Leonidas took Gorgo down the step path of the temple, bringing her as far from the Ephors as fast as he was able. He did not care that the Spartan alliance with the mystics would be damaged now, and they would surely hold him in contempt when it was his time to rule. The Ephors were a dying breed, their only hold of power coming from ignorance and the public's refusal to give up old and useless traditions.
When he was king, he might remove them from power all together. Diseased, useless mystics...
The late afternoon sun was high and hot, a large orange circle surrounded by a bright pink sky. The darkness of night was still over an hour away. For now they were alone painted by the sunset.
Leonidas felt Gorgo suddenly begin to struggle in his arms and he set her on her feet. To his surprise, she ran from him. "Gorgo, where are you going? Come back to me!" He shouted as he ran after her. The girl ran, the king's cloak flaring out behind her as she ran from him.
He jogged after her, easily keeping pace, but he did not understand why she was running from him. "What is the meaning of this? Stop!"
Gorgo continued to run, but she finally paused once she came across a pool of water, off the flow of a small river. Leonidas stopped before her and watched as she stood, staring out to the water. Gorgo turned to him, her face flushed and her hair in disarray. It was difficult to read her expression for the heavy cosmetics the servants had applied but her eyes met his; in spite of what the Ephors did to her, she remained strong.
Without a word, Gorgo removed the protective cloak of King Androcles and held it out to his son. Leonidas stepped closer to her to take it, unsure of what she meant to do. Gorgo took a step back from him and turned to face the water. Without hesitation, she dove forward, plunging in and cutting through the water in a powerful swim. Leonidas watched as she disappeared beneath the surface.
He waited.
She surfaced, whipping her hair back off her face to trail down her back. Gorgo rose out of the water, naked, without a trace remaining of the gold paint on her body, nor any of the kohl that had obscurred her eyes. She was Gorgo once again, the same woman he had known for years as a friend and now he would know her as a lover and wife.
Gorgo stood in the shallows, her eyes on him as the water lapped at her knees.
Leonidas set his father's cloak aside beneath a tree that grew on the shore and, keeping his eyes on her, he began to remove his own. He watched as Gorgo took a deep breath. He hoped it was in anticipation; he never wanted his wife to fear him. He removed his cloak and then the leather at his waist. Gorgo's eyes widened fractionally as his intentions became clear.
Leonidas did not hesitate before moving into the water to join her.
"Gorgo," he breathed, pulling her to him. His arms twined about her waist, allowing his hands to rest over the curve of her hips. He had not held her in years, or so it seemed. He kissed her, as he had in the palace garden, the last day they'd been permitted to see each other. She tasted the way she had in his memory- sweet as honey and rich as cream.
Sighing softly, Gorgo's hands moved up to rest on his shoulders. Their kiss ended and she shifted her head down to plant two soft kisses on his neck. Leonidas closed his eyes, suddenly content to simply be alone with her for a while. He smiled slightly as he felt her fingers stroke through his beard.
His hands stroked over her smooth back, happy to see that the gold symbols had been washed away. She was his now, truly his.
"I thank you, king Leonidas, for refusing me to the Ephors." She sighed quietly against him. He could feel a new tension move through her body. His father had once told him that women, even the strongest Spartan woman, were very different than men in that they gave free reign to their emotions. Not all the time and certainly their emotions did not overrule their logic, but women could sometimes be ruled by their hearts.
It was difficult for Leonidas to understand the way a woman, this woman especially, would see the world.
That she would simply thank him seemed odd to him; it should be an unspoken understanding between them that as her husband, he would kill to protect her.
"Will you be my queen, Gorgo? You weren't able to answer me before." He reminded her quietly.
She pulled back from him, smiling. Her eyes held a challenge for him. His heart thrilled to see her spirit returning. "My great king Leonidas. If you will race me to the other side of the pool and win, Sparta will have its queen."
Leonidas had never swam faster in his life.
The race was over quickly, and Gorgo had gone on to claim that she had simply let Leonidas win so that his royal pride would not be damaged; if the king had been beaten by a woman then Sparta would be doomed.
They rested together on his cloak beneath the tree, simply listening to the flow of the nearby river. Leonidas held Gorgo against him as they lounged, content as overfed cats. They had held each other in the water, swimming and teasing each other. He had not taken her; he had been tempted but the image of the Ephors probing her womanhood so roughly had flared into his mind.
No. It is too soon, I do not wish to hurt her...
A breeze swept over them, lifting her hair and whipping it into his face. Leonidas smiled as he patted it back into place. He stroked her back and felt gooseflesh rise at his touch. They had dried the water from their bodies, but the night had come upon them, and they were still naked.
Leonidas reached to bring his father's cloak over them to act as a blanket. Gorgo curled closer against him and sighed. "In the morning, we will journey back to Sparta. I will speak to my father about the priests for our wedding." He said idly.
Gorgo nodded against him. "I never thought I would be queen. Even if my father petitioned me, I hadn't thought I would be chosen." She confided to him.
He smiled, even though she could not see him in the dark. "You thought yourself unworthy?"
"I thought you would not see me as a woman, but just as Gorgo, your friend."
Leonidas shifted beneath her. "You are still my friend. You always will be."
"Is love to be forbidden between the king and queen, Leonidas?"
"No. My father and mother's marriage was arranged, they had not laid eyes on each other but two days before their wedding ceremony. There had been respect and civility between them at first- if they were not true friends they were at least kind when alone. He told me they had grown to feel for each other only after their first son had been born. Love is not forbidden to any Spartan, Gorgo, whether slave or king."
Gorgo said nothing else. She only kissed Leonidas before curling against him for sleep.