Eulalia's P.O.V
What had happened that night, I could have hardly comprehended. My childhood best friend, and now my lover?
I woke that morning in his arms. My frame tight held close to his muscular figure as he silently slept beneath Apollo's dazzling sun. I had to admit, something about it made the heart within my breast skip it's beat. His tanned skin in the gentle light. His large hand against the bare skin of my waist. The way his hair lay against his cheek. And so, I found myself staring.
His large frame began to stir, a deep breath trickling through his lips as his frame shuffled around. A quiet groan followed his breath till his orbs began to peak open.
"Why are you staring?" Astinos yawned. I felt his fingers as they careful squeezed at the flesh of my waist. His dark eyes seemed to stick upon me, with a toothy grin moving onto his features.
"No answer?" He teased, continuing to prod at my flesh till I allowed a small giggle to sound. His head shook with the same smile as he glanced away to the dancing crops.
"We should get back to the city." I sighed, my svelte frame shifting to sit beside his resting body. At the sound of my words, his arms moved to conceal his features with another groan leaving his throat.
"Can't we just stay here?" He muttered. I felt the touch of his hand on my leg as he began to shuffle around, moving to sit with his back against the nymph tree.
"I'd rather just stay here." He nodded.
I could see the city as it started to wake. Merchants were stocking their stands as women began to leave their homes with children running behind them. The courtyards were filling with the clashing of blades and the grunting of young men, while young boys played with sticks and twigs.
We wandered through the city as it buzzed with life. Astinos walking at my side with wide eyes as he slowly adjusted back into the liveliness of Sparta.
"I should probably go to see my family." I sighed as we paused in the central square. The merchants shouted of their deals from all corners whilst the crowds flocked in to buy their wares. Astinos gave a solemn nod as he gazed down at my frame.
"I'll come and see you later." I added. He nodded again, his eyes moving to avoid my gaze. The frown on my lips did not last for long. My frame rose onto the tips of my toes, my hands planting onto his massive shoulders and my lips pecked against his tanned cheek. I could see the pink flush as it spread across his tanned cheeks followed by the small hint of a smile.
The walk to my home was a silent one. Few spared a glance toward me, even fewer spared their words. But at the steps of my home, simple faces sat with small smiles.
"Long night?" Helene, the mother of my siblings, teased with a sly grin on her features. I could hear the children screaming inside the walls as they ran and fought.
"Your father is with the captain." She added, noticing the anxious look upon my face. Her delicate fingers pointed toward the home that I knew so well. The captain, once known to me as Artemis.
Two men sat within the largest room of Artemis' household whilst the three children clung to a frame as strong as a bear. My father and Artemis sat at a large table that was littered with wine and bowls of fruit. And Astinos stood in the courtyard with Alexios and his sisters attached to his legs. All the while, I sat upon the steps with my eyes upon the playing siblings but ears tuned to the conversation within the home.
"It is good to see your son home. He has grown beyond belief." I heard my father chuckle as his dark orbs glanced from the table. Even now, you could still see the agony within.
"Astinos has already grown attached to your daughter I see."
"Did you expect anything else?" The familiar voice laughed again. I could feel the gaze of both men fall upon my sitting body as I watched the children laugh and play.
"She is almost at marriage age now." I heard my father's voice croak. I felt the shiver run along my spine at those words. Committing to a single man for the rest of my days was not what kept me awake at night, It was the fear that the man I was committed to would never come home. We were Spartans, to surrender was a disgrace. And the Spartan way was to wish for the 'perfect death'.
"How many marriage proposals so far?" Artemis teased. Alexios, his youngest son, collapsed at my feet as he tugged at the linen dress. He sat beside my foot, his small head resting against my knee with a deep exhale.
"More than I would have wanted." My father groaned. I allowed my orbs to peak around as I looked toward my father and Artemis. My father's head rested in his hand with the solemn frown on his face.
"What would Clio have wanted?" He sighed, glancing toward me as his gaze came to meet my own. I watched his frame straighten at the sight of my orbs.
"She would have wanted you to do the best thing for Eulalia." Captain Artemis muttered with his gaze following my father's to meet mine. I felt another frame drop beside mine. Astinos. His eyes tearing aware my stare till I looked upon his dark brown beam. His chapped and broken lips immediately curving into a gentle smile.
"Best for Eula?" My father scoffed. "Best for Eula is to let her decide."
Three words circled throughout my mind at those words. Three words that I hold to, and forever will. I already have.
Months had passed since that day. Since the day that Artemis and my father spoke of my, very soon, need for a husband. Astinos had grown a year older by then. As had Theron, my brother, who had since left for agoge. It was a painful day for all, especially Alexios who found himself without a friend. I saw so much of myself in that boy. He was alone, upset and yearning for a friend.
"Eula, can I talk to you?" A voice whispered through the darkness. My frame sat up sharply in the wooden frame bed with the thin blanket around my bare frame. Astinos stood in the darkness. He swung around the open door with his grey cloak swinging.
"I'm really sorry about this, but it can't wait." He muttered as he came to sit at the foot of the bed with his solemn gaze caught upon me.
"Tell me what's wrong." I sighed, holding the thin sheet tight around my body as I sat watching him. Astinos' dark orbs trailed along the outline of my frame with a sharp exhale.
"I am Spartan warrior, I know how I should act and how I should feel… But there is something that I can't ignore." He sighed with his eyes moving to avoid my gaze. I fell silent as my teeth began to nibble along my lower lip.
"You're not making sense, Astinos."
"We're taught not to show emotion." He groaned, his body rocking back with his words as his head rolled forward. His dark orbs continued to avoid my gaze.
"Slow down. Jus- Where are you going with this?" I whispered, my small hand moving to rest upon his arm with my thumb drawing gentle circles.
No words left Astinos. Instead his frame moved. His large paw snatching my arm as he tugged me closer, Astinos' lips crashing onto my own. I felt my eye widen for a split second before my frame softened against his muscles. A wave of emotion seemed to wash over as a wave of hurt washed away.
Astinos pulled away almost as quickly as he initiated the kiss with his forehead against my own.
"I'm supposed to ignore emotion… But I love you." He said in a hushed whimper. His paw moving to cup my cheek as his thumb danced over my skin.
I felt my skin prickle at those words.
"I've never felt like this with anyone else." Astinos added, his dark eyes closing to a peaceful face.
What did I feel? Deep down, I think I knew. I knew that I loved him.
"I…" I felt myself freeze. His eyes snapping open at the first sound of my voice. "I love you too." I finished with an inkling of a smile wriggling onto my lips.
Astinos' lips curved into a wide smile as I finished. His fingers tugging my face closer to peck another kiss to my lips.
"Eulalia, Your father has been speaking to mine. He wants you to marry soon…" Astinos' words trailed off for the moment, looking to me with a solemn look upon my face. "I want the honour of being that man."