Persephone felt Iason stir and smiled softly at his sweet ministrations. As he curled his arm around her, her trailing finger tips turned into a soft palm placed on his forearm. As he slipped his legs between hers, she felt herself gasp softly as the top of his thigh brush against sensitive flesh. The gasp became a soft mew as Iason offered affection to the curve of her ear, his breath playing of the skin behind the shell and heating her blood.
She felt it unlikely that she was looking her most luxurious, naked in bed with unbrushed hair that had last been tackled by thorn and bramble and washing without a comb. She hadn't treated her skin for over a week with the oils she used to be anointed with daily. And she still sported little speckled redness across her skin where the peasants dress she had worn the previous day had rubbed her soft skin rough. She almost laughed to herself to think that there was no need to hide her presence on the estate. No-one would suppose her to be the elegant Queen of Athenia, looking as she did now... And yet, Iason seemed not to care... That alone sent a shiver of sweetness down her spine.
When he murmured "good morning" to her, Persephone felt her cheeks flame at the intimacy of the comment, having never been greeted such by someone who had shared her bed the night before...
When he asked her if she was alright, she responded with more noise than words; a soft "Mmmm..." Leaving her lips with a tone affirmative enough to provide answer to his query.
"Just thinking..." She offered to him, resuming the stroke of her fingers, this time over his bicep as his arms held her closer, enjoyed the sensation of them laying together without rush or hurry to be anywhere else...
Though he’d not intended it from the start, the way Persephone reacted to his efforts brought the heat they’d extinguished last night rising again, and he had to tighten his grip on her waist to keep his hands from wandering further. He had always found her attractive, but now he found it impossible to keep any sort of composure around her. It would make life difficult if he was having to constantly excuse himself until he was...physically in control again.
Iason turned, drawing one leg up as he landed on his back and tried to subtly hide the effect she had on him with an arm laid across his stomach. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to know, but he also didn’t want to presume. The night before could have been entirely different than how she wanted to proceed. His other arm wound around her though and slid through her hair, working through tangles gently.
”What of?”
He tugged at one of the blankets he’d kicked aside in the night, pulling it up over them and covering himself up to his shoulders to fight the early morning chill. It was a reminder that fall and winter were upon them and with a soft grunt of effort he reached to pull her close again, seeking the warmth her small frame had to offer.
”Not that I’m a mistake, I hope.” His tone was light but he was terrified she would say yes.
As Iason pulled away, a cool breeze fell in over the skin of her back, exposed now to the lowering temperature of the room. Persephone looked over her shoulder to watch him shift away only to realise she was likely to see that she which had yet to witness. Despite her earlier curiosity, a quickly muffled noise of startlement left her lips and she flicked her head back around so quickly she thought she might risk strain to her neck, her hands coming up to be placed on each of her flaming cheeks. The embarrassment - though intense initially from her personal upbringing - melted quickly in the light of their behaviour the previous evening.
It calmed still further when she started to toy with her hair, working through a few of the simple and softer knots at the ends of the tendrils. She smiled as she allowed him to draw her closer and, as his arm encouraged her to turn and find her place at his side, her cheek to his chest, Persephone was shame faced to notice the sheets being pulled up so high.
Reaching up to fiddle with the hem of the sheets, her long, slim fingers playing with the linen weave, she let her breath go in one long release, as he asked her if her thoughts were regarding him. Regarding their actions being something she might regret.
"No..." She spoke calmly into the sheet, turning her head so that he might reach her hair the nape of her neck with greater ease. The gesture was unconscious but all the more pleasing for its results as Iason followed her ignorant guidance. "Actually, I was considering the opposite..." She said, seeming to breathe into her words...
She stayed silent for longer than was probably fair on Iason's nerves but the pause was not for dramatic effect but for her to formulate her words carefully in her mind before allowing them to escape her mouth.
"When my mother died..." She stated in a calm and controlled tone that only others who had spoken of the loss of their nearest and dearest would recognise; the slightly flippant and casual air that was only used in order to keep the words from shaking... "I learn that grieving should be felt but not endured. That it should be a part of your life without it taking your life apart. That... well... in short, that life goes on." The last few words came out low and quiet as if she feared speaking such things aloud for fear that Iason would think her callous. "I found my purpose with my sister and my father... with my place in life... I guess I somehow forgot to look for a new one when I lost them too." Her voice crackled at the end of the last sentence but she cleared her throat and swallowed her, unwilling to allow herself to break down again.
