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The sky didn’t fall when Persephone and Thalia left the ship. He commissioned men to stand guard but Elias’s men didn't come for him that night. Or the next morning. Hour by hour, he and Arktos moved around the ship, each waiting for the hammerfall but it never came. The constant uncertainty threatened to drive him mad.
On the fourth morning since the meeting, he stood on the top rigging, an arm around the mast, staring out at the undulating water of the Aegean. He knew exactly what lay on the horizon and he’d never been so eager, and yet unable, to reach it. From this height, the ship swayed lazily beneath his boots but he rode it out with the kind of balance honed over a lifetime.
Far below, Arktos stumped around, pushing and reorganizing the huge coils of rope and seal skin tarps, and whatever else that was kept topside. All the random, little things that had needed done for years were being accomplished at a slow pace. Without real care or concern. A few of his men had taken positions on other ships that would come back in a few days. He could have done the same to alleviate the boredom and tension but he was positive that if he left the Aceton, it wouldn’t be here when he got back. Another reason, and more to the point, was that he couldn’t bring himself to sail for anyone else.
Life in the harbor for the sailors had been already buzzing for hours. Whores were wrapping up with their last customers and retiring to bed. From here, he could see two girls standing close to his ship. Their heads were together and they were passing coins back and forth, as though divvying up their earnings between them. Neither girl was particularly pretty but he knew that in the dark and being carried away by the warm wine singing in the veins, it didn’t really matter what a woman looked like. So long as she was soft and there.
His mind turned to Thalia. He wondered if she was awake yet. It was still incredibly early for the noble class. On the island, she would still be sleeping and he played over the way she’d looked the last time she’d been in his bed. Soon, he wouldn’t have to remember. She would be there every morning to starfish out and take up the entirety of the bed once he’d left it, and there every night to still give him no room.
“Arktos,” he called down as he gripped a length of rope and swung off the mast. Arktos barely had time to look up before Lukos dropped down beside him. The big man eyed him for a second but bent back over, smoothing out an edge of a tarp. “I’m going to the market.”
“You?” Now Arktos did straighten up, quirking unkempt eyebrows at him. “Since when do you go to market? What are you getting?”
“I need a chiton for the Senate, for one,” Lukos folded his arms. “For another, I’m bored. I’ll be back after midday.”
“Doesn’t take that long at market,” Arktos’s voice took on what Lukos thought of as his ‘nanny tone’. “What are you really doing?”
“Keep the boys out of trouble. Have them scrub down my cabin. Every inch. And you watch them.”
“Fine, keep your secrets,” Arktos huffed. “But if you’re going where I think you’re going, then you’re asking for trouble.”
“I’ll see you after midday,” Lukos walked down the gangplank only to roll his eyes as the familiar stumping of Arktos followed.
“You’re going to get caught,” he warned.
“They don’t know what I look like,” he replied back in a smug tone that apparently his first mate did not have an answer to. Unable to resist a final look over his shoulder, he smirked to see Arktos considering this information. It was true. None of Thalia’s people knew what he looked like, much less his name. More than that, if he he walked around, dressed as a freeborn citizen instead of a sailor, no one would bat an eye at him.
By the time he reached the market, he was one of the first people there, aside from the vendors of stalls who’d already set up their wares. Several stalls sold fabric and a few sold ready made clothing. He stopped at one of these and bought two chitons with himations to go with them. After this, he realized he didn’t have sandals or belts. The whole trip was beginning to be cumbersome from having to purchase not only the clothing itself, but the clasps and everything else that he already had on the island. This was what made it worse; that he was parting with money he wouldn’t have had to if he’d even thought to bring other clothes.
He stopped at the public baths and came out feeling foreign. It wasn’t that he hadn’t worn this kind of clothing before but he didn’t do it often. Whenever he did, it was to do what he was doing now; distance himself in the minds of other people from his real occupation. This was akin to hiding and he didn’t entirely like it but understood the necessity.
A few coins and a boy ensured that his old and new clothes made it back to the ship. This left him free to pursue his plan. By the time he passed back into the market, it was a hive of activity. He purchased what would be something be both breakfast and lunch, and started the climb up to the richer neighborhoods of Athenia.
It was not difficult to find the Nikolaos villa. He remembered enough of the way from when he’d walked Thalia home earlier and when he reached the place where she’d parted from him before, simply asking directions got him all the way to her door. His clothes were not those of a highborn person, but nor were they poor. Something in between. Because of his dark look, he could easily be mistaken for a newly elevated servant.
He wanted to see Thalia, but he couldn’t just walk up to her door and ask for her...unless…
A maidservant stood sweeping the courtyard. She glanced at him and looked him up and down without her expression changing to reveal any of her thoughts, one way or the other as to his appearance. This was a good sign. It meant she didn’t fear him.
For a moment, she looked away again, still sweeping. He followed the wall and rested his arms on its top, looking her over. “Is Lady Thalia awake? I’ve been sent with a message.”
The maidservant stopped sweeping and leaned on her broom, meeting his gaze. “It’s a bit early for messages. Who from?”
He blanked on the name of her fiance. “Her intended,” he said, raising his chin. “He has a message for her.”
“Yeah. You said that,” the girl stepped away from the broom, holding it up and peering closer at him. “I haven’t seen you before. What’s your name?”
“Can you just give her the message?” He tried and failed to keep the irritation out of his voice.
“Can you just give me your name?” The girl stepped closer but he didn’t back away. She came fully up to the wall, her brown eyes memorizing his face. “You’re handsome enough. I’d remember you. But I’m not bothering my mistress with trouble makers. And you have the look of trouble about you.”
“Arktos.” It was the first name that popped into his head. “You may tell her that Arktos is here, with a message from his master. And it is for her ears only.”
“Not a letter, then?” the girl stepped back, apparently satisfied once she’d wrenched out of him what she wanted. Lukos moved back along the wall to the gate, grasping the bars and watching as she took her time to come let him in. She set the broom carefully against the wall and flicked her eyes up at him while she fiddled with the lock. “Master Patros usually sends a letter by Helios. Where is he?”
Lukos gave a noncommittal shrug. He hadn’t thought he’d have to get around Cerberus just to see Thalia.
“Well, Arktos. You can have a seat right there.” He followed where she was pointing with the end of her broom to a little bench in an out of the way portion of the courtyard. “And don’t go running back to Master Patros after you get done with mistress. I still have some questions for you.” She all but sauntered out of the courtyard and he sighed. Sometimes there was a benefit to looking terrifying. He didn’t have to put up with this sort of thing often and never had done from a woman who wasn’t a whore.
This servant’s behavior was entirely new and he wasn’t sure exactly how far to put her off. How did a freeborn man act when he wasn’t interested? Did he just push the girl away? Well, no he couldn’t do that. She hadn’t touched him. All she’d done was heavily imply that they would be talking again.
Despite this being a potentially deadly place for him to be, he found the Nikolaos courtyard to be a peaceful place. Orange trees lined part of the walls and it was beside one that he went to sit and await Thalia. The scent of oranges wafted on the breeze and he reached up to pluck one from the branches. It came easily to him, ripe and ready.
Even at this distance, he could smell the sea. From the elevation of the house, he could still see water out on the horizon. His gaze rested there while he peeled the orange with his fingers. The peelings he placed on his lap while he tended the fruit. The vivid color of the fruit contrasted beautifully against the deep blue of his clothes.
He was almost a shadow, sitting there in the corner. Even though the maidservant was the one who’d told him to be there, she didn’t seem to notice him right away when she came back out to tell him that she’d given his message to someone, and that if mistress wanted to see him, she would come out.
“Did you tell her my name?” he asked, suddenly.
The maidservant had begun to finish up the courtyard but she turned around at his question. “I just said that you had a message from your master.”
“Yes but, it’s important who delivers it. She’ll know.”
The maidservant eyed him again but this wasn’t the same look she’d given him before. This one held a bit of doubt. He sat back against the wall and busied himself with the orange, as though it didn’t matter to him one way or another whether the message was understood. She put one hand on her hip. “I think I mentioned your name,” she said at last.
“My master impressed upon me that she must hear what he had to say. Today.” He couldn’t figure out why he was explaining anything to her but it seemed important to keep her satisfied. She gave him half a shrug.
“I think he loves her. Your master,” she said wistfully. “Mistress is a lucky girl. It’s a smart match, to be certain. On her side.” She added. “We’re all very happy for her, what with her being away so long.” All at once she stiffened and threw him a look that he understood immediately. It was the look of someone who was scared. It was difficult to keep the smirk off his face. If only this girl knew who she was talking to…
He imagined the perverse pleasure he would take at the shifting of her features once she figured out who he was to her beloved mistress. There would be anger, fear, loathing. None of these side long glances and familiar ways of speaking, as though they were already acquainted.
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The sky didn’t fall when Persephone and Thalia left the ship. He commissioned men to stand guard but Elias’s men didn't come for him that night. Or the next morning. Hour by hour, he and Arktos moved around the ship, each waiting for the hammerfall but it never came. The constant uncertainty threatened to drive him mad.
On the fourth morning since the meeting, he stood on the top rigging, an arm around the mast, staring out at the undulating water of the Aegean. He knew exactly what lay on the horizon and he’d never been so eager, and yet unable, to reach it. From this height, the ship swayed lazily beneath his boots but he rode it out with the kind of balance honed over a lifetime.
Far below, Arktos stumped around, pushing and reorganizing the huge coils of rope and seal skin tarps, and whatever else that was kept topside. All the random, little things that had needed done for years were being accomplished at a slow pace. Without real care or concern. A few of his men had taken positions on other ships that would come back in a few days. He could have done the same to alleviate the boredom and tension but he was positive that if he left the Aceton, it wouldn’t be here when he got back. Another reason, and more to the point, was that he couldn’t bring himself to sail for anyone else.
Life in the harbor for the sailors had been already buzzing for hours. Whores were wrapping up with their last customers and retiring to bed. From here, he could see two girls standing close to his ship. Their heads were together and they were passing coins back and forth, as though divvying up their earnings between them. Neither girl was particularly pretty but he knew that in the dark and being carried away by the warm wine singing in the veins, it didn’t really matter what a woman looked like. So long as she was soft and there.
His mind turned to Thalia. He wondered if she was awake yet. It was still incredibly early for the noble class. On the island, she would still be sleeping and he played over the way she’d looked the last time she’d been in his bed. Soon, he wouldn’t have to remember. She would be there every morning to starfish out and take up the entirety of the bed once he’d left it, and there every night to still give him no room.
“Arktos,” he called down as he gripped a length of rope and swung off the mast. Arktos barely had time to look up before Lukos dropped down beside him. The big man eyed him for a second but bent back over, smoothing out an edge of a tarp. “I’m going to the market.”
“You?” Now Arktos did straighten up, quirking unkempt eyebrows at him. “Since when do you go to market? What are you getting?”
“I need a chiton for the Senate, for one,” Lukos folded his arms. “For another, I’m bored. I’ll be back after midday.”
“Doesn’t take that long at market,” Arktos’s voice took on what Lukos thought of as his ‘nanny tone’. “What are you really doing?”
“Keep the boys out of trouble. Have them scrub down my cabin. Every inch. And you watch them.”
“Fine, keep your secrets,” Arktos huffed. “But if you’re going where I think you’re going, then you’re asking for trouble.”
“I’ll see you after midday,” Lukos walked down the gangplank only to roll his eyes as the familiar stumping of Arktos followed.
“You’re going to get caught,” he warned.
“They don’t know what I look like,” he replied back in a smug tone that apparently his first mate did not have an answer to. Unable to resist a final look over his shoulder, he smirked to see Arktos considering this information. It was true. None of Thalia’s people knew what he looked like, much less his name. More than that, if he he walked around, dressed as a freeborn citizen instead of a sailor, no one would bat an eye at him.
By the time he reached the market, he was one of the first people there, aside from the vendors of stalls who’d already set up their wares. Several stalls sold fabric and a few sold ready made clothing. He stopped at one of these and bought two chitons with himations to go with them. After this, he realized he didn’t have sandals or belts. The whole trip was beginning to be cumbersome from having to purchase not only the clothing itself, but the clasps and everything else that he already had on the island. This was what made it worse; that he was parting with money he wouldn’t have had to if he’d even thought to bring other clothes.
He stopped at the public baths and came out feeling foreign. It wasn’t that he hadn’t worn this kind of clothing before but he didn’t do it often. Whenever he did, it was to do what he was doing now; distance himself in the minds of other people from his real occupation. This was akin to hiding and he didn’t entirely like it but understood the necessity.
A few coins and a boy ensured that his old and new clothes made it back to the ship. This left him free to pursue his plan. By the time he passed back into the market, it was a hive of activity. He purchased what would be something be both breakfast and lunch, and started the climb up to the richer neighborhoods of Athenia.
It was not difficult to find the Nikolaos villa. He remembered enough of the way from when he’d walked Thalia home earlier and when he reached the place where she’d parted from him before, simply asking directions got him all the way to her door. His clothes were not those of a highborn person, but nor were they poor. Something in between. Because of his dark look, he could easily be mistaken for a newly elevated servant.
He wanted to see Thalia, but he couldn’t just walk up to her door and ask for her...unless…
A maidservant stood sweeping the courtyard. She glanced at him and looked him up and down without her expression changing to reveal any of her thoughts, one way or the other as to his appearance. This was a good sign. It meant she didn’t fear him.
For a moment, she looked away again, still sweeping. He followed the wall and rested his arms on its top, looking her over. “Is Lady Thalia awake? I’ve been sent with a message.”
The maidservant stopped sweeping and leaned on her broom, meeting his gaze. “It’s a bit early for messages. Who from?”
He blanked on the name of her fiance. “Her intended,” he said, raising his chin. “He has a message for her.”
“Yeah. You said that,” the girl stepped away from the broom, holding it up and peering closer at him. “I haven’t seen you before. What’s your name?”
“Can you just give her the message?” He tried and failed to keep the irritation out of his voice.
“Can you just give me your name?” The girl stepped closer but he didn’t back away. She came fully up to the wall, her brown eyes memorizing his face. “You’re handsome enough. I’d remember you. But I’m not bothering my mistress with trouble makers. And you have the look of trouble about you.”
“Arktos.” It was the first name that popped into his head. “You may tell her that Arktos is here, with a message from his master. And it is for her ears only.”
“Not a letter, then?” the girl stepped back, apparently satisfied once she’d wrenched out of him what she wanted. Lukos moved back along the wall to the gate, grasping the bars and watching as she took her time to come let him in. She set the broom carefully against the wall and flicked her eyes up at him while she fiddled with the lock. “Master Patros usually sends a letter by Helios. Where is he?”
Lukos gave a noncommittal shrug. He hadn’t thought he’d have to get around Cerberus just to see Thalia.
“Well, Arktos. You can have a seat right there.” He followed where she was pointing with the end of her broom to a little bench in an out of the way portion of the courtyard. “And don’t go running back to Master Patros after you get done with mistress. I still have some questions for you.” She all but sauntered out of the courtyard and he sighed. Sometimes there was a benefit to looking terrifying. He didn’t have to put up with this sort of thing often and never had done from a woman who wasn’t a whore.
This servant’s behavior was entirely new and he wasn’t sure exactly how far to put her off. How did a freeborn man act when he wasn’t interested? Did he just push the girl away? Well, no he couldn’t do that. She hadn’t touched him. All she’d done was heavily imply that they would be talking again.
Despite this being a potentially deadly place for him to be, he found the Nikolaos courtyard to be a peaceful place. Orange trees lined part of the walls and it was beside one that he went to sit and await Thalia. The scent of oranges wafted on the breeze and he reached up to pluck one from the branches. It came easily to him, ripe and ready.
Even at this distance, he could smell the sea. From the elevation of the house, he could still see water out on the horizon. His gaze rested there while he peeled the orange with his fingers. The peelings he placed on his lap while he tended the fruit. The vivid color of the fruit contrasted beautifully against the deep blue of his clothes.
He was almost a shadow, sitting there in the corner. Even though the maidservant was the one who’d told him to be there, she didn’t seem to notice him right away when she came back out to tell him that she’d given his message to someone, and that if mistress wanted to see him, she would come out.
“Did you tell her my name?” he asked, suddenly.
The maidservant had begun to finish up the courtyard but she turned around at his question. “I just said that you had a message from your master.”
“Yes but, it’s important who delivers it. She’ll know.”
The maidservant eyed him again but this wasn’t the same look she’d given him before. This one held a bit of doubt. He sat back against the wall and busied himself with the orange, as though it didn’t matter to him one way or another whether the message was understood. She put one hand on her hip. “I think I mentioned your name,” she said at last.
“My master impressed upon me that she must hear what he had to say. Today.” He couldn’t figure out why he was explaining anything to her but it seemed important to keep her satisfied. She gave him half a shrug.
“I think he loves her. Your master,” she said wistfully. “Mistress is a lucky girl. It’s a smart match, to be certain. On her side.” She added. “We’re all very happy for her, what with her being away so long.” All at once she stiffened and threw him a look that he understood immediately. It was the look of someone who was scared. It was difficult to keep the smirk off his face. If only this girl knew who she was talking to…
He imagined the perverse pleasure he would take at the shifting of her features once she figured out who he was to her beloved mistress. There would be anger, fear, loathing. None of these side long glances and familiar ways of speaking, as though they were already acquainted.
The sky didn’t fall when Persephone and Thalia left the ship. He commissioned men to stand guard but Elias’s men didn't come for him that night. Or the next morning. Hour by hour, he and Arktos moved around the ship, each waiting for the hammerfall but it never came. The constant uncertainty threatened to drive him mad.
On the fourth morning since the meeting, he stood on the top rigging, an arm around the mast, staring out at the undulating water of the Aegean. He knew exactly what lay on the horizon and he’d never been so eager, and yet unable, to reach it. From this height, the ship swayed lazily beneath his boots but he rode it out with the kind of balance honed over a lifetime.
Far below, Arktos stumped around, pushing and reorganizing the huge coils of rope and seal skin tarps, and whatever else that was kept topside. All the random, little things that had needed done for years were being accomplished at a slow pace. Without real care or concern. A few of his men had taken positions on other ships that would come back in a few days. He could have done the same to alleviate the boredom and tension but he was positive that if he left the Aceton, it wouldn’t be here when he got back. Another reason, and more to the point, was that he couldn’t bring himself to sail for anyone else.
Life in the harbor for the sailors had been already buzzing for hours. Whores were wrapping up with their last customers and retiring to bed. From here, he could see two girls standing close to his ship. Their heads were together and they were passing coins back and forth, as though divvying up their earnings between them. Neither girl was particularly pretty but he knew that in the dark and being carried away by the warm wine singing in the veins, it didn’t really matter what a woman looked like. So long as she was soft and there.
His mind turned to Thalia. He wondered if she was awake yet. It was still incredibly early for the noble class. On the island, she would still be sleeping and he played over the way she’d looked the last time she’d been in his bed. Soon, he wouldn’t have to remember. She would be there every morning to starfish out and take up the entirety of the bed once he’d left it, and there every night to still give him no room.
“Arktos,” he called down as he gripped a length of rope and swung off the mast. Arktos barely had time to look up before Lukos dropped down beside him. The big man eyed him for a second but bent back over, smoothing out an edge of a tarp. “I’m going to the market.”
“You?” Now Arktos did straighten up, quirking unkempt eyebrows at him. “Since when do you go to market? What are you getting?”
“I need a chiton for the Senate, for one,” Lukos folded his arms. “For another, I’m bored. I’ll be back after midday.”
“Doesn’t take that long at market,” Arktos’s voice took on what Lukos thought of as his ‘nanny tone’. “What are you really doing?”
“Keep the boys out of trouble. Have them scrub down my cabin. Every inch. And you watch them.”
“Fine, keep your secrets,” Arktos huffed. “But if you’re going where I think you’re going, then you’re asking for trouble.”
“I’ll see you after midday,” Lukos walked down the gangplank only to roll his eyes as the familiar stumping of Arktos followed.
“You’re going to get caught,” he warned.
“They don’t know what I look like,” he replied back in a smug tone that apparently his first mate did not have an answer to. Unable to resist a final look over his shoulder, he smirked to see Arktos considering this information. It was true. None of Thalia’s people knew what he looked like, much less his name. More than that, if he he walked around, dressed as a freeborn citizen instead of a sailor, no one would bat an eye at him.
By the time he reached the market, he was one of the first people there, aside from the vendors of stalls who’d already set up their wares. Several stalls sold fabric and a few sold ready made clothing. He stopped at one of these and bought two chitons with himations to go with them. After this, he realized he didn’t have sandals or belts. The whole trip was beginning to be cumbersome from having to purchase not only the clothing itself, but the clasps and everything else that he already had on the island. This was what made it worse; that he was parting with money he wouldn’t have had to if he’d even thought to bring other clothes.
He stopped at the public baths and came out feeling foreign. It wasn’t that he hadn’t worn this kind of clothing before but he didn’t do it often. Whenever he did, it was to do what he was doing now; distance himself in the minds of other people from his real occupation. This was akin to hiding and he didn’t entirely like it but understood the necessity.
A few coins and a boy ensured that his old and new clothes made it back to the ship. This left him free to pursue his plan. By the time he passed back into the market, it was a hive of activity. He purchased what would be something be both breakfast and lunch, and started the climb up to the richer neighborhoods of Athenia.
It was not difficult to find the Nikolaos villa. He remembered enough of the way from when he’d walked Thalia home earlier and when he reached the place where she’d parted from him before, simply asking directions got him all the way to her door. His clothes were not those of a highborn person, but nor were they poor. Something in between. Because of his dark look, he could easily be mistaken for a newly elevated servant.
He wanted to see Thalia, but he couldn’t just walk up to her door and ask for her...unless…
A maidservant stood sweeping the courtyard. She glanced at him and looked him up and down without her expression changing to reveal any of her thoughts, one way or the other as to his appearance. This was a good sign. It meant she didn’t fear him.
For a moment, she looked away again, still sweeping. He followed the wall and rested his arms on its top, looking her over. “Is Lady Thalia awake? I’ve been sent with a message.”
The maidservant stopped sweeping and leaned on her broom, meeting his gaze. “It’s a bit early for messages. Who from?”
He blanked on the name of her fiance. “Her intended,” he said, raising his chin. “He has a message for her.”
“Yeah. You said that,” the girl stepped away from the broom, holding it up and peering closer at him. “I haven’t seen you before. What’s your name?”
“Can you just give her the message?” He tried and failed to keep the irritation out of his voice.
“Can you just give me your name?” The girl stepped closer but he didn’t back away. She came fully up to the wall, her brown eyes memorizing his face. “You’re handsome enough. I’d remember you. But I’m not bothering my mistress with trouble makers. And you have the look of trouble about you.”
“Arktos.” It was the first name that popped into his head. “You may tell her that Arktos is here, with a message from his master. And it is for her ears only.”
“Not a letter, then?” the girl stepped back, apparently satisfied once she’d wrenched out of him what she wanted. Lukos moved back along the wall to the gate, grasping the bars and watching as she took her time to come let him in. She set the broom carefully against the wall and flicked her eyes up at him while she fiddled with the lock. “Master Patros usually sends a letter by Helios. Where is he?”
Lukos gave a noncommittal shrug. He hadn’t thought he’d have to get around Cerberus just to see Thalia.
