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As the noblegirl and her guard reached the Inner Circle and made their way to the public loutra, Danae couldn’t help, but wonder if this plan of hers was just going to be an absolute disaster. After all, there were so many things that could utterly go wrong with disobeying the one direct rule she had been told by her father in regards to this grand plan of his to get the crown for the Stravos family. However, if her bloodline had taught her anything it was that any reward was worth the risk it took to get it. Especially one like this when it could help assure her father’s safety.
Or at least that’s what Danae told herself as the familiar loutra building came into view. Climbing up the loutra steps, Danae and her guard parted ways to head into the separate bathhouses for men and women in order to quickly change into outfits that were more befitting the task at hand. Even though the Stravos girl had done this countless times before, there was a certain uneasy feeling settling in her stomach as she turned a corner and came into the familiar changing room. It wasn’t a mystery as to why Danae was feeling this way. The last time that she had been here, the girl had found a dead body floating in the water. A body that she had initially thought was her cousin, Princess Emilia. It had been nothing short of terrifying for Danae, not even considering how it dredged up the awful memories of what had happened to the girl when she had her run-in with Lukos and had ended up in the Athenian waters herself. She could have very easily drowned that day, especially as her heavy courtier getup had dragged her down a bit as she fought her way to shore. Maybe that was why Danae had a certain tendency to pick lighter fabrics nowadays. That way if she were to find herself in that terrible position again, at least she wouldn’t be dragged to a watery grave by waterlogged cloth.
It was easier for Danae to focus on these inconsequential things as the young girl waved away the staff set to help the richer patrons like herself undress and slip into the baths. Danae knew that as a lady of the upper echelon of Athenian society, she was supposed to let them help her with simple things such as undressing. After all, it was a status symbol to have other people do these basic tasks for her, but Danae hated it. She absolutely hated others touching her and most importantly seeing her body in a vulnerable state like that. It made her so uncomfortable and forced every physical insecurity she had roaring to the surface. (Given that Danae’s anxieties all stemmed from the fact that she was not nearly as pretty as Chara or Elias, she certainly had a lot of them.) She was a bit of a black sheep in that regard, but that made things easier today. After all, with the public slaves not focused on her, Danae had an easier time finding a private corner of the changing room and quickly shedding the rich cloth that she had arrived in and changing into the peasant garb that she used to speak to her urchins directly without needing to reveal who she was.
The outfit consisted of a slightly tattered chiton made of a cheaper cloth and in a dull color. Her older sister would have vomited had she seen the dress in person, but Danae supposed that was the point. She didn’t want to look like a noble in this moment. She had to be a nobody if she wanted this to work. It was a decent disguise especially when Danae hid her hair in a messy headwrap in a mismatching color. Glancing in a nearby mirror, Danae was fairly certain that she looked the part of a peasant, all that she would need was a bit of charcoal smudge she had a compact across her face, but that was something she could handle outside. The girl didn’t need more than a dusting, after all. That should be enough to hide the bright skin that came with all the creams and other products Danae was starting to try now that she was finally showing a small interest in the makeup that her mother was so skilled at using. Hopefully.
Although Danae was always secretly worried that her disguise would fool no one, it seemed to be working as she was able to slip past the public slaves without a second glance as they were too busy focusing on other people. She truly was just a nobody in this weird outfit of hers. That was at least a bit of a reassurance as she slipped outside of the loutra and met back up with Taureas at their prearranged spot. The slave handed over his Stravos ensigna, which she was quick to tuck in her back as she pulled out the compact containing the charcoal. Her fingers quickly brushed over the edge of her face, the bridge of her nose and rubbed it a bit into her fingernails as the ever-vigiliant slave kept an eye out for his charge. Truly Danae did not know what she would do without Taureas as he played such an important role in this whole venture. She could trust no other with safeguarding a secret like this or not questioning why a Lady of the Stravos household would readily dirty herself in order to meet a peasant boy that was nearly half her age. It was a hefy set of precautions, but if Danae thought that they were needed, that was all that Taureas needed. After all, as much as Danae valued him, he was still just a slave at the end of the day. She could tell him to go eat sand and he’d do it. That was his role in life, after all.
Not that Danae would ever be cruel to him. She was not her brother.
Once she was satisfied with her makeover of sorts and all signs of them not being peasants like everyone else was safely tucked away, Danae let Taureas lead the way. He was the one that was capable of finding Ophelos, after all. She just had to keep pace with him as the odd pair moved through the winding city streets, deep into the heart of the impoverished section of the capital. Danae didn’t come here often, but she assumed that this was where most of her urchins lived. After all, they were all orphans, raised by the harsh world of the city streets. The richer sectors had nothing to offer them, but some pocket change offered by those who were moved by their cute, but dirty faces. Safety was likely found here. Keeping her head low, allowing the edges of her head wrap further hide her face, Danae didn’t get a good look at the impoverished surroundings and hungry faces that she was passing. This was for the best, though. Even though the Stravos girl could soil her face and dress like one of them, the roundness of her cheeks (filled out by the steady supply of food she had access to) would betray her in a heartbeat. The less that others could notice, the better.
