Part 32

Once they stepped out, she noticed that the path to hallways was cleared. Not a single guard in sight. What did her father do? Her eyes automatically shifted to Lukas, who had the same confusion etched all over his features. A sigh escaped her lips.

She prayed that the win would be in their favour so she could finally have Lukas by her side. It's a long time coming. Talia chewed on her lips, standing in front of another oak door which led to the patio. The moon princess stood, cringing as her sister pushed the door open.

Ajaxson and his family were waiting on one side, eagerly anticipating the bloodshed and violence. A huge circle was created to separate the two of the families. On the other side, Zeus stood with his wife alone, lips pursed in a line. She assumed that everyone might be asked to leave so that they can proceed with the duel.

Her face flushed at that. If anything, her father valued his status, and it must have been a difficult conversation, asking them to leave. All her brothers and sisters were also missing from the room.

Hera rolled her eyes, sitting prim and proper at her husband’s side, side-eyeing Talia. If looks could kill, the moon princess would have been dead by now. Out of everyone, Hera was the one who wanted the marriage to get it over with. No reason why.

Artemis slid over to the circle, chanting something under her breath as she whirled around. A warm glow radiated off her, wind whooshing around her. Something that often happened before duals. Talia didn’t witness any of these fights before, but she heard stories. Grim kind of stories about how the Gods tore into each flesh.

“Now, Ajaxson and Lukas, please step inside the circle.”

Before the Prince could take a step further, the moon princess gripped his hand. Tears pooled in her eyes, worry clawing at her insides as she thought of him fighting in the circle. She trusted his skills, of course, but Ajaxson was also strong. The moon princess saw him practice back at his place, and it’s impressive.

“Please don’t go”, She exhaled, bowing her head down, concealing those tears. “I-I can try to talk with my father again—”

“Talia, this is not his punishment”, Lukas softly crooned, lifting her head. He thumbed at the stray tear. “Besides, I cannot back out from this dual. It's a matter of my pride now. Do not worry, I will win this for you.”

“O-Okay”

With that, she loosened her grip around, still not fully convinced about letting him go. Lukas smiled at her one last time before entering the ring, standing in front of Ajaxson. She had no other choice but to stay by her family’s side.

“Pick your weapon” Artemis turned to the Sun Prince, opening the scroll the carried around with her. It was a tiny thing, tucked in the pocket which had a list of all weapons.

“I will take a sword.”

Her sister turned to Ajaxson and asked the same question. The God pondered over for a while before placing his hand on an object in the scroll. Artemis nodded her head.

She turned to the audience. “He chose a spear.”

Talia gulped audibly, fisting the material of her gown and closing her eyes for a second or two. They both chose different weapons. The moon princess rooted for only one of them.

With the commencement of a horn, the dual started between them. For the first few seconds, she blurred it out, focusing on her feet.

From her peripheral view, she noticed that Lukas gripped Ajaxson by his neck, yanking him in so hard they slammed together. Even though she was scared of the next move, it satiated her that her soulmate was in the lead. The Prince raised a poised fist near his head.

“She’s mine!” Lukas bellowed, snarling and let his fist fly forward, pounding it into her betrothed’s right cheek. The impact of the punch was so hard that Ajaxson crumpled down to the ground in disbelief.

She raised her hands to cheer, but at Zeus glare, the moon princess sighed.

Ajaxson was hatefully screeching from the rant and began picking up the large rock fragments around him and hurling them at Lukas in quick succession. The Prince didn’t need to jump out of the way; he just used his sword to slice through them.

Unfortunately for Lukas, by the time he had cut through the last one, Ajaxson ran around to the side of him and threw the last rock that knocked the Princes sword straight out of his hand.

The Prince was about to reach for it, but Ajaxson leapt off with all of his strength and cut right through his upper arm, severing the limb instantly.

Talia winced, recoiling into herself, tears dropping down the corner of her eyes. Blood splattered on the ground, making bile rise in her throat. For this very reason, she’s against the dual.

Lukas growled in pain and landed at Ajaxson’s feet, his arm landing in a different location a few beats afterwards. As her betrothed raised the sword in the air, the moon princess bolted from her seat. Zeus screamed after that, rushing behind but she paid no heed to her father.

In a blink of her eye, she threw herself in the circle, landing in front of Lukas. The spear went straight to her stomach and out her back, making her stagger to the ground. Lukas immediately cradled her back.

“No!” He let out a sharp cry.

***

It felt strange. Talia’s pretty sure she should panic, cry at the pain surging through her entire body. But all she could do was remain frozen, only subconsciously aware of people moving around her as if through a thick but see-through curtain that kept away all noise. Her heart was still beating, solid thudding against her ribs, a steady beat that echoed in her seemingly numb and hollow body.

As time went on, the moon princess saw something materialising in the corner of the room. She began to think it was Death, and her suspicions were confirmed as an entity with a black cloak over his body stepped closer to her unmoving form. A second later, Talia realised something. Death only came when someone was about to die.

Face set in a stoic expression, mouth a hard line, he came closer and closer, and all Talia could do was watch. There were so many lines on his face; she observed as the man slowly but steadily approached, a long wand-like stick sharply clicking against the floor, contradicting the rhythm in her chest.

Her throat was as dry as she looked up, staring into his cold, unflinching eyes.

Talia reckoned part of her knew from the start that this was going to happen. One of them would ultimately face death, but she never thought it would be. Still, the moon princess felt eerily calm. The man comes to a halt right in from of her, not even a foot between them.

“My dear Talia, it’s time for you to come with me now.” The Deaths voice cut through the screams and cries surrounding her. It prickled at her ear, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

She could quickly figure out Lukas holding on to her, grasping the material of her gown drenched in blood. What’s the use? The moon princess was dying anyway.

The Death hid his features by the massive cloak he wore around as more people gathered by her side.

"Not this one, Death. Please,” Lukas begged, and the Death released a hollow sound that scarily sounded like laughter.

Zeus stood up as well. He joined his hands together, shoulders slouched. “Spare my daughter.”

"Why? Is the big bad God of Lightning going soft?" The Death asked incredulously. “You know I cannot do that. No one in this universe can stop her from dying today. She stepped in this holy circle in middle of a dual. Zeus you wrote the rule and no one can change that.”

Lukas sobbed, bent down towards her body, looking at the lifeless form. She watched as her lover cupped one of her cold cheeks in his hand, stroking softly over the skin with the pad of his thumb. “What if she’s born again?”

“Huh?”

“If you cannot stop her from dying, you can at least make sure she’s born again. I have read about it. Fates have the power to make the same soul reincarnate.”

Talia was shocked by that sudden act of boldness and wit from Lukas. She almost forgot about that. Her father looked taken back as well.

"You'll have to pay the price to save her." The Death said after a moment.

"And what do you want?" The Prince asked before lifting Talia and setting her on the ground. He stood up, turning towards Death. “You can take my life too.”

"That’s not necessary. This...moon princess means something to you. I won’t deposit her soul to the Underworld; take it to the Fates instead.”

Relief flooded in Lukas face; he broke out in a smile. “T-Thank you. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for the kindness.”

“I can think of a way.”

“What do you mean?” Lukas quirked his brow.

“You’ll find out soon.”

With that, the Death lifted the hood of his cloak over his head, revealing a grimly looking old man. Tattoos of his skull ran across his head, nothing else visible. His skin was deathly pale, accentuating the dark markings of the tattoos. Leaning forward, he placed a hand on Talia’s chest and changed something under his breath.

For a moment, nothing happened. Seconds later, the moon princess started to gasp, spluttering and coughing at the lack of oxygen. Before she knew it, her soul was taken out of her body.

***