Aloha! Um once again some 'thanks'!
a reader: Thank you again! I'm glad to see you again :] Haha . . . I actually hadn't even planned that. It just happened. I'm glad to know that you liked it though! I hope you keep reading.
Francis A: Thank you. Yes, Pat and Achilles are pretty cute . . . but I'm splitting them up, unfortunately. And Achilles will be going to Briseis, but perhaps I can make you like her? I'll try anyways! Will keep it up, and hopefully you will continue to show up.
Sheiado: Lol. Yes, I kinda put my foot down . . . Um . . .and I haven't gotten a bad review yet . . . Possibly I've scared them away lol. Lais; I know I say this over and over, but she's really fun to write about. That sounds kinda strange, but it's true. Well, since Patroclus' love interest was Achilles . . . and that means homosexuality; America was like 'no, no.' Battle hungry teenager: how true. Though you'll definitely see another side of him. Thank you and thank you, and I hope I'll see you again!
Pichuva11224: Lol. Thank you! And you don't sound obsessive, just excited which is very cool ;P! Oh, thanks. I'm glad you guys are liking my portrayals. Yeah, I could hear it being pronounced like that 'cause it sounds very Greek. Hehe. Thanks again babe!
Ok, in the copy of The Iliad that I purchased, the translator was Richmond Lattimore. He wrote an amazing introduction that is (I'm not even joking) like 58 pages long. And I've been reading it as thoroughly as I can because it contains many facts and such that you can't often find in the story. Well, anyways I was reading through a section headed Achilleus: The Tragic Hero; and in this I found a great paragraph to help me with my display of Achilles(/Achilleus -whichever you prefer).
"Nevertheless, Achilleus is not in any sense immortal. The legend of
complete invulnerability is either unknown to Homer of discarded
by him. He is closer to the gods than other heros, but defers to them
generally; one failure to do so, in his fight with the river, almost brings
him to an abrupt and undignified ending. Achilleus is prescient beyond
others, but his knowledge has limitations, and his character can be in-
vaded by the human emotions of grief (18. 22-27), fear(20. 259-266), a
passage which makes plain that he is neither semi-divinity nor superman
(16. 126-129), and, above all, anger"(Lattimore 47).
I'm showing you guys this so that way yall can maybe help me if I start going wild with the wrong description of Achilles. This is kinda the basic outline of his character. I'm also going to show that he can feel the emotion love because of his pairing with Briseis. Um . . . so yea.
That book is awesome. God bless Richmond Lattimore for his kick-ass intros. It really helped me with my descriptions of certain characters (ex: Hector [how he was viewed by the Greeks]). Anyways . . .
BTW. I'm kinda doing the first part more in Patroclus' point of view. Pay attention to when: 'He had only been trying to help.' Doesn't that sound familiar? (If not look back at chapter two when Lais talks with Pat in the courtyard)
Anyways, the third chapter:
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Patroclus sparred in the courtyard alone. He had woken up to see Achilles dressing for the day. Apparently he needed to talk to his friend in town again. War business. Patroclus had wanted to come along, but Achilles wouldn't let him. So now he was sparring again. His heart felt considerably lighter since Achilles and he had made amends last night. Also, the up coming war was looming over him similar to how a holiday would. He was training ever day now, determined he would prove himself to Achilles. Maybe he would even get to fight.
Lais walked down the hallway, ignoring Patroclus who stopped to watch her. She seemed to still be mad him. He wondered why. He had only been trying to help. She was still young though she had grown considerably. He asked himself how he hadn't noticed it before. The little girl cousin he used to terrorize was now a young woman. It felt strange to think about.
Lais turned her head briefly to meet his gaze before turning the corner and heading to the kitchen for breakfast. Patroclus, too, hadn't eaten breakfast yet and realized that he was slightly hungry. He set off after Lais. Perhaps he could get her to make him something. That was one of a woman's purposes wasn't it? He might even get a word or two out of her.
Lais had found herself some fruit to snack on. No real breakfast had been made that morning, and she didn't feel like finding one of the servants to help her make something. She sliced up an apple and cut out of the core from each slice. She was surprised to see a large hand reach over and take a slice. She followed the hand as it retreated back to its owner, Patroclus. "Thank you," He said. She considered snapping at him but decided against it, knowing full well that silence could often prove more harmful than words.
