War has raged outside the walls of Troy for the past seven years. Safe inside the royal palace, Briseis, a spirited young Trojan princess, sits back as her famous cousins, Hector and Paris, fight against the Greeks, who encroach upon Troy's borders...
Since Aeneas and Briseis moved to court, Aeneas and their cousin, Troilus, had been inseparable. The two boys were close in age and served Troilus's brothers, Hector and Paris, as pages and later as squires. Briseis found Aeneas and Troilus in Paris' tent, polishing and repairing Paris' scratched and dented armor. Aeneas put down his polishing cloth when Briseis entered the tent.
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Briseis opened her arms. "Hello, stranger," she said. Brother and sister didn't see as much of each other as they had when they lived with their father. Aeneas spent most of his time with Hector, Paris, and the other knights and squires while Briseis lived in the palace harem with their female relatives. "Briseis." Aeneas embraced her. He smelt of the salt, vinegar, and olive oil he'd been using to clean and polish Paris' armor. Troilus was hammering one of several dents out of Paris' helmet and whistling a light-hearted air. He seemed to be in a good mood. Maybe he had finally stopped mooning over that gawky priest's daughter who smelt like sheep.
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Briseis sat down on a sofa. "How is Paris?" she said. "Helen is looking after him in her tent." Aeneas scoffed. "Probably kissing his cuts and bruises all better." Menelaus had roughed up Paris quite a bit, but none of Paris' wounds was anything serious. "Fortune's Wheel always seems to turn in Paris' favor," Briseis said. Troilus put down the helmet and hammer. He untied a cloth from around his neck and wiped his brow with it. "Hot out, isn't it?" He turned to Briseis. "Are you thirsty, cousin?" Briseis nodded. Troilus went to fetch her a drink. Aeneas sat down next to Briseis on the sofa. "I received a letter from Baba." "And what did it say?" Briseis reached over to accept a glass from Troilus, filled with ayran, a frothy drink made from yogurt, water, and salt. "Thank you."
