There was nothing, nothing that couldn’t be managed by sheer force of will. Nothing could be done for Aetaea, and as she had absolutely no intention of telling anyone at all, save Cicero, the truth about what she knew, Elysia could not act any other way than to be normal. That meant that she needed to be excited about this event, even though the prospect of possibly seeing Elias made her want to drip poison into his goblet.

Sitting at her vanity, she occasionally glanced at Iris’s reflection in her mirror while she applied her blushes and lip stains and fixed her hair. If her cousin was looking, she smiled. If Iris was busy or had her back turned, Elysia’s smile dropped but she forced herself not to look away. Maybe some of the misfortune Iris had suffered lay at her door, but the real people to blame weren’t here to deal with the guilt. She let Iris choose whichever of the gowns she wanted but did agree to Iris buying her another. She even went so far as to get an assurance that it would be a finer one. It was what she would have done if her insides didn’t feel like writhing eels and if her heart didn’t speed up just the littlest bit every time Iris said something remotely about Aetaea.

Normal. If there was anything she knew from her husband about how people managed not to be caught, it was that they continued to act as though nothing was wrong. Taking her usual eternity to get ready, choosing a gown of palest lavender, she looped her arm through Iris’s and walked with her down the steps.

“Well don’t you both look delightful.” Cicero’s deep drawl rolled up the stairs towards them and Elysia preened. “It's almost as if you are hoping people will be looking at you rather than the heavens themselves.”

“They might find the view more appealing,” she agreed, completely serious.

Unlike Iris, Elysia did not chafe at Cicero’s comment. This far into their married, to take offense at every accurate, offhanded comment he made would be exhausting. That he thought she was pretty was compliment enough and as to the length of time she’d taken? She was perfectly sensible of it and unashamed. He could comment on whatever he liked.

Once they were all in the carriage, Elysia made it a point to relax her body but she kept staring out the window and only smiled over at Cicero when he asked if they were all alright. While he spoke to Iris, though, she said nothing. It was easier to watch the houses roll by while the carriage jostled and bumped along towards the scholeiro.

Her husband was in no mood to dawdle and gave none of them any time to do more than glance at the building before he strode towards it. Elysia kept pace with him, glancing at Iris and Aimias every once in a while but she knew how this evening would go. Cicero would be mostly prowling on his own and she would mingle with whomever she liked. She wanted to be glued to his side, not really wishing to see Elias at all. However, once they were on the roof and she could see easily that Elias nor Rafail were present, she relaxed completely. Smiling against Cicero’s kiss to her cheek, she whispered back, “Be sweet.” He was gone mere seconds after that and she shot an apologetic smile at her cousin and Aimias. If they weren’t used to Cicero’s brusqueness by now, they never would be.

Whether it was due to Cicero’s words or just Iris’s foul mood, Elysia found herself left completely alone. She wrapped her white himation tighter around her like a shawl and looked around for someone to talk to. Her gaze landed squarely on Circenia and Danae, who looked to be speaking to the Antonis girls. Though she was loathe to speak to them on a personal level, she felt that to snub them would be unforgivable. After all, if one only spoke to people one liked, one’s friend circle would be abysmally small. Though, as it happened, Iris and Aimias had drifted that way. Elysia felt mildly annoyed.

Iris showing up on her door looking like a scared rabbit and then eschewing her company, and now going to speak to the very group Elysia had centered on? Whether or not it looked like Elysia would be chasing her cousin, she sauntered towards the group, smiling. They whole group looked to be chattering companionably, except that Princess Emilia managed to somehow set herself on fire. Elysia didn’t even have time to be alarmed. Her bodyguard swooped in and flung her to the ground. Now that was alarming but the fire was out...so….perhaps it wasn’t so bad. Though he was speaking quite familiarly to the princess in a manner that wasn’t entirely appropriate. Elysia arched a brow, wondering what else inappropriate might be going on.

“I hope your highness is alright,” she said to Emilia and moved out of the way to make sure the princess had room to be pulled to her feet. That planted Elysia right next to Lady Danae. She looked the younger girl up and down.

