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When her parents had told her that her cousin Danae of Stravos would be coming over to tutor her, Hebe had not known what to think. Obviously her teachers had told them that she was having difficulties with her lessons. She hated her studies. She hated them with a passion, for if she concentrated on what her instructors said, she would remember absolutely everything and their words would run through her mind again and again, contradicting other things they had told in past days, months, or even years. This served only to confuse her and often led to excruciating headaches that could confine her to bed for an entire day.
An eidetic memory was both a blessing and a curse. Mostly, the young girl thought, it was a curse. Everything she saw, heard, or read remained in her mind. If she could o recall information only when she needed it, then it would not be so problematic. But she didn't have complete control over her thoughts and attempting to focus on one topic caused all of the knowledge about that subject to flood her head until her it throbbed with pain.
Hebe was working on controlling her thoughts, but she had a long way to go. It was hard to understand what she was supposed to learn with so much contradictory information running through her brain. What was true and what was false? What did she really need to know? Though she wasn't as astute as Marietta and Evi, she wasn't stupid either. She came up with brilliant ideas sometimes. Those, too, were inspired by all of the knowledge she had absorbed in her lifetime. But the ideas just popped into her mind; she wasn't forced to concentrate like she had to do when she was at her lessons.
The youngest Antonis daughter liked Danae. Since they were close in age, maybe she would be able to explain concepts in a simpler way so that Hebe could suppress all the other information crowding her brain and actually understand what she was being taught. She would give her a chance, but in truth, she wished that the other girl was coming over for a ride or a picnic instead. Hebe tended to be petulant with her tutors; she would try to be attentive to Danae.
Her turquoise chiton swirled about her legs as she traversed the hallway to the room where her lessons were held. The garment was belted with a braided golden cord that crossed in front and then wrapped around her waist. She wore a wide golden necklace and matching armbands. Because she would be receiving a visitor, she had to wear sandals and they slapped against the floor with each step she took. She preferred to go barefoot when at home. Her long curly chestnut hair, which had never been cut, bounced against her hips.
As she entered the classroom, she sighed as she sat down in her usual chair. Though she was looking forward to seeing Danae again, she was less enthusiastic about being tutored. Hebe forced her mind to complete blankness as she waited, and when a slave ushered the older girl in, she stood up and smiled genuinely. “Good afternoon, Lady Danae,” she said formally. “Thank you for agreeing to help me with my studies.”
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This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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When her parents had told her that her cousin Danae of Stravos would be coming over to tutor her, Hebe had not known what to think. Obviously her teachers had told them that she was having difficulties with her lessons. She hated her studies. She hated them with a passion, for if she concentrated on what her instructors said, she would remember absolutely everything and their words would run through her mind again and again, contradicting other things they had told in past days, months, or even years. This served only to confuse her and often led to excruciating headaches that could confine her to bed for an entire day.
An eidetic memory was both a blessing and a curse. Mostly, the young girl thought, it was a curse. Everything she saw, heard, or read remained in her mind. If she could o recall information only when she needed it, then it would not be so problematic. But she didn't have complete control over her thoughts and attempting to focus on one topic caused all of the knowledge about that subject to flood her head until her it throbbed with pain.
Hebe was working on controlling her thoughts, but she had a long way to go. It was hard to understand what she was supposed to learn with so much contradictory information running through her brain. What was true and what was false? What did she really need to know? Though she wasn't as astute as Marietta and Evi, she wasn't stupid either. She came up with brilliant ideas sometimes. Those, too, were inspired by all of the knowledge she had absorbed in her lifetime. But the ideas just popped into her mind; she wasn't forced to concentrate like she had to do when she was at her lessons.
The youngest Antonis daughter liked Danae. Since they were close in age, maybe she would be able to explain concepts in a simpler way so that Hebe could suppress all the other information crowding her brain and actually understand what she was being taught. She would give her a chance, but in truth, she wished that the other girl was coming over for a ride or a picnic instead. Hebe tended to be petulant with her tutors; she would try to be attentive to Danae.
Her turquoise chiton swirled about her legs as she traversed the hallway to the room where her lessons were held. The garment was belted with a braided golden cord that crossed in front and then wrapped around her waist. She wore a wide golden necklace and matching armbands. Because she would be receiving a visitor, she had to wear sandals and they slapped against the floor with each step she took. She preferred to go barefoot when at home. Her long curly chestnut hair, which had never been cut, bounced against her hips.