“Well, Arktos. You can have a seat right there.” He followed where she was pointing with the end of her broom to a little bench in an out of the way portion of the courtyard. “And don’t go running back to Master Patros after you get done with mistress. I still have some questions for you.” She all but sauntered out of the courtyard and he sighed. Sometimes there was a benefit to looking terrifying. He didn’t have to put up with this sort of thing often and never had done from a woman who wasn’t a whore.
This servant’s behavior was entirely new and he wasn’t sure exactly how far to put her off. How did a freeborn man act when he wasn’t interested? Did he just push the girl away? Well, no he couldn’t do that. She hadn’t touched him. All she’d done was heavily imply that they would be talking again.
Despite this being a potentially deadly place for him to be, he found the Nikolaos courtyard to be a peaceful place. Orange trees lined part of the walls and it was beside one that he went to sit and await Thalia. The scent of oranges wafted on the breeze and he reached up to pluck one from the branches. It came easily to him, ripe and ready.
Even at this distance, he could smell the sea. From the elevation of the house, he could still see water out on the horizon. His gaze rested there while he peeled the orange with his fingers. The peelings he placed on his lap while he tended the fruit. The vivid color of the fruit contrasted beautifully against the deep blue of his clothes.
He was almost a shadow, sitting there in the corner. Even though the maidservant was the one who’d told him to be there, she didn’t seem to notice him right away when she came back out to tell him that she’d given his message to someone, and that if mistress wanted to see him, she would come out.
“Did you tell her my name?” he asked, suddenly.
The maidservant had begun to finish up the courtyard but she turned around at his question. “I just said that you had a message from your master.”
“Yes but, it’s important who delivers it. She’ll know.”
The maidservant eyed him again but this wasn’t the same look she’d given him before. This one held a bit of doubt. He sat back against the wall and busied himself with the orange, as though it didn’t matter to him one way or another whether the message was understood. She put one hand on her hip. “I think I mentioned your name,” she said at last.
“My master impressed upon me that she must hear what he had to say. Today.” He couldn’t figure out why he was explaining anything to her but it seemed important to keep her satisfied. She gave him half a shrug.
“I think he loves her. Your master,” she said wistfully. “Mistress is a lucky girl. It’s a smart match, to be certain. On her side.” She added. “We’re all very happy for her, what with her being away so long.” All at once she stiffened and threw him a look that he understood immediately. It was the look of someone who was scared. It was difficult to keep the smirk off his face. If only this girl knew who she was talking to…
He imagined the perverse pleasure he would take at the shifting of her features once she figured out who he was to her beloved mistress. There would be anger, fear, loathing. None of these side long glances and familiar ways of speaking, as though they were already acquainted.
The sun hadn’t risen yet. Surely it wasn’t risen when one of Diomede’s servants knocked at her door. She was far too lost in the warmth of her blankets in the room she’d spent almost as much time in in the past few years as she had in her province. Even for being in the city, her room was set at the front of the house but was sublimely quiet in the morning. And as it was western facing, it received no sun until the late afternoon so it remained dark enough that she could lay in without being woken by the morning light.
Well.. when the children allowed her to lay in, that is.
That was one thing about children. They seemed to wake up just before the sun rose on any side of the house and if they didn’t come bounding into her room of their own accord, their voices echoed up the stairs and through the wooden door ensuring her dreams would be cut short no matter what her intentions. But on the morning Lukos came to the Nikolaos home, the children were blissfully quiet.
The light tapping on the door and the servant's voice bidding her wake made her groan and she pulled her pillow over her head. But the woman was quite insistent and she continued to knock and speak until Thalia pushed the pillow up and spoke to the inside of the door. “Oh for the Gods sake...what is it??”
“Pardon, Madam...but there’s a messenger here from your beloved. He’s quite insistant..” Thalia rolled her eyes and pulled the pillow over her head; her voice muffled as she answered back. “Tell him to call at a more reasonable hour.” The servant on the outside hesitated a moment before continuing. “...Yes… I informed him that it was too early.. But he was very insistent. He stated that his Master made him ensure that it came from his lips to your ears. A Mr. Arktos, My Lady…”
Thalia’s brow’s furrowed beneath the pillow; sure she was in a lucid dream when the maid said Arktos’s name. She pushed the pillow off her head and looked at the door; her gaze sleepy as she stared at it. “...What did he say his name was?” The servant paused a moment before repeating. “Arktos, My Lady.. with an important message from your intended.”
Thalia’s eyes widened and her heart rate thundered against her chest. Whatever was Arktos doing here?? Had something happened to Lukos?? From the second she’d left him she’d worried about him. Elias could have spies anywhere.. He could easily find out Lukos was lingering about and wonder why. Arktos wouldn’t come to find her…. Well.. he wouldn’t find her at all… but for him to look for her meant something terrible must have happened.
She threw the covers aside and ran to the window to look down at the courtyard below; pushing the shutter aside but she saw no one which meant he must have been resting beneath the outer portico. She cursed silently before pulling the shutter closed and going back to the door; wrenching it open to stare at a startled servant. “Where is he?” The woman stared at her with wide eyes. “Downstairs, My Lady… just outside.” There were so many questions she wanted to pepper the servant with but knew she would know none of them. So she turned and tore at her sleeping gown; pulling it over her shoulders. “Inform him I will be down momentarily. Is Diomedes still at home?” The servant took hold of the doorknob and pulled it towards her. “No Milady.. He left for duty earlier this morning and the lady of the house took the children into the market.” Thalia nodded. “Thank you, that is all..”
The servant closed the door behind her and Thalia tugged on a loose fitting chiton that pooled down around her feet and hung in thin straps off her shoulders. It was the color of the ocean and corded with silver strands of leather. She didn’t bother with shoes, there was no use...but she did strap on her blade over her shoulder just in case Arktos was of a mind to throw her over his shoulder again. Dragging a brush quickly through her hair, she twisted it up into a low chignon so it wasn’t as wild, but even with such a gesture ringlets escaped her hold and framed her face in an unruly fashion that was all her own. Presentable enough for Arktos, she left her room; her heart hammering against her chest. She wondered if she should pack a few things.. If Lukos was in need of help she would go to him.. ...If he was dead..?
She couldn’t think of that. Lifting her skirts, she hurried down the stairs; her feet like pedals on a bike (which I know didn’t exist at the time) until she was on the first floor that led out onto the inner courtyard of the house. She cut through the gardens and past the woman who informed her that Arktos was there; slipping past her before she stopped and turned back. “See that we are not disturbed, please.”
The servant looked back with a raised brow but nodded in confusion before wandering away again. Thalia padded quickly down the corridor that led to the front entry and pulled the heavy wooden door open to find Arktos. But instead of meeting the bearish brute of a man, she found Lukos leaning against the wall; orange in hand as he waited for her in his fine attire. Thalia stopped with her hands on the door and stared at him in shock for a moment. The last person she’d ever expect in her brother's estate was him and he was quite lucky Diomedes wasn’t there.
Thalia glanced behind her to ensure the maid wasn’t around and then stepped out; pulling the door closed behind her. If it was possible, her heart tripped over itself even harder in her chest. Adrenaline at seeing him here; forbidden as it was and relief that he was safe and alive seemed to be too much for her body to take. She leaned back against the closed door as she hissed at him as if someone would hear. “Lukos…. What are you DOING here?”
...Not that she wasn’t happy to see him.. Gods she was happy to see him. He looked dashing and slightly ridiculous in his fine attire. She’d only seen him once in a chiton and it was so out of place. His face was freshly shaven and his skin was clean and warm looking. His hair was washed and had long dried and his himation was of a decent material. He didn’t look quite like a noble, but he was dashing none the less. “Are you out of your mind? You must be to come here without knowing if Diomedes was home or not. He’d have you flayed.”
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The sun hadn’t risen yet. Surely it wasn’t risen when one of Diomede’s servants knocked at her door. She was far too lost in the warmth of her blankets in the room she’d spent almost as much time in in the past few years as she had in her province. Even for being in the city, her room was set at the front of the house but was sublimely quiet in the morning. And as it was western facing, it received no sun until the late afternoon so it remained dark enough that she could lay in without being woken by the morning light.
Well.. when the children allowed her to lay in, that is.
That was one thing about children. They seemed to wake up just before the sun rose on any side of the house and if they didn’t come bounding into her room of their own accord, their voices echoed up the stairs and through the wooden door ensuring her dreams would be cut short no matter what her intentions. But on the morning Lukos came to the Nikolaos home, the children were blissfully quiet.
The light tapping on the door and the servant's voice bidding her wake made her groan and she pulled her pillow over her head. But the woman was quite insistent and she continued to knock and speak until Thalia pushed the pillow up and spoke to the inside of the door. “Oh for the Gods sake...what is it??”
“Pardon, Madam...but there’s a messenger here from your beloved. He’s quite insistant..” Thalia rolled her eyes and pulled the pillow over her head; her voice muffled as she answered back. “Tell him to call at a more reasonable hour.” The servant on the outside hesitated a moment before continuing. “...Yes… I informed him that it was too early.. But he was very insistent. He stated that his Master made him ensure that it came from his lips to your ears. A Mr. Arktos, My Lady…”
Thalia’s brow’s furrowed beneath the pillow; sure she was in a lucid dream when the maid said Arktos’s name. She pushed the pillow off her head and looked at the door; her gaze sleepy as she stared at it. “...What did he say his name was?” The servant paused a moment before repeating. “Arktos, My Lady.. with an important message from your intended.”
Thalia’s eyes widened and her heart rate thundered against her chest. Whatever was Arktos doing here?? Had something happened to Lukos?? From the second she’d left him she’d worried about him. Elias could have spies anywhere.. He could easily find out Lukos was lingering about and wonder why. Arktos wouldn’t come to find her…. Well.. he wouldn’t find her at all… but for him to look for her meant something terrible must have happened.
She threw the covers aside and ran to the window to look down at the courtyard below; pushing the shutter aside but she saw no one which meant he must have been resting beneath the outer portico. She cursed silently before pulling the shutter closed and going back to the door; wrenching it open to stare at a startled servant. “Where is he?” The woman stared at her with wide eyes. “Downstairs, My Lady… just outside.” There were so many questions she wanted to pepper the servant with but knew she would know none of them. So she turned and tore at her sleeping gown; pulling it over her shoulders. “Inform him I will be down momentarily. Is Diomedes still at home?” The servant took hold of the doorknob and pulled it towards her. “No Milady.. He left for duty earlier this morning and the lady of the house took the children into the market.” Thalia nodded. “Thank you, that is all..”
The servant closed the door behind her and Thalia tugged on a loose fitting chiton that pooled down around her feet and hung in thin straps off her shoulders. It was the color of the ocean and corded with silver strands of leather. She didn’t bother with shoes, there was no use...but she did strap on her blade over her shoulder just in case Arktos was of a mind to throw her over his shoulder again. Dragging a brush quickly through her hair, she twisted it up into a low chignon so it wasn’t as wild, but even with such a gesture ringlets escaped her hold and framed her face in an unruly fashion that was all her own. Presentable enough for Arktos, she left her room; her heart hammering against her chest. She wondered if she should pack a few things.. If Lukos was in need of help she would go to him.. ...If he was dead..?
She couldn’t think of that. Lifting her skirts, she hurried down the stairs; her feet like pedals on a bike (which I know didn’t exist at the time) until she was on the first floor that led out onto the inner courtyard of the house. She cut through the gardens and past the woman who informed her that Arktos was there; slipping past her before she stopped and turned back. “See that we are not disturbed, please.”
The servant looked back with a raised brow but nodded in confusion before wandering away again. Thalia padded quickly down the corridor that led to the front entry and pulled the heavy wooden door open to find Arktos. But instead of meeting the bearish brute of a man, she found Lukos leaning against the wall; orange in hand as he waited for her in his fine attire. Thalia stopped with her hands on the door and stared at him in shock for a moment. The last person she’d ever expect in her brother's estate was him and he was quite lucky Diomedes wasn’t there.
Thalia glanced behind her to ensure the maid wasn’t around and then stepped out; pulling the door closed behind her. If it was possible, her heart tripped over itself even harder in her chest. Adrenaline at seeing him here; forbidden as it was and relief that he was safe and alive seemed to be too much for her body to take. She leaned back against the closed door as she hissed at him as if someone would hear. “Lukos…. What are you DOING here?”
...Not that she wasn’t happy to see him.. Gods she was happy to see him. He looked dashing and slightly ridiculous in his fine attire. She’d only seen him once in a chiton and it was so out of place. His face was freshly shaven and his skin was clean and warm looking. His hair was washed and had long dried and his himation was of a decent material. He didn’t look quite like a noble, but he was dashing none the less. “Are you out of your mind? You must be to come here without knowing if Diomedes was home or not. He’d have you flayed.”
The sun hadn’t risen yet. Surely it wasn’t risen when one of Diomede’s servants knocked at her door. She was far too lost in the warmth of her blankets in the room she’d spent almost as much time in in the past few years as she had in her province. Even for being in the city, her room was set at the front of the house but was sublimely quiet in the morning. And as it was western facing, it received no sun until the late afternoon so it remained dark enough that she could lay in without being woken by the morning light.
Well.. when the children allowed her to lay in, that is.
That was one thing about children. They seemed to wake up just before the sun rose on any side of the house and if they didn’t come bounding into her room of their own accord, their voices echoed up the stairs and through the wooden door ensuring her dreams would be cut short no matter what her intentions. But on the morning Lukos came to the Nikolaos home, the children were blissfully quiet.
The light tapping on the door and the servant's voice bidding her wake made her groan and she pulled her pillow over her head. But the woman was quite insistent and she continued to knock and speak until Thalia pushed the pillow up and spoke to the inside of the door. “Oh for the Gods sake...what is it??”
“Pardon, Madam...but there’s a messenger here from your beloved. He’s quite insistant..” Thalia rolled her eyes and pulled the pillow over her head; her voice muffled as she answered back. “Tell him to call at a more reasonable hour.” The servant on the outside hesitated a moment before continuing. “...Yes… I informed him that it was too early.. But he was very insistent. He stated that his Master made him ensure that it came from his lips to your ears. A Mr. Arktos, My Lady…”
Thalia’s brow’s furrowed beneath the pillow; sure she was in a lucid dream when the maid said Arktos’s name. She pushed the pillow off her head and looked at the door; her gaze sleepy as she stared at it. “...What did he say his name was?” The servant paused a moment before repeating. “Arktos, My Lady.. with an important message from your intended.”
Thalia’s eyes widened and her heart rate thundered against her chest. Whatever was Arktos doing here?? Had something happened to Lukos?? From the second she’d left him she’d worried about him. Elias could have spies anywhere.. He could easily find out Lukos was lingering about and wonder why. Arktos wouldn’t come to find her…. Well.. he wouldn’t find her at all… but for him to look for her meant something terrible must have happened.
She threw the covers aside and ran to the window to look down at the courtyard below; pushing the shutter aside but she saw no one which meant he must have been resting beneath the outer portico. She cursed silently before pulling the shutter closed and going back to the door; wrenching it open to stare at a startled servant. “Where is he?” The woman stared at her with wide eyes. “Downstairs, My Lady… just outside.” There were so many questions she wanted to pepper the servant with but knew she would know none of them. So she turned and tore at her sleeping gown; pulling it over her shoulders. “Inform him I will be down momentarily. Is Diomedes still at home?” The servant took hold of the doorknob and pulled it towards her. “No Milady.. He left for duty earlier this morning and the lady of the house took the children into the market.” Thalia nodded. “Thank you, that is all..”
The servant closed the door behind her and Thalia tugged on a loose fitting chiton that pooled down around her feet and hung in thin straps off her shoulders. It was the color of the ocean and corded with silver strands of leather. She didn’t bother with shoes, there was no use...but she did strap on her blade over her shoulder just in case Arktos was of a mind to throw her over his shoulder again. Dragging a brush quickly through her hair, she twisted it up into a low chignon so it wasn’t as wild, but even with such a gesture ringlets escaped her hold and framed her face in an unruly fashion that was all her own. Presentable enough for Arktos, she left her room; her heart hammering against her chest. She wondered if she should pack a few things.. If Lukos was in need of help she would go to him.. ...If he was dead..?
She couldn’t think of that. Lifting her skirts, she hurried down the stairs; her feet like pedals on a bike (which I know didn’t exist at the time) until she was on the first floor that led out onto the inner courtyard of the house. She cut through the gardens and past the woman who informed her that Arktos was there; slipping past her before she stopped and turned back. “See that we are not disturbed, please.”
The servant looked back with a raised brow but nodded in confusion before wandering away again. Thalia padded quickly down the corridor that led to the front entry and pulled the heavy wooden door open to find Arktos. But instead of meeting the bearish brute of a man, she found Lukos leaning against the wall; orange in hand as he waited for her in his fine attire. Thalia stopped with her hands on the door and stared at him in shock for a moment. The last person she’d ever expect in her brother's estate was him and he was quite lucky Diomedes wasn’t there.
Thalia glanced behind her to ensure the maid wasn’t around and then stepped out; pulling the door closed behind her. If it was possible, her heart tripped over itself even harder in her chest. Adrenaline at seeing him here; forbidden as it was and relief that he was safe and alive seemed to be too much for her body to take. She leaned back against the closed door as she hissed at him as if someone would hear. “Lukos…. What are you DOING here?”
...Not that she wasn’t happy to see him.. Gods she was happy to see him. He looked dashing and slightly ridiculous in his fine attire. She’d only seen him once in a chiton and it was so out of place. His face was freshly shaven and his skin was clean and warm looking. His hair was washed and had long dried and his himation was of a decent material. He didn’t look quite like a noble, but he was dashing none the less. “Are you out of your mind? You must be to come here without knowing if Diomedes was home or not. He’d have you flayed.”
After a minute or so, the servant girl finished sweeping the courtyard. She gave him a final once over - one of curiosity and of wariness. No doubt her mind was still on her slip up of mentioning Thalia’s disappearance. It was a topic that servants should not gossip about, nor was it ever appropriate to do so with an important messenger from her mistress’s intended.
He watched her leave without turning his head. She wasn’t an ugly girl. A little chatty but the courtyard was swept admirably well. Perhaps she was worth several drachma, perhaps more for the right person.
He worked the orange apart, splitting it into pieces. How many slaves and servants did Thalia’s family have? His mind wandered as he ate. The slaves he owned now would stay on the island. Elias’s barony would be handed to him in full, which meant he wouldn’t have to worry with acquiring labor. Would Thalia bring anyone with her? Hopefully not the girl that just left. Quiet ones would be best.
A door opened across the courtyard. He looked up to find Thalia staring at him. When she looked away to see if they were alone, he smirked. Pushing away from the wall, he wandered closer to her as she demanded to know why he’d come to see her.
“I’d assume the answer is obvious,” he looked her over, noting her bare feet. “This is how you greet Arktos, hmm?” He reached out caught hold of one of the ringlets escaping her attempt at wrangling her hair.
“Are you out of your mind? You must be to come here without knowing if Diomedes was home or not. He’d have you flayed.”
“Who is Diomedes?” he asked but then answered himself before she could. “Oh, that’s your brother’s name, is it?” Though she’d said the man wasn’t home, Lukos glanced around anyway, mocking as though her brother was right around the corner. “He might flay me. If he knew my name. Or my face.”
Taking a step back from her, he finished the last of the orange and looked around the courtyard again. “This is nice,” he gestured around. “This is what I imagined when you spoke of home.” Glancing back at her, he said, “Although you looked more ladylike in my mind.” His tone was teasing and maybe he should have been afraid, as she was, that her brother might find him there, but he couldn’t bring himself to be. Whatever her brother thought, at the moment, he himself was under the Princess’s protection. Nothing could touch him until the Senate. In his mind, this gave him carte blanche to do whatever he wanted. And he’d wanted to see Thalia.
She’d only ever told him about her home once and it was after one of their more magnificent fights when she’d hit him in the head with a chain and he’d punched her in the stomach. He’d have never thought that one day he’d be standing in the very place she trained in, grew up in, was loved in. In fact, when they’d stood together on deck during the tenuous truce, this was the very last place he would have wanted to be.
After a moment, he said, “So, if Diomedes isn’t here, I’m free to come and go?” He knew that wasn’t what she was getting at but he wanted to keep her talking. She was a changeable creature and might well simply turn around and leave him standing there, staring at the door. In the middle of Athenia, it wasn’t as if he could just scale her house and climb through the window. Especially considering he didn’t know which room was hers.
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After a minute or so, the servant girl finished sweeping the courtyard. She gave him a final once over - one of curiosity and of wariness. No doubt her mind was still on her slip up of mentioning Thalia’s disappearance. It was a topic that servants should not gossip about, nor was it ever appropriate to do so with an important messenger from her mistress’s intended.
He watched her leave without turning his head. She wasn’t an ugly girl. A little chatty but the courtyard was swept admirably well. Perhaps she was worth several drachma, perhaps more for the right person.
He worked the orange apart, splitting it into pieces. How many slaves and servants did Thalia’s family have? His mind wandered as he ate. The slaves he owned now would stay on the island. Elias’s barony would be handed to him in full, which meant he wouldn’t have to worry with acquiring labor. Would Thalia bring anyone with her? Hopefully not the girl that just left. Quiet ones would be best.
A door opened across the courtyard. He looked up to find Thalia staring at him. When she looked away to see if they were alone, he smirked. Pushing away from the wall, he wandered closer to her as she demanded to know why he’d come to see her.
“I’d assume the answer is obvious,” he looked her over, noting her bare feet. “This is how you greet Arktos, hmm?” He reached out caught hold of one of the ringlets escaping her attempt at wrangling her hair.
“Are you out of your mind? You must be to come here without knowing if Diomedes was home or not. He’d have you flayed.”
“Who is Diomedes?” he asked but then answered himself before she could. “Oh, that’s your brother’s name, is it?” Though she’d said the man wasn’t home, Lukos glanced around anyway, mocking as though her brother was right around the corner. “He might flay me. If he knew my name. Or my face.”
Taking a step back from her, he finished the last of the orange and looked around the courtyard again. “This is nice,” he gestured around. “This is what I imagined when you spoke of home.” Glancing back at her, he said, “Although you looked more ladylike in my mind.” His tone was teasing and maybe he should have been afraid, as she was, that her brother might find him there, but he couldn’t bring himself to be. Whatever her brother thought, at the moment, he himself was under the Princess’s protection. Nothing could touch him until the Senate. In his mind, this gave him carte blanche to do whatever he wanted. And he’d wanted to see Thalia.
She’d only ever told him about her home once and it was after one of their more magnificent fights when she’d hit him in the head with a chain and he’d punched her in the stomach. He’d have never thought that one day he’d be standing in the very place she trained in, grew up in, was loved in. In fact, when they’d stood together on deck during the tenuous truce, this was the very last place he would have wanted to be.
After a moment, he said, “So, if Diomedes isn’t here, I’m free to come and go?” He knew that wasn’t what she was getting at but he wanted to keep her talking. She was a changeable creature and might well simply turn around and leave him standing there, staring at the door. In the middle of Athenia, it wasn’t as if he could just scale her house and climb through the window. Especially considering he didn’t know which room was hers.
After a minute or so, the servant girl finished sweeping the courtyard. She gave him a final once over - one of curiosity and of wariness. No doubt her mind was still on her slip up of mentioning Thalia’s disappearance. It was a topic that servants should not gossip about, nor was it ever appropriate to do so with an important messenger from her mistress’s intended.
He watched her leave without turning his head. She wasn’t an ugly girl. A little chatty but the courtyard was swept admirably well. Perhaps she was worth several drachma, perhaps more for the right person.