“My lady,” she gave a short dip in respect. “I do so love your dress. Iris, do you not love this dress?” She reached out and fingered the material of Danae’s skirt. “Really, you must tell me where you acquired it! It makes you look stunning. Princess Circenia, your daughter is such a jewel.”

Literally anything to avoid talking about a royal's complete screw up in lighting herself on fire. Honestly. Perhaps it wouldn't be so terrible for Elias to have the throne if they were faced with looking forward to a monarch who couldn't be trusted around the most basic of light sources...

Danae had been so engrossed in the story, that when she felt a familiar hand come to rest upon her shoulder, the poor girl nearly jumped out of her skin. She had not expected Circenia to approach her like this and she offered the older woman a sheepish smile as a form of apology. It wasn’t that unexpected that Danae would react so poorly to that sort of thing. The girl could easily get lost in her books, who’s to say the same couldn’t happen with a scholar?

She ducked her head at the compliments though, ears burning in embarrassment as the girl didn’t really believe her. Danae knew that this was just the sort of thing that mothers said to their daughters, no matter if it was true. In fact, her face still felt so puffy from crying earlier that evening that it seemed impossible that she could be as lovely as her mother described, but she knew better than to counter it. Circenia was not the sort of woman you wanted to trifle with when she bestowed a complement. Danae would be polite externally, but internally, she didn’t really believe it.

She managed to let the faintest glimmer of a smirk appeared at her mother’s decent attempt at a joke. Even though Danae had managed to make a complete fool of herself at the last court event, she was literally the last child that Circenia would have to worry about being swept up into some sort of chaos tonight, The both of them knew that this little wall-flower would be content to stand off to the side and listen to the scholar’s stories for most of the night. Her other children though? Well, Chara certainly had a way with her words to say the very least. Even though she should believe that her sister would comport herself with a certain level of dignity, surely both women knew that it was far more likely that this night would end with someone else’s drink on her dress after fierce words were exchanged. Not to mention whatever disaster would surely follow if Elias decided to show his face tonight… Needless to say, Circenia didn’t need to worry about her youngest. Not while she was still licking her own wounds over her father not being here.

Maybe if Danae had been in a better mood, she might have said some sort of light-hearted quip in response, but the smile was the most that she could offer as her mother drifted away. Turning back to the scholar, Danae was fully content to focus on the tales he was sharing. The man’s dramatic spin on the myths and legends she already knew by heart was certainly engaging enough that Danae didn’t notice how Circenia had drifted away to speak with the Princess and the small entourage that was forming around her. This was honestly for the best as she knew that she would have nothing to add to the vapid talk that likely filled her mother’s conversations at the moment. Plus she had no reason to intrude.

Or at least she didn’t until her future sister-in-law decided to set herself on fire.

Danae wasn’t sure what pulled both her and a lot of courtiers out of their own distractions to focus on the Princess at that moment. Had someone screamed? Was it the fast movements of her bodyguard? Or perhaps the slight twinge of acrid smoke had filled their senses? The youngest Stravos had no idea what it was that pulled her away from the thrilling tale about how Herakles bested the Hydra and had her turn in the direction of where Emilia had stood with her small crowd. A low whisper passed through the crowd as word spread that poor Emilia had somehow managed to set her dress alight. The disaster was handled quickly though and was practically over when everyone had taken notice.

Even though it did not surprise her one bit that it was her dearest cousin that had caused the commotion, Danae noticed that her mother was standing nearby to where the faulty candle had been. A slight twinge of fear crept up within the girl. She knew full well that her mother had been unharmed as Circenia was far more focused on Emilia than herself --this would not have been the case if the flames had dared to come near her-- the volley of recent terrors that had struck the Stravos household had left this disaster feeling as if it was a little too close for comfort for the girl. After dog bites and dead bodies, riots and break-ins, there was no reason to not expect that fire would be the next big fiasco for the family.

