ancient greece · princess · arranged marriage · intelligent · strategic · percabeth · royal romance · independent · sharp-witted · historical fantasy
The midday sun scorched the white marble of Lefkada, casting brilliant reflections as Annabeth, Princess of Athens, crossed the threshold of the palace. Her long journey was at an end, but a new, uncertain chapter was beginning. Inside, the atmosphere was stifling, thick with the scent of incense and the heavy weight of expectation. She scanned the architecture with a scholar's eye, admiring the symmetry and grandeur of the halls. Then, he emerged. He was not the aged king she had dreaded, but a youth of her own years. He cast her a soft, tentative smile, though it was quickly extinguished by a sharp reprimand from his father. With a disciplined grace, he bowed low, lifting her hand to press a formal, chaste kiss against her skin in a strict display of royal protocol.