Nike flew into Briseis' chambers during breakfast. Briseis handed off Kertis to one of the new nursemaids and opened the capsule on the owl's leg. She was excited to hear from Andromache as the woman hadn't written in some time. Instead of a letter there was a strip of cloth with two lines stitched, one obviously Andromache's hand and the other Hector's. Briseis' heart sank. Andromache had lost another baby. Images from the owl's mind flooded into Briseis' and she witnessed the sorrow as if she'd been there.

Briseis canceled her council meeting for the day and stitched a line between the two. Snylex sat on her lap as she stitched. Kertis slept in his crib and Astroin drilled with Morgan on the balcony. The quiet swish of the loom as Andromache wove and Kegarta humming as she went through the household expenses filled the room. Kegarta was trying to set aside money on Briseis' orders to build a proper belfry for her owls on the balcony. Not just that but they also needed money to hire attendants for them. While the animals could hunt for themselves, Briseis wanted to make sure they were kept well watered, any injures promptly attended too, and cleaned up after. She had so many bound to her now they couldn't keep up with their care without help.

Guilt ate at Briseis' conscience, soured her stomach and brought tears to her eyes. She was enjoying her own version of domestic bliss while Andromache was suffering. Lavda popped into Briseis' mind. She too had suffered greatly while Briseis was away, and she had died. Logically Briseis knew there was very little her presence could have done for Lavda in the final hours. Even knowing that, not being there to witness Lavda's last breath was something Briseis would never be able to get over. With Andromache going through something so similar, it conjured images to her mind of Andromache on the pyre with two coins for the ferryman on her eyes.

Briseis held the cloth in her hands and stared at it. Three simple lines, two small and neat and one large and ungainly. How many of these would Andromache have to sew before she felt the weight of a breathing babe in her arms? Briseis looked over to the alter she'd set up to mother. She'd knelt before that alter with offerings night after night in prayer for Andromache. The offerings always disappeared before her prayers were finished, unlike the prayers to Demeter who left the offings where they were, the disappearing gifts would suggest Athena heard and accepted her daughter's prayers. Briseis scowled at the alter.

"Ouch," Snylex said drawing her attention away from the useless table set with candles and a small statue of the goddess. The boy showed her a bruise he'd gotten during weapon training. Snylex was young enough to start out with the regular trainees but that didn't mean he wouldn't get hurt when they spared together. Though Morgan oversaw most of his and Astroin's training, the boys needed to be exposed to others their own age to begin to grasp the concepts of combat better.

Briseis kissed the boy's arm and smiled. "You're very brave. And the training will help you in the future. Eat up." The table next to Briseis held a snack of bread, jam and milk for the child. Snylex wasn't the most adept at drinking out of a cup yet and spilt some on Briseis' dress.

Briseis watched Asteroin as he drilled on the balcony with Morgan. Being older, though completely unfamiliar with weapons as Umna hadn't bothered to send the boy to training, Morgan pushed Asteroin harder. Asteroin had scratches and bruises all over, nothing serious just the normal consequences of this type of training. The wounds made the boy more determined but he was often overcorrecting which lead to mistakes, according to Morgan, Briseis didn't know the first thing about weapon training and trusted his word. 

As she was putting the cloth back in the capsule there was an assertive knock at the door. Snylex bunched two handfuls of Briseis' dress, trying to make it into a bandage like he'd seen older boys wear over their injures. Unfortunately the child had jam on his hands and it smeared all over her dress. Kegarta put down her quill and sent Verstia to open the door. Before the girl could get there it opened and the head of Mynes' guard stepped inside, alongside Mynes himself.

"Daddy!" Snylex squealed in delight. The boy ran to his father with arms wide but Mynes' didn't pick the boy up. Snylex didn't mind and hugged the man's leg anyway. Mynes didn't look down but he did pat the child's head, though the gesture didn't seem to hold any affection. Mynes' eyes shot to Kegarta and she quickly removed Snylex from the High Prince's leg.