He worked the orange apart, splitting it into pieces. How many slaves and servants did Thalia’s family have? His mind wandered as he ate. The slaves he owned now would stay on the island. Elias’s barony would be handed to him in full, which meant he wouldn’t have to worry with acquiring labor. Would Thalia bring anyone with her? Hopefully not the girl that just left. Quiet ones would be best.
A door opened across the courtyard. He looked up to find Thalia staring at him. When she looked away to see if they were alone, he smirked. Pushing away from the wall, he wandered closer to her as she demanded to know why he’d come to see her.
“I’d assume the answer is obvious,” he looked her over, noting her bare feet. “This is how you greet Arktos, hmm?” He reached out caught hold of one of the ringlets escaping her attempt at wrangling her hair.
“Are you out of your mind? You must be to come here without knowing if Diomedes was home or not. He’d have you flayed.”
“Who is Diomedes?” he asked but then answered himself before she could. “Oh, that’s your brother’s name, is it?” Though she’d said the man wasn’t home, Lukos glanced around anyway, mocking as though her brother was right around the corner. “He might flay me. If he knew my name. Or my face.”
Taking a step back from her, he finished the last of the orange and looked around the courtyard again. “This is nice,” he gestured around. “This is what I imagined when you spoke of home.” Glancing back at her, he said, “Although you looked more ladylike in my mind.” His tone was teasing and maybe he should have been afraid, as she was, that her brother might find him there, but he couldn’t bring himself to be. Whatever her brother thought, at the moment, he himself was under the Princess’s protection. Nothing could touch him until the Senate. In his mind, this gave him carte blanche to do whatever he wanted. And he’d wanted to see Thalia.
She’d only ever told him about her home once and it was after one of their more magnificent fights when she’d hit him in the head with a chain and he’d punched her in the stomach. He’d have never thought that one day he’d be standing in the very place she trained in, grew up in, was loved in. In fact, when they’d stood together on deck during the tenuous truce, this was the very last place he would have wanted to be.
After a moment, he said, “So, if Diomedes isn’t here, I’m free to come and go?” He knew that wasn’t what she was getting at but he wanted to keep her talking. She was a changeable creature and might well simply turn around and leave him standing there, staring at the door. In the middle of Athenia, it wasn’t as if he could just scale her house and climb through the window. Especially considering he didn’t know which room was hers.
Her heart did an odd somersault as he smirked at her words and she watched his fingers as he peeled the orange between them. With measured steps, he pushed off the wall with little sense of self-preservation. Instead, he took the time to point out her lack of shoes. As if Arktos hadn’t seen her without shoes dozens of times. As if shoes would somehow make his being there any more ok.
He caught a lock of her hair and her face flamed. Not in embarrassment. No. It seemed even her hair was connected to some intricate network of nerves that buzzed to life at his very touch. She sucked in a breath and stared up at him. His dark features that should frighten her.. That probably frightened many people. Somehow they thrilled her. Promises of willful battles to come and a temper and fierceness that wouldn’t be tamed.. Not even for her. She knew better. Even with his submitting to Persephone on her behalf, he would never truly bend any more than she could to him. Instead, they twisted closer to each other. Each battle of wills entwined them until they became like a double helix; bonded together but still rigid.
She swatted his hand away as he made fun of her.. But caught it in her own so he couldn’t go far. “I thought something happened to you… that he’d come here for help.” After a second she shoved his chest. Lukos’d never been made aware of the silent pact she and Arktos had made for him. One that bound them to his safety.. To ensuring what was best for him. ...Because Lukos would never think of it as anything more than coddling. He was captain after all. It was he who should look after them. ...But even the strongest oak could break and when he did he would need an army of men to support him.
...Well… an army of men.. And one very capable woman.
He stepped away and looked around; commenting on how nice the courtyard was and she smirked; folding her arms over her chest. It was a fine home, indeed. ...But it wasn’t their provincial estate. It wasn’t Magnestis. There weren’t rolling fields of green grass and richly appointed homes. There weren’t chariots laden with gold unless they were from the palace. It was their smaller city seat. One that Diomedes had taken to since his guard post was here. “Mm…” Her eyes sparkled as he played his game; seemingly indifferent to the risk he took in coming here. “...I think I remember informing you that my brother was also the commander of the Athenian guard..”
She pushed off the door and padded along the portico; her hands clasped casually behind her back as she moved away from him and away from the front entry. “...No. The servants are very good at informing the family of who ‘comes and goes as they please.’ But...how do you think a lady ought to appear, ….My Lord…?” She smirked and looked over her shoulder at him. Addressing him in such a fashion would most definitely be an adjustment. Luckily she still had some time to practice. “Should I… sway my hips in a seductive manner?” The natural gate she walked with became more languid; slower as she emphasized each step gracefully. Remembering her posture lessons and what one of many governesses had taught her in her etiquette lessons that she never seemed to take to. “Should I show you the hibiscus tree and point out their blooms..” she flicked one of the brightly colored flowers of a potted tree with the edge of her fingertips. “Should I be softer with inactivity… my hair curled every morning before I can be seen?”
She stepped around the corner to the side of the house that led out to the outer gardens and stables. “Should I wear shoes and remain virginal? Sleep in separate quarters than my husband and gossip with other women at court events?”
She turned and leaned against the wall; waiting for him to catch up. “What sort of lady did you see me being? ...What sort of wife shall I be to you?” She raised her brow; her eyes sparkling.. Though she was a bit curious. He was being given an entirely different life. Lands. A title. Power and prestige. Immediate entry to the Senate and a wife of noble breeding. What did he imagine himself to be as a Lord?
What did he imagine her to be as his wife?
“I said we would speak about this later. ...Well.. It’s later. You’re getting an entirely new existence handed to you on a silver platter. How shall I fit into it?” She pushed off the wall and went back to him. She reached out and brushed her hand over his himation; over his white chiton. He looked amazing in his finer clothing. But he looked just as dashing with nothing at all. And with lower class pants and a loosely fitted tunic. He was delicious in anything he wore but in different ways. She’d accepted him on the island. When he had nothing more than a ship and a derelict temple full of smuggled goods. She’d seen him at his worst and he’d seen her in the same fashion. Worse than she’d ever appeared to anyone; covered in bruises and welts. After weeks on a ship without a proper bath and with ripped, torn and dirty clothes. “Shall I remain the same? ...Or change to fit your idea of a noble wife? ...I want to marry you. Not because you’ll be a Lord.. or a senator... Or baron.” ...She paused.. Considering how very deep they were getting and smirked. “But because you’re so charming and refined…”
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Her heart did an odd somersault as he smirked at her words and she watched his fingers as he peeled the orange between them. With measured steps, he pushed off the wall with little sense of self-preservation. Instead, he took the time to point out her lack of shoes. As if Arktos hadn’t seen her without shoes dozens of times. As if shoes would somehow make his being there any more ok.
He caught a lock of her hair and her face flamed. Not in embarrassment. No. It seemed even her hair was connected to some intricate network of nerves that buzzed to life at his very touch. She sucked in a breath and stared up at him. His dark features that should frighten her.. That probably frightened many people. Somehow they thrilled her. Promises of willful battles to come and a temper and fierceness that wouldn’t be tamed.. Not even for her. She knew better. Even with his submitting to Persephone on her behalf, he would never truly bend any more than she could to him. Instead, they twisted closer to each other. Each battle of wills entwined them until they became like a double helix; bonded together but still rigid.
She swatted his hand away as he made fun of her.. But caught it in her own so he couldn’t go far. “I thought something happened to you… that he’d come here for help.” After a second she shoved his chest. Lukos’d never been made aware of the silent pact she and Arktos had made for him. One that bound them to his safety.. To ensuring what was best for him. ...Because Lukos would never think of it as anything more than coddling. He was captain after all. It was he who should look after them. ...But even the strongest oak could break and when he did he would need an army of men to support him.
...Well… an army of men.. And one very capable woman.
He stepped away and looked around; commenting on how nice the courtyard was and she smirked; folding her arms over her chest. It was a fine home, indeed. ...But it wasn’t their provincial estate. It wasn’t Magnestis. There weren’t rolling fields of green grass and richly appointed homes. There weren’t chariots laden with gold unless they were from the palace. It was their smaller city seat. One that Diomedes had taken to since his guard post was here. “Mm…” Her eyes sparkled as he played his game; seemingly indifferent to the risk he took in coming here. “...I think I remember informing you that my brother was also the commander of the Athenian guard..”
She pushed off the door and padded along the portico; her hands clasped casually behind her back as she moved away from him and away from the front entry. “...No. The servants are very good at informing the family of who ‘comes and goes as they please.’ But...how do you think a lady ought to appear, ….My Lord…?” She smirked and looked over her shoulder at him. Addressing him in such a fashion would most definitely be an adjustment. Luckily she still had some time to practice. “Should I… sway my hips in a seductive manner?” The natural gate she walked with became more languid; slower as she emphasized each step gracefully. Remembering her posture lessons and what one of many governesses had taught her in her etiquette lessons that she never seemed to take to. “Should I show you the hibiscus tree and point out their blooms..” she flicked one of the brightly colored flowers of a potted tree with the edge of her fingertips. “Should I be softer with inactivity… my hair curled every morning before I can be seen?”
She stepped around the corner to the side of the house that led out to the outer gardens and stables. “Should I wear shoes and remain virginal? Sleep in separate quarters than my husband and gossip with other women at court events?”
She turned and leaned against the wall; waiting for him to catch up. “What sort of lady did you see me being? ...What sort of wife shall I be to you?” She raised her brow; her eyes sparkling.. Though she was a bit curious. He was being given an entirely different life. Lands. A title. Power and prestige. Immediate entry to the Senate and a wife of noble breeding. What did he imagine himself to be as a Lord?
What did he imagine her to be as his wife?
“I said we would speak about this later. ...Well.. It’s later. You’re getting an entirely new existence handed to you on a silver platter. How shall I fit into it?” She pushed off the wall and went back to him. She reached out and brushed her hand over his himation; over his white chiton. He looked amazing in his finer clothing. But he looked just as dashing with nothing at all. And with lower class pants and a loosely fitted tunic. He was delicious in anything he wore but in different ways. She’d accepted him on the island. When he had nothing more than a ship and a derelict temple full of smuggled goods. She’d seen him at his worst and he’d seen her in the same fashion. Worse than she’d ever appeared to anyone; covered in bruises and welts. After weeks on a ship without a proper bath and with ripped, torn and dirty clothes. “Shall I remain the same? ...Or change to fit your idea of a noble wife? ...I want to marry you. Not because you’ll be a Lord.. or a senator... Or baron.” ...She paused.. Considering how very deep they were getting and smirked. “But because you’re so charming and refined…”
Her heart did an odd somersault as he smirked at her words and she watched his fingers as he peeled the orange between them. With measured steps, he pushed off the wall with little sense of self-preservation. Instead, he took the time to point out her lack of shoes. As if Arktos hadn’t seen her without shoes dozens of times. As if shoes would somehow make his being there any more ok.
He caught a lock of her hair and her face flamed. Not in embarrassment. No. It seemed even her hair was connected to some intricate network of nerves that buzzed to life at his very touch. She sucked in a breath and stared up at him. His dark features that should frighten her.. That probably frightened many people. Somehow they thrilled her. Promises of willful battles to come and a temper and fierceness that wouldn’t be tamed.. Not even for her. She knew better. Even with his submitting to Persephone on her behalf, he would never truly bend any more than she could to him. Instead, they twisted closer to each other. Each battle of wills entwined them until they became like a double helix; bonded together but still rigid.
She swatted his hand away as he made fun of her.. But caught it in her own so he couldn’t go far. “I thought something happened to you… that he’d come here for help.” After a second she shoved his chest. Lukos’d never been made aware of the silent pact she and Arktos had made for him. One that bound them to his safety.. To ensuring what was best for him. ...Because Lukos would never think of it as anything more than coddling. He was captain after all. It was he who should look after them. ...But even the strongest oak could break and when he did he would need an army of men to support him.
...Well… an army of men.. And one very capable woman.
He stepped away and looked around; commenting on how nice the courtyard was and she smirked; folding her arms over her chest. It was a fine home, indeed. ...But it wasn’t their provincial estate. It wasn’t Magnestis. There weren’t rolling fields of green grass and richly appointed homes. There weren’t chariots laden with gold unless they were from the palace. It was their smaller city seat. One that Diomedes had taken to since his guard post was here. “Mm…” Her eyes sparkled as he played his game; seemingly indifferent to the risk he took in coming here. “...I think I remember informing you that my brother was also the commander of the Athenian guard..”
She pushed off the door and padded along the portico; her hands clasped casually behind her back as she moved away from him and away from the front entry. “...No. The servants are very good at informing the family of who ‘comes and goes as they please.’ But...how do you think a lady ought to appear, ….My Lord…?” She smirked and looked over her shoulder at him. Addressing him in such a fashion would most definitely be an adjustment. Luckily she still had some time to practice. “Should I… sway my hips in a seductive manner?” The natural gate she walked with became more languid; slower as she emphasized each step gracefully. Remembering her posture lessons and what one of many governesses had taught her in her etiquette lessons that she never seemed to take to. “Should I show you the hibiscus tree and point out their blooms..” she flicked one of the brightly colored flowers of a potted tree with the edge of her fingertips. “Should I be softer with inactivity… my hair curled every morning before I can be seen?”
She stepped around the corner to the side of the house that led out to the outer gardens and stables. “Should I wear shoes and remain virginal? Sleep in separate quarters than my husband and gossip with other women at court events?”
She turned and leaned against the wall; waiting for him to catch up. “What sort of lady did you see me being? ...What sort of wife shall I be to you?” She raised her brow; her eyes sparkling.. Though she was a bit curious. He was being given an entirely different life. Lands. A title. Power and prestige. Immediate entry to the Senate and a wife of noble breeding. What did he imagine himself to be as a Lord?
What did he imagine her to be as his wife?
“I said we would speak about this later. ...Well.. It’s later. You’re getting an entirely new existence handed to you on a silver platter. How shall I fit into it?” She pushed off the wall and went back to him. She reached out and brushed her hand over his himation; over his white chiton. He looked amazing in his finer clothing. But he looked just as dashing with nothing at all. And with lower class pants and a loosely fitted tunic. He was delicious in anything he wore but in different ways. She’d accepted him on the island. When he had nothing more than a ship and a derelict temple full of smuggled goods. She’d seen him at his worst and he’d seen her in the same fashion. Worse than she’d ever appeared to anyone; covered in bruises and welts. After weeks on a ship without a proper bath and with ripped, torn and dirty clothes. “Shall I remain the same? ...Or change to fit your idea of a noble wife? ...I want to marry you. Not because you’ll be a Lord.. or a senator... Or baron.” ...She paused.. Considering how very deep they were getting and smirked. “But because you’re so charming and refined…”
“...I think I remember informing you that my brother was also the commander of the Athenian guard..”
“That’s meant to scare me?” he asked, watching her as she wandered away at a pace he knew intuitively meant that he was to follow. She glanced over her shoulder, teasing him as Arktos had with the ‘my lord’ thrown out. It was a clear mockery and he took it as such. Whatever position he would be taking within the Athenian nobility, he knew full well that no one would ever say those words with any amount of respect. That knowledge, combined with his own total lack of respect for the position itself served to soften any offense he could have taken from her taunting.
Thalia slowed her walk, swinging her hips and looking back as though to make sure he was properly interested. She needn’t have bothered. No matter what she did, whether she moved seductively as she did now, dressed, at least in part, like the noble she was, or if she was red faced and panting for breath from training for hours; he was always interested.
He followed her at a respectful distance while they were still within view of either the street or the windows of the house. She kept up her teasing and he said nothing in return. There was nothing serious in what she said. They both knew perfectly well how he preferred her to be.
“Should I wear shoes and remain virginal? Sleep in separate quarters than my husband and gossip with other women at court events?”
“Too late for virginal,” he stopped in front of her as she leaned against the wall.
“What sort of lady did you see me being? ...What sort of wife shall I be to you?”
“We’ll see…” he said with a hint of seriousness. What kind of wife she would be would depend entirely on her surroundings, he suspected. If she was on the island with him, he knew exactly the kind of life they would lead. It was the one he would have chosen for the both of them. However, she’d made it clear that while she wanted to be with him, her loyalties were still strongly tied to Athenia - to Persephone.
Though he wouldn’t have admitted it to her, he didn’t know enough about what the elite did in their day to day lives to be able to joke around with what kind of wife she’d be. All he’d ever done when coming to villas like this one was speak to the man or lady of the house, hand over the slaves or goods, receive gold in return, and leave. He’d never dined in a noble’s house or with a nobleman’s family. And never wanted to. Their world and his were parallel. But now they were intersecting.
He took a step back from her and turned away, observing the stables and the garden. It was all so...cultivated. His thoughts wandered miles and miles away from here. A week’s journey in good weather to his island and he wondered when he would see it again. If Thalia would ever set foot on it again. If it mattered if they did.
Everything around them might as well be from an entirely different nation. A horse whickered from somewhere unseen inside the stables. It occurred to him at that moment that he’d never been inside stables before. Would Thalia expect him to ride? That thought was vaguely unsettling. He didn’t relish the thought of having so much animal underneath him and only thin leather straps with which to control the beast.
When her hand brushed against him, he half turned to meet her as she asked how she would fit into his new scheme. “We’ll see when the time comes,” he said again, realizing and not caring that he was repeating himself. “I’m not entirely convinced your princess will be successful.”
That meant trouble if she wasn’t and this he and Arktos had been preparing for. If the Senate vote went in favor of Elias, they would have more to worry about than just getting back to the island. He pulled her against him, cupping her face in one hand while his other rested on the small of her back. If Elias won, he would not have time to get Thalia before he had to leave. There would only be enough time to flee back to the ship, which he planned to have ready to pull out of the harbor the second he was back aboard. Coming back for her would be suicidal but he’d risk it. Perhaps get a message to her somehow to meet him outside the city. Getting her back wasn’t his concern. That was inevitable. It was the making-it-out-alive-first part that he and Arktos were planning on most.
He told her none of this, however. It was precautionary at this stage and he didn’t think she’d like to hear it.
“I’m extremely charming,” his sardonic smile mirrored her own as she told him she was only marrying him for his charms. “Why don’t you…” he tipped her chin up with his thumb and locked eyes with her. “Show me what I can expect from my noble wife. When everyone is mocking you for the cur that you’ve allied yourself with.”
He was interested to know what she thought of that. The difference in life experiences didn't matter so much when they were away from people who cared, but here in the midst of the city - where her friends and family resided, where she was expected to do certain things and be a certain way - how would she cope with having a spouse so totally unfit and unsuited? She may not have thought of their social life, but he had. In fact, he'd been giving a great deal of thought. Would the men he knew still keep connections with him? Or would they be angry that he had reached so high?
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“...I think I remember informing you that my brother was also the commander of the Athenian guard..”
“That’s meant to scare me?” he asked, watching her as she wandered away at a pace he knew intuitively meant that he was to follow. She glanced over her shoulder, teasing him as Arktos had with the ‘my lord’ thrown out. It was a clear mockery and he took it as such. Whatever position he would be taking within the Athenian nobility, he knew full well that no one would ever say those words with any amount of respect. That knowledge, combined with his own total lack of respect for the position itself served to soften any offense he could have taken from her taunting.
Thalia slowed her walk, swinging her hips and looking back as though to make sure he was properly interested. She needn’t have bothered. No matter what she did, whether she moved seductively as she did now, dressed, at least in part, like the noble she was, or if she was red faced and panting for breath from training for hours; he was always interested.
He followed her at a respectful distance while they were still within view of either the street or the windows of the house. She kept up her teasing and he said nothing in return. There was nothing serious in what she said. They both knew perfectly well how he preferred her to be.
“Should I wear shoes and remain virginal? Sleep in separate quarters than my husband and gossip with other women at court events?”
“Too late for virginal,” he stopped in front of her as she leaned against the wall.
“What sort of lady did you see me being? ...What sort of wife shall I be to you?”
“We’ll see…” he said with a hint of seriousness. What kind of wife she would be would depend entirely on her surroundings, he suspected. If she was on the island with him, he knew exactly the kind of life they would lead. It was the one he would have chosen for the both of them. However, she’d made it clear that while she wanted to be with him, her loyalties were still strongly tied to Athenia - to Persephone.
Though he wouldn’t have admitted it to her, he didn’t know enough about what the elite did in their day to day lives to be able to joke around with what kind of wife she’d be. All he’d ever done when coming to villas like this one was speak to the man or lady of the house, hand over the slaves or goods, receive gold in return, and leave. He’d never dined in a noble’s house or with a nobleman’s family. And never wanted to. Their world and his were parallel. But now they were intersecting.
He took a step back from her and turned away, observing the stables and the garden. It was all so...cultivated. His thoughts wandered miles and miles away from here. A week’s journey in good weather to his island and he wondered when he would see it again. If Thalia would ever set foot on it again. If it mattered if they did.
Everything around them might as well be from an entirely different nation. A horse whickered from somewhere unseen inside the stables. It occurred to him at that moment that he’d never been inside stables before. Would Thalia expect him to ride? That thought was vaguely unsettling. He didn’t relish the thought of having so much animal underneath him and only thin leather straps with which to control the beast.
When her hand brushed against him, he half turned to meet her as she asked how she would fit into his new scheme. “We’ll see when the time comes,” he said again, realizing and not caring that he was repeating himself. “I’m not entirely convinced your princess will be successful.”
That meant trouble if she wasn’t and this he and Arktos had been preparing for. If the Senate vote went in favor of Elias, they would have more to worry about than just getting back to the island. He pulled her against him, cupping her face in one hand while his other rested on the small of her back. If Elias won, he would not have time to get Thalia before he had to leave. There would only be enough time to flee back to the ship, which he planned to have ready to pull out of the harbor the second he was back aboard. Coming back for her would be suicidal but he’d risk it. Perhaps get a message to her somehow to meet him outside the city. Getting her back wasn’t his concern. That was inevitable. It was the making-it-out-alive-first part that he and Arktos were planning on most.
He told her none of this, however. It was precautionary at this stage and he didn’t think she’d like to hear it.
“I’m extremely charming,” his sardonic smile mirrored her own as she told him she was only marrying him for his charms. “Why don’t you…” he tipped her chin up with his thumb and locked eyes with her. “Show me what I can expect from my noble wife. When everyone is mocking you for the cur that you’ve allied yourself with.”
He was interested to know what she thought of that. The difference in life experiences didn't matter so much when they were away from people who cared, but here in the midst of the city - where her friends and family resided, where she was expected to do certain things and be a certain way - how would she cope with having a spouse so totally unfit and unsuited? She may not have thought of their social life, but he had. In fact, he'd been giving a great deal of thought. Would the men he knew still keep connections with him? Or would they be angry that he had reached so high?
“...I think I remember informing you that my brother was also the commander of the Athenian guard..”
“That’s meant to scare me?” he asked, watching her as she wandered away at a pace he knew intuitively meant that he was to follow. She glanced over her shoulder, teasing him as Arktos had with the ‘my lord’ thrown out. It was a clear mockery and he took it as such. Whatever position he would be taking within the Athenian nobility, he knew full well that no one would ever say those words with any amount of respect. That knowledge, combined with his own total lack of respect for the position itself served to soften any offense he could have taken from her taunting.
