As Imma accepted Arete’s offer of a drink and the young woman indulged in her own glass of the spiked drink. From the first swallow, the stress she was feeling over possibly being found out as a party crasher was alleviated in a moment. A wonderful calm feeling settled in its place, allowing her own heartbeat to grow as gentle as the waves flowing in and onto the beach. All thoughts of meeting up with Eleni and ensuring that she had a good time after her troubles with Silanos practically melted away as she plopped down into the sand next to Imma and found a new sense of joy just staring at the waves lapped up on the shore. It was beautiful in a way that Arete couldn’t even begin to describe. The bright blues faded into orange and white flickers as torchlight and moonlight flickered off of it in turn. It was beautiful. It was magnificent… It was the first time that Arete had properly seen the ocean.

It was as if her eyes were opened for the first time as she gasped in awe as a larger wave crashed upon the beach, leaving behind a crashing noise that sounded as if the nereids themselves were singing to them. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Arete uselessly echoed back to the noblewoman beside her. The need to continue any sort of conversation fell to the wayside as the two of them just enjoyed the beauty of the night. Arete certainly could not speak for Imma, but it certainly felt like that any utterance would ruin the pristine nature of the atmosphere surrounding them. After all, this beauty had to be a gift from the gods and it would be wrong for them to ruin what was given to them in such a wondrous form.

If the young woman who would have otherwise not have ever been close enough to Imma besides these circumstances thought that she was experiencing divinity in this moment… well she just about had the shock of her life when a sea lion appeared out of the waves and began to clamber up the beach towards the other party goers. While the younger girl next to her began to giggle, thinking that this was a friend coming to join in the festivities, Arete saw this as an entirely different thing. This was not just some sea creature wanting to join in the fun and drink wine like the rest of them. This was a god. It had to be didn’t it? After all, they had already given them the perfect waves and beautiful night filled with twinkling stars. Surely, they would want to see their gifts for themselves?

“It’s Poseidon!” Arete gasped in wonder as she watched it draw closer to the other girls. If her legs did not feel like jelly, she would have scrambled to her feet to rever their godly visitor as he should be, but she was rooted to the spot in sheer shock that they were witnessing divinity at work. “Oh gods, we’re going to be blessed!” Her words were the excited screeches of a girl who had no real grasp of the situation at hand. That was probably why Arete couldn’t understand why everyone else seemed to be so scared near the tents. She could see several girls run away from the god of the seas which caused Arete’s brows to furrow in confusion. Why were they insulting the god by refusing his presence?

As the fiery arrows began to soar through the air, Arete and Imma both managed to find their footing in order to make their ways up the beach. However, Arete had drunk more of the mystery drink meaning that she was not nearly as coordinated as the other girl, forcing her to trail behind. By the time Retta was able to join the crowd that had gathered around the sea lion, poor Imma was already getting her hair munched on by the god, forcing Arete to laugh. “He likes you!” She giggled as she watched two other girls, one being the so-called Queen which was funny as that was the title that Olivia of Condos should have at the moment, move forward to tear Imma away from the King of the Ocean. Arete frowned at this. First they flee from his presence, now they take away his new friend? Did they seriously want to get them all cursed?

Not understanding that this was not a god nor was he looking for friends, Arete was quick to call out, surely bringing some sort of attention to herself in the process, “What are you doing! That’s Poseidon! Leave them be!” Arete wanted to walk forward and help them, but her limbs felt funny. As if they were all connected to strings that she couldn’t control. Was she a little puppet now? Nikos’s little puppet… what a lovely thing. Either way, she could not intervene herself, but she still laughed at the suggestions that Theodora seemed to be making for Imma. Giving up her chastity? Becoming Poseidon’s new bride? Oh, so he was here in search of a wife then? How lovely. Arete loved weddings. They were always so beautiful and somehow brought tears to her eyes. Imma would be so pretty as a bride, her golden hair would look so lovely with a crown of flowers in it and oh how lovely would her dark eyes stand out against the white marriage robes. Even though Arete felt a sliver of worry for Poseidon’s previous wife, (Aphrodite? Was that her name?) she knew that mere mortals like them couldn’t deny a god what he wanted. If he wanted to make a bride of Imma, then so be it.

