Part 5. Lonely Princess

Talia was reading in her bedroom in her white cotton mid-thigh dress, legs sprawled on the bed. The usual. The moon princess was waiting for a response from her dear father after she abruptly cancelled their dinner plans. He would be disappointed as Zeus countless times reminded their dinner was his favourite thing of the week. 

Clio, her sister, barged in through the door, a frown on her face. "Why did you cancel on us today?"

"Hello, dear sister. Yes, you can come in" Talia sat up, closing her book and setting it aside.

"I'm not in the mood for your quirks. We have been looking forward to today" The Muse said, twisting her lips. 

Guilt settled in her stomach. She couldn't believe she was disappointing so many people just to meet Lukas. Her mother would have been so annoyed in her behaviour.

"I'll make it up to you. Today is not the day. I apologise"

Her sister raised her brow. "Mmh does it got something to do with you talking to the Sun Prince? He's a handsome fellow."

At the mention of Lukas, her cheeks bloomed red, her mind zeroing in on one thing. Lukas was handsome. She had seen his face every time she closed her eyes the whole evening. The moon princess wanted to know him more. Talia wanted to travel with him. Mainly to Earth and his place.

Talia licked her lips. "Maybe. I also asked him to visit me today."

"You want that Prince to visit you? Here?" Clio shrieked, startling her, realising she had said her thought out loud. Adjusting her glasses, she leaned in and bumped into her. "Ah! Now I know it! You fancy that Prince, don't you?"

Her sisters giggle echoed in the room. 

Oh, come on! Was it that obvious? He just happened to be the most exciting guy at the party. That's all. Why did that matter? 

The moon princess shrugged. "It would just be nice to have someone to visit. Someone to talk to"

She tried to sound vague and disinterested, covering the blush on her cheeks with her hands. So far, it wasn't working.

"Oh, only to talk?" Clio asked teasingly, poking her in the ribs.

"You know what I mean." Talia grinned at her sister. She's the smart one. That should not be tricky for her to figure out. 

"I know," Her sister sighed and sobered for a moment. "You're lonely."

"I didn't think I was until today." Talia felt her ears went pink. Sometimes Clio could read her too well. It should be alarming.

"Well, you don't know yourself very well then. You need someone to keep you company. And from what I've heard he's charming and funny. Also a keeper" Clio wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at her sister before looking down to check her watch. "I've got to run. There's a new batch of souls arriving soon. Our dear father wants me to find some dirt on them."

"Okay, I'll see you soon."

Her sister grinned. "You bet!"

As soon as she was all alone, Talia thought about it. Did she fancy the Sun Prince? She was sure she did. The moon princess wanted to know more about him anyway. Something about him made her feel drawn, and she tried to find out.

The more she thought she scoffed to herself—what a pairing: the moon princess and the sun Prince.

Talk about a match made in heaven.

***

With the help of nymphs, Talia got prepped and ready to meet Lukas. As she stood all alone by the stones, a guy started leering at her, looking up and down as if she's one of the pieces of meat being sold. She tried not to pay too much notice; it's not the first time something like this happened, but she's not a god for nothing. Talia can hold her own.

The guy took another step closer, his words slurred. "How much?"

He's drunk. He managed to maintain his face unreadable until it changes to a scowl with the dirty grin of the man. "Imagine you on your knees for me, pórni ."

A gasp slipped out of her mouth; eyes widened in rage. Did he call her a prostitute? Unable to hold it any longer, she turned around and glared at that man. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," The man now grabbed her and - okay, he's a little bit stronger than she anticipated.

Talia can still overpower him, though, but she decided not to because they've drawn in a little bit of crowd. The Olympians. The stranger leaned down to whisper in her ear, "The way you're dressed, it's obvious. How much for a night? I'm sure you are in high demand and I'll pay"

The moon princess drew back in disgust, her face scrunching at the implication. She couldn't manage to get out of his grip smoothly. "You will face the consequences."

"Consequences? What's a pretty little thing like you going to-" He's interrupted by the horrible sound of the crack that followed Lukas punch. The strength and power behind the punch were too much, and the man fell backwards, staggering and dragging Talia with him. 

The Prince was quick, though, and he caught Talia by the waist to prevent her from smashing unto the rocks as the man did.

"Are you okay?" Lukas whispered, looking at her face for a sign to say otherwise.

"I'm good," She managed to smile. The moon princess could have gotten out of it, but it's sweet to see that he was defending her. "Thank you."

"No problem," The Prince replied and placed her beside him. Why were they standing there? Before she could question him about it, she heard grunts of pain from behind her.

It turned out, Lukas didn't want to walk away and instead decided to smash the guy's face in. The Prince kneeled down, landing blow after blow on the man's face, quickly and powerfully. Despite the incredible strength the Sun Prince possessed, he's holding back. His eyes were still the same colour, but she could also see him slowly losing control and, holy hell, she didn't want to find out what Lukas was capable of. 

"Lukas, stop!" It did nothing.

In an instant, she was by his side, grabbing at his forearm so that he could stop. "Lukas, please, just stop it! You've already proved your point! He will die"

Not phased in the slightest, the Prince kept on plummeting the no-longer conscious guy and looked at her, directly. His eyes were enraged, jaw clenched tight, and his whole stance was protective. 

"He touched you...you!"

"And he got what he deserved. Now stop it! I don't want his blood on your hands." 

At that, Lukas stopped. He stood up and with one last look at the man he turned around. The crowd started murmuring, but his glare was enough to send them away. A sigh escaped her lips at that. She only hoped that they would forget about it.

From the corner of her eyes, she noticed Lukas carefully and steady, taking steps in her direction. 

She tried not to let her slight fear show. Even though he almost beat a guy to death, with the few and short encounters they've had, she could tell that Lukas was harmless - at least to her. That's something to be happy about, right? 

"You stopped me," He enveloped her hands with his own and bought them to his chest. 

Talia's eyes fluttered shut at that for a second, chest tightening painfully as his rough touch against her delicate skin. Goosebumps prickled at her skin with each passing second. Just then she noticed that there's blood on his knuckles, but she chose to ignore that in favour of meeting his eyes. 

Lukas raised her hand to his lips, holding her gaze before lightly kissing her knuckles. "Nobody's ever done that, Talia. You're incredible. Humans should build shrines for you."

That's the highest compliment coming from him. She should be able just to take it, but that's something she doesn't believe in. Talia twisted her lips, her voice turning melancholic, "I'm just a moon princess."

"You're not just anything." Lukas brightly smiled.

For a brief second she started wondering whether he's not the Sun God, for the shine and brightness that his smile radiated could only be rivalled by the sun - and even then, the sun would lose.

***

Once they calmed down, Lukas escorted her to the shady area. 

"Wh-what's going on? Lukas where are you taking me?" She swallowed, looking around.

Lukas didn't say anything, just held a finger to his lips. He was wearing a dark cloak with a hood over his head, as were his guards. She stared at them, confused until one of the guards gave her a similar cloak. 

"It's a secret" He smiled. 

She slipped it on and reluctantly, hesitantly, followed them. The Prince grabbed her by the wrist as the both of them were directed to the huge entrance of a covered chariot.

***