Read Online The Gates Of Troy by Glyn Iliffe - Free Book Online

Paris’s authority, an act that no commander could tolerate if he expected to maintain his position. But Apheidas was always standing up to those above him, and most had learned to tolerate this fault with magnanimity because it was outweighed by his excellence in battle. And perhaps Paris was in the wrong. He had assumed too much of Hector’s attitude – that they would never bring Hesione back and the best they could do was to spy on the Greeks and come back with a reason to make war on them in the future; however, it was Priam’s wish that his sister be returned to Troy and the city’s pride be restored along with her. And Priam was still the king.
    ‘All right, tell me what you’re thinking.’
    Apheidas smiled. ‘Simple. The Greeks took one of ours; I say we take one of theirs in return.’
    He indicated the garden with his thumb.
    ‘Only a fool would suggest something as ridiculous as that,’ Paris snapped, shaking his head.
    ‘Think about it, Paris,’ Apheidas countered. ‘Having her will give us the upper hand when it comes to bargaining for Hesione’s return. And if the Greeks aren’t interested then Troy will at least have its pride back – and you can have Helen for your own.’
    He leaned back against the wall and gave the prince a knowing glance. Paris looked away, doubt furrowing his brow. Having just convinced himself that he must leave Sparta at once for the sake of his mission and his honour, his second-in-command was offering him a way to resolve all his dilemmas with one fell deed. Was it madness to consider such a possibility? he asked himself. But as he considered Apheidas’s words, he realized that it was not. To kidnap Helen would be to fulfil his mission, not abandon it. Troy’s pride would be reinstated and Priam would be able to offer Helen in exchange for Hesione. The Greeks would never agree, of course, and Hector would get his war. More importantly, Paris would have Helen for himself without betraying his mission, his father or his homeland. It was as if the gods had spoken to him, and yet his excitement was checked by uncertainty. He looked back down at the garden, his eyes dark as he stared at the oblivious Helen.
    ‘I won’t deny the gods have blinded me with Helen’s beauty, Apheidas – a fact you seem fully aware of – or that I have already thought of taking her back to Troy with us. But Menelaus is our host and I like him, even if he is a Greek. What’s more, to take Helen would be a dishonourable act, an offence to the gods.’
    ‘Sometimes we must swallow our pride if we are to have our heart’s desire,’ Apheidas said earnestly. ‘And as for offending the gods, don’t you realize that our very presence here is their doing? It’s by their will that we – you – are fated to take Helen back to Troy. In your pride, don’t forget your mortality and the fact you are a pawn of the immortals.’
    ‘You know it will mean war.’
    ‘War’s been brewing for years,’ Apheidas said dismissively. ‘The Greeks are growing all the time, and we Trojans are looking westward for a bit of elbow-room ourselves. It won’t be long before one side goes too far, and then it’ll be a war to the death – our culture against theirs. And the sooner we get the chance to wipe them out the better!’
    Paris nodded, resigning himself to Apheidas’s argument and, with it, the unknown future he had feared and rejected not long before. ‘And how do you suggest we smuggle the queen of Sparta out of her own palace?’
    ‘Menelaus departs for Crete in five days. It’s a journey he can’t postpone, but after that look Helen gave you the other night – oh yes, I saw it – he’ll want to send us on our way before he leaves. We have to convince him to let us stay.’
    ‘How?’
    ‘Demand to speak with him today. Tell him the reason your father sent you here and ask him to send messages to Agamemnon and Telamon, requesting an audience on neutral ground in Mycenae. That’ll give