There is a kingdom that will have to face Zeus' displeasure, because they had stopped worshiping him, and arosed in divine anger, (one of their heirs was killed, and the cause was Zeus, which had led to this) and they think their only chance is to kidnap one of the children of Zeus and convince him to marry the princess.

Cast

Sir Frog's OC

serein's OC

The Kingdom of Demetis

Name

Hesperos Prince of Artamathalon-"evening star" Venus

Age

21 years

Gender

Male

Appearance

He has light soft almost fluffy curly dark brown hair, with carmel, lighter brown, and blond hairs, which lighten his hair color. His hair comes down to his shoulders, and he can tie it back if he wishes to. He keeps it parted to the sides, and away from his face. He has a swarthy complexion. He has an oval face shape with a strong jaw line. He has large light gray blue eyes set under his brows. He has thick wide messy brown brows. Through his left brow, there is a scar, which is a lack of hair where he had accidentally cut himself as a child.

He has medium sized ears, generally covered and unnoticeable underneath his hair. He has a stubble of a beard, and it is thicker around his mouth, chin, and jawline similar to a goatee with a little more. His lips are full, and he has a big wide mouth. His nose is rather large and prominent, possibly being one of the features that draws your attention first. It is bulbous at the end, and rather wide and tall at the bridge. Thanks to his devine genes his teeth came in decently straight. They are rather yellow. He has rather big feet, and doesn't have a soft tread.

His shoulders are quite wide, and he has a large chest, which tapers down to a narrow waist. He has a proportionate build from torso to legs. It is rather obvious that his arms, torso, and legs are muscular and quite strong. He has a few scars on his hands from when he was training. He stands at 6' 3" and around 210 pounds. He has a light covering of brown hair, especially on his legs and arms. He has rather large hands, even though they are on the more slender side. He has a medium sized neck in thickness, but it is rather on the longer side.

Personality

At first glance the initial words used to describe him might be cheerful, loyal, energetic, etc. He also appears to be a pretty happy guy. He likes to goof around and have fun. He thinks that a sense of humor and making jokes are important. Laughing according to him heals most aliments, specifically, those which afflict the spirit. He has seen what being miserable can do to you. He know that a sick depressed spirit can kill just as successfully as poison. He doesn’t like it when thing have to be taken seriously, and the dislike gets stronger over a longer period of time.

Often times, this destroys his focus. While he can do good work, it’s hard to force him to concentrate. He likes to let his mind wander, but he is perfectly capable of focusing. He often spends a lot of time paying attention to social currents, or trying to figure out how to navigate them. He spends a lot of time trying to craft funny phrases, or clever words. He likes to be surrounded by people, and he doesn't like to be ignored, especially when he deliberately is trying to gain attention. He always dives into the largest crowd.

He is very observant of what is around him, and directly in front of him, because he is trying to do what he thinks would make them the most happy, but he often acts sort of like he has blinders on the sides of his eyes, the way he can be totally oblivious of things further away from him. He isn't good at navigating politics government politics, because he would need to look too far ahead. He can navigate basic social politics, because he is normally pretty good at reading people in person. Often he might sense it, but not totally understand or care why.

If he notices someone is being left out or quiet, he would try to include them. He tries to draw them into the conversation. He often pushes himself into the center, so he can be in the middle of everything, and he would give up his position to someone else, if he thought it would cause them to be included or feel better. Most of the time he can sense if they don't want to be bothered. He doesn't always notice that he is trying to captivate everyone's attention, but he gets anxious or uncomfortable, when he doesn't have someone pleased with him.

Most of his time is spent, trying to get approval. He is a people pleaser, so he'll avoid saying things that others disagree with, and he dislikes conflict. If you ask him a question, and he believes you won't like the answer, he prefers to slip and slide around the matter, distract, or tell half truths unless you directly confront him. Eventually, he'll tell you the truth. While he does avoid hurting other people, he won't roll over quietly, if you are insulting him, and trying to get a rise out of him. He is quite witty, and he can prick your feelings.

He loves quickly platonically. He spends a lot of time watching people, trying to see if he can actually trust them with his heart and friendship. His heart is easily broken, and his feelings are easily hurt. He doesn't want anyone else to feel this way. While he wants to make everyone his friend, and to be liked by everyone, when someone really does become friends with him, they can make or break him. He is easily influenced by friends. Once you become his friend, he trusts implicitly. He is willing to do what you want him to do.

