Chapter Three...First Kiss
It had started as a light rain. Barely there and Andromache had actually been able to see the first curtain of it
moving across the water toward them. It was her fault they'd stayed.
She had been in Troy for almost a week now. And her late night walks with Hector around his city and the
surrounding countryside had become a pattern. One she found herself looking forward to during the day when
surrounded by the women of Troy who talked about harvests and men and wars and jewelry and traveling
merchants' wares. One she found herself holding close to her heart as she snuck into her room late at night and fell
asleep.
She knew better. Of course, she knew better. But it made her so happy. He made her so happy. And she'd never
been happy like this before. Knowing it was going to end only added to how badly she wanted to grasp that
happiness while she had it in front of her.
Tonight they'd ended up on the beach. As they so often did. She loved it here. A storm had been brewing and
they'd stood on the sand and watched it come toward them across the water. Heavy dark clouds and a bone
rumbling thunder. Jagged edges of Zeus' lightning reaching from heaven to earth. The waves, frothy and wild as
horses, crashing together and against the shore. She'd pushed back her cloak's hood just to feel that wild
excitement against her skin. To inhale that chill, biting air into her lungs. She loved the storms back home but the
mountains broke them. Here - here there was nothing but storm and celebratory sea.
She'd begged Hector to let them stay just a little while longer. Eyes full of storm and wild wind. Smiling happy and
free. So it was her fault they'd gotten caught in the rain. Not that she'd minded. But she had felt guilty that she'd
kept him out in the wet.
How he'd found the tiny fisherman's shack or already known about it she didn't know. But as they stumbled into its
empty, dark interior, she was soaking wet. And laughing. And alive...
Hector was also laughing as he closed the door before the wind sent rain into their dry haven, soaked to the bone.
He'd found this shack years ago, and honestly wasn't sure it still stood. But with the storm right on them, he took a
chance and was glad to see it still standing as he pulled her inside.
"I told you storms move in fast off the sea." He said, without accusation, he was still laughing as he got the small
bowl of oil left behind by a fisherman lit to cast light across the small shack. It wasn't much light, but it would stop
them from breaking anything in there from fumbling through it. He pushed his wet hair off his forehead as the water
dripped into his eyes, the tight waves quickly turning into tight curls from the wet.
"They say Poseidon sends storms like this to test the walls he reportedly forged," he said. "I think its because he
likes to see beach walking mortals run really really fast!" He went over to her. "You are soaked." He said, and
couldn't help but notice how the dim warm light caught on her face and hair as she still smiled, catching in her eyes.
"If I was a god, I would have more fun making the mortals run than beating at walls." she laughed. Still feeling free
and exhilarated by the storm that tugged at the door just behind her. Rain pounded the roof and the thunder still
burst across the sky outside loud enough to sound like a thousand horses in motion. She shook her head, eyes still
sparkling as she stepped closer to Hector. His presence always felt warm. Safe. Encompassing. More of a shelter
than the building they'd found refuge in. She didn't understand it. But she was learning to accept what it, in
kindness, offered.
"So are you." she agreed to his 'soaked' comment, lifting a hand to wipe the excess water from his face with a softer
smile.
The water didn't bother him, he was used to it. He'd fought in storms worst than this, where one couldn't see due to
the rain, where if one stopped to brush water off his face, he'd be dead. Then again, in his battles, he'd never had
a beautiful woman there to brush the water off with a gentle hand. A gentle soft hand he was leaning his face into.
He knew they had a silent agreement, where there was this bubble around her he wasn't supposed to try and enter.
That to do so was a strict violation of their pact, and storm or no storm, the chances were good that she'd stomp out
of the shack and try to head straight back for Troy.
But gods as his witnesses, as his eyes scanned her face, that beautiful face with high cheekbones and smiling
mouth highlighted by the dim oil light, sometimes some borders were meant to be breached, right? The rain beat
down on the roof in a staccato rhythm, one that didn't even come close to matching the pounding of his heart at this
very moment as he moved her hair away from her face, fingers lingering against her cheek until he finally lowered
his own face down and kissed her softly.
She responded without thought. Body swaying forward to find the warmth and safety of his, her lips answered his.
Soft and unsure she returned the kiss. Thebes wisest of daughters forgetting for a moment that there was a world
outside of the small circle of Hector of Troy's presence. One of her hands slipped from his cheek to curve against
the back of his neck and the other found itself over his heart. That pounded as strongly as hers. And for the
moment, and the moment only, there was only Hector. And his gentle touch she'd learned to trust.
Hector relaxed, not even previously being aware that he was bit tense. But the slap he'd half expected (more than
half expected) never came, and even if it had it would have been worth it. He kept that one hand in her hair, holding
her mouth to his as he kissed her, deepening it as much as he dared as his other hand circled around to the small
of her hack, where it rested on the wet fabric so thin he could feel the heat of her skin through it, holding her close.
