Some might have wondered at the crown prince of Colchis' attentions to the strifes and trials of the Taengean royalty. He had fought alongside King Stephanos in the attack on the Creed infested Gorge a few weeks ago and he had now made arrangements for one of his own inner circle to sail to Taengea and aid in some underhanded political turmoil that was currently on-going in Taengea. Many would argue, why bother? Whilst support of their allies in the Grecian realm encouraged friendships and other arrangements to move forward, it wasn't particularly damning to not get involved with another kingdom's folly and danger. Vangelis could have easily maintained relations with their neighbours to the South by doing nothing at all to aid in Stephanos' difficulties as a new king. There was no shame in allowing a monarch to handle their own matters without interference.
There were, however, two distinctive reasons, however, why Vangelis had fought against the Creed in the battle north of the capitol and why he had summoned Magnus to attend to Taengean shores. One, was purely selfish. If the Creed were as integrated into the nobility of Taengea, as the new king suspected, then it meant that the death of the King had been more than a statement of terror: it had been a political power grab. And any man eager to attempt to kill off a king and both his sons on the same day? That was a man (or a woman) intent on claiming as much dominance over his and anyone else's realm as he (or she) could get. Which meant it wouldn't be long before the hidden menace attempting to take over Taengea would turn their sites on Athenia or Colchis.
And secondly, Vangelis just didn't like bullies. You earned your right to rule and be a leader of people. You didn't take it.
And so, the plan was simple...
Magnus had been sent a letter to attend to Taengea as soon as a ship could get him there. Vangelis would explain to him the situation in confidence, allowing Stephanos and Magnus to meet and form at least a rudimentary bond of trust through their mutual relationship with himself. And then he would leave with his sister and cousin back to Colchis, allowing his Informer to conduct the secret investigations that need to be carried out in order to find out what Egypt were up to, and whether such goals and ambitions would cause further strife to Greece as a whole...
Vangelis was on foot as he journeyed through the city. It attracted less attention. Not to mention the fact that - despite his impressive height and the breadth of his shoulders telling people to get out of his way quickly - he was mostly unrecognisable by the general populace of Vasiliadon. The last thing he wanted to do was cause a stir or draw too much attention to the man he was meeting at the docks. Master Informers liked to work in pure secret and a song and dance upon their arrival to a new place lost them a certain element of that. Especially given that tomorrow as the day of the big Senate Meet - the first that Stephanos had overseen as King. There was enough drama and speculation around the Taengean nobility as it was. They didn't need the excitement of a big song and dance welcoming a second member of the Colchian Senate to their shores...
It was as he was on the way to the port, however, and hoping to be there prior to Magnus' ship coming in to dock, that Vangelis was suddenly accosted by a bright voice, swaths of elegant silk and a lot of blonde hair...
Considering the quite heavy cloud of gloom that had seemed to settle over the city of Vasiliádon in recent weeks, Nana found it to be a great idea to try and get out from underneath it with some good old-fashioned retail therapy. Of course, it wouldn't change anything, not really, but it would surely improve her spirits. So, Nana was out on the streets of the capital, trailed by a retinue of three handmaidens and six soldiers, at her parents' insistence. Considering the recent danger that her dearest Pia had faced, it made sense that her mother and father would be so protective, but even still, they would have had her go out with at least twice the amount of security. Nana, however, being the modest girl she was, didn't want to make so much fuss. So, a half a dozen soldiers sufficed.
Still, she would not dare to dream of leaving the manor without being dressed beautifully, and her finery reflected as much. The Leventi was dressed in a flowy pale purple chiton, made of the best silk money could buy, fastened with a number of golden pins adorned with her family's crest. Gold bangles and jeweled rings adorned her wrists and fingers, and a golden locket inscribed with a unicorn rested at her collarbone. She didn't feel pressed to do much of anything with her hair, so it flowed down her back, loose. Overall, a good look.
Nana knew not what she was looking for, only why she was looking: to get out of the house. The second-youngest of Georgios and Evelli's brood was quite prone to cabin fever, as demonstrated by the number of times she'd been caught trying to sneak out of the manor unaccompanied in years past. With age, she had learned that the key to escaping the fold was to be assertive, to do instead of asking permission. And oh, she did, alright. Which was how she found herself in the marketplace.
