As Timaeus’s horse thundered up the rocky pathway towards the Valaoritis household, a small smile crept onto his face. It may have only been two days since Timaeus had last been here, but it had been a hard and emotionally draining two days. After all, the previous morning had seen two Valaoritis boys leave Midas and now only one has returned at clearly at a breakneck speed. He didn’t want to spend much time in Eubocris, only allowing him enough time to rest and to ensure his younger brother had arrived at the manor that would be his secret prison until he could learn to how to be a Lord.
Getting Silanos to leave Midas though hadn’t been easy. It had always been Sil’s instinct to run whenever the world started to close in on him. He had done so after the death of Nicomedes as he found more comfort in the Taengean promise of endless bottles of wine rather than his own crumbling family. However, it was a trick that Timaeus himself had known all too well and the Baron had the foresight to keep him from sneaking off in the night. His room had been well-guarded and he had not been allowed to leave his chamber until it was time to leave Midas. It had made Silanos feel cornered like a wild animal and stoked his anger to dangerous levels, but it had done the job and there was nowhere for him to go… save for Eubocris where Timaeus could keep him under a careful watch. It may not seem like much to an outsider, but pinning in a Valaoritis? The same family who had yet to fail in raising any of their children into a free-spirited imp who wanted nothing more from life than the chance to escape the mountains?
Being penned in like this was a fate worse than death for them.
Silanos had made this much clear when he was finally allowed to leave his room and spent the majority of the day-long trip shouting double-handed quips designed to dig under his brother’s skin. As much as Tim hated to admit it, Sil did succeed in his goal and his jaw was still somewhat sore from needed to hold his tongue from giving in and spitting forth his own venom in return. However, if Sil believed he could succeed in convincing Timaeus to rethink his plan and allow the young lord to wander freely… he was sorely mistaken. If anything, the whole experience strengthened his resolve on the matter. It was far past time Silanos was reined in and given that Sil would be the only thing this family would have left if something happened to Tim.. he needed to grow up and learn how to shoulder the responsibilities he was expected to carry. The tragedies that had marred his family had blinded them to this, but the incident at the Kotas manor had been the wake-up call Timaeus desperately needed. It was time for Silanos to grow up and there was no better way to do it than to bring him back to the house where they had failed to do so before.
After arriving in the province, Timaeus made a point to avoid his brother, least while his ire was still strong and the baron had slipped away from the manor in the early morning hours so that any conflict could be avoided. Entrusted to the care of his mother, several of his lieutenants, and the staff who were bound to follow Timaeus’s will before Silanos; the Baron was confident that Sil would not be going anywhere until he was the heir this family needed to be. It would take time and the journey was not going to be easy, but it was desperately needed.
But at least the hardest part is over, Timaeus silently thought to himself as he made wearily made his way towards his chambers in the Midas household. He hadn’t even made his way to his door before he started fumbling with his riding cloak, eager to shed the offending item so he might be able to sleep. The ride from Eubocris to Midas had always been exhausting, but the emotional toll from the past few days made it difficult to keep his eyes open as he made his way inside. Luckily, the staff had the foresight to send in a retainer to help the Baron and as soon as the Valaoritis had made his presence known, a mousy boy lept to his feet and helped Timaeus remove the outer armor he had worn during the trip. Within minutes, the heavy, decorative boiled leather had been removed and Timaeus was eager to crawl into his bed so that he might forget the world for a few hours. However, before he could so, his stomach loudly growled, reminding him of the fact that he had eaten for most of the day.
Turning to the boy who was now fussing over stoking a nearby fire, Timaeus said curtly, “You can go. Return to wake me when the rest of my family is ready to eat.” He received a small nod in response and the retainer moved to leave. Before he was able to leave the room, Timaeus quickly added, “And make sure they’re all there this evening.” As much as Timaeus would love to be alone after such a trying time, he knew that leaving both Sospatria and Roxana unsupervised for so long had not been a brilliant idea. His own worries over what happened with Silanos dictated that he assure that neither of his cousins had found themselves caught up in similar predicaments.
