Hi, everyone! This is an English version of a previous story in Portuguese (Uma história inesperada), so I'm sorry for any English mistakes... hope you enjoy it!

Stelios always attracted the ladies' eyes. He was considered one of the most handsome and most skilled soldiers of the king, if not the most handsome and most skilled according to many women. When he walked on the street, with his natural presence, wherever there was a group of women, they stopped to look at him, some of them even with a malicious smile. It was about his hair, that had the color of gold against dust, his hair tied that fell on his shoulders in such a nice way, his blue eyes that had a rare tone, his manly face, his well sculpted body, the way he walked… and the list of attributes continued inside their heads while they watched him pass by them…

The Spartan women were free to express their desire in their eyes, their lips, their posture; they were free to exercise themselves and display their finely drawn arms and legs. In nowhere else in Greece there were such attractive women, and neither so confident women like the Spartan ones. Nothing compared to them, and a true man would desire a Spartan woman.

Among the young Spartan women was Climene, who was one of the youngest ones and that didn't look at Stelios with second thoughts, but with pure admiration for his attributes. For her no one could match Stelios in presence and beauty. She made her best effort to be discreet, but when he passed by her any person that looked at her face could very well say that she would become a silly girl, she thought. Honestly she didn't know how she hadn't let any vases fall yet while she was absorbed watching him as he walked.

Simply there was no one like him… And he would never put his eyes on her, she thought. She wore her black hair, that was lightly wavy, tied up in a bun, and her dress was of a pale dark blue tone. She was pretty, but she was nothing compared to the Spartan beauties that smiled at him. She was shy, and she knew that shyness didn't suit a Spartan woman, but she couldn't help it. Stelios certainly would look at the damsels who displayed their well-drawn legs, which she didn't feel comfortable to do; her dress only showed a little above the ankle, and besides she had nothing attractive to show, she thought with some sadness. She wished that only once he would look at her, even if it was briefly, but she was convinced that this would never happen.

A night with a full moon illuminated the fountain in the courtyard where Climene, alone, picked up water in her vase. She was absorbed with the effect of the moon on the fountain, when she heard a voice speak very close to her ear:

"Hello"

She got scared and let the vase fall in the water. She recognized that deep voice. It was Stelios!

"You are Climene, aren't you?", he asked over her shoulder.

"Y-yes", she answered, without even being able to look behind.

"Why so tense?", he said holding her arms, which were stretched, "Relax."

There was no way to relax. It was Stelios there, with her? And once again he spoke very close to her ear, touching her shoulder with the tip of his chin: "I have already seen the way that you look at me."

She lowered her head ashamed, still not being able to control her breathing. He must think that the way she looked at him was funny, and tell her that she was indeed a silly girl, and probably that she was not even a Spartan with that lack of confidence.

"Are you shy? It is little Spartan of you", he said with a smile, having risen his hands centimeters away from her shoulders. The heat of his hands seemed to make every area they touched supersensible, which made her feel her fingers cold, and waves of heat climb up to her face.

Yes, she didn't know how to make herself noticeable and she was ashamed of this, what made her blush even more. And what did she have to show?

Stelios maintained his smile. That girl didn't resemble a Spartan. "Don't be coy or stupid. You can afford neither in Sparta", that was their saying and one of the first sentences the foreigners heard. Climene, that tried very hard not to be on sight when he passed by and tried to disguise how innocent she looked in her distraction, had no chance compared to the other Spartan women, even though some of them had her age. The ones that know how to say what they want and that are not shy. Those were the women the Spartans appreciated.

Climene had already thought of that countless times. Probably none of those women who looked at Stelios had noticed her, which made her feel a little relieved, because if they did notice, they would give the glance of censorship with a bit of sarcasm that the Spartan women knew to give so well. But not being able to find a solution to be a true Spartan woman distressed her.

So he turned her so that they would be face to face, and she stopped for a moment her thoughts seeing the lines of this face, his hair and his muscles drawn by the light of the moon. It was a breath taking vision.

That girl was pretty; that he had already thought when he noticed the way she looked at him. She wasn't as pretty as the confident damsels "who threw glances at him wishing he would reward them with a smile as malicious as their glances", his companions of the elite guard joked. She wasn't as pretty as them, but she had her own merits. Her expression amused him, with her big dark eyes hypnotized and her mouth half opened, as if she couldn't get of that state.

And she couldn't… he smiling with the corner of his lips sent little shivers down her spine.

"I like the way that you look at me", he said closing his eyes and lightly touching her neck with his chin. Now she could feel the blood racing beneath her face. "It's quite inviting", he opened his eyes meeting hers, which had a more intense glow in a much colored face. And with a smile that made her melt on the inside, he lowered his hands arriving to her waist, giggling.

"Yes, you are still inexperienced about being a Spartan", he said pulling her closer and kissed her without rush.

She couldn't believe she felt his lips moving against hers, his hands encircling her waist. It was almost unreal. That was when she realized she had her hands on his chest. Feeling that hard muscle that she hadn't even imagined, she got caught entirely by surprise and pulled away her hands as if she had felt something that was not real, quickly passing them to his arms. He moved his lips slowly and intensively. She was sliding timidly her fingers through his arms, feeling the finely sculpted muscles, and he entwined his fingers in her hair, undoing her bun. It all seemed to slip away from a dream that she had never had.

In the end, with the same smile he took the vase that was still in the fountain and handed it to her.

"Your vase", he still gave her a light kiss and went away in the darkness of the courtyard. She stayed there, feeling weak-kneed and that there was something unreal about all that, but her senses told her that it was real… a good confusion.