As Achilleas dropped down beside her to pray to Aphrodite, Theo drew in a shaky breath and glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Even in prayer, he was intense; the hard lines of his face giving nothing away. While he looked so very much like his brother, the smile lines that creased Emilios face weren’t present in Achilleas. The effect was unsettling. Sure she’d noticed the smile lines before, but she’d never considered them so necessary a feature to a man.
Finally, they stood and thanked the priests for their time and continued on to more temples. One after the other until the sun moved lower in the sky; Apollo himself allowing for their time in worship to come to an inevitable close. And while she was exhausted, she couldn’t imagine how her sisters and family felt trailing behind them. After the cheers and stares of the populace became background noise, the parade was nothing more than a very public display of excessive wealth.
Their final stop had been to the Goddess of wisdom herself, Athena who Theo prayed just as fervently to as Aphrodite after laying out her sacrifice on the altar. They exited the temple to cheers from the crowd and her family who all seemed rather ready for it all to be over. From here they would return to the estate for dinner and an intimate social gathering between the two families to celebrate the Gods blessing upon their union. Theo desperately wanted a glass of wine and a cold bath. She stared at Emilios from the bottom step of the temple; remembering the night of the coronation. Of the hopelessness she felt after leaving him. How she longed to go to him now. To take his hand in hers and press it between both of her palms. To brush her lips across his knuckles. His fingers were hard; calloused from years spent training with a bow.
Her attention was diverted to her sisters and she stepped down to join them; happy to be in familiar arms after spending such a tense and awkward day with her fiance. But Achilleas moved his large horse forward to block her view of them and she stepped back so she could look up at the soldier. They were expected to take the litters back but here Achilleas stood with his hand held out to her atop the beast.
She looked from that hand up into his bright eyes and for the first time since they were children he looked almost boyish; defying tradition and what had been established for them by his father and her uncle. Theo sucked in a breath as her heart skipped a beat and with only a cursory glance in Fotios’s direction, she clasped Achilleas arm and allowed him to pull her up behind him. There was nothing more she wanted at that moment than to escape this ridiculous display and this was the fastest way to do it. Oh, she knew she’d have to deal with the fall out that would come… between her mother and Fotios.. And even Emilios. But she couldn’t be bothered. This had been one of the worst days of her life and she had no greater desire than to escape it...even if it was with the man who was partially responsible for her misery.
She tugged off her veil and slipped closer to Achilleas; her arm wrapping around his waist so she wouldn’t lose her seat when he kicked the horse into motion. He wasted no time in setting off; weaving through their family as he made a weak promise of returning her. Theo tried to bury her grin into the back of his shoulder, but as she glanced back at her mothers stern expression, she couldn’t help but laugh. She knew there would be hell to pay later. But for now? She couldn’t give a damn. “Hurry before they decide to follow!” She wrapped her arms tighter around his waist; encouraging him to urge the horse on. The beasts shoed feet echoed noisily against the surrounding buildings as they sped over stone streets. But she didn’t care where he took her.. As long as it was away from her responsibilities.
Finally, they stood and thanked the priests for their time and continued on to more temples. One after the other until the sun moved lower in the sky; Apollo himself allowing for their time in worship to come to an inevitable close. And while she was exhausted, she couldn’t imagine how her sisters and family felt trailing behind them. After the cheers and stares of the populace became background noise, the parade was nothing more than a very public display of excessive wealth.
Their final stop had been to the Goddess of wisdom herself, Athena who Theo prayed just as fervently to as Aphrodite after laying out her sacrifice on the altar. They exited the temple to cheers from the crowd and her family who all seemed rather ready for it all to be over. From here they would return to the estate for dinner and an intimate social gathering between the two families to celebrate the Gods blessing upon their union. Theo desperately wanted a glass of wine and a cold bath. She stared at Emilios from the bottom step of the temple; remembering the night of the coronation. Of the hopelessness she felt after leaving him. How she longed to go to him now. To take his hand in hers and press it between both of her palms. To brush her lips across his knuckles. His fingers were hard; calloused from years spent training with a bow.
Her attention was diverted to her sisters and she stepped down to join them; happy to be in familiar arms after spending such a tense and awkward day with her fiance. But Achilleas moved his large horse forward to block her view of them and she stepped back so she could look up at the soldier. They were expected to take the litters back but here Achilleas stood with his hand held out to her atop the beast.
She looked from that hand up into his bright eyes and for the first time since they were children he looked almost boyish; defying tradition and what had been established for them by his father and her uncle. Theo sucked in a breath as her heart skipped a beat and with only a cursory glance in Fotios’s direction, she clasped Achilleas arm and allowed him to pull her up behind him. There was nothing more she wanted at that moment than to escape this ridiculous display and this was the fastest way to do it. Oh, she knew she’d have to deal with the fall out that would come… between her mother and Fotios.. And even Emilios. But she couldn’t be bothered. This had been one of the worst days of her life and she had no greater desire than to escape it...even if it was with the man who was partially responsible for her misery.
She tugged off her veil and slipped closer to Achilleas; her arm wrapping around his waist so she wouldn’t lose her seat when he kicked the horse into motion. He wasted no time in setting off; weaving through their family as he made a weak promise of returning her. Theo tried to bury her grin into the back of his shoulder, but as she glanced back at her mothers stern expression, she couldn’t help but laugh. She knew there would be hell to pay later. But for now? She couldn’t give a damn. “Hurry before they decide to follow!” She wrapped her arms tighter around his waist; encouraging him to urge the horse on. The beasts shoed feet echoed noisily against the surrounding buildings as they sped over stone streets. But she didn’t care where he took her.. As long as it was away from her responsibilities.