It wasn't often that Nana would find goods of the right quality to pique her interest, but there was no harm done in browsing, even if her would-be sellers would watch her like a hawk, hoping for her to empty her purse at their storefronts. So, Nana browsed. She browsed through the shops of the weavers, the jewelers, and the sandal-makers, people-watching as she went along her merry way. She expected to go home empty-handed, purse heavy as ever. What she did not expect, however, was to spot Crown Prince Vangelis of Colchis in the crowd.
Though she had not been formally introduced to the Kotas prince, Nana could spot him from miles away. From the first moment she'd seen him at the manor, she had determined to commit his face to memory as a possible suitor. Her mother had planted the seed in her mind at a very young age that she was to marry into royalty, and she was hellbent on doing such. So, after giving herself a quick once-over and flipping her hair, Nana set off after the Colchian, pushing through crowds to close the distance between them, much to the dismay of her entourage, who followed the fiery Leventi in a frenzy.
When she reached hearing distance, the young woman called out, "Prince Vangelis!" and began waving frantically at him. She then proceeded to reach out and grasp his arm upon reaching arm's length, quickly closing what little space was left between them. "It's a pleasure to finally get to talk to you, your highness. My sister has hogged you all to herself so much that I haven't gotten the chance to say more than introductions, so in the event that you don't remember me, I am Nana of Leventi, daughter of Georgios and Evelli of Leventi. I pray that you've enjoyed your time in Taengea so far? That is, discounting the unrest we've seen as of late." Vangelis of Kotas
The woman who had caused his feet to draw to a halt and his attentions to be diverted from his path towards the harbour for a moment, was a blonde lady that he recognised but was sure he had never spoken with.
His first and immediate reach - as was normally for Vangelis - was to stand stock still, as the woman appeared to simultaneously launch and latch onto his arm, her slim and pale arms wrapping themselves delicately around his limb. Her left secured a hold around his bicep, her right came around to rest a hand on his forearm as he naturally rose it to offer her the escorting arm she was clearly looking for and not waiting for permission to seek.
Glancing at the ladies and men - in fact a small crowd - that followed the woman, Vangelis was concerned for a moment of their reactions to a man being so close to their escorted lady, despite the action not being of his own volition. The behaviour, however, was clearly of no surprise to the retinue this woman brought with her and no issues were made of it. Not even by Nike, who was positioned over Vangelis left shoulder, a few steps away. She had moved closer instinctively when a person appeared to launch themselves towards Vangelis but it was pretty clearly, pretty quickly with the waving, smiles and the shouting of his name, that the girl had been presenting of little danger. No weapons were drawn, nor frowns put in place, but there were a fair few sets of raised eyebrows amongst their two escorting bodies.
As far as Vangelis' own expression went, his brows dropped into a frown of focus as he looked over the young woman trying to place her face in his memory. He knew he had never spoken to her - and likely not been introduced to her - but he did know her features, which meant that he had indeed seen her before.
Not that he had to puzzle for long, for the woman spoke at a mile a minute and was happy to give him all the information that his mind was struggling to process or find, informing her that she was the daughter of Georgios and Evelli of Leventi, her name was Nana and that he knew her sister. Each would have been enough to place her but all together it was easy to work out that this was Selene's second to youngest sibling.
And she lived up to the limited amount of information regarding her that Selene had shared with him. Very friendly, very blonde and very beautiful.
Glancing over at Nike as if in a questioning expression of - "what am I supposed to do with this?" Vangelis, finding no help, then looked back to the woman, cleared his throat and nodded politely, speaking with his natural baritone gravel.
"Pleasure to meet you, Lady Nana." He offered her, all propriety and practicality. "Taengea has been a delight in..." The memory of the kiss Selene had thrown at him a few days ago, flittered across his mind - "...many ways." He finished without much of a pause. "Despite obvious moments of unrest." He agreed, thinking of the Creed and the attack upon them a little over a week ago now. "I'm enjoying it enough that I have requested a friend of mine to join me here." He said, feeling the need to offer at least a modicum of conversation to be able to then politely extract himself from the conversation so that he might be able to go on and meet with Magnus. "I'm meeting him at the docks now..." He told her, in the hopes that that might be enough of a hint for her to let go and continue on her way...
This was definitely going well. At least, it was in Nana's mind. If things went according to plan, she'd have the prince wrapped around her finger and a marriage proposal would follow soon after. And, of course, Nana would say yes. After all, who could be better suited to the task of being queen? As far as Nana was aware, there was nobody. And she was quite sure that Prince Vangelis would agree. And, of course, there was no thought at all in the girl's mind that she may have been getting ahead of herself. How could she? She was, in her mind, certainly the most beautiful woman in all of Greece. And she was determined to succeed.
