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Two Acts of Troy
The Tales of Aquarius, Aquila and
Gemini
Chapter 4: Helen and the Spartan
Princes
Two handsome young princes arrived in Sparta.
Rumors said that they came from Mycenae, fleeing from their uncle
after their father's murder. King Tyndareus was interested in knowing
their story. Helen was interested in knowing the men.
Tyndareus called the strangers into his company to tell of their
experiences and what they saw on the journey that brought them to
Sparta. Every afternoon they were invited to see the king and tell
another part of their story and every evening they were asked to
stay for dinner.
Helen
always made a point of being there and appearing to hang on every
word of both brothers, although if they could read what filled her
mind, it had nothing to do with what they were saying. In truth,
their words never even registered as she was too busy wondering
how they would react if she leaned forward, chin resting on her
hand, and licked her lips, or whether a certain gown would accentuate
her figure just right to make them lose track altogether of what
they were saying. Her plan worked. They both turned to mindless
idiots around her.
Clytemnestra
watched the charade from across the table where she sat next to
her new husband. She felt very fortunate to have married a real
man instead of these stupid pawns who sat before her. Either one
of them deserved Helen.
"It's time you choose a husband, Helen," Tyndareus told his daughter
one evening after dinner. "You should choose between the princes
of Mycenae. They both would like to marry you."
"I agree they are handsome," responded Helen, "but how can you expect
me to marry a prince without a kingdom? I was born to be a queen."
The next day Tyndareus offered to give an army to the brothers to
retake Mycenae. The army would be in the command of Agamemnon, the
eldest of the two. After a time, the brothers returned successfully.
Thyestes had been killed and Agamemnon was now the king of Mycenae.
"I don't want to marry Agamemnon," whined Helen.
As though she made her choice, Tyndareus proclaimed that Helen was
engaged to Menelaus. Tyndareus' word was law and a wedding was held.
But Agamemnon did not wish to appear the rebuffed fool. He would
marry Helen's sister to make it look like that had been the plan
from the start. In the night he murdered Clytemnestra's husband,
his distant cousin. Clytemnestra saw him do it, but no one believed
her. "Why would a king and hero murder an unarmed man in the middle
of the night? Clytemnestra had an evil dream." And so Clytemnestra
was married to Agamemnon and sent to Mycenae to be his queen.
Tales of
the Immortal Night ©2003, J.J. Kuhl
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