemnon’s murder and the storm had nothing to do with the gods at all”

“Well, some people in the city think that the ships were crushed because of you” insisted the prince.

“And you will let them think that. Even your father thought that, and I saw no reason to contradict him” concluded Helenus with a hint of smugness.

“Were you involved in the crush, too?” asked Molossus.

“No. On the third day of navigation, after coasting the island of Lemnos, your father decided to head west instead of south like the other Achaeans did”

“Why?”

OOO

Helenus sat in the middle of the ship, inhaling slowly. The sea travel wasn’t making him really sick but it was slightly unpleasant and this was the least shaky part of the ship.

He still couldn’t quite realize that they had left Troy forever.

Contrary to his brothers, he had never left the city before, apart from a few visit to the surrounding woods or the island of Tenedos, just on the other side of the strait. He had never been so far away from home. He couldn’t say whether he was missing the city or just his own habits, like looking outside of his window every morning.

Upon sailing, he had refused to look back at the city for one last time. He had thought that it would only make things more difficult. Now he was starting to regret it.

His mother had suddenly died before she could leave with Odysseus as planned. Apparently, her heart could not manage to be away from Troy.

He had barely spoken to Andromache. She always sat together with her maids, away from the men. From her attitude, it was clear that she didn’t want to speak or be spoken to. Aesacus didn’t joke as he normally used to, but looked otherwise quiet- it was difficult to say if he really felt fine or if he was just pretending.

Helenus just felt empty. He supposed that at some point he would start aching, mourning the lost ones, but nothing. Was he really so heartless?

In addition, they were travelling with Eudorus, who was now serving Neoptolemus after Achilles’ death. The very same Eudorus who had tried to make him join the enemy. They hadn’t exchanged a single word so far, but Helenus could often feel the Achaean’s look on him. Eudorus’ presence made him feel uneasy and constantly watched.

Beside him, Aesacus said “what…?” and Helenus looked up. For a while, he couldn’t understand what was wrong, then he noticed that their ship had decidedly turned west. They weren’t following the Achaean fleet any more. Turning around, he saw that the other ships belonging to Neoptolemus were doing the same.

He and Hermes’ priest looked at each other, uncertain.

“Why have we turned west?” asked Helenus.

“I am asking myself the same question” Aesacus replied, frowning. “We have just left the island of Lemnos behind us. If we go west, we will spend several days in the open sea before we reach the mainland. And when we do, we will be much further north than Phthia, Achilles’ city. But maybe I remember wrong – I have been to the land of the Achaeans only once, with my father, and it was many decades ago”

“You remember correctly” said a voice. They turned to see Neoptolemus standing behind them.

“The fact is… we are not going to Phthia at all” the Achaean went on, switching almost immediately to his own language. “My grandfather Peleus was indeed the king of Phthia, but he lost the throne. That’s why my father grew up together with Patroclus in Opus”

“But then… where are we going?” asked Helenus.

“Many years ago, my father settled down on the mainland, close to the island of Corcyra. We are going there” said Neoptolemus.

“I’m sorry but that name is unknown to me” replied Aesacus.

This island of Corcyra had to be at the edge of civilization if Hermes’ priest didn’t know it. Before joining Hermes’ temple, Aesacus had spent years travelling with his father, a Cretan merchant. Besides, he knew merchants from all over the world.

“It is on the other side of the Achaean mainland, further north than Odysseus’ island of Ithaca” explained the Achaean.

Helenus wasn’t even aware that there were any cities in that part of the world!

“I turned west just because I didn’t want to travel together with the other Achaean chieftains. It would be a bad idea to travel with Agamemnon, since you cursed him” Neoptolemus added, turning to him.

“This is a wise idea” said Helenus sternly.

Two days later, now certain to be far away from the other Achaeans, Neoptolemus decided to head south again. They spent several days coasting the mainland and many islands. They were so close to the land that supplies of food and drinking water were never a problem.

They had already passed the city of Athens and the island of Idra when Neoptolemus ordered his sailors to land.

Helenus was surprised: they weren’t short on water or food. But the reason for this new delay was immediately clear.

“We are close to Nauplia” Neoptolemus said to Eudorus. “Take one of the smaller ships and go see whether Agamemnon has already arrived. Then come straight back. We have taken a long detour but he probably folloewd the shortest route. He should already be there”

Slowly and deliberately, Neoptolemus turned around and stared at Helenus.

Helenus tensed but stared back, trying to pretend that he was perfectly calm.

Of course. The Achaeans had been scared of him at first, but now they were starting to call his bluff.

Since they had left Troy, Neoptolemus had treated him and his fellow Trojans with great respect. But what if Agamemnon was safe and sound at home again? Yes, he could argue that he had never said how soon Agamemnon would be killed. But who was going to believe him?

He spent the whole day in a pretty agitated state and lay awake for the whole night. Noticing Neoptolemus’ gaze on him, he tried his best to look unfazed.

On the following morning, he was sitting at bow when he spotted Eudorus’ ship in the distance. It seemed to be going at full speed.

“They are already here!” said Neoptolemus, taken aback. “I was expecting them in the afternoon”

Well, maybe Agamemnon hadn’t arrived at all. After all, they had probably lost only four or five days. But what if he had arrived and was still alive?

Helenus felt like he was going to be sick.

He watched Eudorus’ ship get closer and closer, until it was at shouting distance. Eudorus stood stiffly at the bow.

Leaning on the ship’s rail, Neoptolemus shouted: “Did you see him?”

“No!” Eudorus shouted back.

Helenus bit his lip to suppress a sigh of relief.

“Hasn’t he arrived yet?” prompted Neoptolemus.

Eudorus’ ship was very close now, and Helenus noticed how pale the Achaean looked.

“He arrived three days ago… and he was murdered on the same day”

The whole ship fell silent. Helenus heard only the waves breaking on the ship’s side.

He turned and looked at Neoptolemus. The Achaean was shocked, his mouth open.

“Why are you surprised?” he asked with the bitter voice he could use so well. “I told him”.

OOO

/A Stranger in the City – Chapter Nineteen 

A Stranger in the City – Chapter Nineteen

The temple turned so silent that Helenus was able to hear the sound of people breathing evenly.

Agamemnon looked around slowly, his eyes falling on Aesacus and Cassandra’s sacred habits and on Helenus’ ring. Although his height wasn’t impressive, the broad shoulders and authoritative gaze made him look taller than he was. His brother Menelaus was behind him, his eyes looking at Helen and ignoring everybody else.

“Leave me alone with him” barked Agamemnon, pointing at Helenus.

He wanted to say something, like you can talk in front of everybody else. But Cassandra was quicker.

“You may have conquered my father’s palace, Agamemnon, but this temple belongs to Apollo” she said calmly.

Helenus felt a burst of irritation. She had nerve, spoke promptly and was able to keep her cool in the face of disaster: why couldn’t he do the same?

“As you wish!” Agamemnon replied coldly. “You will come with me, princess. Your brother and Andromache will go with Neoptolemus. The other people who are in this temple will become our slaves”

The Achaean chieftain turned around and walked away.

So that was it! Agamemnon was ignoring him outright, as if Troy had no king!

He had thought for hours about the words he should say, the strategy he should use… but when the moment had arrived, he hadn’t been able to utter a single word!

A sudden fury shook him and the words were out of his mind before he knew.

“Hold on!” he cried after the Achaean king. “You come in here and think that you can order us around! You want to be more careful!”

The people around them gasped and Helenus was shocked by his own audacity.

What a stupid idea to challenge Agamemnon like this! As usual, when he was angry he wasn’t able to keep his mouth shut! But this wasn’t Deiphobus or Hector he was yelling at… this might actually get people killed!