As such, the flirtation commenced.
As she walked alongside the prince, a saccharine smile graced her face, one that Nana had practiced to perfection in front of her looking-glass on many an occasion. For one of very few moments in the Leventi's life, the blonde hung on to every word that came out of the Colchian prince's mouth. Nana had gotten most everything she desired throughout her life, and she wasn't about to stop now. Mother didn't raise a loser, after all.
"I am so delighted to hear as such, your highness. I would hate for you to get a false impression of our beautiful country." She quickly found that having to actually think about what she said proved to be quite difficult, but there was no way she was going to give up on marrying a crown prince. She would just have to go against her natural instinct to be completely frank, which couldn't be too hard, really.
And it seemed like Aphrodite was on her side. Prince Vangelis was going to the port to welcome a friend, which Nana immediately saw as a great opportunity for her to tag along. Her grip on the prince's arm tightened as her smile widened. "Oh! In that case, why don't I join you? I love meeting new people! And when it comes to a welcoming party, the more the merrier! Don't you think, your highness?"
Nana could only imagine how proud Mother would have been if she had seen her flirting with the crown prince of Colchis. It was Mother who had always pushed for her to marry a prince, after all, so Nana was quite sure she would be showered with her praise. The thought almost made the blonde smirk. To Nana, it felt that Selene had always been the golden child, so it would have been nice to see Mother praise any of her other daughters above her eldest, but the fact that it would be her would make the victory all the sweeter.
She would just have to keep up her good work, and she would cement herself as the future queen of Colchis. Of course, she'd heard that most, if not all Colchians were barbaric people, but her limited interactions with them in court proved otherwise. She could only hope that marrying Prince Vangelis and sailing to Colchis would not prove her wrong.
"So, Prince Vangelis...What is Colchis like? I've never been, so I'd love to know." This would act as a great idea of what she had in store. Truly, Nana couldn't be smarter if she tried. Vangelis of Kotas
He had it all planned out. Magnus had intended to remain for a week in Arcanaes to ensure that Leto and Iolanthe got on well, before he headed off to Eubocris to visit the baron of Eubocris, and further discussion on his intention to ask for the hand of Iolanthe's in marriage. Custom dictated he asked her brother, but with how the baron of Arcanaes was bedridden and not suited for audience, Timaeus of Valaroitis was the closest Magnus could get to a male relative.
But before he could proceed with his plans, an urgent pigeon carrier from the crown prince had arrived for the Master Informer, something he could not ignore, especially not with his work ethics. Within four days of his arrival at Arcanaes, Magnus found himself begging for Iolanthe's forgiveness as he had to leave. He promised to return soon, but Taengea now required his presence.
With a promise to write, the man had departed from Arcanaes, leaving his sister with Leto (thank the Gods they seemed to get on fine) as he hurried to the ports and took the nearest ship he could, arriving in Taengea a week later.
The afternoon of his arrival was a glorious one, belying the situation of strife in Taengea. Magnus's eyes scanned the port as his ship pulled in, having been in the kingdom not just a few months ago. As always, his little ragamuffins had been informed of his arrival, and as Magnus went down the gangplank, his four street rats came up to him, receiving a coin each for their duties. It was a custom Magnus did - each time he arrived at a kingdom, he would have four or five street rats meet him, and they would then receive orders to go and gather information from all his informants within the kingdom, or to inform them of a time to meet. Within an hour, all of Magnus's acquaintences would be informed, and he would be able to swiftly finish his duties.
And the man had never wanted to finish a task as quickly as he did this time.
Finished with updating his streets rats, who quickly dispersed, and the man made his way down the ports. His long legs were covered by a black chiton, trimmed with gold and hanging to his ankles. Eyes roamed the streets, until he spotted a familiar tall figure, not at all hard to spot due to his height, uncommon as it may be. But ah, who was that swath of golden hair next to the Colchian crown prince? A small, amused smile tugged at Magnus's lips as he saw, and recognized the visage of the Leventi lady, one of the daughters to Lady Evelli, a person that while Magnus knew, but the acquaintence was nowhere personal. Still, it was his job to know people, so it shouldn't be at all surprising that he would bow as a greeting to the lady first as he approached the little clutch of soldiers, guards, and ladies accompanying the two royals.
