Ever since that night where she had revealed more then she felt comfortable with her husband, it would seem they have both been actively avoiding each other. The one concession that had came out of it, was that Evras finally accepted the fact that her son was no longer the young boy he would always be in her eyes, and within the next few weeks, she had managed to get the seamstresses in the city to outfit Dion in his new leather riding pants, boots and tunics for training in archery and swordfighting. From then on, Evras rarely had the time to spend with Dion other then evenings when he returned all sweaty but bright-faced at his training.

Her heart was soothed at the idea that her son enjoyed training - but that didn't mean she didn't miss him. Dion was, perhaps at this point, the only one who brought a smile to her face whenever she was within the Kotas residences, and now that he too spent more time with his uncles and aunts, Evras found herself with more time to wander the streets - albeit not very safely. She had never been of the habit to bring guards.

Unlike her however, with Dion being the youngest of the family, going out with him necessitated guards. When Queen Yanni had instructed her to deliver some fresh produce of the royal families to the Drakos family, Evras had taken the carriage and brought Dion along. It had been a rare day when his father had left with Vangelis for discussions, and the woman was loathe to leave her son alone when she could spend the day with him for once. So she brought him along in the carriage, with a retinue of three guards and one ladies's maid, and arrived at the Drakos mansion.

"Don't get into any mischief. Do what Gina says, alright?" she had instructed her son, before conversing with the Lady Tytha, her father-in-law's sister. Ever the proper lady, Evras spent the time updating Lady Tythra with the family and the condition of the crown prince, when a sudden commotion made her turn, just in time to see the guards letting in a harried looking Gina. "Your Highness, the prince..."

"Dion?" for a second, her heart stopped. Had something happened to him?

"I cannot find him. He ran off somewhere."

The maid looked absolutely terrified, but upon hearing that, Evras breathed a sigh of relief, and then smiled to the elder matriach. "Apologies, it appears my son has ran off to cause some mischief again. He has been wound up with military training with his uncles lately, so I think he misses having fun."

Luckily, the lady was kind enoug to understand, and allowed Evras to quickly dash off in seach of Dion. Instructing the maid and guards to prepare the carriage, her feet quickly carried her through the halls of the Drakos mansion, passing halls and rooms. Her eyes roamed, but it wasn't till she felt a loud shout that her heart leapt to her throat, and Evras picked up the edges of her ocean blue chiton, scurrying to the source of the noise. The princess managed to catch Imeeya hauling Dion's arm just as she got there, and her eyes zero-ed in on the nervous, pale way her son look. It didn't take much for her motherly instincts to kick in.

"Dion!" Evras ran towards the pair, and managed to yank her son's arm out of the Lady's grip, pulling the eleven year old's teary face to his as she knelt down to be eye level to him. Her hands quickly check for injuries, and then back to look at him. "What happened?"

"It-it was an accident. I... I wanted to look at-" he spluttered, and Evras could see he was fighting tears, remembering what his uncle Yiannis said about being tough. Anger and protectiveness swirled in her, as Evras shushed her son, and then straightened up to face the Lady, pushing her son to stand behind her. The Thanasi family had never been on good terms with the Drakos - with Imeeya even more so. While Evras would never start a fight, and had come to treat the house Drakos with more respect since her marriage to Zanon, no one yelled at her son and got away with it - not if they were not family.

"It was an accident, and the boy feels apologetic. Was there any need to yell at him?" her words were laced with withheld frustration, especially when she felt Dion grip the back of her chiton and peer out with fear in his eyes. He had always been treated with respect, and barely anyone scolded him unless it was Evras or the Kotas family. "He is but a boy. I do not see the necessity when tis simply a ruined chiton and a scroll. They are easily replacable, are they not?" she finished, stance defensive as she placed a hand on Dion's dark head.

Hell hath no wrath like a mother's fury, and with Dion being the only thing that reminded her of a time when she was actually happy with her husband, Evras was extra protective of her son. Of course, people have said she coddled the boy, and to a certain extent she had to admit some truth to it, but she was loathe to part with the young child on the crux of his teenagehood. So she had released one tight grip, but kept the other around her son's upbringing as best as she could, while he spent more time with his uncles and military training.

"He is eleven" Evras spat, almost snarling at Imeeya when she called him a man. Glancing at the chiton, and then the scroll, Evras felt her son tug at her chiton, and turned to him. Her eyes immediately softened when she saw the wide eyes of the young male, flickering her gaze to look at the blonde Drakos female when she commented on the work of a scroll. Instead, the fair-skinned Thanasi bent down and brushed her son's hair out of his wide eyes.

"Did you mean it, Dion?" she asked gently. He shook his head, biting his lips. And while she knew of her son's mischevious streak, she also knew that he wouldn't lie to her. As such, Evras turned to look at Imeeya and scowled. "You saw, he did not mean to knock you down to the ground and ruin the scroll. He will apologize, but it gives you no right to haul him around like a servant."

