As a young noblewoman of the court, Danae of Stravos was used to receiving the occasional invitation from Ivra of Marikas. As an older woman of the court, the matriarch of the ancient family had a clear interest in the girls of Athenian court and ensuring that they were capable of what the world would demand of them… or at least this is what Danae had gathered over the years.
So, when a short missive from the noblewoman arrived one afternoon, inviting the girl to an afternoon meal with her cousins the next day, Danae thought nothing of it. She did not even inform her father of its arrival as such events were commonplace within the court. Of course, naturally, she wanted to refuse as the girl was not fond of her peers in the slightest, but Ivra was not a woman to be easily dismissed. Plus it was hardly as if she was in ill health, so Danae hardly had an excuse to miss such a thing.
That’s why nothing seemed amiss at first when Danae swept into the room where the meal would take place within the Marikas manor. It was clear that the girl had no intention of standing out among her cousins, not with her pale blue-gray chiton and simple silver jewelry that displayed her status and wealth as a Stravos girl. The lady in waiting she had brought along with her, an utterly forgettable girl of fifteen who was the fourth daughter of a Stravos barony, was dressed similarly, to her disappointment. Danae did not have to suffer with the girl for very long thus far, but she clearly had an eye for finer things and enjoyed her role in Danae’s inner circle only if it meant that she would be gifted with the jewels that the noblewoman herself saw no use for.
Needless to say, Danae found the young girl intolerable and if it was up to her, she wouldn’t bother with the whole lady-in-waiting thing. However, society’s expectations for a lady of her stature was just as clear between who Danae spent her time with as it was on how to greet the hostess of such an event, which of course, she did warmly when Ivra approached her.
Pulling away from the elder woman’s welcoming embrace; her eyes drifted to the table in the center of the room. It was already prepared for the meal that had yet to be served with golden goblets already filled with deep red wine and equally lavish cutlery plated with the precious material. However, it wasn’t the golden glints that had captured her attention and caused the youngest Stravos to furrow her brows at the scene laid out before her. Instead, it was how small the seating arrangement was. Even from a distance, Danae could tell that there weren’t nearly as many seats as there should have been in order to host the numerous girls that made up the younger generation of the royal houses. That wasn’t normal. Not in the slightest.
Raising her head slightly as Ivra fussed over the young lady-in-waiting at Danae’s side, the young girl could see that there were only a half dozen seats at the square table. For a moment, the confusion could be seen on her face as she glanced back at the three other women in the room, however, she managed to hide it behind a cordial smile when Ivra glanced over at Danae, her expression not revealing any sort of clues why there was apparently such a small guest list. This, of course, did nothing to calm Danae’s already racing mind as it tried to calculate every possible reason for this turn of events as her hostess seemed unbothered by it all.
“Now we’re only waiting for --” Ivra started to say with an almost amused tone as if she was about to partake in some sort of inside joke, but she was quickly cut off by the oak doors starting to open. Dropping what she was beginning to say, Ivra turned to the doors and said with a hint of amused exasperation as she shuffled over to the door, “Ah, it looks like the “Lord” has finally decided to grace us with his presence!”
Although this statement pulled a knowing smirk from Ivra’s lady, it only confused the younger girls within the room. That much was made clear when Danae’s lady hissed at the brunette, “Did she just say his presence? Is there a man joining us?”
Danae swatted her away without answering her. She could see the elder lady-in-waitin glance at her disapprovingly, but a part of the young noblewoman just didn’t care. In truth, Danae was just as confused by Ivra’s statement as the young lady in waiting. After all, men never joined in on gatherings such as this, unless, of course, they were young babes who could not yet be parted from their mothers. Whoever Ivra was now greeting was clearly not that young. Between this and the limited table settings, it was now painfully obvious that there was more going on here than what Danae knew. “I don’t know,” She said lowly to the girl behind her as she turned her eyes to the door, trying to see who their last guest would be.
Her curious expression instantly soured though once she recognized them though. After all, there was no mistaking who the blonde, tall figure that greeted Ivra in a friendly, familial, way.
It was Lord Rafail. The youngest male within the Marikas household and easily the biggest waste of space Greece had ever seen as far as Danae was concerned.
Her lady in waiting clearly did not share the same opinion when she also saw the older man and gave a startled gasp of admiration in response. Danae had to fight to suppress an eye roll at the sound. Clearly, the young girl seemed to believe that the man across the room had some charming qualities about him rather than seeing him for the sleaze he was. The man was rude, self-centered, and utterly useless in the grand scheme of things.
