Marietta wold listen to her parents even if their advice led her off a cliff. She had blind faith in her family, knowing that her father and mother would never steer her wrong. She was an Antonis- loyal until the end. All Marietta wanted was to make her family proud. That was her duty as the second daughter to Lord Alehandros of Antonis.



Thus when they told her about a matchmaker, Marietta wasn’t alarmed. She knew that one day she would have to marry for political means. Though it was at least… stressed that they would never want someone to bring Marietta misery. Her parents married for political gain, but they very much loved each other. It would reason to assume they would want the same for Marietta.



For some reason or other, Sanasa did not have a matchmaker. Perhaps it was because she refused their parents. Sanasa was prickly. Maybe she already had her eye on someone, who was Marietta to know? But it was Marietta who had to meet with the overly perfumed woman, hemming and hawing over the young girl as she stood their awkwardly, trying not to blush. Her parents wanted what was best for her, she had to remember that.



Marietta would listen to her parents even if their advice led her off a cliff… but she never thought it actually would lead her off that cliff.



It was every woman’s dream to have a date with the Rafail of Marikas, so he would think. Marietta should feel honored to be allowed in his presence, so he would think. To even breathe the same air is a blessing from the gods.



The moment a date was set up with him, a stormcloud grew over her head just imagining what would be going on in his mind. She wanted to imagine that this would be fine. She wanted to imagine that it would be over soon. Rafail couldn’t be that bad. But every interaction with him since she became an adult left a sour taste in her mouth… aside from the last one. It was only a month ago, but she hardly could remember it. She ran into him in the hallway having gone to visit Sofia, and then woke up in a guest room at their home. A whole chunk of time was missing.



Not that it mattered right now. What mattered was that Marietta was in a foul mood, and she didn’t expect that it would change. But she was a good girl, and would at least entertain her parents request. The Antonis and the Marikas had a strong relationship, stronger than any other family in Athenia. She was not going to risk insulting anyone by at least not giving this match a shot… even though it was doomed to fail.



At the very least it was the one man, aside from her cousins and Elias, she could speak to without stuttering and blushing. Sometimes. She had been around Sofia’s brother enough to at least get past that stage… usually. Silver linings, yes?



And thus, Marietta got ready for her date. She wore a lovely dark plum chiton that her ladies laid out, with a silver arm bracelet that coiled around her arm three times. Matching silver chains adorned her neck, falling down between her breasts. Her hair was partly up, a braid creating a crown on her head, with the rest cascading down to the middle of her back. She looked… well, like she was going on a date. Her… first date.



Ugh.



To minimize the amount of time actually spent with Rafail, and to allow her a means of escape should things go truly south (though she doubted it would get to that. But what could Marietta say? She was always the pessimist) she asked to meet Rafail at the place they would be eating. Unconventional, yes, but she hoped phrasing it with flowery words like your time is so important, I would hate for it to be wasted escorting me and with an important man such as yourself, it would not due to be waiting on a woman to ease any feathers she might ruffle. She had asked for Sanasa’s help on that part.



Marietta was walking to a date she knew she would hate, but at least then she would have every reason to go to her parents afterwards and say no. She would be loyal… to a point.



Arriving to a nice little area close to the beaches in the capital there was this eatery. Fresh fruits and meats would arrive by the day from the various provinces, and even on occasion imported wine from Taengea could be found. The owner of this established had once been a sailor, sampling foods and seeing techniques from many different places, when an injury left him stuck in Athenia, his homeland. Having inheritored his small home from his parents, he started selling his services as a cook and now… it was quite a frequent place to find nobles and rich families looking for something different to try. Such a novel idea, owning a business purely for eating…



She gave a polite smile to Raf when she saw him, not even taking a second to glance at what he was wearing, wanting to get niceties over with. “You look nice, my lord.” She complimented before looking at the various tables. This was a busy day. Marietta didn’t like that. She didn’t want to be gossiped about, the Lady of Antonis and a Lord of Marikas being spotted eating out together. What could this mean?



“Oh, there’s a table right there.” Marietta said ponting over to one of the only ones that were free. It had a fairly lovely view of the ocean. It was one of the ones Marietta would typically appreciate. She could watch the waves as she waited, thinking of her next musical piece or artwork. To the left of it sat another couple, but Marietta didn’t pay them much mind. She was focused on one thing and one thing only: Getting this night over with as quickly as she possibly could. “Shall we, my lord?”