Morgan and Astroin stopped drilling and came into the room. Morgan bowed with the rest of the servants and Briseis' guards. Mynes' took in the messiness of Briseis' quarters. Not that it was unclean, but Arachne had threads spread all around her loom, toys for Snylex littered the floor, and her owls were perched all around. Seeing the birds seemed to make Mynes uncomfortable but he tore his eyes away from them and focused on Briseis.

"I have come to inform you, your debt to me has been paid in full." His eyes landed on the jam smeared on Briseis' gown and a slight look of disgust filled his eyes.

Briseis raised an eyebrow. "I am glad to hear it." Briseis already knew that. She and Hedas presented him with the last bags of gold to fill in her dowry a week ago. Even if that hadn't been the case, paying off such a debt wouldn't require Mynes to come to her quarters to announce it.

"I wish to be alone with my wife," Mynes said bluntly. "Leave."

The command was obeyed to Briseis' dread. Mynes had once declared he would never visit to make her a laughingstock among the wives. If that had changed...

"Don't look so sick. I have no intension of touching you," Mynes said once they were alone.

"Why are you here?"

Mynes walked over to the wine table and poured himself a goblet. It was filled with wine made from the berries Hedas grew with her power. It was the best tasting wine money could buy and in high demand from the nobles. "There's a matter of delicacy I want to discuss with you."

"Which is?" Brisies was starting to get impatient.

"There's been an incident I wish to keep to as quiet as possible in the hall of lesser wives."

"Umna?"

"No, the problem is with another. A man was caught in bed with of one of my wives. He's in the dungeon and she is being expelled from the palace as we speak. This wife has borne me three children which I now doubt are mine."

"What do you want me to do about it," Briseis crossed her arms and almost snorted.

Mynes' eyes darkened at her tone. "I want you to send her children far from here with your marriage pacts. I want you to keep a better eye on the women of this court. I will not be made a laughingstock by having yet another woman of mine accept anyone else into her bed."

"It's not my job to ensure they are faithful to you," Briseis said coldly.

"It now is," Mynes said in an even frostier tone. "I suspect at least one more is having an affair as well," but he declined to say which or what he knew that lead him to think that. He ignored her questions and went on. "I expect you to discover the truth of it. After you bring her to me for punishment, if any more of them are caught with other men you will be expelled from my halls as well. The coronation of you and Hedas will be tomorrow at noon, make sure you're prepared." 

Briseis narrowed her eyes. "You're trying to get of rid of me by assigning me this task, aren't you."

Mynes smirked, drained his goblet and left without another word.

🦉

Briseis and Hedas knelt in front of Mynes and a priest of Ares. All the other wives were seated below the alter along with the nobles of the city. The priest held a cushion with two circlets one made of solid gold and the other mostly of silver, though with subtle gold touches.

There was nervous tension from the nobles, and Mynes' other wives minus Hedas, caused by all Briseis' owls perching throughout the large room. The number of owls nearly rivaled the number of guests for the ceremony. The story of Umna's fall was well known throughout the city, and for the first time Briseis saw what Hedas had warned her about. There was fear in many of the guests' eyes when looking at her or the owls. They'll just have to get used to it, Briseis said to herself.

"Briseis of Pedasus," Mynes called. "I anoint you, High Princess of Lyrnessuss with all the power, respect and responsibilities the title commands." Mynes put the small but heavy golden circlet on her head. "Rise."   

     As Briseis got to her feet, the standard bearers around the room lifted two flags embroidered with an owl sitting on an olive branch, her sigil, next to that Mynes' standard. 

     "Hedas of Caleous," Mynes moved in front of his other wife who was still knelling. "I anoint you, Junior Princess of Lyrnessus."

When Hedas rose polite clapping filled the room. The remaining standard bearers lifted a flag which sported a hand over a growing vine. Hedas only got one standard whereas Mynes had three and Briseis two.

A few days later at the weekly dinner with all the wives and children, Mynes dismissed the servants to speak to the wives in private. The children had been dismissed early as well. "As I'm sure you've all noticed, the number of wives attending this dinner has dropped by one. One of your number was caught with another man in her bed. From this day forward, any one of you caught with or under suspicion of having lovers will be beheaded and her children along with her." He gestured to Briseis. "The High Princess will be in charge of making sure your loyalty to me is absolute."   

