It had been a long day. In so many more ways than one.

Firstly, there had been the gladiator games. While a nerve-wracking and adrenaline pumping event all of its own on any other day of the month, today had been one of particular nervous energy as it had involved the appearance of the Xanthos Champion for the first time. A man that Persephone knew would refuse to lose in any way other than death but also a man she was rapidly learning to dislike and distrust despite his importance in maintaining the public support of her royal House.

Not a good combination.

As such, it had been several hours of anxiety over one man when she had really needed to concentrate on another.

Enter reason number two for Persephone's stressful day.

Lord Iason had been wonderful. His behaviour could not have been faulted all day as he had performed his role as her escort but not her owner to perfection, ensuring that she was always given an arm for support or a hand to hold, but never stepping for her or speaking over her. He was honing his promise of them working as a team in this betrothal to a fine and elegant point.

And yet even then it was a stressful situation. The tension that she had felt in the arena when her father had announced her engagement to a Taengean - not an Athenian - had been palpable, despite the cheers it had drawn from the crowds. She had known that such a move would have seemed strange to the common people but to the nobility it would seem a political move - something that it clear was. But the lack of romance in the arrangement did nothing to sway the fact that she was to be married and was, therefore, now a better candidate for the throne than she had been seven hours ago. Lord Iason was truly the saving grace they had all hope for.

Then had come the performance of the afternoon.

While Persephone had not been the one on the trapeze or the one eating fire or wrestling snakes, she had felt, during that time, that she was almost as on show as the performers of the Children of Mnemosyne.

Luckily, as the show had gotten underway and the acts were so enchanting the public gaze had been drawn from her and her sister and back to the spectacle at hand.

The few hours that had passed after that had simply been tiring for the amount of energy she had burned in her own excitement for the show. It truly had been an amazement for the eyes...

What Persephone really wanted to do now, she thought, upon her carriage travelling through the large wrought iron gates and entering the royal palace grounds, was go to bed.

No, correction. She wished to remove her cloying, tight dress - possibly with a knife if it was needed, because she wasn't entirely sure how she was expected to get out of the thing - and then fall into bed.

And possible sleep for three days.

After all the planning, the prep and the palpitations over this whole arduous day, Persephone was ready to call it the end of her duties and ignore the entirety of the nobility that had congregated in the palace for the expected post-gladiator games celebrations.

Now, that would serve her well at the Senate.

With an internal snort at such an ignore, Persephone, Iason, Emilia and her slave Dawn were finally able to exit the carriage for - what Persephone hoped - was the final time that day and enter into the back foyer of the palace.

The back foyer, the guest chambers and the palace gardens had all been opened up to the noble public, the rest of the wings of the house closed off in privacy.

The lady's maid that Persephone had left in charge of the proceedings at the palace - Kleio - had outdone herself.

All of the solar rooms and meeting rooms on the back end of the building had been decorated in open luxury with cushions, recliners and additional seating located in every corner. The fabrics and colours of each room had clearly been arranged to match, revealing the finery and expense that the Xanthos family could accommodate.

All of the doors and curtains that opened from chambers to gardens had been flung and pinned open, the soft nightly breeze allowed to enter into the house, the swirling and rippling curtains adding an ethereal quality to the rooms.

As it was night by this time, light had been provided in the form of candles, clustered on most surfaces and offering and dim and provocative glow that flickered over the patterns of the furniture.

More servants and slaves had been hired to meander around the rooms with trays of fine wine, small delicacies and the freshest water this side of the Aegean. Some further were hired still to place themselves in particular corners and stand, awaiting the needs of the guests should an orbiting servant not pass by quickly enough.

The flowers of every vase had been replenished with fresh blooms from the gardens and Persephone noted that Kleio's choices for the foliage were most light colours, allowing them to glow in the semi-dark and perfume with darker and almost sinful scents.

The smells of the palace were also permeated with the succulent scent of roasting meats and Persephone felt her mouth water and her stomach rumble, reminding her that she had yet to eat that day. Nervous as she had been that morning, she had not eaten a morning repast and since then she had been too focused on her duties and the entertainments of her people to even consider the idea of food. She had had some wine at the performance when given it by a servant but other than that, she had not refuelled since her slumber last night.

Intending to perhaps order a leg of whatever it was roasting in the kitchens currently when she went to bed and devouring it before sleep, Persephone smiled and made eye contact with the important members of the Senate as she was announced at the door of her own home to the guests who had already been there for nearly an hour. Travel from the plateia had not been easy with an entire retinue and the people of Athenia out in their droves.