Looking around, Arete knew that one of the most important things about a marriage was the white robes that the happy couple wore to the temple of Hymen. They couldn’t even think of bringing the happy couple there before dressing them in the traditional way, could they now? However, glancing around Arete was quick to notice that nobody had white robes. Everything was dark as the night or light like the colors of spring. Nothing white… except for what the servants were wearing. Wrapped around their waists, showing off bare and muscled chests for all the female attendees to see was a thin fabric of white. Ah yes, that would do.

With everyone being so focused on Evie, Theo, and Imma combined with the fact that Arete was practically a ghost at this festivities thanks to her status as just a mere mistress and not a noblewoman; no one seemed to take notice of her moving towards the back of the crowd where a few poor and hapless servants stood, palm leaves in hand and unsure of what to do. Arete scowled at this. Didn’t they know that they had a wedding to prepare for? Rolling her eyes at their stupidity, the young woman grabbed onto the fabric at their waist and yanked as she shouted about why she needed what was protecting their modesty this evening. “Poseidon wants to marry her! They need to be dressed in white!” She giggled as the knots at their hips came loose and suddenly the two men were bare for all to see. In her addled state, Arete instinctively bit her lip at the sight, completely unaware of how embarrassing and terrible this must be for the poor servants. Nikos wasn’t around, what he didn’t know wouldn’t kill him right and they were so big…

No.

There was a wedding to be planned. Shaking these naughty thoughts out of her head, Arete made her way back through the crowd, unaware that the two servants were following her, trying to grab back their loincloths with one hand and cover themselves with the other. Pushing past the other nobles, Arete tried to approach Imma as she shouted, “Look! Look! I have your robes! You and Poseidon can now go to the temple!”

As the sea lion nibbled on Imma’s hair, his long whiskers tickled her neck. It was a pleasant feeling and she couldn’t understand why everybody looked so horrified. He wasn’t going to harm them. He just wanted to join the party. At least nobody was shooting fire at him anymore. “I will protect you,” she whispered to him. “Nobody is going to hurt you.” She heard Theo yell for the fire to stop. At least her sister had sense.

Or did she? Both she and Evie shouted at her, telling her that the sea lion was not her friend. Evie tried to grab her, but she quickly stepped aside. Her head spun a bit, but she ignored it, grinning at her cousin when she claimed that the creature was Poseidon. The woman she had been drinking with agreed. The pieces all fell in place. The god of the sea had taken the form of sea lion so that he could bless them. She turned to look at him. The lock of hair he was munching was now over her front shoulder.

Imma gasped when she saw the halo of gold around him.  He was glowing. Couldn’t the others see it? And his face! A flash of handsome human features appeared upon it and smiled at her. She had come to his rescue and he was going to reward her for it. Her! No longer would her sisters overshadow her. She had the favor of Poseidon. Staring at him with an expression of rapture, the young blonde didn’t hear Evie ask her to paint him, but she did hear Theo asking if she wanted to marry a sea lion and give her chastity to it.

Of course she did. Who would turn down the chance to marry a god? Because she had protected him, he wanted her to become his wife and rule under the waves with him. She would turn into a mermaid and be able to breathe underwater. They would live together in his palace under the sea and she would be his queen. Imma would miss her family, but she would be able to visit them whenever she wanted foe she would charm him into loving her and he would deny her nothing. As soon as she swam to land, her beautiful fish tail would turn into legs again.

Only the unfamiliar woman beside her seemed to understand what was really going on. She said that Poseidon liked her and demanded that her sisters and cousins leave her alone. Who was she and why was she glowing too? Of course! She was one of Poseidon’s attendants and had left the sea early to prepare the way for him. That must be why she looked a bit wobbly; she was having trouble getting accustomed to having legs.

The woman ran off and Imma continued to stare adoringly at Poseidon. She tuned out everything else until his attendant came rushing back with white robes for the bride and groom, followed by two of his male servants. They must have just emerged from the water and had not had time to find clothes to wear. Blushing as she noticed their naughty bits jiggling as they ran, the youngest Leventi quickly averted her gaze back to Poseidon. “You need to turn into a human now. Only then will everyone believe who you really are.”

Taking one of the cloths, she wrapped it around her shoulders. She heard Sara ask what was going on, and she glanced over at her best friend. “This is Poseidon and he wants to marry me! I’m going to be the Queen of the sea! Come join us, Sara, and be my maid of honor!”