Agamemnon turned again and eyed him with a sardonic smile.

“Because I can order you around, King of Troy” he replied mockingly.

A small group of Achaeans had gathered out of the temple and they laughed out loud at Agamemnon’s words.

That vulgar laughter made Helenus even more furious. A stranger walked into Apollo’s temple like he owned the place just because an earthquake had destroyed their walls! And his soldiers dared to laugh at him!

What should he do now? Accept the mockery and humiliate himself without even trying to do something for his people? Or keep arguing and risk to make it even worse?

He had wanted to use Agamemnon’s fear of Artemis. Now was the time to do it. Now or never.

“Beware! The Huntress, whom I serve, will put you off laughing! She will punish your iniquity! Her wrath is terrible!” he hissed. He didn’t know whether Artemis would listen to him. But even if she didn’t, he just needed to scare the Achaean…

Agamemnon kept looking at him with that sardonic smile but didn’t reply.

He had to keep going. He had to ignore his racing heart. He had to ignore his shaking legs.

“In the Huntress’ name, I demand that you let these people go, because they have sought refuge in the Far-Shooter’s house” he said, gesturing to the Trojans standing in the temple “and I demand that you don’t harm my mother and sisters!”

A few Achaean soldiers laughed loudly out of the temple but Agamemnon didn’t smile anymore.

“You are late, king of Troy!” yelled Diomedes, one of the Achaean chieftains, from outside the temple. “Polyxena is already dead!”

“What?”

“Achilles desired her. So we made her join him in the Underworld as his war prize” Agamemnon explained tersely.

Helenus stared at him. So his sister had been sacrificed like a cow?!

“You murderer!” he yelled. “I tell you that you are going to meet my sister’s fate very soon!”

“Shut up, you voice of doom!” Agamemnon shouted back, but his eyes looked scared now.

Helenus was terrified. Maybe he was going too far. What if Agamemnon took revenge on Cassandra? What if he took revenge on Aesacus? The very thought of Hermes’ priest being murdered made him feel sick.

Besides, he was bluffing. He didn’t know whether Agamemnon would really die soon. For all he knew, Agamemnon could be meant to live another fifty years!

But he had to look convincing. He had to look like Artemis was talking in him. And she would not be scared by Agamemnon’s anger.

“May the Huntress crush your ships and disband your army!” he yelled as loudly as he could.

Agamemnon stepped forward and grabbed the front of his robe with a cry of rage.

Helenus forced himself to look at him: the Achaean’s face was red with fury, his eyes blazing.

Maybe Agamemnon would hit him, or spit in his face. He just had to hold the Achaean’s gaze or he would look weak. Just hold his gaze without looking away…

Agamemnon shoved him away with a grunt and left the temple without uttering another word.

Helenus almost lost his balance and had to lean on a column to stay on his feet. He felt like he had used the last bit of strength to deal with the Achaean chieftain. He noticed that his teeth were chattering and clenched his jaw with a grimace. The hall was still silent, the people were too stunned to move.

If only they could stop staring at him like that! He hated being the center of attention! Why had he accepted to do this?

“Cassandra, don’t you have a spare priestly habit for Helenus? His robe his covered with dust. It doesn’t look appropriate for the king” Aesacus asked in a whisper.

“…yes, I should have an old priestly habit somewhere” she answered hesitantly. She gestured for him to follow her in the same small room where he had talked to Helen. It felt like it had happened a century before.

“Here” she said, handing a white tunic to him. “It belonged to Laxani, the old high priest. It is Apollo’s sacred robe, but it is white… nobody will notice the difference”

She left him alone and he changed clothes, glad to be alone again.

What should he do now?

Agamemnon would take Cassandra as a prisoner and he had been told not to object. Neoptolemus would take Andromache with him: it was his right, since his father Achilles had killed Andromache’s husband. He didn’t mind leaving with Andromache. He doubted that his presence would make her less miserable, but at least she would not be alone with the Achaeans.

What about his other sisters and his mother, provided that they still lived? What about Aesacus? Would the Achaeans free the other Trojans? Was Agamemnon scared that Artemis might punish his people, or not? And what about the people who had tried to escape? Had they succeeded? Would the city be abandoned forever?

It suddenly occurred to him that he would never see Troy again. He had never really thought about that.

Contrary to his brothers, who had gone on missions or to war with their allies, he had never left the city. There had been a time when he hadn’t cared for it, but now the thought of leaving Troy almost made him cry.

He would never see his siblings and parents again, nor Grymas, not in this life at least. Feeling a stab of pain, he realized that he would also never see Aesacus again. His old teacher should have spent his last time in this world in Troy, as a revered priest of Hermes, not alone in a foreign land, provided that the Achaeans were willing to take him with them. The Achaeans needed young people to turn into slaves and workers, they didn’t need an old man. Maybe they would kill Aesacus outright or leave him in the abandoned city.

He wished that Aesacus could leave with him and Andromache but he would never dare to suggest it to the Achaeans. Should Agamemnon know that Helenus cared so much for Hermes’ priest… he didn’t even want to think about what could happen.

“Helenus” said Cassandra’s voice, startling him. He turned to look at her.

“Our mother and Laodice have arrived. And Nestor wants to see you” she explained.

“Where were they?” he asked, hurrying after Cassandra.

“I don’t know what happened exactly, they’re not making much sense” she explained. “Anyway, it looks like a man hid them in his house because there were too many Achaean soldiers in the streets and they didn’t dare to come over here”

He didn’t know whether he should be happy or sad that they were still alive. Was it better to become the concubine of an Achaean king or to be dead?

“What about Creusa? She’s still missing”

Cassandra was silent for a moment, then she replied in a soft voice.

“I know that she has died in the earthquake”

The children of Priam had been so many… and now, only Cassandra, Laodice and himself were alive.

His mother threw herself at him.

“At least one of my sons still lives” she said, her voice muffled by his robe. They had never been close, but he had to force himself not to cry. All of a sudden, she looked so frail – his mother, who never lost countenance…

Laodice, who was said to have been the most beautiful of Priam’s daughters, just looked shocked. She was still covered in dust from the earthquake but she seemed not to notice or care. Helenus wondered whether she knew where she was.

Hecuba quickly regained control and let go of him, hastily wiping her tears away.

Only then Helenus realized that Nestor, the king of Pylos, had been standing there all the time.

“I greet you, Helenus. Agamemnon has asked me to meet you” said Nestor in a low but clear voice. He was markedly older than the other Achaean chieftains and he was said to be the wisest of them all. His very behavior was a pleasant change in comparison with the one of the other Achaean kings. The fact that Agamemnon had sent him was probably a good sign.

“Welcome, Nestor” Helenus replied.

“The things that some of the Achaeans did tonight might have offended the gods and our people respect the gods. We do not wish to enrage the Huntress or the Far-Shooter. Of the people who have sought refuge in this temple, only the people of note will become our prisoners; the others are free to leave, as you wished”

He could hear a faint cry of relief from behind his shoulders.

“As for the women, your mother will go with Odysseus and your sister will come with me. They will be treated as guests. Helen, of course, will be reunited with her husband”

“Very well”

“Agamemnon wishes to take your sister Cassandra as a prisoner. Neptolemus will take Andromache with him – as his wife and not his concubine. You will go with Neoptolemus, too”

Helenus nodded. He supposed he couldn’t do anything more than that for the women.

“As for the priest of Hermes, his venerable age commands respect. He might choose where to go on his own”

Nestor turned to Aesacus inquiringly.

“Thank you. In this case, I wish to go with Neoptolemus” said Hermes’ priest. Helenus tried very hard to conceal his relief.

