Cicero had not been infinitely pleased to find Aimias at his heels as he moved away from where he had deposited Elysia and the man’s wife. It was not that he ha any dislike for the man, rather he was one of the more tolerable people in Athenia, but he was working and sometimes having company could do more harm than good. Particularly company who might well be the focus of attention given the fire.

Still, Cicero smiled a tight smile as the pair moved away, his head tilting a little to the side as if he were considering Aimias’ words carefully. “If she murders Circenia then I imagine there will be distractions enough, but yes, it is good that you are thinking ahead” he observed wryly before steering them to a position where they might observe most of the rooftop easily enough. The spymaster was content to sip quietly at the wine he had snagged on his way over, making the occasional dry remark to his companion as his keen eyes observed the scene around them.

As it turned out, the first drama was not a result of Lady Iris losing her cool but instead the young Princess almost setting herself alight. At that, Cicero had raised a brow when her brute of a guard - the ex gladiator employed by Lady Circenia if he wasn’t mistaken- patted out the flames by rolling the girl upon the ground. If it were anyone else, Ciceri would have been on alert and viewing it as a possible assassination attempt. Unfortunately, he knew for a fact the younger Xanthos girl was just that clumsy.

Once assured they weren't about to lose the young girl to the flames, Cicero’s gaze had shifted to take in the young Marikas lord and his sister. Bold of the man to make such a public appearance, Cicero mused, but then the lord hard never been one for keeping a low profile. He was watching the lady Sophia’s approach with some interest, and so when Elysia entered his periphery, the man didn’t immediately turn his gaze to her.

‘“Eventful, Though I couldn’t keep Iris in check. She’s run her mouth and managed to offend almost everyone here.’

Her words carried to him, and Cicero gazed a moment longer at the Marikas siblings even as he answered. “ Why am I not surprised” came the dry answer and at last the spymaster’s gaze came to settle upon his wife. “Still, tensions must come to a head sooner or later. And I did not hold out much hope for your cousin’s temper remaining level. I shall be amazed if she manages to hold her tongue in front of Lord Rafail.”

His eyes turned skyward a moment, the vast heavens that they were supposed to be observing, and he felt a momentary regret that such was not his purpose. Perhaps he might bring Elysia back one night and do this properly. That would be a novelty.

His declaration of such intent was waylaid though by the approach of a small, grubby faced boy who did not belong to the setting at all and Cicero’s eyebrows lifted even as he accepted the sealed parchment. Using the small knife at his belt, he slid the blade beneath the wax and unfolded the missive, scanning it briefly before it was folded deftly away.

“I must go,” he said to Elysia. “A day or two, likely no more. No need for concern.” There were enough occasions where his work called him away for there to be established protocol. The wife of the Master Informer was not unused to such occurrences. He kissed Elysia once upon the cheek and then was gone, slipping through the milling crows as unobtrusively as any man could. What awaited him was of more import than what could transpire here this night.

As the main spat between Iris and her mother fizzled out, Danae was relatively happy to see an odd sort of calm settle over the evening as the large group split up and went their separate ways. Of course, Danny knew better than to simply assume that the fights were truly over. After all, there was no such thing as a conclusion when a Stravos woman was involved in a spat, but the youngest daughter could at least take some solace in the fact that she would not be involved in whatever unfolded as one by one, the younger girls of Athenia seemed to congregate towards the pile of pillows that Hebe had set aside for her friends. Danae couldn’t even express how grateful she was to the youngest Antonis for pulling her out of that awkward situation where her mother had decided that insults were going to be the conversational topic of the night, which was why she most likely didn’t protest to the growing group as everyone started to find a seat.

First, it had been Emilia who had graciously accepted the invitation that Danae had extended on behalf of the fourteen-year-old who was bringing a sense of calm joy to a fraught evening that had already seen the poor princess accidentally set herself on fire. Knowing that the Xanthos princess would likely have to inform her bodyguard of the plan, she did not think anything of Emilia walking a bit further behind her. With the light din of noise circulating throughout the room as the commoners present took note of the various spats between the nobles and started whispering about it, pointedly looking at both Circenia and Iris, Danae also missed when Evi stepped forward to talk to Emilia about the wedding preparations.

