Even though he was a Nikolaos through and through, Hyla’s presence in the Antonis household was not an unfamiliar one. For the past six years, Hyla worked as Alehandros’s retainer and was often seen running up and down the halls he knew like the back of his own hand.
So, when he came bounding into the kitchens, no one was truly all that surprised to see the young nobleman. He was a familiar, though perhaps unwelcome face based on the few sideways glances he received as he weaved his way through the space. There was little doubt in his mind that the whole lot of them knew how much of a troublemaker he could be, having not spared anyone from his pranks over the years… all done behind Alehandros’s back of course. Hyla wasn’t foolish enough to believe that the Lord would ever approve of this impish side of him. Though, it wasn’t like his antics were that bad anymore. He had certainly mellowed out over the years and if you asked him, the pranks he did pull nowadays were far more refined than the ones they were all remembering.
No one would ask him though and Hyla didn’t really have any intentions of pausing though as he weaved through the staff, trying to specifically find someone in particular among the dozen or so people there.
Lucky for him, they found him there first.
“And just what do you think you’re doing in here? Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” A large booming voice called out among the din, causing Hyla to turn on his heels towards the woman who had barked out these words. Despite the scolding message, Hyla couldn’t hide the grin on his face as he moved over to her so neither of them would have to shout over the chaos.
“Oh, you know Kynth. Nothing, but trouble.” His answer was accompanied by a mischievous grin, earning an eye roll from the older woman as she turned back to the vegetables she was dicing in front of her. Hyla leaned against the countertop. It was almost strange given how casual the whole scene was; a nobleman chatting with a House slave no differently than he would converse with his own friends. It was improper in every sense of the word, but Hyla didn’t really care. He and the significantly older brunette had known each other since Hyla first joined the household. The boy had been nothing more than a homesick twelve-year-old at the time who felt as if he was drowning in the new life he was expected to lead. Kynthia, a house cook, had found him upset in a stairwell and quickly ushered him to the kitchen in order to have him calm down out of sight of the others. Hyla didn’t have the words to describe how grateful he was for her actions as he knew full well that it wasn’t her place to do such a thing, but she did it, all the same, to bring some comfort to an overwhelmed boy.
Since then the woman had become sort of a surrogate mother to the lad, keeping an eye on him and making sure that he had the sort of familial guidance he was missing out on by living in a household that wasn’t his own. After all she had done for him, it was only natural that this kind of light and airy banter filled their friendship, as frowned upon as it might be.
“As always” Kynthia hummed in agreement, knowing full well the extent of chaos that the Nikolaos boy could cause. He had never done anything to her, his respect for her was too great for him to do that, but the woman had to deal with the fallout when the other cooks were the victims instead. The gods only knew how many times she had to save his rear when that happened. As lighthearted as she was, a small glimmer of confusion continued to stay plastered on her face as she considered the fact that Hyla most certainly had other places to be at this hour.
She didn’t need to say anything though as Hyla could read it quite plainly on her face. He set this curiosity to rest as he quickly quipped, “Alehandros is meeting with one of his barons. He didn’t want me lingering and I was hungry, so here I am.” He finished with a small shrug as he made no attempt to move his wandering gaze away from whatever was boiling over the fire. The, of course, pulled another eye roll from her. Of course, Hyla would want to eat right now of all times. That was seeming all that boys his age did; sleep and eat.
Though, Kynthia was happy to oblige with a small smirk of her own as she said, “Just as long as you don’t ruin your appetite later… but then again, you could probably eat an entire horse and want seconds with how many times you’re in here.” This pulled a laugh from the eighteen-year-old as the older woman motioned towards a pantry area and told him, “Go fetch that spice you’re so fond of. I’ll throw it in for you.”
Hyla didn’t need to be told twice as he pushed himself off the counter, eager for this fetch quest of hers. He quickly made his way over to the closet space just absolutely filled with ingredients to feed the massive dynestia. For a second he was overwhelmed with how much there was until he heard her voice shout out to him, “Orange powder! Fat bottle! Second shelf!” Although she couldn’t see it, he sheepishly smiled as he followed her instructions and quickly found what he was looking for.
After plucking the little stout bottle off of the shelf when he noticed something… odd up a bit further. His tall stature let him see that there was something tucked away in the back, clearly meant to keep it out of sight from the shorter staff nearby. Not being able to resist the mystery of whatever it was, Hyla carefully set the bottle down as he reached up and pulled the black box out of it’s hiding place, bringing a cloud of dust down with it and right onto him
Coughing as the putrid air assaulted his lungs, Hyla moved to wipe away the grime, intending to see if the box was marked in any way. It didn’t appear to be beyond the small silver handles, crudely hammered into place. The whole thing appeared to be handmade and clearly didn’t belong in the kitchen like this. With his curiosity piqued, Hyla glanced over his shoulder quickly to make sure no was looking at him before he flicked open the latch.
