Part 1. The Past Story

*Mt. Olympus, Greece*

"Thank you so much polyagapiménos" Thaelia exclaimed as the nymph finished filing her nails, leaving the moon princess with a perfect manicure.

Eliza, the nymph smiled in response and parted with a bow, after taking her basin of filthy water with her. That's the thing with people working under her, they never uttered a single word, which she never understood. Why was it so forbidden for them to talk with her? Just a friendly chat? 

A sigh escaped her lips. That topic never left her mind, but also it’s useless to think over. It’s always been like that. 

She collapsed on the chair happily, content that her nails were back to the flawless state they should constantly be at. The moon princess took great delight in having these sessions in the salon room. Also, because of the interior of the room, huge white walls decorated with beautiful white lilies always provided her with a feeling of relaxation and comfort. Not to mention the soft music playing in the background. 

The moon princess remembered the first time she had visited the salon room. Thaelia was just a kid, and it had been with her mother, and she recalled loving it from the second she laid eyes on it. Spacious rooms filled with never-ending rows of white chairs, nymphs taking perfect care of each goddess, leaving them gorgeous; huge windows leading out to the colourful garden decorated with roses and fountains. 

That’s when her mother had told Thaelia they would be visiting the salon every day, to keep themselves perfectly cleaned and groomed. While that had indeed happened in the past, there had been times like this one where she had to go all alone, having lost her mother. She blinked back the tears, wanting to enjoy some peace and solitude as she was taken care of. That was a long time ago. 

As a moon princess and Zeus, daughter, she knew how beautiful she was, and wanted by every single God. Most only judged with their eyes for her looks and status she had enough. For once, Thaelai wanted to be loved because of her heart. As cheesy as that sounds.

“Thaelia!” She suddenly heard someone call her, completely startling her from her fantasy. Who the hell was it now? 

“Thaelia, you will not believe this! After the Pipilions lost the war, the population of their kind have grown massively. Almost crossing the harpoons-“

That could only be one person.

“Clio for the millionth time I don't want war updates!” The moon princess groaned, rubbing her temple with her neatly manicured fingers as her friend kept walking closer to her.

Clio was one of the nine muses, also her sister. With her black, square glasses slipping off her nose bridge, she always had a keen interest in history. No wonder she’s called the muse of history. If the moon princess had to describe her in two words, it would probably be nerdy and obsessed (or as she would call it, determined). Most people would imagine muses to be lounging around, doing nothing as that’s what they are said to be, but not Clio. She did the research for fun.

Few nymphs looked up to see what all the commotion was about but went back to work when they saw it was only Clio interrupting, as per usual.

Clio pouted. “But you have to see this! It’s incredible, I mean, look at the facts, there hasn't been such a rapid increase in their population since... never!” 

Thaelia stood up from her chair and led them to the exit. They stepped outside the huge room r hat was the salon, going into a massive, green courtyard, full of flowers of all colours with naiads watering them. She had to admit that it was impressive all the work the girls did, the moon princess could never agree to doing such a job where dirt could get trapped between her nails.

“And why do you think I should care?” 

Before Clio could reply with something equally nerdy, a deep voice abruptly cut her off. 

“Hi, lovely sisters. How’s it going?”

Thaelia turned around to find a goddess with dark hair, bow and arrow at the back and all-black clothes, who had just appeared out of thin air. Even in the direct sunlight, she still appeared to almost hiding in the shadows. The moon princess had no idea how she did that. 

Artemis sure had a trick up her sleeve. 

“Artemis came to join the party, have you?” She asked sarcastically as they began to walk again towards the outskirts of Mount Olympus. On the way they passed several guards, bowing down to them and some visibly shaking in fear. All thanks to Artemis sharp bow and arrow. Why did she have to carry it everywhere? 

"I don't know, I was just passing by, my dear sister” Artemis replied, shaking Thaelia out of her momentary reverie. 

Both her sisters followed the moon princess to her garden, which was where they hung out most of the time anyway. Having a huge mansion at the top of mountain was useless to say atleast. They always have to be conscious of the guards around them. Not to mention anyone can appear anytime and spy on them. That’s why Thaelia chose to sit in the gardens. 

It’s her mother’s creation. So scared and pure that no one can lie about their feelings nor anyone can listen to the people sitting inside. Both of the things which the moon princess loved. 

“I assume you are done with your hunt then?” Clio raised her brow at their huntress sister.

“Unfortunately not. Our dear father has asked me to train the noobs some more. They are absolutely unskilled and can’t even hold the arrow right! How do I tell that to our father?” 

Clio shrugged. “Simple, you don’t.”

“That’s not very helpful” Artemis scoffed. 

Thaelia cleared her throat because they could go on for a while. “Also does anyone know where the hell Nona is? I have been trying to reach her since forever but cannot find her anywhere.” 

"I heard she's scouting for soldiers again,” Clio contributed, gripping tightly to her papers as the wind threatened to blow them away. 

The moon princess groaned in reply, rolling her eyes before unlocking the gate to the door of her garden. Somehow it was turning out to be a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky and the sun brightly shining.

“So basically, doing the dirty job of finding war criminals” She muttered to herself while plopping down on the nearest bench.

“I don't even get the point of doing that work in these days. Aren’t we supposed to be processed?” She asked, crossing her arms in front of her sleeveless white dress, one of her personal favourite dresses these days. It was long, but it was sleeveless, and cinched at the waist, also had a big cut in the side of her right leg, reaching up to her mid-thigh, which showcased her perfect, long legs beautifully. 

She always wore it with a gold studded belt around her waist to show off her curves, and obviously a golden crown which made it look like golden vines wrapped around her head.

“Thaelia heroes are what keep Mount Olympus alive! 

How can you not like that? Your father sends them for quests and wars, and in return, they get to ask for one wish. The best deal out there.”

Thaelia made a face at that. She did not like to think about war. 

“Clio you're hurting my brain," The moon princess groaned, scrubbing her face with her hands.

“Enough with the war talk.” 

“Okay,” Clio sighed. 

“Let’s talk about the upcoming party then. I heard our dear stepmother is inviting everyone.” 

Thaelia frowned at the mention of Hera, their stepmother. They never got along. Even though they all lived in the same castle, none of them got along with their stepmother. 

Clio sighed. “Yeah, she’s definitely up to something. Inviting everyone is a bit...extreme. It’s not even Ball season.” 

Artemis hummed. “Eh. Don’t know what goes on in her brain.” 

The moon princess lips quivered at that. That scared her a bit. An evening with every single one in Greece. 

***

I closed the book, almost relieved that the chapter was over. It did feel kind of weird to read my own story, my previous life story. 

Shaking my head, I leaned back and pushed the book in my lap. Judging from the pages in the book, I was in for a ride. 

***