She took a long and calming breath.
"I've been thinking about how I should live my life now... What I'm going to do with it." Her fingers tightened on the blanket. "Whether I should return to Athenia..."
The pressure of her head against his chest was calming, and Iason found his eyes closing once again. His fingers still absently traced through her hair, following the tilt of her head to the base of her neck before sliding them down her shoulders. Her muscles were tense and no doubt sore from the time she’d spent on the cold ground, and he kneaded at them carefully to try to help them unwind.
Tipping his head down to look at her, he grinned as she said she was thinking the opposite, a thrill running through him at the thought of being able to have this every day. Her beside him, learning the lay of the land at Chaoedia, getting to know his family and people and hopefully relaxing into a more Taengean way of life. They could have a life and children, without the pressures of a throne now.
His smile faded slightly as she spoke of her mother, memories of his own and the difficulty of adjusting to life without her still fresh. He couldn’t imagine losing Dodo and Alexa and his father as well. Without them he would be just as broken as Persephone had been. Bringing both arms around her now, he simply held her until she got to the question of her return to Athenia and his heart sank.
”If you go back...what would you do? Fight for the crown?”
Closing her eyes to luxuriate in the feel of Iason working the tension from her muscles, Persephone let out a soft sigh as she picked a little at a broken strand on the sheet. Her nails were short and carefully rounded, the surfaces usually buffed to a high shine. Now a few of them had become chipped or broken and they no longer shone but seemed almost rough. The previous night they had been near black with the dirt of the forest floor but the bath tub - the one that still stood over at the far end of the bed - had wasn't such grit away, leaving the beds pink and the tips a pure white.
"It's something to consider." She mused in an even tone, in answer to Iason's question. "The crown is legally mine. Its physically mine." She added with an amused tone as she shifted her hand sideways in order to gesture to the room, within which she had hidden the crown and key paper of Athenia. "But father always said that the crown was not enough. That, to truly rule, a monarch required the support and compliance of the Senate. Xanthos over-played its hand. If I were to go back now..." Persephone sighed into the sheet and then leaned forwards to rub at her face with the back of her knuckles. Her next exhale came out with exasperation. "It's going to be complete civil war. Over something that... That I don't even want."
Persephone was clearly becoming visibly frustrated at even the mention of Athenia but it was equally clear that her stress was one of a woman in control of her thoughts. She wasn't regressing into who she had been a day ago, but witnessing and accepting the emotions that came with her currently predicament.
Sitting up, Persephone drew her knees up and wrapped one arm across them, and and supported her elbow on their upturned points. Her free hand buried in her hair and scratched at her head in frustration as the locks danced down her naked back.
"And then I think of the alternative. Of never returning to Athenia. I think about how... The hubris of believing you can rule a kingdom naturally turns you into someone who can't. Or someone who shouldn't. I pushed for an eventuality that played into Xanthos favour and all it did was cost me my sister's life and the end of my father's line..." She glanced over her shoulder at Iason. "I think about how I could stay here..." She turned to look away, awkward in her admissions. "I am hardly experienced in what makes a good partner or union but I know that... I think that the two of us might have something here to be explored. Something that I feel I would want to commit to... I think... I'm considerate of the idea that I think we could make one another happy long term... Even if the thought of Elias of Stravos on my father's throne near kills me..."
Humming his assent, he glanced over to follow her gesture to the crown and papers, wincing at the thought of it. If he’d gone to Emilia’s room first, then Persephone, would she have insisted on taking the crown? If he’d saved her sister would she have been kinder to him before? It was a great regret of his that he hadn’t managed to get to the young princess who’d been sweet the entire time he’d known her. But the sounds had come from that direction and his only thought had been to save his fiancée.
As she sat up and away from his touch, Iason propped himself up on his elbows, watching her with something he couldn’t quite define. She was doing well now, all things considered, he could see she wasn’t unhinged or in as wild a mood as she had been last night. But at the same time, she clearly wasn’t happy. He couldn’t imagine the conflict she was dealing with now, though the answer seemed clear enough to him.