Upon completing the appropriate proceedings as she, her fiancé and her sister were all welcomed to the room, Persephone then turned to Iason with a soft smile and a low voice.

"You have been wonderful today." She told the man, her hand soft on his arm as she extricated her elbow from his. "Enjoy yourself this evening." She offered - not as an order or instruction, but as a friendly encouragement. "I need not a chaperone now."

To be glued to his side longer than the last five hours would only indicate to people a forcedness in their relationship - something that wasn't there and that she did not want to encourage the idea that it was.

Allowing him to take a moment for himself and enjoy the entertainments Kleio had no doubt laid out for the event was important to her, for she did not want to alienate the man with the arduous nature of being her fiancé on the first day.

Turning to her sister, Persephone smiled at Emilia and then indicated the nearest archways to the palace gardens.

"Come..." She told Emilia. "Let us see what this spectacle has to offer." And then she rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of their day, before the two sisters hurried into the gardens where Persephone was intent on finding Kleio and thanking her for her extravagant and wholly appropriate efforts for such celebrations.

Rafail did not care for gladiatorial games, nor did he care for elaborate performances or the troupes which performed them. He did not care for the peasantry nor their constant plights nor the way the royal classes so endlessly seemed to try and appease them. What was the point? They would always be unhappy, there was always someone else who needed something and he did not care to associate with them further than what was necessary. It was for this reason that he had neglected to attend either the gladiatorial games or the performances. It was only the royal celebrations themselves that he considered worthy of his attendance, unwilling to associate with any of the common rabble.

He had no concerns about arriving late to the event, considering how close his own home was to the palace, that had never been something he had worried about. And tardiness, well, that didn't exactly matter either. Why should he care if others had to wait for his arrival? It only increased their anticipation.

Without the distraction of other events, Rafail had far more time to prepare himself and find a new date for the evening. Althaia, unfortunately, would not be attending with him, having momentarily fallen out of favour after her atrocious performance in bed last night, not to mention she had had the gall to leave evidence of their frolics on the side of his neck and he did not need blemishes like that. Her sister too was currently experiencing the same punishment for no other reason than to irritate her sister, forbidden from being seen in public with him. As such, he had had to resort to...less conventional methods and a lady of the night had been hired. And no cheap one, either, she was being paid substantially for her time, her prize for the job being fifty drachmae. It was nothing to laugh at, and it would ensure his full satisfaction for as long as need be.

Hair done to perfection, brushed behind his ears so that the love bites on his neck were evident to all - everyone deserved to see that he was getting far more action than any of them, no matter what trouble it had caused either mistress - and dressed in a newly designed and appropriately expensive blue chiton to match his eyes, complementing his outfit with gold to match his hair. Rafail was the quintessential image of regality and, in all honesty, 'twas nothing short of a surprise to him that he did not possess the crown himself because any visitor Athenia who did not know where the throne was, they would have immediately and undoubtedly believed that he was next in line for the crown. His date had been subjected to a careful makeover as well, decked in jewels and her own costly gown in a bright shade of green to contrast the deep red colour of her hair. It may have been somewhat obvious that she was nothing more than a courtesan (Rafail could not even recall the girl's name and didn't care to learn it) but at least she looked good.

The palace was close enough to the Marikas home for the pair to leave in good time, alongside the two standard retainers that Rafail could hardly live without. Gods forbid he ever find himself in a situation where he would have to start doing things for himself.

Upon his arrival, it was no surprise to find that the place looked stunning. He would have expected no less, of course. There were several present already, the two princesses, in particular, catching his eye, although he refrained from approaching them just yet, instead stopping the pair just past the entrance and turning back to his companion. "You." Rafail looked her over once more as though to ensure her appearance was most certainly on point, wrapping an arm around her to pull the girl close enough that their noses might have touched, looking intently into her eyes. "I will not be humiliated. You are here as my lady and you shall act like a lady." In case the girl got any ideas, he leaned in to place a kiss on her lips, letting her move into it as she'd so clearly been trained to do before he bit down hard on her lower lip, still maintaining his eye contact. When he could see the pain brimming in her eyes after just a few seconds, he released her, stepping back and smirking as raised a hand to her painted lips, momentarily rubbing it as though to soothe her discomfort. "Else I shall punish you. Understood?" Rafail waited for her nod in response, sliding an arm around the girl's waist, hand resting on the small of her back, and leading her towards the other women.