Danae and her slave’s hurried pace only came to a slower beat when she heard a symphony of laughter and other noises that signalled a nearby group of children. The Stravos girl wisely hung back as Taureas went looking for the boy she sought. It was better that he did this alone as he could easily play the part of disappointed father tracking down a wayward son. She on the other hand? She wasn’t talented enough of an actress to play any part. Her only role was to stay out of the way and only glance up to see where Taureas had gone if he found the kid. When the slave did not immediately return to her side, she was certain that he did.
This was confirmed when Danae saw the slave disappearing down a winding alleyway with a small kid following closely behind. Danae had to wait a few moments before setting off after them herself. Moving quickly to catch up to them, Danae nearly rushed right past them when they paused in a hidden alcove, the perfect spot for the group to stop and chat for a moment before heading on their merry way. Taureas really did know his way around the poorer sector didn’t he? Whatever, at least that made him good at his job.
Ducking into the alcove with them, Danae got her first good look at Ophelos in a long time. The kid was slight, even smaller for his age than he should have been, but slight tenor to his voice betrayed the fact that he was slightly older than he actually looked. Danae supposed that the scraggly honey-colored hair that was curly and matted only helped his younger appearance as well. That was the only thing rather noteworthy about him as his skin was covered in a decent, but faint smattering of freckles and his brown, mud colored eyes weren’t remotely as noteworthy as the green ones as Danae had. He completely blended into the crowd of street rats which was why Danae had brought him into her small circle of street urchins and why she had chosen him for this all-important task.
“Ophelos, right?” She asked in a shushed tone, trying to drop the rich accent that came with living in the upper crusts of society. It was a hard thing to hide, so the less that Danae said, the better. The young boy seemed to thinking along a similar wavelength as he merely offered a nod in response to her question. “Good. I was sent with a message. The boss --” Her wording was purposeful as she didn’t want the kid to know that she was the one who put the few bronze coins that he had into his pocket, “-- wants you to go to the provinces and watch a house. Send word about who you see leave and enter. Try to find out what’s going on inside.” A simple wave of her hand punctuated her statement, trying to give the impression that she didn’t know the full details or care for the reasoning for such a task. She was supposedly just a messenger, after all.
His eyebrows arched up in confusion, but Danae wasn’t going to answer any questions that he had. It was far too risky for that right now. Instead, she merely shrugged her shoulders and finished the message for the kid. “He’ll be your contact. The boss will pay you handsomely for this -- if you’re up for it, of course?” Danae quietly asked, perfectly confident that the kid wouldn’t turn it down. He had no family. He had no reason to stay in the capital when the promise of a few more coins was on the line. Danae had been right in her assumption when the boy quickly nodded, causing a slight grin to appear on Danae’s face, something that she quickly hid again. The youngest Stravos had always struggled to hide her emotions like a good courtier. Now it was biting her in the ass.
“Perfect. The boss is gonna like that. He’ll come and get you when its time. Don’t wander far.” She motioned to Taureas as she gave the final details of this convoluted plot that she hoped would work out in the end. It was all a massive risk, but the reward would be well worth the effort. Danae wanted that peace of mind and if this was how she was going to get it then so be it. If her father managed to get out of this alive and in one piece, maybe one day his daughter might tell him what she did -- with the part about her going down to the poorer sections of the city to talk to Ophelos out of course. Even though she was fairly certain that he would not be happy with her methods and the fact that she had disobeyed his one rule with this plan; he would at least admire how Danae had taken things into her own hands. Between this and the court event, the youngest Stravos was starting to show a bit of streak of not being content with the way things were. Hopefully, her family would eventually take notice and stop leaving her on the outskirts like they could have previously done. She might be young and by the sheer luck of nature, she would always be the so-called ‘baby’ sister -- but if they were going to play with her fate, she better be in the loop from now on.
Not this mattered to Ophelos who merely nodded at Danae’s words and took it as a sign that he was done here and hurried off to get back to whatever game that Taureas had pulled him away from. Hopefully, he had been a good choice for this task. Not that Danae could really change her mind now. This was the sort of thing she wanted to hand out in person and there was no way she was going to be able to get away with doing this sort of thing twice in such a short timeframe. That was partially why Danae had no desire to linger around for much longer than she needed to once the business they had set out to do was finished.
