The Argive Ch. 011-015

So what exactly would he do now? How could he still turn this around?

Could he still turn this around?

*****

For the past two days, Praxis spent most of his waking moments around Astara as they explored the city of Corinth together. She knew the city well from her frequent journeys there, and there weren't that many landmarks that she hadn't been to.

The second day was spent going through the market, careful for both of them to keep a firm distance from her family so they wouldn't risk the wrath of her father.

The third day was spent near the waters of the isthmus, watching the water shimmer and shine from the sun's light.

Praxis had to admit that he greatly enjoyed all the time spent with her, even if it did come with the risk of discovery. Funny enough, it wasn't her father that was the first in her family to find out about them.

It was her younger brother, Nico.

The problem was that they were becoming careless. Instead of staying in parts of the city where her family wasn't likely to be found, they kept gravitating to parts like the market where discovery might be more easy. It was as they were walking along and talking about their respective childhoods that they bumped into Nico.

"Nico! What are you doing here?" exclaimed Astara as she gave a nervous glance at Praxis.

The young boy pointed a finger at Praxis. "You're not supposed to be with him. You heard what Father said about him, didn't you?"

"Nico, you have to be able to keep this secret for me," said, lowering herself to his level. "Father doesn't need to know who I'm with. I'm not in trouble or any danger, and we've become good friends. Promise me that you won't say a word?"

The boy gave her a shrewd look as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "And what do I get in return for keeping my mouth shut?"

Astara growled at him. "Is not doing your dearest sister a favor not reward enough in itself?"

Nico shook his head firmly, putting an end to any such notion.

Astara sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, you can consider me in your debt for one favor of your choosing in the future. But only one, you hear me?"

The boy was an aggressive negotiator and his next response made Praxis laugh.

"Make it two favors."

"Fine," she said, scoffing at him. "Now run along."

The boy grinned happily and waved at Praxis as he left. He was gone just as quickly as he appeared, but Praxis had to wonder if he was really the type to keep his mouth closed.

He didn't want to risk upsetting Astara's father and getting himself in more trouble.

"Can he really be trusted?" asked Praxis a few minutes later. "I just remember my younger stepbrother, Ariston, at that age. He gabbed about every secret that was told to him within a day of finding out about it."

Astara linked her arm through his. "Don't worry about Nico. He's a smart boy and he knows that his sister will make a whole lot of trouble for him if he doesn't follow through with his pledge. Now, where were we?"

Praxis shrugged. "I do believe you were flirting with me just before we happened into your brother."

Astara started to giggle. "You think so, do you?"

She bumped her hip into him before giving him another coy look.

"And what would you do if I was actually flirting with you?"

"I'd suppose I'd take you up on that offer," he answered honestly. "And perhaps find something for us to do tonight. Somewhere we can be alone together."

That was exactly the kind of answer she wanted to hear. "I like the sound of that. What did you have in mind?"

Praxis thought for a moment before responding. "I wouldn't mind seeing what the waters of the isthmus look like after dark. It seemed secluded enough, did it not? Somewhere that we can truly be alone?"

Judging by the look in her eyes, Astara seemed all for it. They made plans to meet at a certain time, and Praxis hoped that her late night wanderings wouldn't draw the attention of her father. Though Astara said he was frequently absent from the family on business, Praxis still didn't want to take that chance.

They were risking enough as it was already.

It was later that evening as he was on his way to see Astara that something happened that truly disturbed him. He was walking past a temple of Apollo when one of the priests, a disfigured-looking man wearing an all-black chiton, stopped him in his tracks.

"You!" said the priest, pointing directly at Praxis. "You're the foreigner on everyone's lips!"

Praxis' eyes went wide at hearing the foreigner title. Before he could form any words, the priest talked again.

"Trouble will find you on the path you're walking on tonight," warned the priest. "There are two roads in front of you. One that will lead you to unimaginable glory and the other will lead to total failure. Guard your heart against the desires of flesh or your fate will be the second road!"

Praxis took a step backward. "What does that mean? What are you even talking about?"

The priest gave him a knowing look. "You know exactly of what I speak. Be gone with you!"

Just like that, the priest went back inside the temple and slammed the door behind him, leaving Praxis bewildered.

What was that all about?

What was the desires of the flesh?

Was he talking about Astara?

Would meeting up with her tonight be a mistake?

If he was being truthful, the warning spooked him. Not only because it came from the priest of his personal family god but because it seemed to confirm what he knew already in his heart.