Thalia slowed her walk, swinging her hips and looking back as though to make sure he was properly interested. She needn’t have bothered. No matter what she did, whether she moved seductively as she did now, dressed, at least in part, like the noble she was, or if she was red faced and panting for breath from training for hours; he was always interested.
He followed her at a respectful distance while they were still within view of either the street or the windows of the house. She kept up her teasing and he said nothing in return. There was nothing serious in what she said. They both knew perfectly well how he preferred her to be.
“Should I wear shoes and remain virginal? Sleep in separate quarters than my husband and gossip with other women at court events?”
“Too late for virginal,” he stopped in front of her as she leaned against the wall.
“What sort of lady did you see me being? ...What sort of wife shall I be to you?”
“We’ll see…” he said with a hint of seriousness. What kind of wife she would be would depend entirely on her surroundings, he suspected. If she was on the island with him, he knew exactly the kind of life they would lead. It was the one he would have chosen for the both of them. However, she’d made it clear that while she wanted to be with him, her loyalties were still strongly tied to Athenia - to Persephone.
Though he wouldn’t have admitted it to her, he didn’t know enough about what the elite did in their day to day lives to be able to joke around with what kind of wife she’d be. All he’d ever done when coming to villas like this one was speak to the man or lady of the house, hand over the slaves or goods, receive gold in return, and leave. He’d never dined in a noble’s house or with a nobleman’s family. And never wanted to. Their world and his were parallel. But now they were intersecting.
He took a step back from her and turned away, observing the stables and the garden. It was all so...cultivated. His thoughts wandered miles and miles away from here. A week’s journey in good weather to his island and he wondered when he would see it again. If Thalia would ever set foot on it again. If it mattered if they did.
Everything around them might as well be from an entirely different nation. A horse whickered from somewhere unseen inside the stables. It occurred to him at that moment that he’d never been inside stables before. Would Thalia expect him to ride? That thought was vaguely unsettling. He didn’t relish the thought of having so much animal underneath him and only thin leather straps with which to control the beast.
When her hand brushed against him, he half turned to meet her as she asked how she would fit into his new scheme. “We’ll see when the time comes,” he said again, realizing and not caring that he was repeating himself. “I’m not entirely convinced your princess will be successful.”
That meant trouble if she wasn’t and this he and Arktos had been preparing for. If the Senate vote went in favor of Elias, they would have more to worry about than just getting back to the island. He pulled her against him, cupping her face in one hand while his other rested on the small of her back. If Elias won, he would not have time to get Thalia before he had to leave. There would only be enough time to flee back to the ship, which he planned to have ready to pull out of the harbor the second he was back aboard. Coming back for her would be suicidal but he’d risk it. Perhaps get a message to her somehow to meet him outside the city. Getting her back wasn’t his concern. That was inevitable. It was the making-it-out-alive-first part that he and Arktos were planning on most.
He told her none of this, however. It was precautionary at this stage and he didn’t think she’d like to hear it.
“I’m extremely charming,” his sardonic smile mirrored her own as she told him she was only marrying him for his charms. “Why don’t you…” he tipped her chin up with his thumb and locked eyes with her. “Show me what I can expect from my noble wife. When everyone is mocking you for the cur that you’ve allied yourself with.”
He was interested to know what she thought of that. The difference in life experiences didn't matter so much when they were away from people who cared, but here in the midst of the city - where her friends and family resided, where she was expected to do certain things and be a certain way - how would she cope with having a spouse so totally unfit and unsuited? She may not have thought of their social life, but he had. In fact, he'd been giving a great deal of thought. Would the men he knew still keep connections with him? Or would they be angry that he had reached so high?
Thalia hadn’t considered that the Senate vote could go any other way than in favor of Persephone. Perhaps that view was a bit naive, but Persephone was the reigning monarch and Elias was engaging in illegal activities in order to gain the crown. Her only hesitation had only ever been Lukos’s willingness to testify and a certain part of her was still worried he’d back out.. Even now after he’d signed away the Aceton. Such an outcome would most definitely seal Persephone’s fate and she would likely lose the Senate vote. The fate of an entire empire rested on Lukos’s shoulders… and as he was only doing this for her, it indirectly rested on hers as well. He was literally the straw that held up an entire kingdom.
And while part of her teased him for his image of her as a wife, part of her was concerned that, much like every other time, she would fail to fulfill that idealistic vision of an effeminate noblewoman. Thalia would likely be quite horrid at running a house. She hated shopping and would wear dresses until her mother pointed out that they were either threadbare or ill-fitted. She fidgeted unnecessarily.. She walked too fast, she fought like a man and she liked it. ...She was horrible at small talk and couldn’t care less about the gossip of court. And she doubted highly that Lukos could ever be happy with someone so timid and refined. Oh sure, it was a novelty… but at the end of the day, he needed someone who challenged him. Who made him think and fight and drink and question his sanity. He needed someone who fought for him in return and who had his back. Who stood at his side.. Not inside of some fine noble house wasting away as she picked out tapestries for the windows.
She smirked at his comment about not being virginal. ...But it was what was expected of her. Up until Lukos she’d never had any real interest in being anything else. And while Artemis was her chosen deity, she’d never gone quite so far as to pledge her virginity to the Goddess.. But she’d considered it implied. She watched him as he stared at the stables before closing the distance so she could brush her hands over his clothing. He offered her his doubts about the Senate meeting and she frowned as his gaze turned distant; clearly lost in possibilities. His arm snaked out to curl around her torso as his hand pressed against her cheek. It was an incredibly tender and rare moment for the pirate and she covered his hand with her own before he gave her a mocking smile and told her how charming he was. “...Persephone will win the Senate, Lukos… but only with your help.” She paused before continuing. “...You asked me to marry you. Regardless of the contract, I said yes. But I don’t want to change. ...And honestly, I’m not sure I could. You’ve tasted my cooking..” Her eyes sparkled slightly; remembering the rock-like loaf of bread she’d proudly given him on the island and her disappointment in its consistency. Of his laughter afterward.
She leaned forward; raising to her toes so she could brush her lips against his. “You are an unmitigated cur. But I fell in love with you as a cur. And I’ll marry you either way if you’ll have me as I am. Lady or not. ….Hell I was happy in a deserted temple.. With you.” She smirked and grazed her hand against the broach on his shoulder. ..Granted happy seemed a bit optimistic, but all she’d needed was for it to be her choice to stay or go. Now that she’d had it she missed the island fiercely and the people on it. “....Did you only come here to tease me? Or did you have something else in mind…”
JD
Staff Team
JD
Staff Team
This post was created by our staff team.
Please contact us with your queries and questions.
Thalia hadn’t considered that the Senate vote could go any other way than in favor of Persephone. Perhaps that view was a bit naive, but Persephone was the reigning monarch and Elias was engaging in illegal activities in order to gain the crown. Her only hesitation had only ever been Lukos’s willingness to testify and a certain part of her was still worried he’d back out.. Even now after he’d signed away the Aceton. Such an outcome would most definitely seal Persephone’s fate and she would likely lose the Senate vote. The fate of an entire empire rested on Lukos’s shoulders… and as he was only doing this for her, it indirectly rested on hers as well. He was literally the straw that held up an entire kingdom.
And while part of her teased him for his image of her as a wife, part of her was concerned that, much like every other time, she would fail to fulfill that idealistic vision of an effeminate noblewoman. Thalia would likely be quite horrid at running a house. She hated shopping and would wear dresses until her mother pointed out that they were either threadbare or ill-fitted. She fidgeted unnecessarily.. She walked too fast, she fought like a man and she liked it. ...She was horrible at small talk and couldn’t care less about the gossip of court. And she doubted highly that Lukos could ever be happy with someone so timid and refined. Oh sure, it was a novelty… but at the end of the day, he needed someone who challenged him. Who made him think and fight and drink and question his sanity. He needed someone who fought for him in return and who had his back. Who stood at his side.. Not inside of some fine noble house wasting away as she picked out tapestries for the windows.
She smirked at his comment about not being virginal. ...But it was what was expected of her. Up until Lukos she’d never had any real interest in being anything else. And while Artemis was her chosen deity, she’d never gone quite so far as to pledge her virginity to the Goddess.. But she’d considered it implied. She watched him as he stared at the stables before closing the distance so she could brush her hands over his clothing. He offered her his doubts about the Senate meeting and she frowned as his gaze turned distant; clearly lost in possibilities. His arm snaked out to curl around her torso as his hand pressed against her cheek. It was an incredibly tender and rare moment for the pirate and she covered his hand with her own before he gave her a mocking smile and told her how charming he was. “...Persephone will win the Senate, Lukos… but only with your help.” She paused before continuing. “...You asked me to marry you. Regardless of the contract, I said yes. But I don’t want to change. ...And honestly, I’m not sure I could. You’ve tasted my cooking..” Her eyes sparkled slightly; remembering the rock-like loaf of bread she’d proudly given him on the island and her disappointment in its consistency. Of his laughter afterward.
She leaned forward; raising to her toes so she could brush her lips against his. “You are an unmitigated cur. But I fell in love with you as a cur. And I’ll marry you either way if you’ll have me as I am. Lady or not. ….Hell I was happy in a deserted temple.. With you.” She smirked and grazed her hand against the broach on his shoulder. ..Granted happy seemed a bit optimistic, but all she’d needed was for it to be her choice to stay or go. Now that she’d had it she missed the island fiercely and the people on it. “....Did you only come here to tease me? Or did you have something else in mind…”
Thalia hadn’t considered that the Senate vote could go any other way than in favor of Persephone. Perhaps that view was a bit naive, but Persephone was the reigning monarch and Elias was engaging in illegal activities in order to gain the crown. Her only hesitation had only ever been Lukos’s willingness to testify and a certain part of her was still worried he’d back out.. Even now after he’d signed away the Aceton. Such an outcome would most definitely seal Persephone’s fate and she would likely lose the Senate vote. The fate of an entire empire rested on Lukos’s shoulders… and as he was only doing this for her, it indirectly rested on hers as well. He was literally the straw that held up an entire kingdom.
And while part of her teased him for his image of her as a wife, part of her was concerned that, much like every other time, she would fail to fulfill that idealistic vision of an effeminate noblewoman. Thalia would likely be quite horrid at running a house. She hated shopping and would wear dresses until her mother pointed out that they were either threadbare or ill-fitted. She fidgeted unnecessarily.. She walked too fast, she fought like a man and she liked it. ...She was horrible at small talk and couldn’t care less about the gossip of court. And she doubted highly that Lukos could ever be happy with someone so timid and refined. Oh sure, it was a novelty… but at the end of the day, he needed someone who challenged him. Who made him think and fight and drink and question his sanity. He needed someone who fought for him in return and who had his back. Who stood at his side.. Not inside of some fine noble house wasting away as she picked out tapestries for the windows.
She smirked at his comment about not being virginal. ...But it was what was expected of her. Up until Lukos she’d never had any real interest in being anything else. And while Artemis was her chosen deity, she’d never gone quite so far as to pledge her virginity to the Goddess.. But she’d considered it implied. She watched him as he stared at the stables before closing the distance so she could brush her hands over his clothing. He offered her his doubts about the Senate meeting and she frowned as his gaze turned distant; clearly lost in possibilities. His arm snaked out to curl around her torso as his hand pressed against her cheek. It was an incredibly tender and rare moment for the pirate and she covered his hand with her own before he gave her a mocking smile and told her how charming he was. “...Persephone will win the Senate, Lukos… but only with your help.” She paused before continuing. “...You asked me to marry you. Regardless of the contract, I said yes. But I don’t want to change. ...And honestly, I’m not sure I could. You’ve tasted my cooking..” Her eyes sparkled slightly; remembering the rock-like loaf of bread she’d proudly given him on the island and her disappointment in its consistency. Of his laughter afterward.
She leaned forward; raising to her toes so she could brush her lips against his. “You are an unmitigated cur. But I fell in love with you as a cur. And I’ll marry you either way if you’ll have me as I am. Lady or not. ….Hell I was happy in a deserted temple.. With you.” She smirked and grazed her hand against the broach on his shoulder. ..Granted happy seemed a bit optimistic, but all she’d needed was for it to be her choice to stay or go. Now that she’d had it she missed the island fiercely and the people on it. “....Did you only come here to tease me? Or did you have something else in mind…”
“I came to steal you,” he said.
If any of the servants in her brother’s household saw them together, his arm around her waist and her kissing him, it would be hard to answer questions or quell rumors. But from here, someone would have to be nearly on top of them to see them. An ambitious orange tree blocked them from view of the house and a corner of the wall kept the street obscured. On their left side they were protected by the gate and unless someone was in the stables, there was no one to spy but the horses.
“Oh you’ll change,” he arched an eyebrow and took a step back from her. His hand slid down her arm until he caught hold of just her fingertips. “You’ll have to cook better than that or we’ll both starve. I’m not cooking for us.” It was amazing that he’d managed to find the one woman in all of Greece who was totally useless in anything that mattered. Now that he held her out at arm’s length, his gaze moved from her shoulders to her hands and he flipped them palm up, as he’d done in the temple, noting how soft they still were.
He could cook if he had to, but she’d already proven she couldn’t; or more likely, refused to learn. Could she sew? He was proficient in the task. No one else mended his clothes. If the sail was ripped and everyone else was busy, he would fix it.
Pulling her to him again, he caught her face and tipped it slowly from first one side, and then the other, searching the planes of her face. She was beautiful. Exactly what he liked. But stubborn. His thumb moved over her chin at the thought. Thalia was clever and he knew better than to let her make him believe she was incapable of something. If she wanted to do it, she would.
It didn’t bear arguing about now, however. “Come,” he said, dropping his hands to his sides and moving back to an appropriate distance befitting the difference in their ranks. “Show me whatever it is I’m supposed to be doing, once your princess is done with me.”
His eyes dropped to her feet and then went back up to her hair. If he looked the part, she should too. “I’ll wait until you’re ready,” he said with an arch smile and strode away, back to the courtyard where he’d been before, wholly ignoring any reply or irritation she might fling at him.
The whole of his motive in coming had been to stay with her for as long as he was able and if they kept to the house, he’d have to leave sooner rather than later. In fact, he probably should already be gone. It didn’t take long to leave a message. Thalia would explain his presence somehow, or she wouldn’t. It wasn’t his problem.
He returned to the bench he’d been sitting on before and waited. Time crawled. It didn’t matter if she took an hour or several minutes. They couldn’t be out of here fast enough.
A worrying restlessness gripped him. He spun the silver ring on his thumb and wondered if he’d be this way when he had Elias’s property. No. It would be his own house then. There would surely be things to do. Things to keep him occupied instead of just...waiting.
That was what he detested about the whole business. Persephone had, in essence, imprisoned him and his crew and his ship in Athenia. Thalia was his only outlet away from the monotony of ship maintenance. It was a thing he didn’t mind on the island but here? It was just a reminder that he was killing time. There would be no leaving whenever he felt like it. He was stuck. Caged.
When the door to the house opened and Thalia stepped out, he shot up from the bench. His first impulse was to go to her but instead, he waited, remembering belatedly that he was a ‘servant’. Why he’d chosen that lie was obvious; it got him in here. But having to maintain it was grating.
From one of the upper windows, the servant girl from earlier was watching him. He couldn’t read her expression. Didn’t know if she still believed he was from Patros or not. It was best to be gone before the girl’s suspicions were further aroused and before her tongue started to wag to other servants. Ones who spoke to the master of the house.
Awaiting Thalia’s instructions on whether or not he should lead her or follow her, he soon found himself on the other side of the gate and in the safety of the street. The two of them kept to the appropriate decorum, demanded of a noble and servant until they were out of sight of the house. Only then did he move closer to her.
“What did you tell them? Or did you?” He asked, meaning the servants.
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“I came to steal you,” he said.
If any of the servants in her brother’s household saw them together, his arm around her waist and her kissing him, it would be hard to answer questions or quell rumors. But from here, someone would have to be nearly on top of them to see them. An ambitious orange tree blocked them from view of the house and a corner of the wall kept the street obscured. On their left side they were protected by the gate and unless someone was in the stables, there was no one to spy but the horses.
“Oh you’ll change,” he arched an eyebrow and took a step back from her. His hand slid down her arm until he caught hold of just her fingertips. “You’ll have to cook better than that or we’ll both starve. I’m not cooking for us.” It was amazing that he’d managed to find the one woman in all of Greece who was totally useless in anything that mattered. Now that he held her out at arm’s length, his gaze moved from her shoulders to her hands and he flipped them palm up, as he’d done in the temple, noting how soft they still were.
He could cook if he had to, but she’d already proven she couldn’t; or more likely, refused to learn. Could she sew? He was proficient in the task. No one else mended his clothes. If the sail was ripped and everyone else was busy, he would fix it.
Pulling her to him again, he caught her face and tipped it slowly from first one side, and then the other, searching the planes of her face. She was beautiful. Exactly what he liked. But stubborn. His thumb moved over her chin at the thought. Thalia was clever and he knew better than to let her make him believe she was incapable of something. If she wanted to do it, she would.
It didn’t bear arguing about now, however. “Come,” he said, dropping his hands to his sides and moving back to an appropriate distance befitting the difference in their ranks. “Show me whatever it is I’m supposed to be doing, once your princess is done with me.”
His eyes dropped to her feet and then went back up to her hair. If he looked the part, she should too. “I’ll wait until you’re ready,” he said with an arch smile and strode away, back to the courtyard where he’d been before, wholly ignoring any reply or irritation she might fling at him.
The whole of his motive in coming had been to stay with her for as long as he was able and if they kept to the house, he’d have to leave sooner rather than later. In fact, he probably should already be gone. It didn’t take long to leave a message. Thalia would explain his presence somehow, or she wouldn’t. It wasn’t his problem.
He returned to the bench he’d been sitting on before and waited. Time crawled. It didn’t matter if she took an hour or several minutes. They couldn’t be out of here fast enough.
A worrying restlessness gripped him. He spun the silver ring on his thumb and wondered if he’d be this way when he had Elias’s property. No. It would be his own house then. There would surely be things to do. Things to keep him occupied instead of just...waiting.
That was what he detested about the whole business. Persephone had, in essence, imprisoned him and his crew and his ship in Athenia. Thalia was his only outlet away from the monotony of ship maintenance. It was a thing he didn’t mind on the island but here? It was just a reminder that he was killing time. There would be no leaving whenever he felt like it. He was stuck. Caged.
When the door to the house opened and Thalia stepped out, he shot up from the bench. His first impulse was to go to her but instead, he waited, remembering belatedly that he was a ‘servant’. Why he’d chosen that lie was obvious; it got him in here. But having to maintain it was grating.
From one of the upper windows, the servant girl from earlier was watching him. He couldn’t read her expression. Didn’t know if she still believed he was from Patros or not. It was best to be gone before the girl’s suspicions were further aroused and before her tongue started to wag to other servants. Ones who spoke to the master of the house.
Awaiting Thalia’s instructions on whether or not he should lead her or follow her, he soon found himself on the other side of the gate and in the safety of the street. The two of them kept to the appropriate decorum, demanded of a noble and servant until they were out of sight of the house. Only then did he move closer to her.
“What did you tell them? Or did you?” He asked, meaning the servants.
“I came to steal you,” he said.
If any of the servants in her brother’s household saw them together, his arm around her waist and her kissing him, it would be hard to answer questions or quell rumors. But from here, someone would have to be nearly on top of them to see them. An ambitious orange tree blocked them from view of the house and a corner of the wall kept the street obscured. On their left side they were protected by the gate and unless someone was in the stables, there was no one to spy but the horses.
“Oh you’ll change,” he arched an eyebrow and took a step back from her. His hand slid down her arm until he caught hold of just her fingertips. “You’ll have to cook better than that or we’ll both starve. I’m not cooking for us.” It was amazing that he’d managed to find the one woman in all of Greece who was totally useless in anything that mattered. Now that he held her out at arm’s length, his gaze moved from her shoulders to her hands and he flipped them palm up, as he’d done in the temple, noting how soft they still were.
He could cook if he had to, but she’d already proven she couldn’t; or more likely, refused to learn. Could she sew? He was proficient in the task. No one else mended his clothes. If the sail was ripped and everyone else was busy, he would fix it.
Pulling her to him again, he caught her face and tipped it slowly from first one side, and then the other, searching the planes of her face. She was beautiful. Exactly what he liked. But stubborn. His thumb moved over her chin at the thought. Thalia was clever and he knew better than to let her make him believe she was incapable of something. If she wanted to do it, she would.
It didn’t bear arguing about now, however. “Come,” he said, dropping his hands to his sides and moving back to an appropriate distance befitting the difference in their ranks. “Show me whatever it is I’m supposed to be doing, once your princess is done with me.”
His eyes dropped to her feet and then went back up to her hair. If he looked the part, she should too. “I’ll wait until you’re ready,” he said with an arch smile and strode away, back to the courtyard where he’d been before, wholly ignoring any reply or irritation she might fling at him.
The whole of his motive in coming had been to stay with her for as long as he was able and if they kept to the house, he’d have to leave sooner rather than later. In fact, he probably should already be gone. It didn’t take long to leave a message. Thalia would explain his presence somehow, or she wouldn’t. It wasn’t his problem.
He returned to the bench he’d been sitting on before and waited. Time crawled. It didn’t matter if she took an hour or several minutes. They couldn’t be out of here fast enough.
A worrying restlessness gripped him. He spun the silver ring on his thumb and wondered if he’d be this way when he had Elias’s property. No. It would be his own house then. There would surely be things to do. Things to keep him occupied instead of just...waiting.
That was what he detested about the whole business. Persephone had, in essence, imprisoned him and his crew and his ship in Athenia. Thalia was his only outlet away from the monotony of ship maintenance. It was a thing he didn’t mind on the island but here? It was just a reminder that he was killing time. There would be no leaving whenever he felt like it. He was stuck. Caged.
When the door to the house opened and Thalia stepped out, he shot up from the bench. His first impulse was to go to her but instead, he waited, remembering belatedly that he was a ‘servant’. Why he’d chosen that lie was obvious; it got him in here. But having to maintain it was grating.
From one of the upper windows, the servant girl from earlier was watching him. He couldn’t read her expression. Didn’t know if she still believed he was from Patros or not. It was best to be gone before the girl’s suspicions were further aroused and before her tongue started to wag to other servants. Ones who spoke to the master of the house.
Awaiting Thalia’s instructions on whether or not he should lead her or follow her, he soon found himself on the other side of the gate and in the safety of the street. The two of them kept to the appropriate decorum, demanded of a noble and servant until they were out of sight of the house. Only then did he move closer to her.
“What did you tell them? Or did you?” He asked, meaning the servants.
“Have you?” She gave a derisive snort at his comment. “Will you hoist me over your shoulder then?” Hazel eyes sparkled and the idea of such a thing seemed far less repulsive than it had a few months ago. He was lucky he was so broodingly good looking otherwise he’d have barely any redeemable qualities to speak of.
Thalia wasn’t completely useless. She could sew a stitch into a sail...she’d done so on the ship dozens of times. It seemed one of the only tasks the men seemed inclined to give her. She’d never be very good with needlepoint.. It required hours of sitting in the same place staring at the same round of fabric. She was just far too restless for any such thing.. But a quick stitch here and there was more than adequate. Most of her garments seemed to end up beyond repair around Lukos as it was anyways. The gossamer fabrics and fine silks that women wore in her time didn’t hold well to life on a ship or island. She’d never gone through as many dresses as what she’d gone through when she was with him. She was simply thankful he’d had a temple full of contraband in which to clothe her. “Well, it is a good thing you shall be a noble then. We will hire someone to cook for us and then neither of us needs to change..”