Letting Taureas lead the way, the pair hurried back through the streets and out of the poorer section back to the Loutra where they could return to their proper selves. The journey back seemed to be quicker than finding Ophelos had been in the first place, which Danae supposed made sense. After all, now they didn’t need to waste extra time searching for one specific child in a whole crowd of them. The Stravos girl was quick to fish out the garb that she hid for Taureas once they found their way back to the ornate marble steps. She quickly slipped the sash into his grasp as the two of them parted ways to enter the bathhouse.
Now that the work was done and Danae needed to get this soot off of her face, the girl actually ventured into the tepid waters of the natural springs as soon as her peasant garb was off. The noblegirl could practically feel the pent up stress that came with her worries about her father and being spotted out and about dressed as a peasant fell off her shoulders as she soaked in the loutra’s waters. She was fairly certain that Taureas was off doing the same in the male section. It was a rare treat that Danae had no objection to when he had done so much for the girl today and she was sure to take her time as she quickly tried to scrub off all the charcoal from her face, allowing her slave as much personal time as she possibly could. It wasn’t much as Danae had to get out rather quickly in order to keep up the impression to the public slaves present that she had been there the entire time that she was actually meeting with Ophelos. That way her short time in the baths would seem almost reasonable and hopefully prevent any gossip from getting out. Even though Danae had taken every precaution to hide her identity, there was still a chance that she had slipped up somewhere. She hoped that this wasn’t the case, but she couldn’t let her guard down at the last moment.
Maybe that was why Danae had been a bit more receptive to the public slaves helping her redress once the peasant clothes were shoved away and the fancy lilac colored chiton was fished out once again. Danae hated having others touch her, her face flushing a beet red the entire time, but she didn’t put up much of a fuss as they pinned her dress into place and put her hair up in an elegant style that was meant to hide the fact that it was still damp from the baths. When she finally stepped back out onto the marble steps where Taureas was already faithfully waiting, she looked every inch the noble woman that she was and there wasn’t a trace of the peasant look left on her. Not when it was all carefully tucked away in the pouch at her side, ready for when she would next have to meet an urchin herself for special tasks that she didn’t want to leave to chance or another messenger.
With the unspoken promise that this was never to be mentioned again, the pair made their way back to the archontiko where Danae would be able to make the final arrangements for the transportation of Ophelos to Arcana. It would be a bit tricky figuring out how to get a city urchin to the small fishing province without attracting too much attention, but she would be able to figure it out. She had to. After all, she didn’t have a whole lot of faith in the False Queen having the brains to go hide somewhere other than her summer home. Having Ophelos placed there, watching the manor as quickly as she possibly could would only benefit her plans of keeping an eye, seeing if there was anything she could covertly do to help her father avoid an untimely death due to this ridiculous plan of his.
Though now that Danae had one of her own unfolding, the girl had to admit that maybe there was some sort of benefit to doing the unthinkable if it meant that she got what she wanted in the end. Maybe her father had not been completely crazy in defecting to Persephone’s side, after all… Not that Danae was going to even consider this at the moment. Not when there was still work to be done. Then maybe when all was said and done with this plan either working or falling apart spectacularly, maybe then she might change her judgment. Maybe.
For right now all she could really do was silently hope and pray to the gods that she hadn’t been a fool and this was actually going to work. After all, it was going to take nothing short of a miracle from them for this all to go through as perfectly as Danae hoped that it would. It had to work, it just had to, right?
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As the noblegirl and her guard reached the Inner Circle and made their way to the public loutra, Danae couldn’t help, but wonder if this plan of hers was just going to be an absolute disaster. After all, there were so many things that could utterly go wrong with disobeying the one direct rule she had been told by her father in regards to this grand plan of his to get the crown for the Stravos family. However, if her bloodline had taught her anything it was that any reward was worth the risk it took to get it. Especially one like this when it could help assure her father’s safety.
Or at least that’s what Danae told herself as the familiar loutra building came into view. Climbing up the loutra steps, Danae and her guard parted ways to head into the separate bathhouses for men and women in order to quickly change into outfits that were more befitting the task at hand. Even though the Stravos girl had done this countless times before, there was a certain uneasy feeling settling in her stomach as she turned a corner and came into the familiar changing room. It wasn’t a mystery as to why Danae was feeling this way. The last time that she had been here, the girl had found a dead body floating in the water. A body that she had initially thought was her cousin, Princess Emilia. It had been nothing short of terrifying for Danae, not even considering how it dredged up the awful memories of what had happened to the girl when she had her run-in with Lukos and had ended up in the Athenian waters herself. She could have very easily drowned that day, especially as her heavy courtier getup had dragged her down a bit as she fought her way to shore. Maybe that was why Danae had a certain tendency to pick lighter fabrics nowadays. That way if she were to find herself in that terrible position again, at least she wouldn’t be dragged to a watery grave by waterlogged cloth.
