Chapter 8 + Sneak Peek : Sold To Whom?(1)

Helenos was still damp with sweat and simmering with failure when the servant found him. He had just endured the final, pointless moment of his endurance drill—dropping the iron ring after six minutes, his arms shaking with agony that his weak mind simply refused to categorize as ignorable data.

He was in the stable bathroom, scrubbing the ingrained dirt from his hands, which were, of course, already perfectly smooth. Lysandra had simply nodded once, confirmed the total failure of the physical program, and disappeared to tend to Hera.

The servant, thin and nervous, bowed low. “His Highness is required in the Queen’s private solar. Immediately. The Queen is highly agitated.”

Helenos sighed. Great. The performance review.

He quickly changed into a fresh tunic, the linen feeling light and useless. He entered Leda’s solar. The room was heavy with the scent of imported oils and Leda’s particular brand of high-anxiety perfume.

Leda was pacing by the window, her silk robes dragging on the marble. Her face was pale, and her perfect hair was slightly mussed—maybe a sign of distress.

“Your late,” Leda whispered, rushing forward and clutching his shoulders. Her grip was tight, bordering on painful. “Did you see the movements in the harbor? Did you see the preparations?”

Helenos gently extracted himself from her grasp. “I saw fresh tack being fitted. I assume another political pawn is arriving for a pointless meeting, Mother.”

“No feast,” Leda said, her voice dropping to a theatrical whisper that still carried fear. “It is not a cousin. It is not a trade, though the offer is immense. It is a demand disguised as a marriage arrangement, Helenos. She sent word only an hour ago, demanding passage into our harbor at dawn.”

Helenos raised an eyebrow, forcing a bored expression. Okay. The timeline is accelerating. Who is the final boss?

Leda finally stopped pacing and faced him, her eyes wide. “It is the Spartan Queen. It is Menelaia.”

Helenos felt the air leave his lungs. He managed to keep his face impassive, but his stomach twisted into a cold, hard knot.

Menelaia.

The aggressive Queen of Sparta. The one who eventually owns me. The moment I am hers, I become the asset that must be recovered when the Trojan counterpart arrives to steal me.

Dodo’s mind screamed. This is not a negotiation. This is the timeline initiating its primary conflict sequence. The sudden realization was too much. The lack of physical resilience and his brain's inability to compartmentalize the terror meant immediate, overwhelming panic. His arms began to shake again, the tremor far worse than it had been after the iron ring.

“Sparta?” Helenos asked, his voice dangerously thin. “She is a conqueror, Mother. She does not marry; she simply annexes territory. You cannot possibly surrender me to her.”

Leda’s face crumpled. She wasn't an evil Queen; she was just a weak one, terrified of losing her throne.

“I have no choice, Helenos! She offered the entirety of her Aegean fleet and a pledge of eternal alliance. If I refuse, she takes you, and she takes the harbor. Clytemnestra says we should fight, but we don’t have the reserves. We don't have the stomach for war.”

Leda suddenly grabbed his trembling hands, turning them over and inspecting them with maniacal intensity.

“Are they perfect? Did you rub them smooth today? Did you ensure the skin is unmarked?” she demanded.

Helenos blinked, pulling his hands back. “Yes, Mother. They are perfect. They always are. It’s a divine mandate, remember? I am functionally sunscreen-proof.”

Leda didn't hear the sarcasm. She nodded frantically. “Good. Good. She values your perfection, Helenos. She values the promise you represent. She arrives at dawn, but the official reception is the grand feast tomorrow night. You must be flawless. Utterly, lethally flawless.”

“And what is my role in this transaction, Mother?” Helenos asked, his voice now regaining a bitter, forced calm. “Do I simply stand in the corner and look expensive while she claims her property?”

“You will be charming, my jewel,” Leda commanded, her eyes shining with desperate hope. “You will sit next to her at the feast. You will speak eloquently of art. You will be so perfectly flawless that she believes she has won a true treasure, not just a political hostage. You will make her desire to possess you even more.”

Oh yeah… I wasn’t a prince, Dodo thought, staring past his mother's shoulder. I was high-value bait, when the hook is thrown away. And I am entirely useless. .

“I understand, Mother,” Helenos said, forcing a small, vacant smile onto his face.

Leda relaxed slightly, taking his submission as true compliance. She missed the hollow terror behind his eyes.

“Good. Go to your rooms now. Sleep. Rest. You must be the most beautiful thing she has ever seen. The safety of the entire palace rests on your face.”

Helenos bowed and retreated. As the door closed, the façade of calm shattered. He leaned against the cool stone wall of the corridor, his whole body shaking violently.

I have less than a day. I can’t fight. I can’t endure.

He didn’t know what to do.

But…

He needed Lysandra.

………………

Here is a sneak peek of the scenes in first person view of Helenos:

“M-Menelaia."

My head involuntarily lowered as the queen, legs crossed, looked down at me with a haughty gaze.

I was terrified. So terrified I felt like I was going to go crazy.

Faced with the predatory gaze that seemed ready to devour me at any moment, I, a mere herbivore, could only sit on the floor, trembling uncontrollably.

"You're startled as if you've seen a ghost? How dare you, looking at your wife, who is like the heavens above?"

"N-no, Menelaia. Anyone would be surprised in this situation..."

Gasp.

I quickly covered my mouth to stop the rash words from coming out, but it was too late.

Menelaia's eyes had become even more menacing than before.

“W-why are you acting like this today?”

Are you crazy today? Why are you making these mistakes? Why are you shortening your own life? You just need to keep your eyes away from others.

"You're even talking back?"

The sight of Menelaia rubbing her temples, displaying her displeasure, amplified the anxiety in my heart.

"I-I'm sorry. I couldn’t control my eyes. Anyone would have done the same thing, so please don't worry about it."

"If your fucking eyes moved without you realizing it, doesn't that mean you were wanting for someone else? If that's not your true feelings, then what is?"

"..."

"Helenos. Don't you know what you did wrong? If you don't, you're going to be in a lot of trouble. Surely you don't not know, do you?"

"No! I know! I know I did everything wrong!"

"You say you know you did wrong, but you're comfortably sitting on the floor just talking back. Doesn't that seem a little contradictory?"

Seeing Menelaia's face contorted in anger, my legs started trembling uncontrollably.

"Ah..."

"What are you doing? Why aren't you coming over here?"

At Menelaia's command, laced with palpable hostility, I quickly got up and hurried over to her.

Then, instinctively reading her mood, I slammed my knees hard against the floor and knelt before her, bowing my head low.

……

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