How he managed to convince half the court that he was a bachelor worth pursuing, Danae would never know.
“Hush,” Danae hissed back, visibly annoyed by the presence of Raf within the room. However, her noise of displeasure had just been a smidge too loud as it caught the attention of Ivra who turned back to Danae and beckoned her over to greet Rafail.
Unable to disobey the elderly woman who held so much influence within the court, Danae reluctantly trudged over to the pair of Marikas. Her feet felt as heavy as lead the entire way, but she still held her head high in a show of defiance against the misogynistic man. After all, his cruel words uttered at the dikastirio still rang in her ears, forever poisoning the chance of him ever having a decent opinion in her mind. The things he said were unforgivable to her and struck a little too close to home for her liking. This was a horrible man and she was absolutely livid that she was now in the same room as him.
Little did she know that was the entire reason for the two of them being there.
She only allowed her eyes to express the hatred she held for the man as she forced a smile onto her face and greeted the lord coldly, “Cousin…” She smirked a bit at this, remembering how insistent he had been that she use his title, “I certainly did not expect to see you here.” Her gaze broke for a moment, glancing to the door. Her body was turned ever so slightly towards it, silently conveying her wish to escape from whatever this was. However, she couldn’t do that. Her reputation in Ivra’s eyes would be shattered and Danae did not want to deal with the consequences of that.
So, her feet stayed firmly in place as she then turned to the older woman who was clearly smug in her victory of bringing these two sworn enemies into the same room, “I’m sorry Lady Ivra,” She started to say with the utmost politeness, “I don’t quite understand why Rafail is here. I thought we were meeting with my cousins?” She asked pointedly, referring to the vague invitation Ivra had sent.
“I fail to see your confusion Danae.” Ivra started to say, smile faltering slightly as she saw that she needed to explain what this was about, “You are meeting with your cousin. You said it yourself, did you not?”
“Yes, but --” Danae started to say, trying to argue her way out of this trap, but she was quickly silenced by Ivra raising a hand.
“Enough,” The white-haired woman said simply, “It is quite clear, isn’t it? You’re a bright girl Danae, surely you can see why I have invited both of you here.”
The Stravos’s girl mouth moved to answer, but no sound came out as she was stunned into a weird sort of silence as she struggled to grasp what was happening. Ivra, on the other hand, did not have the patience to wait for the girl to put the pieces together. “I heard what happened at the Senate between the two of you.” A noise of protest filled the room, but Ivra continued as if nothing had happened, “If my sources are correct, you two argued for quite a bit, in full view of the other senators. This does not reflect well on either of our houses and you two are far too old,” Her gaze settled on Rafail when she said this, “To be squabbling like petulant children in such a manner.”
She paused for a moment in order to grab a goblet on the table, allowing for her comparison to sink in as she took a rather large gulp of the liquid. Danae’s head hung slightly in shame and she refused to glance in Rafail’s direction, even as she firmly believed his behavior was to blame for the whole incident.
“I do not know how your mother handles this sort of thing Danae, but I am personally not fond of letting such tensions stand. After all, if this is not addressed, who knows what may happen if you two are allowed to simmer in your dislike for the other.” Another pause brought another sip of the wine. However, before Ivra could speak again, he steely eyes settled on Danae, “Oh chin up, child. You look absolutely pitiful.” Her soured words forced the Stravos girl to level her eyes with Ivra, “Better. Now, we’re all going to enjoy this lovely meal and the two of you will learn how to get along. You will both be jovial and courteous by the time we are done, whether you like it or not.”
Danae’s eyes widened at her words. Without thinking, some of the angry thoughts she held within spilled from her, “Get along with him? That isn’t --”
“It is and it will happen or we will be here for quite a while.” With those final words, Ivra beckoned to the companions for each of the nobles to sit down, clearly setting up the seating arrangement to have Danae and Rafail across from one another.
Danae wanted no part of this. However, as she turned to the large doors, searching for a means of escape, she found that there were now a pair of burly guards blocking that means of escape. Clearly, no one would be in or out until Ivra deemed her job to be done. The sight of this made her blood boil almost as much as the prospect of needing to get along with Raf… almost.
However, since she was clearly trapped, Danae begrudgingly made her way over to the table when Ivra beckoned her over and took a seat at the small table. Her face was absolutely beet red with anger as she glanced over at the man across from her and she made her rage known while Ivra had her back turned, making her way to her own seat; “This is all your fault.”
With that, Danae reached out for her own goblet, determined to down as much of the liquid before this intolerable afternoon commenced. She did not want to be here. In fact, she’d rather be anywhere than here, but thanks to Ivra’s deception, she didn’t have much of a choice.