Imma could hardly believe that Poseidon had chosen her out of all the beautiful women at the party. She was special after all and everyone would envy her, even Nana. They would ...

Wait a minute.

When he had first come ashore, Poseidon had headed toward Theo. Imma narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You chose my sister first, didn’t you?”

The sea lion, being a sea lion, bobbed his head up and down.

Interpreting that typical gesture as a ‘yes,’ Imma yanked her hair away from him. “How dare you!” she shouted, advancing toward Poseidon. Startled, the poor sea lion backed toward the water. “You chose my sister, not me! You only decided to marry me because she rejected you!” She continued to stalk toward the creature, and it kept waddling backwards, most likely frightened by her shrieking. “I don’t care if you’re a god! You have no right to treat me like this!”

Tears began to stream from her eyes. “You played me for a fool and I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!” Losing her balance, Imma fell to the sand on her backside. “I am not a consolation prize! I am not second best! I am worth just as much as my sisters! I am a Leventi and I deserve to be treated like ...” Overwhelmed by anguish and inferiority, the petite blonde dissolved into a fit of uncontrollable weeping.

Gods, what was happening now?! Some mad girl she didn’t recognize was going on about the sea lion being Poseidon, that he had chosen Imma for his bride. Theodora blinked a few times in rapid succession. Was she serious? What exactly had these drinks been spiked with? For a moment, she wondered if her own wine had been part of that, and if this was all some insane dream. But no, no this was all very real, and somehow she seemed to be one of the only sober women among a sea of intoxicated fools.

Okay, perhaps they were not really fools, but really, could this have spun any further out of control? Glancing toward Evangelina, she met the woman’s eyes for an instant—the queen’s face drawn in frustration and concern alike. Were Leventi marriages just cursed? If this was the party before it, what was Evie’s actual wedding going to be like?

White robes were snatched from the poor servants, the same unfamiliar woman bringing them over to Imma and the sea lion while leaving the men suddenly bare. “What in Tartarus do you think you’re doing?!” she yelled at the strange brunette, ready to snatch the woman’s hair from her skull along with her own. “That’s not Poseidon! Imma’s not marrying it!”

In her inebriation, Imma seemed perfectly content to go along with all of it, practically in raptures as she spoke to the animal at her side. The queen’s nails dug into her palms as she looked on, helpless to do aught to help her sister without putting her further in danger. Clearly, the youngest Leventi had no problem ignoring her, insisting she was going to be the bride of Poseidon and that Sara would be her maid of honor. Lovely. Celebrating one upcoming wedding only to be subjected to yet another entirely.

Wait, Sara was here? A moment’s glance was spared for her young sister-in-law, looking as lost and perplexed as a woman could look. No time for greetings now though, not with the worry for her sister overshadowing all else.

Suddenly, though, Imma’s demeanor changed, shouting that the sea lion had chosen Theo first, and she wouldn’t be his second choice. Startled at the girl’s yelling, the animal started backing off, Imma dissolving into hysterics and collapsing in the sand as she sobbed barely intelligible words of her own value.

About to go forward to fetch her now that the sea lion was retreating back toward the ocean, Xene ushered her back and did so instead. Theodora’s heart was in her throat as she watched the princess attempt to coax her sister away from the lapping waves. Her gaze flicked between the two humans and the sea lion that suddenly seemed curious again, hesitating at the shore as if deciding whether he ought to leave, after all.

“Oh, fuck this,” she muttered under her breath, marching forward to join Xene and Imma. No more gentle coaxing or sweet reassurances. She would drag her sister by the hair if she had to, at this point. They were getting her away from that beast before it changed its mind.

“All right, darling, up we go,” she said firmly as she grabbed Imma’s other arm and hauled upward, keeping a wary eye on the nearby creature. “You are most certainly not a consolation prize, and we’re going to find you a nice human man who will appreciate you instead, hm? Come on, sitting here in the wet sand’s not going to fix anything, up, up.” Hopefully, her strength combined with Xene’s would be enough to get Imma on her feet and away from the ocean before all this somehow got worse.

Okay, so the mountains of Meganea were looking pretty damned good right about now. Imma wasn’t listening to a word she was saying and the gentle approach she’d been trying to use on her cousin seemed to be failing miserably. Theodora’s less than gentle approach didn’t seem to be having any better results. And when one of the party goers started blabbering that it was the great God of the Sea, she almost lost it. Her fists balled up and she had to check herself to keep from rounding on the woman and telling her she was not helping.

