Amaj’s walls were dark and quiet, the starry darkness broken by the occasional torch. Achilles sneered at that. Amaj had grown lax in its power. He was alone in the dark, his army still several days back.
Achilles had resigned himself to war, but he wanted to try one more thing before surrendering to its necessity. He wanted to see if he could steal Helena from the very cradle of their enemies.
Black cloth covered every hint of his body, melding him with the moonless night. He crept forward carefully, slowly so as not to alert the careless sentries. It only took a few minutes, and he was there, leaning against the massive wall. He craned his neck back, taking a second to admire the wall. It was nearly forty feet tall, and unlike Mystria, it enveloped the entire city of Amaj. Still, its tough stone composition made it possible to climb, if only.
With a deliberate movement, Achilles reached out and grasped one of the stones that composed it, and after giving it a tug to check if it was stable, hoisted himself up. He did the same with his other hand, then his foot, then his other foot. Soon he was scaling the wall like a monkey, moving so fast it was like he was casually strolling up it. Finally, he reached the top, and after taking a moment to check it was clear, he rolled over that parapet and onto the long walkway.
He risked a glance over the other side, finally getting a glimpse of Amaj proper. Most of the city was shrouded in darkness, but on structure stood out, illuminated by an absurd amount of torches. The royal palace loomed tall, with elegantly twisted spires and an open-columns construction. It was composed of layers upon layers, giving it a slightly pyramidal air.
That was his goal.
Achilles cursed under his breath upon hearing the sleepy footsteps of another guard heading his way. After a quick glance to make sure he was clear, he silently rolled off the inner parapet, and fell forty feet to land in a crouch. He winced. That had hurt even him.
Then he was off, quietly running through the streets in the direction of the palace, nothing more than a black blur in the night. As he ran, he found himself idly wondering how Helena would react upon seeing him. Would she rejoice? Would she be mad at him for risking himself? Would she stay? Would she come with him? Questions swirled in his mind, and it was only upon taking a wrong turn that he dragged himself out of his daydreams and reminded himself that he had to find her first.
A few minutes later he arrived at the fabled palace of Amaj, a wonder of stacked layers and twisting spires, lit by flickering torchlight. The guards here were much more alert, but they still couldn't stop Achilles. He quickly found a servant's passage and waited at it till a servant emerged. He then knocked out the man and stole his clothes.
In the servant's clothes, he quietly made his way through the halls, head down, following the smell of roasting meat. The halls were a confusing mess of dead ends and turns, decorated in lavish tapestries and art. Achilles' heart bled for their fate, especially if he failed to rescue Helena without war, but he no longer cared as much.
He had a greater purpose now.
Finally, he arrived at the kitchen, which even at this hour was bustling with servants and cooks. A few minutes of observation showed servants simply going up to the cooks and asking for food, which they then put on a silver tray and whisked away.
Achilles, heart pounding, decided it was time, and went up to one of the cooks.
“Hello ma'am, Lady Helena has requested a lentil soup.”
She, a heavyset woman, with streaks of gray in her black hair, looked at him suspiciously. “Are you new here? I’ve never seen you before.”
“Yes I am.” Achilles replied, trying to sound as confident as he could. “I was hired yesterday.”
She looked at him suspiciously for another second, then, abruptly her face softened. “Right, I’m sorry. It's just been a tense few weeks. Thank you for bringing the soup to Lady Helena. Lord knows that poor girl needs it.”
She turned and fetched the soup, placing it on his outstretched tray.
“One more thing” he asked before she could turn away. “How do I get to Lady Helena’s apartment? The halls are still confusing to me.”
She laughed. “They’re confusing to everyone, boy.” Then she rattled off a list of directions Achilles hoped he would remember. He thanked her and set off.
Stolen novel; please report.
The halls were confusing as ever, even with the cooks directions, but he eventually found himself in front of a door, thankfully unguarded, and with a moment of hesitation, knocked.
There was a moment of silence. Then a “enter” reached his ears.
He froze. It was her voice.
With a deep breath, he pushed open the door, finding himself in a small sitting room.