She pushed the slices into the clay bowl on top of several other pieces of fruit she had previously placed in there and headed outside to the courtyard. She sat on the stone bench and tried her best to concentrate on the taste of the sweet fruit in her mouth, not the lingering eyes of Patroclus who had followed her back outside.
"Are you still angry with me?" Patroclus asked as he sat next to her. Lais took another bite out of an apple slice. "Lais," He tried again. "Will you not speak to me?"
Lais finally turned her head to him. "If you wish to carry on a conversation with me, then I request an apology," She said in a firm tone.
"For what?" Patroclus asked.
She sighed and looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "For assuming that I am like every other woman and am in dire need of your help and protection." Her voice showed the slight pain she felt.
"But you are like other women, Lais," Patroclus said and smiled. What a strange thing for her to say.
She looked down at the fruit in her lap. Did he realize what he had just said? How dense could he be? "You don't know me well enough, Patroclus, to make that assumption," She said quietly.
"You don't want to be like other women?" Patroclus asked. What woman would not want to be treated as woman is to be treated?
Lais turned her gaze once more to those blue eyes. They were like the sea, she realized, and somehow had the same calming affect on her. Though his eyes did not roll over her body in waves, just her soul. "No," She answered simply. She was sure she would have been angry if it had not been for those eyes.
Patroclus was a little unnerved by how intently she was staring at him even though he didn't look away. Lais smiled slightly then and placed the bowl of fruit in his lap as a mock peace offering. She silently forgave him because she understood now that it was ignorance on his part. "Would you like to go to the beach?" She asked him. It would be the perfect situation to put all this fighting behind them.
Had she forgiven him? "Yes," He agreed.
"Perhaps we should tell Thetis this time," Lais joked as she stood up and waited for Patroclus to do the same. He took a few grapes and ate them as they walked to find Thetis.
"Aunt!" Lais called out when she saw her.
Thetis turned her head and smiled. 'I see she's forgiven him,' She thought. "Yes?"
"Patroclus and I are going to the beach. We didn't want you to worry," Lais said.
"That's fine. Don't stay too long though. Else I will worry."
"We won't," Lais promised before she and Patroclus left. Thetis watched them walk side-by-side with a mysterious smile.
"I hadn't realized how much you've grown," Patroclus said to make conversation.
Lais grinned and looked up at her cousin. "It apparently wasn't enough. You're still taller than me."
"And I always will be," Patroclus stated, returning her grin.
"Perhaps, but you'll never be as fast as I am," Lais commented with an underlying challenge.
He looked thoughtful before replying, "I'm afraid we'll never know because it isn't fair to challenge a woman."
Lais frowned, remembering what Achilles had said. "I thought I told you to not assume that I am like every other woman."
Patroclus turned to look down at her. "I have to admit, Lais, you are very different from any woman I have met."
She giggled slightly. "That is well, but you haven't met many," She teased and then ran off towards the beach. Patroclus caught up with her after a while, and they ran together into the sea. They were both laughing. Lais splashed some water at Patroclus playfully. He gave her a fake glare before barely splashing back. "Is this all you can conjure?" She asked while motioning to the small dark spot on her hip.
Patroclus shook his head. Certainly the women he had met would never challenge him as Lais did. Nor would they love such odd things as much as Lais could. She treated him as a friend and expected him to do the same. He smiled at her now. 'Well, if she wants to be treated as a man,' He thought slyly, 'so she will.' He, however, understood the invisible boundaries. He would have to be much more gentle with her than he would Achilles for example. He splashed some water back at her, getting her neck and chin.
She laughed and splashed him back again except non-stop. He turned his head to keep the water from getting in his eyes and moved closer to her as she splashed harder to keep him away. Patroclus took her around the waist and tossed her over his shoulder. She screamed (rather delightfully) and hit his back while kicking her legs that were now in the air. "Patroclus, put me down!" She managed to yell through her damp veil of hair.
He shrugged with his free shoulder and let her fall into the water. She resurfaced and glared at him. "You said to put you down," He said innocently.
