Achilleas had gotten caught up with something back inside and rather than sitting around waiting, Theodora had excused herself, and taken the moment to get some fresh air. Of course, it was a great opportunity to sort through her roaring mind as well as getting a moment to explore the Mikaelidas family estate on her own, without eyes following her every move.
Like a certain servant that had given her a less than welcoming look.
Ah, well, it hardly mattered.
The sun had gone down, and though its warmth had gone down with it, it wasn't particularly cold. At least, Theodora couldn't feel it. Lifting her gaze to the sky above, she gazed at the stars stretching far and wide. It was a pretty sight to be sure, and in many ways, she'd always found night time to be the most beautiful time of the day. Everything seemed less complicated and a lot more peaceful. Serene, even. It was a large contrast to the almost chaotic movement of daytime. It seemed as if people always had somewhere to be ― always something that busied their mind. But now, it almost felt as if the world stood still. If only for a moment.
She was still wearing the same white dress she'd arrived in, her arms, shoulders and back still bare, though it wasn't as perfect as it had been before. While the white fabric still flowed from underneath the gold belt around her waist, there were still some creases left to the fabric and no matter ho many time she'd tried running her fingers over the fabric to flatten it, it hadn't helped.
The familiar sounds of horses neighing drew her attention towards the stables. She'd always found the sound, and even the smell, comforting. It reminded her of home ― of simpler things. When she'd been a child, she wanted so desperately to become a good rider. In time, that's exactly what she did, though it had taken quite a few attempts for her to remain seated without falling head first into the dirt.
Get back up, she'd been told. That's the only way the horse will respect you, they said. She supposed that her stubbornness had won over her fear of getting hurt in the end. She'd gotten back up. And then gotten back up again. And then again. She'd repeated the process over and over again until she'd gotten the hang of it, and finally, she'd managed to remain upright without falling off.
The sounds of neighing echoed through the air once more and the young brunette felt drawn towards the sound and without thinking about it, she'd walked closer until she found herself inside the stables. It took her eyes a moment to get used to the smell ― it made her realize that perhaps she'd ought to spend more time around the horses back home, than spending her time doing things she didn't enjoy. Nothing had ever made her feel quite as free as when she rode a horse. It almost felt a little like flying.
Stepping over to one of the horses ― a dark brown mare whose muzzle was white. Shaped almost like a perfect circle around its nose. "Hey there." She cooed gently, reaching her hand over the door. It was a beautiful specimen: It was a strong horse, built for running. She could see its muscles coil as the horse lazily moved inside its stall. The horse shook its head and blew air through its nose, sending gusts of warmth towards her. Theodora couldn't help the soft chuckle that pressed past her lips. "Aren't you prettiest thing I ever saw." she cooed again.
Things were rapidly falling apart at the seams, and Emilios believed that it was all due to Irakles. The more that things began to unravel, the more apparent it became to the youngest son that his father was getting exactly what he wanted.
Death of the king.
Heirs picked off one by one.
Line of succession rapidly dwindling down to his direct line. As he wanted it to be. Irakles was a prince, a man who had been raised to be nothing more than the spare should something happen to his brother. For some, like Stephanos, that wasn’t a burden. They embraced the freedom that came with the lack of responsibility. But Emilios has always sensed a bit of hatred for his brother. So now that things were going in his father’s favor, he couldn’t help but wonder why.
Surely his father couldn’t kill for the throne.
Right?
He wanted to be loyal, for his father had always impressed upon him the price of disloyalty. But at what point did loyalty stop and duty start?
That was the rub, wasn’t it?
Emilios had spent the morning riding, trying to clear his head from the swirling fate around them. So much was uncertain, like standing on the end of a cliff with loose rocks. Sway one way, and everything would come crashing down. And yet, there was no calming his mind. Even with a hard run, he was still aggravated and confused. And he knew, deep down, that his own actions were just as backhanded as his father’s. Gaining land and perhaps a title, all to keep Theo as his. Yes, his actions were partially driven by the threats against the Leventi women. But maybe there was a more selfishness to it, like his father.
Maybe he just wanted to finally have something he was sure his brother didn’t.
Pulling the saddle off his own horse, Emilios was hoping that grooming his beast would calm his mind in the way the ride hadn’t. Brush in hand, he worked methodically, obviously not in any rush to complete the task. Almost forgetting that may not have been alone, it wasn’t until he heard her voice a few stalls over that all the relaxation he’d found was stolen from his chest with the softness of her voice.
Damn, she could always do that to him.
He didn’t say anything. Lips pressed together, he knew he should keep his mouth shut. There wasn’t any reason for him to call out to her, unless he wanted trouble. But he was always one to tempt the fates.
And so he started whistling— a tune he always had on his lips when he was trying to be discreet but let her know he was nearby.
The quiet moment of peace Theodora had found within the stall was quickly evaporated the moment she heard his familiar tune. Her body froze up and the only thing seemingly moving was the rapid beating of her heart, as if it was about to leap through her chest.
She hadn't expected him to be there, and for what felt like an eternity, though couldn’t have been more than a few second, Theodora did not move. Nor did she speak.
Then, as if her body moved off of its own will, she pushed away from the stable door and found herself, as if entranced, moving closer to the source of the sound. Hovering just outside his own, the young woman hesitated. She shouldn’t. She should have walked on out and saved them both the trouble.
But she didn't. Of course she didn’t.
