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#BUT menelaus and agamemnon needed to CALM THE FUCK DOWN
miladylocksley · 3 years
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I've noticed a resurgence of empathy for Menelaus who supposedly gets a bad rep when in fact he was never a bad husband (and how Paris is the one that fucked up here)
OK but did Paris's slight justify going to W A R ????
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I don't care how much of a good guy Menelaus is, I'm not gonna blame the idiot who disrespected him for Menelaus deciding to sack an entire city
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gaytrojanshit · 3 years
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Aight @dilfaeneas​ this one’s for you because Helenus absolutely deserves to punch Paris. I’ll probably write more later but it’s 4 am sooo
Gods, what a miserable day this was turning out to be. First, Helenus had woken up with an absolutely killer headache, which Apollo was not doing anything about despite his prayers. And now, he’d received visions that Paris would finally return from his little hideout in Sparta- and he wouldn’t be coming back alone. Helenus and Cassandra had both warned their father that letting Paris go to Sparta was a bad idea, but Priam had been convinced that his newly discovered son would do just fine, and thus had completely ignored the seers’ warnings. Initially, Paris had returned empty handed, causing Priam to believe that all was well and that nothing terrible would come of sending Paris to Sparta. But then came the incident at the games.
The annual games were something that the athletic men of Troy trained for all year. It was a glorious time, with events such as chariot racing, archery, javelin throwing, and more. This year, however, the javelin event had gone horribly, horribly wrong. Cocky Paris wanted to participate in *all* of the games, and had somehow managed to win one or two of the easier events. So, “Aphrodite’s Favorite” had tried his hand at javelin throwing, and somehow managed to miss the target so badly that he hit a person. Now, normally this wouldn’t be that big of an issue, but this person was Antheus, son of Antenor and lover of Deiphobus. Helenus had been close with Deiphobus all his life, and thus wasn’t particularly surprised when his brother absolutely lost it in front of the audience and demanded to duel Paris right at that moment. Paris, being who he was, ran for his life to the then hospitable house of Menelaus in Sparta. And now, some months later, here they were.
Getting up out of bed, Helenus would trudge out of his chambers, knowing damn well that the arrival of Paris’ ships had been announced, and that some of his family members would be there to greet the prince. And good gods, his headache was really putting a damper on his mood. Once he arrived at the port, Paris was there, as expected, along with Hector, Priam, and Hecuba. With a ship full of what looked to be stolen gold, fantastic. It was on days like these that Helenus truly wished that he’d never said anything about the identity of Paris, because then Paris would have died and this wouldn’t be their problem. As he came closer, he became aware that Hector was quite loudly telling Paris off, presumably for the amount of treasure that he’d looted from who knows where. Unfortunately, Helenus knew there was more aboard that ship than just shiny gold.
“Oh, but wait brother! Despite what you may say, this gold will be good for us! And before you yell some more, take a look at the most valuable thing I’ve brought for us.” Paris was truly nonsensical. Troy had no need for gold, they already had plenty of wealth to go around, so this foolishness just showed off the man’s greed. Idiot. With a load of unnecessary dramatics, Paris would unveil his greatest “prize”. It was a woman, one of astounding beauty. It took Helenus a moment before he realized that this was her. Helen of Sparta, the woman who had caused so many men to fall hopelessly in love with her. “What the fuck have you done?” Helenus asked, in an almost disgusted tone. “Well, brother, I took what I wanted. Since I’m a prince, I see no prob-” Paris was then interrupted by Helenus punching him in the face. He heard the crack of his brother’s nose, finding a bit of satisfaction in knowing that he’d temporarily ruined the man’s face. He’d then move back, wiping the blood off of his fist as he turned to Hector. “As a seer and as your trusted brother, I’d say the best course of action is to send her back immediately. By now, I have no doubt that Menelaus has called for Agamemnon to help him get his bride back. Please, brother.” Helenus had seen the doomsday visions for years now. Helen couldn’t stay, or his city would burn.
Thankfully, Hector nodded and turned to their father with a huff. “I must agree. Paris has broken the rules of hospitality, which could damage our relations with Sparta. Father, she cannot stay.” Priam was unfortunately not having any of this, and would gently approach Paris. “The Greeks… will not return my sister. She has lived away from her home for so long, kept away from her family. If Telamon will not give Hesione back, I see no reason to return Helen as of now. Perhaps we may negotiate and come to fair terms.” Helenus did love his father, but the man was old. His hair grew whiter by the year, and perhaps the time was coming to just make Hector king already. On top of that, Priam had straight up ignored all warnings about this very event. Helenus did feel a bit bad for Helen, as the poor girl looked like she absolutely didn’t ask for this. At least she hadn’t done this shit willingly. As the gentle king moved back to stand with his wife, Paris would once again haughtily speak up. “Would you look at that? Father agrees! So I think we’re done here, me and my new wife will be going now-” Paris was once more interrupted by Helenus trying to punch him, raising a surprised gasp from Helen. This time, Hector quite literally lifted the seer up by the back of his tunic and threw him back. “ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!” Taking a deep breath, his older brother continued, “We will discuss this matter in front of the council. Perhaps the royal advisors will be able to talk some sense into you. Helenus, you and I must speak later. And Paris, at least give the poor girl some privacy to bathe.” With another huff, Hector was off, likely to go to the stables to calm down after this misery. Priam accompanied Paris and Helen to the prince’s chambers, where perhaps Priam would come to his senses and talk Paris out of this. Hecuba, however, would approach Helenus and lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You warned them, didn’t you?” Honestly, Helenus quite liked his mother. She was sensible and smart, plus she’d mostly raised him and his siblings while Priam had been busy with royal duties. Or other women. Hecuba would start walking to the gardens, beckoning Helenus to follow. “I did. I told them not to send him there, because exactly this would happen. I told you. Why didn’t you listen? Why couldn’t you convince father?” He asked, a tone of pleading in his voice. He was much calmer now, either from not having to see Paris or from the grounding presence of his mother. “Believe me, I tried. Your father’s quite convinced that nothing wrong will come of this. Neither of us can blame him for wanting his sister back, however, because how would you feel if Cassandra was taken away? Or Ilione, or Polyxena?” She was right… sort of. Priam rightfully wanted Hesione back, but keeping Helen in Troy was not the way to do it. Helenus had seen glimpses of fire and ruin, people dying and the city crumbling. That couldn’t happen, it wouldn’t happen. 
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