"You are evil." She looked upon him devilishly and pounced on him, pushing him down into the water with her. They both came up for air. Lais took the opportunity to run again. She trudged out of the water and ran across the shoreline, twirling once or twice as well. She felt free and young and beautiful. She looked up at the sun. Its rays were kissing her skin and glistening off the water. Today was a beautiful day. She then watched a soggy Patroclus walk out of the surf and sit on the dry beach to remove his sandals. He placed his now bare feet on the sand and leant back on his hands. He turned to watch her watching him and smiled. Lais smiled in return before turning once more to look back at the sky.
Patroclus gazed at it as well, wondering what she was seeing or possibly searching for. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but out towards the horizon dark storm clouds were looming ominously. He figured they would hit perhaps by nightfall. Next he turned yet again to Lais. She stood motionless on the wet sand. The water seemed to reach out to her, wanting to touch the pale skin of her feet. It was as though the water longed for Lais as much as she longed for it. He dismissed it from his head as an impossible thought and stood up, walking over to his petite cousin.
She was still gazing out towards the darkening horizon. Her eyes, however, were unfocused for she had turned her true gaze inward to the memory of a dream.
"Lais?" Patroclus asked to get her attention.
She turned her head a little too quickly at him before smiling briefly. "I had a dream once," She said and looked yet again over the sea of blue. Patroclus waited for her to continue. Like the fights and arguments brought out the most vulnerable side in Achilles and Patroclus, the sea and rain invoked the most thoughtful side of Lais. "It was beautiful," She added.
"What was it about?" He asked. He was watching the way her face relaxed as she thought about it and how her lips curved upward ever so slightly.
Lais smiled wide again, raised her arms, and let her head fall back so her face was to the sky. "I walked on the water," and with that said, she let her arms drop back to her sides and moved her head forward to look into the water. She walked further out until she was ankle deep in water. Then she raised her right foot and hovered it over the water. She knew that the moment she put weight on it, it would sink once more to the sandy floor and beneath the ocean water.
"You walked on water?" Patroclus asked doubtfully. He had never had such imaginative dreams.
Lais nodded her head and said, "Yes." She remembered how wonderfully light she felt. She was as weightless as a cloud. With a disappointed sigh, she lowered her foot and walked back past Patroclus to sit on the beach.
He stayed where he was, considering many things. One that was currently ruling his mind was war. 'Soon I will sail across the sea with Achilles to war and no doubt victory.' He moved his gaze to the rocky cliffs where his home was. 'I will leave this place for months.' He was unsure of how long it would take to cross the sea, but he had no doubt that the war certainly wouldn't last any longer. After all, none who tried had ever overcome the titanic army of Agamemnon. Patroclus did not think this time would be any different -especially not with Achilles fighting.
'And I may fight as well,' He added silently. The thought of Achilles and he running into battle side by side made his insides swell considerably. He could imagine everyone knowing his name as well. They would go down as legends for all future generations to look back on and admire.
Patroclus vaguely wondered what it felt like to kill someone. He tried to visualize a sword being thrust through a man. Next, he imagined he was at the hilt of that sword. As the scene replayed over and over in his mind, each time he realized that he felt nothing. He assumed it was because it wasn't the real thing, just a figment of his imagination. Then he wondered if one possibly didn't feel anything.
Lais watched Patroclus' back while he thought. She didn't mind the silence that had fallen between them. She was content for the moment. 'What is he thinking about?' She asked herself. 'I wonder if he is thinking about me.' The edges of her mouth hiccupped. She watched him intently, etching his outline into her mind. 'What if this were the last time I was ever to see him?' She shook the thought away. It wasn't likely that Achilles and Patroclus would leave so soon without some sort of notice in advance. It also wasn't likely that Patroclus would be killed because Achilles would die before letting that happen, and Achilles' chances of dying were slim to none.
Still, she etched him into her mind the same. Her eyes darted across his wet hair hanging in locks down to the nape of his neck. His black shirt hung loosely in places and clung to him in others, but the tanned glistening skin of his strong arms was a definite contrast to the black. She pondered what exactly the pale skin looked like under his leather cuffs. Her gaze traveled back up the length of his arms and met his broad shoulders. They gently rose and fell with each slow breath he took. Then she drew a line down the middle of his back where his spine would be. His shirt was tucked into the black material of his skirt (A/N: what in hell do you call that thing?!) which was long enough to reach the bottom of his calves. She mentally scolded herself for briefly wondering what it looked like underneath and turned her gaze away to avoid any other dirty thoughts from arising.
