Not of this Time

Chapter 34

"Diana, if this is the path you chose, to fight and defend you and your son I have nothing against that but why not accept Hector's offer? You and he obviously still have something." Meg says as she and I walk through the market.

"I have thought about it Meg, I feel bad though, it feels like I would be using Hector yet something about him makes me never want to leave the palace." I tell her with a sigh as we look at one of the stands, just as I went to grab my coin purse I felt someone cut it from my hand.

Turning around and following the culprit I ran as hard as I could to keep up with them. Whoever they were they seemed to be very fast and I was close to running out of breath but then took a vase from a nearby stand and threw it right at the person. My aim was still good because it hit them right in the back of the head making them tumble to the ground. Meg winded finally caught up to me and we went to the thief and with a blade I now always carried on me I knelt down and took of their hood to reveal a beautiful woman, just my luck.

"What do you think you are doing?" I question her as I bring the blade up and put it right at her neck.

"Di, she probably needed it for food or something. Maybe to even feed her children don't kill her." Meg says putting her arm on my shoulder.

"Release her." A firm male voice that is unfortunately familiar to my ears calls out to me.

Looking up I see Achilles standing nearby with a smile on his face and a half eaten apple in hand. Anger and pain overwhelmed me. Keeping my head I blink and look down to the woman and disobey my ex husbands orders locking my arm around her neck and making her face Achilles who face now goes to shock at my suddenness.

"Diana, you wouldn't harm a fly let alone kill a woman." Achilles chuckles as he takes a bite of the apple clearly unworried.

Knowing this woman's death wouldn't do me any good though I do release her and push her right into Achilles arms. No doubt she was one of his women of the night, out to get whatever prize they could when the spoils of war had ran out.

"Take your whore and leave." I tell Achilles as I turn around and begin to walk.

"Already gone running to Hector I see, even taken my son to your new lover. Did you think I would not come for him?" Achilles says pushing past the woman and grabbing my forearm to turn me around to face him.

"Your letter said you could not be a father, so take this as your gods telling you to back off and go back to your wars and whores." I tell him as I pull my arm away from his grasp. "I should have never chosen you, Hector was a better man for me than you. To think he could have been Alec's father and this kingdom would have a true heir instead I was foolish and married you. A man who only looks out for himself and what his name will mean after his death. Well allow me to tell you what it will mean, it will be the name of a man whose weakness was his ankles."

My harsh words take little time to register with Achilles before guards suddenly appear and Paris right along with them, no doubt that everyone had just heard our discussion. Coming to my side Paris looked between Achilles and I and seemed to understand what was going on.

"Come Diana, let him make a fool of himself not you." Paris says as he takes my hand.

"Oh both brothers now is it, and you say I am the fool." Achilles laughs and I look back to him.

"No, I am the fool for ever thinking you could be selfless, instead you will always be prideful and that will be your down fall.'' I tell Achilles as I grasp Paris hand and we begin to make our way back to the palace but Achilles follows us.

"I want to see my son!" Achilles yells out to me as we reach the gates of the palace.

"He doesn't want to see you." Hector's voice rings aloud and clear as he pulls Paris and I inside the palace walls. "He doesn't think of you the same way anymore Achilles, he knows how badly you hurt his mother. He wants nothing to do with you."

"He's my son Hector, get your own!" Achilles yells and thrashes against the gates.

Closing my eyes I shake my head in embarrassment not only for myself and Achilles but for my son and Hector's family as well. Why didn't Achilles just stay away? He had released me from our vows and said that he couldn't be a father to our son, so why did he suddenly show up here and demand to see Alec?

"Leave Achilles, you'd hate to be branded a fool." I warn Achilles who narrows his eyes at me. "Go to the women you claim, I am no longer yours and neither is Alec, you made your bed now sleep in it."

"I will get to him Diana! You have no way to keep me away!"

"I'll kill you if you ever dare come near him." I threaten Achilles who not even a moment later is taken away from the gates by the guards.

"Double the guards, Achilles is not a fool and until he decides he can't get what he wants he will try anything and everything to get to either Diana and Alec." Hector said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and led me further into the palace.

Well things just seem to be more complicated by the moment and no matter what I tried to do to make sense of it, nothing seemed to work. Achilles is the one that released me, not I. This was his decision and he didn't deny it either. I had to protect my son so now the palace would be the safest place for us and if I had to I would keep my threat to Achilles.