ATREUS' WRATH / ▫

@spcrtan· answered the call  !!

♔__________             WAR   HAS  HARDENED  HER  FEATURES,       USHERED  IN  THE  PERSONA  MANY  FORGET       she carries within her.         it is evident that she is   ares’  daughter,       yet aphrodite still makes herself   KNOWN   through the gentle gaze  &&  distaste for all the decay.       goddess of harmony  &&  peace on the battlefield.      CONCORD   takes no sides,      so she walks among   both  armies,       giving composure when she can  &&  understanding when she can’t.    ❛   you worry for the   COMING  DAYS,       menelaos.  ❜        matter of fact,        quietly spoken,       though she does not address   how   she knows his name.       many a   DIVINE   are not welcome here.

Anxiety distilled by the quarrel between brothers of blood and bond had caused the Spartan king restless nights and a weight upon his shoulders that could not be easily removed. For hours he had gone through in his mind what words that could possibly persuade Agamemnon to give up his pride ... but the Achaean knew his brother too well. Such an outcome was near impossible, unless governed by divine intervention. Unfortunate then, that the gods never appeared to be on their side         .. ---     When gentle voice echoed from behind him Menelaos was slow to react. As a once-exile, he knew the aura that emitted from danger when enemies lurked close and no such feeling did this situation portray. Turning then, Menelaos was greeted with the visage of a woman clad in arms and surrounded by no company but his own. Divinity was assumed for no woman in her right mind would dare this way through camp unless ordered and no such order had been given. ❝    AS ALL MEN SHOULD    ❞ He responded bluntly, not giving voice to his suspicions as of yet. ❝    but who are you to claim to know my heart?   ❞

“ I have nothing of interest to you  —-… So move a long i’m not sharing  this fire..”  @spcrtan

❝   -- I move not to FRIGHTEN NOR HARM, and thus to DENY a man aid is a cruel thing.   ❞

     He hangs back a few paces when Menelaos speaks, although he isn’t surprised the other king anticipated him.   “I have no brothers, so I’ll spare you platitudes about family. But we cannot all be stiff-necked as he is — as they both are — or we will snap like kindling,”   he says, low-voiced.   “Something… must give, Menelaos.”   If they cannot reconcile, the Achaeans have lost already.

     After a heartbeat, Odysseus steps up to Menelaos’ side and clasps his shoulder. His grip is firm. Perhaps this isn’t the time for lectures, for more infighting.   “You are tired. I understand that.”

Something must give  ;  Those chosen words rung through his mind and Menelaos did not need to be reminded. He knew that should this quarrel between Agamemnon and Akhilleus continue, that everything this army had fought to gain would be lost. No one felt the weight of that possibility more than he did. ❝    We are all tired, Odysseus.   ❞ he responded, turning his head to face the man and though his expression did not convey so, Menelaos was thankful for the Odysseus’ presence by his side and the comforting touch that he had offered ❝   -- I do not know how much longer our men can do this .. fighting a war on two fronts. I hear them whisper in the camps that the gods have cursed us. Do you think it so?   ❞

she   was   silent.    and   she   was   silent   because   he   was    right.   she   couldn’t    look   him   in   the   eyes   and   tell   him   that.   not   after   everything   she’d   seen.   “   you    may   be   concerned,   ”   she   spoke   softly,   “   though   i   believe   you   underestimate   them.   ”

Cold laughter passed the Spartan’s lips at her last comment, but the expression did not remain long before succumbing to one of more serious nature. ❝    I would never think to UNDERESTIMATE them.    ❞  nor their ability to burn whole cities to nothing, ❝    but as you seem so resolute on the matter, prove to me that I have no reason to worry. If such can be done we need never address the matter again.   ❞

“    with   all   due   respect   ser,    you   don’t   know   my   children,   ”   she   told   him.   though   the   very    thought   crossed   her   mind   daily.    “   i   will   always   be   their   mother.   ”

               ❝      It is not your RIGHT TO MATERNITY that I challenge,     ❞ Menelaos spoke to her not as a soldier, but as a king. An equal, dragons or no. ❝      But look me in the eye and tell me I have NO RIGHT to be concerned.     ❞

            The goddess is fond of him—not quite in spite of herself, but if he keeps up that tone it might certainly be the case in time.  For now, she contents herself with watching him.  Little wonder that they called the man a lion!  Look how he struggled like a caged beast against the restrictions placed upon him!   

“Do you mean to tell me that you took a godtouched woman to bed and hearth and are surprised to see that her people find her divine?”  Menelaos isn’t being mocked, but Hera is laughing at him.  Men are strange and funny creatures, even this lord among men.  Especially him, today.  

“Had any other been chosen as Helen’s husband and done as you say, he could hardly count himself among the living for long after.  Sparta loves her daughters more than any other land on this black earth can claim.”  Like Ares loves his women.  The same way that Hera favored this city, so far from her beloved Argos.  

                                Menelaos was not accustomed to being king. He’d witnessed his father and brother in such a position of power making it look effortless as they did so, that Menelaos had began to doubt that this is what he was meant for. He knew the people’s adoration and loyalty could not be bought, and that the only way to earn it was through the benevolence of his own actions. But Menelaos was headstrong; more a lion than a man, yes. Give him a beast to hunt, a man to fight, a woman to pleasure and he could do all those things as if it were second nature – but to rule? He is aSECOND SON ( ! ) … he was never meant for this.