As she entered the classroom, she sighed as she sat down in her usual chair. Though she was looking forward to seeing Danae again, she was less enthusiastic about being tutored. Hebe forced her mind to complete blankness as she waited, and when a slave ushered the older girl in, she stood up and smiled genuinely. “Good afternoon, Lady Danae,” she said formally. “Thank you for agreeing to help me with my studies.”
When her parents had told her that her cousin Danae of Stravos would be coming over to tutor her, Hebe had not known what to think. Obviously her teachers had told them that she was having difficulties with her lessons. She hated her studies. She hated them with a passion, for if she concentrated on what her instructors said, she would remember absolutely everything and their words would run through her mind again and again, contradicting other things they had told in past days, months, or even years. This served only to confuse her and often led to excruciating headaches that could confine her to bed for an entire day.
An eidetic memory was both a blessing and a curse. Mostly, the young girl thought, it was a curse. Everything she saw, heard, or read remained in her mind. If she could o recall information only when she needed it, then it would not be so problematic. But she didn't have complete control over her thoughts and attempting to focus on one topic caused all of the knowledge about that subject to flood her head until her it throbbed with pain.
Hebe was working on controlling her thoughts, but she had a long way to go. It was hard to understand what she was supposed to learn with so much contradictory information running through her brain. What was true and what was false? What did she really need to know? Though she wasn't as astute as Marietta and Evi, she wasn't stupid either. She came up with brilliant ideas sometimes. Those, too, were inspired by all of the knowledge she had absorbed in her lifetime. But the ideas just popped into her mind; she wasn't forced to concentrate like she had to do when she was at her lessons.
The youngest Antonis daughter liked Danae. Since they were close in age, maybe she would be able to explain concepts in a simpler way so that Hebe could suppress all the other information crowding her brain and actually understand what she was being taught. She would give her a chance, but in truth, she wished that the other girl was coming over for a ride or a picnic instead. Hebe tended to be petulant with her tutors; she would try to be attentive to Danae.
Her turquoise chiton swirled about her legs as she traversed the hallway to the room where her lessons were held. The garment was belted with a braided golden cord that crossed in front and then wrapped around her waist. She wore a wide golden necklace and matching armbands. Because she would be receiving a visitor, she had to wear sandals and they slapped against the floor with each step she took. She preferred to go barefoot when at home. Her long curly chestnut hair, which had never been cut, bounced against her hips.
As she entered the classroom, she sighed as she sat down in her usual chair. Though she was looking forward to seeing Danae again, she was less enthusiastic about being tutored. Hebe forced her mind to complete blankness as she waited, and when a slave ushered the older girl in, she stood up and smiled genuinely. “Good afternoon, Lady Danae,” she said formally. “Thank you for agreeing to help me with my studies.”
It was safe to say that Danae had her reservations when the missive from Lady Sotiria arrived at the Stravos manor. After all, it was highly unusual that the Antonis matriarch would be writing directly to the girl; especially as the two shared no blood connection and Danae was just barely older than Sotiria’s youngest daughter. It would make far more sense that the older woman would be writing to her mother, Circenia, or her father, Keikelius, depending on the issue at hand. Not Danae herself and certainly not about something that seemed to run counter to what the sixteen-year-old knew about the Antonis Dynestia.
After all, why on earth would the girl with a perfect memory require tutoring?
The whole notion seemed rather incredulous to the Stravos girl. How could it not be? It was so contradictory that Danae struggled to believe that it was even true and not some sort of ruse. (That wasn’t so outlandish given the current events of the city and how Danae’s family seemed to be at the center of it all.) But the strangeness of it all lent to its credibility as it would make sense why Sotiria would reach out directly to her husband's cousin. Clearly, the matriarch wouldn’t want to publicly announce that her youngest was struggling in her studies in order to help the girl maintain an otherwise spotless reputation. Sending a letter to any other Stravos would be ensuring that rumor would have made its way through the gossip circuits by nightfall. Danae was the only one that Sotiria could contact about this issue and have a decent expectation of discretion as to the girl’s disdain for gossip was well known.
Nevermind the fact that Danae was one of the few girls within their social circle that could be of any use to helping Hebe. There weren’t many bookworms within the inner circle of Athenia and Danae was the only one who was not within the Antonis household. So, even though at first glance it was strange, when Danae put a little more thought into it, the whole situation made sense -- despite the puzzling fact that Hebe shouldn’t need tutoring, to begin with.
