Part 20

Ajaxson hummed softly, leaning against the nearest surface. A thoughtful look crossed his face. She held her breath, waiting for him to say yes so that Talia could continue her relationship with Lukas. If her betrothed rejects her, then Zeus will let her decide something for a change.

"Okay"

The moon princess almost wanted to scream at his answer, but he quickly continued. "But on one condition."

A frown took over her features at that. What did he want now? Talia chewed on her lips, hesitant on listening to him. Here she thought that her betrothed would agree, and they could get it over with. Then again, her life had never been easy.

"What is your condition?"

Ajaxson grinned. "We will continue this engagement for a while. In that time, we can at least pretend to like each other. And then slowly convince them that it's not working out for us."

"I'm only saying this because my parents would never accept that I broke off the engagement. Neither will yours."

She fell into deep thought. He had a valid argument right there. They can pretend for a while, but what will Lukas say? Will her other half agree to let her do that? She highly doubted that. He can be a bit possessive, but they do not have any other option.

"Uhh...Give me a minute to think about it."

There wasn't much pondering in the works for Talia before she concluded. There wasn't anything she could do but accept Ajaxson' bargain and cooperate with him for few weeks. At the very least, she knew for sure that he would end the courtship at her demand, as long as the moon princess played along.

Furthermore, if she pleased Ajaxson by genuinely trying, he would automatically satisfy her parents as well. They wished for her to marry the Greek God, and as long as she behaved, they would believe it was all working out. Now that she thought about it, the process was very long, but Talia would do it. Anything for her relationship with Lukas. She could manage to nod along, and she most definitely could tell Ajaxson at the end that she still refused to become his wife.

It took moon princess a few minutes to fully accept the decision; in her mind, she had naively hoped all of this was a nightmare, one that would end soon enough. The moon princess wasn't happy with the situation, and what annoyed her particularly was the stupid condition of Ajaxson and how he had the upper hand over this.

Whatever, it wouldn't change the ending of the story, either way.

"Okay, I'll do it."

Her betrothed had a huge smile on his face. "Great! I'm sure we will make best couple."

"Only till it's over."

"That's what I meant, actually" Ajaxson sheepishly smiled.

***

Lukas was meeting her near the temple in few minutes. Last time they took a huge risk. Talia wasn't ready to be worried like that again. She sent him a letter calling him over. The moon princess spotted him the moment she stepped at the edge of the stairs.

"Talia" He breathed, collecting her in his arms, burying his face in the nape of her neck.

She rolled her eyes back, inhaling the sharp scent and tightening her arms around him. Every second of staying away from Lukas was agonising for her. If only they could stay like this forever.

"Are you alright? Your letter had me worried"

The moon princess pulled back, tucking the loose strands behind her ear. She had no idea how to break the news to him.

"Please say something."

"Y-Yes, I am alright." She started. "I spoke to Ajaxson after you left, and he agreed to break the condition."

Lukas released a loud breath, a grin taking over his features. He lifted her chin, gazing into her eyes. She wanted to get lost in those orbs. "That's a good thing, right?"

"He has a condition."

"What is that?"

The moon princess swallowed the lump in her throat. "H-He wants us to pretend for a while that our engagement is real. Act like a couple in front of everyone before we break it off."

Lukas's hand dropped from her face, his mouth set in a firm line. She should have expected this. No one would be eager or pleased to receive such a piece of news and act on it. The Prince grind his teeth together, nose flaring. All the joy from his face vanished, replaced by anger.

"That son of a bitch! How dare he!" He bellowed.

The moon princess placed her hand on his chest, inching closer to him. "Lukas, please calm down! Hear me out!"

"He's taking advantage of our situation Talia! And I will make him pay for it."

She made a sound, shaking her head. If he attacked Ajaxson, then Zeus may kill him. Her father loved that family, and if something happened to his friends family, he might do the worst. "Lukas! That will make our situation way worse. You are not doing any of that."

"So what? You want to play his wife now?"

Talia sucked a sharp breath. "I'm going to ignore you just said that"

Lukas instantly sagged his shoulders, a sigh escaping his lips. Guilt seeped in his pores, and he took a step forward. Lifting his hand, he cradled her cheek, his thumb brushing the corner of her mouth. "I'm sorry, my love. I don't know what took over me. The thought of someone else touching you and calling you theirs drives me crazy."

Her cheeks reddened. The Sun Prince said that to her one too many times. She leaned into his touch. "I know. But I'm yours, Lukas. No one can take me away."

"Okay. But if he pulls something, you come to me, alright?"

She nodded her head. "I will."

***

A week passed with no message from Ajaxson or any activity. She was getting antsy. The only way was to go and meet him in person, but that would get people talking. Talia sneakily planned a way to take her entire family along to her betrothed place.

As she sat down with her family for dinner, she forced herself to speak before the opportunity passed. The moon princess had been struggling vigorously throughout the day to bring it up.

"Father," She started, resting the fork and knife on her table. Everyone stared at her in confusion. It's been a while since she directly started talking with Zeus, still miffed about his decision to marry her off.

The older man looked up in slight surprise, his eyebrows raised. "Yes, Talia?"

"I was wondering why we have yet to visit Ajaxson and his family."

She felt Hera’s shocked eyes stare boring into the side of her face. Indeed, her stepmother wasn’t ready to accept Talia's sudden change of behaviour.

“Umm...I mean, it’s been a while since we visited them, or they visited us for that matter."

Her father stared at her with wide, large eyes, confusion evident in every feature on his face. Zeus' mouth hung just a tad ajar, and he scratched his jaw in perplexity. Glancing to her right, Talia found Hera scarcely better off, suspicion glowing behind her pupils.

Talia admitted that it did feel just a bit satisfying to render her family speechless.

"Err," The God of Lightning hesitated before turning to his wife. "That's one to think about. Right, dear?”

Hera replied almost theatrically. "T-Talia certainly is right. We should pay them a visit."

The moon princess grinned. That’s exactly what she wanted. It looked like her parents were easy to lure after all. She continued, "Why don't you send them a letter then? We can visit them by the end of this week”

"Soon," She heard her stepmother repeat under her breath, the word barely audible to others around.

Dinner concluded only minutes later, and Talia felt decidedly accomplished as she left the dinner table. The moon princess had, after all, get the ball rolling and astounded her parents almost overwhelmingly. She was also aware that her mother wasn't going to buy this behaviour. Hera was conniving and brutal to fool.

***

Few minutes went by when Talia heard the clicking of heels that followed her inside the house. As the moon princess took a step forward, she felt her mother's manicured nails digging into her arm.

"What are you up to?" Her stepmother hissed, and she spun around, freeing herself of her painful grip.

"Whatever do you mean, mother?" She replied innocently, blinking at her. The moon princess was elatedly at the sight of her mothers disconcerted expression. "I am simply excited to meet my betrothed."

Hera’s eyes hardened. "I don't know what you have in mind, but in no way are you going to destroy the relationship. Your father loves Ajax as a brother, so you better not try anything."

"Good lord, mother," The moon princess scoffed. "I can't believe you think so little of me. Now, excuse me. I have to get some beauty sleep.”

Talia disappeared upstairs without a glance behind, but she was sure her stepmother was still standing at the bottom of the stairs, seething in her spot.

***