What on earth could this be? He silently thought as he tugged the lid up.
♔ Head Admin
So, when he came bounding into the kitchens, no one was truly all that surprised to see the young nobleman. He was a familiar, though perhaps unwelcome face based on the few sideways glances he received as he weaved his way through the space. There was little doubt in his mind that the whole lot of them knew how much of a troublemaker he could be, having not spared anyone from his pranks over the years… all done behind Alehandros’s back of course. Hyla wasn’t foolish enough to believe that the Lord would ever approve of this impish side of him. Though, it wasn’t like his antics were that bad anymore. He had certainly mellowed out over the years and if you asked him, the pranks he did pull nowadays were far more refined than the ones they were all remembering.
No one would ask him though and Hyla didn’t really have any intentions of pausing though as he weaved through the staff, trying to specifically find someone in particular among the dozen or so people there.
Lucky for him, they found him there first.
“And just what do you think you’re doing in here? Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” A large booming voice called out among the din, causing Hyla to turn on his heels towards the woman who had barked out these words. Despite the scolding message, Hyla couldn’t hide the grin on his face as he moved over to her so neither of them would have to shout over the chaos.
“Oh, you know Kynth. Nothing, but trouble.” His answer was accompanied by a mischievous grin, earning an eye roll from the older woman as she turned back to the vegetables she was dicing in front of her. Hyla leaned against the countertop. It was almost strange given how casual the whole scene was; a nobleman chatting with a House slave no differently than he would converse with his own friends. It was improper in every sense of the word, but Hyla didn’t really care. He and the significantly older brunette had known each other since Hyla first joined the household. The boy had been nothing more than a homesick twelve-year-old at the time who felt as if he was drowning in the new life he was expected to lead. Kynthia, a house cook, had found him upset in a stairwell and quickly ushered him to the kitchen in order to have him calm down out of sight of the others. Hyla didn’t have the words to describe how grateful he was for her actions as he knew full well that it wasn’t her place to do such a thing, but she did it, all the same, to bring some comfort to an overwhelmed boy.
Since then the woman had become sort of a surrogate mother to the lad, keeping an eye on him and making sure that he had the sort of familial guidance he was missing out on by living in a household that wasn’t his own. After all she had done for him, it was only natural that this kind of light and airy banter filled their friendship, as frowned upon as it might be.
“As always” Kynthia hummed in agreement, knowing full well the extent of chaos that the Nikolaos boy could cause. He had never done anything to her, his respect for her was too great for him to do that, but the woman had to deal with the fallout when the other cooks were the victims instead. The gods only knew how many times she had to save his rear when that happened. As lighthearted as she was, a small glimmer of confusion continued to stay plastered on her face as she considered the fact that Hyla most certainly had other places to be at this hour.
She didn’t need to say anything though as Hyla could read it quite plainly on her face. He set this curiosity to rest as he quickly quipped, “Alehandros is meeting with one of his barons. He didn’t want me lingering and I was hungry, so here I am.” He finished with a small shrug as he made no attempt to move his wandering gaze away from whatever was boiling over the fire. The, of course, pulled another eye roll from her. Of course, Hyla would want to eat right now of all times. That was seeming all that boys his age did; sleep and eat.
Though, Kynthia was happy to oblige with a small smirk of her own as she said, “Just as long as you don’t ruin your appetite later… but then again, you could probably eat an entire horse and want seconds with how many times you’re in here.” This pulled a laugh from the eighteen-year-old as the older woman motioned towards a pantry area and told him, “Go fetch that spice you’re so fond of. I’ll throw it in for you.”
Hyla didn’t need to be told twice as he pushed himself off the counter, eager for this fetch quest of hers. He quickly made his way over to the closet space just absolutely filled with ingredients to feed the massive dynestia. For a second he was overwhelmed with how much there was until he heard her voice shout out to him, “Orange powder! Fat bottle! Second shelf!” Although she couldn’t see it, he sheepishly smiled as he followed her instructions and quickly found what he was looking for.
After plucking the little stout bottle off of the shelf when he noticed something… odd up a bit further. His tall stature let him see that there was something tucked away in the back, clearly meant to keep it out of sight from the shorter staff nearby. Not being able to resist the mystery of whatever it was, Hyla carefully set the bottle down as he reached up and pulled the black box out of it’s hiding place, bringing a cloud of dust down with it and right onto him
Coughing as the putrid air assaulted his lungs, Hyla moved to wipe away the grime, intending to see if the box was marked in any way. It didn’t appear to be beyond the small silver handles, crudely hammered into place. The whole thing appeared to be handmade and clearly didn’t belong in the kitchen like this. With his curiosity piqued, Hyla glanced over his shoulder quickly to make sure no was looking at him before he flicked open the latch.
What on earth could this be? He silently thought as he tugged the lid up.
♔ Head Admin