Stepping away from the scholar, Danae made her way over to her mother with the concern she was feeling written clearly on her face. “Mo-- Is everything alright?” She asked as she found her own place in the circle. Her words had started off as an almost exclusive question to Circenia, but as soon as Danae had gotten close enough, she could see that truly all eyes were on Emilia. Even though the girl doubted that the group would read too deeply into the Stravos spawn first ensuring that her own mother was alright, the girl had recognized that it would be better to catch herself as it was clear that Circenia was not in any form of danger. Her family didn’t need any sort of undue attention upon them given how many rumors were already surrounding them. Even though her concern had solely been on making sure that everything was alright in regards to Emilia and those closest to her, she had not missed the fact that Lady Iris was in this little group as well. It didn’t matter if the rumors about the fire were true or not, she would certainly have a bone to pick with the Stravos.

Her mere presence alone was enough to encourage Danae to keep her mouth shut for a moment as everyone rushed to find Emilia some sort of new outfit for the rest of the evening. This line of action was better for her as well as Danae knew that she would not want to remain in this group of women for long while there were still stories to be heard. Though her desire to leave this tense scene didn’t undercut the weird feeling that consumed her when she looked at the baroness. She felt as if she should express some sort of condolence over what happened, but she knew that it wasn’t likely to be well-received given the rumors circulating the blaze. She was not likely to take kindly to any expression of sympathy from a Stravos. Standing there awkwardly, unsure of what to do, the young girl had intended to slip away when the conversation shifted, allowing her to make a quiet exit. That plan though was quickly blown to smithereens when suddenly the conversation shifted and the girl was the topic of the moment.

Danae stiffened instinctively when she felt Elysia reach out and touch her navy blue peplos, lined with silver detailing. She just had not expected someone other than her own mother to touch her, even in such a kind-hearted gesture. The girl didn’t know how to react to such an unexpected thing. If the others were paying attention to Danae, there was no way they could have missed out she instinctively was not reciprocal to the action.

However, the young girl was able to gather her wits again quickly enough as she forced herself to relax and offer Elysia a small smile as she glanced down at the dress she was wearing. Even she had to admit that it did indeed look nice. Her mother might have been dressed like the inky blackness of midnight that struck fear into all that was scared of the dark, but her daughter looked more like a comforting sky just after twilight with the deep blue hue and little dots that reflected bits of candlelight. It was just the sort of outfit that was perfect for this night and fit perfectly into Danae’s own style. That was something that she quietly commented on when she spoke again with a bright red blush blooming across her cheeks, “Thank you Lady Elysia. It’s one of my favorites. The color is just so beautiful, isn’t it?” It was rare to have Danae say anything about fashion, but she did have to admit that she loved this dress and would likely appear more often in her wardrobe if it was this well-received.

“But it’s nothing compared to yours, I think” She finished as she glanced over at the eye-catching ensemble that Elysia had on. Chara would likely find something to complain about, but Danae didn’t have the eye for such detailing. If it looked pretty at first glance, then it was simply that in her mind. Although this comment stemmed from politeness, her deflection of the attention back to Elysia was another sign that her anxieties were hard at work as she couldn’t accept the comment at face value. Her mind was so fully convinced that she wasn’t really that pretty that without realizing it, she had deflected this rare moment of praise to someone else.

It also didn’t help that her mother decided that this was the moment to interject and provide some info about the dress… and a not so subtle amount of shade towards the Master Informer’s wife. Danae might not be all that skilled with the art of mincing words, but even she could recognize the insult that her mother had laid down in front of Elysia. The poor girl’s eyes widened in shock and she couldn’t help glancing between her mother and the other woman with a look that was akin to an animal caught in the glow of a torch. She hadn’t the faintest idea how to react to such a needless display that now had her caught right in the center.