He will take on some of your beliefs, fears, desires, etc. He doesn't realize how much influence his friends have over him, which makes it dangerous. He tries to conceal his feelings with an easy friendly nonchalance. He hides his real feelings deep down. Sometimes if it builds up and is too much, you might catch him crying, but he is able to keep himself together surprisingly well. If you corner him while he is alone, he listens well, but he is distracted in a group. Once he knows you need help, he'll do a lot. He puts a lot of energy and emotion into everyone that asks him for help, that he'll forget to help himself.

Likes

Being with people

Animals

Being outside

Swimming

Sailing

Riding horses

Dislikes

Talking about family, especially parentage.

Strengths

Supernaturally strong

He is trained to fight with a sword and a shield.

He has been trained in any way that a prince should be trained.

He will have extended youth, it just hasn't been long enough for anyone to see yet, and an extended life, probably living till he's around 100 years old give or take, as long as he doesn't die of unnatural causes.

He heals faster, and he doesn't get sick by normal mortal sickness unless a god sends him a disease.

Big animals like him. (small animals are intimidated by him, and he's not the best at being gentle and quiet

Weaknesses

Staying still

Being quiet

He is ticklish around the neck and armpits.

He prefers to have at least nine hours of sleep, and he's not as functional after only eight hours.

Family

Father-Zeus

Mother-Thalia Queen of Artamathalon

Artamathalon

Worshipers of Artemis and the hunt

It was a rather dreary day. The skies were filled with heavy dark gray clouds, that blocked out the sun's light, leaving a dim gloom. Any minute now, Hesperos expected to hear rain patter onto the roof. He was standing by the window, watching and waiting for he knew not what. He occasionally looked up, but he was pretty occupied with staring at his blue clothing with intricate embroidery. The prince wasn't supposed to go outside and get wet, so he was confined to his room. There wasn’t anything he could do outside, so it was pointless to make more work for everyone, and become soaked.

After a while, tired of watching from the window, he flopped onto his bed, very bored. Candles, oil, and lanterns were in scarce supply. To save money, he knew it was discouraged to light a light merely to read a book, but it was too dim inside the castle without it unless you wanted to strain your eyes. He rolled over to lay down facedown, and was surprised to find himself asleep without too much effort. Too soon, he was vaguely aware of a voice in his conscious, bidding him to arise, and trying to snatch his attention. At first he couldn’t understand what he was saying, but could only feel annoyance at being interrupted.

The voice informed him, “Your Highness, there are some men here to see you. They wanted to meet you in the private audience chamber. They seem to believe it is very urgent, and they appeared quite anxious,” one of Hersperos’ personal gentlemen informed him.

Heserpos waved a hand in dismissal, “I’ll be down in a moment. Lead them in. Do you have any idea what they want?”

“No Your Highness,” his voice, which belonged to Caedmon, took on an aggrieved and offended tone, “They implied that they simply couldn’t talk about it with a lowly gentleman. They didn’t look like they should be taking up your time. They weren’t the best dressed. Quite unremarkable,” the Caedmon observed with slight disdain.

“Thanks Caedmon,” he sighed wishing that the gentleman had simply let him sleep. This didn’t seem important enough. On the other hand, he had been so bored he went to sleep. He should be thankful he had something to do now.

After checking himself, and making sure his clothing wasn’t too wrinkled, creating an unprincely image, he headed down to the audience chamber. He nodded, greeting the two men who were waiting for him. A herald announced his arrival, his name, and titles, so that Hesperos didn’t have to deign to introduce himself, and he waited while the two men bowed to him, and stated their name, and where they were from. One of the men had a scruffy brown beard, thinning hair on his head, and appeared to be middle aged, while the other was a little younger, and he kept his face cleanshaven, and his hair was longer. He kept his face impassive and rather imperious, believing it was the best way to maintain dignity, and possibly keep them respecting royalty.

“And what is your business here?”

They both looked at each other, realizing they hadn’t planned things too well. What should they say? How could they get closer? One of them nudged the other, who tended to be more talkative, and he set into motion, hoping his quick mind wouldn’t let him down now.

The man with the scruffy beard, appealed in a obsequious manner, with much bowing, and shuffling, and not any eye contact, “Would you mind clearing the room? Quite frankly, we are embarrassed about our…problem. The headman of our area is…embarrassed about needing to get help.”

