TROY

}As we walked away from my City of Ashes I wept for me for troy and for my sister. I thought I am Exltheone. I stopped weeping and pulled myself together. I would destroy the man who had destroyed my sister. We were orphans before the war. I am the only one left now. My sister fought them and died in the temple. I was there when it happened. She fought them more than the temple priests who didn’t want to fight. My sister did and she died protecting the temple and me. I had come to visit and bring news to my sister. When they attacked the temple and started killing. He was beautiful before he killed her. His name Zanith I’d heard someone call him. I vowed there I would kill him, now I am on his ship. He caught me when I tried to sneak away from the temple back to Troy. He grabbed me by my wrist “Well, we missed a few” he smiled. I smiled then bit him. He swore and shook his hand. His friends saw what I had done they laughed and I smiled. When he said” You can sleep in my tent or down here with the men.”
I thought I’d rather sleep with the dogs but I whispered” I will sleep in a tent.” He smiled softly till I sang out “but I’d rather sleep with the dogs!”
I then cursed my stupidity. “Be careful Zanith that one’s dangerous. Why don’t you leave her here?” Zanith paused like he was thinking about it then said “Naw I think I’ll take her.” A mean looking man sauntered up and said “Take ‘er to the captain first he might want ‘er.” He leered at me and my stomach dropped and I felt myself being dragged. I thought about screaming but thought who would care. I punched the nasty looking one hard. I broke away from Zanith and took off running. A man blocked my path. I grabbed a discarded spear aimed it at his gut and kept running. I got past 3 more men before I was tackled by Zanith, hard. I was laughing so hard I couldn’t stand I was yanked up struck and dragged to the captain’s tent and then inside. The captain looked up and frowned “Were you 2 fighting? I will not have fighting in my camp.”
“Sir we were not fighting the girl did this and brought down 4 others.” Zanith smiled.
“Really?” the captain asked incredulously “Who?”
“Well Borus here and Atculies, Nestor, Leonteus, and Odysseus.”
“The great Odysseus brought down by a girl!” the captain burst into great gales of laughter.
“I did go after him with a sword.” I said meekly “and he was unarmed.”
“What’s your name child?” it was a question but the captain said it like a command. My head snapped up and in a hard tone I said.
“My name is Exltheone and though you’ve been polite I will kill you and everyone in this tent.” At this he smiled and answered.
“You remind me of my daughter with your spark.” To Zanith he said “You can have her.”
“You would give your daughter over to this?” I blanched.
“My daughter would do well to stay away from battles and wars.”
“My sister tried to stay away, but in the end it did not matter he killed her any way.” I nodded toward Zanith.
“I’ve killed no woman!” Zanith raged.
“You’ve killed my sister!” I screamed losing myself.
“When have I killed a fragile little girl?” Zanith questioned.
“My sister,” I started to cry “was the one wearing a priests robe and holding the sword.” I cried hating these men who saw my weakness.
“Oh, god!” Zanith gasped “I knew his cheeks were to smooth to be a man!”
“Go, get out of my site.” the captain intoned bored already of my hysterics. Just like that I was property and I did not enjoy it. The 2 men held me and tensed when I did. I relaxed and pretended that my sandal broke so I bent over to fix it. “What are you doing?” Zanith asked.
“Trying to fix my sandal it broke.” I replied tersely.
“I’ll fix it.” Zanith sighed and bent over to fix my sandal. I kicked out and knocked him over I wrenched out of the other mans grasp and sprinted toward the ocean. I was captured again but not without reward I had hidden a knife in my belt. I was thrown over Zanith’s shoulder and carried kicking and hitting back to his tent. As we passed the men there was applause and laughter Zanith set me down and I bowed to my audience. Zanith smiled and I said
“Remember what I said back there.” Zanith smiled and replied “Why do you think you’ll be tied up?” I sighed and went inside. Zanith came in and tied my hands behind me. He came for me that night the man who killed my parents. He came toward me and I screamed. Then I was awake and Zanith was there holding me saying
“It’s all right. You're safe now.” I crawled into his lap like a child. I stayed there till morning. When I woke up I heard someone singing a strange melody. I was scared because I didn’t know where I was then last nights events dawned on me and I giggled then I laughed till tears streamed down my face. That’s how Zanith found me the tears still on my face he came in humming but then stopped when he saw the tears. He flung the plates down and kneeled by my side and asked “Are you alright? What happened? Was Bores here? Did he hurt you?”
“I’m perfectly fine I was just making the most of my funny dream.”
“What dream?” Zanith asked puzzled.
“This one,” I laughed “I will wake up in the morning dress and then take news to my sister. Then we will laugh at my ridiculous dreams.”
“This,” Zanith voice like his steel blade “Is not a dream. You are here and now.” I started to sob. I cried the tears of bitter lose and regret. I tried to stop I couldn’t the tears came unbidden and unwanted. I wept on the shoulder of my sisters’ murderer. My anger was justified but I didn’t want it to be. I wanted him to be a man born inside the gates, a man that hadn’t killed my sister. I wished that he wasn’t breaking my heart just by sitting there, with that scared look on his face wanting to comfort me but not knowing how. I glared at him from tear stained lashes and but found myself laughing at his startled expression. Zanith started laughing to and it was almost easy to forget this beautiful man was my sister’s killer, the man that held that bloodied sword above my sister’s head and made the killing blow those hands that now so tenderly held my hand. Zanith is a man from unknown lands I told my self sternly. It would never work out, but it might a little voice in the back of my mind shouted.