That sneaking around with Astara would eventually come back to bite him. That stealing the woman promised to his stepbrother might give him even further trouble.

All these warnings were going off in his head about continuing this road with Astara--the warning of her father, the betrothal to Xanthos, and even the way she disregarded a concern for both of those items.

Was this the path to total failure as the priest warned?

And if it was, how could he stop it before it was too late?

Finding his confidence shattered, Praxis couldn't continue toward their meeting spot. Taking the priest at his word, he started to head back to his room, but not before getting a fresh cup of wine in the process.

If he was so easily going to abandon this meeting with Astara, he was going to need a lot of wine to drink this premonition away.

Alot of wine.

Chapter 15: Dealing with the Consequences

The next day, Praxis awoke with the worst hangover of his life.

His throat was scratchy, his eyes were dry, and his head throbbed with a terrible pain that wasn't going away anytime soon.

There had been nothing better to do last night but to drink. He drank away his sorrows but he also drank away any thoughts of Astara.

It was a hard thing to give up. Astara was incredible but being with her was too dangerous. If either of their families found out about them, it could trigger consequences beyond his control.

Astara wasn't worth the risk, and it killed him to admit that.

That's why it seemed like such a good idea in retrospect to drink all the wine he could take.

And Dionysus had seen it fit to punish him suitably for the task.

Praxis sat on the edge of his bed and held his throbbing head. More than once, he considered cutting off the damned appendage with his sword, ending his troubles once and for all.

And yet, he thought that might make Damian and Xanthos too happy to find out that he was dead. Doing that would be the only way they would truly win, and he wasn't about to give them that satisfaction.

So he suffered. He suffered into the evening, scarcely moving from his room except to drain his bladder.

The hangover was one thing but the rest of his body hurt as well.

It hurt because of Astara. If only things could have been different, then maybe it could have worked out.

Alas, he gave up hope of anything happening with her ever again.

That was why it was ironic when there was a knock on his door, only for the woman herself to appear in his room.

And she certainly looked pissed. She entered with her arms already crossed in front of her chest, marching into his room like she was about to throw him out of it.

Even though she looked upset, she'd never looked more beautiful.

"You ditched me last night."

It wasn't even a question as much as it was an accusation. Astara glared at him, challenging him to deny it.

Praxis could only nod in her return.

Without warning, she moved forward and struck him across the face with her palm.

And she did ithard.

Hard enough to make his ears ring.

"By the gods, what is your problem, Praxis?" she whispered after taking a few steps back. "What did I do to you? Why would you leave me hanging when just hours before, we were having the best time? Why did I deserve that?"

"You didn't deserve that," he managed to croak.

Astara scoffed. "And yet I still suffered from it, did I not? So I'll ask you again. What was it for? Tell me why!"

Praxis closed his eyes. "You know that this can't happen, Astara. This thing between you and I."

She didn't even try to dodge the question. "Why can't it happen? We both want it to happen, don't we?"

"I want it to happen but there are many out there who don't," he replied. "Like your father. Like my stepfather and my stepbrother."

Astara shook her head rapidly. "I've already told you that I don't want to marry Xanthos. I have no interest in him. If I'm being honest with you, I'm much more interested in another man."

That part was the hardest to hear. Especially knowing what had to come next.

"But think about what would happen to our families if we started to see each other, even in private. They would disown us, Astara. I'm already on thin ice with my family, and them finding out about us could see me exiled from Argos permanently. Is that the kind of risk you want to take?"

Astara sank to her knees in front of him. "We could try in another city if it came to that. We could live somewhere else. We don't have to live in Argos."

"Argos is my home," he admitted quietly. "My only home. I don't want to go anywhere else."

She took his hands in hers, forcing him to look at her. She really was incredibly beautiful with her shimmering blue eyes and her shiny, dark hair. The gods just didn't make women like Astara every day.

She had once in a lifetime beauty.

Astara inched closer to him. "What else is this about? You knew about what our families would say before you agreed to the date last night. What happened after we separated to turn your heart against me?"

Praxis closed his eyes again as he remembered the priest.

"Something did happen," he admitted. "I ran into a priest of Apollo. He told me that the path I was on led to nothing good. He called it total failure. He said that if I let myself be guided by desires of the flesh, I would never get to achieve the glory that I've always wanted. It was a warning that sobered me, ironically enough. It reminded me that we can never get what we want, not while our families are so against us."

Astara gave him a weird look. "You're being honest with me? It was the priest that set you astray? Nothing else?"

