"What?" Briseis shot up from bed and across the room Kegarta did the same. The doors to her chambers were pushed open so roughly, the heavy wooden doors swung back against the stone of the wall producing a loud crack. It was the crack that woke the sleeping women.

"Get up!" An older woman demanded crossly. "There's much to do." The older woman was followed by a small army of more women carrying fabric and jewelry, though Briseis recognized none of it. The frenzy startled a great number of her owls. Briseis ordered them to fly away for the time being lest they be trampled.

"Who are you?" Briseis sluggishly jumped from her bed. The light of dawn was just beginning to color the horizon outside the window. Kegarta was by her side quickly, more alert than her mistress.

"Filthy creatures," the old woman sneered as the last owl flew out. "I am the master of the royal wardrobe. It's my job to get you ready for your wedding."

"You haven't told me your name," Briseis crossed her arms and eyed the other women spreading out heaps of fabrics across every surface.

"Eliva, and we have no time to lose. There's almost no time to prepare at all."

"We've been confined for nearly a week," Briseis said hotly. "When will I meet this husband of mine?"

"At the alter in three hours. Now sit down while we do your hair and I select your garments and accessories."

"Where are the rest of my things?" Briseis demanded. "I have my own wedding dress and accessories."

"That's not how things are done in Lyrnessus," Eliva sniffed.

Feeling that if she didn't comply a number of the women would force her, Briseis took a seat in the center of the room. Three women started to comb her hair before beginning to braid it in a complicated style.

"Take away the blues, purples, and greens," Eliva ordered another group of women. "Bring in more yellows and oranges."

"I hate those colors," Briseis protested. "They look horrible on me."

Eliva's hand was so quick Briseis didn't see the slap before it made contact with her check.

"How dare you!" Kegarta raced forward with a candlestick in hand.

"Stay back, Kegarta," Briseis ordered as she looked the bitter old women in the eye. "You will not lay a hand on me again."

Eliva was stubborn, but she bit her lip and looked away after a few seconds. "You two," Eliva pointed at two other girls in the room. "Prepare the serving wench."

Kegarta was taken to another room protesting all the while, and shaking her candlestick which she'd refused to relinquish. Briseis let herself be clothed in an orange dress that reminded her of a pumpkin. To add to the illusion, she was given green earrings of jade paired with more jade necklaces, rings and bracelets. She looked hideous. The last group of women began to paint Briseis' face. They darkened her eyebrows and lips while covering the reminder of her face in a golden paint. The tattoos that ran down the length of Briseis' left arm were also painted over.

"We look ridiculous," Kegarta said through gritted teeth. While Briseis resembled a pumpkin Kegarta looked like an eggplant, she wasn't sure which one of them looked worse.

"Humiliation appears to be the currency of this realm." They stood outside the doors to the wedding hall. They could hear low voices of the guests murmuring on the other side. She hadn't been allowed to have any of her owls with her so they were all back in the room. There was a bang from a gong in the ceremony room which signaled the guests to be silent.

Kegarta took her place behind Briseis, her duty was to carry the gift Briseis would present to Mynes. Wedding gifts between a husband and wife weren't supposed to be extravagant, the gifts were meant to be symbolic of the bond they would forge in their marriage, and as such the gifts were things they would use almost everyday so they'd see it and be reminded of their spouse. The gifts for a man usually tied into what he did for a living, if he worked with cattle the gift may be a rope, for a tanner sharp knives, while a soldier might be presented with an arrow, spear, net, or sword. A husband may give his wife a kitchen tool, present her with a new home if he were rich, or any number of jewelry passed through his family. Briseis' gift to Mynes was a quill made of ivory, a king would draft many decrees and documents in his life and she felt it was appropriate.

The doors to the wedding hall opened smoothly. Every guest turned from their position to watch. Briseis recognized nobody in the back rows. She didn't smile as she walked down the long aisle but neither did she frown, Briseis smoothed her features into a blank mask. When she made it halfway up the aisle she almost stopped in astonishment. Ambassador Ahimelch and Prince Nolk were standing there. Ahimelech looked bored, though amused to see her in this state. Prince Nolk was crying slightly though he smiled at her.

Bewildered, she nodded to them and continued her walk. The next four rows were harder to walk through. Their checks were marked, their clothes plain, which made them stand out among the much more richly attired guests. Unlike Briseis' elaborately braided hair, each of these women had only one braid hanging straight down their backs. It was the harem, Mynes other wives of which she was about to become. There was a wide range of looks woren by these women, some were bored, others hostile, sad, pitiful, one was clearly pregnant and kept letting her eyes wander to the buffet on the far side of the room.

Briseis counted twenty-five women in all. Briseis had known Mynes had multiple wives but she didn't realize how many there were. Briseis made it to the foot of the raised dais after what felt like an eternity. The dais was seven feet off the ground, giving everyone a good view of the ceremony. Briseis took the box containing her gift and left Kegarta at the bottom of the alter. Alone she climbed the stairs to face her groom.

To her surprise there was a third person atop the dais. Briseis had been able to see only Mynes' figure as she walked down the aisle, though she couldn't make out his features as she approached. The third person was a woman, she wore a hairstyle even more elaborately braided than Briseis'. Her face was fixed with a haughty look but that wasn't what made Briseis grind her teeth.