Hesperos’ brow arose, but he made a hand gesture, dismissing the guards, not seeing a reason to fight with him. He couldn’t remember why he was trying to get through this audience as soon as possible. He supposed it was because that was how he had been taught to behave.

Once they were gone, the man continued to speak, “There is a problem around our area. There is a huge predator, and you are renowned as a fierce hunter. Our people are terrified to come out, and no one else is skilled enough to slay the beast.”

The light of interest ignited in his eyes, couldn’t be contained, even though he remained back in his seat. “What kind of predator is it?” he tried to sound casual.

“It’s….a bear,” the man finally answered. “It’s too big for our bear dogs. They have just gotten ripped apart, and it’s getting too expensive to keep trying, especially without success,” he found that he was warming to the topic.

“I will send someone who is able to take care of this problem. If you inform my gentleman, Caedmon, where you are from, we’ll definitely take care of it.” He stood, getting ready to leave, and they bowed before him as was the proper etiquette.

They both looked at each other, and realized it hadn’t worked out the way they had planned. They waited hesitantly, not sure when they were allowed to leave. Eventually, they followed. The one who with the scruffy beard tried to follow the prince, the other scurried around a corner. He noticed that he was given the eye by the guards, but they didn’t quite try to stop him.

Hesperos had begun to dismiss his guards, preferring privacy, when he finally turned around, and raised one brow, “What?”

“Excuse me Your Majesty?” the man took a step back, hesitantly.

The prince sighed, “You are following me?” Did he really have to spell it out?

