Titania of Troy

Chapter 5

Titania gulped but secured her fingers on the handle. He didn't know she could fight. Quickly, she used her sword to cut a long slit in the restricting chiton. She kicked off the useless sandals. His men were strong, and there were many of them. She wouldn't be able to fight properly in a chiton at all, but the slit would have to do.

She couldn't help but inhale a shaky breath. Myrmidons were undefeated warriors. They were brutal, hard and fast, not to mention swift and strong in their blows. She wasn't particularly apt at swordplay either, not compared to her talents with a bow, and there were at least 30 of them against her.

Titania was never one to scare easily in battle. Her time with Amazons had steeled her nerves and her sword hand. This was different. There was no back up. She was alone.

The first man charged at her, leaving her little time to wallow in her fear. He raised a sword much like her own and let out a large battle cry. Titania gulped, fear over taking her momentarily, before she dodged his blow to the right, tripping lightly over her chiton. The crew laughed at her, mistaking her dodge for fear. For inexperience. Their laughs were enough to insult her ego. She frowned at them. They were mocking her now, jeering at her feminine arms and legs that held not even a quarter of the muscle of this man.

Titania had never considered herself overly proud or easy to insult, but in that moment, she felt an anger flare up inside her that she had never felt before. Her time with the Amazons and in Troy had given the impression that the world was more equal than it really was. They mocked her womanhood. She would make them regret it.

She stilled her shaking hands.

The man was too busy chuckling to notice the blade come swinging at him. Titania cut his arm before kicking him in stomach, causing him to fall out of the circle into the arms of his compatriots. The next man charged at her, holding two swords instead of one. With her father's rays encompassing her she let out her own battle cry, slashing the face of her blade against the one in his right hand before twisting it and yanking it out of his grasp. The blade flew into the air and onto the other side of the boat. The man yelled angrily before swiping at her again. She blocked and ducked down, swiping her legs at his awaiting feet. He tumbled onto his back, dropping his sword in the process.

The third man charged and aimed for her head. She kicked him in the gut before he could get close. A fourth man went for her legs, but she jumped over his blade and punched his nose with her free hand. The two advanced at her simultaneously, ready to attack her from both sides. Titania wiped the sweat from her brow and crouched low, ready to block, but the voice of Achilles stopped them all in their movements.

"Stop." The man commanded. His voice needn't have shouted for his men obeyed immediately and faded back into the crowd. Achilles' eyes were still dark, his anger still palpable. She sneered at him; her confidence restored after her battle with the blades. The man glared at her, "My turn."

Titania's eyes widened in shock at his words, but nonetheless she readied herself. Here she was, ready to face Greece's most undefeated warrior. The child inside of her gleamed with excitement, but the realist started to doubt. Could she face him? He crouched low, keeping the sword in his right hand while balancing with his left. Titania was smaller, so she only bent her knees lightly for agility but tried to keep upright to have some leverage. She readied her sword hand and bit her lip nervously. He waited for her to make the first move. She did.

Like a lightning bolt she launched herself into the air and struck at him from above. Achilles jumped away and looked on in shock as she landed steadily on her feet and was ready to face him again. He growled and sent a strong jab towards her left side. Titania threw her torso to the right, dodging the blow, but sent her sword down to meet his as it jabbed at the air.

Achilles appeared even more gob smacked. Titania chuckled. Agamemnon clearly hadn't thought it necessary to inform his undefeated warrior of her...skills. Like water, her feet danced, and she sent a wave of jabs and blows at his body and torso. His own blade moved swiftly like the wind and blocked every attack, his feet flowing steadily below him and driving her backwards.

The crowd around them cheered, happy for some entertainment on the dreary sea. Titania smiled, their bodies apart. For now. She went for round two. She rushed at him, jabbing left, right, and left again whilst using her free hand to grab him by the shirt and shove him into the mast behind him. He hit the wood with a loud bang but roared in anger and charged at her before she could block him there.

His blows came like tidal waves, each one swifter and stronger than the last. He slammed his blade against her sword as she struggled to defend. His arms were strong, and they delivered some of the hardest blows she had ever felt. She panted as he continued his assault, and her feet moved from underneath her into a safer area closer to the stern. He jogged to catch her, and her eyes quickly searched for a better weapon. Her talent had never been swords. She needed a bow.

She found the soldier she was looking for: the man shooting down seagulls for the men to eat. Before Achilles could reach her, she rushed over to the soldier and grabbed his shirt with her left arm before she launched a punch with the butt of her sword. He was dazed immediately, and she hurriedly chucked the sword at Achilles. The warrior ducked. As her sword distracted him, she yanked the man's bow from his grasp and the quiver from his back.

The bow felt familiar in her arms, far more than a sword ever would. This was her father's weapon. She was deadly with it, even in close range. Achilles watched her; his face amused at her choice. She only smirked.

Faster than any of the crew had ever seen before, she notched an arrow and launched it an Achilles. The warrior ducked again but launched to swipe at her feet. She hopped over his blade before jumping onto the crates that lined the center of the ship. Arrow after arrow she launched at the Greek from her higher vantage point, missing by mere inches every time as he dodged her onslaught. She jogged on the crates down the middle of the ship whilst he ran next to her and swiped at her feet. Suddenly, she stopped and surprised them all by swiping at him with the bow, smacking him in the temple. Achilles roared angrily and swung again at her heels. Titania cried out as the tip of the blade cut into her ankle. Achilles took his chance. He launched himself onto the crate and shoved her chest. She dropped to the floor, her bow falling off the crate onto the deck on the ship.

Achilles held his sword at her neck. She had lost. Both of them panted heavily, and Titania sighed sadly, knowing that her skills had not been enough.

Achilles stayed above her, panting heavily, "You can fight?"

"Commander of the Archers of Troy, at your service." Her exhaustion made her words sloppy and sarcastic.

His brows furrowed, "But, it's never been done before. A woman-"

Titania had heard enough. She pushed his blade away with her finger and stood up. She clapped her hands together to dust them off and chucked her quiver to the floor, "Yes, yes, a woman can't lead an army. A woman can't fight. Well, Achilles, this one can. You're not the only one with some mythical blood you know."

The warrior was still shocked based on his gaping mouth, "Mythical blood?"

Titania rolled her eyes, tired of explaining it after all her years in Troy. His men dragged her off the crate and tied her wrists together again. She had taken a few hard knocks. Her temple was bleeding, her lip was busted, and her ego was bruised. "You didn't know?" she yelled at him, "I'm the daughter of Apollo."