Briseis could barely contain her shock. Mynes had spoken with her in more detail about this not long ago, but he hadn't mentioned death would be the penalty for unfaithfulness, and if that was the case, that meant Briseis' fate would be the same if she failed to do as he charged her. Nor did he inform her the children, if the offending wife had any, would suffer the same fate. By putting her on the spot like this it made it seem like Briseis fully endorsed his actions. As she glanced around the room Briseis took in the expressions looking back at her and felt unease. Arguing with or demanding an explanation for Mynes' change of heart would be unwise. Instead of speaking up with her true feelings, Briseis stood and a large number of owls flew into the hall, just as she and Mynes had previously discussed. Many of the women looked uncomfortable seeing the creatures, no doubt remembering the last time Briseis summoned them in their presence when they attacked Umna. "You will all have owls living in your chambers and going with you everywhere you venture. They will be my eyes and you will have multiple birds assigned to you throughout the day."

More uneasy murmuring from the wives. "This will be how things are, get used to it," Mynes ordered.

The next several weeks were painful. Briseis caught one of the wives with another man and brought the information to Mynes. She had issued a warning to the woman, discreetly, but that didn't stop her from conducting the extramarital actives. Thankfully the woman was childless. Seeing the rules enforced sent a new current of fear throughout the harem. Briseis too was afraid, she had debated whether or not to let the woman get away with it. In the end Hedas convinced her to bring the information to Mynes. When he assigned her this task Mynes had hinted he believed one of the wives was having an affair, though not which he suspected. There was no telling if the woman she caught was the woman he had been hinting at. The woman was growing less discrete about her affair, and if Mynes learned of it from anyone else Briseis could be accused of shirking her new duties, in which case Mynes could have Briseis killed for failure.

Briseis couldn't be sure how many of the wives had been engaged in affairs, but after the woman was killed for the offense, both halls of wives rapidly emptied of male servants in a single day. How many of them were partners for illicit actives versus how many left their positions out of fear didn't matter. It made Briseis' life a bit easier having the only men consistently in the area be guards.

🦉

"There's an issue I wish to speak about," Umna said during one of Briseis' councils.

Briseis raised an eyebrow. "What is it Umna?"

Hedas and the others quit writing the letters assigned to them in order to watch them speak. Umna usually didn't speak in these meetings but when she did it almost always lead to a verbal spar. This council session had been gathered solely to pen offers of marriage to those on the list Briseis approved of. With such a large number of children to marry off, Briseis found her writing hand cramping severely after hours putting ink to paper. Her solution was to have the council write some of them after she gave instructions on each.

"Astroin has been covered in injures every time you bring him to see me. I want this training stopped," Umna said.

Briseis rolled her eyes. "The boy is in training to be a soldier, cuts and bruises can't be avoided."

"He hates it! Astroin told me he doesn't want to be soldier. And when I think of poor sweet Snylex being subjected to such brutality as well-"

Briseis went back to writing her letter and cut off the rest of Umna's words. "It doesn't matter what the boy wants. The Troad is at war and even if it weren't, it's your neglect to his martial training which lead to this. Astroin needs to be pushed harder because he has so much catching up to do. Snylex can start at an easier pace because he hasn't aged much above the other boys. Astroin registered no complaints with me about his training, from what I see he enjoys it. You're making too much of this and even if you weren't, I don't care. This is what's best for him."  

Briseis didn't see Umna's face go red, nor did she see Umna grab the small knife used to sharpen the quills. She heard the exclamations of alarm from the others, and saw something green erupt from the ground out of the corner of her eye. When Briseis looked up, Umna was wrapped in vines and that small knife was an inch from Briseis' neck. Sickly surprise swept through her body as the guards moved towards Umna but there was nothing for them to do. Hedas had successfully incapacitated the woman. The world beyond that knife blurred as all Briseis could focus on was the point of it.

"Briseis!" Hedas cried out. "Are you harmed?"

"N-no," Briseis stood and stepped away from Unma who was seething with rage. She dropped the knife but held Briseis' gaze with pure hate. "Release her, Hedas. Guards, escort Umna back to her chambers and keep her there until you I give you further orders. She is to have no visitors."