"I used to come to the palace often, in my youth. People knew I was a man to be respected, in those days."
Kalypso resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she escorted her grandfather up into the royal palace, her hand on his arm, going slow as he hunched over his cane. The Raptis family was far too poor to hire a carriage, and they had walked from their home, the great Lord Keteus complaining about his joints and his forgotten youth the whole while. She bore it, as she always did, with grim silence, and the occasional 'Yes, Grandfather'. It was enough to placate the elderly lord, who only wished to have his next drink, waiting for him at the Feast.

The lord had his best set of clothes, painstakingly washed by Kalypso to ensure that the wine stains did not appear on it. His beard was combed and washed, as was the wisps of hair remaining to him. Lord Keteus of House Raptis even had a handkerchief with his House's dog emblazoned upon it to cough into, sewn by his granddaughter.

Kalypso of House Raptis had on her finest dress, a drab thing that was just a bit too small for her, but she had to bear it. It was important to her grandfather that he come to this Feast, to prove that House Raptis was still a force in Athenia. They weren't, of course, and hadn't been for a long, long time. The young woman inwardly sighed, wanting to rub her temples to clear her of the headache coming her way. This was going to be a horrible evening. On one hand, she would have her grandfather to embarrass himself and her, and on the other, there was going to be women there. The finest women in Athenia, in beautiful dresses, with smooth, clear skin, enrapturing eyes, and soft lips-

She coughed to cover her small blush, as they entered the palace, at last. Oh sweet Aphrodite, it was even worse than she thought. There were already a few beautiful young women here, and her eyes wandered over them before she could tear them away. Oh, Aphrodite, don't let this happen now. Don't let them tempt her. Don't let her sick and sinful desires come to the surface now.

So distracted was she, she didn't even realize when Keteus wandered off to find drinks, thumping his cane and muttering to himself, leaving her completely alone and vulnerable. She blinked when she noticed him gone, standing awkwardly, unsure of what to do next.

Following her sister as she approached Kleio, Emilia still found herself somewhat distracted by all the... well, everything that was happening around the palace. Never had she seen it so decked out in all its glory before, and in a way, she knew Persephone had her finest handmaiden to thank. Watching as Kleio approached, Emilia had to admit to a certain sense of awe when it came to Persephone's gorgeous handmaiden. While Emilia adored Dawn and all she did for her, none of her retainers or slaves came close to being as efficient and capable as Kleio was, and in a way she knew Persephone relied on Kleio to ensure her day to day remained as smooth as they could be.

Watching as Kleio waved forward a line of servants with trays of food in bite-sized pieces, for the first time in the day since they had awoken that morning, did Emilia feel her stomach rumble. Only then did she realize just how hungry she had been exactly, for and following Persephone's lead, she took the glass of wine Kleio handed her with a grateful smile, letting the sour liquid wash her parched throat. Emilia picked at a small piece of cold cut wrapped around a roasted root vegetable, popping it in her mouth while Persephone dismissed Kleio.

With food in mouth, glass of wine in hand, the young princess turned to Persephone as her sister addressed her, quickly swallowing her food. Her eyes swivelled to follow Persephone's directive, sharp irises quick to pick out the newly arrived Lady Kalypso, to which Emilia nodded, hiding a giggle at Persephone's mock look of horror before quickly moving to do as her sister bidded.

While older then her, Emilia has heard somewhat of the House Raptis and the unfortunate demise of the old lord's son and daughter-in-law. Despite that however, Lady Kalypso often kept to herself, and both the young lady and Lord Keteaus was rarely seen at such events.

With quick feet, Emilia waved away Helen who had appeared, ensuring her lady's maid she could handle herself tonight. Her smile, sweet and endearing as it always was, naturally surfaced as she approached the old lord and his granddaughter, and despite her higher status as a princess of Athenia, Emilia gave a small curtsy as she approached, a mark of her skills as a hostess. Waving over two servants, the young brunette was quick to indicate the servants to offer the wine on a tray to the Lady Kalypso, allowing the old lord to wander off, before she held her own half-filled wine chalice up at the lady. "Lady Kalypso, tis a joy to see you here. We have not seen you at court often enough, I must admit." she murmured, tone welcoming and warm. Despite being tired from the long day, Emilia's back was straight and true as she motioned at the lady to come along with her, leading her to the array of food laid out. "Please, do help yourself. How has your grandfather been? Lord Keteus seems well, for him to attend tonight's festivities."