Arete, in all of her foolishness, was blissfully unaware of the affair that was lurking just beneath her nose. She had no reason to think that her Niky would turn to Eleni for comfort in the nights that she had not been there in the capital. Why should she, after all? During those heartbreakingly short two years where the four of them had all been as thick as thieves, partying till the earliest hours of dawn; it had been clear how the group was paired off. Arete had Nikos. Eleni had Silanos. It didn’t matter where they all strayed outside of this arrangement -- which there was certainly plenty of given the copious amounts of drugs and alcohol that had flowed freely during their encounters. This simple rule was a boundary that was never to be crossed.

Silanos had Eleni. Nikos had Arete.

This rule had governed them for two years, but then Silanos left. He fled Tanegea for the gods only knew what reason, not that it really mattered anyway. Arete had naturally assumed that the rule would remain in place. This simple agreement had what kept them banded together as friends when Silanos had been here -- why would they want to break it while he was gone? Arete would never know the reasons why her lover had decided to find a place in the bed of her closest friend. Nor would she ever really care to know if she wasn’t oblivious to the whole thing. At least not while her heart would be consumed by the betrayal that not only had her Nikos lied to her again, but also that one of the few people on this earth that she genuinely cared about had taken part in it. There were just some lines that were not supposed to be crossed as the damage that would be done would never heal. That was the risk that Eleni and Nikos had taken while sneaking behind Arete’s back. If she were ever to learn of what they had done… well there would be no coming back from that.

Ever.

Needless to say, it was a good thing that Arete did not know. The trust she held in both her lover and friend had made her blind to what was happening before her eyes. She had too much faith in them both to connect the dots that linked Nikos and Eleni together. Perhaps one day this would change, but not for right now at least. Not when there were more important things to do tonight than sniff out an affair.

Silanos had returned to Taengea, but only for a single day. He would only be here long enough for the warship that had carried him to restock their supplies to finish the long journey to the shores of Egypt. It seemed impossible, but Sil was now a soldier, being sent to fight in a war that all of them knew he could not possibly be prepared properly for. After all, this group of friends had known the Colchian lord better than anyone in the whole of Taengea and he was by no means a fighter. He was not the sort who would bravely sign his name upon the soldier’s roster when the enemy came to call. Yet, somehow their friend was being shipped off just the same. Arete had no idea what to make of these events or how to explain how the drunkard she had known was now somehow a part of the army. It didn’t make sense with the Sil she knew… However, tonight was not the night to question it. There would be plenty of time for that once Silanos returned from the shores of Egypt, alive and in one piece. Instead, this evening had to be a celebration. A reminder that not all was lost and even during this horribly bleak moment, there could still be a place for revelry.

Arete was actually looking forward to the chance to drink the memories of today away. She had not told Nikos yet as she did not want to spoil his good mood as he moved throughout the bedroom, readying himself for the night ahead; but Arete had run into a spot of trouble in the marketplace as she was waiting for everyone else to gather for the party tonight. In short, Arete had gotten into a spat with a Colchian soldier who did not take kindly to the fact that the Taengean thought that there was no place for women on the war front. If Arete was pressed about the incident, that’s how she would describe it in spite of the fact that the Taengean woman’s actions in this scenario were so much worse than what she had described. Arete was aware of this too and this was why she was not going to regale the tale to Nikos unless she had to do so. After all, she knew that her lover would never have her side in this incident. That’s how horrible her own actions were in this mess.

There were traces of this left on Arete for Nikos to possibly notice, had he been paying attention to her at all. Perhaps he might have seen the early bruises forming on her back from where she had been pushed against the cart. Better yet, he might have noticed how Arete seemed so intent on brushing out one section of her hair -- a bit that had unexpectedly had a glob of honey cling to it. By now it had been taken care of as Arete pulled her hair to one side and made some attempt to style it before their guests for the evening would arrive. The girl had been so preoccupied with the task at hand that she had not noticed that Nikos had finished with readying himself until the moment she could feel his hands encircle her waist. Her own hands reached for his as she leaned back onto his chest, enjoying the feeling of having his feather-light kisses brush against her neck. Nikos might have noticed in the mirror how his lover’s eyes slipped closed for a moment as she gave a slight hum of contentment during this brief moment of affection.