That was the mystery Danae wished to solve as she exited the carriage that had brought her from her home to the Antonis manor. Her dark green chiton and matching hairpiece made her almost look older than her sixteen-years as she followed one of her royal cousin’s many slaves through the halls of the manor to the classroom where Danae found Hebe waiting for her. The Stravos girl tried to avoid glancing at the long cascades of dark hair flowing down Hebe’s back -- out of sheer jealousy that her own hair had once rivaled that length but didn’t anymore. (Which is why Danae needed the cloth to obscure her hair, to begin with.)
“ Thank you Lady Hebe, I am glad to offer my help” Danae replied just as formally as she took a look around the classroom. Once her eyes settled on a pile of books in the corner, she crossed the room to them as she spoke to the girl, “ Is this what you’re currently studying?”
She didn’t wait for an answer as she picked up the book and saw the subject that Hebe seemed to be struggling with; the histories of Greece. Thumbing through the pages. Danae could see that Hebe was currently working on memorizing more of the advanced details that formed the cultures of Athenia, Colchis, and Taengea. Now knowing this, Danae wasn’t all that surprised that Hebe was struggling so much with her lessons. Even she struggled sometimes to separate the name and dates with so many family trees being interwoven between the three kingdoms.
However Hebe shouldn’t have the same issues that Danae had had when she had first encountered the subject, something that she made known within her next question to the girl as she carried the book over to the table so that the two of them could get started, “ Forgive my impertinence Lady Hebe, but I thought you wouldn’t have too much trouble with dates and names. Is there something that I should know before we get started?” Danae asked, as tactfully as possible as she glanced over at the girl with a puzzled expression. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it seemed almost crazy that a girl with an eidetic memory was struggling so with a subject like this. It, quite frankly, seemed to be almost impossible.
Hopefully, Hebe would be able to shed a bit of light on what the issue was or Danae might not be as much help as they hoped.
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Check out their information page here.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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It was safe to say that Danae had her reservations when the missive from Lady Sotiria arrived at the Stravos manor. After all, it was highly unusual that the Antonis matriarch would be writing directly to the girl; especially as the two shared no blood connection and Danae was just barely older than Sotiria’s youngest daughter. It would make far more sense that the older woman would be writing to her mother, Circenia, or her father, Keikelius, depending on the issue at hand. Not Danae herself and certainly not about something that seemed to run counter to what the sixteen-year-old knew about the Antonis Dynestia.
After all, why on earth would the girl with a perfect memory require tutoring?
The whole notion seemed rather incredulous to the Stravos girl. How could it not be? It was so contradictory that Danae struggled to believe that it was even true and not some sort of ruse. (That wasn’t so outlandish given the current events of the city and how Danae’s family seemed to be at the center of it all.) But the strangeness of it all lent to its credibility as it would make sense why Sotiria would reach out directly to her husband's cousin. Clearly, the matriarch wouldn’t want to publicly announce that her youngest was struggling in her studies in order to help the girl maintain an otherwise spotless reputation. Sending a letter to any other Stravos would be ensuring that rumor would have made its way through the gossip circuits by nightfall. Danae was the only one that Sotiria could contact about this issue and have a decent expectation of discretion as to the girl’s disdain for gossip was well known.
Nevermind the fact that Danae was one of the few girls within their social circle that could be of any use to helping Hebe. There weren’t many bookworms within the inner circle of Athenia and Danae was the only one who was not within the Antonis household. So, even though at first glance it was strange, when Danae put a little more thought into it, the whole situation made sense -- despite the puzzling fact that Hebe shouldn’t need tutoring, to begin with.
That was the mystery Danae wished to solve as she exited the carriage that had brought her from her home to the Antonis manor. Her dark green chiton and matching hairpiece made her almost look older than her sixteen-years as she followed one of her royal cousin’s many slaves through the halls of the manor to the classroom where Danae found Hebe waiting for her. The Stravos girl tried to avoid glancing at the long cascades of dark hair flowing down Hebe’s back -- out of sheer jealousy that her own hair had once rivaled that length but didn’t anymore. (Which is why Danae needed the cloth to obscure her hair, to begin with.)
“ Thank you Lady Hebe, I am glad to offer my help” Danae replied just as formally as she took a look around the classroom. Once her eyes settled on a pile of books in the corner, she crossed the room to them as she spoke to the girl, “ Is this what you’re currently studying?”
She didn’t wait for an answer as she picked up the book and saw the subject that Hebe seemed to be struggling with; the histories of Greece. Thumbing through the pages. Danae could see that Hebe was currently working on memorizing more of the advanced details that formed the cultures of Athenia, Colchis, and Taengea. Now knowing this, Danae wasn’t all that surprised that Hebe was struggling so much with her lessons. Even she struggled sometimes to separate the name and dates with so many family trees being interwoven between the three kingdoms.