The man’s thoughts went blank, but he saw that his people were coming. He began to babble something nonsensical to keep him distracted. The guards had departed far enough so that they couldn’t overhear, as it was their common practice. Finally, two men got behind him, and stuck a rag over his mouth. Hesperos was rather tall, and broad, making it hard to reach him. They had put extra of the sleeping drug on the rag, not sure how much was needed to bring down a demi-god. He struggled, and they barely held on, but there were three of them, and then the fourth man, who had been the distraction joined in. Finally, they got him knocked out, finding it hard to believe their luck. Soon, they were on their way to their destination.

~~~~~

Slowly, the prince became aware of a headache throbbing in his forehead. Disoriented, he couldn’t remember what had occurred prior to falling asleep. Normally, he only slept on his bed, yet he had a severe headache, and things felt unfamiliar. He didn’t remember deciding to take another nap, or what he was supposed to do later. He began reaching out with his hands, not feeling like getting up, when he realized that it was hard as if he had rolled off his bed onto the floor. Perhaps he had hit the ground headfirst rolling off his bed, and that was why he was hurting. Gradually, his eyes began to open, as he decided he had better figure out what was going on.

There was a bright light, and he realized he was in the middle of an audience hall, much like the one, he was remembering that he had just left. Just with different decorations. While his had been decorated with things of the hunt, here was covered in wheat, or other crops to be harvested. He also began to notice that he was surrounded by a sea of shiny gray tipped spears, indicating that he shouldn't be moving around. Apparently, they had heard of his prowess, and weren't taking any chances. Finally, he began to notice a royal pair, sitting on the thrones looking down upon him.

"Who are you? Where am I? How long have I been out? Why am I here?" he reflexively let out the floodgate of questions that struck his mind first.

He tried to hold back any new questions from slipping out, to give them a chance. The majestic king and fair queen exchanged a look, deciding that introducing him to his predicament shouldn't be started by telling him what they wanted from him. He could figure that out later. They weren't sure if they should answer his questions right away. Perhaps it would be better, if he was treated kindly first.

The king arose, and gestured to his guards to back off some. "Come. Set aside your questions for a short time, and we shall come back to them after a refreshing meal."

They stayed in a close circle around Hesperos, but they made room for him to walk without worrying about being stabbed, because one of the guards tripped. The king chose to eat in a smaller, less grand setting, because he didn't feel like this young man needed the grandeur of the Great Hall to show him that he had no power here.

"Let's see. The order of your questions were," he looked upward thoughtfully, "Yes, continue to eat, while I speak. It'll stop you from interrupting. My name is Alexander, King of Demetis. You are in our castle. It's only been a few days, which is why I am sure you are hungry. We weren't able to feed you. We are the ones who truly needed your help. You said that you would help, even though we gave you the exact details falsely. We believe that you will help us."

Hesperos stopped chewing, and stared at him blinking slowly. He was quite confused, and realized he had been drugged. It didn't all add up. Why did he have to be kidnapped?

As if he had read his mind, Alexander answered his question, "We are on a timetable. Too much longer, and destruction will come upon us. We need your help." He didn't add that they were willing to do anything to ensure his help.

"I see," the young prince answered lamely.

"Let me give you some time to digest then," Alexander dimpled at his pun.

There was no response to that.

(If you ever need me to adjust something let me know. I wasn’t sure if everyone would be NPC’s unless they were specifically our characters, but if you don’t want me controlling certain characters, let me know. Also sorry for taking so long)

Hemera had spent her day locked in her room painting as she did most days. Outside her window, all she could see was a dark and gloomy sky and small rain droplets crashing against the roof of the castle. Weather like this was unusual in Demetis, it was usually warm and sunny with a nice breeze but the past few days it’s been rainy and cold outside making the light in her room, and the rest of the castle much dimmer than usual. Hemera had completed three paintings since her maid Cassandra woke her up earlier this morning. Her most recent painting was that of a garden that grew just outside her window. Large trees filled with new, green leaves and blooming flowers were all she could see so that's what she painted.

“Ms. Hemera” Cassandra said, while quietly knocking against the large wooden door. “May I come in. It’s quite important.” She added. The Hemera could sense a little hint of worry and urgency in her voice as she spoke a little quicker than usual. “Yes, please come in Cassandra.” Hemera placed her paintbrush on her desk as Cassandra slowly opened the door. As the door opened a young pale woman looking no older than 23 came in. Her long ginger hair was braided down her back. She wore a light cream-colored dress and her blue eyes were full of joy. “Your father has just informed me that a guest will be arriving in a matter of days and that you must be on your best behavior and look your absolute best.” She Informed her while placing five dresses on Hemera’s bed. “These are a gift from your mother.” She quickly added.

“Thank you for informing me, Cassandra. Please tell my mother that I adore them and will most definitely be wearing them soon.” Hemera said as she looked through the dresses. They were a variety of different colors. One sage green, another royal blue. She noticed a small box on top of the pile of dresses and out of curiosity opened it, inside the box was a beautiful, thin, gold bracelet with some sort of red stone in the middle. She couldn’t help but smile at the gift from her mother and gently placed it back down into the box. Her mother was always giving her gifts whether it be Jewelry or paint. Her mother also shared a love for painting and was an amazing artist who had taught Hemera almost everything she knew about the craft.

