This is sequel to An Achean Tale and will make more sense if you read that first. I had no plans to write a sequel but the idea of the unknown tomboy's reaction to the amazons just wouldn't go away. There will not be any more of these. It was too hard to keep this light in a war. I basically just glossed over truths about casualties and the fate of female captives. I read a bowlderized version of the Illiad almost sixty years ago. Since then it has always been a part of the accepted cultural background of my life without ever reading a decent translation. That may have to change.

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Ullysses knows! I should have realized that all those Myrmidons wouldn’t be able to keep a secret from that wily old fox. I just hope no one else finds out. Ullysses will keep his mouth shut as long as I keep leading our army to victories. It wouldn’t help his reputation for cleverness to have everyone find out he’d been fooled by a mere girl. For now I’m leading the Myrmidons in battle by day and sharing a tent with Patroculus by night. I wouldn’t want to have to give up either of them.

I’m not the only girl on the battlefield though. There is this really cool band of woman archers supporting the Trojans. They are called Amazons. They can fight with spears and swords too. I wanted to learn more about them so I broke through the Trojan lines right in front of them. When we closed with them they dropped their bows and fought us. It was great! I never got to fight other girls before. The Trojans rallied when Hector came to our breach and drove us back but not before we had taken one of the Amazons prisoner. Her name is Briseis and I’ve claimed her for my own captive. All of the other leaders have claimed slave girls but I was happy with Patroculus. He’s not jealous. He says it will help my disguise. I kissed him when he said that. I kiss him a lot now. Besides I don’t like girls that way.

Briseis was happy to learn that I’m a girl. If she had been claimed by one the other generals and raped she would have had to kill him or else kill herself. That’s an Amazon rule. I’m finding out other things too. They don’t cut off their right breast like the men say they do. That would be really gross! If they are too big breasted they just use a really tight strap of soft leather to hold themselves in and protect from bowstrings. She’s going to show me how to make a pair of them to help me hide and fit in my armor if I start getting bigger. You need someone else to buckle the strap but I have Patroculus help me into my armor anyway. We talk about fighting styles too. I can’t give a captive a spear, even a practice spear, but I am using what I learned from her about facing a bigger, stronger opponent. I’m big for a girl but not as huge as Ajax or Hector, the Trojan prince. Besides it’s just nice to have a girl to talk to who knows about things besides embroidery and hairstyles.

The war had kind of stalled. We can’t take the city but the Trojan’s can’t drive us off the beach to end the seige. Then the Father of Chryseis, Agamemnon’s captive, raised the money to ransom her. Agamemnon is the brother of Menelaus and leader of the Achean armies. The war started when Menelaus’ wife Helen ran off with Paris, a prince of Troy. I don’t blame her. I’ve seen Paris and He’s Hot! Not as hot as my Patroculus but a lot better than an old man like Menelaus. Apparently refusing to ransom a princess is an affront to the gods so Agamemnon should have accepted the gold and took another girl to sleep with. He didn’t think he would find another one as pretty and of such high rank though. We started getting beaten badly on the battlefield until the augers were consulted to find out why. They said that the gods would not favor the Acheans while Cryseis was being held without ransom. The other leaders and I said that he had to give her up. We were tired of getting beaten and feared we might be defeated entirely if things kept on like they were.

When Agamemnon gave up his captive he insisted that as the commander of our armies he could take any other girl he wanted. He chose Briseis. I don’t know if he wanted tame the wild Amazon or if he did it to spite me for being called the greatest of the Acheans by the oracle when everyone knew that he thought that should be him. I refused to give her up of course. If he took her his bed she would kill him and then be killed herself. It got so bad that I had started to draw my sword and so had Agamemnon. Ullysses jumped between us and called for all the others to do the same. We were reduced to shouting insults at each other across a mob of kings and princes. He said I was too girly to know what to do with a woman anyway and I said he probably needed a boy to lift his aging member up before he could use one. Then we started to draw our swords again. I shouted that his was too limp to be of any use before I was pushed out of the tent by the press of bodies.

