Lassie and Nephele entered the gigantic hall and spotted The Prince Leonidas and his men immediately. They occupied the far right of the receiving hall, meant for guests. The centaurs and the other members of the royal family gave the group a wide berth, seemingly disturbed by their presence, yet no less fascinated by the encounter with the Human species . The prince paid them no heed. He stood, with his back erect and his head held high, piercing eyes fixed upon the entrance. On her. She could feel his gaze boring into her very soul as he studied every minute part of her. Shifting a little self-consciously under his unabashed stare, she returned the favour.
The Prince Leonidas' body was stunningly impressive. His chest was broad and the arm muscles well-defined. She spotted a six-pack abdomen at the juncture where his torso merged with his lower half of the body. A set of matching warrior bracelets decorated his wrists, with sharp pikes sticking out. He also wore a large silver pendant in the shape of a warrior axe that reflected the sunlight streaming into the castle. Although he looked slightly forbidding, with his high forehead and thick eyebrows drawn in concentration, the prince was actually quite handsome, she decided. golden curls framed his face, softening his strong military stance slightly. The high cheekbones complemented his sharp Anglican nose. His lips were wide and when he parted them to whisper to one of his men, two rows of white pearly teeth flashed at her. Their eyes met, and she caught sight of a fleeting, mocking smile, so swiftly gone that she thought she had been imagining it.Her eyes swept past the prince to the ten other soldiers in the room. They flanked her future husband. Some were armed with crossbows and longbows, while others had lances meant for short-ranged attacks. From the way they stood in a protective circle around their leader, it was clear where their loyalties lay.
“Nephele, my sweet child,” King Orion greeted Nephele with his hands outstretched. His eyes were puffy and swollen, with dark eye rings rimming the edges due to drinking grape wine .She'd always been his beloved daughter and Lassie's return was a terrible blow to him.He was happy to have to send her off with the prince
Two beautiful centauress Hera and Nephele had hoped against hopes that the prince would choose the other maidens they had kidnaped instead. to have to send Lassie with the prince After all, Lassie wasn't the most beautiful woman in the selection of candidates presented to the Prince Leonidas
. As it was, once the prince laid eyes on her, he'd asked the King Orion for her hand in marriage. He could not be persuaded to accept an alternative girl.
Lassie hastened towards her The Centaur King. She reached out and accepted King Orion's' proferred hand. Bending low and kissing her King Orion's ring, she allowed one drop of tear to fall onto the ground. “My King,” she uttered, perhaps for the last time, “Thank you for bringing me up. I am forever indebted to you. May this small sacrifice bring many years of peace between the centaurs and the humans.”
“Lassie Child, I know not what to say. Except that I hope that someday, I will see you again.” He put his hands under her elbows and guided her to a standing position.
“Prince Leonidas .” The King spun on his heels and addressed his potential Ally . “I present to you my favourite daughter Lassie and your future wife. As my daughter has expressed, we hope that with this marriage, our kinds will have lasting peace and will not return to the bloody violence of the long past.”
Prince Leonidas inclined his head slightly. When he spoke, his rich, crisp voice filled the entire hall. “Fear not, King Orion, for I will assure you of that. Thank you for gifting me with your daughter. I swear upon my life to take excellent care of her. She is free to return if she wishes to visit. Rest assured, King Orion, that today will not be your last meeting with my wife.”
A quiver skipped down the Lassies spine. Already, he was claiming her as his.
The King sent Prince Leonidas half-smile. “Thank you for your generosity, Prince Leonidas. Princess Nephele and I are truly appreciative of such a magnanimous gesture on your part. Will you be staying the night so that we can hold a farewell feast?”
Prince Leonidas shook his head. “While we would dearly like to accept your gracious offer, Your Majesty, my father expects me to return within three days. It takes at least two days of hard, ceaseless riding to arrive at Athens. I presume that M'Lady will require rest-stops in between. We must leave by this evening if we do not wish M'Ladyto travel uncomfortably.” Then he paused, as if he remembered something important. “One more thing. We understand that you wish to send a party of soldiers to escort my wife to Athens. But that is unnecessary. The soldiers I have brought along today are the finest ones amongst all the army. Adding more people to our party will only impede our progress. It is imperative that I reach Athens as soon as possible. I would advise you to send only one handmaiden as a companion, and no more.”