This easily had to be the worst afternoon of her life.
Rafail of Marikas, Ivra of Marikas
So, when a short missive from the noblewoman arrived one afternoon, inviting the girl to an afternoon meal with her cousins the next day, Danae thought nothing of it. She did not even inform her father of its arrival as such events were commonplace within the court. Of course, naturally, she wanted to refuse as the girl was not fond of her peers in the slightest, but Ivra was not a woman to be easily dismissed. Plus it was hardly as if she was in ill health, so Danae hardly had an excuse to miss such a thing.
That’s why nothing seemed amiss at first when Danae swept into the room where the meal would take place within the Marikas manor. It was clear that the girl had no intention of standing out among her cousins, not with her pale blue-gray chiton and simple silver jewelry that displayed her status and wealth as a Stravos girl. The lady in waiting she had brought along with her, an utterly forgettable girl of fifteen who was the fourth daughter of a Stravos barony, was dressed similarly, to her disappointment. Danae did not have to suffer with the girl for very long thus far, but she clearly had an eye for finer things and enjoyed her role in Danae’s inner circle only if it meant that she would be gifted with the jewels that the noblewoman herself saw no use for.
Needless to say, Danae found the young girl intolerable and if it was up to her, she wouldn’t bother with the whole lady-in-waiting thing. However, society’s expectations for a lady of her stature was just as clear between who Danae spent her time with as it was on how to greet the hostess of such an event, which of course, she did warmly when Ivra approached her.
Pulling away from the elder woman’s welcoming embrace; her eyes drifted to the table in the center of the room. It was already prepared for the meal that had yet to be served with golden goblets already filled with deep red wine and equally lavish cutlery plated with the precious material. However, it wasn’t the golden glints that had captured her attention and caused the youngest Stravos to furrow her brows at the scene laid out before her. Instead, it was how small the seating arrangement was. Even from a distance, Danae could tell that there weren’t nearly as many seats as there should have been in order to host the numerous girls that made up the younger generation of the royal houses. That wasn’t normal. Not in the slightest.
Raising her head slightly as Ivra fussed over the young lady-in-waiting at Danae’s side, the young girl could see that there were only a half dozen seats at the square table. For a moment, the confusion could be seen on her face as she glanced back at the three other women in the room, however, she managed to hide it behind a cordial smile when Ivra glanced over at Danae, her expression not revealing any sort of clues why there was apparently such a small guest list. This, of course, did nothing to calm Danae’s already racing mind as it tried to calculate every possible reason for this turn of events as her hostess seemed unbothered by it all.
“Now we’re only waiting for --” Ivra started to say with an almost amused tone as if she was about to partake in some sort of inside joke, but she was quickly cut off by the oak doors starting to open. Dropping what she was beginning to say, Ivra turned to the doors and said with a hint of amused exasperation as she shuffled over to the door, “Ah, it looks like the “Lord” has finally decided to grace us with his presence!”
Although this statement pulled a knowing smirk from Ivra’s lady, it only confused the younger girls within the room. That much was made clear when Danae’s lady hissed at the brunette, “Did she just say his presence? Is there a man joining us?”
Danae swatted her away without answering her. She could see the elder lady-in-waitin glance at her disapprovingly, but a part of the young noblewoman just didn’t care. In truth, Danae was just as confused by Ivra’s statement as the young lady in waiting. After all, men never joined in on gatherings such as this, unless, of course, they were young babes who could not yet be parted from their mothers. Whoever Ivra was now greeting was clearly not that young. Between this and the limited table settings, it was now painfully obvious that there was more going on here than what Danae knew. “I don’t know,” She said lowly to the girl behind her as she turned her eyes to the door, trying to see who their last guest would be.
Her curious expression instantly soured though once she recognized them though. After all, there was no mistaking who the blonde, tall figure that greeted Ivra in a friendly, familial, way.
It was Lord Rafail. The youngest male within the Marikas household and easily the biggest waste of space Greece had ever seen as far as Danae was concerned.
Her lady in waiting clearly did not share the same opinion when she also saw the older man and gave a startled gasp of admiration in response. Danae had to fight to suppress an eye roll at the sound. Clearly, the young girl seemed to believe that the man across the room had some charming qualities about him rather than seeing him for the sleaze he was. The man was rude, self-centered, and utterly useless in the grand scheme of things.
How he managed to convince half the court that he was a bachelor worth pursuing, Danae would never know.