It was easier for Danae to focus on these inconsequential things as the young girl waved away the staff set to help the richer patrons like herself undress and slip into the baths. Danae knew that as a lady of the upper echelon of Athenian society, she was supposed to let them help her with simple things such as undressing. After all, it was a status symbol to have other people do these basic tasks for her, but Danae hated it. She absolutely hated others touching her and most importantly seeing her body in a vulnerable state like that. It made her so uncomfortable and forced every physical insecurity she had roaring to the surface. (Given that Danae’s anxieties all stemmed from the fact that she was not nearly as pretty as Chara or Elias, she certainly had a lot of them.) She was a bit of a black sheep in that regard, but that made things easier today. After all, with the public slaves not focused on her, Danae had an easier time finding a private corner of the changing room and quickly shedding the rich cloth that she had arrived in and changing into the peasant garb that she used to speak to her urchins directly without needing to reveal who she was.
The outfit consisted of a slightly tattered chiton made of a cheaper cloth and in a dull color. Her older sister would have vomited had she seen the dress in person, but Danae supposed that was the point. She didn’t want to look like a noble in this moment. She had to be a nobody if she wanted this to work. It was a decent disguise especially when Danae hid her hair in a messy headwrap in a mismatching color. Glancing in a nearby mirror, Danae was fairly certain that she looked the part of a peasant, all that she would need was a bit of charcoal smudge she had a compact across her face, but that was something she could handle outside. The girl didn’t need more than a dusting, after all. That should be enough to hide the bright skin that came with all the creams and other products Danae was starting to try now that she was finally showing a small interest in the makeup that her mother was so skilled at using. Hopefully.
Although Danae was always secretly worried that her disguise would fool no one, it seemed to be working as she was able to slip past the public slaves without a second glance as they were too busy focusing on other people. She truly was just a nobody in this weird outfit of hers. That was at least a bit of a reassurance as she slipped outside of the loutra and met back up with Taureas at their prearranged spot. The slave handed over his Stravos ensigna, which she was quick to tuck in her back as she pulled out the compact containing the charcoal. Her fingers quickly brushed over the edge of her face, the bridge of her nose and rubbed it a bit into her fingernails as the ever-vigiliant slave kept an eye out for his charge. Truly Danae did not know what she would do without Taureas as he played such an important role in this whole venture. She could trust no other with safeguarding a secret like this or not questioning why a Lady of the Stravos household would readily dirty herself in order to meet a peasant boy that was nearly half her age. It was a hefy set of precautions, but if Danae thought that they were needed, that was all that Taureas needed. After all, as much as Danae valued him, he was still just a slave at the end of the day. She could tell him to go eat sand and he’d do it. That was his role in life, after all.
Not that Danae would ever be cruel to him. She was not her brother.
Once she was satisfied with her makeover of sorts and all signs of them not being peasants like everyone else was safely tucked away, Danae let Taureas lead the way. He was the one that was capable of finding Ophelos, after all. She just had to keep pace with him as the odd pair moved through the winding city streets, deep into the heart of the impoverished section of the capital. Danae didn’t come here often, but she assumed that this was where most of her urchins lived. After all, they were all orphans, raised by the harsh world of the city streets. The richer sectors had nothing to offer them, but some pocket change offered by those who were moved by their cute, but dirty faces. Safety was likely found here. Keeping her head low, allowing the edges of her head wrap further hide her face, Danae didn’t get a good look at the impoverished surroundings and hungry faces that she was passing. This was for the best, though. Even though the Stravos girl could soil her face and dress like one of them, the roundness of her cheeks (filled out by the steady supply of food she had access to) would betray her in a heartbeat. The less that others could notice, the better.
Danae and her slave’s hurried pace only came to a slower beat when she heard a symphony of laughter and other noises that signalled a nearby group of children. The Stravos girl wisely hung back as Taureas went looking for the boy she sought. It was better that he did this alone as he could easily play the part of disappointed father tracking down a wayward son. She on the other hand? She wasn’t talented enough of an actress to play any part. Her only role was to stay out of the way and only glance up to see where Taureas had gone if he found the kid. When the slave did not immediately return to her side, she was certain that he did.
This was confirmed when Danae saw the slave disappearing down a winding alleyway with a small kid following closely behind. Danae had to wait a few moments before setting off after them herself. Moving quickly to catch up to them, Danae nearly rushed right past them when they paused in a hidden alcove, the perfect spot for the group to stop and chat for a moment before heading on their merry way. Taureas really did know his way around the poorer sector didn’t he? Whatever, at least that made him good at his job.
Ducking into the alcove with them, Danae got her first good look at Ophelos in a long time. The kid was slight, even smaller for his age than he should have been, but slight tenor to his voice betrayed the fact that he was slightly older than he actually looked. Danae supposed that the scraggly honey-colored hair that was curly and matted only helped his younger appearance as well. That was the only thing rather noteworthy about him as his skin was covered in a decent, but faint smattering of freckles and his brown, mud colored eyes weren’t remotely as noteworthy as the green ones as Danae had. He completely blended into the crowd of street rats which was why Danae had brought him into her small circle of street urchins and why she had chosen him for this all-important task.