However Hebe shouldn’t have the same issues that Danae had had when she had first encountered the subject, something that she made known within her next question to the girl as she carried the book over to the table so that the two of them could get started, “ Forgive my impertinence Lady Hebe, but I thought you wouldn’t have too much trouble with dates and names. Is there something that I should know before we get started?” Danae asked, as tactfully as possible as she glanced over at the girl with a puzzled expression. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it seemed almost crazy that a girl with an eidetic memory was struggling so with a subject like this. It, quite frankly, seemed to be almost impossible.
Hopefully, Hebe would be able to shed a bit of light on what the issue was or Danae might not be as much help as they hoped.
It was safe to say that Danae had her reservations when the missive from Lady Sotiria arrived at the Stravos manor. After all, it was highly unusual that the Antonis matriarch would be writing directly to the girl; especially as the two shared no blood connection and Danae was just barely older than Sotiria’s youngest daughter. It would make far more sense that the older woman would be writing to her mother, Circenia, or her father, Keikelius, depending on the issue at hand. Not Danae herself and certainly not about something that seemed to run counter to what the sixteen-year-old knew about the Antonis Dynestia.
After all, why on earth would the girl with a perfect memory require tutoring?
The whole notion seemed rather incredulous to the Stravos girl. How could it not be? It was so contradictory that Danae struggled to believe that it was even true and not some sort of ruse. (That wasn’t so outlandish given the current events of the city and how Danae’s family seemed to be at the center of it all.) But the strangeness of it all lent to its credibility as it would make sense why Sotiria would reach out directly to her husband's cousin. Clearly, the matriarch wouldn’t want to publicly announce that her youngest was struggling in her studies in order to help the girl maintain an otherwise spotless reputation. Sending a letter to any other Stravos would be ensuring that rumor would have made its way through the gossip circuits by nightfall. Danae was the only one that Sotiria could contact about this issue and have a decent expectation of discretion as to the girl’s disdain for gossip was well known.
Nevermind the fact that Danae was one of the few girls within their social circle that could be of any use to helping Hebe. There weren’t many bookworms within the inner circle of Athenia and Danae was the only one who was not within the Antonis household. So, even though at first glance it was strange, when Danae put a little more thought into it, the whole situation made sense -- despite the puzzling fact that Hebe shouldn’t need tutoring, to begin with.
That was the mystery Danae wished to solve as she exited the carriage that had brought her from her home to the Antonis manor. Her dark green chiton and matching hairpiece made her almost look older than her sixteen-years as she followed one of her royal cousin’s many slaves through the halls of the manor to the classroom where Danae found Hebe waiting for her. The Stravos girl tried to avoid glancing at the long cascades of dark hair flowing down Hebe’s back -- out of sheer jealousy that her own hair had once rivaled that length but didn’t anymore. (Which is why Danae needed the cloth to obscure her hair, to begin with.)
“ Thank you Lady Hebe, I am glad to offer my help” Danae replied just as formally as she took a look around the classroom. Once her eyes settled on a pile of books in the corner, she crossed the room to them as she spoke to the girl, “ Is this what you’re currently studying?”
She didn’t wait for an answer as she picked up the book and saw the subject that Hebe seemed to be struggling with; the histories of Greece. Thumbing through the pages. Danae could see that Hebe was currently working on memorizing more of the advanced details that formed the cultures of Athenia, Colchis, and Taengea. Now knowing this, Danae wasn’t all that surprised that Hebe was struggling so much with her lessons. Even she struggled sometimes to separate the name and dates with so many family trees being interwoven between the three kingdoms.
However Hebe shouldn’t have the same issues that Danae had had when she had first encountered the subject, something that she made known within her next question to the girl as she carried the book over to the table so that the two of them could get started, “ Forgive my impertinence Lady Hebe, but I thought you wouldn’t have too much trouble with dates and names. Is there something that I should know before we get started?” Danae asked, as tactfully as possible as she glanced over at the girl with a puzzled expression. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it seemed almost crazy that a girl with an eidetic memory was struggling so with a subject like this. It, quite frankly, seemed to be almost impossible.
Hopefully, Hebe would be able to shed a bit of light on what the issue was or Danae might not be as much help as they hoped.