The boy only muttered a short affirmative statement in response and scurried from the room. Breathing a sigh of relief, Timaeus crawled into his bed, not even caring about how the rest of his muddied outfit was probably ruining the sheets. As soon as his head hit the pillow, his eyes slipped closed, leading him into a well-needed rest.
Timaeus was still asleep when the boy returned several hours later to a darkened chamber. Having always been a light sleeper, it didn’t take much to rouse the Baron from his dreamless rest. Once he had stumbled from the bed, he finally shed the dirty outfit from before and changed into a steel gray chiton so that he might look somewhat presentable when he saw his cousins again rather than being disheveled from his travels and sleep. A simple comb through his curls was enough to hide the rest of his weariness, which surprised the retainer. Clearly, he was used to working with those in the household who had a longer routine.
That was startlingly apparent when Timaeus had made his way into the dining room and only found other servants rushing about in order to make the last few preparations for the meal. He was the first of his family to arrive. Ignoring the others in the room, Timaeus made his way to his spot at the head of the table. Sitting down, he took the wine before him and took a rather large gulp of the liquid, mentally preparing himself for the endless questions that both Patria and Rox would have for him once they did arrive. After all, as far as he knew, the two of them had been left in the dark as to what Silanos had done and both were very aware of Timaeus’s inability to let his family wander too far from home.
And neither girl was the type to hold her tongue when it came to these kinds of questions.
Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to keep up any lie he told and the two of them would probably find out the truth in other backhanded ways; Timaeus already knew that he would have to explain the events of the night at the Kotas manor. He didn’t want to do it, but it was something that needed to be done. This was also the best setting for revealing a secret that this family would have to take to their graves if they wanted to save their reputation and Sil’s life. It just wasn’t going to be an easy thing for him to admit, given the part he had played in the whole fiasco.
So, he quickly downed the rest of the goblet, welcoming the light buzz from the wine that would make this conversation easier as he kept glancing towards the door; both eagerly awaiting and dreading the arrival of the other girls.
Roxana of Eubocris, Sospatria of Valaoritis, Iolanthe of Peisistratos
Getting Silanos to leave Midas though hadn’t been easy. It had always been Sil’s instinct to run whenever the world started to close in on him. He had done so after the death of Nicomedes as he found more comfort in the Taengean promise of endless bottles of wine rather than his own crumbling family. However, it was a trick that Timaeus himself had known all too well and the Baron had the foresight to keep him from sneaking off in the night. His room had been well-guarded and he had not been allowed to leave his chamber until it was time to leave Midas. It had made Silanos feel cornered like a wild animal and stoked his anger to dangerous levels, but it had done the job and there was nowhere for him to go… save for Eubocris where Timaeus could keep him under a careful watch. It may not seem like much to an outsider, but pinning in a Valaoritis? The same family who had yet to fail in raising any of their children into a free-spirited imp who wanted nothing more from life than the chance to escape the mountains?
Being penned in like this was a fate worse than death for them.
Silanos had made this much clear when he was finally allowed to leave his room and spent the majority of the day-long trip shouting double-handed quips designed to dig under his brother’s skin. As much as Tim hated to admit it, Sil did succeed in his goal and his jaw was still somewhat sore from needed to hold his tongue from giving in and spitting forth his own venom in return. However, if Sil believed he could succeed in convincing Timaeus to rethink his plan and allow the young lord to wander freely… he was sorely mistaken. If anything, the whole experience strengthened his resolve on the matter. It was far past time Silanos was reined in and given that Sil would be the only thing this family would have left if something happened to Tim.. he needed to grow up and learn how to shoulder the responsibilities he was expected to carry. The tragedies that had marred his family had blinded them to this, but the incident at the Kotas manor had been the wake-up call Timaeus desperately needed. It was time for Silanos to grow up and there was no better way to do it than to bring him back to the house where they had failed to do so before.