“Ophelos, right?” She asked in a shushed tone, trying to drop the rich accent that came with living in the upper crusts of society. It was a hard thing to hide, so the less that Danae said, the better. The young boy seemed to thinking along a similar wavelength as he merely offered a nod in response to her question. “Good. I was sent with a message. The boss --” Her wording was purposeful as she didn’t want the kid to know that she was the one who put the few bronze coins that he had into his pocket, “-- wants you to go to the provinces and watch a house. Send word about who you see leave and enter. Try to find out what’s going on inside.” A simple wave of her hand punctuated her statement, trying to give the impression that she didn’t know the full details or care for the reasoning for such a task. She was supposedly just a messenger, after all.
His eyebrows arched up in confusion, but Danae wasn’t going to answer any questions that he had. It was far too risky for that right now. Instead, she merely shrugged her shoulders and finished the message for the kid. “He’ll be your contact. The boss will pay you handsomely for this -- if you’re up for it, of course?” Danae quietly asked, perfectly confident that the kid wouldn’t turn it down. He had no family. He had no reason to stay in the capital when the promise of a few more coins was on the line. Danae had been right in her assumption when the boy quickly nodded, causing a slight grin to appear on Danae’s face, something that she quickly hid again. The youngest Stravos had always struggled to hide her emotions like a good courtier. Now it was biting her in the ass.
“Perfect. The boss is gonna like that. He’ll come and get you when its time. Don’t wander far.” She motioned to Taureas as she gave the final details of this convoluted plot that she hoped would work out in the end. It was all a massive risk, but the reward would be well worth the effort. Danae wanted that peace of mind and if this was how she was going to get it then so be it. If her father managed to get out of this alive and in one piece, maybe one day his daughter might tell him what she did -- with the part about her going down to the poorer sections of the city to talk to Ophelos out of course. Even though she was fairly certain that he would not be happy with her methods and the fact that she had disobeyed his one rule with this plan; he would at least admire how Danae had taken things into her own hands. Between this and the court event, the youngest Stravos was starting to show a bit of streak of not being content with the way things were. Hopefully, her family would eventually take notice and stop leaving her on the outskirts like they could have previously done. She might be young and by the sheer luck of nature, she would always be the so-called ‘baby’ sister -- but if they were going to play with her fate, she better be in the loop from now on.
Not this mattered to Ophelos who merely nodded at Danae’s words and took it as a sign that he was done here and hurried off to get back to whatever game that Taureas had pulled him away from. Hopefully, he had been a good choice for this task. Not that Danae could really change her mind now. This was the sort of thing she wanted to hand out in person and there was no way she was going to be able to get away with doing this sort of thing twice in such a short timeframe. That was partially why Danae had no desire to linger around for much longer than she needed to once the business they had set out to do was finished.
Letting Taureas lead the way, the pair hurried back through the streets and out of the poorer section back to the Loutra where they could return to their proper selves. The journey back seemed to be quicker than finding Ophelos had been in the first place, which Danae supposed made sense. After all, now they didn’t need to waste extra time searching for one specific child in a whole crowd of them. The Stravos girl was quick to fish out the garb that she hid for Taureas once they found their way back to the ornate marble steps. She quickly slipped the sash into his grasp as the two of them parted ways to enter the bathhouse.
Now that the work was done and Danae needed to get this soot off of her face, the girl actually ventured into the tepid waters of the natural springs as soon as her peasant garb was off. The noblegirl could practically feel the pent up stress that came with her worries about her father and being spotted out and about dressed as a peasant fell off her shoulders as she soaked in the loutra’s waters. She was fairly certain that Taureas was off doing the same in the male section. It was a rare treat that Danae had no objection to when he had done so much for the girl today and she was sure to take her time as she quickly tried to scrub off all the charcoal from her face, allowing her slave as much personal time as she possibly could. It wasn’t much as Danae had to get out rather quickly in order to keep up the impression to the public slaves present that she had been there the entire time that she was actually meeting with Ophelos. That way her short time in the baths would seem almost reasonable and hopefully prevent any gossip from getting out. Even though Danae had taken every precaution to hide her identity, there was still a chance that she had slipped up somewhere. She hoped that this wasn’t the case, but she couldn’t let her guard down at the last moment.
Maybe that was why Danae had been a bit more receptive to the public slaves helping her redress once the peasant clothes were shoved away and the fancy lilac colored chiton was fished out once again. Danae hated having others touch her, her face flushing a beet red the entire time, but she didn’t put up much of a fuss as they pinned her dress into place and put her hair up in an elegant style that was meant to hide the fact that it was still damp from the baths. When she finally stepped back out onto the marble steps where Taureas was already faithfully waiting, she looked every inch the noble woman that she was and there wasn’t a trace of the peasant look left on her. Not when it was all carefully tucked away in the pouch at her side, ready for when she would next have to meet an urchin herself for special tasks that she didn’t want to leave to chance or another messenger.