It was weird for the youngest Stravos to think about this cousin she had spent so long despising was shortly going to be her sister-in-law. It seemed almost unfathomable how Emilia was going to take the Stravos name and become one of them. How she was going to be no different from herself and Chara. Emilia was quite literally following in the same footsteps that Circenia had once done when she had first married Danae’s father. Even though both families were rapidly preparing for the marriage, it was still a rather foreign concept to Danae and she had a feeling that it was something that her mind was not truly going to accept until the day that it happened. After all, coming to terms with the fact that Emilia was going to be a Stravos also meant understanding the fact that once again the younger Princess was going to have everything that Danae always wanted as the youngest in the family would one day be married off too and be forced to take a name different than the one that she was born with. Different from the one that she wanted to keep as she could not imagine any sort of life with her being anything, but a Stravos -- no matter how little that meant now because of Elias’s actions.

Not that this was something that mattered tonight as everyone gathered beneath the stars. Danae herself did not even notice Emilia’s distraction until she settled down on the pillow next to Hebe and saw her future sister-in-law chatting with the elder Antonis girl. She could also see the slight apprehension on her friend’s face, making it clear to the Stravos that Hebe was not happy with whatever was happening there. It was either that or Hebe didn’t want the princess to extend her sister an invitation. Why? Danae knew that Hebe often thought that she was overshadowed by her sisters -- she had confessed to this during the lessons where Danae had helped Hebe with the shortfalls of having a picture-perfect memory. However, that shouldn’t be that much of a concern tonight when everyone was already being overshadowed by whatever had occurred in the Aetaean forests and the conflict that had spewed forth between the two families involved. It was easier to just go with the flow that evening rather than continuously rock the boat when tempers were already flaring so high. That was why Danae wouldn’t mind if Evi accepted the invitation that Emilia had offered. Just as long as they didn’t bother her about whatever her family was up to this time. After all, she just wanted a nice, quiet evening where she wouldn’t have to think about being a Stravos and the missing element from tonight’s festivities with her father gods only knew where.

However, it seemed to be that her family was not going to give her that peace of mind as just as Hebe correctly identified the constellation, Danae noticed that her sister was across the room and in the company of Rafail. Danny’s nose wrinkled in disgust at the choice of companion, something that the girls closest to her were likely to see. Truthfully, the youngest Stravos thought that this was terrible timing for her sister to be flouncing around with this particular boy toy of hers, if only because it seemed to be that every rumor that didn’t have the Stravos as the culprits of the fire had Rafail as the perpetrator instead. Not just the Marikas. Very specifically this man. There was no possible way that her sister was oblivious to the rumors as she was the self-titled princess of the gossip circuit, poised and ready to take the crown from their mother, so galavanting around with him was not going to reflect well on the Stravos. Danae thought that they would want to distance themselves from the blame! Not lean so heavily into it like her mother and sister were apparently doing.

Danae quietly groaned in frustration as she did what her other family members seemed to think was an unnecessary step before being the idiots that they all were tonight; consider the consequences of their actions. This lack of concern or care from Circenia and Chara both was practically admitting that the Stravos were responsible which was something that might not be entirely true if Raf had really been the one to set the forest on fire. Not that this would matter later. At least not following everyone witnessing the behavior of the two elder women and if this was going to go in the same direction as everything else had if the court of public opinion turned on the Stravos… Well, the careful Danae was likely to get up in the crossfire too. Again. Oh, how she wished that not only had she been born into a different family, but in a different kingdom entirely. That way she wouldn’t have to deal with this whole mess that her family was making without giving a damn about whatever was going to come next when their good fortune inevitably ran out again.

The only saving grace seemed to be that her sister was targeting Lady Iris. Even though Danae would have liked to hope that her family wouldn’t be the ones to instigate the loose powder keg that was the baroness as she was priming herself to explode, Danae had to admit that maybe this might be the one thing that could distract everyone from starting any more rumors about the Stravos family. Either way, Danae was going to keep herself far away from it all as she turned her attention back towards Hebe and the mythological retelling that was unfolding. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard it, perhaps you can refresh my memory?” Danae asked with a slight smile. She already knew the full tale of the winged horse; how it sprang from the stump of Medusa’s neck after she was slain by Perseus and his later tales involving Bellephron. After all, she had been named after the first hero’s mother so anything involving the original Danae was something she knew rather well. However, she knew that Hebe needed the practice in recounting vast amounts of information without interference. Plus with the vast amount of insults already flying about, she wasn’t in the mood to further add to them by one-using the younger cousin who had only been gracious thus far.

So, Danae turned the floor over to Hebe, so that she might tell the tale as her eyes nervously drifted between her sister and Iris wondering when the explosion was going to happen… and, of course, as she glanced over at the princess, who was going to be present on the pillows when it did.