“I believe her.”

The great liar shows no sign of untruth. He speaks as matter-of-factly as he ever has.

“If you do not, Aetos, then what do you have to lose by letting us continue to speak? There will be great reward for her if she does, and at the very least I will satisfy my curiosity.”

"Take care, Ambrosios." Perhaps he truly was mad. "It is a dangerous thing to entertain madness. Reason is a fragile thing: Pallas Athena may not shield you forever. And we cannot afford to lose a king of men to the depths of madness."

"You believe me? No. Nobody believes me. 

Nobody shall believe me. 

Nobody shall believe me. 

Nobody shall believe me."

Abruptly, she doubles over laughing. Laughing, laughing, laughing...

"...Now do you see?"

“…Admittedly she is not the most coherent of sources. But Oracles never are.”

He waits patiently for her to be done.

“What amuses you so, Princess?”

She gasps for air. 

"Hello, Nobody."

"...Pity moves me, Ambrosios. I shall send the messengers to Priam."

“Wait, Aetos.” He holds up a hand. “Please. Just another hour.”

The Cretan falls away from the world around him. Everything does. As Ambrosios’ eyes pierce into Cassandra, it is as if they are alone together in a void of his mind’s creation.

What does she mean.

“Yes. That is my name,” he responds carefully, each word considered now. “I am Nobody. I shall believe you, so speak all your prophecies freely now. This may be your only opportunity to be heard.”

"APOLLO. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE."

...

She surges forwards and grasps at his robes. 

"Troy falls when you hide troops in a wooden horse that they accept as tribute. You slay them in their sleep. You cast the babe Astyanax from the citadel. Ajax rapes me in Athena's temple and is drowned for it. Patroclus dies at Hector's hand and Achilles slays him and is killed in turn, his ankle is the only mortal part of him. You blind Poseidon's son and tell him your name and Poseidon curses you to wander the seas for ten years, you slaughter the youth of Ithaca for the insult to your wife, Agamemnon is not what he seems-"

A lancing pain.

"Ophellios is Apollo's child and he becomes something monstrous I cannot see. There are - threads - in some of them you are a horror beyond words - I don't understand - this shouldn't happen - they break-"

She slumps over. 

APOLLO!

He sighs. 

"Find Machaon. It feels... Unseemly... To keep the girl here. And I do not feel the gods will look kindly upon her. Is your curiosity satisfied, Lord Ambrosios? Leave the girl be."

"You shall have him, Lord Aetos, the way you want to; and it shall be your undoing."

“In telling me this you have saved yourself,” he breathes, paler than he has ever been before. Aetos barely hears his quick mutter. “I will return you to Ilium safely, and I will seek you out in Athena’s temple the day it falls. I will protect you from this fate. These prophecies– they can be used. Overturned. You have told me now. You are believed.”

"Ambrosios, enough of this." He has no idea what the girl is talking about and no patience for the ramblings of madwomen.

"I do not want to go back to being thought mad. I do not want to be near that temple. I do not want to have to see the horse."

"Ambrosios, enough!"

He ignores him. “You wish to stay? I am not he who claimed you; I would need to convince Aetos, and he has already promised Zeus he would ransom you– I could try to offer a trade– But you are a princess of Troy, your father will certainly rain down suffering for our keeping you–”

"Good luck with that."

"I don't know what happens now! I can't prophesy my own prophecies - I can't see them, it's like trying to see your own eyes - I've seen those things in fate, I don't know if they can be stopped -"