Chapter Four...To The Ends of The Earth
Hector had two weeks of bliss, where Andromache and her family stayed as guests of Troy. He took great pride in
showing her around his country, inside and outside the gates. He'd managed over the days to get her to at least
seem more comfortable in his presence, at least enough for her to allow him to kiss her under the moonlight, by the
river, on the beach, in the sun...
Those were pure pieces of Elysium, in his mind, and he refused to think it would end. Then, unexpectedly, Hittites
were spotted along their border, and in the dark of night, he put on his armor, strapped on his sword, mounted his
horse and rode off to defend Troy. There was no time to say good bye, or even ask for her hand.
When he returned, she and the rest of the party from Thebes were gone.
"Where is she?" He asked his father.
"They've gone to Sparta." Priam answered, looking at his son. He had had no idea of any of this, the king realized in
retrospect, though he wasn't surprised. His son had always played things close to the proverbial vest, especially
matters of the heart.
"What?" Hector said and started to pace. "Father, I need a ship and your fastest rowers." He said, walking out of
the throne room.
"And what do you plan to do, my son?" Priam asked, signaling for Hector's request to be fulfilled.
"Go to Sparta and convince Andromache to return to Troy." Hector said. "Father, I've asked you for nothing--"
"Go." Priam said with a smile. "And be quick, they have a day on you." Hector nodded and ran to the stables to go to
the beach.
**
Akakios was exactly what her sister had wished for her. He had made his wealth in shipping oils and fragrances and
one of his houses did, indeed, overlook the sea. But most importantly - he laughed. He was a big, round man with
creases that almost buried his sparkling eyes and when he laughed it filled his house. Andromache, standing at a
railing and overlooking the gently tumbled cliffs that led down to the water, thought that she could not have asked
her father to watch after her better.
Eleni, chattering happily with Akakios' youngest sister, breezed into the room.
"Andromache, look at this. Akakios just gave it to me. He says it makes my eyes look like midnight." Andromache
turned from feeling the wind on her face and watched with a quiet smile as her sister spun, showing off the rich
crimson silk she had draped across her shoulder. Akakios was spoiling Eleni. As badly as he spoiled his own myriad
of sisters. And it made Andromache smile softly. She would never lack company here. Eleni would come at every
drop of a pin. The girl Eleni had been chatting with, Andromache hadn't managed to remember all their names yet,
having barely managed to file them into birth order at this point, giggled.
"He sent these for you." she held up two beautifully painted small clay pots. "Scented oils. He says you're as deep
and mysterious as the ocean's floor and they reminded him of you."
"Thank you. Please tell him thank you." Andromache walked over to take them. To add them to the other gifts she'd
been showered with since their arrival. Jewelry and silk and perfume and flowers and - and more than she could
imagine being able to find a use for. The scents, when she lifted the lids were full and rich, and reminded her of
secret pools hidden deep in the forest. The sister cheerfully skipped out the door and Eleni shut it as Andromache
drifted.
"You're doing it again." Eleni stated and her older sister turned her head absently.
"Doing what?" she asked.
"Looking out at the water. You've been doing it ever since we got here. Every time there's a window or a doorway,
you drift over and stare out at the ocean."
Andromache, puzzled, realized she had, indeed, wandered back to the wide patio arches and turned herself around
to reenter the room and gently set the jars down on the cabinet.
"I like the water." she explained.
"Hm." her sister opined from where she was stretched out across the bed on her stomach. She fiddled with the new
silk she'd been given and asked absently: "Have you decided what color to wear for the wedding yet?"
Andromache gestured vaguely with a hand.
"Anything will do."
"Blue would be nice. You always looked good in blue" Eleni offered innocently, watching her sister under half lidded
eyes as she looked back toward the water.
"I like blue." Andromache agreed quietly.
"I wish I was getting married." Eleni flipped over onto her back and held the silk above her to watch its gold trim catch
the light. "Akakios is so generous. Funny too. I couldn't stop laughing at dinner last night. I like the way his dark eyes
look when he laughs."
"He has very nice dark eyes." Andromache answered and her sister snorted, rolling over on her stomach again to
glare at her sister's back as Andromache leaned absently against one of the pillars to the patio again.
"Akakios has blue eyes." she stated firmly. "His whole family has blue eyes. Big, bright, light blue eyes."
Andromache, sensing the trap too late, went very still.
"I must have been thinking of someone else." she murmured.
Eleni sighed.
"Someone with dark eyes and dark curling hair and shoulders like a god?" she offered. When her sister refused to
answer, or even face her, Eleni rolled off the bed and walked over. She wrapped her arms around her sister from
behind, resting the side of her face against Andromache's back. "I want you to be happy." she murmured, voice
muffled by her sister's hair.
"I am happy." Andromache stated, laying her own hands over her sister’s. "Akakios is a good man. He's just what
we'd hoped for. He'll be kind to me and our children." Her voice didn't falter over the last two words but her heart did.
So she shut her eyes and drew in a breath. "This is what I came for."
"I know." Eleni drew back as her sister turned her back to the ocean beyond and resolutely began pulling the
hanging curtains down to obscure the view. Eleni knew. Andromache could have done much worse than Akakios.
Eleni at least liked Akakios. Which had been more emotion than she'd ever managed to pull up for her own,
blessedly dead, husband.
"Help me pick a dress for tonight's meal." Andromache turned to the piles of silk and soft cotton she'd been given
since she'd arrived here. Here was here and now was now. And she had a new life ahead of her that did not include
dark eyed soldiers. "Something that's not blue." she stated firmly as Eleni began sorting through the different fabrics.
Trying to push past the emptiness inside to concentrate on what was ahead of her. Wishing - just wishing she could
know he had returned to his city safely...
**
"What in Hades do you mean we're off course?" Hector demanded of the navigator as they sailed toward Sparta.
But a few hours out they had been caught in a squall that had nearly turned the boat over on itself and it had taken
everyone on the boat to prevent that from happening.
"The stars, my prince." The navigator said. "Last night they were off, and we made corrections then. But we've lost
time."
"Are we or are we not on course?" Hector asked, quickly losing patience. He didn't have much time. He didn't know
how long it took to throw a wedding together, but he planned to be there to stop it. The only catch was he had to be
there before the wedding took place in order for his plan to work.
The navigator nodded. "We're on course." He said, eyeing Hector, who had seemed completely unlike himself. The
rest of the crew had speculated on what had gotten into the crown prince of Troy...and none of them were even
close.
Hector nodded and walked off, standing at the bow of the ship, picked for its speed more than anything else. If the
Hittites were his enemy before, if they cost him Andromache, they would definitely be on his to do list when he
returned to Troy.