Talia held her breath, astound at Lukas intensity and boldness. Why would he blurt out like that? Someone could have easily heard him. Apart from that, she's happy that the truth was out in open.
Her betrothed turned towards her, his voice merely a confused murmur. "What is he saying, Talia? Is it true?"
At least Ajaxson hadn't lost his calm. That's something. She sucked a sharp breath before softly smiling at Lukas. "Yes"
"Oh"
That single word hung in the air for several seconds, neither of them saying anything. She kept squirming on the spot, nervously eyeing Ajaxson and Lukas. The Prince was by her side, his hand rubbing her back.
"How long has this been going on?"
She felt like being interrogated by Ajaxson all over again. Something she had to go through with her father. Talia didn't mind answering his questions at all.
"For a few weeks now."
"And what do you propose I do?"
"Help us out" Lukas cleared his throat.
"Very well." Her betrothed nodded his head with a blank face. "I will think about it."
Relief sank in her bones. Unlike she thought he wasn't straight out refusing them or making the situation difficult. Lukas sighed beside her as well, a weak smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Thank you!" Lukas started. "Thank you so much for helping us out! You have no idea how happy we are to hear this"
The moon princess dumbly nodded along at a loss of words. She couldn't grasp how smoothly it went.
"Don't mention it, Lukas" Ajaxson curled his lips. "I am embarrassed to ask you this, but I need you to leave. No one can spot you anywhere around here."
Right. They could get in deep trouble if anyone worse Zeus spotted the three of them together. He could easily ruin the entire deal and worsen the situation.
Lukas hummed, turning towards her. She wanted to reach out and throw her arms around his neck, kiss him, but that would be pushing it too far. "Talia, I'll see you soon."
"Goodbye," She shyly smiled at him.
Once the Sun Prince was gone, Ajaxson asked her to return to the dock with him. They walked in silence for few minutes before she spoke up.
"Thank you for hearing us out" The wind had done a bit of a number on her hair, which was askew and severely messy. She tucked few strands behind her ear. "It meant a lot to us."
His eyes were still glinting with something, though, and part of her hated it. Talia couldn't figure it out. What was going on in Ajaxsons mind? Would he help them out or not?
As the silence stretched around them, the moon princess croaked, "Let's find our families. I'm sure they must be looking for us."
Her betrothed bobbed his head. "Okay, love."
Clenching her teeth, she ignored the term of endearment and headed purposefully down the boardwalk. Why was he so calm? Fortunately for her, after that, Ajaxson trudged along and didn't attempt at starting a conversation.
***
They eventually found the rest of their family already dining outside on the dock under the shade of enormous cloth umbrellas.
Talia's neck was warm as they returned, delicate beads of sweat at the temples of her head. Her brown hair was damp at the spots, and she forced herself to keep from messing them any more.
"Look at your feet!" Tecmessa, Ajax's wife, gasped in horror as they returned. "Both of you!"
The sand was still sticking to their feet and ankles and even farther up her son's calves. Maybe because they have been out on the beach for quite some time. What did they expect? Talia snickered to herself.
"It's was a beach stroll, mother," Ajaxson sighed.
"Mhm. Now come on, sit down for a meal. We just started"
Her stepmother licked her lips. "Yes. And everything on the table is so delicious. My daughter is fortunate."
Rolling her eyes, the moon princess sat down on one of the empty chairs at the end of the table. She found her betrothed looking at her with curious eyes, his head tilted and hands rested safely in his lap. His eyes shone so impossibly and still glinted something unbearably pretty.
Talia sucked in a breath, biting the insides of her cheek and furrowed her brows into a scowl. What was his problem?
***
Their dinner was a silent affair. She thought that after the meal, Ajaxson would mention something, but he did not. Disappointment crawled in her stomach as the parents got together and began planning for a date. Why was he not speaking up?
Finally, Zeus decided to call it a night, and they travelled back to their Castle.
Talia fell asleep with even more questions swimming in her head.
***
Two weeks passed in a blur, and there was no word from Ajaxson. She was getting extremely angsty, waiting for him to do something to cancel their engagement. Lukas was also getting impatient, urging her to abandon everything and run away with him. Somehow she managed to calm the Sun Prince through her letters, asking him to hold on for few more days.
On the fifteenth day, the moon princess decided to read. That would calm her down. With the help of some helpers, she set up a tent in the garden.
The moon princess was surrounded by several books, a few on the windowsills, and several more surrounding the spot she had been sitting for the last couple of hours. Engrossed in her reading, she didn't notice someone stepping into her space.
Ajaxson quietly sat down on the bench on her right, careful as though afraid to ruin the ambience, as if he knew how important it was to her.
"You do love to read," Her betrothed started, his tone notably pleased. She noticed the way he dragged his eyes over one of the piles of her books. He momentarily stilled after presumably reading titles on the backs.
Her eyes glanced around the garden, scanning over the multiple books, both old and untouched, littered around her. No one was in her sight because Talia wanted to be left alone. Surprisingly they understood well and steered clear of her. Her eyes came back to Ajaxson, who was waiting for her to respond.
The moon princess scowled, anger simmering in her chest. All these days, she kept waiting for his letter, or better yet, his presence, to cancel their engagement. Nothing happened.
"Why are you here?"
"My family wished to come by, but you weren't at the house when we arrived. I was told to find you here."
Talia snapped her book shut with a smack and sat up properly, nailing him with indignant eyes. "I mean, why are you here at all?"
"My parents...I had no choice, Talia." His shoulders slumped pathetically.
“But why are you going along with it? I thought you would think about Lukas and me. You promised us!"
A small crease formed in his forehead, and his eyes had dimmed just slightly in colour. "Truthfully speaking, I think we should give our relationship a chance. At least for their sake you know."
Her mouth dropped open at that. "But I already love someone else! You know it!"
Ajaxson slowly shrugged. "Give it some time. Maybe things will change. Sometimes for the better."
Was he serious? Talia twisted her lips, blinking at him. How could he say something like that? She thought that he would be mature enough to end their engagement.
"I don't want things to change. You might as well tell your parents you changed your mind and end this."
"And lie?" Ajaxson huffed. "Why should I lie?"
"Because I'm not the one for you?" Talia's voice slightly rose, arms crossed together against her chest. "I don't want any part of this. I don't want you."
For a long moment, the atmosphere around them fell silent, and Talia wondered if she had genuinely disheartened him. The moon princess rejected the courtship he had intended to have with her. That must take a toll on anyone. She kept her head firmly angled away and snuck a glance at the man from the corner of her eye.
To her dismay, Ajaxson appeared to be disheartened but also thoughtful. The wrinkle between his furrowed brows had deepened, but his eyes were set, like he was pondering about something.
He cleared his throat. "And why are you unable to terminate this on your own? Why should I be the one to do it?"
Her heart sank; she looked away for few seconds before returning his stare. "Because I am afraid they won't listen to me. I tried to reason with my father, but he brushed me off."
"So..." Ajaxson said eventually. "You wish for me to tell our elders that it's not going to work between us?"
"Yes, please."
A spark of hope suddenly bubbled in the middle of her gut. For a moment, Talia felt lighter, knowing that he finally got the point she's making. "Can you do it?"
***