After arriving in the province, Timaeus made a point to avoid his brother, least while his ire was still strong and the baron had slipped away from the manor in the early morning hours so that any conflict could be avoided. Entrusted to the care of his mother, several of his lieutenants, and the staff who were bound to follow Timaeus’s will before Silanos; the Baron was confident that Sil would not be going anywhere until he was the heir this family needed to be. It would take time and the journey was not going to be easy, but it was desperately needed.
But at least the hardest part is over, Timaeus silently thought to himself as he made wearily made his way towards his chambers in the Midas household. He hadn’t even made his way to his door before he started fumbling with his riding cloak, eager to shed the offending item so he might be able to sleep. The ride from Eubocris to Midas had always been exhausting, but the emotional toll from the past few days made it difficult to keep his eyes open as he made his way inside. Luckily, the staff had the foresight to send in a retainer to help the Baron and as soon as the Valaoritis had made his presence known, a mousy boy lept to his feet and helped Timaeus remove the outer armor he had worn during the trip. Within minutes, the heavy, decorative boiled leather had been removed and Timaeus was eager to crawl into his bed so that he might forget the world for a few hours. However, before he could so, his stomach loudly growled, reminding him of the fact that he had eaten for most of the day.
Turning to the boy who was now fussing over stoking a nearby fire, Timaeus said curtly, “You can go. Return to wake me when the rest of my family is ready to eat.” He received a small nod in response and the retainer moved to leave. Before he was able to leave the room, Timaeus quickly added, “And make sure they’re all there this evening.” As much as Timaeus would love to be alone after such a trying time, he knew that leaving both Sospatria and Roxana unsupervised for so long had not been a brilliant idea. His own worries over what happened with Silanos dictated that he assure that neither of his cousins had found themselves caught up in similar predicaments.
The boy only muttered a short affirmative statement in response and scurried from the room. Breathing a sigh of relief, Timaeus crawled into his bed, not even caring about how the rest of his muddied outfit was probably ruining the sheets. As soon as his head hit the pillow, his eyes slipped closed, leading him into a well-needed rest.
Timaeus was still asleep when the boy returned several hours later to a darkened chamber. Having always been a light sleeper, it didn’t take much to rouse the Baron from his dreamless rest. Once he had stumbled from the bed, he finally shed the dirty outfit from before and changed into a steel gray chiton so that he might look somewhat presentable when he saw his cousins again rather than being disheveled from his travels and sleep. A simple comb through his curls was enough to hide the rest of his weariness, which surprised the retainer. Clearly, he was used to working with those in the household who had a longer routine.
That was startlingly apparent when Timaeus had made his way into the dining room and only found other servants rushing about in order to make the last few preparations for the meal. He was the first of his family to arrive. Ignoring the others in the room, Timaeus made his way to his spot at the head of the table. Sitting down, he took the wine before him and took a rather large gulp of the liquid, mentally preparing himself for the endless questions that both Patria and Rox would have for him once they did arrive. After all, as far as he knew, the two of them had been left in the dark as to what Silanos had done and both were very aware of Timaeus’s inability to let his family wander too far from home.
And neither girl was the type to hold her tongue when it came to these kinds of questions.
Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to keep up any lie he told and the two of them would probably find out the truth in other backhanded ways; Timaeus already knew that he would have to explain the events of the night at the Kotas manor. He didn’t want to do it, but it was something that needed to be done. This was also the best setting for revealing a secret that this family would have to take to their graves if they wanted to save their reputation and Sil’s life. It just wasn’t going to be an easy thing for him to admit, given the part he had played in the whole fiasco.
So, he quickly downed the rest of the goblet, welcoming the light buzz from the wine that would make this conversation easier as he kept glancing towards the door; both eagerly awaiting and dreading the arrival of the other girls.
Roxana of Eubocris, Sospatria of Valaoritis, Iolanthe of Peisistratos