Her eyes flashed ice when Imeeya insinuated that Dion was incapable. Her son, while young, was eager to prove himself. He was certainly no weak-livered human as Imeeya insinutaed, and Evras felt insulted that she even thought so. Perhaps one of the thorns of marrying into the Kotas family, was having to deal with all these noble houses who never saw favorably on Thanasi siblings. "A boy his age is also easily scared when someone yells at them, as you have done. If there is someone to be blamed for Dion being scared now, the fault falls on you."

From behind her chiton, the boy stepped to the side, albeit keeping a hold on his mother's hand, and offered his apology in a small voice, eyes shiftily looking at Imeeya. Satisfied, Evras turned with hostile eyes to the Drakos lady. "He has apologized. I would appreciate an apology from you too, for the way he was treated." Evras was not backing down from it, from the way her jaw was set firmly as she stared at Imeeya.

Her behaviour was outlandish, the only thing Evras could think of to justify her cousin's behavior, was that Imeeya was not a mother herself. She was beginning to find that the ones who were of her age, but were too focused on climbing the societal ladder and figure out courtly politics, usually never understood the reasonings behind Evras's actions. Unlike Nethis - which was a great disappointment to her sister - Evras had fallen well into the role of a wife and mother, and wanted nothing else.

And sure, in a way, Evras knew she was to blame for the way she had closeted Dion off from making his way in life - he was the last remnant she had of life she missed, before Zanon had turned against her. Dion had been seven then, and it was as if Evras had wanted him to freeze at that age.

She had begun to let go - slowly, but surely. Dion had returned bright faced, eager and breathless each evening after his training with his uncles had begun, and day by day, Evras was seeing that her husband, ridiculous as he may be in his actions, had been right in taking Dion to military training. So in that respect, the princess had stilled her tongue.

But to hear it come from Imeeya in such a distasteful tone riled her temper, a rare sight from Evras, who was usually the quiet, composed one, the picture of grace and poise. The flash of hurt and insecurity was brief, but it remined lingering in her heart. Her hands clutched at the front of her chiton - yet in that silence, someone else spoke up. The curl of fingers around the back of her chiton loosened, and to Evras's surprise when she looked down to check on him, Dion now wore a stiff, hardened expression that glared at Imeeya.

"Mum only acts that way because she loves me. It is trait I cherish, Aunt Imeeya. If anything, I will learn to stand up for myself. But I only do so because I would want to stand up for her."

His words, his voice, all held a sense of fear that shook him - it was obvious Dion was not used to standing up for something he believed in. But Evras felt the bloom of pride as she looked at her son, and the inevidable admittance that Dion had grown up. He was eleven now, he no longer needed his mother's protection. A small smile curled her lips upwards, and a defiant look was flshed to Imeeya. "Not scared. Merely reacting to a situation you had put him in by yelling at him, Lady Imeeya. I believe if anyone had yelled at you, your first rection would not be to yell back at them?" Evras responded smoothly, as Dion took a step back to stand by her side, while his eyes remained trained on Imeeya. For the first time, Evras saw the hint of her husband's swagger and stubborn defiance that he was beginning to pick up, and her heart ached again at just how alike Dion would grow up to be like his father.

"I believe we should take our leave now, since we seemed to have overstayed our welcome." Evras dipped her head a little, allowing her hair to fall to the front of her shoulders, and held out a hand for Dion to take. "Perhaps one day you'll see how we each have to take responsibility for our actions. I have owned up for mine, and am doing something about it. You should too."

With nary word, the woman turned, and with her son trudging along next to her, Evras made her way out of the Drakos residence. As they exited, she looked down at Dion, and couldn't resist the smile that spread when he met her gaze. Dion laughed, and asked, "What is it Mum?"

Ruffling his naturally curled locks, her heart swelled with affection at the boy. When she had fallen in love with Zanon, she had thought she would never love anyone as much as she loved her husband. But she never expected to love Dion that much - a boy of her own fruit and loins, born of the love between her husband and herself... well, a once upon a time love, anyhow. Briefly, her eyes flashed downwards when she was reminded of the trying times between herself nd Zanon now. But Evras steeled herself with a deep breathe, and returned a warm gaze to Dion. "Nothing, son. I'm just... very proud of you. You're enjoying your lessons with your uncles and Aunt Athanasia?"

He nodded eagerly. And finally, the last knots of worry and frustration at having Dion taken way from her care and handed over to the military section of their family loosened and dissappeared. Evras had always been someone who needed to nurture someone else - when she had been younger, it had been Mihail and Dysius whom she mothered. As she grew up, and then married to Zanon, she had lavished that love on Zanon. And then Dion had been borned. Now... now she should find another outlet in life, she supposed. It wasn't fair to her son, if she continued holding him back.

Stepping back to allow the guards to open the carriage, Evras allowed Dion in first, before following after her son. "Do you mind if I watch you tomorrow, Dion?" she asked, once the carriage rumbled into motion. Watching as her son eagerly nodded, obviously eager to show off to his mother, Evras sank into the plush seats of the carriage, a type of emptiness beginning to grow in her chest. She was happy for Dion... but now she had a whole life in front of her. With her son grown up, and her husband estranged... Evras of Kotas now had a different problem in life.