Part 21

Tecmessa, Ajaxsons mother, was the first one to greet them with a bright smile. Her eyes warmly appraised them, and Talia shifted under her feet. She remembered her plan and quickly approached them with faux enthusiasm.

"Tecmessa," The moon princess started as she rounded the seating area, clearly noticing her parents stare following her. "It's a pleasure to see you again. Thank you for letting us visit."

"Oh, dear!" Her future mother in law sighed, shaking her head. "It's our pleasure to host your family."

She internally cringed at that. Talia, for one second, wasn't convinced with their act. Everyone behaved in the same manner with Zeus around. They all wanted some favour from God of Lightning.

The moon princess shifted her attention to her father's friend. "Ajax. Good to see you."

"And you, my dear," The Greek God nodded politely, shaking her hand with a firm squeeze. He seemed pleased at her charm, moving to greet her parents cordially.

"Actually," Zeus started, voice slow and calculated. There's a glint in his eyes as he stared at his daughter. She quickly looked away, unable to hold his gaze. "Talia here, was very eager to come visit. It's not often she's this enthusiastic about stepping out of Castle. However, she couldn't contain her excitement from last week."

"Oh really?" Tecmessa smiled.

"Yes," Hera chimed in, her hand stroking Talia's arm; there was nothing but coldness seeping up her arm at the touch. "I reckon it might have something to do with that handsome son of yours."

The moon princess wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. Blush crawled down her neck at their laughter. It took every ounce of her restraint not to elbow Hera in her gut.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, my dear," Tecmessa took a step further, giving a pleased look to her husband. Her hand patted Talia's cheek affectionately, eyes gleaming under their glamorous chandelier. "Ajaxson is out on the patio with his arrows. You can find him there."

The moon princess relived a sigh. It was a clear sign that she's allowed to walk out of there and find Ajaxson. Finally! She thought under her breath.

***

She retreated from the living room whilst hearing the older people's chatter behind her. Following the nearest corridor, Talia found an opened door. It led straight outside onto the patio, and she inhaled sharply, feeling the warm air envelope her.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, the moon princess spotted him down the grass lawn, few yards away. Just like Tecmessa said, he was shooting arrows towards the tree.

"Ajaxson", She called out.

Her betrothed instantly straightened up properly once his eyes reached her face. Talia cleared her throat, awkwardly raising her hand in a small wave.

"Talia?” The Greek God exhaled, hurrying to adjust the clothes on his body. "Um," Ajaxson fumbled, pushing the sweaty strands off his forehead. "What are you doing here?"

"I, um..."

Talia still couldn't quite believe she was there in that moment. What got over her? The waiting was agonising. She had to hear from him about how to put their plan in motion.

"I didn't know you were coming today," Ajaxson interrupted before the moon princess could get her words out. "I would have cleaned up. You look lovely, by the way."

Her teeth gnawed on the inside of her lip, clasping her fingers behind her back, peering from beneath her lashes. "Thank you. I was getting anxious about your lack of response."

"Oh," Ajaxson breathed, but this time his face shaped into a frown as he looked back. "Is that—is that why you're here all alone?"

"My parents also came with me."

"Oh", Her betrothed sighed. "It's still too early to tell them, Talia. We have barely acted like a couple in front of them. Give it some time."

Her cheeks instantaneously heated up. How long? She wanted to ask. Instead, Talia glared at her feet, face red and still uncomfortable at the thought of going through with this.

"Let's go inside. It's getting warm in here."

She dumbly nodded.

"This is the sitting room." He pointed out as they pushed the closest door to them. "Whenever the weather is dull, I read in here."

The moon princess took a few hesitant steps around the couch, nearing the closest bookshelf. Her betrothed motioned her towards the huge collection of books. There, the books appeared faded and worn, as though read multiple times over.

"I keep my favourite dramas around here," Ajaxson smiled. "They are mostly tragedy and horror. I don't think that interests you?"

She shook her head.

"Come on, let's sit."

Talia calmly strode over to the dining table and sat down on the far side. Unsure of what to do, the moon princess just sat there, hands pushed together.

They both were quiet. Even when Ajaxson tried to indulge her in a conversation, she nodded or shook her head in response. Her betrothed started getting frustrated at the lack of interest from her side.

"Talia, can you say something? Please. It feels like I'm the only one talking here. We can't get to know each other if you don't communicate."

The moon princess huffed because this wasn't at all easy for her. "I don't know what you expect from me. From this? I'm here. I've taken you up on your offer."

"I wish that you would please try. I would love nothing more than to have a conversation with you, Talia."

"I don't like to talk."

"Lies. I know you do."

Crossing her arms, Talia made a face. "I don't have anything to discuss with you."

"That's okay," Ajaxson breathed easily. "We can get to know each other"

"Is that necessary?"

"Yes. We should at least know few things about each other to make this relationship believable."

"Fine"

They got to talking. It started simple with getting to know each other's favourite food, colour, books, places to visit. Eventually, the topic shifted to family. Ajaxson enquired about the several dozen siblings Talia had and how she kept up with them.

"And how many siblings do you have?"

"Only one sister. She's married to the King of Persia. Visits us only once a year," He softly added. "And Elias."

"Your brother who passed away?"

Ajaxson hummed. "He was fifteen years old when that gruesome accident happened. We went to boating together as we always did, and he slipped, drowning in the harsh waves." He took a deep breath, looking away. "I searched for him all day, but the waves had carried him."

That was the most talked about incident in Mount Olympus after Aphrodite's beauty. No one believed that the fifteen year old boy with abilities to swim like a fish could drown and loose his life. There have been a lot of speculations for a while, but no one knew the truth. Except for Ajaxson. He told his version of the story several times, but many of them blamed him, called him out and outright refused to let that matter rest. Maybe because his brother was loved by everyone and soon to take over after Ajax.

"I'm sorry about your loss."

"Thank you. Its been years now we have managed to embrace grief and live with it."

A knock sounded on their door, interrupting the both of them. The maid stepped in and delivered the message.

***

As their parents summoned them to the living hall, Talia followed her betrothed hesitantly. She was not looking forward to whatever their parents might have decided, having burn of their news before.

Zeus made a happy noise, "There they are!"

Talia's eyes shifted to Hera, who was sitting in the corner, grinning to herself. If her step mother was happy, then something worse might have been decided. The moon princess held her breath.

"There's good news for both of you" Tecmessa cleared her throat. "We have decided on announcing your engagement by next week."

Her eyes widened as soon as those words sank in. That's so soon. Why were they in a hurry? Talia thought she would have enough time to break the engagement. She was at a loss of words, gaping at her parents.

"O-Our engagement?"

Ajax chuckled. "Yes. You both seem eager to be with each other, so there's no point in delaying the date. Don't you think?"

Tecmessa hummed. "We can let everyone know that both of you are in love and happy."

Her stepmother bobbed her head. "Ah! young love! That would be fantastic. I could ask Hermes to send out the invitations."

The moon princess screwed her eyes shut, cursing under her breath. No. That was far from the truth. Talia should have stayed back in the Castle instead of rushing to his place. Stupid mistake. Ajaxsons parents assumed that she's eager too.

She looked to her side. Ajaxson was numb, barely reacting to anything. One word from him, and they could put a stop to it. Why was he not saying anything? The moon princess nudged at his side, to which he jolted.

"Y-Yes, we would like that", He answered with a blank face.

***