She stood close as his hands moved over her. He studied her palms as he’d done the first day they met and she flushed slightly. Somehow it still felt like an insult.. But now she had calluses. Her skin was darker than it’d ever been...even though she’d been back in Athenia for a month. She’d trained for hours; days on end on the island and then when she came home to Athenia. Until her palms bled even after she’d wrapped them. She’d helped the crew in her last two weeks with Lukos. She was still soft.. But not so much as she was when he’d first found her.
She closed her fingertips to hide her palms and he dropped them so he could take up her face; his hands manipulating her this way and that so he could look over her features. She reached out and brushed her hands against his waist.. Tucking digits into his belt as he studied her. It was a quiet moment.. Odd in nature, but she didn’t mind.. She’d likely do the same if she had the chance.. She missed staring at him as they lay in bed. When he still slept and she was wide awake. How all the tension seemed to melt from his features and he was at peace. His face was almost boyish in those moments and she’d often wake him on accident when her fingertips grazed over his jawline.
Finally, he broke the silence; gruffly telling her to come as he stepped away. She sucked in a breath; the spell broken as he stood an appropriate distance from her. How did they always end up so entwined in each other's grasp? Like to be so far apart itself was foreign. She missed him when he was away..but at the same time, she’d felt a profound sense of relief over when she’d first arrived back in Athenia. After he’d left her on the beach after he sailed away. Knowing that he was here and that he was hers allowed her to sleep at night again.. Not as well as she remembered when she was close to him but better than she had in a month.
She chuckled with his request and shook her head. “You should be on your boat laying low, not traipsing into upper Athenia to find me.. That’s what you should be doing.. But I’m sure there’s something of import to attend today. Let me ask Minerva while I get my shoes.” She stepped around him to go back to the house but rethought it for a moment and turned to throw herself back against him. Her hands took his jaw between them so she could kiss him again; unable to go however long it would take to get ready.
She lingered there for a long moment; on tippy toe so she was closer to his height. And when she’d finally had her fill, she broke the kiss and leaned away; dragging her lower lip between her teeth to taste him before releasing a ragged breath. Her hazel eyes rose to his.. Wishing they had more time.. Wishing they were anywhere but at her brother's house… but there was nothing they could do about that. “Stay here…”
She turned and went back to the front entrance where he’d met her. Closing the door behind her, she called for Sophia’s ladies maid to help her with her hair and returned to her rooms.
Getting ready for anything always took far longer than she wanted to spend on it. She was quite comfortable in twisting her hair into a braid on the side of her shoulder but such a style wasn’t permissible in the upper circles unless she was a servant. So she sat as still as she could as Minerva twisted her hair and pulled at it; curling pieces around a hot iron so that it wasn’t as wild, and braided long strands to twist around her crown. When she was finally finished, she took up her Himation and pinned it around her frame before stepping into her sandals. Descending the stairs again, she was perfectly presentable as a lady of the Athenian court...save the sword strapped between her shoulderblades hidden by the fabric of her cloak. She left a note for Diomedes and Sophia informing them that she’d gone to meet Patros in the market and would be home later in the evening… and that she was being escorted by his servant as not to worry. She just hoped they would take her advice. Finding Lukos, they set off at a respectable distance from each other until they’d made it far enough away from the house that she was sure no one would be watching and they seemed to gravitate closer to each other. When he asked her what she’d said out of curiosity, she smirked. “They weren’t home.. So I told them I’d gone to market to meet Patros. If they have questions when I return.. Well.. I’ll worry about it then.” She looked up at him; a spark of rebellious mischief glinting in her eyes. “We should stay away from the market, however.. My brother’s wife is there and she’ll question us if we run into her.”
They wound their way through the quieter streets of Athenia. Away from the market, there were few people roaming about and those that did were intent on their own business. But they continued to climb up until they’d come upon an amphitheatre set into the side of a hill. There were swarms of people moving about and speaking as courtiers often did..to catch up. The problem with her ill thought out venture was that many of them knew her. ...They wouldn’t know Lukos.
She kept a respectable distance from him here as she weaved through people into the rows of benches; sitting near the top which was less popular than the seats lower and closer to the stage. It also meant fewer people would be watching them as many came to look less at the performance and more at those in attendance. Rewrapping her himation, she cloaked it over her head and pulled it lower over her forehead before she stared at him; her cheeks flushing. “This was probably a bad idea.. If someone recognizes me they’ll question who you are.. Rumors spread and people listen. The last thing I want is Elias knowing you’re here.”
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“Have you?” She gave a derisive snort at his comment. “Will you hoist me over your shoulder then?” Hazel eyes sparkled and the idea of such a thing seemed far less repulsive than it had a few months ago. He was lucky he was so broodingly good looking otherwise he’d have barely any redeemable qualities to speak of.
Thalia wasn’t completely useless. She could sew a stitch into a sail...she’d done so on the ship dozens of times. It seemed one of the only tasks the men seemed inclined to give her. She’d never be very good with needlepoint.. It required hours of sitting in the same place staring at the same round of fabric. She was just far too restless for any such thing.. But a quick stitch here and there was more than adequate. Most of her garments seemed to end up beyond repair around Lukos as it was anyways. The gossamer fabrics and fine silks that women wore in her time didn’t hold well to life on a ship or island. She’d never gone through as many dresses as what she’d gone through when she was with him. She was simply thankful he’d had a temple full of contraband in which to clothe her. “Well, it is a good thing you shall be a noble then. We will hire someone to cook for us and then neither of us needs to change..”
She stood close as his hands moved over her. He studied her palms as he’d done the first day they met and she flushed slightly. Somehow it still felt like an insult.. But now she had calluses. Her skin was darker than it’d ever been...even though she’d been back in Athenia for a month. She’d trained for hours; days on end on the island and then when she came home to Athenia. Until her palms bled even after she’d wrapped them. She’d helped the crew in her last two weeks with Lukos. She was still soft.. But not so much as she was when he’d first found her.
She closed her fingertips to hide her palms and he dropped them so he could take up her face; his hands manipulating her this way and that so he could look over her features. She reached out and brushed her hands against his waist.. Tucking digits into his belt as he studied her. It was a quiet moment.. Odd in nature, but she didn’t mind.. She’d likely do the same if she had the chance.. She missed staring at him as they lay in bed. When he still slept and she was wide awake. How all the tension seemed to melt from his features and he was at peace. His face was almost boyish in those moments and she’d often wake him on accident when her fingertips grazed over his jawline.
Finally, he broke the silence; gruffly telling her to come as he stepped away. She sucked in a breath; the spell broken as he stood an appropriate distance from her. How did they always end up so entwined in each other's grasp? Like to be so far apart itself was foreign. She missed him when he was away..but at the same time, she’d felt a profound sense of relief over when she’d first arrived back in Athenia. After he’d left her on the beach after he sailed away. Knowing that he was here and that he was hers allowed her to sleep at night again.. Not as well as she remembered when she was close to him but better than she had in a month.
She chuckled with his request and shook her head. “You should be on your boat laying low, not traipsing into upper Athenia to find me.. That’s what you should be doing.. But I’m sure there’s something of import to attend today. Let me ask Minerva while I get my shoes.” She stepped around him to go back to the house but rethought it for a moment and turned to throw herself back against him. Her hands took his jaw between them so she could kiss him again; unable to go however long it would take to get ready.
She lingered there for a long moment; on tippy toe so she was closer to his height. And when she’d finally had her fill, she broke the kiss and leaned away; dragging her lower lip between her teeth to taste him before releasing a ragged breath. Her hazel eyes rose to his.. Wishing they had more time.. Wishing they were anywhere but at her brother's house… but there was nothing they could do about that. “Stay here…”
She turned and went back to the front entrance where he’d met her. Closing the door behind her, she called for Sophia’s ladies maid to help her with her hair and returned to her rooms.
Getting ready for anything always took far longer than she wanted to spend on it. She was quite comfortable in twisting her hair into a braid on the side of her shoulder but such a style wasn’t permissible in the upper circles unless she was a servant. So she sat as still as she could as Minerva twisted her hair and pulled at it; curling pieces around a hot iron so that it wasn’t as wild, and braided long strands to twist around her crown. When she was finally finished, she took up her Himation and pinned it around her frame before stepping into her sandals. Descending the stairs again, she was perfectly presentable as a lady of the Athenian court...save the sword strapped between her shoulderblades hidden by the fabric of her cloak. She left a note for Diomedes and Sophia informing them that she’d gone to meet Patros in the market and would be home later in the evening… and that she was being escorted by his servant as not to worry. She just hoped they would take her advice. Finding Lukos, they set off at a respectable distance from each other until they’d made it far enough away from the house that she was sure no one would be watching and they seemed to gravitate closer to each other. When he asked her what she’d said out of curiosity, she smirked. “They weren’t home.. So I told them I’d gone to market to meet Patros. If they have questions when I return.. Well.. I’ll worry about it then.” She looked up at him; a spark of rebellious mischief glinting in her eyes. “We should stay away from the market, however.. My brother’s wife is there and she’ll question us if we run into her.”
They wound their way through the quieter streets of Athenia. Away from the market, there were few people roaming about and those that did were intent on their own business. But they continued to climb up until they’d come upon an amphitheatre set into the side of a hill. There were swarms of people moving about and speaking as courtiers often did..to catch up. The problem with her ill thought out venture was that many of them knew her. ...They wouldn’t know Lukos.
She kept a respectable distance from him here as she weaved through people into the rows of benches; sitting near the top which was less popular than the seats lower and closer to the stage. It also meant fewer people would be watching them as many came to look less at the performance and more at those in attendance. Rewrapping her himation, she cloaked it over her head and pulled it lower over her forehead before she stared at him; her cheeks flushing. “This was probably a bad idea.. If someone recognizes me they’ll question who you are.. Rumors spread and people listen. The last thing I want is Elias knowing you’re here.”
“Have you?” She gave a derisive snort at his comment. “Will you hoist me over your shoulder then?” Hazel eyes sparkled and the idea of such a thing seemed far less repulsive than it had a few months ago. He was lucky he was so broodingly good looking otherwise he’d have barely any redeemable qualities to speak of.
Thalia wasn’t completely useless. She could sew a stitch into a sail...she’d done so on the ship dozens of times. It seemed one of the only tasks the men seemed inclined to give her. She’d never be very good with needlepoint.. It required hours of sitting in the same place staring at the same round of fabric. She was just far too restless for any such thing.. But a quick stitch here and there was more than adequate. Most of her garments seemed to end up beyond repair around Lukos as it was anyways. The gossamer fabrics and fine silks that women wore in her time didn’t hold well to life on a ship or island. She’d never gone through as many dresses as what she’d gone through when she was with him. She was simply thankful he’d had a temple full of contraband in which to clothe her. “Well, it is a good thing you shall be a noble then. We will hire someone to cook for us and then neither of us needs to change..”
She stood close as his hands moved over her. He studied her palms as he’d done the first day they met and she flushed slightly. Somehow it still felt like an insult.. But now she had calluses. Her skin was darker than it’d ever been...even though she’d been back in Athenia for a month. She’d trained for hours; days on end on the island and then when she came home to Athenia. Until her palms bled even after she’d wrapped them. She’d helped the crew in her last two weeks with Lukos. She was still soft.. But not so much as she was when he’d first found her.
She closed her fingertips to hide her palms and he dropped them so he could take up her face; his hands manipulating her this way and that so he could look over her features. She reached out and brushed her hands against his waist.. Tucking digits into his belt as he studied her. It was a quiet moment.. Odd in nature, but she didn’t mind.. She’d likely do the same if she had the chance.. She missed staring at him as they lay in bed. When he still slept and she was wide awake. How all the tension seemed to melt from his features and he was at peace. His face was almost boyish in those moments and she’d often wake him on accident when her fingertips grazed over his jawline.
Finally, he broke the silence; gruffly telling her to come as he stepped away. She sucked in a breath; the spell broken as he stood an appropriate distance from her. How did they always end up so entwined in each other's grasp? Like to be so far apart itself was foreign. She missed him when he was away..but at the same time, she’d felt a profound sense of relief over when she’d first arrived back in Athenia. After he’d left her on the beach after he sailed away. Knowing that he was here and that he was hers allowed her to sleep at night again.. Not as well as she remembered when she was close to him but better than she had in a month.
She chuckled with his request and shook her head. “You should be on your boat laying low, not traipsing into upper Athenia to find me.. That’s what you should be doing.. But I’m sure there’s something of import to attend today. Let me ask Minerva while I get my shoes.” She stepped around him to go back to the house but rethought it for a moment and turned to throw herself back against him. Her hands took his jaw between them so she could kiss him again; unable to go however long it would take to get ready.
She lingered there for a long moment; on tippy toe so she was closer to his height. And when she’d finally had her fill, she broke the kiss and leaned away; dragging her lower lip between her teeth to taste him before releasing a ragged breath. Her hazel eyes rose to his.. Wishing they had more time.. Wishing they were anywhere but at her brother's house… but there was nothing they could do about that. “Stay here…”
She turned and went back to the front entrance where he’d met her. Closing the door behind her, she called for Sophia’s ladies maid to help her with her hair and returned to her rooms.
Getting ready for anything always took far longer than she wanted to spend on it. She was quite comfortable in twisting her hair into a braid on the side of her shoulder but such a style wasn’t permissible in the upper circles unless she was a servant. So she sat as still as she could as Minerva twisted her hair and pulled at it; curling pieces around a hot iron so that it wasn’t as wild, and braided long strands to twist around her crown. When she was finally finished, she took up her Himation and pinned it around her frame before stepping into her sandals. Descending the stairs again, she was perfectly presentable as a lady of the Athenian court...save the sword strapped between her shoulderblades hidden by the fabric of her cloak. She left a note for Diomedes and Sophia informing them that she’d gone to meet Patros in the market and would be home later in the evening… and that she was being escorted by his servant as not to worry. She just hoped they would take her advice. Finding Lukos, they set off at a respectable distance from each other until they’d made it far enough away from the house that she was sure no one would be watching and they seemed to gravitate closer to each other. When he asked her what she’d said out of curiosity, she smirked. “They weren’t home.. So I told them I’d gone to market to meet Patros. If they have questions when I return.. Well.. I’ll worry about it then.” She looked up at him; a spark of rebellious mischief glinting in her eyes. “We should stay away from the market, however.. My brother’s wife is there and she’ll question us if we run into her.”
They wound their way through the quieter streets of Athenia. Away from the market, there were few people roaming about and those that did were intent on their own business. But they continued to climb up until they’d come upon an amphitheatre set into the side of a hill. There were swarms of people moving about and speaking as courtiers often did..to catch up. The problem with her ill thought out venture was that many of them knew her. ...They wouldn’t know Lukos.
She kept a respectable distance from him here as she weaved through people into the rows of benches; sitting near the top which was less popular than the seats lower and closer to the stage. It also meant fewer people would be watching them as many came to look less at the performance and more at those in attendance. Rewrapping her himation, she cloaked it over her head and pulled it lower over her forehead before she stared at him; her cheeks flushing. “This was probably a bad idea.. If someone recognizes me they’ll question who you are.. Rumors spread and people listen. The last thing I want is Elias knowing you’re here.”
He was in complete agreement about staying away from the marketplace. For one thing, he’d already been there this morning. His interest in haggling was over and for another, he did not enjoy mindlessly browsing, as some did. If he went to market, there was a purpose. Something to be acquired. Apart from these reasons, he hadn’t come to see her just to pretend to be her chaperone or bodyguard, or whatever people assumed he was to her all day. It wasn’t enough to be near her and watch her. No. He wanted to be able to reach for her, to touch her if he wished.
When he came to Athenia to trade, he was usually to be found in the slave markets, the harbor, or the lower levels. Sometimes he would come to the rich villas to deliver specific slaves or some contraband or other. But never had he gone past the houses. His life was not one of idle pursuits and useless hobbies.
What few plays he’d seen were performed in taverns, put on by whores masquerading as actresses. He’d never followed a group of students as they walked after their scholar master. Nor had he listened to any philosophers, been dazzled by famed singers, or transported by musicians. The Amphitheater, where all these took place, was somewhere he’d only heard about, and never once had the least inclination to go. It was a waste of time.
She did not tell him where they were going and he did not ask. It didn’t matter where she took him because it was all relevant now. Though, as they approached the amphitheater, he slowed his steps and fully paused at the top tier, looking down toward the stage. Was this actually necessary? With a sigh, he followed her again. Perhaps it was worthwhile because she evidently liked it. The two of them made their way to an out of the way place and sat down.
On the center of the stage, two men stood opposite one another. Each wore only a himation and the long beard scholars tended to have. The man on the right, dressed in a rich blue, argued passionately that he and everyone else were all manifestations of Zeus’s dreams. The other man, whose himation was a brilliant white, challenged this claim and brought one of his own. No one was a dream manifestation, but, perhaps, everyone was a cosmic mistake.
He stopped listening.
Glancing over, he found Thalia drawing up her himation and using it to obscure her face. Pink bloomed in her cheeks and her eyes had the sort of worried expression he usually dismissed out of hand. He did not need to ask her what was the matter. She told him that people were aware of who she was and that his presence would be questioned. How exactly that circled back to Elias, he was unsure.
Shifting, he raised his eyebrows at her. “You worry a lot more than I remember you doing,” he said. “Forget Stravos. He’s not a concern.” Still, if she was uncomfortable, then he certainly wasn’t going to stay for the travesty on stage. The man in the blue himation was stoically arguing that Zeus’s dreams were vivid and could totally have brought forth life as everyone knew it. After all, hadn’t he birthed the goddess Athena from his own mind? The man in the white himation shook his head vehemently but Lukos rolled his eyes and took Thalia by the wrist. Someone couldn’t pay him to stay here another second.
A few people turned to look at them as he towed her behind him but he didn’t make eye contact. His grip on her arm wasn’t tight and she wasn’t being dragged. Within a minute they were out of the amphitheater and behind anyone watching the debate. In the distance, he spotted stone pillars, topped with small statues of owls.
He let go of Thalia’s wrist but put his hand on her back, guiding her forward toward the entrance of the sacred grove. If they were going to have privacy, that might be as good a place as any. Ancient oak trees stood in natural rings inside the grove. Though he was not a devout man, and, at times, did not wholly believe in the gods at all, he was not immune to the serene calm that permeated the place.
The grove was a little outside the city. A man’s voice could carry to the entrance, at least, but they were basically alone. A small sunlit meadow surrounded the trees with wildflowers sprouting here and there as though Nymphs had dipped down to touch the ground in just those areas. Very few things here were human made and none of it cultivated. This place was sacred long before the well in the center had been dug. Through the trees, a marble altar stood, awaiting the priests and priestesses to lead the city in sacrifices during one of the summer festivals.
Her concerns, as far as he knew them, were unfounded and he told her so, as they walked. There was no one around to hear him speaking of Elias but he did avoid using the name. He told her again that he’d only met Elias once, at night. That if the two of them met by daylight, they wouldn’t recognize each other. And, as far as Stravos was concerned, Lukos could come and go as he pleased, wherever he pleased, so long as the ships were sunk. If he came into Athenia to trade, that was perfectly normal.
“And he doesn’t know about you,” he said, taking her by the shoulders and forcing her to sit at the base of a gnarled olive tree. “Your father doesn’t know about us, your brothers...no one. Except for Persephone, no one knows that you and I are connected in any way. Don’t concern yourself with Stravos. He’s nothing to worry about for now.”
This was a change from his fears before but he’d had time to think them through carefully in his days of being totally bored on the ship imprisoned in harbor. It wasn’t as if Elias was looking for him to be here, or there, or anywhere. So far as he could tell about the man, he didn’t care what happened with the details of his plans as long as they were carried out. He’d never stopped sinking any ships he came across, so that part of the deal, at least was being upheld. There was nothing for Elias to be the least bit suspicious about. Especially since he didn’t, and couldn’t know about Persephone’s involvement. If he did, Lukos would be attacked and likely dead already, what with his inability to flee.
“I haven’t been to a sacred grove in a long time,” he mused, abruptly changing the subject. Elias was a pointless topic and one that was likely to draw notice from the Fates, if no one else. “The last time I was in one was in...Colchis. With you.” It was the night she’d fled Imbrasus, and himself. They’d gone on an exhausting chase that had ended in an olive grove. One dedicated to one of the gods - Ares probably - but he couldn’t remember. His whole concern at that point had been to avoid being stabbed and to get her back on the ship.
Murder of a rich man was an offense that wasn’t taken lightly, especially since it was done by a woman. She’d been wild and feral. Completely different to how she was now. He pushed the himation off her head to reveal her hair and the whole of her face. In the amphitheater, she’d cautioned him that rumors spread and he’d only thought about it in connection to Elias, since that’s what she’d been getting at all along. Though, he supposed she also meant other rumors.
One side of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “What other rumors are you afraid of?” he pushed her shoulder lightly. “They won’t matter in a month.” This Thalia that he’d found in Athenia was an interesting creature and given to more concerns and fears than the wild cat he’d taken aboard ship. He didn’t like her constant worry. That sort of thing tended to spread like an infection. He was damned if he’d actually fear an arrogant brat like Elias.
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He was in complete agreement about staying away from the marketplace. For one thing, he’d already been there this morning. His interest in haggling was over and for another, he did not enjoy mindlessly browsing, as some did. If he went to market, there was a purpose. Something to be acquired. Apart from these reasons, he hadn’t come to see her just to pretend to be her chaperone or bodyguard, or whatever people assumed he was to her all day. It wasn’t enough to be near her and watch her. No. He wanted to be able to reach for her, to touch her if he wished.
When he came to Athenia to trade, he was usually to be found in the slave markets, the harbor, or the lower levels. Sometimes he would come to the rich villas to deliver specific slaves or some contraband or other. But never had he gone past the houses. His life was not one of idle pursuits and useless hobbies.
What few plays he’d seen were performed in taverns, put on by whores masquerading as actresses. He’d never followed a group of students as they walked after their scholar master. Nor had he listened to any philosophers, been dazzled by famed singers, or transported by musicians. The Amphitheater, where all these took place, was somewhere he’d only heard about, and never once had the least inclination to go. It was a waste of time.
She did not tell him where they were going and he did not ask. It didn’t matter where she took him because it was all relevant now. Though, as they approached the amphitheater, he slowed his steps and fully paused at the top tier, looking down toward the stage. Was this actually necessary? With a sigh, he followed her again. Perhaps it was worthwhile because she evidently liked it. The two of them made their way to an out of the way place and sat down.
On the center of the stage, two men stood opposite one another. Each wore only a himation and the long beard scholars tended to have. The man on the right, dressed in a rich blue, argued passionately that he and everyone else were all manifestations of Zeus’s dreams. The other man, whose himation was a brilliant white, challenged this claim and brought one of his own. No one was a dream manifestation, but, perhaps, everyone was a cosmic mistake.
He stopped listening.
Glancing over, he found Thalia drawing up her himation and using it to obscure her face. Pink bloomed in her cheeks and her eyes had the sort of worried expression he usually dismissed out of hand. He did not need to ask her what was the matter. She told him that people were aware of who she was and that his presence would be questioned. How exactly that circled back to Elias, he was unsure.
