(Sorry for formatting, I’m on mobile. Also this had to be written twice, because. . . Reddit.)

“You want me to. . . what?”

Therion’s voice cracked, his eyes wide with fear, but the king clicked his tongue.

“Now, now, hero,” he chastised, a smirk crossing his face; it looked more like a benevolent smile to anyone who didn’t know the threat veiled behind it, but Therion’s heart pummelled his ribcage as the king he didn’t even know the name of continued, “Most men your age would kill for this kind of chance! The thrill if adventure, isn’t that what young adventurers like you live for?”

I’m not an adventurer and you know it, Therion thought, but the spear at his side made it clear what would happen if he said that. ‘For your protection,’ the king had declared, ‘so the commonfolk don’t trample you in their excitement. You’re the hero who will save them, after all!’

The nobles present had laughed at his joke, many muttering something like, “Foolish peasants”.

All but the sorrowful, golden-eyed girl, who just looked sadder with each word the king spoke. The princess, he knew, from the elegant dress and veil she wore. Bright gold, probably to complement her beautiful eyes.

Helios’ eyes, the sun’s eyes.

He tried not to think about the last woman he’d seen with such eyes. She was happy now, yes, with a loving -if drunken, but what else did he expect from his uncle?- husband, but before. . .

He did not think of Crete. He especially did not think of a cruel, greedy king named Minos, and a sad, starving beast trapped in a labyrinth.

The king he didn’t even know the name of was speaking again, so he forced himself to listen.

“. . . of course, you’ll need proper weapons. A sword, yes, and a shield-“

“My bow, milord,” he forced himself to say before he could think better of it.

The king-captor raised an eyebrow. “That twig we found you with?”

That twig was a gift from the goddess Artemis, he didn’t say. Instead, “It’s served me well for as long as I can remember.”

The king frowned, but waved a hand. “Yes, bring the young adventurer his bow,” he ordered a page, who bowed and scurried off. “Now, for your tasks!

“You must bring me the Gorgon Medusa, alive,” he began, a gleam in his blue eyes.

He’s insane. No one could do that! Therion thought, dismayed. Not even Father! Maybe not even Mother!

“One of my men had an encounter with it,” he continued, nodding towards the guard at Therion’s left, the man with the sword. “He’ll lead you to its last known location. After that, they will wait for your return.”

And make sure you don’t try to run, he didn’t have to say out loud.

“Next, you will fetch me a leprechaun’s gold,” the king declared. “From the end of Iris’ rainbow. And the leprechaun, while you’re at it.

“And finally,” he added, smiling slightly, “you’re a hunter, correct? Surely you can bring down the Golden Stag, then. Bring me these three things, and I will give you the hand of my most beautiful daughter, and half my current riches.”

Therion had to give the king a bit of credit. He was smarter than he looked. No one could bring down the Golden Stag, save Artemis herself.

Therion had to fight back a smirk of his own. Clever. But not clever enough.

“I accept your task, O Great King,” Therion declared. He accepted his bow and quiver from the page.

He looked back to the sad princess.

She looked back, sorrow filling her soulful golden eyes with tears. She didn’t want another “suitor”, another boy -because Therion was just a boy himself, he knew that, and the other “suitors” couldn’t’ve been much older than he was.

I will return, he promised her silently. I will return, and we will both be free.

For no one but the only son of Artemis and Orion truly stood a chance against these trials.

Therion forced himself not to smile.

Tricking the trickster.