(disclaimer- Agamemnon never took Briseis in this AU)

I lay there, under the expensive sheets that should not belong in a war camp. Achilles was on his stomach; one arm tossed over me, the other supporting his head. I felt his warm, even breaths against my face. 

It was nights like these that kept the nightmares of the dead boy away. Achilles, with his gentle breaths hitting my face, his soft arm over me, his warm body against mine, his full lips parted ever so slightly. This was the true Achilles, not the war god that was found on the battlefield; the person that would be seen tomorrow, with his bronze armor and horse haired helmet and giant ash spear. 

I prayed for him. Prayed that this would be his last fight. Prayed that for once, the gods and fates might be on my side.

He woke at the crack of dawn. I was drowsy, half asleep, as he gently kissed me. I opened my eyes and squinted at the golden light coming through the tent flap. He walked out with his armor. I quickly threw the sheets off of myself, put on my tunic, and raced to him. I clung to him where he stood and wept. 

"Please, do not leave. What if you do not come back", I cried.

He simply pressed his lips on my head and said "I will come back, as I always do." He then let go of me and leaned down to kiss me, and walked down the path to Automedon.

I walked to the tent where Briseis resides, and opened the tent flap. She was not there. I walked to the forest where we often talk and pick berries. She was there, sat down on a fallen tree. I walked to her. 

She noticed me, and pressed a finger to her dark lips. She pointed to something. I looked, and there stood two deer, eating something on the ground. I looked closer, and there was fruit on the ground, most likely from Briseis. 

"Aren't they majestic?" She says quietly, eyes bright against the morning sun. I nodded. The creatures were not new to me, but I had not seen one since Pelion. "Where is Achilles?" She asked.

"Out fighting. He says that this will be his last fight for Agamemnon. After this we will sail home. That is why I came looking for you." She looked at me, confused. "I was thinking, I would like you to come back with us."

She leapt into my arms, startling the deer away. "Of course I will! Where else would I go?" She said it with mocked contempt.

"Good", I grinned. I thought of it; Briseis in a small house near mine and Achilles on Pelion, we would pick berries and watch the deer.

I took her hand, and together we walked down to the markets. I bought us some bread and fruit, and we went back to the forests. I taught her how to track the deer by their prints, and we eventually found them again. We tossed bits of the bread to them, until eventually they ate from our hands. They were more trusting of Briseis, letting her pet down their soft necks. I suppose I eventually grew on them.

At midday, we walked back to our camps. She walked to her tent, and I to mine. I opened the tent flap, and Achilles was there, washing the blood off of his gentle skin. I did a double take, and realized that this time it was his blood.