“Oh… uh… My mother would know these things... I guess.” She said, stammering slightly as she tried to avoid any further offense being thrown at the woman who had offered Danae a rare compliment. “In truth, I could never be able to tell the difference between one tailor to the next when they all look so beautiful. Who made your outfit Lady Elysia? It certainly looks lovely…” She sputtered out, unsure of what to do in the wake of such a comment. It was so far out of what Danae had expected that she was having uncomfortable recollections of the last court event, where she had not known what her brother was doing and had paid the price for it by being embarrassed in front of everyone. Was her mother going to do that to her as well?

Turning a beet red, Danae wished that she could just run away and hide. Seven Hades, she was willing to go run and help poor Emilia change her dress to escape this awkward situation. However, that would probably be just as rude as her mother’s comments. Danae just didn’t know what to do as she awkwardly stood there, clearly wishing that she could fade away just as quickly as the shooting stars far above them as they flickered out far above them.

Hoping to divert some of the tension in the crowd, Danae called attention to them as she glanced around for a scholar that would hopefully overhear and join them to distract the women so they might avoid the inevitable blowup that was about to occur, “Oh look! Isn’t it beautiful?” It was more than obvious that Danae wanted to get away from this mess, but her odds of making a successful escape were dwindling by the second. She really didn’t want to be here when the others inevitably spit Circenia’s vitriol right back at her as it was not going to be pretty.

Danae’s discomfort was glaringly obvious, no matter how she tried to hide it. Truthfully, Circenia pitied her youngest child, though she couldn’t understand how it was she had developed such poor self-image. She was a Stravos, after all, a member of Athenia’s most prominent family, and she was just as beautiful as the rest of them. Her intellect even surpassed her siblings at times, that shrewd acumen leading Keikelius to take the girl under his wing, in spite of the mother’s protests. How she had failed so miserably in raising a courtier, she would never know, but she could only hope time would soften that edge. If Danae could not learn to hold her own in Court, she would be destined for some backwater province where such niceties hardly mattered.

However, there was not much time to spare any sympathy for her youngest daughter, not when Iris was demanding her attention, spewing Circenia’s own venom back in her face. The princess nearly smiled as she turned to face the baroness once more, Danae and Elysia now inconsequential as she stared down the much shorter woman. Did Iris think she could take on Circenia of Stravos in a war of words? Did she really think she could come out the victor? The Stravos matriarch had been at this game longer than Iris had even been alive, and none had managed to unseat her yet. She would like to see the little bitch try.

“Why, thank you so much for your kind concern, Lady Iris,” Circenia replied in a sugary tone that only served to disguise the poison behind it. “Our home has recovered quite well, and our gardens are being replanted as we speak, which I believe is more than can be said for Argyris, is it not?” Taking a sip of her wine, she tsked softly with a mournful shake of her head. “Such a shame, that. Who could have predicted such a tragedy? It’s like the gods themselves have spoken, don’t you think? While we recover and continue to thrive, even excel, others are brought down so low…”

Circenia made sure to pitch her words loud enough for others to hear, and nearby whispers nearly made her lips curl again. ‘Perhaps she’s right. They say Lord Elias is blessed, perhaps he’s not the only one…’ Another murmur from a different direction, ‘Maybe the gods favor them, after all.’

‘Don’t be daft, everyone knows the Stravos set those fires, no matter what she says,’ another low voice countered. ‘A last ditch effort to win a crown.’

‘Aye, a crown that should have been theirs to start with…’

The princess gave no reaction to the murmurs, pretending she hadn’t heard them, as she continued to regard Iris with a polite, yet hardened stare. Her insult to the gardens and her family was about as veiled as Circenia’s own comments, and the princess’s face still did not change. “Better to rule in darkness than flounder in light, my lady,” she replied, unperturbed, her eyes trailing the woman as she started to walk away. She did not miss the pointed bow to Emilia and the purposeful snub against herself, tucking such a slight away for a later time. Iris had no idea what sort of snake she was tangling with, nor how deadly her venom.