“Hush,” Danae hissed back, visibly annoyed by the presence of Raf within the room. However, her noise of displeasure had just been a smidge too loud as it caught the attention of Ivra who turned back to Danae and beckoned her over to greet Rafail.
Unable to disobey the elderly woman who held so much influence within the court, Danae reluctantly trudged over to the pair of Marikas. Her feet felt as heavy as lead the entire way, but she still held her head high in a show of defiance against the misogynistic man. After all, his cruel words uttered at the dikastirio still rang in her ears, forever poisoning the chance of him ever having a decent opinion in her mind. The things he said were unforgivable to her and struck a little too close to home for her liking. This was a horrible man and she was absolutely livid that she was now in the same room as him.
Little did she know that was the entire reason for the two of them being there.
She only allowed her eyes to express the hatred she held for the man as she forced a smile onto her face and greeted the lord coldly, “Cousin…” She smirked a bit at this, remembering how insistent he had been that she use his title, “I certainly did not expect to see you here.” Her gaze broke for a moment, glancing to the door. Her body was turned ever so slightly towards it, silently conveying her wish to escape from whatever this was. However, she couldn’t do that. Her reputation in Ivra’s eyes would be shattered and Danae did not want to deal with the consequences of that.
So, her feet stayed firmly in place as she then turned to the older woman who was clearly smug in her victory of bringing these two sworn enemies into the same room, “I’m sorry Lady Ivra,” She started to say with the utmost politeness, “I don’t quite understand why Rafail is here. I thought we were meeting with my cousins?” She asked pointedly, referring to the vague invitation Ivra had sent.
“I fail to see your confusion Danae.” Ivra started to say, smile faltering slightly as she saw that she needed to explain what this was about, “You are meeting with your cousin. You said it yourself, did you not?”
“Yes, but --” Danae started to say, trying to argue her way out of this trap, but she was quickly silenced by Ivra raising a hand.
“Enough,” The white-haired woman said simply, “It is quite clear, isn’t it? You’re a bright girl Danae, surely you can see why I have invited both of you here.”
The Stravos’s girl mouth moved to answer, but no sound came out as she was stunned into a weird sort of silence as she struggled to grasp what was happening. Ivra, on the other hand, did not have the patience to wait for the girl to put the pieces together. “I heard what happened at the Senate between the two of you.” A noise of protest filled the room, but Ivra continued as if nothing had happened, “If my sources are correct, you two argued for quite a bit, in full view of the other senators. This does not reflect well on either of our houses and you two are far too old,” Her gaze settled on Rafail when she said this, “To be squabbling like petulant children in such a manner.”
She paused for a moment in order to grab a goblet on the table, allowing for her comparison to sink in as she took a rather large gulp of the liquid. Danae’s head hung slightly in shame and she refused to glance in Rafail’s direction, even as she firmly believed his behavior was to blame for the whole incident.
“I do not know how your mother handles this sort of thing Danae, but I am personally not fond of letting such tensions stand. After all, if this is not addressed, who knows what may happen if you two are allowed to simmer in your dislike for the other.” Another pause brought another sip of the wine. However, before Ivra could speak again, he steely eyes settled on Danae, “Oh chin up, child. You look absolutely pitiful.” Her soured words forced the Stravos girl to level her eyes with Ivra, “Better. Now, we’re all going to enjoy this lovely meal and the two of you will learn how to get along. You will both be jovial and courteous by the time we are done, whether you like it or not.”
Danae’s eyes widened at her words. Without thinking, some of the angry thoughts she held within spilled from her, “Get along with him? That isn’t --”
“It is and it will happen or we will be here for quite a while.” With those final words, Ivra beckoned to the companions for each of the nobles to sit down, clearly setting up the seating arrangement to have Danae and Rafail across from one another.
Danae wanted no part of this. However, as she turned to the large doors, searching for a means of escape, she found that there were now a pair of burly guards blocking that means of escape. Clearly, no one would be in or out until Ivra deemed her job to be done. The sight of this made her blood boil almost as much as the prospect of needing to get along with Raf… almost.
However, since she was clearly trapped, Danae begrudgingly made her way over to the table when Ivra beckoned her over and took a seat at the small table. Her face was absolutely beet red with anger as she glanced over at the man across from her and she made her rage known while Ivra had her back turned, making her way to her own seat; “This is all your fault.”
With that, Danae reached out for her own goblet, determined to down as much of the liquid before this intolerable afternoon commenced. She did not want to be here. In fact, she’d rather be anywhere than here, but thanks to Ivra’s deception, she didn’t have much of a choice.
This easily had to be the worst afternoon of her life.
Rafail of Marikas, Ivra of Marikas