Marcus…
He had been wandering around the streets of Lycea ever since he had to relive that horrible memory of Maria in his nightmares.
Even though he knows that he’ll never have to worry dealing with her again, the memory of her alone was so awful that it made him feel sick to his stomach.
He thought about talking to his sister in the hopes that it could help clear his mind, but the better part of him thought it was wrong.
She wasn’t his personal therapist, and she didn’t need that kind of burden.
If he were to put his trust in anyone to help him push those memories aside, then it would be Selene.
From what he could tell, he could sense that she was currently in the brotherhood hall, and so he went on his way to see her.
When he arrived at the hall, it was still as empty as it had been the last several weeks.
Even so, Selene was here, hard at work and looking over documents. She was sitting at the bar counter with only a handful of papers, many of which looked as if they were already finished with, yet she would pick them back up to double check for any mistakes.
As soon as she noticed that he was here, she waved to him and asked, “What brings you here today? As you can see, there aren’t that many jobs available, not that you would want any of them.”
Marcus raised his eyebrows in amusement and said, “You sound like a bored secretary.”
Selene tilted her head in confusion but then shook it as if giving up trying to figure out what he meant.
He then took a seat next to her and said, “Actually, I just came here to see what you were up to, and from how I see things, it looks like you’re just trying to keep busy.”
Selene chuckled and asked, “Is it really that obvious?”
“From what I can tell, you’ve been looking over the same documents multiple times, dragging it out so you have something to stay focused on.”
“Yeah… There isn’t much for me to do on my end either, other than check for corrections. But even then, I’ve done that three or four times already. I am getting bored,” she admitted with a sigh before she turned to look Marcus in the eyes.
She stayed silent as she looked at him and he wasn’t able to judge her expression.
What could she be thinking about?
He decided to bring up a new topic as he said, “I’m sure you probably heard about what happened after my fight against Cole.”
She broke eye contact with him and nodded as she replied, “Yes. I did. I heard that he provoked you into punching him in the face and then raising your sword to kill him until Dean intervened and stopped you.”
His eyes narrowed as he said, “You don’t seem bothered by that.”
“Not particularly. Cole is one of the few people in this world on record that has appeared her from another world. Given your reaction to what he said, I assumed that you two came from the same place and that you knew each other,” she said but before he could try to explain, she held up a finger and said, “You can fill me in on the details another time if you want.”
Didn’t seem like she was in the mood to listen to any stories about his past right now, which is something he was thankful for. Although, she also didn’t seem all that interested in staring over the same documents for the umpteenth time in a row.
“Hey, Selene,” he said in a louder pitch to draw her attention.
She looked up from the stack of overly finished papers and replied, “Yeah? What is it?”
“Do you want to get out of here and do something that isn’t soul draining and boring?”
Hearing that, her expression seemed to go through multiple phases within a few seconds. From confusion to sudden understanding, then from eagerness to hesitation.
“Are you...suggesting that we go on another date?” she asked, her voice low pitched and nervous.
“Yeah, if that’s what you want,” he said with a small smile.
She looked like she wanted to jump at the opportunity to go with him, paperwork be damned, she was already done with it. However, something was on her mind that bothered her.
“Aren’t you worried about… my mother Artemis? About what she might try to do to you or say?”
He shook his head and said, “No, I think we reached a clear understanding. From what I can tell from her, she only cares so long as you are safe and happy. Speaking of which, you should try talking-”
“I will, but…not right now. I’m just glad that she isn’t trying to kill you anymore.”
“Does that mean...you want to?”
She had an eager smile on her face, took in a deep breath, and said, “Yes, please. Get me out of this boring place.”
She stood up from her seat and held out her arm, waiting for him to take hers like he did the first time.
He stood by her and gladly took her arm in his own and asked, “Why don’t you choose where to go this time? You could take me around town to some spots I’ve never been to.”
She went silent and pursed her lips as if deep in thought before her eyes widened.
“Oh! I know a great place we could go, but if I tell you, can you promise not to get mad about it?”
He was a little confused but he nodded and agreed not to get mad.
“Well, you know that Artemis...I mean, my mother is in Lysandra’s brotherhood right? Well, her brotherhood hall also works as a restaurant and often hosts parties and lavish balls there. She uh, she said that if I ever found someone I could take with me on a date, then I would be treated to a free meal and the best seats.”
He turned his head to look at her, and despite being apprehensive to being near Artemis in such circumstances, seeing the excited expression on Selene’s face made him consider it. It felt impossible to say no to her when she looked at him like that.
“Are you taking lessons from Thalia or something?” he asked, halfway joking.
Her face twisted in confusion as she replied, “What are you talking about?”
“Never mind. Lets go then.”
Her face brightened up with a smile but she quickly tried to calm herself down and walked along with him to Lysandra’s brotherhood hall.
Selene…
It was fun walking through Lycea with Marcus’s arm hooked through hers, guiding him through the better parts of town on the way to Lysandra’s hall.
He had his turn showing her around Alken the first time, so now it was her turn to show him a good time.