There was no one alive that could shift Circenia from her self-made throne, and if there was… well, life was such a fragile thing, wasn’t it? So easily taken away…

While being the center of attraction had been the last thing Emilia wanted tonight, it would seem that was difficult to manage for her of late. All the muscles in her body (or what little she had) tensed up the moment she heard Lesley's sharp voice snapping at her not to move. Primed for her bodyguard to snatch her away for Emilia was expecting yet another insurgent attack, but found herself quite surprised when Lesley pulled off her himation instead.

The adrenaline of realizing she had literally been on fire just mere seconds ago meant Emilia didn't immediately feel the cold, and instead stared agape at the ashy corners of her beautiful himation, until Circenia addressed her. Nodding quickly, Emilia quickly closed the bottom jaw she had realized was hanging open like a duck, before shaking her head at Lesley. "No need to change, Lesley. A simple cover-up would do." The last of her words held a little of a shiver to it as a gust of the night breeze caught their hairs, but also chilled the young princess who now wore no thicker material for the chilly night.

Turning to Lesley, and then the old philosopher as he handed the bodyguard an old looking cloak, it wasn't the kind Emilia was used to wearing of course, but no doubt no one of the nobility would have brought an extra change of clothing. They wouldn't have expected such a thing to happen. The young princess had never been the one to be picky anyhow, even if she did have a preference for finer linen. Accepting the material graciously, the young girl quickly slipped it on so it would cover the most of her arms away from chilly breezes.

Finally perking up again to catch the conversation just as Iris spoke up, Emilia's brows furrowed when she noticed the slightly clipped away in which the baroness of Aetaea spoke, the brunette could feel the tension in the air tighten, and instinctively bit her own bottom lip, a bad habit she got whenever she got nervous.

Eager to get away from the knot of tension that seemed to be growing, Emilia curtsied shallowly and politely when as Lady Iris left her, but was quick to turn to smile at Marietta and Evi, the action itself tight at the edges as if a silent plea for help. While she had been the one who asked the curious question about the fire, now that her own himation sat charred and smoking on the ground, and the conversation turned tenuous, Emilia regretted ever bringing it up, and would be eager to go wherever someone else directed her.

As the conflict between Iris and Circenia, Danae just wanted it all to stop. She wanted nothing more than to go tug on her mother’s arm and try to deter her from letting this moment implode upon the whole lot of them just because she had to get the last word in. Another part of her wanted to also join in the vitriolic words that were being spewed forth at Lady Iris in order to get her brother’s riled up ex-girlfriend to settle down and remember that there were consequences for angering the anchors. After all, the woman might be a Baroness now that her father had died, but she was still just a noble. She had no business sparring with a Xanthos Princess just because she thought that her family was responsible for a few trees burning. It was just lumber. The trees would regrow in time. However one could not easily undo was the damage that they all knew Circenia was truly capable of inflicting if she was properly incensed.

Granted, Danae should have been also holding the same standard to her mother if she wanted to not be hypocritical in her assessment of the situation and who was at fault here… But the girl would rather walk willingly into Thanatos’s arms than risk being on the wrong side of her mother’s wrath. After all, she had been on the wrong side of it more than a few times in her short life and she knew firsthand how ugly it could get. Danae was simply not interested in experiencing that again. Plus, this was her mother. She was not going to stand against her on the behalf of some upstart Baroness with no control of her barbed tongue. Especially considering no one actually knew if the Stravos had anything to do with the fires. It was natural to assume so with all the shit that her brother had done -- but Danae truthfully had her doubts. All the rumors surrounding the fires centered mostly on the Marikas being the one to spark the flames. Iris could have her suspicions, but with nothing concrete, was it really that wise to trade harsh words with the Stravos because of a hunch?

Luckily, it seemed to be that the conflict was going to come to an end. Lady Iris made the decision to walk away and turn her attention to the two Antonis girls present. The youngest Stravos breathed an audible sign of relief at the realization that even though the two women were likely to exchange more words before the night was over, at least there would be a moment for everything to hopefully diffuse and senses to return -- on both sides of the argument. That was all that the sixteen-year-old who was really only here to keep a tradition alive in the absence of her father could really ask for given the circumstances of this year’s festivities.