“Your wish will be granted. And now, may the gods be benevolent with us. The other people who are in this temple are free to go, but they must do so now. They will be escorted to the doors and no other person will be allowed to leave the city. Today, you may dispose of your victims. We will leave tomorrow”

After bowing to Apollo’s altar, Nestor walked out.

The people who had been with them in the temple hurried after him, anxious to leave the city before the Achaeans changed their mind.

Walking past him, many of them whispered a “thank you” or a blessing. Shortly after, he and the other prisoners were alone in the temple.

He looked around, unsure of what he should say.

He had needed all of his energy to deal with the Achaeans, now he was his usual awkward self again.

He was the head of the family now – he was supposed to say something, to take some initiative… and he just stood there like an idiot.

He glanced at Aesacus for a moment. Hermes’ priest was still standing, but leaning heavily on a column. He looked very tired and very pale, but gave him a faint smile.

Aesacus was probably holding fast just for him, in case he needed support, just like he had done before the speech. Helenus felt a stab of contempt for himself.

“Maybe we should start washing the bodies” Cassandra said tentatively.

Again, she could take the lead better than he could.

“Yes” he said “but please arrange a bed for Aesacus before you do that, he should take some rest”

They spent the following hours disposing of the bodies. They had to use furniture and doors for the funeral pyres because there were too many bodies and there wasn’t time to fetch other wood. The smoke and the smell were insufferable and Helenus had never been so glad that Troy was such a windy city.

They spent the night on makeshift beds. He and Aesacus made their bed in the garden behind Apollo’s temple, Cassandra and the other women in the terrace. Nobody wanted to sleep inside for fear that another earthquake might hit.

As he lay in his makeshift bed, Helenus thought that he would spend a sleepless night. Despite the great physical effort of that day, he didn’t feel tired. And as for his mind, he was thinking about so many things that he wondered whether he would ever sleep again.

And there was something he needed to say to Aesacus. It was hard, but he had to say it.

“I am glad that you wish to come with us. But do you not prefer to go somewhere closer. Such a long travel will be hard at your age? I wouldn’t want you to make such an effort just to look after me“

He could hear Aesacus sighing softly in the dark.

“So you think this is about looking after you? Helenus, you’ve become like a son to me during these last years. So of course, I prefer to spend my last days close to you”

Helenus felt moved.

He wanted to say many things.

Eventually, he only said “thank you”.

OOO

A Stranger in the City – Chapter Eighteen

A Stranger in the City – Chapter Eighteen

Hello everybody! Here’s a new chapter for you. As always, thank you to those who are reading this story.

There’s one thing I feel the need to say before you read this chapter and the following ones.

As a history lover, it is very important for me to point out that people from the past were similar to us in many regards but did not think like us. This might be obvious to many, but sometimes I feel that we judge people who lived in the past according to our values. Ideas that we would consider shocking and superstitious today might have been perfectly obvious in another era.

I do not consider the characters of this fiction to be particularly ahead of their time. For example, I don’t think of Helenus and Aesacus as two characters who might share our worldview or who would question their society’s gender roles. Aesacus may say that Helenus’ shyness is not a problem, but he never suggests that Helenus can/should reject his role as a provider, now that he’s the only man in the family.

This has little to do with my own opinion on the matter, I simply don’t want to make characters from 3000 years ago behave as if they were alive today.

OOO

Standing outside the temple’s hall, Helenus tried to decide what to say.

He could not picture himself giving an inspirational speech or comforting people. He would just stick to the facts, no frills.

And now he had to walk into the hall and speak. Aesacus and Cassandra were waiting behind him, he couldn’t just stand there forever.

The temple was even more packed with people than before. There weren’t just women, children and the elderly now: there were a few men, too.

Everybody fell silent upon seeing them. All the eyes went to him and then to the ring he was now wearing.

Feeling very self-conscious, he walked to the center of the hall.

“The king is dead. Prince Deiphobus… is also dead” he said tersely, trying to keep his voice steady. He didn’t add that he was now the king: it was obvious.

Several people broke into sobs and Helenus felt even more uneasy.

He wasn’t well-liked, he wasn’t popular. The Trojans would never trust him, especially in such a moment.

He couldn’t remember what he had wanted to say next.

He closed his eyes and put his hand on Apollo’s altar for support. The people probably assumed that he wanted to honor the dead king with silence, because they went silent too.

When he opened his eyes, he noticed that Aesacus had left his side and was now mixed with the public. Helenus looked at him, trying to ignore the rest of the crowd.

“Our warriors have fought bravely until now, but the earthquake left us defenseless. The Achaeans… will hopefully respect this sacred place and spare your lives. But even if they do… we will likely become their prisoners”

This statement was met with silence.

Helenus remembered what Deiphobus had told him months before: he should try to limit the damage.

“I will do what is in my power to spare you as much harm as possible, but my power is very limited” he added. “If anyone of you, free or slave, wants to try and flee the city, I will not object. It is night and there are breaches in the walls, you might be able to avoid the Achaeans”

The people looked at each other, but nobody moved.

“That is all I wanted to say to you” he concluded briskly.

A bad speech in a bad moment.

“Why don’t you flee, my king? The city is lost” asked a young man.

“How could I possibly do that?” Helenus questioned, more harshly than he had intended. “I could never leave without my mother and sisters, my sister in law and my nephew, provided that anyone of them is still alive. It would be impossible to leave the city unnoticed with so many people”

The man stood up, taking his wife’s hand.

“I will try to leave” he announced.

“May the gods protect you” Helenus replied. The two walked cautiously out.

Another man and his wife did the same but the other Trojans stayed in the temple, probably afraid that the Achaeans might catch and kill them.

Helenus wondered what was going on out of the temple. Probably, many Trojans had died during the earthquake, just like Grymas. Many others had likely left the city before the Achaeans had time to arrive.

But where were his mother, Andromache, the child? What about his sisters, what about Aeneas and his sister Creusa, who didn’t live at the palace?

Looking around, he saw Cassandra walk into the hall and sit next to Aesacus, bending over to whisper something to him.

Maybe he should ask her where the rest of their family was. She would know that…

Whatever Cassandra had told Aesacus, it was certainly bad news, because Hermes’ priest looked at her in utter shock. She stood again and disappeared behind a curtain.

Helenus walked over to Aesacus.

“What did she say?” he asked him in a whisper.

“Andromache has arrived, alone” the older priest replied softly.

Astyanax, Hector’s son, wasn’t with her.

What had happened to him? Had he died in the earthquake or had he been killed by the Achaeans? Whatever had happened, he was certainly dead by now: Andromache would never have come here alone otherwise.

He dearly hoped that the boy had died in his sleep, without waking up. He hoped that he was not still alive under the debris, where nobody would be able to locate him, where he would suffocate.

And what about his mother and sisters? They hadn’t arrived with his father or with Andromache. Maybe they were dead, too. Maybe they had already been captured by the Achaeans.

He was failing them.

Not only them, he was failing everybody.

He was the king now, it was his duty to lead his people, give them strength, instead he was sitting in a corner, silent and inactive. Cassandra and Aesacus, on the other hand, were walking around and giving whatever comfort they could provide.

He should do the same but he didn’t know how. He didn’t have charisma, he never would.

He should walk out of the temple, look for his mother and sisters. But then someone would recognize him and take him prisoner – and then what? He was the only man in his family, now.

Sooner or later, the Achaean chieftains would show up and claim their prize. Not only their gold, their weapons, their precious fabrics and the other valuables – they had certainly sacked the whole city by now. No, they would claim the people, they would have the Trojans as slaves and concubines.

And there was nothing he could do about it. If the Achaeans decided to murder them all in the temple, there was no way he could oppose that. He was alone. He was powerless.

He felt sick.

