Achilles&Briseis: A Novel

Chapter 11

"This is Princess Cassandra." Queen Hecuba gestured to the red headed woman on her right. Briseis nodded politely while wishing she didn't have to sit next to her. Cassandra was barely old enough to be Briseis' mother, yet her red hair was streaked with grey which cascaded down her back, Cassandra was a tall woman whose form was lean and graceful. Her dark eyes quickly shifted back and forth as she took in all the women of the circle.

The group was meeting in a private chamber facing the sea. A cool, gentle breeze constantly ruffled Briseis hair and she was grateful. Pedasus was a land locked kingdom. Though the river that ran through and out of the kingdom lead to the sea, it was too far away to see even from atop the wall. Briseis had rarely been so close to it. She wanted to go swim in it if time allowed.

A serving girl filled her cup and Cassandra's with wine; Cassandra drained hers quickly and had the girl pour her another. The girl tried to leave to fill a cup for another but Cassandra grabbed the pitcher and set it by her knee while waving the poor girl off. Dark circles hung under Cassandra's eyes and her expression was sour. Briseis thought she must have been in an extremely foul mood but from whispers around the circle, Cassandra always wore an unpleasant expression. Of course hearing these women whisper openly about her with her mother chatting pleasantly with the others couldn't do wonders for Cassandra's mood.

Briseis set her goblet down and took up her wax tablet again. She was absentmindedly sketching the temple of Apollo from memory when the tablet was taken out of her hands by Cassandra. Cassandra scowled at the likeness and threw the tablet to the floor. It made a loud noise as it shattered into three large pieces and many smaller ones, all other noise in the room ceased.

"Doom sails for Troy and here we sit doing nothing to prepare!" Cassandra shrieked. "If you heeded me we could stop this!"

"Can we not have one day where you don't burden us with imagined woes!" Queen Hecuba shouted at her daughter while her face turned an ugly violet shade.

"It's coming! The city will fall in fire! Hector will die and his wife and I will be taken as slaves for the Greeks!"

SLAP!

Hecuba's eyes burned with malice as she lowered her hand. Cassandra's face reddened but no tears swam in her eyes. There was only anger in those dark pools. A fierce anger that Briseis had never seen in any man let alone a woman and it was something to behold. Cassandra's eyes set a block of stone in Briseis' stomach; while Cassandra's words couldn't possibly be true the anger of her eyes was real. It was the anger of someone who'd been pushed too far. The Princess of Troy stalked out of the chamber taking her gloom from the room.  

"Princess Briseis," spoke Hecuba while retaking her cushion. "Your mother tells me you're in desperate need of companions befitting your station. Andromache, my son Hector's wife, has been put in charge of arranging many of the festivities for the return of my son and his aunt. She's several months pregnant and in need of someone to help her. I'd like that person to be you."

"I'd be honored," Briseis had heard tales of Andromache and would be interested to meet the woman. Hector had refused to marry until he found the right woman for him, or take concubines so that the city might see him as able to bring forth true sons once married. Andromache must have been something special to be the one who finally caught his eye.

"Your niece Chryseis is here as well," Hecuba told Vhasti, "with her father. She'd be at this circle but has chosen to assist her father in the temple instead." Hecuba rolled her eyes. "That girl is too attached to her father for her own good. The man refuses to let her marry even though two of my sons have made offers."

"I didn't know my brother–in–law was here," said Vashti. "He doesn't communicate well since the death of my sister."

Hecuba nodded. "He's a favorite of Cassandra's though even his nerves are tested by her insane ramblings."

"It's what she gets for defying you and your husband, great Queen," spoke one of the women.

Hecuba snorted. "Perhaps but I don't see why I should be doubly cursed with a willful daughter forever speaking nonsense for her defiance."

"How did she defy you, if I may ask, great Queen," Briseis went to pick up the pieces of her wax tablet but a servant quickly appeared to do the task. With only one maid willing to serve her Briseis had gotten used to doing such things herself. The other women in the circle rose their brows at her actions but chose not to comment as Briseis took her cushion again. 

"It's a rather short tale in truth," Hecuba sighed. "Cassandra was supposed to marry a foreign prince. The match would have been a good one as he was kind and well made by the gods. His kingdom didn't offer much in the way of advantages but it would gain us an ally, and with so many of my children already engaged with advantageous ties it seemed a little thing to let Cassandra go there and be a minor queen."

"It was wise," Vhasti cooed.

Hecuba nodded at her words. "As my only daughter I wanted a good life for Cassandra of course. She however didn't see this marriage that way and ran off to the temple of Apollo begging to become a priestess. A virgin path meaning she could have stayed here but I wanted her to have a legacy with children. The god rejected her and for her refusal to obey us brought down the curse of madness for her rebellion and now no one will have her. Not that I blame them, the madness and her turning into a lush would turn any man away. She screamed herself horse when her brother Alexander was reintroduced to court. As if he alone could cause the downfall of Troy! That's all she ever says now, 'Alexander will bring ruin, heed my warning,' and other such nonessential utterings She even tried to kill him before he set off to reclaim our beloved Hesione from those dreadful Greeks. How she must have suffered at their hands all these years I shudder to think!"

"Such an ignorant child! Matches are best when the parents choose for them," Vhasti said with watery eyes and her hand on her heart as if she had palpitations; the others quickly chimed in with praises of the queen and severe censor of Cassandra.

"Right you are Queen Vhasti," Hecuba patted Vhasti's hand. "Shall I call for our mid–day meal?"