As the guards carried out her orders Briseis brought her hand to her neck. If Hedas hadn't of been there she would have been stabbed. Briseis hadn't brought any owls with her to this session as she'd grown comfortable and secure here, even with Umna there. It was clear to her that was a mistake.

"My Princess," Frea asked, "shall we continue?"

Briseis turned her eyes on the other women of her council. Frea, Opal and Dion looked just as shocked as she felt. Hedas was looking after Umna with a worried expression. "No," Briseis said. "We will not meet again until summoned."

Hedas hung back as the others left. "Are you alright?"

"No." Briseis left her friend and went directly to her chambers. In the chest under her bed was the slip of spider cloth Leander had given her before she left for Troy, along with the others bits of cloth he hadn't managed to fashion into any garment. She was resolved now to wear the silk slip anytime she left her chambers and as for the rest of it. Briseis gathered all the silk she had on hand, which wasn't much unfortunately, and took to Arachne. "I want you to measure Kegarta and sew these together to protect the vital parts of her body. Ask Morgan where the areas an enemy is most likely to target and take his word. I'll have more for you in time to make garments for yourself and all my other handmaidens."

"This feels different," Arachne said as she ran her hands over the spider silk. "Where did you get this?"

"It doesn't matter," Briseis was more curt with the girl than she intended but she wasn't in the mood for questions. "I have some letters to write. Nobody is to disturb me." She left the bewildered Arachne with the silk.

Briseis wrote to Leander and instructed him to take whatever was nescarry from her coffer in order to compensate him for the silk she demanded he send. She didn't think he'd like her demanding that he cancel all his other plans in order to provide just for her, but she was willing to pay for it and the others could wait. Briseis knew when Kegarta arrived back in the chamber due to the girl's hysteria. No doubt she'd heard what Umna had attempted to do. But as Briseis had instructed she was not disturbed. Briseis spent that night lying in bed looking up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Even though the blade hadn't touched her skin Briseis couldn't shake the feeling of cold iron at her neck.

Weeks later Briseis let Umna's regular visits with Astroin resume. If not for Astroin's pleading she would have kept the woman in isolation. Briseis sat with Kertis resting on her chest. Snylex was at training for which Briseis was grateful. The boy would have thrown a fit seeing his older and younger brother getting to go somewhere without him. She wouldn't have brought Kertis at all, she never had before during these visits, but the boy had a cold and Briseis couldn't bear to be away from the child while he was sick.

Kegarta sat by her having come to be an extra comfort to the boy as they were close. In addition to the five owls she brought for protection Briseis had Morgan and one of his other men there as well. Briseis had never trusted Umna of course, but since the woman had tried to injure if not kill her, Briseis wasn't going to be in the same room with her without a few owls and at least two guards.

"Mother wants to know if she can hold Kertis," Astroin came up to ask. Umna stood at the other end of the garden, scowling and tapping her foot with impatience. 

"No," Briseis flatly. Just as she finished speaking the gong for the evening meal rang. Briseis sighed. Tonight was to be the weekly dinner with Mynes, the wives and their children. The sun was starting to set and Briseis looked up to see the rays of red and gold begin to color the sky. She wished the palace gardens weren't behind high walls that she might have had a better view. Hearing the gong Umna began to walk over.

Kegarta put herself in between the two royal women as they all started down the hall together. Kertis began to fuss and Briseis gently rocked the child. While Briseis had chosen to let Umna have time with Astroin again she took away Umna's freedom to choose the place. Briseis told her if she wanted to see the boy the visits would be conducted in the back garden and the back garden only.

It was the smallest garden inside palace walls, devoid of much of the beauty of the more elaborate ones and had no ponds. She chose this area because the servants rarely had reason to come here, aside from the gardeners. It was so far out of the way of the well traveled halls if another incident with Umna happened it would be unlikely to be circulated. The draw back to this decision was they had a long way to travel to get the dinner as it was at the center of the palace.

There were only two entrances to the garden through a locked door on each side of it. They exited through one and set off down the hall. At least they couldn't get lost, there was only one hallway in and out on each side which both terminated in dead ends. Briseis was silently wishing she chosen a spot closer to the dinning hall if only to be out of Umna's presence faster.