Patroclus had been so deep in thought that he hadn't felt her eyes on him. He turned around to see her looking off to her right with pink cheeks though he thought nothing of it. He walked up and sat down beside her. "Would you like to go?" He asked and noticed the unmistakable color of her cheeks growing brighter.
Lais shook her head a little rougher than usual, trying to shake some composure back in to herself. She couldn't speak for she doubted that her voice would sound. This had never happened to her before. She was shying in front of her cousin! The same man who when he was little had placed a crab in her bed. 'Oh, fate does work in cruel ways!'
Patroclus couldn't stop the small smile from appearing. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing," Lais forced herself to say. Hearing the unusually high tone, she blushed more. "Let's walk on the beach," She suggested in the hopes that the conversation would end long enough to gain her composure.
Patroclus nodded and stood up as well. Lais walked closest to the sea, letting the water shoot up and touch her feet. Soon after they had begun to walk, Patroclus decided to speak. "What man has caught your sights, Lais?" He grinned down at her. His little cousin had never been in love, and it was high time she understood this emotion she obsessed over.
"What do you mean?" She asked in what she hoped was a confused voice. She looked down at the shells in the sand.
"Don't deny it," Patroclus said with short laugh. "I suppose I can understand if you don't want to tell me. It's nothing to get embarrassed over."
Lais took a deep breath. "What makes you think that a man has caught my eyes, Patroclus?"
He smiled. He found it amusing that she was shy on the subject. "Because when I went to sit next to you, I noticed the roses blooming on your cheeks and the look in your eyes. You were thinking about a man," He concluded.
Lais couldn't stop the words from coming out her mouth. "And you look at me that closely?"
Patroclus' brows pinched together as he thought. "Well, not usually. It just seemed out of the ordinary, so I paid closer attention to you."
She nodded and looked more intently at the sand below. She sat on her heels suddenly and pinched some sand between her fingers. That was how her heart felt. It felt like it was being pinched painfully hard. She wondered why though she vaguely already knew the answer. She simply didn't want to accept the answer, so she didn't. She pretended she didn't know it.
"Lais?" Patroclus asked as he knelt next to her.
This beach was her heart, and they were walking across it. They were finding out new things: little secrets hidden within each grain of sand. Together they were leaving footprints on her heart, upsetting its natural state. The sea was smoothing over the indentions, so they no longer existed. It was what kept her calm because it kept her in a constant state. It dulled the rough edges left by pains.
"I'm sorry," He said suddenly. His eyes were darting across her face. "It wasn't my intention to upset you."
Lais looked as surprised as he was. She touched her hand free of sand to her cheek and touched the warm trail of a tear. She returned his gaze and felt the pain in her chest ease with the concern in his eyes, his sea. "The man," She heard herself say in a somewhat distant tone, "is not the one for me." Patroclus listened intently. Their gaze was still locked. "He is my opposite, and together we would be an equal. But he is already the love of another whom is also dear to me. I would never hurt either of them because I love them both. So I give him up."
"How are you sure he doesn't love you in return?" Patroclus asked. Something in the back of his mind was telling him to keep her talking. He on the other hand was noticing something he hadn't ever before. Her eyes weren't green like he had always thought. They were actually a greenish-brown that somehow together made a beautiful golden color. He had never seen the color before and found it attractive.
"I don't," She replied. "I just assume that he doesn't."
"Why do you assume things about others but grow angry when others assume things about you?"
Lais looked down now. "I suppose it is a bit hypocritical."
Patroclus fought the sudden urge to reach out, take her chin in his hand, and force her to look him in the eye again. He shook it off as curiosity. She hesitantly looked him back in the eye without his help. The sea of him was washing over her again and making her feel lightheaded. 'This isn't love,' the nursemaid in her mind said, 'It takes far longer than this to fall in love. This is just a silly infatuation caused by Thetis.'
'Thetis!' Lais thought suddenly. She should go and talk to Thetis since her aunt obviously knew something Lais did not. "We should go back," Lais said as she stood. Her legs were sore from crouching so long. They walked back silently and stopped so Patroclus could put on his sandals again before they walked home. The air smelled densely of the upcoming rain.