He arrived there just in time to spot Nike - the bodyguard of Vangelis that Magnus occasionally exchanged words with - shooting Vangelis an amused but unhelpful grin, and in return, the spymaster hid a chuckle as he greeted the blonde lady with a charming smile and a sweeping bow. "It is a pleasure that your beautiful visage is the first face I see upon my arrival in Vasiliadon, Lady Nana." Dark eyes flickered down to the hang attached to Vangelis, and Magnus raised a brow at the prince. "Apologies if I am disturbing something, my lady? Unless Prince Vangelis has brought you to greet me, in which case I thank you, my prince. The Lady Nana must be a wonderful companion."
The blonde Leventi girl held more exuberance than Vangelis knew just what to do with. Such energy and chattiness, nine times out of ten, only served to make him tired. The Lady Selene had been polite and questioning of his thoughts, feelings and ideas upon his home also but the eldest Leventi had done so with a calm serenity that often came with social experience and age. It turned the conversation almost lazy... comfortable. Full of contented exchanges that were neither hurried nor pressured. Her younger sister, on the other hand, was a socialiser of a different manner. She was energetic, engaging and appeared to have a layer of friendliness and optimistic idealism as thick as armour. There was, for example, no way in which he could inform her that greeting his friend alone had been the plan and was still the preferred course of action. For her mentality and behaviour indicated very strongly that such words would bounce off of her before falling limply to the ground. Nana of Leventi appeared a force to be reckoned with. Which, Vangelis was certain, would be attractive to some men. To him, it was simply befuddling and on the edge of a little excessive.
At the same time, however, the Lady Nana was a woman of the courts and daughter to the richest family in Greece. Disrespect was not to be borne. When she asked him if he thought greeting parties were better in large numbers, Vangelis thought very differently to how he spoke. In truth, having been away to war and back again more times than he could count, Vangelis knew it to be who was waiting for you upon your return to be far more significant than how many. But he wasn't about to correct the woman in that.
"I can certainly see why people would enjoy large company upon arriving on foreign soil." He commented, walking the fine line between politeness and truth, as the Lady Nana firmly took hold of his arm and the two of them were now forced to walk together, as if a couple.
Their path took them through the main market and down a large thoroughfare street that headed straight to the docks. It was as they walked that the young Leventi girl offered up an interest in the kingdom of Colchis, seeking his opinion on the realm that was his home. When she spoke of loving to know the place she had never been, Vangelis couldn't help but suppose the girl would dislike his home greatly. Colchis was a kingdom of roughness, of solid durability. This young woman appeared to like all things smooth, shiny and expensive. But then, he had considered the same ideas regarding Selene not so long ago upon their first meeting, so perhaps he should offer more credit where the ladies of the Leventi House were concerned.
"Colchis is a proud land." He told her, once again in the hopes of being of interest to the conversation but not straying from the truth. "It is mountainous, and rises from the sea as if too stubborn to be told otherwise. It has vicious waters at its shores, enemies to its north and gold deep in its belly." He glanced at the Lady Nana. "I am very proud to be Colchian, so perhaps I am biased, but I believe the kingdom to be unsumisable in words. Perhaps you shall one day see it for yourself." He added the last in the hopes of being encouraging to the girl’s aspirations to travel.
By this time, the pair had reached the docks of the city and Master Magnus was within the scope of Vangelis' shrewd eyesight. It took a moment of skirting dock workers, labourers and travellers - all of whom Vangelis carefully escorted and directed the young woman around, as he had been brought up to do, only to find a curve to the corner of his Master Informer's mouth once they had approached. The Lady Leventi was the first to be greeted as was proper but Vangelis' eyes narrowed upon Magnus' words. The man was a friend as close as Vangelis had them outside of Nike and he knew exactly the kind of awkward tension that would be radiating through the crown prince when presented with a woman as... enthusiastic as the second youngest Leventi.
"You interrupt nothing, Magnus." Vangelis assured him with determination. "Lady Nana joined me on my journey here with the intention of making your arrival more welcoming, I believe." His words held no tone or element of amusement. They were simple, honest and to the point. "Your journey was well, I trust." He added in a touch of formality. He and Magnus were both far experienced travellers of the world and rarely took offense when the other was not proprietous enough to comment on the voyage. Being before a third party, however, Vangelis fell back upon decorum…