Shifting, he raised his eyebrows at her. “You worry a lot more than I remember you doing,” he said. “Forget Stravos. He’s not a concern.” Still, if she was uncomfortable, then he certainly wasn’t going to stay for the travesty on stage. The man in the blue himation was stoically arguing that Zeus’s dreams were vivid and could totally have brought forth life as everyone knew it. After all, hadn’t he birthed the goddess Athena from his own mind? The man in the white himation shook his head vehemently but Lukos rolled his eyes and took Thalia by the wrist. Someone couldn’t pay him to stay here another second.
A few people turned to look at them as he towed her behind him but he didn’t make eye contact. His grip on her arm wasn’t tight and she wasn’t being dragged. Within a minute they were out of the amphitheater and behind anyone watching the debate. In the distance, he spotted stone pillars, topped with small statues of owls.
He let go of Thalia’s wrist but put his hand on her back, guiding her forward toward the entrance of the sacred grove. If they were going to have privacy, that might be as good a place as any. Ancient oak trees stood in natural rings inside the grove. Though he was not a devout man, and, at times, did not wholly believe in the gods at all, he was not immune to the serene calm that permeated the place.
The grove was a little outside the city. A man’s voice could carry to the entrance, at least, but they were basically alone. A small sunlit meadow surrounded the trees with wildflowers sprouting here and there as though Nymphs had dipped down to touch the ground in just those areas. Very few things here were human made and none of it cultivated. This place was sacred long before the well in the center had been dug. Through the trees, a marble altar stood, awaiting the priests and priestesses to lead the city in sacrifices during one of the summer festivals.
Her concerns, as far as he knew them, were unfounded and he told her so, as they walked. There was no one around to hear him speaking of Elias but he did avoid using the name. He told her again that he’d only met Elias once, at night. That if the two of them met by daylight, they wouldn’t recognize each other. And, as far as Stravos was concerned, Lukos could come and go as he pleased, wherever he pleased, so long as the ships were sunk. If he came into Athenia to trade, that was perfectly normal.
“And he doesn’t know about you,” he said, taking her by the shoulders and forcing her to sit at the base of a gnarled olive tree. “Your father doesn’t know about us, your brothers...no one. Except for Persephone, no one knows that you and I are connected in any way. Don’t concern yourself with Stravos. He’s nothing to worry about for now.”
This was a change from his fears before but he’d had time to think them through carefully in his days of being totally bored on the ship imprisoned in harbor. It wasn’t as if Elias was looking for him to be here, or there, or anywhere. So far as he could tell about the man, he didn’t care what happened with the details of his plans as long as they were carried out. He’d never stopped sinking any ships he came across, so that part of the deal, at least was being upheld. There was nothing for Elias to be the least bit suspicious about. Especially since he didn’t, and couldn’t know about Persephone’s involvement. If he did, Lukos would be attacked and likely dead already, what with his inability to flee.
“I haven’t been to a sacred grove in a long time,” he mused, abruptly changing the subject. Elias was a pointless topic and one that was likely to draw notice from the Fates, if no one else. “The last time I was in one was in...Colchis. With you.” It was the night she’d fled Imbrasus, and himself. They’d gone on an exhausting chase that had ended in an olive grove. One dedicated to one of the gods - Ares probably - but he couldn’t remember. His whole concern at that point had been to avoid being stabbed and to get her back on the ship.
Murder of a rich man was an offense that wasn’t taken lightly, especially since it was done by a woman. She’d been wild and feral. Completely different to how she was now. He pushed the himation off her head to reveal her hair and the whole of her face. In the amphitheater, she’d cautioned him that rumors spread and he’d only thought about it in connection to Elias, since that’s what she’d been getting at all along. Though, he supposed she also meant other rumors.
One side of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “What other rumors are you afraid of?” he pushed her shoulder lightly. “They won’t matter in a month.” This Thalia that he’d found in Athenia was an interesting creature and given to more concerns and fears than the wild cat he’d taken aboard ship. He didn’t like her constant worry. That sort of thing tended to spread like an infection. He was damned if he’d actually fear an arrogant brat like Elias.
He was in complete agreement about staying away from the marketplace. For one thing, he’d already been there this morning. His interest in haggling was over and for another, he did not enjoy mindlessly browsing, as some did. If he went to market, there was a purpose. Something to be acquired. Apart from these reasons, he hadn’t come to see her just to pretend to be her chaperone or bodyguard, or whatever people assumed he was to her all day. It wasn’t enough to be near her and watch her. No. He wanted to be able to reach for her, to touch her if he wished.
When he came to Athenia to trade, he was usually to be found in the slave markets, the harbor, or the lower levels. Sometimes he would come to the rich villas to deliver specific slaves or some contraband or other. But never had he gone past the houses. His life was not one of idle pursuits and useless hobbies.
What few plays he’d seen were performed in taverns, put on by whores masquerading as actresses. He’d never followed a group of students as they walked after their scholar master. Nor had he listened to any philosophers, been dazzled by famed singers, or transported by musicians. The Amphitheater, where all these took place, was somewhere he’d only heard about, and never once had the least inclination to go. It was a waste of time.
She did not tell him where they were going and he did not ask. It didn’t matter where she took him because it was all relevant now. Though, as they approached the amphitheater, he slowed his steps and fully paused at the top tier, looking down toward the stage. Was this actually necessary? With a sigh, he followed her again. Perhaps it was worthwhile because she evidently liked it. The two of them made their way to an out of the way place and sat down.
On the center of the stage, two men stood opposite one another. Each wore only a himation and the long beard scholars tended to have. The man on the right, dressed in a rich blue, argued passionately that he and everyone else were all manifestations of Zeus’s dreams. The other man, whose himation was a brilliant white, challenged this claim and brought one of his own. No one was a dream manifestation, but, perhaps, everyone was a cosmic mistake.
He stopped listening.
Glancing over, he found Thalia drawing up her himation and using it to obscure her face. Pink bloomed in her cheeks and her eyes had the sort of worried expression he usually dismissed out of hand. He did not need to ask her what was the matter. She told him that people were aware of who she was and that his presence would be questioned. How exactly that circled back to Elias, he was unsure.
Shifting, he raised his eyebrows at her. “You worry a lot more than I remember you doing,” he said. “Forget Stravos. He’s not a concern.” Still, if she was uncomfortable, then he certainly wasn’t going to stay for the travesty on stage. The man in the blue himation was stoically arguing that Zeus’s dreams were vivid and could totally have brought forth life as everyone knew it. After all, hadn’t he birthed the goddess Athena from his own mind? The man in the white himation shook his head vehemently but Lukos rolled his eyes and took Thalia by the wrist. Someone couldn’t pay him to stay here another second.
A few people turned to look at them as he towed her behind him but he didn’t make eye contact. His grip on her arm wasn’t tight and she wasn’t being dragged. Within a minute they were out of the amphitheater and behind anyone watching the debate. In the distance, he spotted stone pillars, topped with small statues of owls.
He let go of Thalia’s wrist but put his hand on her back, guiding her forward toward the entrance of the sacred grove. If they were going to have privacy, that might be as good a place as any. Ancient oak trees stood in natural rings inside the grove. Though he was not a devout man, and, at times, did not wholly believe in the gods at all, he was not immune to the serene calm that permeated the place.
The grove was a little outside the city. A man’s voice could carry to the entrance, at least, but they were basically alone. A small sunlit meadow surrounded the trees with wildflowers sprouting here and there as though Nymphs had dipped down to touch the ground in just those areas. Very few things here were human made and none of it cultivated. This place was sacred long before the well in the center had been dug. Through the trees, a marble altar stood, awaiting the priests and priestesses to lead the city in sacrifices during one of the summer festivals.
Her concerns, as far as he knew them, were unfounded and he told her so, as they walked. There was no one around to hear him speaking of Elias but he did avoid using the name. He told her again that he’d only met Elias once, at night. That if the two of them met by daylight, they wouldn’t recognize each other. And, as far as Stravos was concerned, Lukos could come and go as he pleased, wherever he pleased, so long as the ships were sunk. If he came into Athenia to trade, that was perfectly normal.
“And he doesn’t know about you,” he said, taking her by the shoulders and forcing her to sit at the base of a gnarled olive tree. “Your father doesn’t know about us, your brothers...no one. Except for Persephone, no one knows that you and I are connected in any way. Don’t concern yourself with Stravos. He’s nothing to worry about for now.”
This was a change from his fears before but he’d had time to think them through carefully in his days of being totally bored on the ship imprisoned in harbor. It wasn’t as if Elias was looking for him to be here, or there, or anywhere. So far as he could tell about the man, he didn’t care what happened with the details of his plans as long as they were carried out. He’d never stopped sinking any ships he came across, so that part of the deal, at least was being upheld. There was nothing for Elias to be the least bit suspicious about. Especially since he didn’t, and couldn’t know about Persephone’s involvement. If he did, Lukos would be attacked and likely dead already, what with his inability to flee.
“I haven’t been to a sacred grove in a long time,” he mused, abruptly changing the subject. Elias was a pointless topic and one that was likely to draw notice from the Fates, if no one else. “The last time I was in one was in...Colchis. With you.” It was the night she’d fled Imbrasus, and himself. They’d gone on an exhausting chase that had ended in an olive grove. One dedicated to one of the gods - Ares probably - but he couldn’t remember. His whole concern at that point had been to avoid being stabbed and to get her back on the ship.
Murder of a rich man was an offense that wasn’t taken lightly, especially since it was done by a woman. She’d been wild and feral. Completely different to how she was now. He pushed the himation off her head to reveal her hair and the whole of her face. In the amphitheater, she’d cautioned him that rumors spread and he’d only thought about it in connection to Elias, since that’s what she’d been getting at all along. Though, he supposed she also meant other rumors.
One side of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “What other rumors are you afraid of?” he pushed her shoulder lightly. “They won’t matter in a month.” This Thalia that he’d found in Athenia was an interesting creature and given to more concerns and fears than the wild cat he’d taken aboard ship. He didn’t like her constant worry. That sort of thing tended to spread like an infection. He was damned if he’d actually fear an arrogant brat like Elias.
It was a lot easier said than done to forget someone like Stravos. That he’d already plotted to overthrow the crown said enough about the lengths he would take to deny Persephone her throne. Lukos was dispensible to Stravos in the grand scheme of things, but the Senate vote hinged on him. With his testimony, there was no way Stravos had a fighting chance of taking the crown.
With is assertation that she worried more she rolled her eyes. “This isn’t the island, Lukos..” Of course, she worried.. More about him. But Athenia was a different place than the island. She didn’t have to worry about court or politics there. She wasn’t concerned with her family or those she knew who were close to them. Her relationship to the community at large was far different here than it ever was on his island. With him, it’d been all about surviving the day to day. The people on the island were lower class and for the most part, strangers. She didn’t have to worry about rumors and there was someone close to share her worries about Lukos with: Arktos. Now the weight of that concern rested solely on her shoulders.
They watched the men debate absently for a few moments before Lukos took her wrist and stood abruptly. He began walking and she stood to catch up to him; not pulling her wrist away from his. She lifted her skirts so she didn’t trip on them and followed him up and out of the ampitheatre; catching up as they made their way across the open path. Releasing her wrist, he guided her with a hand on her lower back. Their pace was quicker than a stroll, but not brisk and he told her all the reasons she shouldn’t worry. And he was probably right.. How would Elias ever know he was here with her? Her paranoia was probably too extreme. But since the moment she’d pulled him out of the water she’d made him a concern of hers. ...Even if it didn’t always seem that way and even if she never let him know.
The grove itself was lovely; peaceful in that trees hung wide and low over them and sunlight peeked through the branches along the manicured path. It smelled of honeysuckle and lavender and the columns seemed to box everything in while leaving the gardens open to the rest of the hillside. There weren’t many people here, but their privacy was limited. At any time anyone could walk by of their own accord.
She turned to face him as he nudged her down; folding to sit next to him beneath the olive tree. Its gnarled facade showed it’s age and the roots had risen in places from the ground; refusing to stay buried. But it was far closer than they’d sat in the ampitheatre and she’d liked him being near. Were anyone to come upon them, they were merely two lovers in a park.. A common sight, even at this time of year.
She smirked and grazed her knuckle over his cheek. “Since when are you so wise?” Her eyes sparkled and she leaned close to brush a kiss against his lips; lingering there for a moment before she pulled back enough to see him. “You’re right. .....This time.” ...Truth be told, he was probably safer here than he was on the ship. And as no one knew about them, she really had nothing to concern herself with. She should enjoy her time with him.
Changing the subject, he brought up the grove and Thalia looked around them. It was rather nice. But she missed their field. The one they trained on and where they’d sit and watch over the village and the ocean beyond. With his memory, she frowned. ...She didn’t remember much of that night after she’d killed Imbrascus and ran. ...At least not in the way of where they ran. She’d been out of her mind with panic and the need to survive, she didn’t know where she was running. All she knew was to move up.. Up through the hills to where the palace would be. She didn’t remember where he’d finally caught her.. Where he’d tackled her and then knocked her out to keep her from fighting. “..This is preferable..” She murmured as she looked down at her hand. Being back in Athenia...everything she’d gone through in those early days with Lukos seemed like a horrible dream. The kidnapping itself.. The cages. The purity exam and how she’d kicked a midwife in the face to keep her away… All of the slaves he’d sold right beside her. The day with Imbrascus… she’d had to work harder to push that to the back of her mind. She felt some relief knowing he was dead. Knowing his manservant was dead. That he’d never do what he did to her to another girl. ...But she’d still lived through it and it was easier not to think about it at all.
How she’d come to this…from fighting Lukos with everything she’d had, to sitting under an olive tree engaged to the man still seemed like some twisted form of reality. And she would have probably continued to fight him tooth and nail over everything if he’d kept her on the island. She’d needed her freedom. She’d needed him to give it back so that the feeling of being a slave… of being like the people he’d sold off.. Of being like Imbrascus’s property didn’t hang over her head. She would have never given herself to Lukos if he’d kept her there. But now she could look at him and remember the good. ...And yes, even some of their fights came to the forefront... The heated ones that devolved into them tangled beneath the sheets. Of their sparring and the day he returned home from leaving her alone on the island. The rain and her exotic Egyptian gown… or lack thereof. Their nights spent with his men around the fire on the beach. Their life so far had been a series of high highs and low lows. But it was all an adventure; something she’d always lacked before him.
She looked up at him as he pushed away the makeshift hood. His mouth twisted into that lopsided grin and she raised her brow with what he said. Chuckling, she shook her head. “I have so much to teach you if you wish to be a Lord.” She nudged him in the ribs but didn’t pull away. Instead, she let her hand graze against his torso beneath his chlamys; just so she could feel him there. That he wasn’t some sort of figment. “But I suppose we have enough time to figure it out.”
Her mind lingered on what he said… On the grove where he’d tackled her and Imbrascus himself. She didn’t know how she’d recovered… didn’t know if she really ever did. But she knew he had something to do with it. Even if he didn’t it know himself. Because after that night their relationship shifted. He’d stopped treating her like a slave and started looking at her more as he did now. Oh sure, it was fleeting and usually only came when they weren’t battling each other for their lives. But she didn’t feel alone and she’d needed that then. Needed it now. He filled a void she didn’t know she had.
“….Speaking of Colchis. Where’s my blade?”
JD
Staff Team
JD
Staff Team
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It was a lot easier said than done to forget someone like Stravos. That he’d already plotted to overthrow the crown said enough about the lengths he would take to deny Persephone her throne. Lukos was dispensible to Stravos in the grand scheme of things, but the Senate vote hinged on him. With his testimony, there was no way Stravos had a fighting chance of taking the crown.
With is assertation that she worried more she rolled her eyes. “This isn’t the island, Lukos..” Of course, she worried.. More about him. But Athenia was a different place than the island. She didn’t have to worry about court or politics there. She wasn’t concerned with her family or those she knew who were close to them. Her relationship to the community at large was far different here than it ever was on his island. With him, it’d been all about surviving the day to day. The people on the island were lower class and for the most part, strangers. She didn’t have to worry about rumors and there was someone close to share her worries about Lukos with: Arktos. Now the weight of that concern rested solely on her shoulders.
They watched the men debate absently for a few moments before Lukos took her wrist and stood abruptly. He began walking and she stood to catch up to him; not pulling her wrist away from his. She lifted her skirts so she didn’t trip on them and followed him up and out of the ampitheatre; catching up as they made their way across the open path. Releasing her wrist, he guided her with a hand on her lower back. Their pace was quicker than a stroll, but not brisk and he told her all the reasons she shouldn’t worry. And he was probably right.. How would Elias ever know he was here with her? Her paranoia was probably too extreme. But since the moment she’d pulled him out of the water she’d made him a concern of hers. ...Even if it didn’t always seem that way and even if she never let him know.
The grove itself was lovely; peaceful in that trees hung wide and low over them and sunlight peeked through the branches along the manicured path. It smelled of honeysuckle and lavender and the columns seemed to box everything in while leaving the gardens open to the rest of the hillside. There weren’t many people here, but their privacy was limited. At any time anyone could walk by of their own accord.
She turned to face him as he nudged her down; folding to sit next to him beneath the olive tree. Its gnarled facade showed it’s age and the roots had risen in places from the ground; refusing to stay buried. But it was far closer than they’d sat in the ampitheatre and she’d liked him being near. Were anyone to come upon them, they were merely two lovers in a park.. A common sight, even at this time of year.
She smirked and grazed her knuckle over his cheek. “Since when are you so wise?” Her eyes sparkled and she leaned close to brush a kiss against his lips; lingering there for a moment before she pulled back enough to see him. “You’re right. .....This time.” ...Truth be told, he was probably safer here than he was on the ship. And as no one knew about them, she really had nothing to concern herself with. She should enjoy her time with him.
Changing the subject, he brought up the grove and Thalia looked around them. It was rather nice. But she missed their field. The one they trained on and where they’d sit and watch over the village and the ocean beyond. With his memory, she frowned. ...She didn’t remember much of that night after she’d killed Imbrascus and ran. ...At least not in the way of where they ran. She’d been out of her mind with panic and the need to survive, she didn’t know where she was running. All she knew was to move up.. Up through the hills to where the palace would be. She didn’t remember where he’d finally caught her.. Where he’d tackled her and then knocked her out to keep her from fighting. “..This is preferable..” She murmured as she looked down at her hand. Being back in Athenia...everything she’d gone through in those early days with Lukos seemed like a horrible dream. The kidnapping itself.. The cages. The purity exam and how she’d kicked a midwife in the face to keep her away… All of the slaves he’d sold right beside her. The day with Imbrascus… she’d had to work harder to push that to the back of her mind. She felt some relief knowing he was dead. Knowing his manservant was dead. That he’d never do what he did to her to another girl. ...But she’d still lived through it and it was easier not to think about it at all.
How she’d come to this…from fighting Lukos with everything she’d had, to sitting under an olive tree engaged to the man still seemed like some twisted form of reality. And she would have probably continued to fight him tooth and nail over everything if he’d kept her on the island. She’d needed her freedom. She’d needed him to give it back so that the feeling of being a slave… of being like the people he’d sold off.. Of being like Imbrascus’s property didn’t hang over her head. She would have never given herself to Lukos if he’d kept her there. But now she could look at him and remember the good. ...And yes, even some of their fights came to the forefront... The heated ones that devolved into them tangled beneath the sheets. Of their sparring and the day he returned home from leaving her alone on the island. The rain and her exotic Egyptian gown… or lack thereof. Their nights spent with his men around the fire on the beach. Their life so far had been a series of high highs and low lows. But it was all an adventure; something she’d always lacked before him.
She looked up at him as he pushed away the makeshift hood. His mouth twisted into that lopsided grin and she raised her brow with what he said. Chuckling, she shook her head. “I have so much to teach you if you wish to be a Lord.” She nudged him in the ribs but didn’t pull away. Instead, she let her hand graze against his torso beneath his chlamys; just so she could feel him there. That he wasn’t some sort of figment. “But I suppose we have enough time to figure it out.”
Her mind lingered on what he said… On the grove where he’d tackled her and Imbrascus himself. She didn’t know how she’d recovered… didn’t know if she really ever did. But she knew he had something to do with it. Even if he didn’t it know himself. Because after that night their relationship shifted. He’d stopped treating her like a slave and started looking at her more as he did now. Oh sure, it was fleeting and usually only came when they weren’t battling each other for their lives. But she didn’t feel alone and she’d needed that then. Needed it now. He filled a void she didn’t know she had.
“….Speaking of Colchis. Where’s my blade?”
It was a lot easier said than done to forget someone like Stravos. That he’d already plotted to overthrow the crown said enough about the lengths he would take to deny Persephone her throne. Lukos was dispensible to Stravos in the grand scheme of things, but the Senate vote hinged on him. With his testimony, there was no way Stravos had a fighting chance of taking the crown.
With is assertation that she worried more she rolled her eyes. “This isn’t the island, Lukos..” Of course, she worried.. More about him. But Athenia was a different place than the island. She didn’t have to worry about court or politics there. She wasn’t concerned with her family or those she knew who were close to them. Her relationship to the community at large was far different here than it ever was on his island. With him, it’d been all about surviving the day to day. The people on the island were lower class and for the most part, strangers. She didn’t have to worry about rumors and there was someone close to share her worries about Lukos with: Arktos. Now the weight of that concern rested solely on her shoulders.
They watched the men debate absently for a few moments before Lukos took her wrist and stood abruptly. He began walking and she stood to catch up to him; not pulling her wrist away from his. She lifted her skirts so she didn’t trip on them and followed him up and out of the ampitheatre; catching up as they made their way across the open path. Releasing her wrist, he guided her with a hand on her lower back. Their pace was quicker than a stroll, but not brisk and he told her all the reasons she shouldn’t worry. And he was probably right.. How would Elias ever know he was here with her? Her paranoia was probably too extreme. But since the moment she’d pulled him out of the water she’d made him a concern of hers. ...Even if it didn’t always seem that way and even if she never let him know.
The grove itself was lovely; peaceful in that trees hung wide and low over them and sunlight peeked through the branches along the manicured path. It smelled of honeysuckle and lavender and the columns seemed to box everything in while leaving the gardens open to the rest of the hillside. There weren’t many people here, but their privacy was limited. At any time anyone could walk by of their own accord.
She turned to face him as he nudged her down; folding to sit next to him beneath the olive tree. Its gnarled facade showed it’s age and the roots had risen in places from the ground; refusing to stay buried. But it was far closer than they’d sat in the ampitheatre and she’d liked him being near. Were anyone to come upon them, they were merely two lovers in a park.. A common sight, even at this time of year.
She smirked and grazed her knuckle over his cheek. “Since when are you so wise?” Her eyes sparkled and she leaned close to brush a kiss against his lips; lingering there for a moment before she pulled back enough to see him. “You’re right. .....This time.” ...Truth be told, he was probably safer here than he was on the ship. And as no one knew about them, she really had nothing to concern herself with. She should enjoy her time with him.
Changing the subject, he brought up the grove and Thalia looked around them. It was rather nice. But she missed their field. The one they trained on and where they’d sit and watch over the village and the ocean beyond. With his memory, she frowned. ...She didn’t remember much of that night after she’d killed Imbrascus and ran. ...At least not in the way of where they ran. She’d been out of her mind with panic and the need to survive, she didn’t know where she was running. All she knew was to move up.. Up through the hills to where the palace would be. She didn’t remember where he’d finally caught her.. Where he’d tackled her and then knocked her out to keep her from fighting. “..This is preferable..” She murmured as she looked down at her hand. Being back in Athenia...everything she’d gone through in those early days with Lukos seemed like a horrible dream. The kidnapping itself.. The cages. The purity exam and how she’d kicked a midwife in the face to keep her away… All of the slaves he’d sold right beside her. The day with Imbrascus… she’d had to work harder to push that to the back of her mind. She felt some relief knowing he was dead. Knowing his manservant was dead. That he’d never do what he did to her to another girl. ...But she’d still lived through it and it was easier not to think about it at all.
