Part 22

Talia was numb to the celebration of their announcement, her parents cheering and congratulating them. The moon princess had so many hopes that they would postpone the date and eventually be forced to cancel it. She could not see that happening anytime soon with her parent's blatant display of emotions paired with Ajxasons silence.

Why did he not say anything? She stopped counting the times the question played in her head in the past hour, eyes set stoically on the table.

Some maids rushed to set up the food, smiles on their faces. The array of food ranging from bacon, chicken, black pudding, steaming tea, wine, fruits, cheese, bread and cream were placed on the grand dining table. It was making hers nauseous just staring at them. Her fingers were continuously digging into the skin of her knees as she tried to keep everything together.

The beginning of their meal was quiet. For all their combined diplomatic experience, neither of them spoke, cutlery scraping against the dish and the low hum of the wind echoing. She was lost on how to start the conversation with her father. Zeus appeared happiest she had seen him in a while. Her stepmother was also grinning from ear to ear; Talia expected nothing less from her.

She was grinding her teeth, chewing each bite of the roast they had been served that night over and over until there was hardly anything left to swallow. The entire afternoon Talia kept glaring at Ajaxson, and by dessert, she had consumed more than two glasses of port wine before finishing the one piece of pecan pie.

By her side, Hera was chatting quietly with her friend, Tecmessa, who listened intently. It included a whole lot of wedding planning even before the engagement.

As their meal was dwindling, she forced herself to speak before the opportunity passed. The moon princess quenched the nervousness she'd been struggling vigorously with throughout the day and cleared her throat.

"Uh...father," She started, deliberately addressing him in front of everyone. If Talia spoke with him all alone, there was a chance that Zeus would shut her down before she got to the main thing. "Don't you think we are rushing into this arrangement? I apologise if this offends anyone here, but I barely got to know Ajaxson. We have so much to talk about before we tie this knot and get bound forever."

Silence blanketed over them. Hera glared at Talia, lips pursed in a straight line. Ajaxson merely let out a sigh, his grip on the cutlery tightening.

The older man looked up in slight surprise; the smile disappearing from his face. He delicately sets down the knife he had been using to cut and spread cheese on his bread. Inhaling deeply, Zeus licked his lips. "I understand your concerns, daughter of mine. Ajaxson is a good fella. I have known him since forever, and there's no one I would rather want you to see than him. Besides, you will have plenty of time after the engagement to get to know him. Don't worry about that."

"I know it must be difficult to accept—" Hera started for the umpteenth only to be cut off by Ajaxson.

Anger seethed hotly in her chest, the pressure of her fingernails so much, so the moon princess knew she's breaking her skin through the material. And it didn't feel good.

"My dear, our parents will never decide on something that might hurt us. Do not worry. We can write letters to each letter in the mean time, get to know better" Her betrothed smiled, twirling a butter knife between his fingers. He hadn't touched the food either.

She pressed her teeth together, eyes flashing up to pierce through him, who was sitting at the other end of the table. Her mouth tasted like bile, and there was still a half-empty wine glass sitting right in front of her. The moon princess knew if she were to take a sip, she'd be sick all over the table.

The awkward silence that stretched on for far too long started to grind on her nerves. She would have got up and tried to walk off if she could be sure not to have her legs give out underneath. Now more than ever, Talia wished she could just disappear into the ground and never resurface or that she could go back to a certain point in the past and undo everything that's happened—starting with agreeing with Ajaxson's stupid plan.

"Talia?" Her father glared.

She swallowed, mouth dry, and managed to mumble, "Yes. That would be alright. Thank you, Ajaxson."

With that, the moon princess glanced back at the chicken on her plate, stabbing it a bit hard than necessary. In reality, she was imagining it to be Ajaxson's head. Talia wanted to shrink back on herself, wanted to give in to the pressure that's crushing her chest, stop breathing and perhaps make all these people around her disappear.

***

Talia received a letter from her betrothed halfway into the next week. It was more of a parcel that had everyone talking and gushing about the ongoing romance. They thought that Ajaxson was trying to court her by sending gifts and letters. Hera personally asked her maids to carry the package to the table during breakfast. As if she wanted everyone to know that the moon princess got those from her soon to-be husband.

Those maids handed it over to Talia while Hera sat there with a smirk on her face. She quelled the displeasure in her gut, and accepted the parcel with a fake smile on her lips.

After breakfast, Talia nearly slipped on the carpet, stumbling down the stairs and rattling at the door leading out the back. The moment she stepped out, the moon princes gulped in first breaths of fresh air laced with rain, swallowing with difficulty at the back of her throat.

The grass crunched slightly as she walked across the garden. She was only wearing socks, and the dampness immediately soaked through them. That didn't stop her. Talia rubbed her arms, feeling the sleeves slide over her cooling skin, relishing the way her sensitive skin broke out in goosebumps.

Plopping on the empty bench, she let out a sigh. The last three days passed with Hera's overexcitement into announcing the news to each and everyone in the Castle. Talia was truly fed up with her brash behaviour. Add on that, the silence from Lukas (three days and there's no news about him) and then the parcel happened.

The moon princess was lost at how to react with all these strange events unfolding.

A second pair of feet walked across the lawn to where the moon princess sat; she's not as startled as she probably should be. Talia very much expected someone to follow her, even sooner than now. Artemis crouched down next to her, throwing an arm around her.

"Hey"

Talia's eyes raked over her sister, leaning in to catch a glimpse of the parcel. It was hefty, and the moon princess had a feeling she knew exactly what it contained.

"Why did you bring this here?"

Artemis sighed. "Don't be like this. Ajaxson delivered it himself this morning."

"He did what?" She muttered under her breath, surprised that her betrothed hadn't asked to see her when he'd come by. Not that she minded, but it seemed curious. Also, Ajaxson still did not explain the reason he agreed to the engagement.

"Yes" Her sister nodded. "I think he's sweet. You should try to be affectionate towards him."

"Are you listening to yourself?" Talia snapped, turning her head around, voice high pitched. She had been holding onto the anger for the last few days, swallowing it down. Hearing her sister parrot the same thing as her parents did it for her. "I do not like that man, Artemis. Or have you forgotten about my relationship with Lukas?"

Artemis flinched, "I was only trying to help. Besides with Ajaxson, you will make our father happy—"

"That's enough" Talia clenched her jaw, fingers curling into her palms. "We are done here. Thank you for bringing me the parcel."

Artemis opened her mouth as if to say something, but Talia already stood up and walked out of there. She brought the package to her room, and sat down on his bed to open it. A separate letter fell out, also addressed to her on top of the same stationery paper in his handwriting.

Talia peeked into the parcel and found not one but a whole collection of books waiting inside. An exasperated sigh left her lips as she placed those books in her lap and started reading the letter. The whole thing resembled too much of a love letter, singing praises of the moon princess and expressing his eagerness to see her.

Ajaxson was selfless and kind, gifting her with things that mattered. There was apparent effort behind his choices, and it was far too much. He must have known that she wasn't going to reciprocate his romantic feelings, hadn't he? The whole bargain was constructed on the notion that she wanted no part of a courtship. What's the point of sending her such a thoughtful gift?

Talia hadn't neglected the words he had written about her beauty in the letter. Despite being aware that she's already in a relationship with someone else, it's incredibly offensive. She had to be extremely alert around him. The last thing she wanted was Ajaxson to think she was becoming interested. Even though the moon princess had never attempted any sort of intimacy between them, it's better to be safe than sorry.

***