"Now!" A man appeared from behind a column. He had black sackcloth over his face and three more men appeared from behind additional columns. They ran at Briseis and the others with weapons unsheathed. There was something familiar about the first man's voice but Briseis couldn't place what it was.

Umna screamed and pushed Astroin behind her. Kegarta tried to grab Briseis' arm but the blade of one of the attackers stopped her. Briseis stepped back rapidly as Morgan threw himself in front of Kegarta and stopped the sword of one of the men from harming her. Another man ran at Briseis from the flank before she could move aside and thrust a dagger at her ribs. Briseis felt the impact and it hurt, but the spider silk stopped the blade from penetrating her skin.  She fell to her knees and gasped at the pain. Luckily she didn't drop the baby who was screaming and wiggling in fear. Briseis' owls began to attack the man who'd stabbed her and Morgan's other guard was engaged in combat with the third man. But that left one of the enemy men without an opponent and he was bearing down at the women.

"Run," Morgan shouted.

"Come on!" Briseis got to her feet and gripped Kertis closer to her chest as she summoned as many owls as she could. But the owls may not be quick enough to get to them before the man did.

"I want to fight," Astroin shouted as Umna yanked the boy away from the fray. They ran into the garden heading for the door on the other side as it was their only avenue of escape, but it was locked. And the fourth man was still running behind them. Briseis felt the familiar pain in her chest which meant one of her owls had been slain, then another and another. The throbbing in her side had only intensified as they ran and it was getting harder to ignore. Briseis thrust Kertis into Krgarta's arms and picked up a heavy branch from under a tree.

An arrow whizzed past Briseis' ear and she heard Umna scream followed by a choked sobbing. One of the attackers, likely the one who'd slain her owls stood at the other end of the garden. The man was nocking another arrow but a hoard of Briseis' owls flew into the garden over the walls and attacked him. He ran down the hall screaming as claws and beaks tore into his skin. 

"Take the kids and run," Briseis screamed at Kegarta. The man who'd chased them into the garden was still coming and held a sword already dripping with blood but whose's she didn't know.

"Princess!" The door behind Briseis began to rattle as guards pounded on it.

"Help us!" Astroin screamed. "They're gonna kill us!"

"Open the door!"

"It's locked from your side," Kegarta screamed.

"There's no key on this side," one of the guards yelled. "Break it down! Where are the other guards?" The voice told someone to run around to the other side of the hall but that wouldn't be a fast journey. They would have to exit the small hall, go back into the main hall cross to the other side, run up a long staircase and turn left down a quarter of a mile corridor to get to the hall where Morgan and his other guard where still fighting the remaining attackers.

     "Kegarta, Astroin, run!" Briseis screamed again as the man brought the sword down towards her. Silently Briseis cursed whomever had designed this garden.

"There's nowhere to go," Kegarta screamed back.

Briseis didn't have time to dwell on the truth on Kegarta's statement. The man brought the sword against her club. The club was sturdy enough that the sword didn't cut through it, but the strength behind the man's strike was something Briseis couldn't match. The club was ripped from her hands leaving her defenseless. Briseis held a hand out in front her while walking backwards as if that would fend off the assassin. Her foot caught something and she fell backwards. When her body made contact with the ground she almost blacked out as the pain in her side was beyond any she'd experienced before.

The man advanced slowly as if he had all the time in the world. Only his dark cruel eyes could be seen beneath the black sackcloth over his face. Guards were still banging on the door and it rattled heavily but the man would reach her before the door fell. Briseis' eyes focused on the sword in his hand. The cold iron reflected the last rays of the sun. Briseis thought back to what Cassandra had told her in Troy. The princess prophetess claimed Briseis was destined to be the wife of Achilles. She was wrong, Briseis thought, I'm going to die here.

Her breathing turned into shortened gasps. Franticly, Briseis reached out to the owls she'd summoned earlier. She could feel them drawing closer but sadly they wouldn't make it before the man got to her. A scream erupted from her throat as the man brought down his sword to strike. Kegarta and Kertis' wails of fear join hers in a chorus to deafen the ears.

