Titania of Troy

Chapter 1

The last thing Titania wanted to see was her brother committing treason.

Oh Paris, the ever-charming Prince of Troy, who very nearly caused a war in the past 5 minutes. Titania had been with Hector when she saw the pair sneak up the stairs in the midst of the fire dancers' performance. She had to admit, Paris was clever for having done it when the guests were all pre-occupied. He was stupid for having done it at all.

Titania had smiled gracefully at Hector before slipping away into the crowd under the guise of needing some more wine. As she had many times before, she ensured the husband of her brother's conquest was fully preoccupied. Menelaus was a boisterous and obnoxious king, and thankfully not known for his wit, but just to make sure Titania slipped a nearby dancer a drachma to pull his eyes away from his absent queen.

Sneaking up the stairs herself, she noticed with relief that the corridor was empty, but that the silence was disrupted by the heavy panting coming from the queen's rooms at the end of the hallway.

Behind her, a young maid was climbing the stairs with fresh fruits displayed dramatically on a platter, "Good evening, miss."

"Good evening," Titania said back as she eyed the platter suspiciously, "Where are those fruits going?"

"To the queen's room, miss, for her to eat before bed."

"Oh my! How coincidental that I was heading in that direction myself. Perhaps I could drop them there for you?"

"That would be inappro-"

"Oh, it's no trouble, my room is this way as well. I'm certain that King Menelaus would prefer to have all of his maids downstairs?"

The servant sputtered, but ultimately gave up in the face of the princess. She handed the platter to Titania with reluctance and watched with weary eyes as Titania walked down the corridor. The panting was getting louder, and as she reached the queen's room she turned around, ready to drop the platter at the door and be on her merry way, only to see the maid still watching her. Octavia gulped, but gave her a fake smile before slowly opening the door.

Truthfully, she knew the image would never leave her mind. It scarred her enough for it to be imprinted into the depths of her memory. Paris. Helen. Their bodies twirling beneath her sheets. Her spine shivered. Disgusting.

"Are you crazy?" she yelled at him when he appeared again at the party, "You do realize that you could get us killed?"

"Relax, little sister. Nobody saw us," Paris flashed her his usual charming smile, his body now dressed in his blue chiton, "Nor was I the only one in the bed. Helen will not risk her life."

"I saw you, and my eyes have been burned," Titania rolled her eyes, "Menelaus could have your head."

"Only if you tell, and you won't, will you?"

Titania scoffed, "Have I ever told before? Of course not! But I need you to be more careful, Paris. I'm going to be Troy's diplomat here. I don't need something like this making my job harder."