“Leave it on the table, please.”
He set the soup down, taking in the room. It seemed that Hector had spared her no comfort. Finally, he could distract himself no more.
“Helena?” he called softly.
Silence, then the sound of something dropping to the ground.
“Achilles?” she whispered.
“Helena, it's me. I just-”
He was interrupted as her form burst out of the bedroom doorway, hitting him so hard he had to call upon his invincibility to stay on his feet. She buried her face in his chest, her curly black hair brushing the underside of his chin. He realized she was shaking softly.
He drew back, tilted her chin up to bring her tear stained eyes to his. “It's ok, I'm here.”
She let out another tear stained sob and surged back into his arms with new ferocity. Gently, he swept her off her feet and carried her into the bedroom, laying her on the bed, and laying beside her when she refused to let go. It was a soft bed.
Finally, after what felt like hours of crying, she finally calmed enough to remove her face from his chest and meet his eyes. “I love you. I…I didn’t realize till you were gone, but I love you. And… and I'm sorry about your man. I didn't want him to die. And… and Hector is so much worse than I thought. I thought I could do this but… but I don't know!” She was breathing hard at the end, and Achilles quickly reached out to stroke her hair. She melted into his touch, calming, and relaxing.
“That’s why I’m here, my love. To help you escape.”
She looked at him with hope in her eyes, before she seemed to remember something and the hope shriveled and died.
“I can't,” she said hopelessly, “They have my sisters, to be married off to other princes, and to be used against me. If I leave, they’ll kill them. And… they need to be stopped. Achilles you must stop them, or a tide of violence like nothing we’ve ever seen before will sweep over the land.”
He was silent for a minute, gently stroking her hair. “Ok.”
“Ok?”
“Ok. I have my army with me. They won’t be long for this world.”
“But war… you hate war. I… I-”
“I do hate war. But… I’ve realized that my avoidance stemmed from a desire to withdraw further. To give up that last of the dreamers and embrace the meaningless of it all. There are worse fates in this world than war.” he smiled at her. “Like living without love. Like surviving without living. I am just now seeing that that is what defined the earlier ages. Not an aversion to war, but a realization of what truly matters. They fought for what they believed in, just in a… different way. If I am to do the same, to bring the glory of bygone eras to this one, I must do the same.” he leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead. “Fight for what I believe in.”
She smiled as he finished, a bit of her composure returning. “Pretty deep thoughts for a simple soldier.”
He snorted, noting for the first time that she was wearing nothing but a thin nightgown that left little to imagination.
She smirked as she followed his gaze. “Like what you see?” she purred.
He quickly averted his gaze, blushing as he did so. “Anyways, the important part is that I am willing to fight, and so are my men. Since I can't bring you out tonight, we will begin our assault tomorrow.”
She smiled and planted a kiss on his lips, then withdrew and sighed. “What did I ever do to deserve a man like you?”
He reached out and tilted her chin up. “You were honest, and that honesty awakened a part of me I had thought long dead. You make me better, and you make me stronger. You give me a reason to fight, and you fight on my behalf. I love you, Helena of Ryiah, and I always will.”
She was bright red by the end of the pronouncement, but she managed the words to reply in turn. “And I love you because of the dreamer inside of you. The hope that dares what no one else will. The will that lets you stand steadfast against the weight of the world itself. I love you because you see things others don't, and you dare to tread where others won't. I love you Achilles of Mystria, and I always will.”
They smiled at each other softly for a few minutes, just soaking in the pleasure of each other's company. Then, with a sigh, Achilles began to get up.
Helena cried out. “Where are you going?”
“The longer I stay, my love, the more likely we get caught. I must go now.”
She slid out of bed and hugged him fiercely. He hugged her back, just as fiercely. Until he felt her hand wandering where it shouldn't go. He cried out and tried to pull back, only to find her grip iron. He looked down to see her smirking up at him, her violet eyes glittering with amusement.
“Surely you have a few minutes?”
Before he even realized what had happened, he had crushed her to the nearest wall and was kissing her with a passion she returned just as fiercely.
He didn't leave for a while.