“I’m sorry.” he said growing serious “I deserve your hate.” Zanith whispered brokenly. “To be honest I hate myself. When this war ends I’m going to find a nice place out in the country and never take up arms ever again.” I rejoiced inside but on the outside I only hugged him tighter. My thoughts were interrupted by a shout out side. A man, from one of the other camps stumbled into the tent. He smiled drunkenly and said
“Give me the girl and I’ll let you live.”
Zanith’s reply was harsh and automatic
“Hell no.”
“Well that’s too bad. The other camps think it’s unfair that you have a camp whore and they don’t.” I growled and lunged at him fully intent on ripping every greasy hair out of his ugly head. I was held back by Zanith.
“Fine I‘ll take her from you.” despite appearing drunk when he first came in he had sobered up fast. He lunged at Zanith with a sword that appeared out of nowhere. I was saved by Zanith throwing me away from him. H ducked to avoid losing his head. I thought I‘m not letting him die. I pulled my knife out of my belt. The man had cornered Zanith and was moving in on the final blow. I ran up behind him and pulled his disgusting head back. I calmly sliced his throat. Zanith looked at me and the knife I had pulled supposedly out of air. He grinned and said the most startling thing in my world.
“You were going to use that on me when you had the chance?”
“That was the original plan.” I admitted sheepishly. He laughed out loud “Damn you’re dangerous.”
“Well if I wasn’t you’d be dead.” I said defensively.
“It’s cute.” He laughed again.
“Well its time to go see what kind of damage you’ve caused my camp.”
“Not my fault you men can’t behave.” I sulked.
“Sir, we have camps complaining about the girl.” A man I had attacked with a spear Nestor I think his name was. He had a kind face almost to kind to belong in the war. I remembered from my escape attempt he was very gentle when he tackled me but because he was gentle I escaped his grasp. He swears it as luck on my part. I was glad there were not just hardened warriors in the camps. I was listening to the trouble I had caused in the camps; it confused me that the men who were protecting me also kept me captive. Someone walked up, noticing my distraught expression came up and said that I reminded him of his sister. He added this as he walked away.
“I would die and kill for my sister and I will for you too.”
I was so touched that when Zanith reached up and wiped away tears on my face I did not notice. I did notice though the way his hand lingered on my cheek. I had similar experiences with a lot of the men as I did with the boy. Sometimes I reminded them of their daughters or wives when they were younger. They almost lined up to tell me this. As they left some touched my hair as if trying to remember how it was when they were home. I hoped every man that was in this camp made it home to their wives and daughters. Zanith stood by me the entire time a silent watchman it felt good to be protected at least for a little while. A week after the fight I realized that all the men here were terrible cooks. The one on the ship had been killed in one of the skirmishes. So I not able to stand their cooking anymore stood up by the fire where we were all eating the burned food and stated. “I will not let you cook anymore no offence meant but the food is awful.” The man who had had cooking duty that night grimaced.
“I will do the cooking from now on. You are not allowed in the cook tent ever. It is mine now.” I sat down daring any one to challenge me. Instead what I heard was a loud cheer. I smiled into my hand. Nestor pulled out his fiddle and began to play a haunting melody. “Nestor we need to dance to work off cookies’ good food.” Zanith teased the cook. “No more sad music tonight it is the night to celebrate.” We fell asleep in good humor no fighting tonight at all. I realized that I could leave and no one would stop me. I didn’t want to leave. I loved it here just because it was so peaceful. I fell asleep with a smile and in Zaniths’ arms. I woke up to shouts and Zanith jerking awake instantly alert. I understood that we were under attack. I was up and running toward the wepons tent and then I was jerked back by Zaniths’ hands
“What are you doing I’m going to help.”
“No your not. These are your people. Your warriors. You’re not fighting them. Your not getting anywhere near them.”
“You’re my … my--”
“Excatly you’re still a Trojan this is not your war. Not your fight.”
“Ahh.” A fully armed Trojan soldier came upon us waving his sword. We ducked and ran away from the future battlefield. Zanith kissed me like it was the last time we’d ever meet again and set me in a row boat took away the oars. He waded us away from the shore and when the boat hit the currant he let go. I told him to swim.
“This might not be your fight Exltheone, but it is my fight goodbye.”
“Please don’t leave me please.”
“The tide will bring you back in after the fights over.”
“No!” realization gripped me in its stone cold grasp “No please come with me. Please I don’t want you to die.” He swam away from me then and I screamed and I sobbed. Sleep overcame me then I woke up in the night. The tide brought me onto the beach. I was close to the camp. I started walking I walked thru the carnage. I saw Nestor and I stopped looking at the sweet faces I had come to love so much that were strewn along the beach. I was looking for the face I loved beyond even my own I found it stone cold half way out of the water. I walked in a daze I was gone mentally. Physically I started to dig graves and locked away the faces of my family in my mind I buried them one by one and I buried my heart along with them. When I was done I walked back to my enemies’ home. I saw the warriors celebrate and I wept. I walked to the sea walked until I just floated away.