Joseph Whitehead

A Shadow Over Helen

As night gathered, the treacherous brother of Cupid, Betrian, slunk his way through the glittering halls of proud Menelaus. Betrian of the devious mind, with his webbed appendages, forked tongue and sharp teeth, silently prised open the sturdy door to the bedchamber of the alluring Helen, swathed in bedsheets of silk stuffed with goose feathers. A candle, lone and flickering cast shadows for the silent Betrian to skulk between. Crawling up the bedpost, the gracious Queen of Sparta lay alone, for proud-hearted Menelaus had taken off to hunting with spear and hound accompanied by his companions. Betrian, close to sweet Helen’s ears, whispered his twisted words into her pleasant dreams.