He would certainly talk to Agamemnon sooner or later: what should he say?

Trying to make a deal was out of question since there was no way for the Trojans to keep fighting. Should he appeal to their humanity and respect for the gods? Should he beg, then? Or should he just allow the Achaeans to do whatever they pleased without even trying to fight back?

The last king of Troy, a puppet who lasted for one day and could do nothing for his city…

He suddenly felt a burst of rage and stood up, unable to stay still.

What did he know about the Achaeans and their chieftains?

He had talked only once to Patroclos and a couple of times to Helen. He had heard something from Hector and Aesacus, but that was all.

“Where is Helen?” he asked Cassandra, as soon as she passed by.

“In my room, with Andromache”

“I need to talk to her” he said urgently. He suddenly felt full of energy.

Cassandra led him away from the hall and into a small room, where Helen joined him shortly after. She had taken off her veil, and her fair hair seemed to shine in the dimly lit room.

She looked pale but composed.

“What do you need?” she asked quietly.

“You once mentioned that your sister has married Agamemnon, is that right?” he began. She nodded.

“What kind of man is he?”

She considered the question for a long moment before speaking.

“He is impulsive, violent and proud. He has rows with the other Achaean kings all the time. They accept his authority only because he is the most powerful of them, but he is unpopular among them and he knows it. Things were particularly tense with Achilles, who was stronger than him in battle and deeply revered by the warriors. Agamemnon doesn’t listen to advice and he is easily convinced that everybody is plotting against him”

Helenus sighed.

Now this was familiar. A man who was aware of being disliked. But much more powerful and violent that Helenus was.

Helen kept looking at him expectantly but he didn’t know what to ask now. The very idea of him trying to discuss with Agamemnon was ridiculous.

Eventually, she spoke.

“You might want to know that he is especially afraid of Artemis”

He stared at her in silence.

“He almost sacrificed his own baby daughter because he believed that Artemis wanted him to do that. My sister saved her just in time, made her leave the city”

Helenus shivered. If a man was able to sacrifice his own daughter, what would he do to his enemies?

On the other side, the fact that Agamemnon was so afraid of Artemis might prove useful. But how?

He needed some time to think.

“Thank you” he said tersely to Helen, turning his back to her.

She stared at him without moving.

“Is this all you wanted from me?” she asked, astonished.

“Yes”

She shook her head.

“When Cassandra told me that you wished to talk to me, I thought you wanted something else. I thought you wanted me to leave the temple and go to Menelaus now”

He snorted, turning around to look at her again.

“Like that could change our fate” he burst out. “No offense intended, but this war has never been about you! Or do you really think that they’ll just take you back and wave goodbye?!”

She stared at him in shock and he cursed himself. So typical of him, snapping when he was under pressure. It made him look ridiculous.

“Besides” he added, more calmly “only the filthiest coward would hand his sister in law to the enemy, just like that”

She stayed silent.

He wondered whether he should apologize for his outburst, but Helen smiled sadly.

“And they told me you were the quiet one”

She turned around and left without another word.

He sat with a sigh. The burst of energy had disappeared as suddenly as it had come and he just felt emptied. He tried to think about what he could say to Agamemnon but nothing came to his mind.

It wouldn’t make any difference after all, Agamemnon would have his way in any case.

This thought left him oddly indifferent. He felt as if he were looking at the whole situation from the outside.

If he used his role as a priest of Artemis to scare Agamemnon, maybe… but how?

Summoning all of his willpower, he forced himself to walk back to the temple’s hall. He was the king now – he couldn’t hide.

In the hall, the people were praying again, lead by Aesacus. Hermes’ priest was standing but leaning on a column for support. He looked calm and concentrated but extremely tired.

Helenus felt ashamed. His venerable old teacher had taken charge of the people because the king couldn’t manage.

“Thank you, Aesacus. I will take over now. Do take some rest” he told Hermes’ priest as soon as the prayer ended.

Standing close to the altar, he started reciting a prayer to Artemis, hoping that the Far Shooter would not be offended. This would normally make him feel very self-conscious, talking in front of all these people who expected something from him. This time, he just felt absent. The words came out of his mind and he knew that they were right, but he couldn’t concentrate on them. He couldn’t concentrate on anything. He just kept going, he couldn’t say for how long.

Suddenly, he noticed that the people weren’t praying after him anymore. Instead, they were staring in horror at the temple’s door.

He turned around and felt a shiver run down his spine.

Agamemnon had arrived.

OOO

A Stranger in the City – Chapter Seventeen

A Stranger in the City – Chapter Seventeen

Hello everybody! Here’s another chapter of my story.

Many thanks to all the readers and followers of the story.

OOO

It was night and Helenus was pacing in his room.

He couldn’t sleep.

It had been happening more and more often since that conversation with Deiphobus, several months before.

After that, he had met a few other times with his older brother. He had been told several important things – where all the gold and the valuables were hidden, how much food reserve they had in the city and other practical things.

Helenus knew all of this information by heart.

This wasn’t the problem – the problem would be facing the Trojans, the warriors, the Achaeans, being accepted by them, being obeyed by them.

Thankfully, Deiphobus was still alive. But every time he went into battle, Helenus felt terrified.

Was he worried that his only brother left might die or was he only worried about having to take over? He was the usual coward!

He suddenly staggered and leaned on the wall for support.

That was weird. He wasn’t really feeling dizzy.

He needed another moment to understand what was happening.

“Grymas!” he shouted “Wake up! There’s an earthquake!”

This wasn’t one of those weak earth tremors the Trojans were used to. This was a big one, he could feel it.

He swiftly grabbed his sandals and cloak in the dark and opened his room’s curtain. Everything was shaking badly, they had to get out of the temple now. But Grymas was old and hard of hearing.

“Grymas!” he shouted again, trying to find the high priest’s room in the dark.

“Yes! I’ll be-” answered Grymas’ voice. But the sentence was interrupted by the loudest crack Helenus had ever heard. Instinctively, he jumped back.

A part of the temple had collapsed.

Helenus could feel his heart racing, his temples throbbing. Every instant could be the last one. With a shiver, he wondered whether Hermes’ temple and the royal palace had collapsed, too. The royal palace was far, on another hill, but Hermes’ temple was much closer, right on the other side of the sacred way.

“Grymas!” he shouted again, but no answer came. Another crack came from the sacred area.

He had to get out now. He knew that the temple’s door was too far away, so he ran back to his room. Small pieces of stone kept hitting him and a bigger one missed him and landed with a loud thud on the floor. He started coughing and felt dust in his eyes. Somehow, he reached the window overlooking the terrace and climbed out of it, running to the yard.

As soon as he was far enough from the building, he let himself fall on the ground, coughing hard and trying to wipe the dust from his eyes.

While he tried to catch his breath, he heard another impossibly loud crack and what had been his room collapsed as well.

He was lucky that he hadn’t been asleep…

When the earthquake finally subsided, he stood slowly. His legs were still shaking and he felt a slight pain on his forehead, but for the rest he was unharmed.

Now that his own temple was silent again, he became aware of the shouts and cracks coming from the lower city.

Maybe the earthquake had been strong enough to crack the walls…

In the dim moonlight, he ran to where the temple’s main entrance had used to be. The front wall and door were still in place, but everything else was just debris.

Grymas’ room was hard to reach: Artemis’ temple was perched at the edge of the hill and Grymas’ window overlooked the way down.

Carefully, Helenus stepped on the debris and called Grymas’ name several times.

This was pointless.

There was no way he could locate Grymas in the dark and with so much debris, provided that he was still alive. Feeling miserable, he gave up.

