#aneid

You caught Paris’s eye when you walked from behind those beautiful tall stone columns that decorated the dining hall. Your long pink dress that was tightened around your body with fine garments and long golden ribbons that were tightening the long fabric against your curves sent his head spinning the second it caught his eyes.

Your fingers brushed the edge of the column as you slowly walked towards the dining table, the multitude of foods that layed along catching your eye, before your stare left to the empty seat in between your father and a young boy you had never seen before.

His curly brown hair and bright brown eyes made your heart skip a beat as you slowly made your way towards the table and your reserved seat. The dopey smile that mindlessly crossed Paris's face lingering on his lips as you approached making you crack a smile.

“Ah, Y/n!” Your father proudly stood up and pointed towards you as you stepped even closer to the table and the multitude of your father’s guests. “Priam!" He turned to the king "Princes of Troy!" He nodded towards them. "I present to you my beautiful daughter, Y/n” His smile almost reached all the way up to his ears as he waited for you to walk to your seat. "Princess of Sparta." He eyed Priam and Hector who were sitting in front of him with a knowing look.

“Y/n.This is Priam, king of the Trojans.” He proudly pointed to the man with pepper colored hair sitting in front of him. “His sons. Hector” the one that was sitting in front of you and slightly bowed his head at your sight. "And Paris.” The young one sitting right next to you nodded his head repeating his brother's actions, his smile sending chills to your spine.

"They’re here to declare peace, Y/n" he explained to you as you took a seat in between Paris and your father. "Sparta and Troy will be good friends." He raised his glass "good allegiances make good friendships." He raised his drink to the fellow king.

“To allegiances" Priam nodded before bringing his cup up to clink it with your fathers.

You reached for a strand of grape, your thoughts being so loud you hadn’t realized Paris was reaching for them too, making you stretch your arm a little further accidentally bumping the prince's cup with your elbow.

"Oh, I’m so sorry." You quickly responded as a coat of red lightened your cheeks, you and Paris’s quick reflexes reaching for the cup at the same time, your hands almost intertwining around the cup.

"No, I am." He replied. "We both reached for them at the same time, don’t apologize for not having room for your elbows." He smiled, both of you still not realizing your hands were still laced together around his glass.

For a split second, you felt the world around you stop. The golden lights of the candle reflecting in his big brown eyes mesmerized you and kept you from looking away, Paris not able to retrieve his stare either. This small moment of peace and connection between the two of you didn’t go unseen by Priam, who even though was deep into a conversation with your father he always kept a close eye on his son.

That night, shatter went one between the kings and the multiple of guests, and your conversation with Paris never seeming to die down.

The laughter that lingered between the two of you went unseen to Menelaus, his preoccupations and ego blinding him to anything happening under his nose. Hector who was sitting right in front of you, going in and out of his father’s convos kept a close eye on you and Paris, an amused smile rising at the way Paris stared at you with his puppy dog eyes.

Bards and musicians quickly took the night’s main attention as the room started rising into a rich party, making your mind light up with an idea.

“How about we go take some fresh air?” You asked Paris as you eyed the room filled with men partying and getting drunk with wine, your father ignoring the look of bordem on Helen’s face, while Priam made small talk with Hector.

“I agree. Let’s go.” He nodded and you slipped away from the room, people barely noticing your absence.

“This is my favorite part of the gardens.” You pointed out as you arrived at an unlit area that looked over the sea. “Be careful.” You grabbed his arm as he was about to take one step closer to the edge of the cliff. “There’s a cliff!” You exclaimed with a puff of laughter as you heard a few rocks tumble down.

“You saved my life.” He breathed out with a prince charming smile making you roll your eyes.

“Saved you from hitting rocks, yes.” You chuckled before grabbing his arm and dragging him further into the dark.

“May I ask where are you taking me?” He questioned as you just kept walking forward.

“You’ll see.” You smiled and dragged him forward, directing him through the many rocks and things that covered the ground. You made a full stop at the tip of the cliff you had walked along, the water being higher than the previous edges, small drops of water occasionally hitting your face as the waves crashed to the coast. You looked at the beautiful sea before removing your sandals, sitting on the edge of the cliff, your feet sometimes brushing the tip of the waves that hugged the rocks.

“C’mon” You patted the ground next to you and it took Paris a second to come back to reality. He removed his sandals too, gently throwing them next to yours and sitting barely inches away from you.

“The sea looks beautiful.” Paris breathed out as he brought his stare back to you, the warm air of the night lingering on your skin.

