HELEN: The Wine Dark Sea

"I've no idea how many there may be. Be cautious and you'll not run afoul of them."

He caught her for a quick kiss and leaned back. "I've always wanted to kiss you."

Disgusted, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Now you can die happy," she replied and sped away.

* * *

Deiphobus usually ate with the men of the royal family in the megaron, while she ate with the women in the women's hall. When she entered their bedchamber to change her clothes for the evening, she was surprised to find him waiting for her. He looked displeased, as he often did.

"Why did you leave the palace?" he asked.

"I go each day to sit with the wounded, so they won't die alone. I've little to give Troy other than my company, and it's gladly given."

"You'll no longer leave the palace," he ordered. "Supervise the women who spin and weave, embroider your boleros and skirts, play games all afternoon. Do whatever you wish, but you'll no longer leave with palace unless I'm by your side."

"Am I a prisoner or your wife?" she responded too softly to give offense. She turned away from him, but he caught her elbow and forced her to face him.

"You're my wife, and you'll do as I say until the day I'm carried from the battlefield on my shield. Disrobe for me, I'll have you now before I dine with the men."

He'd bathed and his hair was still damp, so he smelled of soap rather than blood and sweat. Menelaus and Paris had been tender lovers who gave pleasure as well as enjoyed their own, but he took what he wanted seemingly unaware that she should also share in the bliss. It was always over quickly, for which she was deeply grateful. She tossed her skirt and bolero aside and went to the bed. She had cultured a lively imagination as a child, and it served her well now. Her thoughts were on the men who had truly loved her, and not the one grunting above her now.

* * *

Late that night, Odysseus led Diomedes around Troy's great sloping wall to the hidden entrance he'd used earlier in the evening to escape the citadel. "The door can't be seen for the acanthus bushes shielding it. We would never have found it on our own. The hinges are well-oiled and swing open without a sound. Let's wait for the guards to pass by before we enter."

"Why? If none are nearby we should go now," Diomedes argued.

Odysseus laid his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hush, I hear someone coming."

Two heavily armed men strode by, their voices low as one recounted a day he'd fought beside Hektor, and the other offered his own memories of the fallen hero. Absorbed in their conversation, neither felt the presence of the Greek warriors hidden so close. They walked on, and would not have discovered the intruders unless they had tripped over them.

Odysseus moved forward slowly and Diomedes followed close behind him. The low door was so cleverly disguised it would have been impossible to find in the dark had Odysseus not left a cluster of stones nearby. Once inside the wall, they had to walk hunched over, brushing away cobwebs, and the cool narrow passage seemed to close in around them. With only daggers at their belts, they were relying on stealth rather than armor and weapons in this mission.

"Steady," Odysseus called. "I counted the steps, and the exit is just ahead."

Once they were into the city, they moved along close to the inner-wall with crab-like side steps. Oil lamps left burning in the temple of Athena drew them near, but they glanced in to make certain no one had come to pray before they entered. Diomedes hurried on to the Palladium and ran his hands over the highly polished wood. Light flickered on the face of the statue, making it resemble a living goddess.

"It's smaller than I thought it would be. Together, we can carry this out of the city."

"I thought so, but we must hurry." Odysseus grabbed for the head of the statue and lifted it from its stone base. He then removed his sea-blue cape and wrapped it. Diomedes took hold of the feet, and made clumsy by their sacred burden, they moved through the sleeping city with a slow shuffle to the opening in the wall. Traveling down the hidden passageway with the Palladium presented another challenge, and they struggled, but at last burst out onto the other side. They ran wide of the wall before returning to the beach where they could put down the stolen treasure and catch their breath.

"We should keep her hidden," Diomedes advised. "It will be enough that we have her, we mustn't incur the goddess's wrath by displaying the Palladium where it might be open to ridicule from our troops."

"I agree. We'll keep it wrapped and take it to Agamemnon's lodge, where no one will dare to search for it."

"Hurry, we must be done with this before dawn, for surely the Trojans will soon discover their precious Palladium is missing, and they'll all attack with renewed vigor."

"We'll be ready for them," Odysseus assured him.

* * *

Calchas licked his lips in delight. "We now have Hercules' bow and the Palladium, only one thing is missing."

"And what might that be?" Agamemnon asked. He glanced toward the Palladium that stood, tightly wrapped, in the corner of his lodge. He feared it would bring more bad luck than good if Troy did not swiftly fall.

"The gods command that you bring Achilles' son, Neoptolemus, to fight in the war," the seer proclaimed. "Then your army will be invincible and great Troy will be yours."

Odysseus rested his hands on his hips. "Is the boy even old enough to hold a sword, let alone fight with one?"