"Oh, I hope if rains soon," Lais whispered.
Patroclus had overheard what she said. "What do you do in the rain?"
Lais shrugged. She wasn't quite sure what she did. It just happened. "Nothing in particular." The conversation awkwardly ceased yet again. "Maybe we could go to the market tomorrow," She suggested. "There were some things I wanted to look for." The last part was a fib, but she would like to look around the market. She was enjoying spending her days with her cousin.
"Where was Achilles this morning?" Lais asked out of the blue.
A new thought arose with this question. "He was visiting his friend in town. Something about the war," Patroclus answered. 'Achilles? It couldn't possibly be.' He knew he would never know if he didn't ask, but it apparently also wasn't a subject one should touch on frequently. They were just talking about it though, so maybe she wouldn't mind. Patroclus took a breath and asked, "Is it Achilles?"
"I'm sorry. What do you mean?" Lais looked generally confused.
Patroclus forced the phrase of out his mouth. "The man."
Lais put her hand in front of her mouth to muffle the laughter. "Achilles, the man I'm in love with?" She asked to confirm the absurd idea. "I'm afraid you're close but not close enough," She finally admitted mysteriously.
Patroclus looked off towards the house in the distance and wondered who it could possibly be. 'Who did Lais know that was close to Achilles and had a lover that she was also close to?' He stopped suddenly and gazed at the back of his cousin.
"I think I might have said too much," Lais murmured under her breath as she continued on her way. 'I hope not,' her mind added worriedly. Her heart picked up its pace as well. She wanted to turn around and say something, but she was afraid she would crack under his gaze. Instead she hurried inside the house to find Thetis and hopefully get some answers and advice.
She found her aunt in the kitchen overseeing lunch. "Aunt," She said when she saw her. "I need to speak with you."
Thetis sensed some sort of urgency and nodded. Lais led her out of the kitchen. "Privately please," She added a little nervously. Thetis took the lead now, and they were soon inside her chambers.
Thetis made Lais sit on the bed and sat down next to her. "Now, what is so urgent?"
Lais hadn't planned what she was going to say and found she didn't know what to say. She decided to start from the beginning. "Remember that night a few days ago in the courtyard when you told me to look at Patroclus as a prince?"
Thetis smiled now. "Yes, I do."
"Well, I suppose I took your advice without actually realizing it. And-" Lais didn't know how to explain to her aunt all the tiny details. "I see him as a prince, but I understand that he is not my prince." She closed her eyes and corrected herself, "He is not my lover. He is Achilles'."
Thetis was still smiling as she began to stroke Lais' hair in a comforting way. "Lais, do you love him?"
"I don't know. I was hoping you could tell me."
Her aunt took her cheek now and rubbed her thumb over it affectionately. "I can't tell you whom you love."
"But you know," Lais objected. "You've seen Patroclus and I in a vision, haven't you?"
"Yes, I won't deny that I have, but some things do not always come to pass. One single action can change the course of the future, and another can change it back. Your decision will decide your future. All I ask is that you don't fool yourself. Don't pretend you are in love if you aren't, and don't deny that you're in love if you are."
"But-" Lais sighed in a helpless way. "Patroclus has Achilles. Am I to separate them?"
"Dear niece." Thetis let go of her cheek and took her hands now instead, all the while still smiling. "Your fate and the fate of others is not always in your grasp."
"I wish I knew what was to come," Lais commented as she stared at the wall.
"It's not all one would think it to be." Thetis let go of her hands.
Lais nodded. She knew she would get nothing else out of her aunt. "Thank you."
"Of course. Come to me if you ever need to talk again." Thetis watched as Lais walked out her door.
Lais walked to her room and passed by Achilles and Patroclus who was busy talking. They didn't bother to acknowledge her presence. She caught bits of what they were saying.
"We leave after a month?" Patroclus confirmed.
"Yes. Agamemnon is still gathering his troops. Tens of thousands of men will be sailing to Troy with us." Achilles had never looked so serious.
Lais kept walking to her room and laid down on her bed once she got in there. A month was all she had.
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A/N: Whelp? Hey guys do you know if they used months and weeks and such? I thought it was the Greeks who invented that system. Please correct me if I'm wrong, and I'll change it. Also, review please? Thanks! Come back now, ya hear?