“It always does around here.” You replied turning to face him again, silence breaking the conversation and for what felt like a few minutes, the world dropped quiet.

The warmth of the air lingered on and the only sound that was heard was the waves crashing to the shore, and some nightly birds chiming as they made their war to their nests.

The world felt as though you and Paris were the only two people in the world as you slowly both leaned in until you were barely inches apart, your breaths mixing with his. Your nose almost touching as your lips brushed together, the wind making you lean in a little closer and finally closing the gap. His sweet kiss sent shivers tumbling down your spine, the cold waves hitting the tip of your toes sending more chills to your body.

~

The next few days ran around back and forth flirting and sneaking around. The rush of the so-far hidden relationship making Paris’s stay on Sparta ten times better than he thought it would have been and the days you spent with him more interesting than your entire life in Sparta.

But as the days went on, the rush turned to love and you felt rocks flop in the bottom of your stomach as the end of Paris’s stay was quickly coming to an end.

Another feast who this time was to bring good fortune to the Trojans on their way back, this time highlighted the end of the short moments you were lucky enough to feel what love was like, ringing the end of Paris’s stay.

“Well look! How about we form a permanent allegiance!" Your father added letting his words be guided by his envy and thrive for power. "How about your fine son Hector, marries my daughter? Wouldn’t that make a fine match?" He patted your shoulder as Paris was about to choke on his water, Hector’s face lighting with an amused grin.

"That would be a smart match Menelaus!" Priam replied which only made the feeling get worst inside all your stomachs. You, Paris, and Hector sharing a confused look. "But I’m afraid I will only accept my sons to marry for love." His wise words sunk into your ears like a spring breeze, making the lumps in your stomach disappear in a snap. "Hector had his eyes on a fine woman back in Troy I believe." Priam eyed his eldest son. "And well Paris..." he let his stare linger between the two of you, his knowing eyes sending a flash of red across your cheeks. "Paris would be of marriage age when they come back to sign the treaties..." he turned back to Menelaus who was holding onto the man’s words like he would hold on to a sword in combat. "Maybe then we’ll see where his heart belongs." He let his words linger in the air before your father let out a stiff chuckle.

"Love?" He laughed again at the fellow king’s face. "Love has never made alliances- Do you think I married my first wife for love?" He let out a new puff of laughter which made you sick to your stomach at the mention of your mother. "Sure she was beautiful! But she ended up dying on me! At least it made Sparta expand!" He horrayed and the ways he talked about his past wife made Helen’s face twist in agony for you. "I remarried Helen, a little for love yes." He pointed out to the woman sitting on the other side of him who handed him a tight smile. "But allegiances matter!" He ended his sentence by lightly punching the table making few things jump.

"Well... we shall see." Priam’s modest words were all he needed to say before he turned his stare towards you and Paris.

"Do you think he knows?" You whispered to the prince that was sitting inches away from you.

"Definitely." He furiously nodded yes. "Your father?" he questioned.

"Nah he's clueless-" you whispered again before eyeing him as he was sitting barely a meter away from you.

"What are you guys whispering about?" Hector chimed in.

You didn’t say a word and ended up pointing to Priam mouthing a ‘he knows’ before waving towards you and Paris. Hector nodded a large yes with his head, the convos of discussing you and Paris’s future behind your backs with his father coming back to his mind.

And as the feast ended, Paris slipped away from you and far off across the sea.

All that time that Paris was away, far from Sparta, the constant reminders that you were husbandless and the subtle sentence of Priam would often subconsciously made Paris aware that you were waiting for him. His love for you clouding his mind almost every day until he could finally make you his.

As he stepped on the warm grounds of Sparta, the sun was high in the sky making the land dry over the day. Paris took a second to admire the blue sky before following his brother, his heart almost beating out of his chest at the thought of meeting your eyes.

“You look stressed brother!” Hector placed an arm around his little brother with a soft chuckle the thought of you making Paris’s head spin making him laugh a little more.

“Not at all-” He chocked out as he opened and close his fist in stress.

Hector looked at him in disbelief for a few seconds before finally stepping into the city, his guards and Paris trotting behind.

“Welcome!” Menelaus welcomed the brothers with a large smile a gorgeous feast already getting prepared for their arrival.

You stood behind your father and nodded your head politely greeting the princes. Your eyes only for Paris you forced every bone in your body to not jump and kiss every inch of his face and feeling his arms around you.

“Y/n” Your father brought you back to reality, making your eyes drift from Paris to him.

“Yes?”

