Achilles&Briseis: A Novel

Chapter 3

This one was clearly old. Though the ceiling was retracted Briseis spotted some holes in its canvas and she bet that meant some of the poles also needed replacing. In the center of the room a couch sat alongside a stool and table with several vials.

"I sharpened the rose thorns myself. Andrion used room for storage. I've been so busy running the household that it's the first time I've had the leisure to make a space my own. When I saw how well this room would work for tattooing I knew I had to use it." Lavda wore a serene expression. Motherhood had been always been Lavda's dream, and though she found it rewarding and fulfilling it came at the sacrifice of her hobbies. Briseis often lended an ear to her friend as she lamented her lack of time for tattooing or even drawing.

"Let's put it to good use," Briseis said excitedly. Lavda had been tattooing Briseis since they were children. She was the finest artist on skin or anything else Briseis had ever met. Lavda tattooed herself and all the handmaidens in Briseis' household who wished to mark their skin.

The largest tattoo Briseis had was a lemon tree under a partially eclipsed sun. The tattoo took up almost her entire back. It had taken a year to finish as time only allowed Lavda to work on it a few hours a day. Geometric shapes and swirling lines decorated Briseis' left arm and hand. All Briseis' tattoos had one thing in common–they were in shades of black and grey. Some of the vials on the desk were colored ink. Blue, red, yellow, and the smallest vial even had purple, which was the rarest color to even find in clothing and therefore outrageously expensive.

"Did you make these?" Briseis picked up the blue vial and held the ink bottle to the light.

"No. I found a girl in the market place that did. Her name is Heavna; she's the daughter of a blacksmith and longs to make a living marking the skin." Lavda sat on the couch and pulled up her dress to expose her thigh. A black boat sat in blue waters with a yellow sun shining above it. The boat had one purple sail and that portion of the tattoo was clearly the newest as Briseis could see it hadn't fully healed. "Her work is exceptional and the color stays well."

"She did the whole picture?" Briseis asked.

"She did. I remember you told me last time you visited you wanted another source of income. I've been waiting to show you until my tattoo was nearly healed so you could have a better sense of the girl's skills."

"You think I should back her enterprise with gold?" Briseis cocked an eyebrow.

"I do. Pedasus is a kingdom where tattooing is very popular and people come from miles around to ink their skin here instead of their homes. Though Pedasus has an esteemed reputation inking the skin, none are color tattoos. Even if the majority of tattoos Heavna gives are black and grey you could still charge sizable sums for the quality of her work."

"Yes." Briseis' mind was already reeling with possibilities. Of course to make this investment worth it would require more than one person inking skin but she would think on that later.

"Do you want to start a tattoo in color today?"  Lavda asked her.

"I do," Briseis said eagerly. "I want the face of a lion."

"You've been dreaming again," Lavda said curiously as she prepared her tools. "Where do you want me to put it?"

"Here," Briseis sat on the couch and pulled up her dress, "on my thigh." Briseis watched as Lavda dipped a long rose thorn in wine to cleanse it. 

"I'll outline the lion and its features in black and then color it in with the yellow. Heavna is even working on getting brown. Maybe by the time I get to coloring the mane she'll have it done and you'll have one just like in the dream."

Briseis nodded in agreement to her friend's plan. "I'm thinking of consulting Apollo for the meaning behind it." 

Lavda snorted. "The priests haven't inspired much confidence lately. There are grumblings in the streets of the inaccuracy of their predictions the last few years."

"A certain amount of inaccuracies have always colored their predictions. Their dream interpretations are usually much better," Briseis said.

Lavda dipped the thorn in black ink and took up a piece of cloth in her other hand. She leaned over Briseis' leg and made the first prick into the princess' skin. Briseis barely even noticed the small amount of pain it caused anymore. Even with the repeated pricks it didn't bother her.

"Tell me again about the dream," Lavda requested as she wiped excess ink away from Briseis' skin.

"I'm walking through a field. It's not Pedasus. I don't know where it is. A large lion sits upon a rock in the center of the field. It has bright yellow fur and a dark brown mane. I know it sounds ridiculous but something about the way the lion holds itself reminds me of a king. It turns to look at me and it has glowing eyes; like my eyes. A voice whispers my name, it's a man's voice but it's one I've never heard before. He says, 'I'm coming' and then I wake. I've had the dream every night for nearly two months. It has to mean something." 

Lavda clicked her tongue. "I can't tell you that it means anything but I do admit I've never dreamt like that. I barely dream at all."

"At least you're not tormented by these questions."

"Briseis." Lavda paused in her work. "There's something else I need to tell you." There was a note of worry in her friend's voice.

Briseis placed her hand in top of Lavda's. "What is it?"

"I'm pregnant."

Alarm shot through Briseis. "It's too soon! You only lost the last babe two months ago!"

"I know," Lavda sighed. "It was an accident a moment of passion between Andrion and me. In a match for love it isn't easy to resist. It's not Andrion's fault."

Briseis snorted. "Your love for your husband does you credit I suppose but I urge you to think of your health, Lavda. Andrion already has heirs from his first wife and one from you. You're under no pressure to give him more." 

"Don't be angry, Briseis."

"I'm not angry. I'm worried. Three miscarriages in two years is too much. I'm going to send my physicians to look over you. Don't deny me that, please."

"If it will make you happy then do so. If it's a girl I want to name her Briseis."

Briseis eyes filled with tears. "I would be honored."