Centaur King contemplated the centaur prince's suggestion, and eventually nodded imperceptibly. “As you wish, Prince Leonidas. Daughter Lassie , will you go and prepare for the journey ? Our guests will be taken to the Main Hall for refreshments.”
Lassie sank in a deep curtsy and once again lifted King's fingers to her lips. “I shall do as you say.” She gathered the folds of her ivory gown and departed, all the while conscious of the Prince's eyes trained on her.
“Shall we?” She heard Nephele ask as she rounded the corner to climb the steps up to her bedroom for the last time.
“Let's,” the prince replied, his voice oozing calm and confidence.
~~~
The next two days passed like a blur for Lassie . Prince Leonidas was worried that a carriage would slow down their journey, so Lassie and her page ,Buddy, each rode a horse. Both horses were thoroughbreds, assured to be the fastest in the King's stables. The King also had the stable hands prepare the most comfortable saddles for the two . The ancient roads of Greece were mere rocky tracks, nothing could have prepared them for the exhaustion that set in just after two hours of being in the saddle. By the second night, Lassie and Buddy had developed saddle sores that had them slathering a huge amount of the Court Physician's cream to allay their discomfort.
They had set up a camp in the forest near Athens and were expected to reach Lassie's new home by mid-morning. Throughout the journey, the prince had been nothing but the epitome of politeness. He rarely spoke to her, but when he did, it was always in the manner of a stranger speaking to a new acquaintance and not as a husband speaking to his wife. She couldn't say the same for his companions, though. Although they didn't bother her, they feasted upon Buddy and made bawdy jokes . Prince Leonidas never partook in such activities, neither did he rebuke them for it. She felt grudging admiration build up within her for the prince. Although she resented him for selecting her, and making her leave the centaurs, he had the hallmarks of a capable and effective leader.
As she got ready for bed that night, Lassie felt chills travel down her spine. Tomorrow, they would reach Sparta. Tomorrow, she would be his wife in the truest sense of the word. She gulped, drew the covers of her thin blanket over her and squeezed her eyes shut. During the journey, he had been galloping in front of them, leading the way.
Just as she was about to drop off to sleep, she was woken up by the sudden sounds of an siege. “Die, you Humans! Die! How dare you befoul our lands! You deserve death for all the pain you inflicted on our lands!”
Another voice, a centauress's this time, filled with anger, pierced the air. “I saw a young woman with you. You have abducted her, haven't you! Return her to us, you filthy greeks!”
Lassie rushed out in her translucent nightgown and was horrified to see a group of centaurs attacking the eleven soidiers . Noyat held a fire torch and were swinging it dangerously around; Centaur held a sword, aiming them at the soidiers. Despite having kept watch, the soidiers had been unable to detect the danger due to exhaustion.
“Lycurgus! Iphitos! Protect the princess!” Lassie heard Prince Leonidas holler, when he spotted her.
“No, m'lord! We're not going to abandon you!” She saw Iphitos brandishing his axe, getting ready for battle.
“Do you disobey the orders of your future king?” The prince knew just what to say to ensure compliance from his men. The two backed away from defending Prince and rode towards her, disgruntlement clearly marked on their faces.
“Please,” she begged as they blocked her attempts to run to the front line. “Let me talk to them. They're mistaken! They think you're here to – ”
“Oh, we know what they think!” spat Iphitos bitterly. He didn't elaborate more, but they all knew the history behind the centaurs' bad reputation. “No. We cannot allow you to risk your life.”
“Please, just let me go! I need to speak to them before anyone loses his life! I'm sure they'll listen to me.” She tried to run around the two but Lycurgus picked her up as easily as if he were carrying a child.
“What part of 'no' do you not understand? Do you honestly think that these centaurs will listen to you? Look at them! They're a mob! They're crazed. They cannot think! You'll lose your life!”
Lassie struggled against his hold but to no avail. She threw a desperate gaze to the front line, but saw no violent behaviour on Prince Leonidas 's part. His crossbow was slung casually around his torso, but he made no move to use it.
“Listen to me. We're from Sparta . There is an ongoing truce between centaurs and humans. We're truly sorry for what we have done in the past, but – ” Before Prince Leonidas could finish his sentence, centaur hacked at him and he fell .
One the soilders hacked back at the brown centaur
He sidestepped the attack, but not quickly enough. The axe slashed across one of his forelegs. The other centaurs stepped forward, bowstrings taut and lances straightened.