With a lump in his throat, he ran down the hill, heading to Hermes’ temple. Before he went to the royal palace, he wanted to make sure that Aesacus was alive. He stumbled and fell a couple of times in the dark, but he eventually reached the sacred way. He saw many people who ran up to the royal hill.

“Hurry up, we don’t have much time!” a man told to a woman, grabbing her arm and running faster.

The walls must have collapsed, Helenus thought with a shiver. He turned to look at the mighty city doors to his left…

“Helenus! Thank goodness!” yelled Aesacus’ voice.

Feeling immensely relieved, Helenus turned around. Hermes’ priest was breathing heavily but looked otherwise unharmed.

“The northern walls have fallen, the Achaeans are coming. Hermes’ temple is destroyed”

“Artemis’ one as well” Helenus explained.

“Run up to Apollo’s temple as fast as you can… the Achaeans have seen your face, if they find you down here…” Aesacus told him urgently, grabbing his hand.

“And what about you?” asked Helenus.

“I will join you later, I cannot run. Go ahead, quick!”

“I’m not leaving you here, we will go together” protested the prince.

“Helenus, I am… moved… but I am going to slow you. They will recognize you. Run, don’t worry about me” Hermes’ priest pleaded.

“I’m not going anywhere without you. And we are losing time” Helenus argued.

“Very well” said Aesacus, defeated, grabbing his arm and starting to walk. “But if the Achaeans arrive, you leave me where I am and run”

“I am never going to do such an awful thing!” Helenus replied resolutely.

It looked like hundreds of people were heading to Apollo’s temple. Probably, some others had already left the city from the fallen walls before the Achaeans arrived.

The Achaeans were not in sight yet: their camp was not very close to the city and maybe they had been hit by the earthquake too.

Aesacus was quite fit for his age, but after a while he started panting.

“Helenus, you could go faster than this without me, you should really…”

“Don’t even start that” Helenus interrupted him. “Maybe I should carry you, you can barely breathe”.

He kneeled and made Aesacus climb on his back. Thankfully, Hermes’ priest was very thin…

They reached their destination without incidents and Helenus was glad to see that Apollo’s temple was still standing. Glancing over at the royal palace, he could see that a part of it hat collapsed.

At guess, it must be the men’s quarters and part of the garrisons.

His father and Deiphobus had certainly been there. Hector’s son, Astyanax, had probably been there as well – he wasn’t a toddler anymore, so there was no need for him to sleep in the women’s rooms.

Had they managed to escape? Were they still alive under the debris?

And of course – several warriors slept in the garrisons...

They walked into the temple, where many Trojans had already arrived. Cassandra, composed as usual, was taking care of several wounded people.

“You have a cut on your forehead” she told him, handling him a small wet cloth.

He pressed the cloth on his forehead absent-mindedly, looking around. He didn’t see any members of his family.

In the meanwhile, people kept arriving from the lower city. Word reached them that the Achaeans hadn’t arrived yet.

Thankfully, Apollo’s temple was the most important one in Troy and the sacred area was huge. A temple was the only place where the people could hope – just hope- to be safe.

Aesacus started helping Cassandra with the wounded and Helenus decided to venture out of the temple before the Achaeans arrived.

If Deiphobus was alive, he had to be around the palace somewhere. And if he was dead, Helenus would have to decide what to do.

Well, there wasn’t much to decide.

The walls had fallen: even if all the warriors decided to fight to the death, the city would be lost in any case.

He had imagined this moment many times and he had always assumed that he would feel terrified. But now he just felt empty, as if his mind had left his body. Just like on the day of Hector’s death.

He had almost reached the palace when he heard a new sound, a loud cry of victory coming from the lower city. The Achaean had to be in the city.

Defeated, Helenus ran back into the temple, where Cassandra and the other Trojans were reciting a prayer to Apollo.

If Deiphobus was dead, he wasn’t supposed to get himself killed.

Aesacus, with a little girl sitting on his lap, looked at him questioningly.

Helenus shook his head.

“I couldn’t make it. They are arriving”

He felt so strange.

All of it was terrifying – the earthquake that had almost killed him, the Achaeans, the fact that he had no idea where his parents and siblings were – but it didn’t feel real. He couldn’t believe that this was for real.

For a moment, Helenus looked at the door and his heart skipped a beat. A hooded feminine figure was carrying Priam in her arms, and the king was covered with blood. When she called for help, Helenus recognized her voice: it was Helen.

She had to be very strong in order to carry a man like that. But after all, Priam looked so old and thin now…

The prayer was interrupted, forgotten as people cried in shock. Everybody stood and tried to reach for the king at the same time.

“Make way!” shouted Aesacus, and Helen managed to cross the hall. The king seemed to be unconscious and Helenus wondered whether he was already dead. They hurried to his sister’s room.

On Cassandra’s bed, Priam finally opened his eyes. His gaze was unfocused and his voice very feeble. He was able to say just a few words that Helenus couldn’t quite comprehend. Helenus couldn’t say where the blood was coming from but there were lots of it.

He watched as Cassandra unsuccessfully tried to stop the bleeding with her hands, until they were soaked as well.

He didn’t react when Cassandra closed their father’s eyes and stepped aside.

Helen was the first to say something. She started whispering to Cassandra, but Helenus couldn’t concentrate on what she was saying.

Cassandra took their father’s hand and gingerly removed the ring with the wolf, symbol of the kingship. Why was she doing that?

Cassandra handed him the ring and he looked at her with wide eyes. What did she want?

“Deiphobus is dead, Helenus” she stated.

He had no living brothers. And he was the king.

Suddenly, Helenus realized that it all felt very real now.

He wanted to run away.

But Cassandra kept staring at him, the ring resting on her palm where their father’s blood was starting to dry.

Shaking, Helenus took the ring from her hand and put it on his own finger.

He had told Deiphobus that he would do this, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t think of facing the Trojans, let alone the Achaeans. He was going to look ridiculous, he was going to make a mess.

Everybody looked at him expectantly. What did they all want from him now?

Eventually, he understood. He was probably supposed to bring the news of the king’s and Deiphobus’ death to the people gathered in the temple.

“We should… I should… tell them that the king is dead” he whispered, walking out of the room. For a moment, he met Aesacus’ eyes, and Hermes’ priest followed him.

“I cannot do this” he whispered to Aesacus as soon as they were alone. “I cannot“

“Helenus”

“… they all know me, nobody is going to trust me…”

“Helenus” Aesacus repeated calmly. “Of course you can do this. During the last years, you have said many times that you could not do something. But in the end you could do everything. You have won every battle so far. You will win this one as well.”

“I cannot” he pleaded. He felt like there was a heavy stone on his chest.

“Listen to me, dear. Sit down and try to breathe with me, slowly. Exhale slowly. No, don’t try to talk now. Just concentrate on breathing, you can talk later”

It was very hard. Helenus thought that it had never been so hard. But eventually he managed to take a shuddering, long and deep breath.

“I don’t know what I should say. I have never been good at this” he whispered as soon as he managed to talk again.

“Tell them what happened to the king and Deiphobus, and then tell them what you think we should do now. Earlier tonight, you made me do what you wanted and you were quite assertive. You can do it”

“It’s not the same. You are close to me”

“Well, after all I am one of the Trojans, right? So, pretend that you are talking just to me and that the other people aren’t there”

Easier said than done…

Helenus stood.

Well, sooner or later he would have to do this.

OOO

A Stranger in the City – Chapter Sixteen

Work in Progress

A Stranger in the City – Chapter Sixteen

Molossus looked down, not trusting himself to talk.

It was strange to think that his mother, and the man that he now called father, had suffered so much at the hand of his own ancestors.

