It was pretty late at night when Melina was awake, wandering the hall having just grabbed herself a glass of milk. Her mother’s handmaiden crossed Melina, not once glancing at her, and entered her mother’s office. Melina tilted her head. It was strange to her that her mother was up so late. Beauty rest was vital, per her teachings. Melina could not help but let the curiosity get the better of her. She just… had to know what was so important that her mother stayed up in her office for.



Melina found herself moving closer and closer to her mother’s office, pressing her ear to the door. Beyond the wood, thick as it may be, she could make out the muffled voices of her mother and her handmaiden discussing… someone…



“... confirmed that your brother is in jail for punching Lord Achilleas in the face…”



“Ugh! That man, already a nuisance.” That voice was much clearer. Her mother was annoyed. She was probably rubbing her temples trying to keep from snapping any louder. Melina knew her mother well enough to know when she was most upset.



She heard movement on the other side of the door. Melina quickly backed away from it and ran to her room before she could be spotted eavesdropping. Her mind was reeling from the new information that she had. Her brother? She had an uncle on her mother’s side? Why had she never mentioned him before? Melina knew he’d be a commoner, being at least somewhat aware of her mother’s origins. That didn’t matter, did it? Did she think that her children would be ashamed? Or… or was there other reasons for her to keep him a secret?



Whatever the reason, Melina decided that she would figure it out. She could just ask her mother, but Melina knew well enough that no one asked the Great Eirini of Leventi anything. If she had no desire for her daughters to know, then her questions would either be waved off or met with lies. If Melina wanted to know who this so-called uncle was… she’d have to investigate for herself. So she woke up bright and early the next day and got to work.



Being the daughter of the ex-master informer of Taengea afforded Melina some skills in investigation. (That and she read a lot of books). And the reason for arrest was quite unique. He punched a Lord and wasn’t hung? That would be something worth talking about. But merely asking around led her in circles. Some people spoke as if he was some minotaur bent on getting revenge against the nobles, others spoke as if he was some fairy tale that the Lord cocked up to gain sympathy and attention. And others said he was already in the drink, swimming with the fishes.



The closer she got to the docks, however, the more realistic stories became until she got a name. Lukos. Melina never heard of a Lukos before, certainly not by her mother’s lips. There was a servant who had a child named Lukos, but Melina remembered seeing her pregnant stomach, and the child would still be a newborn… not someone who would punch Lord Achilleas unless he was actually a minotaur, to which Melina’s heart goes out to the poor servant girl.



Melina wasn’t dressed as a Leventi was typically. She wore the clothes Dafni wore when she snuck out- the clothes she thought no one else was aware about. (How precious of her). It was fairly common, but Melina’s looks made her look even more common. She wasn’t used to wandering around the docks without her guards though. It was… alarming.



At last, she did see a dark mess of hair in the distance. By now the sun was in the center of the sky and shined on him like a beacon. Melina squinted at him. Did he look like her mother? This was the Lukos that was described to her, the one who was let out of jail just recently. Should Melina follow him? What did she hope to gain from this?



A sated curiosity?



Perhaps she should turn back. But when she did she saw just a bit away two men who looked like they were about to brawl. They were pushing and shoving each other, and didn’t give much room for Melina in the already crowded docks to maneuver about. She had no choice but to move forward, towards the man that might be her uncle.



Should she just… ask him? Was that… odd? “Um, excuse me!” Melina said as she moved towards the man, “Excuse me! Can I ask you a question?” Before he could tell her no, or even look at her, Melina just went ahead and asked, “Do you know an Eirini?”