Alexis of Troy (Book I)

λδ′ - Trianda Tessera

Achilles.

He may be young, but he was strong.

"Let me go!"

"I already said you weren't going anywhere. What is it about being a prisoner that you do not understand?"

Achilles stopped next to a chariot and set me down with surprising gentleness, while his look was like a dagger. I tried to kick him, but he caught my leg and squeezed. I winced and fought harder. "Don't fight. I don't want to hurt you."

"Yeah, well, screw you," I snarled, "I don't want to be a prisoner."

I lashed out again. He sighed as if he was dealing with a difficult child and grabbed my hands. He bound my wrists with a rough, thick rope that dug in and chafed my skin. "You're not going to get out of this, so stop resisting. It'll make it easier in the long run."

"What does that mean?" I demanded, straining against the ropes. I was beyond scared— like pee myself scared—but I refused to let him see that. I had no idea where my boldness was coming from, but I wasn't going to back down without a fight. "Are you going to make me a slave? Your concubine? I got news for you, I'm no one's property, and I'm sure as hell I won't be yours." I leaned in and gave him my fiercest glare, even though I was that close to throwing up. "I'm not afraid of you, and Paris will come and find me."

His lips quirked in genuine amusement. "I thought you said you weren't anyone's property?"

"Not because I'm his property," I threw my hands up in exasperation. "If he finds out that you're holding me against my will, he will come and find me. And when he does, you'll be sorry."

I knew the stories about Paris, and I'd seen the way he fought against his brother. The shepherd prince was hardly warrior material, but he also put himself between me and a giant monster. Cowardly or not, Paris did care for me. I was hoping that I came off as a weak woman who needed a man to save her. If Achilles dropped his guard around me, then maybe there would be another opportunity to escape.

"Let him come," Achilles shrugged, "but he'll have to go through me to get you, and I don't know if you've heard, but I'm unbeatable."

"Oh, yeah, totally unbeatable," I said with an eye roll. "I happen to know that's false." My eyes dropped to his feet. "Isn't that right?"

Achilles' eyes narrowed, and as he reached for me, someone's voice rang through the evening air.

"Achilles Pelides!"

The hero winced as he turned to face the man who rushed towards us. He was dressed in simple clothes and carried a scroll.

"I just docked, and we're heading for Phthia. Can this not wait?" Achilles demanded, to which the young man bowed his head.

"I apologize, young prince, but this message is from Anax Agamemnon. He insisted on presenting it to you immediately upon your arrival."

"Don't call me that," Achilles snapped, snatching the scroll from the messenger's hand. "Tell Agamemnon, I'm going home. I don't answer to him."

"But—"

Achilles was already dragging me off the back of the wagon and to the front, ignoring the messenger altogether. If looks could kill.

"Shouldn't you talk to the king?" I asked as he helped me into the chariot. It was a fine vehicle with gold trim, and running horses carved into the wood. The wheels were thick and waist high, polished and smooth. Two horses pawed at the ground, waiting impatiently to move. "Isn't it like, punishable by death or something if you ignore him?"

"He doesn't rule me, no matter what he believes."

Achilles climbed into the chariot behind me. I smelled his scent of leather, sweat and the sea. He was so close that I felt his armoured torso against my back, his strong, sinewy arms pressing around me as he reached for the reins.

"Shouldn't you wait for your men?" I tried to glance back at the boat, but it was hard to do on a horse with my hands restrained and a giant seated behind me.

"You ask a lot of questions," he sighed. "I have matters to attend to. They can handle the boat just fine."

"Sure, whatever you say, Your High—" I yelped as the chariot jolted into motion.

If it weren't for his arms on either side of me, I'm sure I would have lost my balance. Riding a chariot was strange. I'd never learned how to ride a skateboard. That was the closest thing I could come up with to describe a chariot ride. There was a fine metal railing I reached for as Achilles drove the chariot along the edge of the port town. After a moment, it dawned on me that the rumbling along my back was not the chariot itself, but Achilles laughing. The greatest, strongest Greek hero in all the ancient world was laughing at me. I was more surprised than embarrassed. I didn't think Achilles was capable of laughter.

Time was a strange thing here. I had no idea what time it really was, save for a guess using the sun's position. I tried to count how long we rode but lost track after five hundred seconds. Thankfully, Achilles wasn't much of a talker, so I used this time to try and map out where we were heading.

I think we were about an hour away from the port city when I noticed it in the distance. A giant silhouetted peak against the satiny blue sky. Stars surrounded it like it was centre stage. It reached so high it touched the sky. It looked like a normal mountain, but I knew instantly it was far from normal.

"Is that Mount Olympus?" I asked. I hadn't really been speaking to Achilles, but he answered anyway.

"Not exactly," he said. "There is a belief that that mountain may lead to the Olympians home but no one can say for certain."

My chest swelled. It was right there, within reach. I was a lot closer to Mount Olympus than I'd anticipated.

"You have to take me there," I said, craning my neck to look at him. "Please, it's important that I go there."

He ignored me, so I started squirming. I strained my wrists against the rope, feeling my skin start to chafe. Already the mountain was falling behind, getting smaller and smaller. "You need to take me there. I need to get home, and that's the only way."

The horse stopped so suddenly that I lost my balance and tilted into his arm. He caught me in the knick of time and, even though it was dark and the scenery played with my vision, I could practically see the vein pulsing irritably in his forehead. He grabbed my arm as he pulled me off the horse.

"If you want to go, fine, go." He leaned in close so I could see the warning in his eyes. "But, if you go out there on your own, there are wild animals and beasts that are looking for an easy meal. Or, if you survive those, some bandits would love to take advantage of a young woman all by herself. You may be disappointed to discover that the mountain doesn't lead to Mount Olympus so what then?" His hand tightened around my arm. "You're annoying, but you seem smart. Your odds are better with me than out there, whether you like it or not."

As if to prove his point, a wolf howled.

I shuddered. The worst part was that he was right. I was a city girl from the twenty-first century. I didn't know the first thing about surviving in the wilderness. It might be easy enough to follow the mountain, but the damn hero was right. I couldn't go wandering off into the woods and hope that I'd make it out alright. At least with Achilles, I knew I was safe. No one would dare mess with him unless they had a death warrant.

There was another part of me that didn't want to leave for Mount Olympus just yet. I still didn't know if Paris was alive and safe. And, let's be honest, I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye.

"Fine," I relented. "I'll go with you... but please, I need to know if the Trojan princes are alright. Can you find that out?"

Achilles shook his head, but he took my words as compliance. He placed me in the chariot once more before climbing in. "They should be the least of your concerns right now, Alexis."

My blood raced up to my cheeks as we took off towards Thessaly. Soon Mount Olympus—if it was Olympus—was completely behind us, and I felt utterly helpless and angry. Angry at Aphrodite for suddenly vanishing and leaving me alone in Achilles' hands. And so helpless because I didn't know where Paris was, where I was, or how I was going to get home.

But, those were the least of my concerns. The biggest one was standing right behind me, leading me to an unknown fate. 

To Be Continued...