With the unspoken promise that this was never to be mentioned again, the pair made their way back to the archontiko where Danae would be able to make the final arrangements for the transportation of Ophelos to Arcana. It would be a bit tricky figuring out how to get a city urchin to the small fishing province without attracting too much attention, but she would be able to figure it out. She had to. After all, she didn’t have a whole lot of faith in the False Queen having the brains to go hide somewhere other than her summer home. Having Ophelos placed there, watching the manor as quickly as she possibly could would only benefit her plans of keeping an eye, seeing if there was anything she could covertly do to help her father avoid an untimely death due to this ridiculous plan of his.
Though now that Danae had one of her own unfolding, the girl had to admit that maybe there was some sort of benefit to doing the unthinkable if it meant that she got what she wanted in the end. Maybe her father had not been completely crazy in defecting to Persephone’s side, after all… Not that Danae was going to even consider this at the moment. Not when there was still work to be done. Then maybe when all was said and done with this plan either working or falling apart spectacularly, maybe then she might change her judgment. Maybe.
For right now all she could really do was silently hope and pray to the gods that she hadn’t been a fool and this was actually going to work. After all, it was going to take nothing short of a miracle from them for this all to go through as perfectly as Danae hoped that it would. It had to work, it just had to, right?
As the noblegirl and her guard reached the Inner Circle and made their way to the public loutra, Danae couldn’t help, but wonder if this plan of hers was just going to be an absolute disaster. After all, there were so many things that could utterly go wrong with disobeying the one direct rule she had been told by her father in regards to this grand plan of his to get the crown for the Stravos family. However, if her bloodline had taught her anything it was that any reward was worth the risk it took to get it. Especially one like this when it could help assure her father’s safety.
Or at least that’s what Danae told herself as the familiar loutra building came into view. Climbing up the loutra steps, Danae and her guard parted ways to head into the separate bathhouses for men and women in order to quickly change into outfits that were more befitting the task at hand. Even though the Stravos girl had done this countless times before, there was a certain uneasy feeling settling in her stomach as she turned a corner and came into the familiar changing room. It wasn’t a mystery as to why Danae was feeling this way. The last time that she had been here, the girl had found a dead body floating in the water. A body that she had initially thought was her cousin, Princess Emilia. It had been nothing short of terrifying for Danae, not even considering how it dredged up the awful memories of what had happened to the girl when she had her run-in with Lukos and had ended up in the Athenian waters herself. She could have very easily drowned that day, especially as her heavy courtier getup had dragged her down a bit as she fought her way to shore. Maybe that was why Danae had a certain tendency to pick lighter fabrics nowadays. That way if she were to find herself in that terrible position again, at least she wouldn’t be dragged to a watery grave by waterlogged cloth.
It was easier for Danae to focus on these inconsequential things as the young girl waved away the staff set to help the richer patrons like herself undress and slip into the baths. Danae knew that as a lady of the upper echelon of Athenian society, she was supposed to let them help her with simple things such as undressing. After all, it was a status symbol to have other people do these basic tasks for her, but Danae hated it. She absolutely hated others touching her and most importantly seeing her body in a vulnerable state like that. It made her so uncomfortable and forced every physical insecurity she had roaring to the surface. (Given that Danae’s anxieties all stemmed from the fact that she was not nearly as pretty as Chara or Elias, she certainly had a lot of them.) She was a bit of a black sheep in that regard, but that made things easier today. After all, with the public slaves not focused on her, Danae had an easier time finding a private corner of the changing room and quickly shedding the rich cloth that she had arrived in and changing into the peasant garb that she used to speak to her urchins directly without needing to reveal who she was.
The outfit consisted of a slightly tattered chiton made of a cheaper cloth and in a dull color. Her older sister would have vomited had she seen the dress in person, but Danae supposed that was the point. She didn’t want to look like a noble in this moment. She had to be a nobody if she wanted this to work. It was a decent disguise especially when Danae hid her hair in a messy headwrap in a mismatching color. Glancing in a nearby mirror, Danae was fairly certain that she looked the part of a peasant, all that she would need was a bit of charcoal smudge she had a compact across her face, but that was something she could handle outside. The girl didn’t need more than a dusting, after all. That should be enough to hide the bright skin that came with all the creams and other products Danae was starting to try now that she was finally showing a small interest in the makeup that her mother was so skilled at using. Hopefully.