”Then stay.” Iason sat up fully, reaching out to touch her bare back and leaning forward to press a kiss to her shoulder. With one hand he brushed her hair out of the way, the other tracing slowly down the length of her arm. ”Stay with me, marry me. A baron isn’t a king, but whatever I can give you I will.”
This time his lips found her neck again briefly before he wrapped both arms around her waist, face pressed to the curve of her neck and shoulder. He still held out some hope that Emilia might be alive, that the girl hadn’t been harmed. That snake would need some sort of leverage to claim a throne that no one wanted for him, if they could work out a price of sorts, to bring the youngest Xanthos Princess here and keep her safe with them, he would find a way.
Iason was tempting her in more ways than he probably realised. Not only was her body - newly awakened to the idea of being content with someone else; of enjoying the simple touches that she had never before permitted to breach her personal space - enjoying his petting and coaxing (since when had her neck been so sensitive?), but his words were torment enough. They spoke of a life she could live easily; something she only had to say yes to now to take in both her hands. Having woken up beside Iason now she had a strong mental image of what her life would be like if she simply wanted to stay by his side... A life that would only revolve around being happily content with her world. Not the ruling of one.
But could she leave Athenia? Could she allow Elias to take over, as she more than knew he would do in her absence. Could she allow a people she had worked for, for so many years, to be taken into hand by the Stravos family?
Then again, did she have any choice?
"It... It feels wrong to leave Athenia." She admitted to the man beside her as she touched and kissed at her shoulder in a way that had her toes curling. Her tone was doubtful and clearly swaying in conviction. "I don't like the idea of Elias as King and I don't want that for the people that my father loved so strongly..." She continued to fiddle with the bedsheet, unable to stop herself leaning in to Iason's touch. "But... but I can't help but think that regardless of how much I dislike I, there's likely nothing I can do to stop it. My House will have lost all credit, I have no more family, I'm female which is an impossibility from the start and I have no loyalty or leverage within the Senate." With a sigh and resignation, Persephone rested her brow on her arm for a moment, taking a calming breath in and then out. She then looked up, rubbed a hand over her face and took a stiffening inhale. "Athenia needs saving." She said determinedly, as if coming to her decision. "But I am not the person who has either the resources or skills to do it."
Perhaps she had given enough. Perhaps she had given enough of her time and efforts and life to the cause that was the Athenian kingdom. It had been over ten years since she had thought of anything else. And yet clearly such loyalty meant nothing to the men with whom she had toiled beside. All those who had been loyal to her prior to the attack will have been convinced that she was killed or would have adapted to the situation - possibly even turned against her for whatever tale of cowardice Elias likely spun in order to damage her reputation. And everyone else had wanted a King over a Queen. Elias was the one legitimately in line to be exactly that...
Perhaps it was time to stop attempting to force the hand of the Athenian Senate and to allow the kingdom to go where it would...
Looking over her shoulder at the man who gave her such attentions, Persephone waited until she had his gaze before speaking.
"You could marry anyone you wished." She told him. "A woman whom you could care for and love but also build upon your family name. That was why we were matched to begin with. I'm not suggesting you would find someone to join with for pure, financial reasons - you could love her too. But that woman might still be out there..." Her tone was questioning, as a delicate frown drew down over her eyes. "You're certain you'd rather have me?"
”Athenia is strong, believe that the lords will not allow someone incompetent to rule over them for long.”
His arms wrapped around her as she leaned into his hold, his nose tracing softly against her shoulder as his fingers brushed along her legs that she’d drawn up to her chest. Listening to her trials, he couldn’t find a way to relate. He’d never before been in such a position and if she didn’t want the crown, he didn’t see why she had to take it. The senate had declared her a good enough heir for her father, but there was no requirement that she take up the mantle as far as he could see. As for her bloodline….it would carry on in their children if she agreed to stay with him.
Iason didn’t believe the country needed saving. There had been horrible things done the night that the Stravos boy had invaded, lives lost needlessly, but though he had made the match with her for the political gain, he had never cared about such things. All of that drive to improve and raise himself was out of duty and love to his family to lift their name as well. Had he been King of Athenia, he could have given his sisters wealthy matches and made sure they were secure, but even as Iason of Dimitrou, he and his father had the ability to arrange such things. Perhaps one of them would be a queen and he could remain here and carry on his own line.