Prince Leonidas raised a hand to stop them.
“No!” Lassie struggled free and tumbled onto the ground. She dashed towards the fallen Prince.
All that King Orion had worked so hard to build... Her sacrifice... This hard-earned and hard-won peace and prosperity might just go down with the prince.
If he died, the greeks
might declare an all-out war against the centaurs again.
She saw the axe glint in the firelight. “Stop, please!” Lassie threw herself in front of her husband-to-be. Astonishment spread throughout the centaurs , soon replaced by scorn. “You're with the greeks ?
Lassie you have turned Traitor!” Noyat the leader bellowed. “Stop ! Donot Strike her down !” he ordered.
''Lassie do want you want !
Yonder did he permit these actions ?'
“I am Lassie, daughter of King Orion.”
“If my death can serve to help avenge your dead, then I am most willing to die on their behalves. But, before you do that, know also that you humans were not the only casualties in this war. We had our people Centaurs slaughtered too. The bodies of soldiers and womenfolk were dismembered and strewn all over the battlefields and villages.
Centaurs do not reproduce as readily as humans. Within ten years, you will have doubled the population you had previously. But for centaurs, it will take another century.”
Lassie drew herself to her fullest heights and stared down the centaurs with their raised crossbows aimed at her. “I am also betrothed to Prince Leonidas
Forgive me Noyat .... All that King Orion had worked so hard to build the bridge I must sacrifice and do my duty
Whom you have just struck down. A truce has been arranged between the two kingdoms – ”
“A truce! Blah! Have you any idea what happened during the Ten Years War?
One of the soldier's stepped forward.
'Centaurs marched in here, plundered our lands and murdered our men. They raped our wives and daughters and killed our children in the most brutal, unforgiving manner. And you expect us to let it just pass?”
“What is passed is passed, Soildier . More bloodshed cannot – ”
“I am sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I apologise for all the atrocities committed by the centaurs,” Noyat interrupted, breathing heavily.
Prince Leonidas bowed deeply and repeated, “I apologise for all that we have done. If my death serves a purpose, you there, please, by all means, strike the axe through my heart.”
Although the wound was not mortal, it caused him deep pain.
Lassie started trembling in fear for the prince. What if... What if...
A murmur diffused through the centaurs . Then, surprisingly, as sudden as the centaurs appeared, they retreated. “Count yourselves lucky this time,” someone threw that last sentence at them.
The company didn't move until they saw the torches reach the far end of the forest. Lassie sagged in relief and fell back against Prince Leonidas's chest. His arms came up automatically to catch her, gentleman that he was. “Are you all right?” Concern lined his every word.
“I am all right, but you're injured!” She pushed against his chest and tried to examine his foreleg. Without the light emanating from the strong torches, she was unable to assess how badly hurt he had been.
“Fear not, my lady. We soilders are tough!”
He flashed her a grin, the first since they saw each other. His eyes travelled down her body and dilated.
Lassie flushed, suddenly aware that all she was wearing was her nightgown and her underclothes.
“You could have been killed!” she changed the subject. His eyes whipped back up to her flushed face.
“So could you! Didn't I assign Lycurgus and Iphitos to protect you?” He twisted around. She reached out her hand without a thought and guided his face back in her direction.
“Please, do not punish them. They tried to perform their duty but it was I who struggled free” She laid a soothing hand on his arm.
The other ten soilders by now were surrounding the two of them. Buddy the page boy stood by the tent. “My lady,” Lycurgus addressed her, “We will take care of our lord. It is late now. Please, rest.” It was an indirect dismissal, politely given, and yet it hurt her. It was a reminder that she didn't belong in their group, not yet anyway.
Lassie sighed. Eventually, though, she hoped to gain their trust enough to be included in their circle. Tonight's incident showed her a totally different side to the soldiers and their prince. She was beginning to respect them more and more. Curtsying, she turned and disappeared into the comforts of the tent with Buddy.
Throughout the rest of the night, however, she found that she was unable to fall asleep. The night's events replayed in her mind, but the attack was not its focus. It was the hungry, lewd expression she'd seen flash across the prince's face that she was ruminating on.
Prince had not been too badly injured, but their pace was slightly slower compared to the past two days. Still, they reached well before dinner.