If someone had informed Danae of Stravos that only a few weeks after her family lost everything that she would soon make her way through the streets of Athenia as if nothing had changed, she would have called them a fool. Yet, here she was. Though in truth, things were not the same as they had been before that fateful day last month.
After all, In the aftermath of the Senate meeting where the Xanthos family wrongfully stripped the Stravos family of their nobility, Danae had been receiving missive after missive from businesses within the city. Not a single one brought her good tidings during her family’s lowest moment. Instead, each of them had been sent from establishments that wished to distance themselves from her family’s tarnished reputations even though just a weeks ago they were willing to pay a hefty sum of money in order to proudly display the golden anchor in their windows. It simply infuriated Danae that so many businesses were willing to cut ties with her family, as none of them knew that they were dealing with a sixteen-year-old girl when they sent in the previously agreed upon fee, at the drop of a hat, choosing to follow the false queen instead of their patrons. It was an insult that Danae was not easily going to forgive or forget.
But now that her brother was now living in the palace and her father was running the Senate, it was clear to all those who paid attention to the political scene that the Stravos family were not going to disappear quietly. It was an all hands on deck endeavor for the family, something that Danae knew too well as she made her way through the streets of the capital, smirking at the graffiti she passed along the way. Scribbles made by the unsteady hands of street urchins who barely knew how to read or write, but had been paid quite nicely to spread messages of ill will towards the Xanthos family. Those had been her urchins, supplied with her father’s coin to undermine the Queen who had run away from her country the night she inherited the crown. Even if Persephone had the gall to return to Athenia, she would return as a coward who fled at the first sight of danger instead of standing strong… like her father would have.
As far as Danae was concerned, Persephone had shown her true nature the night of the palace raid and she was confident that no one would follow a Xanthos ever again.
Nor would Danae ever make her cousin’s mistake. Not if she could help it.
That’s why she was here in the city on this crisp autumn afternoon. She was more than determined to show that she and the Stravos family would not take kindly to all those who wished to turn their backs on them. So, the youngest Stravos girl had resolved to spare herself the torture of an afternoon indoors in favor of instead visiting every business on her ledgers in the hopes of either reaffirming their faith in the Stravos house or reminding them that the family would not forget their disloyalty. For those who failed to send a letter, it would be a good sign to them that their patron’s support would not waver, not with the youngest girl frequenting the business in a time of political turmoil. However, for those who had dared to send a missive, why it might encourage them to send an apology to the family and beg for their previous letter to be dismissed. Danae would happily agree, of course, as she was eager to reclaim the earnings she once held, but it would come at a heftier price.
It was an exhausting task though and Danae felt incredibly drained by the time she had visited about half of the businesses on her list. It wasn’t easy to pretend for hours to be interested in different cuts of meat as frantic businessmen tried desperately to hide their fear of offending the girl. Oh, if only they knew that Danae had been the one they had been dealing with from the start. It would be so much easier if her the confines of her gender didn’t hold her back from directly confronting these men. Instead, she could only make pointed side comments as she needed to keep her secret if she wanted to save her reputation. Talented or not in the art of business, Danae was a woman and they were not welcomed into this world. She already had enough on her plate, she didn’t need rumors swirling about her as well.
However, there was one shop that she trusted more than others to keep her secret if it ever did slip. Her face practically lit up when the familiar sign for a Book shop came into view and her pace quickened as she made her way to the store. This was the one establishment in all of Athenia that Danae trusted to remain loyal more than any other, not because of their morals or any other glowing quality they had; instead, it all relied on the fact that Danae was close friend’s with the shopkeeper’s daughter Meilin.
Their friendship was not a typical one, though those kinds of things could never be when dealing with the youngest girls from the richest dynestia in all of Greece and a family of book traders from lands afar. It was certainly a friendship that Danae’s mother did not approve, insisting that her daughter should keep better company than someone of low standing, but like most other things that her mother said, Danae didn’t listen. Meilin was different from other girls being just as studious as Danae was, something that was publicly her favorite activity, plus it didn’t hurt that for once she could feel at ease with someone her age. Meilin was just able to pull a smile from the girl, no matter how downtrodden Danae was. It almost made her wonder why Danae didn’t summon Meilin at some point to help pull her out of her own despair after her run-in with Lukos.
Deep down she knew why though, she didn’t want to seem weak in front of her closest friend and the whole affair certainly wasn’t a display of strength on her part.
As Danae walked through the threshold of the shop, her hand instantly reached up to adjust her steel blue headdress covering what was left of her hair. She was not eager to share her story just yet and certainly, Meilin would have questions if she saw her friend with significantly shorter hair than she had only a few weeks ago. Though, then again the simple fact that she was wearing the headdress would probably bring questions from the girl.
Sweeping her matching chiton through the door, Danae breathed in deeply, relaxing at the pleasant smell of the paper stacked everywhere. When she opened her eyes, she was pleased to see that Meilin’s father, the man who she secretly did business with, was already in the shop. She smiled warmly at the man and said, beaming for the first time in a long time, “Hello, Jun Li,” Danae tried a bit over the pronunciation of his name as she always did, but the man didn’t say anything about it as she continued, “Is Meilin here?”