In fact, the more she thought about it, the more that the feeling of nervous excitement started to fill her chest.
By the time they were on their way to the hall, the sun was only a few hours away from setting.
That...that would be a perfect mood setter she thought to herself.
She’s read plenty of romantic books in the past, and in many of them, sunsets were great for setting up a warm mood.
Although...beyond that she wasn’t sure what to do.
Lysandra had been the one to lend books about romance to her, but she withheld books that might go beyond that.
She had said that only after Selene went on her first couple of dates with a man would she give her more ‘mature’ books.
Selene’s face warmed as she tried to think about what that could mean.
“Are you okay?” Marcus asked as he looked her in the eyes before holding the back of hand to her forehead.
She quickly, but gently pulled his hand away as she tried to explain herself without seeming strange.
“I uh,...just had a weird and embarrassing thought cross my mind at random. I was trying to push it out of my head,” she partly lied.
His eyes looked at her as if he could see right through her words, yet he just laughed.
“Alright, I won’t pry into it. We are almost there aren’t we?”
“Yes, it should be coming into sight any moment now,” she said as they were nearly past the city walls to the outskirts of Lycea where Lysandra’s hall rested on the cliff side overlooking the Lycenean Ocean.
The moment they went through the gates of the town walls and the cliff side came into view, Marcus’s eyes widened and a sudden breath left him.
“Oh my god…,” he said breathlessly.
Looking at his expression even surprised Selene as it was rare to see him look like that.
His eyes were so full of wonder and amazement that it was hard to take her eyes off of him.
When he turned to look at her, there was disbelief and amazement and confusion all wrapped together in his eyes as he asked, “Is that...really Lysandra’s brotherhood hall?”
“Yes. Why? It seems like you recognize it.”
“I do.”
Selene blinked and then asked, “You do? How? Isn’t this the first time you’ve seen it?”
“It is, but...on Terra, there were seven great wonders of the ancient world. The Temple of Artemis was one of them. One of the greatest structures ever created in all of human history on my world. This would be an almost perfect recreation of that. Its...beautiful.”
She stared at him as he admired it before she smiled and squeezed his arm and said, “Then I’m glad I brought you here. Come on, lets go inside.”
Even before they walked inside, Marcus’s eyes were darting around trying to absorb everything about the building.
Then Marcus had a sudden look of confusion on his face as he asked, “Hold on, if this hall doubles as a restaurant, then how does it stay in business if its members are also out on jobs? Aside from the fact that it hosts balls for special guests.”
“The members here choose between working for the restaurant or taking job requests. Its usually up to them. A safer and more consistent work for less pay, or few jobs with far higher risk but also higher pay.”
He nodded in understanding, but then stiffened up as his eyes landed on someone in the hall.
She followed his gaze until she realized that it was Artemis he had spotted.
“Are you really sure about this?” he asked.
“Yes. I doubt she will do anything crazy so long as I am with you...right?”
His hand reached up to his neck as he rubbed the scar on his throat nervously.
“She better not stab me in the throat a third time or I’ll rip her head off.”
“Just relax. I’m sure Lysandra can reign her in,” she said and as if on cue, Lysandra seemed to have noticed them and walked over to meet them.
“Well now...is this what I think it is?” she asked as she looked from Selene to Marcus, and back again before giving them both a wide smile.
Marcus continued staring at Artemis who had also noticed them and started glaring back at him.
Lysandra then turned around and waved for Artemis to come to them.
Marcus’s fist tightened but his expression didn’t change.
Artemis’s expression changed to something calmer and more welcoming, yet her body language was agitated.
“Look at you. I never would have guessed that I’d see a Goddess working a minimum wage position as a waitress,” he said jokingly with a fake chuckle.
Selene smacked his leg to get him to knock it off, to which Lysandra seemed to pick up on.
“Artemis, why don’t you take Marcus to the special reserved seating while I have a talk with Selene,” she said.
“Wait, what?” Marcus stammered as his right hand reached for his throat but he pulled it back so as not to look scared in front of them.
Artemis smirked as she watched his nervous behavior. She held out a hand in a well acted welcoming gesture.
Lysandra looked at Artemis and said, “Play nice with him.”
Artemis rolled her eyes and hurriedly waved for Marcus to follow her.
Reluctantly, he followed her as Lysandra sighed.
“I swear, I don’t think that woman will ever outgrow her childish behavior,” she said before she looked back at Selene and said, “I’m glad you never took after her in that regard.”
Selene’s eyes widened as the realization hit her deep in her chest.
“You...knew? You knew that she was my mother?”
Lysandra nodded as she said, “I’ve known ever since the war, since you were born.”
“W-why didn’t you tell me? Why tell me now that you knew?” Selene asked.
Lysandra raised a hand as if to tell her to calm down as she said, “I will explain it all soon. But I doubt that this is the best time for that, am I right? I’m only bringing this up because I have a bit of...motherly advice to give you. Something that Artemis is sadly not very good at giving.”
Selene groaned in annoyance as she couldn’t argue against that.