Praxis nodded and said nothing more.

That was when Astara started to laugh. Praxis opened his eyes to look at her, finding her covering her mouth as the most musical giggle echoed off the walls of the room.

"What's so funny?" he asked, his eyebrows drawing in tight.

Astara shook her head. "You went by the temple of Apollo on the way to the isthmus, didn't you? The one in the eastern section of the city?"

He nodded.

She continued to beam with a smile. "Praxis, that temple is filled with the nuttiest priests I've ever seen in my life. Half of them are so old that they can't even see straight, and that's the better half. The other half don't have enough common sense to do anything except chant and issue odd fortunes for strangers passing by the temple. It's very well-known that the temple is full of crazy, old men that aren't to be taken seriously. Half the time all you need to do is offer them a single coin and they'll change whatever fortune they gave to you into something more favorable. They aren't to be taken seriously at all. I thought everyone here in Corinth knew that."

Praxis gave her a wounded look. "I've only been in Corinth a few days."

She was still laughing as she scooted closer, worming her way into his arms. "I must say, I'm somewhat relieved that you ran into that priest. I thought you'd found another woman and you didn't want to be with me anymore. The fact that you got sidetracked by a crazy, old man is more amusing and endearing to you."

Praxis put his hands around her arms. "But Astara, the point hasn't changed. You're promised to my stepbrother. This can never be."

Astara sighed and removed his hands. "How many times do I need to tell you this? I will never love Xanthos. I will never consent to being his wife. I want you, you silly man. How much more direct do I need to be before you understand that?"

"Astara, it's not that simple--"

Praxis never got the chance to finish the sentence. That was because Astara lunged forward, connecting their lips together for the first time. Despite not expecting the kiss, Praxis couldn't help but part his lips to taste the lovely woman in front of him, her lips so soft and inviting.

It was a kiss that he didn't want to end, except it did only moments later.

Astara looked at him again once their lips parted. "Do you understand now? Will you stop resisting me?"

"Astara, we can't go down this road."

"We can. And I'm going to show you how good it can be."

With that last promise, Astara pushed him back on his bed and crawled on top of his body. Though he continued to offer feeble protests, the taste of her lips against his eventually wore him down, silencing him completely. From there, he was hers to do as she wished, and Astara wasted no time in ridding their bodies of all clothing.

Seeing Astara's body for the first time was an experience that he would never forget. She was simply flawless, with soft, perky breasts and curves that seemed to never end.

What was even more incredible was the way that she mounted his hardness moments later. Their sex wasn't frenzied but it was passionate. They took their time, getting to know each other's body while building themselves up to a shattering crescendo after enough time had passed.

After Praxis was spent, he found that he could resist Astara no longer. Their families be damned, he would do anything and everything to keep her by his side, even if that meant permanent exile.

She nuzzled against his bare chest once their organs had separated. "That was... everything that I pictured it to be. That was amazing, Praxis."

He craned his head to look at her. "You're not still going to be upset with me, are you?"

She grinned at him. "It's tempting to still be upset with you. You did ditch me last night and the night that we met. But after what you just put my body through, I'm going to forgive you. As long as you promise me that you won't hurt me a third time, do you understand? And you need to promise me that you'll make love to me again and often."

Praxis pulled her close. "I think we have a deal. But the only question is how do we keep this from our families? How do we stop them from finding out?"

Astara tapped her fingers against his bare chest. "We have the rest of our time together in Corinth where it will be easy to hide from them. The harder part will be once we're back in Argos but I have no doubt we can make this work. We have to make it work. I enjoy being with you too much to separate from you now."

She emphasized the statement by leaning up to kiss him, making it a passionate one in the process. Praxis found his manhood stiffening in response, despite such recent satisfaction.

She cooed as she felt him pressing against her leg once more.

"It looks like you want a repeat performance?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

Praxis grinned. "Now that I've got you, I'm planning to make it worth my while."

She tapped his chest. "As long as you don't go listening to any more funny priests. Can you promise me that? If you have a problem, you'll come to me? Don't ditch me again. I know the odds in front of us are great but I'm willing to fight for it if you are."

That seemed good enough to him. He kissed the top of her head before he moved to mount her, rolling her on her back. This lovemaking was slower paced than the first, and it continued well into the evening hours.

In fact, it continued until an unlikely visitor showed up at Praxis' door.

And that visitor turned their entire lives upside down.

"What is going on here?" the voice shrieked as they saw Astara and Praxis together in bed. "What is the meaning of this!"