Meilin of Athenia
After all, In the aftermath of the Senate meeting where the Xanthos family wrongfully stripped the Stravos family of their nobility, Danae had been receiving missive after missive from businesses within the city. Not a single one brought her good tidings during her family’s lowest moment. Instead, each of them had been sent from establishments that wished to distance themselves from her family’s tarnished reputations even though just a weeks ago they were willing to pay a hefty sum of money in order to proudly display the golden anchor in their windows. It simply infuriated Danae that so many businesses were willing to cut ties with her family, as none of them knew that they were dealing with a sixteen-year-old girl when they sent in the previously agreed upon fee, at the drop of a hat, choosing to follow the false queen instead of their patrons. It was an insult that Danae was not easily going to forgive or forget.
But now that her brother was now living in the palace and her father was running the Senate, it was clear to all those who paid attention to the political scene that the Stravos family were not going to disappear quietly. It was an all hands on deck endeavor for the family, something that Danae knew too well as she made her way through the streets of the capital, smirking at the graffiti she passed along the way. Scribbles made by the unsteady hands of street urchins who barely knew how to read or write, but had been paid quite nicely to spread messages of ill will towards the Xanthos family. Those had been her urchins, supplied with her father’s coin to undermine the Queen who had run away from her country the night she inherited the crown. Even if Persephone had the gall to return to Athenia, she would return as a coward who fled at the first sight of danger instead of standing strong… like her father would have.
As far as Danae was concerned, Persephone had shown her true nature the night of the palace raid and she was confident that no one would follow a Xanthos ever again.
Nor would Danae ever make her cousin’s mistake. Not if she could help it.
That’s why she was here in the city on this crisp autumn afternoon. She was more than determined to show that she and the Stravos family would not take kindly to all those who wished to turn their backs on them. So, the youngest Stravos girl had resolved to spare herself the torture of an afternoon indoors in favor of instead visiting every business on her ledgers in the hopes of either reaffirming their faith in the Stravos house or reminding them that the family would not forget their disloyalty. For those who failed to send a letter, it would be a good sign to them that their patron’s support would not waver, not with the youngest girl frequenting the business in a time of political turmoil. However, for those who had dared to send a missive, why it might encourage them to send an apology to the family and beg for their previous letter to be dismissed. Danae would happily agree, of course, as she was eager to reclaim the earnings she once held, but it would come at a heftier price.
It was an exhausting task though and Danae felt incredibly drained by the time she had visited about half of the businesses on her list. It wasn’t easy to pretend for hours to be interested in different cuts of meat as frantic businessmen tried desperately to hide their fear of offending the girl. Oh, if only they knew that Danae had been the one they had been dealing with from the start. It would be so much easier if her the confines of her gender didn’t hold her back from directly confronting these men. Instead, she could only make pointed side comments as she needed to keep her secret if she wanted to save her reputation. Talented or not in the art of business, Danae was a woman and they were not welcomed into this world. She already had enough on her plate, she didn’t need rumors swirling about her as well.
However, there was one shop that she trusted more than others to keep her secret if it ever did slip. Her face practically lit up when the familiar sign for a Book shop came into view and her pace quickened as she made her way to the store. This was the one establishment in all of Athenia that Danae trusted to remain loyal more than any other, not because of their morals or any other glowing quality they had; instead, it all relied on the fact that Danae was close friend’s with the shopkeeper’s daughter Meilin.
Their friendship was not a typical one, though those kinds of things could never be when dealing with the youngest girls from the richest dynestia in all of Greece and a family of book traders from lands afar. It was certainly a friendship that Danae’s mother did not approve, insisting that her daughter should keep better company than someone of low standing, but like most other things that her mother said, Danae didn’t listen. Meilin was different from other girls being just as studious as Danae was, something that was publicly her favorite activity, plus it didn’t hurt that for once she could feel at ease with someone her age. Meilin was just able to pull a smile from the girl, no matter how downtrodden Danae was. It almost made her wonder why Danae didn’t summon Meilin at some point to help pull her out of her own despair after her run-in with Lukos.
Deep down she knew why though, she didn’t want to seem weak in front of her closest friend and the whole affair certainly wasn’t a display of strength on her part.
As Danae walked through the threshold of the shop, her hand instantly reached up to adjust her steel blue headdress covering what was left of her hair. She was not eager to share her story just yet and certainly, Meilin would have questions if she saw her friend with significantly shorter hair than she had only a few weeks ago. Though, then again the simple fact that she was wearing the headdress would probably bring questions from the girl.
Sweeping her matching chiton through the door, Danae breathed in deeply, relaxing at the pleasant smell of the paper stacked everywhere. When she opened her eyes, she was pleased to see that Meilin’s father, the man who she secretly did business with, was already in the shop. She smiled warmly at the man and said, beaming for the first time in a long time, “Hello, Jun Li,” Danae tried a bit over the pronunciation of his name as she always did, but the man didn’t say anything about it as she continued, “Is Meilin here?”
Meilin of Athenia