Umna, she had no doubt this was Mynes' first wife, the cruel leader of the harem Asnti had warned her about. Her checks were unmarked but she wore a necklace which had been skillfully crafted to look like the tree branded on the checks of twenty-five women seated below. Briseis let out an angry snort. Umna was wearing her wedding dress. The purple and blue gown she'd intended to wear adorned the frame of this witch. And to make matters worse, Umna also wore the bracelet Andromache had given her as a gift before Briseis left Troy, along with many other pieces of Briseis' jewelry. Including the seashell she'd gathered from the beach the night the plan to return Helen to Greece failed. Umna wore it not as a necklace, but tied to the belt of her gown so it dangled against her leg.

"Welcome Princess Briseis of Pedasus," the deep voice of Mynes met her ears. Briseis glared at Umna then forced herself to turn and look at Mynes. Umna giggled. Briseis resisted the urge to kick her and pull out Umna's blonde hair by the handful. 

Mynes was red of hair and beard, tall, and had harsh angular features some might find handsome, but Briseis felt make him look ghoulish. "Your gift, my lord," Briseis couldn't keep the distaste from her tone as she handed over the box containing the quill. 

"And yours will be one piece of jewelry from my principal wife." Mynes waved his hand towards Umna. The woman was about as tall as Briseis and perhaps ten years older, about the same age as their husband.

"I take it we have similar tastes, young Briseis."

"Give me the bracelet," Briseis commanded curtly while pointing to Andromache's gift.

"Another wench without manners,"  Umna said as she slipped the bracelet off her arm and handed it over. Mynes set his gift on the alter without looking at it.

Briseis took the bracelet with a glare and put it on her own wrist. Umna quickly stepped back and Mynes stepped forward.

"I take you to be my wife, Princess Briseis of Pedasus, you are now Princess Briseis of Lyrnessus." They clasped hands, kissed and the marriage was official. Polite clapping came from the crowd. Mynes and Briseis walked to the ledge of the dias and stood together before their subjects.

Briseis took in a sharp breath as she noticed the twelve giant guests that had appeared at the back of the hall. They were all at least seven feet tall, one was her mother and another she recognized as Apollo, which had to make the other ten their fellow gods of Olympus.

🦉

The gods shrunk to human size and mingled among the wedding guests. Briseis sat besides Mynes as he ate and ignored her. Umna sat on her other side doing much the same. The three of them sat alone at a table placed on a platform above their guests. Their table was laden with a bountiful feast so they need not leave to eat from the tables of the guests below. Briseis was bored and tracked the movements of the gods as they walked unknowingly among the others. Though they were human sized, they were the tallest people in the room which made it easy to spot them.

She assumed Zeus was the one surrounded by women, while the goddess flirting openly with every man, guest or servant, was Aphrodite. Another sat on a bench calling for more and more wine had to be Dionysus. Her mother appeared to be engaged in a lively debate with several scholarly looking men. Briseis could cry from boredom, until ambassador Ahimelech and Prince Nolk approached wedding table.

"Prince Nolk," Briseis rose from her seat to greet him. "How lovely of you to be here."

"I wouldn't miss it, dear Briseis. You're a lucky man," Nolk said to Mynes. "I've been asking her to marry me for years and she never accepted."

"Your words are kind," Mynes said while taking a sip of wine.

"Our love affair will go down in history, Briseis," Prince Nolk said. "I know Mynes must be a good man for your heart to have sided with him. I bring you fifty barrels of wine for your wedding gift."

"I knew you had no manners," said Umna, "it's very unbecoming of you to stand before the Hititite King and call him a station below what he is due."

Briseis ignored her. "Have you become king?"

Nolk nodded. "Sadly my father has been dead these last three months."

"Forgive me, I had not heard. My heart mourns with you, King Nolk."

"Thank you, Princess. I admit its all been rather hard adjusting to kingship, especially since my brother failed to appear before our father passed. I see your father and his wife didn't make the trip here for the wedding. Of course with war on the horizon they must have pressing concerns."

At this Mynes stood up. "Yes, I would be very anxious to see Prince Uriah should he ever turn up. Pass along the message to your brother, King Nolk."

Nolk frowned. "I wasn't aware you knew my brother, High Prince Mynes."

"I hosted him here half a year ago. He was caught canoodling with one of my wives and ran off with ten bags of gold from my treasury. I sent my unworthy wife back to her family in disgrace. I haven't recovered from the more important loss. I want him to return that gold to my treasury with fifteen percent interest for every week that's passed." 

Nolk's eyebrows shot up. "If this is true why did you not send me word of the dishonor?"

"You're not responsible for the actions of your brother, and I didn't wish for news of this act to be widely circulated."

"Very well," Nolk inclined his head. "Much happiness, Briseis. Kiss the Princess' hand, Ahimelech."

"You look splendid," Ahimelech said with a cruel glint in his eye as he took Briseis hand.

🦉

Briseis spent her wedding night alone. After the feast she waited for Mynes to arrive in her chambers but he never came. Kegarta had been sent to the servants' quarter for privacy and she'd sent her owls away for the same reason. Briseis was glad he didn't come to her but worried what this meant.

She leaned against a column on the balcony, feeling numb, when Nike flew to her. Briseis smiled. She hadn't heard from Andromache for some time, and with the war getting closer she worried about her friend. As Briseis was taking the capsule off the foot of the owl the memories of the bird came to her. Briseis let out a small gasp. Since discovering this power to bond with owls and see through their eyes, Briseis had thought that was the extent of her power. Athena mentioned she wasn't using her gifts to the fullest extent but Briseis hadn't believed her. Now the memories coming to her weren't just silent fluid pictures, they were accompanied by sound.