Persephone: Leonidas' Domina

13- Leonidas

It felt extremely uncomfortable.

Uncomfortable in a way that confused him because he knew that some hours ago, he did not have any problem riding to the great beyond or any beyond with his Father but now...

His heart thumped and his hands were sweaty, his hair stuck to his face and he kept tapping his hands on his crossed legs, but away from his Father's eyes to avoid any scrutiny.

Their ride was quiet, but not the sort of quiet they had left in, the quiet that was pregnant with words that should be said before the moment passed.

And thankfully, Leonidas was not the one who had to give birth.

"Did you talk to her?" Dimitris' voice was in low as he spoke, his eyes on his son who looked up at him with confusion before sitting up.

"Yes." Leonidas said, the memory striking something in his guts that made him gulp in and say, "I did not see her Mother."

At those words, he saw something in his Father's eyes that he had not seen in years. A fleeting look of love and hope, and though it lasted only a minute and Leonidas was staring at his sharp blue eyes again, he wondered why he saw it, "Nektaria..., I do not know about it."

Nektaria...

She must be Persephone's Mother, and by the way his Father spoke of her, a person from his past.

Leonidas knew that if he did not divert this topic into safer ground, he would somehow end up spilling that he had signed his soul to the woman's daughter in exchange for shelter and sanity so said, "Did you know her?"

"Know her?" His Father asked, laughter in his voice. "I was raised alongside her. She was my Koinõnos."

Companion.

"But Father," Leonidas said, staring up at the male. "I thought that we did not have female companions?"

Dimitris' eyes glowered, as if a near rage had filled him in that instant. "Why? Because they are lesser creatures?"

Leonidas' eyes widened, "No, Father—"

"If you want to rule over all of Renatus, you must acknowledge the fact that nothing is indispensable," Dimitris said. "No matter what colour you have behind your neck."

The last sentence sent shivers through Leonidas as he remembered what colour was on his, but a part of him wanted to tell his Father he did not think that way, in the least, for he just made a woman his Domina.

Yet he knew his Father had not meant letting himself be dominated but instead, see the women as equals and so not wanting to destroy this little Father and Son rare bonding, just pursed his lips and nodded.

Dimitris stared at his son for a while before letting out a sigh as he rested his back more comfortably on his. "My Father did not understand it either, my fascination with Nektaria that is. He blamed it on my recklessness and impulsivity. I thought I was rather smart, for you see, I, Dimitris Aetos, next in line to rule Renatus, was quite the catch. I was popular and a sight for sore eyes... And I had a gift, we all do. It is a blessing laid to all Aetos kins for centuries. A gift unique to us all. Mine was the ability to see a special being and recognize their true potential."

And I suppose mine is to make foolhardy decisions but this is not my spotlight moment to disgrace myself.

"Nektaria was the daughter of a family friend, and so I grew with her. At first, I did not talk to her, as I was always with my friends or at the temple, mixing with the crowd and there were rumours about her that kept me away. Starry eyed, lost between time and space. A pharmakis."