“It was a huge blow, for us and for the city. Hector was… loved” Helenus went on quietly. “His funeral looked like the very city’s funeral”

Of course there would have been more to say. The way Achilles had dragged Hector’s body behind his chariot, the humiliation his father has faced to get the body back. But it would be unfair to put so much on Molossus’ shoulders. After all, it wasn’t the boy’s fault.

“So… what happened after his death?” asked the younger prince, clearing his throat.

“Shortly after, Achilles was killed by Paris”

“On a duel, too?”

“No. Paris shot him with an arrow and managed to hit Achilles where he wasn’t protected by the armor, on his foot. Achilles died at the Achaean camp, because of the wounds” Helenus explained.

“And was the city happy with just that? I mean, that he died at the camp instead of during the battle?”

“The Trojans would have preferred him to die in battle” Helenus conceded. “Probably, Deiphobus would have challenged him to a duel sooner or later. But Paris saw a chance and he used it”

“And… how were you doing?” asked Molossus, almost shyly.

Helenus was silent for a moment, then he spoke again.

“Until the funeral, I think… I didn’t quite realize that he was dead. Many times, I wondered what Hector would think about something or thought that I should discuss a certain thing with him… and then remembered that it was not possible. There was a sense of… imminent demise, which never left me”

The older man made a strange sound, like a suppressed laugh.

“It is kind of ironic. If Achilles had lived, Andromache would have become his prey, because he had killed Hector. But since he died, your own father inherited his prey, including Andromache. If Hector had been killed by somebody else, if Achilles had lived… we would not sit here today”

“Don’t tell me that!” cried Molossus, suddenly enraged. “Some people already say that I have red hair because I’m the son of bloodshed! Do you think I like hearing that?”

Helenus turned to look at him. His usually stern gaze was placid, almost warm.

“That is a very stupid thing to say to you. Son of bloodshed, like the war was your fault! Utter nonsense. If I hear something of that kind, I will not be lenient”

-O-O-O-

The temple was already closed when someone knocked hurriedly on the front door..

Helenus stood with a sigh, putting aside the basket he was trying to make.

At the doorstep, he was very surprised to see Deiphobus, who looked tired and grim-faced.

“I need to talk to you” said his older brother unceremoniously. Frowning, Helenus led him to the kitchen.

“Paris is dead” Deiphobus said as soon as he was seated.

“What…?” gasped Helenus.

“He was wounded a couple of days ago, by Philoctetes. Those wounds looked horrible, his arms were all swollen, he got a fever… and he died this morning”

Deiphobus sounded quite detached. It was no secret that he and Paris did not get along well and were often openly hostile to each other.

Helenus didn’t know what to say. He had never been close to Paris – he had almost never spoken to him, actually. But the idea that yet another of his siblings had died sent chills down his spine. Would his whole family be exterminated in the end?

“If I die, you will become the heir apparent” Deiphobus added bluntly.

“I am a priest” Helenus replied immeidately.

Well done. His brother suggested that he might die soon and he completely ignored that concern. He was always great at talking to people, wasn’t he?

“You are allowed to leave Artemis’ service. There is no obligation to be a priest forever” answered Deiphobus.

Helenus’ heart was beating wildly. He didn’t want to do that, he couldn’t. Since his youth, he had done everything to avoid being a royal prince.

“I cannot go to war, Deiphobus” he said urgently.

“Then don’t! If I die before the war ends, the city will need a heir apparent, Helenus. Hector’s son is just a child, and I’m sure you know that we don’t have other brothers. Our father is old, the last years have put a huge strain on him and Hector’s death has devastated him. He cannot resist much longer!”

“Aeneas would be more adequate” he tried to reason.

“Aeneas is married to our sister but he’s not a prince. He cannot become the heir apparent while a son of Priam is still alive! It would be a scandal!”

Helenus swallowed.

What was he supposed to do now? He knew that he couldn’t just refuse.

Deiphobus was right: if the king had male descendants, he couldn’t take another man as his heir apparent, not even his son in law. What if Aeneas became king and later Hector’s son claimed the throne?

If Helenus refused, his family would feel betrayed, and quite rightly so.

But the very idea of becoming the heir apparent, and possibly the king, turned his stomach. Oh, he was such a coward!

Besides, the Trojans would never accept his rule. A king who had never been popular, who had never gone to war and who had been in a temple since his puberty! And that while they could have Aeneas!

“I don’t know what to do if you say no. And I have just a couple of other things to worry about” Deiphobus prompted him.

“Very well” said Helenus, defeated.

He felt sick.

“You are assuming that… both you and our father will die. It might not happen at all” he added after a moment.

“Please. The Achaeans know that there’s just the two of us… they try very hard to kill me every time I go to battle, and one day they’ll manage to do it. Anyway, if they don’t kill us, we will become someone’s slaves. All in all, I prefer to die in battle”

Deiphobus had clearly no illusions as to the outcome of the war.

“What should I do… if I really become the king?” Helenus asked.

Deiphobus grimaced.

“You will probably not have a chance to do anything at all. It will be a short kingdom, I daresay. If we can keep fighting, we should; if we cannot, just limit the damage”

That night, Helenus couldn’t sleep.

-O-O-O-

Helenus was working in the vegetable garden when he heard a familiar voice from behind his back.

“Hello”

Surprised, he turned around. Cassandra stood at a short distance, looking intently at him. She looked unperturbed as usual, clad in her white priestly robe, her auburn hair gently teased by the wind.

This was completely unexpected.

He stood, feeling very self-conscious in his working robe, his hands covered with dirt.

“Hello. I apologize for my state…” he replied. She waved her hand noncommittally.

He led her inside the temple and excused himself to freshen up.

Why was she here? She had never visited him before, he had never visited her. They had never met after Hector’s funeral.

Maybe she wanted to tell him something, maybe she came from the royal palace… or maybe she came as a prophetess.

He quickly changed into his priestly robe and went back to her, his heart racing. He found her sitting in the kitchen.

“So… what is the occasion?” he asked cautiously.

“There is no particular occasion. I just wanted to visit” she replied. For a moment, it looked like she wanted to say something more, but then she stayed silent.

This was even more strange.

“Thank you” answered Helenus, unsure of what to say.

Once again, he wondered whether she was really insane. Hector had always insisted that she wasn’t, and he doubted it as well.

Should he use this chance and ask her what was going to happen?

“When…” she began, but immediately shook her head. “If Agamemnon claims me as his prize after the war…”

“What…?” Helenus asked, completely taken aback. Why Agamemnon?

But she went on, ignoring the interruption. “If he claims me as his war prize, you will…” once again, she shook her head. “You should… let him have me. Yes. If he claimed me, then you should let him have me”

He gaped at her. He couldn’t make sense of what she had said, of how she had said it. Maybe she was insane, in the end.

“Why would you think of Agamemnon, of all people? And why are you saying this to me?” he asked in astonishment.

“I said if. I didn’t say that it will happen” she replied curtly. She stood before he could reply.

“See you soon” she whispered, turning around.

He spent quite some time pacing in the kitchen, dumbfounded.

There had been something very odd in her choice of words. She had said if instead of when, should instead of will, she had stressed very much on it.

She had, quite deliberately, avoided making a prophecy.

Then why did he have the impression that he had just heard one?

OOO

A Stranger in the City – Chapter Fifteen

A Stranger in the City – Chapter Fifteen

Hello everyone and thank you for reading and liking. Comments are always welcome if you like.

Warning: in this chapter, I portray Hector’s duel with Achilles, which is a fight to the death. It is not very graphic, though.

OOO

The palace was quiet now. It sounded like everybody else had already gone to bed.

In the dimly lit megaron, Helenus and Molossus were silent again.

Molossus didn’t feel like talking. 

The things Deiphobus had said to his stepfather were very similar to the ones he had said to the older man some years before. Almost the same words.