Although Danae was always secretly worried that her disguise would fool no one, it seemed to be working as she was able to slip past the public slaves without a second glance as they were too busy focusing on other people. She truly was just a nobody in this weird outfit of hers. That was at least a bit of a reassurance as she slipped outside of the loutra and met back up with Taureas at their prearranged spot. The slave handed over his Stravos ensigna, which she was quick to tuck in her back as she pulled out the compact containing the charcoal. Her fingers quickly brushed over the edge of her face, the bridge of her nose and rubbed it a bit into her fingernails as the ever-vigiliant slave kept an eye out for his charge. Truly Danae did not know what she would do without Taureas as he played such an important role in this whole venture. She could trust no other with safeguarding a secret like this or not questioning why a Lady of the Stravos household would readily dirty herself in order to meet a peasant boy that was nearly half her age. It was a hefy set of precautions, but if Danae thought that they were needed, that was all that Taureas needed. After all, as much as Danae valued him, he was still just a slave at the end of the day. She could tell him to go eat sand and he’d do it. That was his role in life, after all.
Not that Danae would ever be cruel to him. She was not her brother.
Once she was satisfied with her makeover of sorts and all signs of them not being peasants like everyone else was safely tucked away, Danae let Taureas lead the way. He was the one that was capable of finding Ophelos, after all. She just had to keep pace with him as the odd pair moved through the winding city streets, deep into the heart of the impoverished section of the capital. Danae didn’t come here often, but she assumed that this was where most of her urchins lived. After all, they were all orphans, raised by the harsh world of the city streets. The richer sectors had nothing to offer them, but some pocket change offered by those who were moved by their cute, but dirty faces. Safety was likely found here. Keeping her head low, allowing the edges of her head wrap further hide her face, Danae didn’t get a good look at the impoverished surroundings and hungry faces that she was passing. This was for the best, though. Even though the Stravos girl could soil her face and dress like one of them, the roundness of her cheeks (filled out by the steady supply of food she had access to) would betray her in a heartbeat. The less that others could notice, the better.
Danae and her slave’s hurried pace only came to a slower beat when she heard a symphony of laughter and other noises that signalled a nearby group of children. The Stravos girl wisely hung back as Taureas went looking for the boy she sought. It was better that he did this alone as he could easily play the part of disappointed father tracking down a wayward son. She on the other hand? She wasn’t talented enough of an actress to play any part. Her only role was to stay out of the way and only glance up to see where Taureas had gone if he found the kid. When the slave did not immediately return to her side, she was certain that he did.
This was confirmed when Danae saw the slave disappearing down a winding alleyway with a small kid following closely behind. Danae had to wait a few moments before setting off after them herself. Moving quickly to catch up to them, Danae nearly rushed right past them when they paused in a hidden alcove, the perfect spot for the group to stop and chat for a moment before heading on their merry way. Taureas really did know his way around the poorer sector didn’t he? Whatever, at least that made him good at his job.
Ducking into the alcove with them, Danae got her first good look at Ophelos in a long time. The kid was slight, even smaller for his age than he should have been, but slight tenor to his voice betrayed the fact that he was slightly older than he actually looked. Danae supposed that the scraggly honey-colored hair that was curly and matted only helped his younger appearance as well. That was the only thing rather noteworthy about him as his skin was covered in a decent, but faint smattering of freckles and his brown, mud colored eyes weren’t remotely as noteworthy as the green ones as Danae had. He completely blended into the crowd of street rats which was why Danae had brought him into her small circle of street urchins and why she had chosen him for this all-important task.
“Ophelos, right?” She asked in a shushed tone, trying to drop the rich accent that came with living in the upper crusts of society. It was a hard thing to hide, so the less that Danae said, the better. The young boy seemed to thinking along a similar wavelength as he merely offered a nod in response to her question. “Good. I was sent with a message. The boss --” Her wording was purposeful as she didn’t want the kid to know that she was the one who put the few bronze coins that he had into his pocket, “-- wants you to go to the provinces and watch a house. Send word about who you see leave and enter. Try to find out what’s going on inside.” A simple wave of her hand punctuated her statement, trying to give the impression that she didn’t know the full details or care for the reasoning for such a task. She was supposedly just a messenger, after all.
His eyebrows arched up in confusion, but Danae wasn’t going to answer any questions that he had. It was far too risky for that right now. Instead, she merely shrugged her shoulders and finished the message for the kid. “He’ll be your contact. The boss will pay you handsomely for this -- if you’re up for it, of course?” Danae quietly asked, perfectly confident that the kid wouldn’t turn it down. He had no family. He had no reason to stay in the capital when the promise of a few more coins was on the line. Danae had been right in her assumption when the boy quickly nodded, causing a slight grin to appear on Danae’s face, something that she quickly hid again. The youngest Stravos had always struggled to hide her emotions like a good courtier. Now it was biting her in the ass.