I went back to my own tent and told Patroculus and Briseis what had happened. That’s the only time Briseis ever kissed me. I was just about to kiss Patroculus so he wouldn’t feel left out when Ullysses and several other leaders of the Achean army came into the tent. I made them go back out until I was ready see them. First, I kissed Patroculus, then the three of us talked about what we could do. Then I kissed Patroculus again and called the committee into my tent.

“We have to end this fighting among ourselves” Ullysses opened. “Else the Trojans will be able to just watch our army disintegrate without ever lifting a weapon. Agamemnon is right that as our leader he has the power to apportion the spoils of battle. Just as all of us forced him to give up Cryseis, we will force you to give up the Amazon.”

“If you take Briseis then I’m done with you” I said. “The oracle said I would lead the Acheans to victory. Without me you will lose.” The three of us had decided that that was my strongest argument, so I led with it.

“Instead of answering me Ullysses spoke to the other generals. “Let me reason with Achilles alone. Too many of us against him alone may stiffen his resolve not to listen.” They reluctantly agreed and left. “Now girl, why are you making so much fuss about a bed mate you aren’t even using? Do you want to destroy the Achean army for your vanity's sake?”

“If I yield her to Agamemnon she will kill him or herself” I said. “You cannot take an Amazon to your bed without her consent. She will not leave this tent without a dagger she is quite able to use. You know the quarreling about the new leader would break this army into a dozen or more small bands”

“Yet if you do not give her up the army will be broken anyway.” mused Ullysses. Then I saw that he truly deserved his reputation for cleverness when he continued by saying “So you must yield her up to Agamemnon but she cannot reach his bed. I think we can do that if we work together.”

“What is your plan, Oh wily Ullysses?” I asked. This was beginning to sound like fun. To be a part of one of Ullyssess’ legendary schemes was almost as good as kissing Patroculus. Well, maybe not!

When he had finished it was agreed that he would tell the others that he had given me until sunset to give up Briseis voluntarily. When they came Patroculus would tell them that I would not follow Agamemanon if he did not relent. On this I was adamant. The rest of the army could follow that blowhard bully, but I would not. In any case I would not come forth from my tent while they took Briseis away.

Just at sunset the same group of men who had come earlier approached my tent where they found Patroculus barring their path with Briseis beside him. Patroculus delivered his message and had listened to their arguments for about the time it would take a man to run from one end of the Achean camp to other when Ullysses spoke out angrily saying that they were wasting time to no account. He grasped Briseis by the arm and passed her to an aging general to lead her to Agamemnon’s tent with two common soldiers as an escort. The others stayed to harangue Patroculus some more and insist on seeing me. A few minutes into Ullysses eloquent speech on the duty of all the Acheans to follow Agamemnon there was a commotion in the part of the camp occupied by the Ithicans. Men were shouting that the enemy was trying to raid the chariot horses. Men in other parts of the camp took up the cry adding conflicting orders to protect the other horses or run to the fight. Some yelled that the prisoners awaiting ransom were going to break loose. Ullysses’ shipmates performed their parts well, as they had done before. There was instant chaos everywhere.

In the confusion that enveloped the camp Briseis and her escort continued as best they could toward the center of the tents and Agamemnon. As they passed a large compound of supply wagons a young woman with only one breast leapt into their path. Thrusting her spear into the leg of one soldier with her left hand. she struck the other on the helmet with her sword. Fortunately, the blade was turned by his attempted parry so that he only went down stunned. Seeing her chance, Briseis snatched the general’s sword and cloak as she threw him to the ground. Then both women disappeared between the wagons and into the maelstrom of warriors running in every direction.

Of course, I was the “Amazon” rescuer with one breast strapped down and the other padded. I snatched up my cloak to cover my feminine appearance as Briseis covered herself with the general’s cloak. We made our way back through the camp to the Myrmidon area where Briseis went into an empty tent guarded by two trustworthy men dicing by a small fire in the front with coins I had given them. Tomorrow while everyone watches Ullysses and I play out our argument about my not fighting she’ll leave the camp. I even kissed Ullysses when I got back. Right after and before I kissed Patroculus.