“Did it get better with the worshippers?” he asked eventually, wishing to change the subject.

“I slowly got used to dealing with them. It never became easy, though, and I never enjoyed it. I got used to keeping anxiety under control, but it was… it is… still there”

“But then… how do you manage to speak at councils and with other kings?” Molossus asked skeptically.

“I have practiced very much, By now, I know that I can do it. But I much prefer not having to do it at all. That is one of the reasons why I have abdicated in your favor so early, although your maturity is questionable to say the very least”

“Thank you so much, this is a very nice thing to say!” the younger prince said loudly. “Another thing which is still there is your terrible attitude!”

Helenus looked up, slightly surprised at Molossus’ vehement reaction. He hadn’t meant it seriously, but his stepson had apparently taken it that way.

Maybe Molossus was self-doubting?

“You take everything seriously, don’t you?” he asked, his voice unperturbed.

Molossus shook his head.

“My bad. I should’ve understood that you were making the first joke of your entire life” he replied sarcastically.

But Helenus looked lost in his thoughts again.

“What is it?” asked Molossus after a while.

“It was just an attempt at dragging it out, because the next part of the tale is… quite hard” his stepfather replied quietly.

“We can stop here if you…” offered the younger prince, but Helenus waved his hand.

“No”

-O-O-O-

When Hector killed Patroclus in battle, Helenus thought that it was just a matter of time before Achilles reacted. So he wasn’t surprised when he heard about the upcoming duel.

He spent a long time wondering whether he should watch the duel or not.

The very thought of a duel made him feel sick. He had never watched a man die, let alone in a violent way, and this was not a random man but his own brother.

A brother whom he was starting to really know and appreciate after they had barely spoken for years. The only brother he got along with and the only one who seemed to like him.

He wasn’t sure that he could stand the sight if Hector died.

But his whole family would be there, his absence would be a scandal. And he couldn’t bear the thought of staying at the temple, not knowing what was going on.

He had to go.

Shortly before the duel, he went to pick up Aesacus at Hermes’ temple.

“Helenus! I thought we would meet on the walls!” the older priest greeted him, slightly surprised.

“I don’t like the idea of you climbing the walls alone at your age” replied Helenus.

“It’s very kind of you. I am an old, creaky man after all” answered Aesacus with a small smile.

He was indeed old, although in very good shape, and Helenus wondered how much longer he would live. The thought of Aesacus dying made him feel even more sick. He tried to dismiss that thought but he knew that it was useless. Whenever he started worrying about a certain thing, the worry would stay with him for a very long time.

And there was plenty of reasons to worry.

The war had already taken many of his brothers: Polydorus, Polites, Kebriones, Troilus, as well as many other Trojan warriors.

Now, besides him, only Hector, Deiphobus and Paris were still alive. But how long would they live?

He had believed that the city was doomed from the moment the Achaeans had attempted their first attack. The Trojans had fought bravely and the city’s defeat was taking more time than the Achaeans expected. But it wasn’t a fair fight.

Defeat was inevitable… and if Hector died it would be quick, too.

Lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed that they had reached the walls.

“Do you wish to stand close to your family?” Aesacus asked, interrupting his musings.

“I’d rather not” he replied flatly. He didn’t want to be sick in front of everybody.

He glanced at his family. His parents looked collected, but he wondered if they could take one more death. They had both aged heavily in the last few years, especially his mother.

Deiphobus and Paris were standing as far as possible from one another. Paris kept glancing at Helen, who had decided to stand at some distance from the rest of the family, too.

He looked around but didn’t see Cassandra anywhere. She had become very reclusive in the previous years and he wondered whether she would show up at all. But eventually she arrived and went to stand on Aesacus’ right side.

Helenus looked at her inquisitively. She was pale and looked calm and very grave. For a moment, he considered questioning her but he was afraid of what she might say.

For a reason he couldn’t understand, her calmness filled him with dread.

Hector and Achilles were now facing each others. The Achaean pushed his spear forward with a wild cry and the duel started.

His brother looked calm and defended himself deftly. Achilles, on the other hand, seemed to be caught up in a savage fury. Helenus hadn’t thought that he could see such a clear desire to hurt, to kill, on a man’s face.

The Achaean was trying non-stop to hit Hector, the arm holding the shield barely moving. Caught in his wrath, Achilles wasn’t thinking about protecting his own body. Hector tried to take advantage of it, but the violence of Achilles’ attacks soon forced him to step back.

At his side, Helenus could hear Aesacus breathe deeply but shakily with his mouth. Swallowing hard, he glanced at Cassandra, on Aesacus’ other side.

Her expression had not changed. How could she be so collected, she of all people? She and Hector had always been close.

She had to know how the duel was going to end.

Helenus felt suddenly certain that Hector would die.

Now he didn’t have to wonder how it would end, because he knew.

An eerie quietness filled him. He kept watching the duel almost placidly until Achilles’ spear hit Hector’s neck.

The reality of it suddenly struck him and he leaned on the wall, feeling dizzy. He closed his eyes, not daring to look at his brother.

When he heard a shout of joy from the Achaeans, he knew that it was over.

He inhaled deeply and finally opened his eyes, looking at his brother’s body on the ground, blood still dropping from the wound.

He took a step back, grabbing Aesacus’ arm. He wanted to run away until he wouldn’t hear the Achaeans rejoicing anymore. But he had to go to his family first.

His family was devastated. Beside the pain, Helenus could see the hopelessness in their eyes. Hector’s death was like a sign, the sign that the city was going to die with him. And maybe Hector’s siblings, parents, child… would die with him too.

Helenus was relieved when Aesacus led him and Cassandra away and they all went to Hermes’ temple.

Memories of the time he had spent with Hector started filling his mind. The times when he had snapped or yelled at Hector, when he had yelled back… but also that day when they had gone swimming together, a very few personal conversations…

They should have been closer. Helenus should have tried harder, he should have visited more often… he had always wanted to be closer to Hector but he had never dared…

Helenus couldn’t say how long they sat in the temple’s kitchen in complete silence. Hermes’ priest looked shaken but composed, Cassandra was still like a statue, not betraying any emotion.

The last time the three of them had been here together, Cassandra had been chatting and joking with Aesacus, which had annoyed Helenus to no end. How he wished that they could go back to the days before the war, although they hadn’t really been happy for him…

“I should go back to my temple” Cassandra said suddenly in a shrill voice that, Helenus thought, didn’t sound like her one.

“I will accompany you” he said, standing. She didn’t look like she could make it back on her own.

“It’s not necessary” she replied, but Aesacus interrupted her.

“Helenus is right, dear. You are very pale. What if you have a crisis on the way?”

“Very well” she replied flatly.

They walked up to Apollo’s temple in silence.

His sister was now very different from the person she had once been. It occurred to him that, apart from the night in Apollo’s temple when they had been newborns, he had never been alone with her before.

He wondered whether she was really insane, like some people in the city used to say, or whether she just possessed Apollo’s gift.

Well, he hardly believed that prophecy was a gift. Anyway, it was the kind of gift he was glad not to have received.

For a moment, he felt oddly glad that the Huntress was not speaking to him.

He wanted to ask her whether she had really known or just feared. But it wouldn’t make any difference now.

In front of the temple, they looked at each other for some time, then she said “thank you”.

“You are welcome” he replied, and turned around.

OOO

A Stranger in the City – Chapter Fourteen

A Stranger in the City – Chapter Fourteen

Helenus was silent, seemingly lost in his memories.

“Did something change after that meeting?” asked Molossus after some time.