By the time Hemera put the dresses away and put her new bracelet with the rest of her jewelry, Cassandra had quietly left without saying goodbye. The sun was starting to set outside her window and her once bright room was now dull and colorless. She lit one of the candles on her nightstand so there would be a little light in the darkroom. She quickly changed into her sleepwear and crawled into bed. She had thick blankets and tons of pillows to keep her warm and comfy during the freezing night.

Hemera quietly opened her drawer revealing a brown leather journal. She wrote in this journal every night before she went to bed and will fill it up with all the things she did during the day as well as things she would hope to do tomorrow. One hour and three pages later she had finally finished writing about her day. Once Hemera put her journal back into the drawer she blew out the candle and closed her eyes. She quickly fell into a deep sleep.

_____________

It seemed that just as she had fallen asleep she heard a faint knocking on her door and in came Cassandra. She was talking about something but Hemera wasn’t listening to a thing. She was sitting on the edge of her bed while Cassandra was digging through her collection of dresses. Cassandra pulled out the royal blue and gold gown that she had received yesterday from her mother. “This would look stunning on you Ms. Hemera” Cassandra beamed holding the dress up with a big smile. All she did was smile and nod. It was early in the morning, the sun had just started to rise and she could hear the faint sound of roosters clucking from the farm. Cassandra handed the dress to her and she went into her changing room to put the dress on. The dress fit perfectly. The gold designs on the bottom and around her waist went perfectly with her gold jewelry. She came out of the dressing room and Cassandra stared at her in awe.

“As I said before, that dress looks stunning on you Ms. Hemera.” Just as she said that two other girls came in. The taller one on the left was Alexa and the shorter one on the right was Delia. Both of the girls were maids in the castle and were usually the ones that did Hemera’s hair in the mornings “Good Morning Ms.” Both said simultaneously. She sat down on a stool as Alexa started to pull pieces of her curly hair back and tied it with gold string. As Alexa perfected the hair Delia put gold clips in her hair as well as her gold crown. Her crown was pretty basic looking unlike her parent’s and Hemera honestly preferred the more simple look. She only wore her crown when she was around her parents and would take it off when no one was around as she saw no need to wear it when alone. “Thank you,” Hemera said as she waved her hand to dismiss them. “Cassandra and I need to talk.” She waited until the girls left and her doors were closed to speak again.

“Do you know anything about the mystery guest?” Hemera asked excitedly. Her parents usually only had guests over if it were an important king or queen from another kingdom or a potential ally but they always told her who was coming. They had been acting extra secretive recently and making sure that every part of the castle was cleaned and decorated nicely. “They haven’t said anything to any of us maids but I heard from Darian that a demigod son of Zuse is coming.” She whispered just in case someone was listening through the door. “Darian said he heard the King say something about a prince son of Zuse while ordering Felipe to make sure that everything goes according to the plan.” She quickly added, still whispering. ‘What plan?’ Hemera thought to herself. She hadn’t heard anything about a plan.

“Is that all you heard Cassandra?” She asked her still trying to figure out the ‘plan’ her father had. “Yes Ms, that was all Darien told me.” She said. “I better get going, your father will get angry if you're late for breakfast,” Cassandra advised as she left the room. She was right, if she was late for breakfast with her family her father would throw a fit.

Hemera made her way out of her room and downstairs to the dining room. Her parents were already sitting there as well as her sister, Helena. Helena was almost the complete opposite of Hemera appearance-wise. She had shorter light brown hair with blue eyes much like their fathers. Helena was also a good four inches tall and had tanner skin. She was wearing a burgundy-colored dress, one that she wore quite often and seemed to be her favorite.

“Hemera what took you so long?” He asked with a stern look as he glared at her. “We sent Cassandra to wake you up over an hour ago.” He then added. “I’m sorry father, we couldn’t decide on a dress.” She lied hoping that he wouldn’t mind. She could tell they had just brought the food out when she arrived so she didn’t see why he was making such a big deal out of her being a minute late. All he did was nod and gesture for her to sit, which she did. “Before we eat,” Her father started to say, “We have a very, very important guest coming later and I expect the both of you, especially you Hemera to be on your absolute best behavior during his stay.” He said while picking a piece of freshly baked bread.

Both Helena and Hemera nodded their heads and stayed quiet. They knew when not to ask questions about guests and when they should and now seemed like the right time to stay quiet. They all continued to eat their breakfast. There was a variety of different foods including fruit, bread, pancakes, and eggs. After what seemed like minutes of heavily awkward silence their mother spoke up. “Hemera, I see you're wearing the dress I gave you.” The Queen beamed with delight. “It looks wonderful on you darling.” She added as she looked Hemera up and down. “Thank you mother, I couldn’t decide what dress to wear today, they were all just so beautiful but Cassandra thought that this one would look the best.” She said while her mother took a sip of her wine. Her mother loved wine and had a glass every morning to relax her before a long day.

After breakfast, Hemera made her way out to one of the many gardens and had one of the maids fetch her a book. She sat on a blanket under a large Oak tree. She had a basket with bread that the maid had also brought if she got hungry. After what seemed like hours of reading she felt a tapping on her shoulder, when she turned around she was surprised to see Cassandra standing behind her. “Hemera, your father wanted me to tell you that the guest is here now and we need to get you freshened up.” She announced with her arms slightly crossed. Hemera put the book down onto the blanket and stood up. “I will have someone come and clean this up,” Cassandra added as she started walking back inside the castle. Hemera followed Cassandra back up into her room and sat back down on the stool.

