When Achilles died, all he saw was darkness. It was to be expected really. He had always been suspicious when people told him of a 'light' after death. How would these people know anyway? So it had always seemed more likely to him that after death, there would be darkness. Then there would be the ferryman, and then nothing really. That was what Achilles was expecting. What Achilles wasn't expecting to open his eyes.

So it was a slight shock, to say the least, when he did. He was lying on his back, feeling strangely refreshed, despite the fact that he had died in a great deal of pain. Managing to get unsteadily to his feet, he looked around at his surroundings. But instead of seeing the grove where he had met his end, he saw waves lapping a sandy shore, which melted into a wooded island. Although the sun shone brightly in the sky, the island was neither hot nor unpleasant. It was, in every sense of the word, perfect. Yet all he could do was stare at the place.

"Yes, it does rather take one's breath away," an all too familiar voice said behind him.

Whipping around, Achilles gaped at the last person he thought that he would see again. His cousin, Patrocleus was leaning up a tree and looking at him with a smile that could only be described as amused. Achilles opened his mouth once or twice, then shut it. Finally, he managed;

"You're dead."

"So are you," Patrocleus answered back casually.

"I know that!" Achilles snapped irritably.

"Of course. Just curious, who got you? We don't get too much information down here, if you know what I mean," said Patrocleus as he started to walk up to him.

Achilles had been dreading the question. Although his last few minutes on earth were blurry, he remembered this.

"Paris," answered Achilles bitterly.

"The curly-haired-wife-snatcher?"

"The same."

"Gods."

"Don't talk to me about it."

"Yes, I understand completely," Patrocleus said as he reached his cousin's side, shaking his head.

"No, you don't. You got killed by Hector the Horse Tamer. Not some wimp!" snapped Achilles again.

"Yes, then you killed him. He told me," answered Patrocleus, nonplussed.

"He's here too?" asked Achilles uncertainly.

Patrocleus looked at Achilles, studying him. He crossed his arms and shook his head once more and sighed. Looking up, he answered;

"Of course he is. Don't you know where you are?"

"No."

Patrocleus sighed again.

"You always were slow on the uptake. You're in the Elysian Fields, where heroes go after death. Believe me, you've earned this. But so have some of your enemies. But the fact of the matter is, it is very difficult to hate someone here. Only the strongest of feelings survive here, so nobody really fights. You get it?" Patrocleus explained patiently.

The look of confusion on Achilles' face was suddenly replaced by a grin.

"The Elysian Fields?"

"Yes."

"Oh, don't give me that," Achilles said, lightly punching his cousin's shoulder.

"Those are fighting words there."

"Hey, there's nothing that can happen now. We're already dead!"

The two men burst out laughing. As the laughter died down, Achilles smiled and looked towards the woods.

"We've done well Patrocleus. We've died as heroes, obviously ranked high enough to come here. Nothing could match the glory."

"Pride is something that you always happened to have in a large amount my son," a third voice said from behind them.

Achilles was surprised for the second time in his afterlife. Turning around, he saw his mother on the shores, a sad smile playing on her face.

"Is everyone I know here?" he said, a weak chuckle falling from his lips.

"No, just everyone you care about," Thetis replied as she walked away from the water.

Although Achilles had felt more satisfaction in the first ten minutes of death than he had his entire life, something nagged at the back of his mind. As he looked at his cousin and mother, Thetis' last sentence echoed in his head. Even then, he knew that they weren't entirely true. If everyone he cared about was here, then someone was missing.

"Polyxena?" the name had been said before he really knew he was saying it.

Patrocleus looked at him, confused, and Thetis sighed.

"Polyxena…Polyxena…"Patrocleus murmured, "Wait, she was that girl! That Trojan princess you were trying to marry!"

"Yes…" he paused for a minute, the finer points of his death coming back to him. A sobbing face and pleading voice filling his final moments.

"How silly," he chided himself, "She's still alive."

There was a pause and he looked at his mother whose face contorted for a second, then turned into the same sad smile she'd worn when he'd first seen her.

"Of course she is. I went around Troy soon after your death. Poor thing is beside herself with grief. She didn't know that Paris was there, she truly didn't. She was just too innocent, didn't think that her brother would betray her," Thetis said quickly.

"Yes…" Achilles repeated. He remembered it all vividly now. Polyxena begging him to believe her, and him managing to nod before coming here. Shaking his head once he said;

"It cannot be helped. I hope she lives a happier life than what she has had thus far."

Turning to his cousin, he quickly smiled again, filing away the treasured memory of the beautiful Trojan princess.

"So, how about showing me the rest of the island?" he asked.

"Sure thing. Are you coming?" Patrocleus asked Thetis.

Thetis shook her head.

"I'm sorry, there are other things I must attend to. But I will return," she replied.

"Make sure to tell me how the war ends!" Achilles called as he walked after his cousin.

Thetis smiled brightly and nodded. As soon as her son had walked out of sight, a look of sadness replaced her smile. She had never lied to her son before, and it felt horrible. But if he knew what had truly happened to Polyxena only moments after his death, then it would only sadden him.