How she’d come to this…from fighting Lukos with everything she’d had, to sitting under an olive tree engaged to the man still seemed like some twisted form of reality. And she would have probably continued to fight him tooth and nail over everything if he’d kept her on the island. She’d needed her freedom. She’d needed him to give it back so that the feeling of being a slave… of being like the people he’d sold off.. Of being like Imbrascus’s property didn’t hang over her head. She would have never given herself to Lukos if he’d kept her there. But now she could look at him and remember the good. ...And yes, even some of their fights came to the forefront... The heated ones that devolved into them tangled beneath the sheets. Of their sparring and the day he returned home from leaving her alone on the island. The rain and her exotic Egyptian gown… or lack thereof. Their nights spent with his men around the fire on the beach. Their life so far had been a series of high highs and low lows. But it was all an adventure; something she’d always lacked before him.
She looked up at him as he pushed away the makeshift hood. His mouth twisted into that lopsided grin and she raised her brow with what he said. Chuckling, she shook her head. “I have so much to teach you if you wish to be a Lord.” She nudged him in the ribs but didn’t pull away. Instead, she let her hand graze against his torso beneath his chlamys; just so she could feel him there. That he wasn’t some sort of figment. “But I suppose we have enough time to figure it out.”
Her mind lingered on what he said… On the grove where he’d tackled her and Imbrascus himself. She didn’t know how she’d recovered… didn’t know if she really ever did. But she knew he had something to do with it. Even if he didn’t it know himself. Because after that night their relationship shifted. He’d stopped treating her like a slave and started looking at her more as he did now. Oh sure, it was fleeting and usually only came when they weren’t battling each other for their lives. But she didn’t feel alone and she’d needed that then. Needed it now. He filled a void she didn’t know she had.
“….Speaking of Colchis. Where’s my blade?”
“Teach me?” He scooted sideways away from her and crossed his arms over his chest, arching an eyebrow at her. “There’s nothing to learn.” His expression was serious but his voice took on the mocking tone he used when teasing. “I know what rich lords do. They sit in their villas all day and watch other people work.”
“And when I’m not doing that, I think I’ll go count my gold. I’m sure there’s lots of it.” Through the trees, an old woman walked over the grass. Her feet were bare and her gray hair hung loose over her shoulders and down her back. His gaze followed her languid progress as he spoke. “After all that counting, I think it will be time for a nap. Rich people nap, don’t they?”
At last he looked over at her and grinned. “Don’t look at me like that. I am aware there’s more to it than that.” To him, she looked as if she might take him seriously and lecture him about how serious a responsibility everything was. And he didn’t want to hear it. Partly because she’d told him before, and partly because he already knew it.
Across the way, the old woman began to sing. Her voice was high and clear. It sounded much younger than her appearance would lead one to believe. The song wasn’t one with which he was familiar but it was soothing and he relaxed against the tree to listen. It praised Athena - her wisdom, her beauty, her virtue.
Glancing over at Thalia, he wondered if she ever did such things. He doubted it. He’d never seen her praying and she either didn’t notice or didn’t care that he didn’t. His captain had prayed to Poseidon every single time they went out on the ocean to raid but it hadn’t helped him in the end. The man had died on his own ship anyway. Though, admittedly, not because of Poseidon’s wrath.
Some of his men had little idols they would carry in their pockets or on pendants around their necks. He had no such trinkets. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe the gods existed exactly, but he had fared pretty well on his own and he didn’t need or want them interfering in his affairs. Praying to them would only draw their attention.
“So,” he said presently, after the old woman had wandered away out of both sight and hearing. “If we can’t go to the market, what are we going to eat?”
The sun cast the small shadows of high noon. Warm air breezed through the grove. It was peaceful here but he was ready to move on and hungry besides. Reaching down, he took Thalia’s hand and hauled her to her feet.
“Lead the way, princess since it’s your people we’re trying to avoid.”
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“Teach me?” He scooted sideways away from her and crossed his arms over his chest, arching an eyebrow at her. “There’s nothing to learn.” His expression was serious but his voice took on the mocking tone he used when teasing. “I know what rich lords do. They sit in their villas all day and watch other people work.”
“And when I’m not doing that, I think I’ll go count my gold. I’m sure there’s lots of it.” Through the trees, an old woman walked over the grass. Her feet were bare and her gray hair hung loose over her shoulders and down her back. His gaze followed her languid progress as he spoke. “After all that counting, I think it will be time for a nap. Rich people nap, don’t they?”
At last he looked over at her and grinned. “Don’t look at me like that. I am aware there’s more to it than that.” To him, she looked as if she might take him seriously and lecture him about how serious a responsibility everything was. And he didn’t want to hear it. Partly because she’d told him before, and partly because he already knew it.
Across the way, the old woman began to sing. Her voice was high and clear. It sounded much younger than her appearance would lead one to believe. The song wasn’t one with which he was familiar but it was soothing and he relaxed against the tree to listen. It praised Athena - her wisdom, her beauty, her virtue.
Glancing over at Thalia, he wondered if she ever did such things. He doubted it. He’d never seen her praying and she either didn’t notice or didn’t care that he didn’t. His captain had prayed to Poseidon every single time they went out on the ocean to raid but it hadn’t helped him in the end. The man had died on his own ship anyway. Though, admittedly, not because of Poseidon’s wrath.
Some of his men had little idols they would carry in their pockets or on pendants around their necks. He had no such trinkets. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe the gods existed exactly, but he had fared pretty well on his own and he didn’t need or want them interfering in his affairs. Praying to them would only draw their attention.
“So,” he said presently, after the old woman had wandered away out of both sight and hearing. “If we can’t go to the market, what are we going to eat?”
The sun cast the small shadows of high noon. Warm air breezed through the grove. It was peaceful here but he was ready to move on and hungry besides. Reaching down, he took Thalia’s hand and hauled her to her feet.
“Lead the way, princess since it’s your people we’re trying to avoid.”
“Teach me?” He scooted sideways away from her and crossed his arms over his chest, arching an eyebrow at her. “There’s nothing to learn.” His expression was serious but his voice took on the mocking tone he used when teasing. “I know what rich lords do. They sit in their villas all day and watch other people work.”
“And when I’m not doing that, I think I’ll go count my gold. I’m sure there’s lots of it.” Through the trees, an old woman walked over the grass. Her feet were bare and her gray hair hung loose over her shoulders and down her back. His gaze followed her languid progress as he spoke. “After all that counting, I think it will be time for a nap. Rich people nap, don’t they?”
At last he looked over at her and grinned. “Don’t look at me like that. I am aware there’s more to it than that.” To him, she looked as if she might take him seriously and lecture him about how serious a responsibility everything was. And he didn’t want to hear it. Partly because she’d told him before, and partly because he already knew it.
Across the way, the old woman began to sing. Her voice was high and clear. It sounded much younger than her appearance would lead one to believe. The song wasn’t one with which he was familiar but it was soothing and he relaxed against the tree to listen. It praised Athena - her wisdom, her beauty, her virtue.
Glancing over at Thalia, he wondered if she ever did such things. He doubted it. He’d never seen her praying and she either didn’t notice or didn’t care that he didn’t. His captain had prayed to Poseidon every single time they went out on the ocean to raid but it hadn’t helped him in the end. The man had died on his own ship anyway. Though, admittedly, not because of Poseidon’s wrath.
Some of his men had little idols they would carry in their pockets or on pendants around their necks. He had no such trinkets. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe the gods existed exactly, but he had fared pretty well on his own and he didn’t need or want them interfering in his affairs. Praying to them would only draw their attention.
“So,” he said presently, after the old woman had wandered away out of both sight and hearing. “If we can’t go to the market, what are we going to eat?”
The sun cast the small shadows of high noon. Warm air breezed through the grove. It was peaceful here but he was ready to move on and hungry besides. Reaching down, he took Thalia’s hand and hauled her to her feet.
“Lead the way, princess since it’s your people we’re trying to avoid.”
Thalia raised her brow with his response. It wasn’t the first time he’d uttered such nonsense and it wouldn’t be the last. And she’d said more times than she could count how wrong he was.. How much work went into running a barony. How easily it compared to running an island, save with more bureaucracy and far less freedom. Still, it’d become a longstanding dig that they continued to volley back and forth.
Hazel eyes sparkled as he told her he would nap. In all the time she’d met Lukos she didn’t think she’d ever seen him nap. Falling into bed after a long day of back-breaking work? Yes. Napping when he should have been working? Never. If she knew anything about him, when he received the barony he’d be in the fields with the tenants harvesting crops or casting nets into the harbor. She’d never met anyone less able to sit still than her as he. “Yes, of course, they do.. On their piles of money. Then they have pretty servant girls come to pluck the coins off their body when they are finished.” She pokes his midsection playfully. “You shall grow fat and lazy and bald atop your head. Your fingers will grow soft without use and you shall smell of jasmine and rosehips.. “ Her explanation was almost as ludicrous as his. More than likely, Lukos would work himself into an early grave or die at the end of someone's sword. Either way, he would not grow fat and lazy.
The meandering woman distracted them from their attentions for a moment and Thalia remembered that they weren’t in a private setting. How easy it was to forget herself with him. He’d become infernally distracting. ...But then again, if she really considered it, when had she not thought that about him. Even when she despised him she thought about him incessantly. How she would next irritate him beyond bearing. How she could escape and someday best him. When he’d left the island, she thought about him so much she was sure she would grow mad. And if they were to be together in the future, he would never leave her on the island again to pine over him. She’d make him promise it if she had to.
Oddly enough, when she came back to Athenia, her goal had been to not think of him at all. To move on as she’d likely never see him again; submitting to a life she’d never wanted in an attempt to leave the past behind her. But you couldn’t forget Lukos even if you tried. She was becoming increasingly aware of that.
The woman who sang did so boldly. It was an art form she’d never gravitated to. Diomedes told her once she sounded like a strangled cat when she sang. Then again, they were in the middle of sparring so she wasn’t sure how much of that was true or merely goading her to strike harder. ...Which of course, she did. Needless to say, her praise and worship of the Gods had always been more private. Her mother kept a small shrine to the 12 Olympians set in their estate and there were also ones at Diomedes house and that of their barony house in the city. She’d leave small offerings to them when no one was near; a flower she’d plucked from a field for Aphrodite and blood from a pricked fingertip for Ares. Some venison for Artemis or Athena and a lock of hair from one of the horses in the stables for Poseidon. Nothing was ever so over the top that it would call attention to her, however. In her mind, they knew of her intentions. A grand show of faith may mean even less as it wasn’t from the heart.
His words snapped her out of her reverie and she turned her attention back to Lukos as he asked her where to eat. “Hmm? Oh.. yes, I suppose if we’re to marry I have to feed you, don’t I..?” She smirked and leaned forward to kiss him again. “Very well.. Let’s go find something for you…” She stood and brushed her gown and himation out to remove it of grass and leaves before leading him out of the gardens.
She brought him back down the streets they’d come through before and lower towards the market. But where the road forked around a building, she led him on the northern street instead of the south that would have brought them to the populated shops. The streets were clean and the homes were set behind gated walls much like Diomedes estate. It curved around a bend in the road where neatly trimmed trees peeked out of courtyards and brightly colored domes were painted or tiled in shades of brilliant cobalt. Other edifices were made of stone and marble. They made a little small talk along the way; nothing of import and only in passing until she stopped in front of a small shop carved out between two larger buildings. It was a narrow restaurant and smelled like….. Well.. it smelled like heaven. She’d been a couple times, but she never tired of it.
She led him in and to the counter where there was a man preparing flatbreads with any number of toppings on them. The interior was warm from the rounded oven off to the back and there were a few tables off to the side. Leaning over, she looked over the ingredients and made her order before he did. It was a clean establishment, but still decidedly lower class; at least in comparison to what her family was accustomed to. But Linos liked it and he made good company so they’d pop in from time to time.
After their orders were taken, she went to sit at a table to wait across from him. The inner rafters were draped with dry storage ingredients, utensils, and crockery. It was cramped and the tables were small, but with Lukos she didn’t mind… it just meant they could sit closer. “...I promise you, this will be the best meal I could ever have prepared for you…” She smirked...because she wasn’t lying. She could give orders for food easily enough…. Following them was an entirely different story.
JD
Staff Team
JD
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Thalia raised her brow with his response. It wasn’t the first time he’d uttered such nonsense and it wouldn’t be the last. And she’d said more times than she could count how wrong he was.. How much work went into running a barony. How easily it compared to running an island, save with more bureaucracy and far less freedom. Still, it’d become a longstanding dig that they continued to volley back and forth.
Hazel eyes sparkled as he told her he would nap. In all the time she’d met Lukos she didn’t think she’d ever seen him nap. Falling into bed after a long day of back-breaking work? Yes. Napping when he should have been working? Never. If she knew anything about him, when he received the barony he’d be in the fields with the tenants harvesting crops or casting nets into the harbor. She’d never met anyone less able to sit still than her as he. “Yes, of course, they do.. On their piles of money. Then they have pretty servant girls come to pluck the coins off their body when they are finished.” She pokes his midsection playfully. “You shall grow fat and lazy and bald atop your head. Your fingers will grow soft without use and you shall smell of jasmine and rosehips.. “ Her explanation was almost as ludicrous as his. More than likely, Lukos would work himself into an early grave or die at the end of someone's sword. Either way, he would not grow fat and lazy.
The meandering woman distracted them from their attentions for a moment and Thalia remembered that they weren’t in a private setting. How easy it was to forget herself with him. He’d become infernally distracting. ...But then again, if she really considered it, when had she not thought that about him. Even when she despised him she thought about him incessantly. How she would next irritate him beyond bearing. How she could escape and someday best him. When he’d left the island, she thought about him so much she was sure she would grow mad. And if they were to be together in the future, he would never leave her on the island again to pine over him. She’d make him promise it if she had to.
Oddly enough, when she came back to Athenia, her goal had been to not think of him at all. To move on as she’d likely never see him again; submitting to a life she’d never wanted in an attempt to leave the past behind her. But you couldn’t forget Lukos even if you tried. She was becoming increasingly aware of that.
The woman who sang did so boldly. It was an art form she’d never gravitated to. Diomedes told her once she sounded like a strangled cat when she sang. Then again, they were in the middle of sparring so she wasn’t sure how much of that was true or merely goading her to strike harder. ...Which of course, she did. Needless to say, her praise and worship of the Gods had always been more private. Her mother kept a small shrine to the 12 Olympians set in their estate and there were also ones at Diomedes house and that of their barony house in the city. She’d leave small offerings to them when no one was near; a flower she’d plucked from a field for Aphrodite and blood from a pricked fingertip for Ares. Some venison for Artemis or Athena and a lock of hair from one of the horses in the stables for Poseidon. Nothing was ever so over the top that it would call attention to her, however. In her mind, they knew of her intentions. A grand show of faith may mean even less as it wasn’t from the heart.
His words snapped her out of her reverie and she turned her attention back to Lukos as he asked her where to eat. “Hmm? Oh.. yes, I suppose if we’re to marry I have to feed you, don’t I..?” She smirked and leaned forward to kiss him again. “Very well.. Let’s go find something for you…” She stood and brushed her gown and himation out to remove it of grass and leaves before leading him out of the gardens.
She brought him back down the streets they’d come through before and lower towards the market. But where the road forked around a building, she led him on the northern street instead of the south that would have brought them to the populated shops. The streets were clean and the homes were set behind gated walls much like Diomedes estate. It curved around a bend in the road where neatly trimmed trees peeked out of courtyards and brightly colored domes were painted or tiled in shades of brilliant cobalt. Other edifices were made of stone and marble. They made a little small talk along the way; nothing of import and only in passing until she stopped in front of a small shop carved out between two larger buildings. It was a narrow restaurant and smelled like….. Well.. it smelled like heaven. She’d been a couple times, but she never tired of it.
She led him in and to the counter where there was a man preparing flatbreads with any number of toppings on them. The interior was warm from the rounded oven off to the back and there were a few tables off to the side. Leaning over, she looked over the ingredients and made her order before he did. It was a clean establishment, but still decidedly lower class; at least in comparison to what her family was accustomed to. But Linos liked it and he made good company so they’d pop in from time to time.
After their orders were taken, she went to sit at a table to wait across from him. The inner rafters were draped with dry storage ingredients, utensils, and crockery. It was cramped and the tables were small, but with Lukos she didn’t mind… it just meant they could sit closer. “...I promise you, this will be the best meal I could ever have prepared for you…” She smirked...because she wasn’t lying. She could give orders for food easily enough…. Following them was an entirely different story.
Thalia raised her brow with his response. It wasn’t the first time he’d uttered such nonsense and it wouldn’t be the last. And she’d said more times than she could count how wrong he was.. How much work went into running a barony. How easily it compared to running an island, save with more bureaucracy and far less freedom. Still, it’d become a longstanding dig that they continued to volley back and forth.
Hazel eyes sparkled as he told her he would nap. In all the time she’d met Lukos she didn’t think she’d ever seen him nap. Falling into bed after a long day of back-breaking work? Yes. Napping when he should have been working? Never. If she knew anything about him, when he received the barony he’d be in the fields with the tenants harvesting crops or casting nets into the harbor. She’d never met anyone less able to sit still than her as he. “Yes, of course, they do.. On their piles of money. Then they have pretty servant girls come to pluck the coins off their body when they are finished.” She pokes his midsection playfully. “You shall grow fat and lazy and bald atop your head. Your fingers will grow soft without use and you shall smell of jasmine and rosehips.. “ Her explanation was almost as ludicrous as his. More than likely, Lukos would work himself into an early grave or die at the end of someone's sword. Either way, he would not grow fat and lazy.
The meandering woman distracted them from their attentions for a moment and Thalia remembered that they weren’t in a private setting. How easy it was to forget herself with him. He’d become infernally distracting. ...But then again, if she really considered it, when had she not thought that about him. Even when she despised him she thought about him incessantly. How she would next irritate him beyond bearing. How she could escape and someday best him. When he’d left the island, she thought about him so much she was sure she would grow mad. And if they were to be together in the future, he would never leave her on the island again to pine over him. She’d make him promise it if she had to.
Oddly enough, when she came back to Athenia, her goal had been to not think of him at all. To move on as she’d likely never see him again; submitting to a life she’d never wanted in an attempt to leave the past behind her. But you couldn’t forget Lukos even if you tried. She was becoming increasingly aware of that.
The woman who sang did so boldly. It was an art form she’d never gravitated to. Diomedes told her once she sounded like a strangled cat when she sang. Then again, they were in the middle of sparring so she wasn’t sure how much of that was true or merely goading her to strike harder. ...Which of course, she did. Needless to say, her praise and worship of the Gods had always been more private. Her mother kept a small shrine to the 12 Olympians set in their estate and there were also ones at Diomedes house and that of their barony house in the city. She’d leave small offerings to them when no one was near; a flower she’d plucked from a field for Aphrodite and blood from a pricked fingertip for Ares. Some venison for Artemis or Athena and a lock of hair from one of the horses in the stables for Poseidon. Nothing was ever so over the top that it would call attention to her, however. In her mind, they knew of her intentions. A grand show of faith may mean even less as it wasn’t from the heart.
His words snapped her out of her reverie and she turned her attention back to Lukos as he asked her where to eat. “Hmm? Oh.. yes, I suppose if we’re to marry I have to feed you, don’t I..?” She smirked and leaned forward to kiss him again. “Very well.. Let’s go find something for you…” She stood and brushed her gown and himation out to remove it of grass and leaves before leading him out of the gardens.
She brought him back down the streets they’d come through before and lower towards the market. But where the road forked around a building, she led him on the northern street instead of the south that would have brought them to the populated shops. The streets were clean and the homes were set behind gated walls much like Diomedes estate. It curved around a bend in the road where neatly trimmed trees peeked out of courtyards and brightly colored domes were painted or tiled in shades of brilliant cobalt. Other edifices were made of stone and marble. They made a little small talk along the way; nothing of import and only in passing until she stopped in front of a small shop carved out between two larger buildings. It was a narrow restaurant and smelled like….. Well.. it smelled like heaven. She’d been a couple times, but she never tired of it.
She led him in and to the counter where there was a man preparing flatbreads with any number of toppings on them. The interior was warm from the rounded oven off to the back and there were a few tables off to the side. Leaning over, she looked over the ingredients and made her order before he did. It was a clean establishment, but still decidedly lower class; at least in comparison to what her family was accustomed to. But Linos liked it and he made good company so they’d pop in from time to time.
After their orders were taken, she went to sit at a table to wait across from him. The inner rafters were draped with dry storage ingredients, utensils, and crockery. It was cramped and the tables were small, but with Lukos she didn’t mind… it just meant they could sit closer. “...I promise you, this will be the best meal I could ever have prepared for you…” She smirked...because she wasn’t lying. She could give orders for food easily enough…. Following them was an entirely different story.
Though he could not read her thoughts, his opinion of his future was much the same as hers: He would be many things but indolence was something he could never abide. As much as he wouldn’t have admitted it, working was in his blood. As far back as he knew, his family had been slaves. His father hadn’t been captured in some grand battle. He’d been born to it. Though, admittedly he knew very little about any of it, having been stolen at such a young age.
Once aboard the ship, he and the others who’d been taken with him did not get to wait in cages to be sold. They slept in them at night and cleaned the ship during the day. The boys were only allowed to play when there was absolutely nothing left to do, which was rare. His natural drive to succeed had carried over into his life aboard ship and earned him a place of favor once he was old enough. It was the same drive to get what he wanted that had landed him a barony now. Not many could say the same.
Thalia’s constant worry and cautioning that he wouldn’t know what to do once it came time to claim his title fell on deaf ears. Whatever he wanted, he got. Whatever he set his hand to do, it was done. If he wanted to succeed in the barony? He wasn’t worried about doing it. Her telling him that he was not ready and ill prepared only served to strengthen his resolve to prove her wrong. She would eat her words and he’d gloat when she did.
She’d only been on the island with him, really. She didn’t know what he was capable of. And now? Now that he was landlocked, likely she never would. He kissed her back, knowing it was a good thing she was ignorant of certain things. Things she’d fight him about. Things he would not have stopped doing but for this barony.
Once she agreed to food, she led the way from the gardens. He followed, watching the way she moved through the crowds. She didn’t have to ask or push. They simply parted for her as though aware on a base level of who and what she was. By extension, because he was near her, they let him through without jostling as well. It was not usually this way.
Most of the time he was an unknown face among a sea of other unknowns and unimportants. This was traditionally useful. If everyone knew him by sight, business would be difficult to conduct and he began to wonder which way Thalia prefered.
The little small talk that they made was nothing more than commenting on how many people were out today and how nice the breeze felt with the sun beating down on them. Just as she was not good at any of the womanly arts, he was not good at chattering away with no meaning in it. Something he would have learned how to do if he was of her rank.
The lower class restaurant that she brought them to was still far and away above where he normally frequented. He’d never been there before, which served them well enough. Although he did receive a few curious glances from the restaurant’s owner. The side-eye said: who is with Lady Thalia? That’s not her brother. And not her servant.