"PRINCESS!" Morgan suddenly was in front of her and his sword blocked the man's. Morgan was breathing hard and a trickle of blood fell from the left side of his armor onto the stone and stained her dress.

His opponent let out a scream of frustration that almost didn't sound human. Briseis scrambled to her feet and ran around the two men now engaged in a deadly dance. She wasn't able to regulate her breathing and began feeling slightly dizzy at the lack of air. The sound of clashing metal filled her ears and tears of fright ran down her face. Astroin was hunched over his mother, blood covered the front of his shirt.

"Are you hurt?" Briseis took the boy's shoulders and shook the shock out of him, tears welled up in the boy's eyes.

"She's dead." Aston choked out. "She pushed me out of the way of the arrow."

Briseis looked down at the woman she hadn't spared a thought for. Astroin was right. Umna was dead. Briseis grabbed the boy's arm and hoisted him to his feet, her side screamed at the movement. She would have carried him but he was too large and with whatever injury she had it was probably impossible. Luckily, Kegarta wasn't far away. Briseis was able to drag Astroin over to Kegarta and farther away from the battle. Kegarta held baby Kertis in a vice like grip as she watched the duel Morgan was fighting with horror.

"We need to get out of here." Briseis still had a hold of Astroin and she pulled the boy around the edge of the garden with Kegarta following close behind.

"I can't leave her," Astroin tried to wiggle out of her grasp but Briseis held firm.

"She's dead. You can't help her," Briseis told the boy in a panic as the enemy man pushed Morgan to the ground. Morgan was huffing and puffing hard as he rolled out of the way, the other man's sword just barely missed his head. Screeching from overhead stopped everyone in their tracks. Over thirty of Briseis' owls dived for Morgan's opponent. The man let out an agonized scream as the birds began to thrust their claws and beaks into his flesh. He tried to run but the sheer number of owls brought him to the ground and soon he moved no more.

It seemed just as the man stopped screaming the guards brought down the door. Fifteen men flowed into the garden to see they were no longer needed. "Get him to the infirmary," the head guard pointed at Morgan. "Good work soldier."

"Craster's in the hallway. I don't know if he's alive or dead," Morgan held his side and groaned.

"See to it," the head guard commanded of some men.

Two guards stepped on either side of Morgan and helped support him. "Wait," Morgan said before they could help him away. "There's one more man that may be in the palace. I don't know what happened to him. One moment we were fighting and the next he disappeared in a cloud of smoke."

"A foul trick," the old guard said. "Alert the rest of the guard and search the palace. Take the enemies' bodies away."

"Wait," Briseis held her side and stepped forward. She tried to bend down but with the pain in her side it was impossible. Seeing what she wanted the guard in charge ripped the mask off the man who'd been felled by her owls. One half of his face was such a ruin it brought bile to Briseis' throat. The other half was intact mostly. At that moment the guards the old one had sent to go around entered the garden from the side Morgan and Craster fought on.

"Do you know him, High Princess?" The head guard asked as he examined the body.

"No, reach into his garments, see if he has anything that might tell us who he is."

       "You've been injured. Take the Princess to her chambers and alert the royal physician."

     "Not yet, I want to witness this search. Broken ribs can wait." He wasn't happy about it but the old guard searched the body. All he found was a small pouch which he handed to Briseis. It was soaked in blood and inside was a small fortune of Lyrnessi gold.

"I know this man," one of the younger guards said.

"Who is he? Speak," demanded the old guard.

"Well I don't know what his name is," the guard backtracked. "He was one of the prisoners in the holding cells. I had a shift down there yesterday."

"Get to the cells and make sure we haven't has a mass outbreak."

Briseis turned over the bloody gold in her hands. In that moment she knew the guards would find the dungeons secured. Somebody inside Lyrnessuss had released these men, paid them in gold and set them loose on her. But who? Her eyes drifted over to the corspe of Umna. While she was the mostly likely candidate Briseis dismissed her. No matter how much Umna might have wanted her dead the woman would never have scanitioned this with two of her children present. But who else inside the walls wanted her dead so badly and had the means to see it done?