“Perfect. The boss is gonna like that. He’ll come and get you when its time. Don’t wander far.” She motioned to Taureas as she gave the final details of this convoluted plot that she hoped would work out in the end. It was all a massive risk, but the reward would be well worth the effort. Danae wanted that peace of mind and if this was how she was going to get it then so be it. If her father managed to get out of this alive and in one piece, maybe one day his daughter might tell him what she did -- with the part about her going down to the poorer sections of the city to talk to Ophelos out of course. Even though she was fairly certain that he would not be happy with her methods and the fact that she had disobeyed his one rule with this plan; he would at least admire how Danae had taken things into her own hands. Between this and the court event, the youngest Stravos was starting to show a bit of streak of not being content with the way things were. Hopefully, her family would eventually take notice and stop leaving her on the outskirts like they could have previously done. She might be young and by the sheer luck of nature, she would always be the so-called ‘baby’ sister -- but if they were going to play with her fate, she better be in the loop from now on.
Not this mattered to Ophelos who merely nodded at Danae’s words and took it as a sign that he was done here and hurried off to get back to whatever game that Taureas had pulled him away from. Hopefully, he had been a good choice for this task. Not that Danae could really change her mind now. This was the sort of thing she wanted to hand out in person and there was no way she was going to be able to get away with doing this sort of thing twice in such a short timeframe. That was partially why Danae had no desire to linger around for much longer than she needed to once the business they had set out to do was finished.
Letting Taureas lead the way, the pair hurried back through the streets and out of the poorer section back to the Loutra where they could return to their proper selves. The journey back seemed to be quicker than finding Ophelos had been in the first place, which Danae supposed made sense. After all, now they didn’t need to waste extra time searching for one specific child in a whole crowd of them. The Stravos girl was quick to fish out the garb that she hid for Taureas once they found their way back to the ornate marble steps. She quickly slipped the sash into his grasp as the two of them parted ways to enter the bathhouse.
Now that the work was done and Danae needed to get this soot off of her face, the girl actually ventured into the tepid waters of the natural springs as soon as her peasant garb was off. The noblegirl could practically feel the pent up stress that came with her worries about her father and being spotted out and about dressed as a peasant fell off her shoulders as she soaked in the loutra’s waters. She was fairly certain that Taureas was off doing the same in the male section. It was a rare treat that Danae had no objection to when he had done so much for the girl today and she was sure to take her time as she quickly tried to scrub off all the charcoal from her face, allowing her slave as much personal time as she possibly could. It wasn’t much as Danae had to get out rather quickly in order to keep up the impression to the public slaves present that she had been there the entire time that she was actually meeting with Ophelos. That way her short time in the baths would seem almost reasonable and hopefully prevent any gossip from getting out. Even though Danae had taken every precaution to hide her identity, there was still a chance that she had slipped up somewhere. She hoped that this wasn’t the case, but she couldn’t let her guard down at the last moment.
Maybe that was why Danae had been a bit more receptive to the public slaves helping her redress once the peasant clothes were shoved away and the fancy lilac colored chiton was fished out once again. Danae hated having others touch her, her face flushing a beet red the entire time, but she didn’t put up much of a fuss as they pinned her dress into place and put her hair up in an elegant style that was meant to hide the fact that it was still damp from the baths. When she finally stepped back out onto the marble steps where Taureas was already faithfully waiting, she looked every inch the noble woman that she was and there wasn’t a trace of the peasant look left on her. Not when it was all carefully tucked away in the pouch at her side, ready for when she would next have to meet an urchin herself for special tasks that she didn’t want to leave to chance or another messenger.
With the unspoken promise that this was never to be mentioned again, the pair made their way back to the archontiko where Danae would be able to make the final arrangements for the transportation of Ophelos to Arcana. It would be a bit tricky figuring out how to get a city urchin to the small fishing province without attracting too much attention, but she would be able to figure it out. She had to. After all, she didn’t have a whole lot of faith in the False Queen having the brains to go hide somewhere other than her summer home. Having Ophelos placed there, watching the manor as quickly as she possibly could would only benefit her plans of keeping an eye, seeing if there was anything she could covertly do to help her father avoid an untimely death due to this ridiculous plan of his.
Though now that Danae had one of her own unfolding, the girl had to admit that maybe there was some sort of benefit to doing the unthinkable if it meant that she got what she wanted in the end. Maybe her father had not been completely crazy in defecting to Persephone’s side, after all… Not that Danae was going to even consider this at the moment. Not when there was still work to be done. Then maybe when all was said and done with this plan either working or falling apart spectacularly, maybe then she might change her judgment. Maybe.
For right now all she could really do was silently hope and pray to the gods that she hadn’t been a fool and this was actually going to work. After all, it was going to take nothing short of a miracle from them for this all to go through as perfectly as Danae hoped that it would. It had to work, it just had to, right?