Titania of Troy

Chapter 16

It was the cheers that had caught her attention first.

Titania hadn't heard much cheer in the city since she had ridden in on Achilles' horse and revealed that she wasn't dead. Since then, the city was plagued by war and sorrow. The sudden rise of cheering had her lurch from her seat and run down the corridor hurriedly. She emerged onto the balcony overlooking the city and gasped at what was happening in front of her.

Helen was giving out grain. Trojans surrounded her and cheered as she filled their pots and buckets with the loads of it. Titania's mouth gaped open. She could hardly believe it. Despite her hate, she had to admit that Helen had courage. Trojans weren't fond of her, yet she went into their midst to gift them with food.

Titania's breathing grew laboured.

Of course she did it. It was political. She wanted their favour, not their hatred. She wanted to be a beloved princess again. Titania scoffed at the realisation, not noticing that Hecuba and Andromache had joined her on the balcony.

Andromache shared her sentiments. Her brother's wife gasped at the sight, equally as annoyed as Titania. Together, the sisters-in-law glared at the Spartan woman.

"The people like her, don't they? She's got a popular touch" Hecuba mused, smiling down at Helen as though she were her own daughter. Titania's eyes narrowed.

"Don't remind me," the archer spat. Andromache frowned similarly, not impressed by Helen's actions.

Hecuba inserted herself between the two sisters-in-law. She wrapped her arms around them, tutting disappointedly, "We are all fighting together, as you had said so beautifully Titania. I cannot convince you two to like her, but I need you to be on her side with the rest of the family. We're in this now, whether we like it or not, and we cannot afford to have another war in the family." Titania tried to look away from her mortal mother and ignore her words, but like all mothers Hecuba lightly grasped her chin and forced her to meet her gaze, "We are at war. The Greeks are strangling our city. Your brothers might be dead. Bury your hatred."

Titania rubbed her tongue over her teeth, feigning consideration but knowing that she could never truly forgive Helen, not after everything she had been through.

"I'll try to be kinder to her," Andromache conceded. Titania gaped at her, shocked that her partner in crime had abandoned their efforts. Titania said nothing, but stormed from the balcony in a hot rage.

How dare Hecuba even ask her to accept Helen? Did they not understand all she had been through? Did they not understand the torment she underwent in the wake of Helen's deception? Her mind gave her flashes of her time with the Greeks, and she cried out in anger. She'd betrayed her people by being friendly to the Greeks. She won't betray her people by being friendly to Helen.

She went straight to her room to gather her bow before stalking to the archery range, her vision still red hot. Arrow after arrow she released, each of them missing due to her lack of concentration. She groaned with every miss, her aim growing worse and worse until eventually she wasn't even hitting the target anymore. She just shot arrows in the general direction, not too worried if she hit something she wasn't supposed to.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this angry," It was her brother who creeped up behind her with his arms raised in a sign of peace, "You're rather terrible when you're in a rage."

Titania scowled at him. Deiphobos had never been her favourite sibling, simply because he was the most-overconfident with the least skill. He favoured the intricacies of politics over the harshness of battle, which immediately separated him from Hector, Troilos and herself. Paris had been friendly with him, but truly his companion was Cassandra. The two were twins, and aptly two peas in a pod. They largely avoided the company of others.