Her toes flexed into the sand and she glanced around looking for her other cousins and Gavriil’s daughter. Gods almighty, all she’d wanted was a nice relaxed evening for them to enjoy themselves. She wanted a bit of fun and fire and sand, was that too much to ask? Flicking a cursory glance at Melina, Dafni, and Dorothea she looked back and met Theo’s frustrated look with one of her own.

‘Uhm… what is happening?’ There was a soft voice that seemed to have arrived just a little late to the party. Closing her eyes, she felt her nerves unraveling one by one. ‘That’s Imma isn’t it? Why is she just standing there?’ Evangelina glanced over at the girl and offered her a disapproving frown, what was a point of masks if anonymity was being ruined. It was beside the point that Imma had made enough of a spectacle of herself to unmask herself to all of the party goers.

‘This is Poseidon and he wants to marry me! I’m going to be the Queen of the sea! Come join us, Sara, and be my maid of honor!’ Her head snapped back around as she gaped at her youngest cousin and glowered at Imma. She was most certainly not marrying a sea lion. But the glower began to fade as the wheels began to turn in Imma’s head and Evangelina noticed the way her happiness seemed to slip away and was replaced with suspicion. Evangelina wasn’t exactly sure what was running through her cousin’s head at that moment but…

‘You chose my sister first, didn’t you?’ Evangelina stilled, realization dawning on her face. It wasn’t something that any of the Leventi girls ever talked about… Not out loud, and especially not to one another. Living among the shadows of possibly the most beautiful women in all of the known worlds took its toll on those who were not so blatantly blessed.

She took a hesitant half-step towards Imma and was about to reach out for her again as her young cousin yanked her hair away from the sea lion. Pursing her lips, she’d been about to pull Imma close to her in a hug, but the usually demure artist snapped and started shouting at the sea lion. ‘How dare you!’ Her mouth opened to tell her no, but what was the bother… Imma wasn’t listening to her anyway. ‘You chose my sister, not me! You only decided to marry me because she rejected you!’ Wide dark eyes, stared for a moment as Imma was angry stalking towards the sea lion and for perhaps Poseidon was looking down upon them as he called the sea lion back away from her young cousin as she continued to rant, until she was crashing to the sand and Evangelina took another step that direction but saw Xene had moved in and she said a silent ‘thanks’ to the woman.

‘Oh, fuck this.’

Her head turned slightly to see Theo pass her and go to meet with Xene and Imma. She hung back, not because she wasn’t worried about Imma but rather… This seemed like it was a moment best left to the sisters and Xene was there to work as a mediator if they needed it. She watched them for a long moment and then slowly turned around to look at what was left of her party. This suddenly seemed like the last place she wanted to be. What had begun with good intentions had exposed her cousin’s greatest weakness… It’d left her feeling like her family was tattered and bruised.

She didn’t want to play at being hostess any more. Blinking she looked over the faces of her guests and thought about dismissing them but, the food and drinks were already paid for… if they wished to enjoy themselves she wasn’t about to stop them. Clearing her throat, her gaze dropped and she started walking towards Lady Dorothea and Melina, but didn’t stop until she was walking past them and closed her eyes. She wanted to just sit on a quiet dune and stare at the night sky at this point.

With Theodora dealing with her sister now, Xene took her chance to step back. Her gaze trailed along every person at this party that had fallen into extreme shambles. Then her gaze found the rest of the party itself, all of the tents, comfortable seating, even the servants had run off, too cowardly to deal with a sea lion and more than willing to allow a group of young ladies to deal with it.

Off with their heads, all of them. Honestly. What useless men had been hired for this event.

People seemed willing to go back to drinking and having fun with Queen Theodora dealing with her sister, but it was the calling of Melina that caught her attention. Evie was walking away from her party, and the princess couldn't help but letting a deep frown grace her lips. No. That wasn't good.

And suddenly she really looked at the remains of the party, feeling absolutely terrible that everything had gone in this direction. Nothing had gone right in these last few months, but it felt like this should have been the one thing to bring just a bit of normalcy to girls who didn't know what else they were do to. Most of the men were at war, and those who weren't were extremely busy with fortifying the city against any threat that might head their way if Taengea were to fail.

