A Stranger in the City – Prologue

The large megaron was cold and the man sitting there moved closer to the fireplace, shivering ever so slightly.

He was a lanky man in his late forties, whose wavy, dark hair was starting to gray. 

With his fingers interlocked on his lap, he seemed to be waiting for something.

“Did you summon me, Father?” a voice boomed in the megaron.

A young and sturdy man in his late teens stood in the doorway.

“Yes, Molossus.” the older man replied without turning “Sit”.

Molossus complied, a little uneasily. His stepfather wasn’t much of a talker: if he had been summoned, there was likely trouble ahead.

“You have been nagging me for years to make me tell you about my past life. So there we go” his stepfather began.

Molossus gaped at him. “Are you serious? Every time I ask you, you tell me to give it a rest!”

“Still, you keep asking, so apparently you don’t quite understand what ‘give it a rest’ means” the older man huffed “So we’d better get this over with”

“I appreciate this. Sometimes I think I know nothing about you” replied Molossus.

“Please, you know plenty of things about me”

“Right, let me list them: your name is Helenus, you are Trojan, my mother’s first husband was your brother. And that’s all I know. Doesn’t sound like plenty of things to me” objected the younger man.

Helenus shot him a stern look: “Hmph, you always make such a big deal. And you are supposed to ascend the throne tomorrow” he shook his head.

“Will you start telling me about yourself or will you just keep scolding me for the whole evening?” Molossus asked impatiently.

He knew that it was reckless: it was never a good idea to sting his stepfather.

But Helenus stayed surprisingly calm.

“I would start talking if you managed to stay silent for a moment”

A Stranger in the City – Chapter One