“You’re dismissed.” He simply replied, making your heart sink in your chest. “I shall discuss the peace treaties with the princes, I dare to think you’d be interested in politics.” He let out a puff of harsh laughter, your heart sinking deeper in your chest.

“I would-”

“Not another word!” He raised his hand to stop you. “Go now!”

You relentlessly took a step back as your heart became heavy at the thought of passing a few new hours without the love of your life, your stare lingering to Paris as you disappeared into the castle walls.

You eyed the door of the meeting room, anxiously waiting for the king of Sparta and the princes of Troy to come out. And when they finally did you felt your head spin at the excitement of meeting him again.

You watched Hector finish talking with your father as Paris mindlessly walked behind the two. You smiled as you carefully hid behind the large pillars that made you unseen by the three men who made their way to the dining hall.

In a split second, you grabbed Paris's hand sneaking him behind a pillar. He stumbled in confusion as it took him a second to realize it was your hand leading him into a small hallway.

"Hey." You smiled as you finally met his eyes settling yourself against a wall knowing you were safe from sneaky eyes

Paris didn’t even take the time to reply that he snaked his hands around your waist and smashed your lips to his. You smiled into the kisses that you had missed so much, barely stopping for air.

"I missed you." You smiled as you finally pulled away, feeling as though the air had gotten stolen from your lungs just by meeting his eyes.

"I think I missed you more." He chuckled as he rested his forehead against yours taking in your flowery sent as you both closed your eyes and took each other in.

You kept a few quiet seconds as you stared into each other’s eyes, Paris bumping your nose with his before bringing you back into a few new kisses.

“Paris!” Hector’s voice rang through the hallways as your exchange of kisses became more heated.

“Paris,” You chuckled trying to pull away. “we should probably head downstairs.” You chuckled placing your hand on his torso so stop him from kissing you. “Your brother is looking for you.” You smiled before he pressed once again a new kiss to your lips.

“But-”

“No but’s” You pointed out and let out a loud chuckle which caught Hector’s ears. “We have to go.” You pointed out.

“Alright.” He whined and his grip on your waste became a little tighter. “But on one condition.” He smiled which made you raise an eyebrow. “Marry me.”

His confident words made a small silence fall between the two of you. Your heart did a flip as you thought if you heard his words right, a grand smile creeping on your lips.

“You mean it?” You whispered in disbelief feeling tears start on the verge of your eyes.

“Yes. I swear it by the gods on Mount Olympus. Aphrodite herself could test my love for you and see that I mean those words more than I have meant everything in my life-” He rambled on before you cut him off by a kiss, sealing the question with it as your answer.

“Yes!” You smiled. “A thousand times yes.” You pressed a thousand kisses to his lips as Paris felt the pressure of the question slipping away.

Paris let a trail of kisses on your jaw, falling back to your lips.

“There you are.” Hector’s voice came out from nowhere making both of you jump. “I was beginning to wonder if you two had found each other.”

“Hector...” You cleared your throat, the red from your cheeks getting brighter at every second as you awkwardly looked down. “Hi.” You squeaked and a loud chuckle escaped his lips.

“Your father is waiting for you...” Hector awkwardly spoke up. “He mentioned something about how it’s a shame that I was married, and asked me what I thought about Paris making a fine husband for you.” He smiled before finishing his sentence. “Thought you might be interested...”

Both your eyes went wide and a large smile painted your faces as the words finally hit.

“I think your father approves.” Paris took his stare off his brother and back to you.

You gave him a large smile as an answer, locking your lips with his before slipping out of his grip and grabbing his hand, running with him towards the dining hall. Hector lazily followed as a large smile danced across his lips, the happy feeling of you two being together warming his heart.

You took a full stop in front of the dining hall, fixing the sleeve of your dress hand smoothing out your hair before walking into the large room, your hand tight around Paris’s.

“This is the part where you ask my father to marry me.” You whispered and Paris stood frozen in the doorway at the thought of facing your father.

He gulped as you shoved him towards the table and your father’s seat, his loud laugh not helping the anxiety that rose inside his stomach.

“Paris!” Your father loudly exclaimed as he watched Paris approach the table and you following not far behind. “How would you like to marry my daughter?” He questioned and Paris’s cheeks turned bright red.

“I-” the words caught in his throat as he tried to think of a good answer.

“I know your father wants you to marry for love but we can make it work-”

“Yes.” Paris interrupted Menelaus as he finally got his words together. “There's no need to do anything- I love your daughter sir.” He mumbled with his words.

“Love?” Your father chuckled and your cheeks turned bright red as you approached the conversation.