Alexa and Delia were already waiting for them and as soon as Hemera sat down they fixed her hair and added a bit of makeup. All they did was add some simple eyeliner and some pale red lipstick. They sprayed a floral smelling perfume on her and quickly looked at her to make sure her hair and makeup looked perfect. “There you are Ms.,” Alexa said as she and Delia left the room. “Come on Hemera,” Cassandra began, “You were already late to breakfast, you cannot be late to meet the guest.

Hemera hurried downstairs and was surprised to see a tall young man sitting at the dining table. Guards were standing at every exit as well as near the table. The guy had a confused look on his face as if he had no idea where he was or what was happening to him. “Ah, my eldest daughter has arrived, just in time for dinner my dear.” He beamed, throwing his hands in the air excitedly. “Hemera please come and meet our guest.” He continued. As she made her way to the table the guards moved their spears away from her so she could sit. She sat across from the unknown man in her usual seat. She looked over at her father with a confused look on her face as she had no idea what was going on.

“Hemera this is our guest, Hesperos.” His voice sounded much more formal now unlike how he sounded when she first arrived. She turned her attention back to the young man. “It’s lovely to meet you,” She smiled trying to appear more friendly. She would usually come off as mean to most men that her father invited to dinner but he had made it very clear she needed to be on her best behavior. “Welcome to Demetis.” She added just as her sister arrived with the same puzzled look she had just a moment ago. This time her father didn’t do a big introduction, instead, he gestured for her to come and sit. “Hesperos,” He started to say “This is my youngest daughter, Helena.” He said with a friendly smile. Hemera had rarely seen her father smile like that. The only times he gave anyone a friendly smile was when it was to someone who was truly important.

(Same with you, if you ever want me to change something just let me know. I'm perfectly fine with you controlling everyone but Hemera. No worries)

Hesperos focused mainly on the food. The lady sitting across from him kept on staring at him, and it felt cold with disapproval. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, and he wondered if she thought she was being friendly and hospitable. This was the only kidnapping he had ever experienced, and it was much more odd than he would have expected and less violent. He expected that they wanted something from him. Something specifically from him, otherwise they risked war with his kingdom.

He felt like he was being kicked out, but he went quietly outside. He slowly walked around in the garden, looking around for potential avenues of escape. There were many bushes and other vegetation which impeded his view of escape routs. It appeared to him that you had to know the garden to get out quickly. The bushes were thick enough to slow even the most determined pursuer. A light breeze wafted different flower scents around his nose. He wrinkled his nose, accepting that he couldn't escape the smell.

As there were so many guards, he didn’t fancy his chances. While he could defeat many of them, they would probably be able to slow him down long enough to bring a whole barrack upon his head. He had no idea if they needed him, so he might not live. The guards might get to enthusiastic and kill him regardless of if it was against their orders. This seemed a long way to bring him to kill him. He didn't think anyone would risk war with his country for vengeance. He expected he could injure and hurt a lot of them, which would only make everyone less likely to trust him once he was recaptured. As he began to absentmindedly observe one of the guards who was closer to him, he could see that one of the guards had sweat beading on his forehead. Hesperos realized that the guard was afraid of Hesperos’ potential powers.

Glancing over his shoulder, he had expected them to be more subtle that they were discussing something and they didn’t want him to hear. Instead they had abruptly shoved him outside. He found a private corner. He was reminded of the feeling of being hunted. People were closing in on him, and he didn't know their intentions. He prayed first to Zeus then to his kingdom's patron goddess Artemis. He went through the list, trying not to forget or offend anyone.

His thoughts were interrupted, as he heard someone coming his way. He turned looking down as Hemera arrived at his side. She seemed more relaxed now. Why? What had they discussed? He managed a smile, as she apologized. The circumstances weren't the most unpleasant although they were worrying. He had practice smiling when he didn't want to, so he was able to manage a friendly expression. “In the grand scheme of things, waiting a few minutes shouldn't be a problem. Is it a problem for me?” He wasn’t sure if she would reveal that they did have some nefarious plans in mind which he wouldn’t like. “I would have to agree with you. I am not filled with understanding, but I believe you could enlighten me. Is someone going to tell me why I am here? How long do you hope to keep me here before my absence is missed? How was someone able to infiltrate the castle?”

He didn’t like the idea that there were people in his home who could hurt his mother. That would throw their kingdom into chaos. Perhaps these people were willing to wage war on his kingdom. They had snuck their pieces into advantageous positions. He hoped that his questions didn’t annoy his…hosts, however, he expected that they wouldn’t be surprised by his questions. He forced his mind to focus back on her. If she revealed any information, he needed to be alert, so he could assess it. As he looked around, he noticed that the guards were spreading out so they were more dispersed, but it gave them a feeling of privacy. It would make it easier for him to use her as a hostage to get out. He wasn’t sure if it would make a difference. There were so many variables unaccounted for.

"Why are we out here in the garden?" He was too uncertain to ask why she had dismissed the guards. Perhaps they needed some strong hero. Why would the royal family care to keep their plans concealed from any of their people, especially their trusted guards? "Did you have a nice long discussion with your father? I'm surprised I don't recognize you. I would have expected our royal families to meet each other during some important meeting. Do you know how long I will be staying here?" If they couldn't come to an agreement, he would threaten them with the wrath of his father. Artemis wasn't the most forgiving goddess either, but she tended to remain aloof, so he wasn't going to depend on his half sister.