Safe. She'd never felt so safe. So - cared for...
She learned from him, automatically responding to the slide and pull of his mouth against hers. He slipped heat
through her. Filling her with its warm, humming glow. His hands, calloused by sword and spear, were gentle for her.
The arms that held her, the chest that protected her, scarred and trained by war, only offered her safety.
Belonging. Her long fingers wound in his hair, responding to the need he called up in her.
She belonged here...
The thought tripped in her mind and she pulled her head back with a jerked inhale. Dark eyes hazy and confused
as simple common sense tried to reassert itself. Looking up at him.
What was she doing?
So sudden was the end of that miraculous kiss that Hector was caught off guard for a moment and opened his eyes
to look at her. He knew now they were entering into awkward territory, to say the least, but the one thing he noticed
was the rain. It had stopped.
He stroked her face with his thumb for a moment, looking down at her, then smiled gently. "Come on, the rain's
stopped."
She nodded, heart jerking unsteadily in her chest. They should go. What - what had just happened... she couldn't
let it happen again. She couldn't... shouldn't - Looking up at him, finding his eyes... they should go.
But she didn't - here was safe. In his arms. She could think when she was in his arms without feeling pressure or
self doubts. His presence soothed her. Made her feel stronger and braver than she was.
The moment she stepped out of his arms everything would stop making sense.
The moment she stepped out of his arms she was going to have to decide that she couldn't see him anymore.
He nodded at her also, but didn't make much movement to head out of the shack. He also knew they had to.
Because he could tell just from her eyes everything was downhill as soon as they stepped out of here.
He kissed her once more, this time softly on the forehead. "Come on." He said and took her hand coming out of the
shack. He looked out at the sea, he had to do something or she'd probably never talk to him again. "Tell me," He
said with a hint of mischievousness in his voice. "Do you swim?"
She'd wanted to cling to him. When he'd kissed her forehead so tenderly. Wanted to press close and beg him not to
make the world outside real. The strength of that desire had scared her.
She couldn't... not him. Not a soldier, prince of a city of soldiers.
Her hand in his felt so natural and she glanced down at their linked fingers as he ducked to step outside the
shelter. She shouldn't allow that. It - gave him the wrong idea. And... and she was growing so used to his touch that
she missed it when it was gone. She should have stopped this long ago. Never should have wandered into the
gardens that second night. Hoping he would come and show her more of his city. Never. Never should have...
She looked up when he asked, heart fighting with her head. Looked at him with surprised eyes.
"Yes." she answered blankly. Some vague warning whispering in the back of her mind about the look in his dark
eyes. "Better than most. There are lakes where I live, you know."
Hector full out grinned at her as he looked over his shoulder at her, the remaining wind catching in his wavy curly
hair and blowing it around a bit around his face. "Well, you've seen all the high lights of Troy, the sea, the river, the
gardens, Mt Ida, the Apollonians on drill, the horses..." He said, then he grabbed her and easily threw her over his
shoulder and headed toward the sea. He laughed at her protests. "What?" He said. "We're already soaked!"
The sound she made when he scooped her up was a muffled sound of surprise, bitten back. Bitten back because
she never protested things loudly. Set against her brother's rough housing, she'd learned to keep feminine sounds
that just seemed to feed their fire to a minimum. But the shock and wash of fear that swept through her had her
jerking automatically against him. Because - he was going to drop her. She was huge after all. All arms and legs
and hardly the delicate, tiny creatures he had to be used to. When he didn't unbalance immediately under her
awkward weight, she let go of the fabric of the back of his tunic that she'd caught in fistfuls and tried to lever herself
up without tipping him to see what in the world was going through his addled mind. And her -
"What are you do - " changed in a heartbeat to "oh no. No, no. No, you wouldn't dare." Which was a mistake to
challenge any man with. "Hector!" she protested starting to laugh and trying to sound serious about it.
Over his teasing, she managed a "Don't even think about it" that sincerely lacked the solid decisiveness she would
have liked. And then the first of the wild waves was washing up against them both and she let out the equivalent of
a muffled shriek that was less fear than surprised joy.
"Crabs." she gasped, laughing. Throwing the last protest weakly out since nothing like that was going to be out this
deep. "I thought you were afraid of crabs?"
Hector laughed. "Crabs aren't nearly as single minded in the water as they are on land." He shot back. "That is the
main difference between crabs and princes of Troy." He laughed again as the still wild waves crashed against them,
managing to keep his balance but barely. Until the next one crashed with all the force of a wall tumbling down,
knocking them both down as it swept over them.