”If you don’t wish the crown, why waste more Athenian blood trying to reclaim it? Surely more people would die if we tried to get it back for you than if we leave it to work itself out. If an opportunity arises, I will be by your side to take it back. But until then?”
Arms moved to wrap around her waist, moving with her as she turned to look at him and offer her protestation that he could still marry someone else, someone wealthier. Keeping his gaze locked with hers he waited until she had finished before shaking his head firmly, leaning forward to kiss her properly for the span of a few heartbeats before he pulled back enough to reply.
”I want to marry you. My family name is secure, we’re one of the royal houses of Taengea, our horses are the best in the country, we have plenty.” Iason lifted a hand to her cheek, brushing the back of his knuckles along the line of her jaw and into her hair. ”I came to Athenia because I was hopeless in love, and so a marriage of political interest was the best I could get. But now...I don’t care if you’re a queen or a maid. I want to be with you.”
Persephone was thankful to Iason for allowing her to speak and verbalise her thoughts without interruption. She needed that calm and that lack of abrupt conversation to think her thoughts through to their conclusion. Iason was right. Why waste more lives, spill more blood for something that was now being claimed by the man who was due to inherit it anyway? Perhaps her father had been trying to turn the tide and force a change the kingdom was not ready for. Who was she to decide that she knew best and better than its ruling classes and force the people to suffer the consequences of such hubris...?
Turning as she was guided, Persephone felt heat spark as Iason leaned in to kiss her but her kiss in return was lacking in enthusiasm, her own mind preoccupied. Persephone was a one-track kind of person and her focus was complete and absolute on whatever stood before her. She offered a small response to show that she enjoyed his touch, but it was clear her mind was elsewhere. Her eyes, however, met Iason's as he spoke with her regarding his feelings in terms of their marriage.
It was in that moment that she realised she didn't truly understand Iason. Or rather, his world view. Persephone had been raised in an environment that was ambitious and prevalence at every turn. Iason had been taught to appreciate what he had. Whilst Persephone had never thought herself to be arrogant or conceited; her parents had always made it clear that her privileges came with great responsibilities and there was no natural right for her to live in contentment at the oppression of others... but she had never, perhaps, been taught to value what she had in the same way that Iason valued his. Had she been looking at the Dimitrou manor less as a sanctuary in a storm and more for what it was, with the eyes of own self but a few months ago, she might have - not looked down on it - but would have been surprised that the Dimitrou family saw no need to attempt to earn and build bigger and stronger. They seemed totally at home with what they had.
It was the same with Iason's attitude towards marriage. Were Persephone in his place she would have been taught to calculate and consider very possible option and potential future. She would have ranked herself as low on gains and advantaged and ne'er considered the match.
Iason clearly saw things differently. He saw something with her that he wanted and it didn't matter that others might be able to offer more or that a future partner might be out there. He was content with what he had.
And whilst Persephone wasn't able to understand that frame of mind, she couldn't help the curling warmth and soft breeze of relief pull through her; key reactions that told her he had offered her the answer she had instinctively hoped for. Which meant her own seemed perfectly natural to give...
"Okay." She said with a smile, the single word anticlimactic but the look in her eyes promising anything but...
Iason repeated the word with a smile. Her agreement was what he’d been seeking, and hopefully would help her manage to find some peace. If she let go of the fear and stress over Athenia, she would hopefully be able to settle into her life here with him and they could live in contentment. It wouldn’t happen over night, he knew that, but this was progress.
Leaning back once again, he held his arms out invitingly to her. Only when she laid back down with him again did he relax fully against the bed. It wouldn’t immediately jump into the passion of last night, but right now all he wanted was the comfort of her body against his own. Pressing kisses to the the top of her head, he waited until her chin tipped up of her own accord before sealing that sort of promise with a soft kiss.
He had what he wanted now, and though he ought to have been up and about it he had still been living at home on any other normal situation he would have been seeing to his duties by now. At this time though, he just wanted to sink down into this bed and spend all day with her.