As much as she wanted to complain about Lysandra not telling her about her mother, it seems that everyone who has hidden that fact from her has had their own reasons that couldn’t be helped.
Marcus couldn’t because he was bound by an oath not to, but that oath became void the moment Selene learned about her from an outside source.
Given Lysandra’s behavior, it seemed that she was hoping Artemis would be mature enough to tell Selene herself.
If she complained about her mother any further, it would ruin the mood and the date with Marcus.
She would just have to shove it into the corner of her mind for now. There would come a point later when she could ask for answers, but now is not the right time.
“Okay. What do you want to tell me?”
Lysandra leaned forward as if to tell her a deep secret as she said, “That man Marcus seems to be quite the catch, huh? Good work on that.”
Selene’s face became flush red with embarrassment as she turned away and stammered, “I...I don’t know what you mean.”
“Oh please. A tall, muscular, attractive, powerful man like him? Most women would kill for such a man. In fact, I’ve seen women kill for men like him. True story.”
“Well...uh…,” Selene muttered as she couldn’t seem to form a coherent sentence.
“Oh come on, why are you so nervous?”
“I don’t know what you’re getting at. You said you were gonna give me advice, but all you’re doing is embarrassing me,” she said as she tried not to think about Marcus too much when hearing Lysandra’s words.
“Well, I was going to tell you that you should find a way to lock him down.”
Confused, Selene looked back at her and asked, “Arrest him? For what?”
Lysandra laughed and said, “No, not like that. You need to find a way to lock down a relationship with Marcus so that he doesn’t look to anyone else. Make him yours. Do you know a way to do that?”
“Well...no,” she admitted.
“Then this is where my wisdom will shine. Listen closely.”
Marcus…
He was freaking out on the inside over the fact that Artemis was escorting him to special seating, knowing full well that this was a date with her daughter. In spite of that, she was playing nice, if not for Selene, then for appearances for Lysandra.
Their seating didn’t seem all that special, just a polished wooden table with a wide heavy curtain hiding the view of outside.
Although, the view was the furthest thing on his mind right now.
“Here is your seat and menu,” she said with little enthusiasm in her voice before turned around and was about to leave.
Despite his better judgment and the fact that he knew it could escalate the situation further, he called out to her.
“Artemis, wait a moment,” he said in Ancient Greek.
She stopped in place before she turned to look back at him and asked, “What is it? I’m already losing my patience with you, so whatever you have to say, say it quickly.”
Marcus swallowed nervously as he summoned up the nerve to speak.
“Selene knows.”
Artemis’s face was first set in confusion, then realization, then anger as she took a sudden step forward as if ready to attack him.
“You swore an oath!”
“It wasn’t me! I said nothing! She found out from someone else! The point is that she knows now,” he said quickly before she could reach for the steak knife on the table and stab him again.
The anger in her eyes slowly deflated as the unavoidable truth set in that she would need to confront her daughter.
“What will you do now?” he asked.
Her arms flopped to her sides as she said, “Now? Now I will do my job and serve the both of you your food so you can enjoy your time together.”
“You’re not...mad? I thought you would be against Selene and I…,” he said without finishing the sentence.
“It doesn’t matter anymore. Just...take good care of her. Treat her well,” she said as she walked away.
It seemed to him that she was more afraid of confronting her daughter about the truth than she was of seeing her daughter with him.
He didn’t really understand her behavior all that well, but he would not argue with her.
Soon after Artemis left, Lysandra showed up as she led Selene to their table.
Once she took her seat, Lysandra waved her hand and the curtain pulled away, the windows opened, and the beautiful view opened up before them.
“Let me know what you want to eat and we’ll bring it out to you. For now, just enjoy the view,” Lysandra said before she winked at Selene and left them to enjoy themselves.
“So, did she give you too much trouble?” she asked.
“No. I don’t think she’ll be a problem,” he answered.
“Is that so…? That’s good to hear…,” she said as she smiled wistfully while looking out at the ocean.
He looked to the ocean as well and took a moment to enjoy the view.
This world really is truly beautiful, he thought as he looked back at Selene, with the light of the sunset making her face glow vibrantly.
Truly beautiful indeed.
Moyako...
She had lurked around corners and walls, stalking after Marcus and that woman Selene he had at his hip. She had followed them both until they came to the Ruin Sentinels brotherhood hall.
After a few minutes of waiting, Marcus followed the silver haired waitress while the woman Selene stayed behind to talk to Captain Lysandra.
Rather than stay behind to listen to their conversation, she went around and tried to sense for Marcus to see what he was doing.
His position from what she could sense eventually came to a halt behind a window hidden behind the curtains. Though after waiting a little longer, they were moved aside and the windows were opened to show Marcus and Selene sitting at a table together.
The two of them looked so calm together, so happy that it...it was like a date.
It was a date!
She squeezed her fists in anger and disgust as she looked up at his face, staring at Selene.
It has only been a little over a month since he came to this world and already he’s dating other women?
Through gritted teeth and a face twisted with anger, she growled, “Cheating bastard.”