Free The Girl From Ithaca by Cherry Gregory

faded into the distance.
     
     
     

   
     
    Chapter SIX
     
    Persuasion
     
    A man’s voice woke me. I turned onto my side and saw Menelaus talking to my brother.
    “I just want Helen back,” he said quietly, shoulders hunched under his purple cloak. “But it’s Agamemnon. He’s got his chance to lead the alliance against Troy and nothing can stop him.”
    “Yet if the Trojans were to release Helen,” Odysseus said, “the apparent reason for his campaign would be over. Most of the leaders would leave for home and the alliance would disintegrate. Agamemnon can’t fight on alone.”
    Menelaus swept his hands over his face and groaned. “That’s true, but how can we convince Paris to release her?”
    “We don’t have to convince Paris, only King Priam and his advisers. We will put it to them in simple terms. If they don’t return Helen to you, then the greatest Greek army there’s ever been will invade their land, destroy their city, kill the men and enslave their wives and children. Priam is reputed to be a wise king. He would be mad not to order Paris to give up Helen.”
    “Sounds simple, but Agamemnon will lead us to Troy as soon as the wind changes, there’s no time to talk with the Trojans,” Menelaus said.
    Odysseus rubbed his forehead. “There’s a way round this. When the fleet sails, Agamemnon has ordered us to regroup on the isle of Tenedos before we invade. That’s the plan, isn’t it?”
    “Yes, yes, but how does that help?”
    “We’re going straight to Troy. We’ll sail in my fastest ship, built by the best Ithacan shipwrights, and I’ll select the strongest oarsmen as the crew. We won’t hug the coast and stop to sleep on the shore. Instead, we’ll travel through the night, sailing across the sea to reach Troy in three days. That’s enough time to gain an audience with Priam, collect Helen and still reach Tenedos in time to welcome your brother to the island.”
    “Travelling at night? How’s that possible? We’ll not see the land marks.”
    “I’ll take Evander as pilot and we’ll use the stars as our guide.”
    Menelaus drew a breath. “I’m a Spartan, we don’t know the sea like the Ithacans do. So I’ll have to trust you on that,” he said. “But what then? Walk up to the gates of Troy and ask for an audience with their king? They’d kill us on the spot. You know the reputation of the Trojans, treachery is in their blood.”
    “We go unarmed to emphasise our desire for peace. Remember we’re not yet at war and the Trojan reputation for treachery comes from Priam’s father, not Priam himself. If he’s as honourable as I’ve heard he is, he won’t harm two unarmed envoys seeking a peaceful settlement. Once we reach Priam, we must trust in our powers of persuasion.”
    “More likely your powers of persuasion. I’m not a man for fancy words,” Menelaus murmured.
    “Perhaps not, my friend. But all you need do is tell Priam how you welcomed his son into your home and how he betrayed you. The wrong that Paris has done to you and to the gods should speak for itself.”
    Menelaus thought for a moment and then nodded. “All right, Odysseus, this plan of yours is the only chance we’ve got. I’ve no choice but go along with it.”
    He looked up and saw me wrapped in one of the fleeces. “I think I’ve got something of yours.” He reached inside his cloak and brought out the little knife. “I believe you used it on my brother. I found it by the altar and I’m curious, because I recognise my father’s lion on the hilt. Who gave it you?”
    “Clytemnestra. I was meant to protect Iphigenia, but I failed,” I whispered, taking the knife again.
    Menelaus sighed. “It was the lion that worried me. Young Iphigenia dead, killed by her own father, and lying beside her the Lion of Atreus. I thought it was a sign from the gods.”
    My hands trembled as I touched the embossed pattern on the hilt. “What sign, Menelaus?”
    “A sign that the curse on my family