This had been Evie's special night. Likely the only one she would have despite Gavriil's age. Frowning, the princess started after Evie, her gaze on the woman's back. Admittedly, Melina truly annoyed her with her need to be loud and overly drunk at the worst of times. With her mask in hand, she marched after Evie, shooting a harsh glare at Melina that conveyed more annoyance than anything at all. "Be. Quiet," Xene said quietly in Melina's direction, starting into a bit of a half-run.

"Evie!" Xene called after her, finally catching up and reaching for her hand. "Do you mind if I join you?" she asked softly, hoping the warmth of her skin was soothing. "I'll come and sit with you. Wherever you want," she added gently, wanting to give the woman comfort for so many things that had been entirely out of her control tonight. "Or, we can return to the Palati and we can celebrate properly and quietly," Xene offered quietly, her brows furrowed in deep concern for the young bride-to-be.

"You, myself, and Theodora," the princess murmured, "How does that sound?" Xene asked gently as they walked, the princess still holding Evie's hand softly in her own. Honestly, she was just concerned that a night like this might color the view of her upcoming wedding.

She was not at all apologetic about losing her temper with Melina and she would not be apologizing. Some of these Leventi women needed to learn tact, grace, and when was the right time to speak and when wasn't. To kick a woman when she was down was certainly not the time to open your mouth.

All of the feelings or inferiority that Imma had suppressed for so long came rushing out with her tears. Her sisters were so graceful and outgoing while she bumped into things and usually had no idea what to say. They were always immaculately dressed without a hair out of place, but her clothing was often stained with paint, clay, dirt, or all three and platinum ringlets had a habit of slipping out of her coiffure. They were praised for their beauty, making their youngest sister feel like an ugly duckling. Theo and Pia had married into royalty. Selene and Nana probably would too. She would be lucky if a goat farmer wanted to marry her. They were everything that she felt that she could never be and she always felt like an afterthought.

Evie’s gathering had turned into her own personal pity party, brought on by the spiked wine and Poseidon’s cruelty. Eventually her weeping began to subside, Her chiton was soaked and so was the sand around her. The white cloth she had wrapped around her shoulders was crumpled into a pile beside her. Lost in her own misery, she didn’t notice that Princess Xene had knelt beside her until she spoke. Her voice was soothing and her words comforting. No matter how inferior she was, her family and her friends still cared for her.

No.

She wasn’t inferior; she just felt that way. Her sisters had never held her back. Imma had done that on her own. Because of her own insecurity and low self-esteem, she had never allowed herself to see herself as others saw her. Whenever a man complimented her beauty, she assumed he was feeling sorry for her. But what if they were all sincere? Uncle Fotios saw something in her that was more important than beauty … the desire and potential to manipulate people to get what she wanted using cleverness, charm, and the knowledge she gained from reading and observing. He had chosen her to live with him so that she could learn from both him and her aunt. If such a powerful man thought so highly of her, then she wasn’t worthless at all.

She realized something else as well. Walking in her sisters’ shadows was easy. Stepping into the light and standing on her own was terrifying. Imma had been hiding behind her sisters all her life. Now it was time for her to take her life into her own hands and mold it into what she wanted it to be. A piece of clay started out as nothing but a lump. You had to sculpt it in order to give it shape. She was like clay now, unformed but with the promise to become something magnificent.

This epiphany hit her like a ton of bricks and completely stunned her. She felt the princess trying to pull her up, but her legs felt like jelly. Imma nodded when Xene asked her to walk with her. That was another sign of her worth. A princess wanted to spend time with her. Then Theo was there, attempting to haul her up as well. The youngest of the Leventi sisters took a deep hiccuping breath, listening to her confirm that she was not worthless and would marry well.

Moving her feet beneath her, she allowed her sister to pull her to her feet. A bit unsteady, she grabbed onto Theo’s arm to keep her balance. She felt lighter now, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her soul. If she let go, she felt as if she might float up into the air. It was a heady feeling, to let go of all the negativity that had been holding her down.

She smiled disarmingly at her sister. “No, sitting on the sand will not help at all.” Turning toward Poseidon, she was about to thank him for sending her a revelation, but he wasn’t really Poseidon at all. He was just an ordinary sea lion. “Go back to the sea,” she urged, making a shooing motion with her hands, “You don’t belong here.”

Her grip on her sister’s arm tightened. “Theo, I feel all foofy. I think I need something to eat.”