The protagonist feels comfortable and peaceful only during meals in the vaulted dining hall.
He is enchanted by the beauty and grace of Achilles, who is unaware of his allure.
The protagonist vividly describes Achilles' mesmerizing beauty and his increasing fascination and obsessive observation of him.
Every time their eyes connect, it sends a shock through the protagonist and fills him with various emotions.
One day, Achilles sits at the protagonist's usual table, which he has come to think of as his own, filling the place with other boys.
Achilles' presence is described as irksome to the protagonist, but also compelling.
One day, Achilles throws a fig to the protagonist, a gesture that brings out a myriad of emotions in him.
The protagonist must meet King Peleus, Achilles' father. The King reminds him he is there for killing a boy and suggests that despite his wrongdoing, he might still become a good man.
Word of the protagonist’s past spreads among the boys, leading him to isolate himself from everyone.
Achilles finds him hiding and they have a conversation that end in Achilles offering him to attend his lyre lessons to have a valid excuse for his absences.
Initially, despite the resentment, the protagonist agrees to follow Achilles to his music lesson.
Achilles offers the protagonist his mother's cherished lyre to play on which he refuses, too overcome with the ache of his past and memory of his mother.
The protagonist is utterly captivated by Achilles' music and singing, finding it extraordinarily beautiful, expressive, and moving.
After the music session, Achilles takes the protagonist to see his father, King Peleus, to avoid punishment for his absence from the drills.