However, now that Lady Iris had surrendered in the sparring match against her mother, that meant that Danae was now alone in just the company of Circenia and Elysia. Given how pleasant the last exchange had been between these three women, Danae was not eager to hang around and tend to the wound on her mother’s pride. Not when it was likely that the elder woman would want to continue the previous display of wealth that she had done earlier, using her own daughter as a pawn in trying to bring anyone with even a remote connection to Iris down to the ground like that. Quickly glancing around for an exit, Danae tried to figure out what would be the politest excuse to escape from this dreadfully uncomfortable situation, but she didn’t have the faintest clue as to how she could manage that. She knew her mother wanted Danae to further develop her limited skills as a courtier, especially after that fiasco at the last proper court session, and would not be happy if her daughter walked away to go listen to the scholar’s stories. However, Danae just didn’t have the emotional strength to take lessons on how to be callously cruel when she was already so drained from being here without her father. She needed some sort of excuse in order to slip away and leave the older women to themselves.

Never did Danae think that it would come in the guise of a bright orange dress.

The youngest of the Antonis girls, her cousin Hebe, bounded up to the three women that were left of the main group and immediately turned to Danae, offering exactly what the sixteen-year-old had been longing for a moment ago. A large smile crossed her face, an infectious and joyous consequence of being around Lady Hebe as she responded with a light laugh dancing in her tone, “Yes, that sounds like a lovely idea. I have no doubts you’ll be able to identify them all, though.” The relief she felt about being offered a chance to escape this awkward setting was more than obvious to anyone paying attention. After all, not only was plain to hear in her voice as that slightly timid nature that came from the heartache of missing Keikelius faded away as she addressed Hebe, but she was also sure to not glance over at her mother. Danae did not want to know if the woman approved of her youngest wandering off again or not. It would just be easiest if she did it anyway as she grabbed one edge of her massive skirts and tried to keep pace with her excited and energetic cousin.

Danae was so grateful that she did not even protest to the notion of having Emilia join them. She might find the princess insufferable in the best of moments with her boy-crazed attitude, but even the Stravos could commiserate with how awkward the Princess must be feeling at this moment. After all, it was a rather unfortunate blunder for Emilia to have set herself on fire and require a costume change. It would be extraordinarily cruel to exclude her from other activities as well just on the account that Danae did not like her.

Or at least that’s what the youngest Stravos told herself as she split from Hebe for a moment to go approach the princess and extend an invitation to join the other two girls on the pillows. “Princess Emilia?[/b]” Danae gently said as she approached, gently reaching out to the girl in order to grab her attention. The poor thing seemed so nervous as the Stravos approached and honestly? For once Danae did not blame her or think terrible of the Princess because of it. Between the flames and war of words, her reaction was understandable and Danae really couldn’t blame her for that when she was herself in a bit of a fraught and emotional state from both missing her father and having to deal with the anxiety of being witness to her mother’s earlier spat.

“Hebe and I are going to sit over there in order to listen to some of the scholar’s stories if you would like to join us?” She offered the princess a gentle smile as she extended the invitation to the Xanthos girl. Danae didn’t know if Emilia would take the Stravos up on her offer, but given that she likely needed to wait for her guard to at least return with some sort of cover-up, the younger girl decided to give the Princess a bit of space to decide as she hurried away from the swan and back over to Hebe who had now effectively claimed a pile of pillows for the girls to share.

Sitting down and leaning back to look up at the sky, Danae had never felt more grateful to escape a situation as tense as that one had been. Now all she needed to worry about was keeping up with her cousin’s memory as the youngest Stravos glanced about, looking for something that might stump the young Hebe. Danae might have known a bit about the night sky from her father bringing her here for fifteen years, but she doubted that she would be able to compete with Hebe and her near-perfect memory. That should have been clear enough when Danae settled on the first one that she saw, the blocky shape of Pegasus, and pointed it out to Hebe, “Oh I think I see one. Look, there! I’m guessing you know what that one is, right?”