Lips parted as if to say something simply hovered there for a second. This was wrong no matter how she twisted and turned it. And even so, the brunette found her feet walking closer to the stall door, and then she could only watch as her hand lifted, reaching for the handle of the door, only to stop there. Brown eyes lifted to look over the door.
A sharp exhalation of breath burned her lungs when her eyes fell upon him. ”Emilios.”, she breathed, her voice barely audible. She really should have walked away.
She hadn’t seen him for a while, and though the thought of that had been painful, there had still been part of her that had thought that maybe it had been for the best. But now, as if reason had left her mind completely, she was unable to remember why. All she could think of right now, was those shimmering blue orbs that reminded her of the sea, the sky and home.
He felt like home. Like having sailed across the unforgiving sea, only to return back on land, safe and unharmed. Her eyes would not leave his face.
He waited. Patiently. Unsure exactly what she was going to do. They hadn’t exactly left on the best of terms the last time he’d seen her. And while he had missed her, contacting her at all was risking the entire deal with Fotios. He had to keep his distance. He should have kept his distance, but instead, he decided to challenge fate and let her know that he was there.
Let her decide what she wanted to do in this situation.
There was soft footfall, hesitation as he waited to see what she would do. There was a breath, a beat in which he was sure that she had turned to flee. After all, she had barely given him the time of day (even though Achilleas has been right there as they said goodbye before the raid.) He had hoped that it had been because she had to focus on his brother and not her. But it had still hurt to have little to no acknowledgment of his presence.
But they were alone now.
And then, he spotted her in the shadows, heard his name as if a sigh on her lips. It made him hard, reminding him of the times when she had been under him, naked and willing and his name so loudly on her lips. Gods, this was going to be difficult to do. How he could not take her right here and now.
But as much as he wanted her, he couldn’t. The marriage had to happen, and he was sure that if he had her one more time before she was wed, he wouldn’t let her go through with it.
Consequences be damned.
”Theodora.” His voice was husky, his eyes on her rich chocolate ones. It didn’t take him long to fully look her over, to take his time to scan every visible inch of her body, wishing that there was no material between them. ”You look well.”
Where his gaze travelled, goosebumps followed. As if it was not his eyes that took in every inch of her body, but rather the tips of his fingers. Her own gaze was struck by wanderlust, taking in his blue eyes, like two waves coming together, easing the sea after a storm. The soft curve of his lips where she had placed her own, and whispered his name against countless times. His broad shoulders and strong, but gentle arms. Where she had felt safe and protected. His lean body and frame, where her own had been pressed against it.
Before her gaze could dip any further, Theodora looked away. No words could begin to describe how good he looked. “So do you.” She said lamely, instead of all the things she really wanted to say. Or do.
Huffing an attempt at a laugh, she looked at her hands. She felt incredibly foolish. It was hard, trying to have a casual conversation with him, when that was the last thing she wanted to do.
“Emilios, I…” she began, searching for the words to use. There was many a thing left unsaid. So many things she wished were different. So many things she wished she hadn’t said, or done. So many things she wished she had said. Maybe if she’d fought harder… it was pointless, and yet, she felt incredibly guilty all the same. “...I didn't know you’d be here.” she finished instead. “It’s good to see you.”
She briefly wondered what would happen if she stepped into the stall. Would she be able to keep her hands to herself, and not let familiarity and love make her body move on its own? Would she never feel her fingers curl around his locks, her nails dig into his back or her thighs around him again? It was too much.
She was glad then, if only just fleetingly, that there was in fact a stall door between them. “Are you here on business?”
While she made a point to keep her eyes up, Emilios didn’t bother to stop his gaze from taking her all in. And he wished he hadn’t. Because he knew that look on her face, the haze in her eyes from being completely overwhelmed by emotions. He had always known her to look perfectly put together, without anything out of place. So to see her chiton just barely askew, it was very apparent to him that she had quickly put it back on and had yet to address the subtle changes in her appearance.
He wanted to be mad. To spit fire at her for her actions. But how could he when she was just doing what he would have wanted, if they had been engaged. Of course, they had finally had sex. Why wouldn’t they have? Set to be married sooner rather than later, an heir was needed. And few people would count back to prove that she was a virgin, should she end up pregnant so quickly after marriage.
Was he frowning? He was sure that he was frowning.
She never stuttered around him. There had always been a confidence in her countenance, so to listen to her now, unsure and awkward, made him just as mad as word of the engagement had. He didn’t think it was doubt that caused her to do so. Theodora would have been a fool to doubt, to try and further end the engagement with Achilleas. Now he might as well have been a crowned prince. The line of succession was shifted, and now she had the chance to be queen. When they had first met, that was more along the lines of her goals. Everything she had ever wanted was coming true. And yet, he couldn’t feel any happiness for it. Because he only wanted her, and he couldn’t have that until she was his brother’s wife.
The Gods had never given him any consideration in life. Why would they start now?
”I was not aware that you would be here either.” His smile was lazy, one she would have seen half a dozen times at least. It wasn’t condescending, not with the sparkle of mischief in his eyes. ”It would seem that the Fates enjoy our misery, does it not?” As much as he tried to keep the bite off his words, there was still a hint of frustration in his tone. And why shouldn’t there have been? He wanted her, and she hadn’t exactly denied her desires with him. And yet, she was not his. And would probably never be wholly so.
”My business was completed this morning. Just here to conference with my brother. And you?”