Although her time in Athenia had been a success, Thea knew that the point of contention would still hang over her once she returned to Colchis. Her father had not just sent her to Athenia to fill orders and establish connections. No, he had made a point of just how easily he could do as he pleased with her. Should he so wish, he could very well marry her off to the eldest Antonis boy without so much as needing to consult her. Her demonstration of defiance was simply that, a demonstration. They both knew however that Thea would not be able to refuse a match should one be struck.



Of course, if set to wed, Thea would do all in her power to kill the poor bastard that tried to call her his wife. She’d be back home where she belonged while the corpse was still warm. If it came to that, Thea had a number of ways in mind to shift the blame from herself to her father instead. Women only had so many rights in society, but that also meant that men had further to fall if toppled.



No one wanted to have to deal with the pesky death of another royal house member, so it was truly in everyone’s best interest for Dionysius to leave Thea be. However, Thea needed another means to ensure her freedoms. One that no one but she could control. If women only had so many roles in society, then that was where she would start. She could not do much to avoid a marriage, but her biology was her own. That, she could work with.



It just so happened, that after Thea’s little rendezvous with Daniil of Marikas, when Thea returned to the market some time later, she happened upon someone selling some of the most curious substances from lands afar. Thea wasn’t so interested in what the trader was offering to the public, and instead offered him her father’s order for a variety of discreet and exotic poisons. Within moments, a discreet meeting was set for later in the evening, where the trader would discuss his more controversial wares in private.



It suited Thea to spend less time that evening at the Marikas estate, as she wanted Daniil to stew a little on what had transpired between them. As they said, absence made the heart grow fonder. If Daniil thought Thea was avoiding her for whatever reason, well that wouldn’t hurt either, even if not the case in the slightest.



Donning a dark himation to wear over her plain but dark peplos, Thea arrived at the trader’s tent. Light from a campfire illuminated the small structure. Thea couldn’t fathom why a campfire would be needed with the night air still thick with the Summer heat, but nonetheless, she announced her arrival and stepped inside. The heat from the fire hit her hard, but she did not allow her expression to change. Instead, she simply allowed the merchant to fuss about, only sitting on the sunset coloured fabric he had on the floor once he gestured for her to do so.



While the merchant paraded his most prized and expensive wares, Thea simply waited for something of interest to be shown to her. Sensing her disinterest, the merchant fell back on the topic that had secured their meeting in the first place: poisons. Soon enough, Thea was observing some of the most curious forms of poison and venoms while the merchant hurriedly explained the properties of each. To encourage him further, Thea indulged him by making a number of orders for herself, as well as for her father.



Just as she thought the evening was coming to an end, the merchant made a flippant comment about a concoction of liquid metals he had in his possession. ’Should a woman drink this mixture, she will never bear children.’



It was as if the gods willed it themselves.



The merchant continued to prattle on, taking the angle that the tonic would be perfect for jealous or scorned women wishing to seek revenge on another, however Thea had other plans for it. She would take it herself.



Upon making her intentions clear, the merchant seemed hesitant, anxious that she understand how toxic and dangerous it was. Considering how confident he was in selling it before, Thea probed him for more information, wanting to know exactly how much she would need to ingest for it to take effect, without killing her. Eventually he gave in and told her what she needed to know. However, to ensure her own mortality, Thea promised to pay him half of his cost, with the promise to pay the rest plus extra once she had taken it and survived.



Thea learned that the thick, shimmering tonic was a mixture of arsenic, lead and mercury. Only the smallest amount—not even a mouthful—was all that was needed to strip her of her ability to bear children. The merchant prattled on about wanting her to be sure, that it was not uncommon for women to change their minds, as if he knew what it was like to be a woman. Thea knew she was certain. She had no desire to bear a child. She already knew she would make a horrendous mother. She doubted she’d love it, even if she did have one. Then, how long would it be before she saw it as a twist toy of her own making? The world was better off with her unable to birth a child. She had no care or love for anything that could quicken in her womb. At best the child would have grown up in a cold, distant environment, perhaps raised by the slaves or servants. Perhaps it would even be adopted into the fold by Evras. Whatever the case, Nethis and Evras were perfectly capable of providing children without Thea needing to do so too. At least this way, she would have a card to play when her father next decided to marry her off.



With an agreement made, Thea returned to the Marikas estate, her plan now in motion. She was likely to succumb to frightful side effects, which would certainly not go unnoticed at the Marikas estate. So, Thea planned to take her tincture once boarding the boat back to Colchis.



---



When finally the day came to leave Athenia, Thea made sure to pay Daniil a secret visit in her bed chambers for good measure, before departing the Marikas estate, being the ever gracious guest as she bid her thanks and farewell to Lords Panos and Pavlos.



As her carriage trundled down to the docks, Thea held her tonic firmly in her hands. She knew she was in for a hell of a trip home, but it would be worth it. And because of that, Thea was enthusiastic—more than she remembered being for some time. When the carriage came to a halt, Thea threw back the tonic without a moment of hesitation. Slipping the empty vial under the folds of her himation, Thea promptly saw herself settled on the vessel as the servants loaded her belongings.



She began to feel the effects of the poison before the boat even left the docks. For a fleeting moment, it seemed like she was about to be taken back ashore to be looked over, but Thea insisted she would be fine. Either that was true or she would die on that boat, but if that were to be her end, she would rather death at sea, than in Athenia.



After that, Thea vaguely remembered the shuddering and rocking of the vessel leaving the docks. After that, was a blur of horrific hallucinations, and pain; so much pain. The days blurred quite quickly, until Thea was nearly at the point of wishing for her own death.



Then, relief.



All of a sudden, days later, Thea woke up feeling like she had the worst comedown to ever exist. But she was alive. As the days drew on, Thea slowly regained her strength, though her body still ached. She was given opiates to dull the pain once she seemed able to hold anything down. In between doses of water and opiates, she slept, until finally she was being woken by an anxious boat hand, announcing their arrival back in Colchis.



Still weak, but feeling more or less like herself, Thea fell into her carriage, pleased to finally be home.