“Yes” his stepfather replied promptly. “We were never really close, we never went very personal, but we got along well. On occasion, I visited him at the royal palace and sometimes he visited me at the temple when he was in the lower town”

Helenus hesitated for a moment, then added “when my health improved, we even went swimming, like he had proposed so many times during my childhood”

“Now I have to ask: who swam faster?” questioned Molossus, wondering whether his was pushing his luck.

For a moment, Helenus looked like he was trying hard not to smile.

“As a matter of fact, I did”

“Mph, hardly surprising” the younger prince muttered. “You are about thirty years older than I am and you swim faster than I do. It’s embarrassing sometimes”

“It’s just practice. You only go for a swim once in a while” Helenus replied calmly.

Was his stepfather making excuses for him now?

Molossus found it funny, but he didn’t dare to point it out.

“What about the rest of your family? Did it get better with them, too?” he asked instead.

Helenus sighed.

“I had never been close to my parents and it did not change. I greeted them when I visited Hector at the palace, but that was it. With Deiphobus, at some point there was less animosity. But we never really got along well, we were way too different to understand each other”

“…and Cassandra?”

“Sometimes I saw her in the lower city and we… were more civil than we had been during our childhood. But there was nothing more. She always seemed to be… in a world of her own. It looked like things could not really touch her” replied Helenus, with a frown.

“And… how was the rest of your life going?”

-O-O-O-

It was a windy morning in the middle of the autumn. Several months had passed since that first conversation with Aesacus.

Helenus watched the city from the temple’s terrace, wondering whether he should talk to Grymas.

He wasn’t ready for this. It was too early. Maybe he should wait another month.

But he had said the very same thing the previous month. And the month before. He had to make up his mind, point!

With a sigh, he turned around and went to look for Grymas. He found the high priest sitting in the kitchen.

“I have to talk to you” Helenus said unceremoniously. The older priest looked at him with mild surprise but gestured for him to go on.

And what if Grymas said no? It would be a terrible humiliation.

“I have a request” said Helenus, trying to keep his voice steady.

“Yes?”

“Some years ago, you told me that I should… take care of the worshippers who had very simple requests, and leave the others to you”

He had said it with some difficulty and he could feel that he was blushing. Grymas said nothing and just looked at him.

“I was wondering whether I could make another attempt… with the worshippers” Helenus went on. His mouth felt very dry. “I am older now, and I think… I could do better than I did years ago. That… was it”

Grymas kept silently looking at him and Helenus started to fear that the older priest would say no.

“It’s probably a good idea” said Grymas instead “I am getting old, I will need more help in the future. So tomorrow you’ll be in charge”

“Thank you”.

Helenus went to his room, cursing himself.

Why had he done this? He should’ve waited another month. He wasn’t ready, he was never going to be ready. He would make a fool of himself again.

Well, maybe he was being too pessimistic. He had worked very hard on himself lately maybe he could do this.

During the previous months, his health had improved significantly.

His appetite was often poor, but he ate properly and he had gained some weight. He still spent way too much time rolling over and worrying in his bed, but he slept sufficiently.

The spring had brought lots of work to do in the vegetable garden. He hadn’t really enjoyed it as he used to, but it had been beneficial nonetheless. The physical exertion, the warmer weather, the knowledge that those plants would grow under his care… it had all helped.

And during the summer he had started swimming again.

At first, he only did it because he had promised Aesacus that he would give it a try. It was just a chore, like making bread or sweeping the temple’s floor. He would do it once and then call it quits.

The first time he went swimming, he felt exhausted after only a few strokes and had to stop pretty soon. It almost made him cry – he had once been a very decent swimmer…

But that evening he was hungry like he hadn’t been in years. In bed, he fell asleep almost immediately. He decided that he would go swimming again.

After the first sessions, brief as they were, his whole body felt sore. But with every new session, his body seemed to grow stronger. He could breathe more deeply and more slowly, his muscles grew more powerful.

His self-control was also improving. He didn’t yell at people for no reason, he didn’t break down every time he felt sad or frustrated.

Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

There were days when he felt helpless and needed all of his willpower to go on with his day. There were days when he felt worthless and awful and he just wanted to be left alone. And the feeling that he was just a guest in Artemis’ temple -and not her priest- never failed to make him feel worthless.

Now Grymas had agreed to let him try again with the worshippers. What if he screwed up? He had talked about it at length with Aesacus. Hermes’ priest had tried to teach him how to deal with his fear, he had practiced a lot… but it felt so useless now!

When he opened the temple on the following day, he felt terrified.

And the first worshipper of the day turned out to be Aeneas, who wished to consecrate a new bow. Consecrating a bow for someone who had witnessed his whole, disastrous military training! Joy of joys.

Aeneas was clearly surprised to see Helenus instead of Grymas, but he said nothing.

Now he had to try, he had at least to try. He had to recite a prayer, and he knew the prayer by heart. He had repeated it without making mistakes, less than a month before.

He had to breathe slowly, focus on the bow in his hands. He had to imagine that Aeneas wasn’t there and that he was just practicing with prayers. He could remember them alright when he was alone.

The words came out of his mouth and they were right. He was doing it right, he knew this prayer by heart.

He was done, he had remembered everything.

Trying to look unfazed, he gave the bow back to Aeneas with a nod. His heart was racing.

Later, some pregnant women and a few other worshippers showed up. Helenus felt terrified for the whole morning, but he managed to take care of their requests.

He felt immensely relieved when the temple closed after midday.

He had done better than he had anticipated but he really disliked talking. He was probably never going to like it. And there were people who felt comfortable with this.

“You’re right, you have improved” told him Grymas later that day. “From now on, you can take care of some more worshippers… especially the foreign ones, you’re better than me at foreign languages anyway”

For Helenus, it was quite an ordeal. But at least now he could do it, although he felt tense and uncomfortable.

One day, his brother Deiphobus came with an offer for the Huntress. Helenus struggled more than usual to keep calm while reciting the prayer: Deiphobus brought back some quite unpleasant memories. Eventually he managed to perform the ritual, although his heart was beating so wildly that Helenus could barely breathe.

When Deiphobus started to walk away, Helenus felt that he had something to tell his older brother.

“Wait”

Deiphobus turned around and looked at him questioningly.

“I was never haughty. I just kept to myself” Helenus said without preamble.

Deiphobus rolled his eyes.

“Why do you say it just now instead of when you were a boy?”

Helenus stayed silent. What was he supposed to say?

“We constantly tried to be nice to you, all of us. I tried to cheer you up after you first Ares’ games, to tell you hey, it’s no big deal” Deiphobus went on.

Helenus grimaced at that memory.

“But it was a big deal. It was a disaster. I knew it and you knew it, too. And I don’t like it when people think they can play with me” he retorted, trying not to sound as annoyed as he felt.

Deiphobus stared at him.

“Play… that was not the point, I was trying to be nice! Besides, you have a mouth to speak! At least once, you could’ve said something like thanks but I don’t want to talk, thanks but I want to be alone now or even don’t lie to me, I made a mess. At least once. Instead, you came off as dismissive, sullen and utterly obnoxious”

That hurt. He didn’t need to be reminded that people couldn’t stand him.

“I didn’t know what to say. That’s kind of the point of keeping to oneself” Helenus replied quietly.

Deiphobus was silent for a while. Then he spoke again.

“By the way, sorry for the whipping joke at Hector’s wedding. I wasn’t aware of the implication. Which brings me back to my point: if you want people to know something, maybe you should try telling them!”

He wanted to point out that he was doing exactly that right now. He was telling Deiphobus that he was shy.

But Deiphobus was making him feel uncomfortable and he had already opened up more than he liked to.

“I know” he said curtly.

“Well, anyway… better late than never” grumbled Deiphobus, walking away.

OOO

/A Stranger in the City – Chapter Thirteen