This was certainly quite a contrast to the woman who was flinging hate in the streets earlier that afternoon.

Nodding at Nikos’s words, Arete already knew that topics about the conflict were going to be banned from the table that evening. There was no use discussing terribly sad things when this was quite possibly the last night they would have with Silanos. Only happy, pleasant things would be welcome in this house tonight. “Just as long as the wine is flowing and the musicians are playing, that won’t be a problem.” Arete murmured back with a slight grin. The whole lot of them knew how they could be once a bottle of the best of the Condos wine was within them. Nikos didn’t need to worry about such things being miserable this evening. Not when they were going to be spending the evening with this lot again.

However, Arete did allow one tiny thought about the future to sneak into her mind as she stood there in front of the mirror with Nikos holding her tight. “Just think Nikos….” She started to mention, almost absent-mindedly as she thought about all the things that he had promised Arete over the years, “Soon enough, we’ll be hosting parties like this every evening. For the whole of Tanegea to attend…” Now it wasn’t exactly clear if Arete was speaking more to the lofty dreams of Nikos being King or if she was instead mentioning the oaths he had made that she would one day be his wife. Regardless of which promise it was, it brought a small smile to her face as she rested against his chest. She knew how difficult it would be to have both come true, but Arete had her hopes up that everything would work out and that Nikos would be true to his word. He wouldn’t betray her like that, right?

Not that it really mattered this evening. At least not at the same moment that a knock sounded at the door, coming from a servant on the other side mentioning that one of their guests had arrived. Arete pulled away from Nikos as a happy grin crossed her face at the news, excited that this return to normalcy was finally about to get underway, something that was made clear through the playful lilt to her voice, encouraging Nikos to go greet his guests, “After you, my prince”

Eleni still couldn’t believe what had passed today.

It had been shocking enough to see Silanos back on Tangean shores. But to know he was only here on the course of the warfront rather than to return to the country’s pleasures he so enjoyed... That gutted her in a way she hadn’t anticipated. She had no right to feel the way she did. After all, he’d left, and even before that, he hadn’t been hers. Even if she had warmed his bed for the majority of his visit, she had held him at arm’s length, determined to keep him from entering her heart.

It seemed he had succeeded regardless. But now, he was so far out of reach...

She had spent the rest of the day in that same tavern where they first met those years ago. It was a long shot, but she hoped he might seek her out there before joining their friends. He did not. She told herself that he must just be busy with soldierly duties in order to free up his evening, but some part of her felt it was deeper. Perhaps, he didn’t still harbor the same affection for her that she did for him.

It was true, she had no right to ask anything from him.

With that thought in mind, she nearly didn’t go to the Condos manor at all. It was already awkward enough being around Nikos and Arete both. She felt like a traitor. It wasn’t keeping the secret that ate away at her. It was knowing that Nikos wasn’t willing to let go of what they had begun, even with his favorite living by his side once again. It was a difficult situation to reconcile.

Add to that that Sil might not want to see her at all... it did not seem like a great night ahead of her.

But ultimately, she couldn’t leave anything to chance. If there was even a slimmest hope that Silanos still felt anything for her... she couldn’t pass up this opportunity to be with him one last time. To say goodbye in a way she hadn’t gotten to the last time. Walking through the streets of Vasiliadon, she tried to shake the heaviness that had settled over her with Sil’s news. Tonight was supposed to be about merriment. She needed to at least try to enjoy herself.

She paused just shy of the manor door when she saw Silanos already there, knocking at the door. A deep breath and she walked forward to stand beside him. As she turned to address him, she could only hope she didn’t seem half as nervous as she felt.

“Hey there, Sil.”