With all the recent altercations between herself and the Stravos family, Emilia was honestly quite surprised when it was Danae who approached her when she drew nearer in her attempt to get away from the other group where tensions grew high. As someone who preferred to keep the peace far more then incite arguments, Emilia had been growing continuously uneasy, that despite it being Danae, Emilia jumped at the chance. The relations between herself and her cousin was tenuous at best, but it was far better then being caught in between a battle of shaded words and barbs coated in cotton.

Nodding quickly when the offered was extended, Emilia glanced back to ensure Lesley was with her (for the bodyguard had never wandered far from her to begin with, and right now Emilia just needed the reassurance of a familiar figure. Lesley was as close as she got for that right now), only when she saw her bodyguard did not protest to her following the younger brood, did Emilia go along with it. Her paces just a little behind Danae so she did not go immediately with the other, the princess worried at her bottom lip a little as she slowed down enough so Lesley would be next to her, hurriedly whispering, "Did I make a fool of myself?" she asked. This usually was the kind of question she would pose to her sister, Persephone acting as a sort of grading system for her performance in social affairs as she grew up.

But it would seem staying out of squabbles between the nobility was only the first of many things she'd have to worry about for the night.

Just as she started off towards where Danae had headed to, Evi's voice caught up with her. Now one would imagine Emilia, with her head in the clouds and falling in love every other week, would already have her wedding all planned out the day she had turned fifteen. Yet when Evi asked the question, Emilia wore a slightly uncertain expression. How would she say that despite her being an obvious follower of Aphrodite, she could not explain her lack of enthusiasm for the upcoming wedding?

"They're... progressing." she finally hedged on a vague answer, before taking a stab in the dark at changing the topic. "Would you like to join me with Lady Danae and Lady Hebe, Evi?" she asked, suddenly aware that perhaps Evi would like to duck out of uncomfortable squabbles too. Motioning where Danae now sat with Hebe, Emilia motioned at Evi to come along as she went, just in time to catch Danae's final comment - the next thing which made her brain short circuit as she casted an anxious look at Lesley.

Emilia most definitely did not pay attention in her astrology classes. Who would've thought stars would ever come up in conversation?

They were nearly the same age, she and Chara. But Iris was older and Iris remembered Chara's first attendance to court so many years ago. But just as she did then, she didn't think much of the woman. She was a gossip, absolutely, but Iris had never paid the Stravos lady any mind. Even when she had been on the arm of the woman's brother, in love and very silently wishing she could join their ranks. All that was left now was annoyance, irritation that they were flaunting their status about Athenia while Persephone sat in exile, planning to take back her throne.

Her approach was most unwelcome, Iris aiming to find somewhere quiet to sit where she didn't have to deal with any of the Stravos women, much less the men. She was far too fragile to be here, and she knew that she would soon be the topic of intense gossip if she let herself continue on in her anger.

Iris understood why Lady Chara approached, though she did find it entirely out of line considering the lady's vast inexperience in the topic of contrition between the families. Breathing in very deeply, Iris paused for only a moment before she turned to look at the young Lady Stravos, one of her dark eyebrows lifted in silent warning and judgement that Chara really didn't want to do this here and now. And it was the only silent warning that Iris would give about her current mindset. The better option was to let it go, turn around, and walk away. Entirely.

"Yes, Lady Chara?" the baroness asked slowly, giving her a look that questioned what had truly spurred the simple lady into seeking her out. Iris had seen Chara enter, so she knew, but she didn't want to have an arguement with someone who truly wasn't invovled and had no real business being involved in the first place. "You've left your company behind," Iris commented, her green gaze lifting to catch the eye of Lord Rafail. There was a flicker of distaste in her gaze for the man. They were like oil and water and every single one of their meetings had gone awry, despite Iris, at least once, trying to make something akin to amends with him.

But one did not insult a lady's husband and remain on their good side afterward. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'd like to enjoy the festivities," as this was her only chance to escape the battle she had started before it got fully out of hand. If Chara kept up, Iris knew herself.

She'd snap.