He smirked to himself.
Once their order was placed and they were sitting across from each other, she teased that this would be the best meal she’d ever prepare for him. He rolled his eyes. “Cooking is not that hard. You just refuse to listen.” There was no ‘can’t’ in his mind. There was ‘wouldn’t’, however and that could always be overcome with the right motivation. If it was the last thing he did, he would somehow get Thalia to cook and do it well. If he could make a good go of it, she could too.
The food was brought out and set before them, as were cups of watered down wine. She was right about the food tasting fantastic. It was certainly better than whatever they ate on the ship but he didn’t eat flatbreads like this often. His diet was far simpler and he wouldn’t go out of his way to come here again unless she brought him here. It was almost a half a day’s wage for what they were getting.
He did not talk overly much while they ate, mainly because the owner was within earshot and he didn’t want the man to know his name. Or to be able to trace him. He waited until they’d paid and were back out onto the street near a statue of Poseidon.
“I think it’s time to be getting you home,” he said, glancing up at the sky. It was around noon when they’d left the sacred grove and now the afternoon was crawling ever closer to evening. She would most definitely be missed by now and if her family sent a message to her fiance’s residence and she was found not to be there...he could only imagine the trouble she might be in. Usually this wouldn’t bother him but it didn’t serve his purposes for her to be locked away indoors. …..not that any building could keep her locked up since a cage certainly couldn’t.
They turned and began the trek back to her family’s villa but the closer they got, the more he didn’t want to return her. Still. There was nothing for it. There was nowhere that they could go that wouldn't cause trouble if she was perceived to be missing come nightfall. And the last thing they needed before the senate was trouble, much as he was loathe to avoid it.
"Listen," he pulled her to a stop at the same place he had before when she'd returned home. "After I testify for your princess, I can't stay in Athenia. Stravos will try to have me killed. I'll come back for you in a few days after things have calmed down." Taking her by the chin, he glared at her. This was deadly serious and it wasn't up for negotiation. "You will stay here. The less Elias knows, even after the senate, the better. He could come after you to get to me. Or your family to draw you out if you came with me. Until he's out of the way, all our plans stay secret. Understood?"
She did not usually obey anything he said, but this time, even she had to see the wisdom in what he was saying.
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Though he could not read her thoughts, his opinion of his future was much the same as hers: He would be many things but indolence was something he could never abide. As much as he wouldn’t have admitted it, working was in his blood. As far back as he knew, his family had been slaves. His father hadn’t been captured in some grand battle. He’d been born to it. Though, admittedly he knew very little about any of it, having been stolen at such a young age.
Once aboard the ship, he and the others who’d been taken with him did not get to wait in cages to be sold. They slept in them at night and cleaned the ship during the day. The boys were only allowed to play when there was absolutely nothing left to do, which was rare. His natural drive to succeed had carried over into his life aboard ship and earned him a place of favor once he was old enough. It was the same drive to get what he wanted that had landed him a barony now. Not many could say the same.
Thalia’s constant worry and cautioning that he wouldn’t know what to do once it came time to claim his title fell on deaf ears. Whatever he wanted, he got. Whatever he set his hand to do, it was done. If he wanted to succeed in the barony? He wasn’t worried about doing it. Her telling him that he was not ready and ill prepared only served to strengthen his resolve to prove her wrong. She would eat her words and he’d gloat when she did.
She’d only been on the island with him, really. She didn’t know what he was capable of. And now? Now that he was landlocked, likely she never would. He kissed her back, knowing it was a good thing she was ignorant of certain things. Things she’d fight him about. Things he would not have stopped doing but for this barony.
Once she agreed to food, she led the way from the gardens. He followed, watching the way she moved through the crowds. She didn’t have to ask or push. They simply parted for her as though aware on a base level of who and what she was. By extension, because he was near her, they let him through without jostling as well. It was not usually this way.
Most of the time he was an unknown face among a sea of other unknowns and unimportants. This was traditionally useful. If everyone knew him by sight, business would be difficult to conduct and he began to wonder which way Thalia prefered.
The little small talk that they made was nothing more than commenting on how many people were out today and how nice the breeze felt with the sun beating down on them. Just as she was not good at any of the womanly arts, he was not good at chattering away with no meaning in it. Something he would have learned how to do if he was of her rank.
The lower class restaurant that she brought them to was still far and away above where he normally frequented. He’d never been there before, which served them well enough. Although he did receive a few curious glances from the restaurant’s owner. The side-eye said: who is with Lady Thalia? That’s not her brother. And not her servant.
He smirked to himself.
Once their order was placed and they were sitting across from each other, she teased that this would be the best meal she’d ever prepare for him. He rolled his eyes. “Cooking is not that hard. You just refuse to listen.” There was no ‘can’t’ in his mind. There was ‘wouldn’t’, however and that could always be overcome with the right motivation. If it was the last thing he did, he would somehow get Thalia to cook and do it well. If he could make a good go of it, she could too.
The food was brought out and set before them, as were cups of watered down wine. She was right about the food tasting fantastic. It was certainly better than whatever they ate on the ship but he didn’t eat flatbreads like this often. His diet was far simpler and he wouldn’t go out of his way to come here again unless she brought him here. It was almost a half a day’s wage for what they were getting.
He did not talk overly much while they ate, mainly because the owner was within earshot and he didn’t want the man to know his name. Or to be able to trace him. He waited until they’d paid and were back out onto the street near a statue of Poseidon.
“I think it’s time to be getting you home,” he said, glancing up at the sky. It was around noon when they’d left the sacred grove and now the afternoon was crawling ever closer to evening. She would most definitely be missed by now and if her family sent a message to her fiance’s residence and she was found not to be there...he could only imagine the trouble she might be in. Usually this wouldn’t bother him but it didn’t serve his purposes for her to be locked away indoors. …..not that any building could keep her locked up since a cage certainly couldn’t.
They turned and began the trek back to her family’s villa but the closer they got, the more he didn’t want to return her. Still. There was nothing for it. There was nowhere that they could go that wouldn't cause trouble if she was perceived to be missing come nightfall. And the last thing they needed before the senate was trouble, much as he was loathe to avoid it.
"Listen," he pulled her to a stop at the same place he had before when she'd returned home. "After I testify for your princess, I can't stay in Athenia. Stravos will try to have me killed. I'll come back for you in a few days after things have calmed down." Taking her by the chin, he glared at her. This was deadly serious and it wasn't up for negotiation. "You will stay here. The less Elias knows, even after the senate, the better. He could come after you to get to me. Or your family to draw you out if you came with me. Until he's out of the way, all our plans stay secret. Understood?"
She did not usually obey anything he said, but this time, even she had to see the wisdom in what he was saying.
Though he could not read her thoughts, his opinion of his future was much the same as hers: He would be many things but indolence was something he could never abide. As much as he wouldn’t have admitted it, working was in his blood. As far back as he knew, his family had been slaves. His father hadn’t been captured in some grand battle. He’d been born to it. Though, admittedly he knew very little about any of it, having been stolen at such a young age.
Once aboard the ship, he and the others who’d been taken with him did not get to wait in cages to be sold. They slept in them at night and cleaned the ship during the day. The boys were only allowed to play when there was absolutely nothing left to do, which was rare. His natural drive to succeed had carried over into his life aboard ship and earned him a place of favor once he was old enough. It was the same drive to get what he wanted that had landed him a barony now. Not many could say the same.
Thalia’s constant worry and cautioning that he wouldn’t know what to do once it came time to claim his title fell on deaf ears. Whatever he wanted, he got. Whatever he set his hand to do, it was done. If he wanted to succeed in the barony? He wasn’t worried about doing it. Her telling him that he was not ready and ill prepared only served to strengthen his resolve to prove her wrong. She would eat her words and he’d gloat when she did.
She’d only been on the island with him, really. She didn’t know what he was capable of. And now? Now that he was landlocked, likely she never would. He kissed her back, knowing it was a good thing she was ignorant of certain things. Things she’d fight him about. Things he would not have stopped doing but for this barony.
Once she agreed to food, she led the way from the gardens. He followed, watching the way she moved through the crowds. She didn’t have to ask or push. They simply parted for her as though aware on a base level of who and what she was. By extension, because he was near her, they let him through without jostling as well. It was not usually this way.
Most of the time he was an unknown face among a sea of other unknowns and unimportants. This was traditionally useful. If everyone knew him by sight, business would be difficult to conduct and he began to wonder which way Thalia prefered.
The little small talk that they made was nothing more than commenting on how many people were out today and how nice the breeze felt with the sun beating down on them. Just as she was not good at any of the womanly arts, he was not good at chattering away with no meaning in it. Something he would have learned how to do if he was of her rank.
The lower class restaurant that she brought them to was still far and away above where he normally frequented. He’d never been there before, which served them well enough. Although he did receive a few curious glances from the restaurant’s owner. The side-eye said: who is with Lady Thalia? That’s not her brother. And not her servant.
He smirked to himself.
Once their order was placed and they were sitting across from each other, she teased that this would be the best meal she’d ever prepare for him. He rolled his eyes. “Cooking is not that hard. You just refuse to listen.” There was no ‘can’t’ in his mind. There was ‘wouldn’t’, however and that could always be overcome with the right motivation. If it was the last thing he did, he would somehow get Thalia to cook and do it well. If he could make a good go of it, she could too.
The food was brought out and set before them, as were cups of watered down wine. She was right about the food tasting fantastic. It was certainly better than whatever they ate on the ship but he didn’t eat flatbreads like this often. His diet was far simpler and he wouldn’t go out of his way to come here again unless she brought him here. It was almost a half a day’s wage for what they were getting.
He did not talk overly much while they ate, mainly because the owner was within earshot and he didn’t want the man to know his name. Or to be able to trace him. He waited until they’d paid and were back out onto the street near a statue of Poseidon.
“I think it’s time to be getting you home,” he said, glancing up at the sky. It was around noon when they’d left the sacred grove and now the afternoon was crawling ever closer to evening. She would most definitely be missed by now and if her family sent a message to her fiance’s residence and she was found not to be there...he could only imagine the trouble she might be in. Usually this wouldn’t bother him but it didn’t serve his purposes for her to be locked away indoors. …..not that any building could keep her locked up since a cage certainly couldn’t.
They turned and began the trek back to her family’s villa but the closer they got, the more he didn’t want to return her. Still. There was nothing for it. There was nowhere that they could go that wouldn't cause trouble if she was perceived to be missing come nightfall. And the last thing they needed before the senate was trouble, much as he was loathe to avoid it.
"Listen," he pulled her to a stop at the same place he had before when she'd returned home. "After I testify for your princess, I can't stay in Athenia. Stravos will try to have me killed. I'll come back for you in a few days after things have calmed down." Taking her by the chin, he glared at her. This was deadly serious and it wasn't up for negotiation. "You will stay here. The less Elias knows, even after the senate, the better. He could come after you to get to me. Or your family to draw you out if you came with me. Until he's out of the way, all our plans stay secret. Understood?"
She did not usually obey anything he said, but this time, even she had to see the wisdom in what he was saying.
How very normal it all seemed to be. How mundane a life in Athenia could be were he here. Blending into the city as if he were one of them. As if he’d never been a pirate at all, but a man of noble birth. With his standard clothes and the chlamys that still seemed foreign on his strong frame. He could walk about the city and no one was the wiser as to his past… as to their past. They’d spent the better part of the day doing just that.
They could go to events at the amphitheater and gatherings at the palace. They could manage an estate and the tenants who worked the lands. They could have a few children and settle down; forget his past. He could give up pirating and make something upstanding of himself. She could host parties at their estate and family dinners with Linos, Dysmas, and Diomedes… and they could all come to celebrate the harvest or the solstice. She saw all of it as they sat quietly and ate dinner in an average restaurant on an average street in Athenia. Doing average things that Athenians did.
Except Thalia had never liked doing the average things that Athenian’s did. She didn’t like the parties at the palace. She was horrid at managing the estate, despite her mothers and their housekeeper’s best effort. She’d rather be sparring with her brothers than dining with them and the fact that she was even now sitting still for longer than a few moments was making her restless. Her worlds spun around Lukos.. The old and the new with him at the center. She knew she wanted to be with him, but she missed what they had. She missed the island and the people there. She missed the temple and the springs and she missed the freedom; the excitement in sailing. Oh, of course, she’d hated it the first few days… weeks. ...But as she’d grown accustomed to it.. As she’d been allowed out from below decks, she saw the appeal. She enjoyed the sea and the endless expanse of stars at night. The thrill and terror of a storm. She liked who she was when she was there with him.. Where she didn’t have to worry about the rules.
Lukos had been the perfect gentleman all day; almost charming even. As if attempting to live up to a social standard expected here and prove that he could do it. But she’d seen him at his worst. She’d stood up to him when he was in a rage and volleyed back. Their passion was born of fire but here it was stifled. Like a flame being snuffed out under the weight of society and obligations. Could he survive here? ….Could they?
Thalia pushed the thoughts from her mind. A life with Lukos would never be ordinary. But he was most alive when he was on the water. Most confident. Here he was just going through the motions. ..For her? Yes. She knew that. Were it not for her, he would have walked out on Persephone and be somewhere at sea by now. How fair was it for her to ask him to stay when she herself felt more alive at sea and on the island than she had since she was a child?
Finally, they left the restaurant and he made his excuses to get her home.. And he was likely right. Were she to go missing, Diomedes would not wait to call in all of Athenia to search for her this time. Not once he’d gotten her back. Since she’d returned she’d been closely guarded by all of her brothers; as if they were trying to make up for misplacing her the first time. As if she hadn’t done it herself but was forced to climb over a wall and scurry about the city alone. If she stepped away for a few moments she saw the panic in their search; knowing what they were thinking. “What if it happened again?” She wouldn’t do that to them again.
When he stopped her, she turned to face him; his face serious, his eyes set and his voice in that ‘I’m about to give you an order that you need to follow’ tone. ...Save she was REALLY horrid at following his orders. But she listened to him in bemusement and the set of her lips which said she didn’t like what he was saying. She’d already lost him once and she had no desire to lose him again. ...But he took her chin and stared at her seriously as he continued. She scoffed and swiped away his hand, but didn’t let it go. She wasn’t afraid of Elias. ...At least not for her own safety. She’d known Elias Stravos since they were children and he was never more than a spoiled child in her eyes with too much money and an ego that would likely kill him one day. “I’m tired of keeping secrets. I’m tired of wearing hoods.” This last week felt like months had passed. Each day longer than the last with no end in sight. Instead, they were left to wait for other peoples fates to fall into place before they could be together. How long would they have to wait until their stars aligned? After she’d married Patros? How long would she have to keep him secret from her family? Her brothers? A secret that was already straining their relationship… She’d told them to wait until after the Senate meeting; that all would be revealed. ...But would it?
She knew he was right. He knew she would never risk his or her family’s life. Above her own safety, she would hold fast to their secrets for as long as was required. But for one who’d complained about her not making any promises only days ago when she’d snuck down to the docks to see him.. The one who was anxious for her to prove herself to him...he now seemed quite ready to put them on a backburner to keep them out of harm's way. Besides....When had he ever done anything because it was safe?
JD
Staff Team
JD
Staff Team
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How very normal it all seemed to be. How mundane a life in Athenia could be were he here. Blending into the city as if he were one of them. As if he’d never been a pirate at all, but a man of noble birth. With his standard clothes and the chlamys that still seemed foreign on his strong frame. He could walk about the city and no one was the wiser as to his past… as to their past. They’d spent the better part of the day doing just that.
They could go to events at the amphitheater and gatherings at the palace. They could manage an estate and the tenants who worked the lands. They could have a few children and settle down; forget his past. He could give up pirating and make something upstanding of himself. She could host parties at their estate and family dinners with Linos, Dysmas, and Diomedes… and they could all come to celebrate the harvest or the solstice. She saw all of it as they sat quietly and ate dinner in an average restaurant on an average street in Athenia. Doing average things that Athenians did.
Except Thalia had never liked doing the average things that Athenian’s did. She didn’t like the parties at the palace. She was horrid at managing the estate, despite her mothers and their housekeeper’s best effort. She’d rather be sparring with her brothers than dining with them and the fact that she was even now sitting still for longer than a few moments was making her restless. Her worlds spun around Lukos.. The old and the new with him at the center. She knew she wanted to be with him, but she missed what they had. She missed the island and the people there. She missed the temple and the springs and she missed the freedom; the excitement in sailing. Oh, of course, she’d hated it the first few days… weeks. ...But as she’d grown accustomed to it.. As she’d been allowed out from below decks, she saw the appeal. She enjoyed the sea and the endless expanse of stars at night. The thrill and terror of a storm. She liked who she was when she was there with him.. Where she didn’t have to worry about the rules.
Lukos had been the perfect gentleman all day; almost charming even. As if attempting to live up to a social standard expected here and prove that he could do it. But she’d seen him at his worst. She’d stood up to him when he was in a rage and volleyed back. Their passion was born of fire but here it was stifled. Like a flame being snuffed out under the weight of society and obligations. Could he survive here? ….Could they?
Thalia pushed the thoughts from her mind. A life with Lukos would never be ordinary. But he was most alive when he was on the water. Most confident. Here he was just going through the motions. ..For her? Yes. She knew that. Were it not for her, he would have walked out on Persephone and be somewhere at sea by now. How fair was it for her to ask him to stay when she herself felt more alive at sea and on the island than she had since she was a child?
Finally, they left the restaurant and he made his excuses to get her home.. And he was likely right. Were she to go missing, Diomedes would not wait to call in all of Athenia to search for her this time. Not once he’d gotten her back. Since she’d returned she’d been closely guarded by all of her brothers; as if they were trying to make up for misplacing her the first time. As if she hadn’t done it herself but was forced to climb over a wall and scurry about the city alone. If she stepped away for a few moments she saw the panic in their search; knowing what they were thinking. “What if it happened again?” She wouldn’t do that to them again.
When he stopped her, she turned to face him; his face serious, his eyes set and his voice in that ‘I’m about to give you an order that you need to follow’ tone. ...Save she was REALLY horrid at following his orders. But she listened to him in bemusement and the set of her lips which said she didn’t like what he was saying. She’d already lost him once and she had no desire to lose him again. ...But he took her chin and stared at her seriously as he continued. She scoffed and swiped away his hand, but didn’t let it go. She wasn’t afraid of Elias. ...At least not for her own safety. She’d known Elias Stravos since they were children and he was never more than a spoiled child in her eyes with too much money and an ego that would likely kill him one day. “I’m tired of keeping secrets. I’m tired of wearing hoods.” This last week felt like months had passed. Each day longer than the last with no end in sight. Instead, they were left to wait for other peoples fates to fall into place before they could be together. How long would they have to wait until their stars aligned? After she’d married Patros? How long would she have to keep him secret from her family? Her brothers? A secret that was already straining their relationship… She’d told them to wait until after the Senate meeting; that all would be revealed. ...But would it?
She knew he was right. He knew she would never risk his or her family’s life. Above her own safety, she would hold fast to their secrets for as long as was required. But for one who’d complained about her not making any promises only days ago when she’d snuck down to the docks to see him.. The one who was anxious for her to prove herself to him...he now seemed quite ready to put them on a backburner to keep them out of harm's way. Besides....When had he ever done anything because it was safe?
How very normal it all seemed to be. How mundane a life in Athenia could be were he here. Blending into the city as if he were one of them. As if he’d never been a pirate at all, but a man of noble birth. With his standard clothes and the chlamys that still seemed foreign on his strong frame. He could walk about the city and no one was the wiser as to his past… as to their past. They’d spent the better part of the day doing just that.
They could go to events at the amphitheater and gatherings at the palace. They could manage an estate and the tenants who worked the lands. They could have a few children and settle down; forget his past. He could give up pirating and make something upstanding of himself. She could host parties at their estate and family dinners with Linos, Dysmas, and Diomedes… and they could all come to celebrate the harvest or the solstice. She saw all of it as they sat quietly and ate dinner in an average restaurant on an average street in Athenia. Doing average things that Athenians did.
Except Thalia had never liked doing the average things that Athenian’s did. She didn’t like the parties at the palace. She was horrid at managing the estate, despite her mothers and their housekeeper’s best effort. She’d rather be sparring with her brothers than dining with them and the fact that she was even now sitting still for longer than a few moments was making her restless. Her worlds spun around Lukos.. The old and the new with him at the center. She knew she wanted to be with him, but she missed what they had. She missed the island and the people there. She missed the temple and the springs and she missed the freedom; the excitement in sailing. Oh, of course, she’d hated it the first few days… weeks. ...But as she’d grown accustomed to it.. As she’d been allowed out from below decks, she saw the appeal. She enjoyed the sea and the endless expanse of stars at night. The thrill and terror of a storm. She liked who she was when she was there with him.. Where she didn’t have to worry about the rules.
Lukos had been the perfect gentleman all day; almost charming even. As if attempting to live up to a social standard expected here and prove that he could do it. But she’d seen him at his worst. She’d stood up to him when he was in a rage and volleyed back. Their passion was born of fire but here it was stifled. Like a flame being snuffed out under the weight of society and obligations. Could he survive here? ….Could they?
Thalia pushed the thoughts from her mind. A life with Lukos would never be ordinary. But he was most alive when he was on the water. Most confident. Here he was just going through the motions. ..For her? Yes. She knew that. Were it not for her, he would have walked out on Persephone and be somewhere at sea by now. How fair was it for her to ask him to stay when she herself felt more alive at sea and on the island than she had since she was a child?
Finally, they left the restaurant and he made his excuses to get her home.. And he was likely right. Were she to go missing, Diomedes would not wait to call in all of Athenia to search for her this time. Not once he’d gotten her back. Since she’d returned she’d been closely guarded by all of her brothers; as if they were trying to make up for misplacing her the first time. As if she hadn’t done it herself but was forced to climb over a wall and scurry about the city alone. If she stepped away for a few moments she saw the panic in their search; knowing what they were thinking. “What if it happened again?” She wouldn’t do that to them again.
When he stopped her, she turned to face him; his face serious, his eyes set and his voice in that ‘I’m about to give you an order that you need to follow’ tone. ...Save she was REALLY horrid at following his orders. But she listened to him in bemusement and the set of her lips which said she didn’t like what he was saying. She’d already lost him once and she had no desire to lose him again. ...But he took her chin and stared at her seriously as he continued. She scoffed and swiped away his hand, but didn’t let it go. She wasn’t afraid of Elias. ...At least not for her own safety. She’d known Elias Stravos since they were children and he was never more than a spoiled child in her eyes with too much money and an ego that would likely kill him one day. “I’m tired of keeping secrets. I’m tired of wearing hoods.” This last week felt like months had passed. Each day longer than the last with no end in sight. Instead, they were left to wait for other peoples fates to fall into place before they could be together. How long would they have to wait until their stars aligned? After she’d married Patros? How long would she have to keep him secret from her family? Her brothers? A secret that was already straining their relationship… She’d told them to wait until after the Senate meeting; that all would be revealed. ...But would it?
She knew he was right. He knew she would never risk his or her family’s life. Above her own safety, she would hold fast to their secrets for as long as was required. But for one who’d complained about her not making any promises only days ago when she’d snuck down to the docks to see him.. The one who was anxious for her to prove herself to him...he now seemed quite ready to put them on a backburner to keep them out of harm's way. Besides....When had he ever done anything because it was safe?