The first thing that Hebe noticed about Danae was the dark green cloth wrapped around her hair. It matched her chiton perfectly. Could she be starting a new fashion trend or were those rumors she had heard true? According to one, she had pulled it out herself and another one claimed that somebody else had cut it. When Danae walked over to the table where her books were, Hebe saw that there was no bulge in the back that indicated her hair had been put up, so it must be quite short. She wanted to ask what had happened, but didn’t want to bring up bad memories … or make Danae so mad that she pulled out hers too. The young girl had no idea what she would do without her long luxurious tresses. Her hair, she thought, was one of her best features and she was often complimented on it.
She followed Danae over to the corner and watched as she picked up one of the books the younger girl was having so much trouble with. If she could help her make sense of all those names and dates, then Hebe would be eternally grateful. She wondered if Danae thought it curious that she had been asked to tutor her instead of her sisters. Hebe didn’t even give them a chance, hating the fact that they were so much smarter than she was. She became so frustrated she sometimes burst into tears because she simply couldn’t understand what they were trying to teach her. The young girl didn’t think that she learned the same way that they did. Her eidetic memory made that impossible.
Her parents knew that she would be on her best behavior with Danae. She didn’t know her cousin that well and she wanted to impress her. Hebe wanted to impress everyone. Perhaps that was something that all youngest children in large families wished for. Her older sisters almost always outshone her, and she wanted to dazzle just as brightly, if not more. She also felt that they received more of their parents’ attention. All of them would marry before she did, and she supposed they wanted to make certain the girls were prepared. Hebe was three years younger than Evi, the sister closest to her in age. Hebe wasn't old enough to marry yet and there was plenty of time to groom her to be a proper wife. And she had already made an important step toward that goal by becoming a lady-in-waiting to Princess Emilia. She had royal favor and many men would be interested in her for that reason alone.
“Yes,” Hebe replied with a nod, suddenly wishing she could be anywhere other than in this room. Perhaps she could persuade Danae to go riding with her? Even a walk in the gardens would be preferable to studying. And who knew where their steps might lead from there? At the moment, though, she had to be attentive and give her cousin a chance to help her with her rather unique learning disability. In truth, she really did want to control her turbulent thoughts.
Hebe wasn’t surprised that Danae knew about her eidetic memory. She bragged about it often enough. Flawless recall was a rare ability, after all. “Memorization comes very easily for me. I can read something once and I’ll remember it until the day I die. I can quote entire books that I read several years ago. It’s understanding what I memorize that I have trouble with, as well separating what I’m supposed to be focusing on from all the other information swirling around in my head. It often gives me headaches. I can rattle off names and dates all day, but they don’t mean anything to be because I can’t concentrate on them. That’s what I need help with.”
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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The first thing that Hebe noticed about Danae was the dark green cloth wrapped around her hair. It matched her chiton perfectly. Could she be starting a new fashion trend or were those rumors she had heard true? According to one, she had pulled it out herself and another one claimed that somebody else had cut it. When Danae walked over to the table where her books were, Hebe saw that there was no bulge in the back that indicated her hair had been put up, so it must be quite short. She wanted to ask what had happened, but didn’t want to bring up bad memories … or make Danae so mad that she pulled out hers too. The young girl had no idea what she would do without her long luxurious tresses. Her hair, she thought, was one of her best features and she was often complimented on it.
She followed Danae over to the corner and watched as she picked up one of the books the younger girl was having so much trouble with. If she could help her make sense of all those names and dates, then Hebe would be eternally grateful. She wondered if Danae thought it curious that she had been asked to tutor her instead of her sisters. Hebe didn’t even give them a chance, hating the fact that they were so much smarter than she was. She became so frustrated she sometimes burst into tears because she simply couldn’t understand what they were trying to teach her. The young girl didn’t think that she learned the same way that they did. Her eidetic memory made that impossible.
Her parents knew that she would be on her best behavior with Danae. She didn’t know her cousin that well and she wanted to impress her. Hebe wanted to impress everyone. Perhaps that was something that all youngest children in large families wished for. Her older sisters almost always outshone her, and she wanted to dazzle just as brightly, if not more. She also felt that they received more of their parents’ attention. All of them would marry before she did, and she supposed they wanted to make certain the girls were prepared. Hebe was three years younger than Evi, the sister closest to her in age. Hebe wasn't old enough to marry yet and there was plenty of time to groom her to be a proper wife. And she had already made an important step toward that goal by becoming a lady-in-waiting to Princess Emilia. She had royal favor and many men would be interested in her for that reason alone.
“Yes,” Hebe replied with a nod, suddenly wishing she could be anywhere other than in this room. Perhaps she could persuade Danae to go riding with her? Even a walk in the gardens would be preferable to studying. And who knew where their steps might lead from there? At the moment, though, she had to be attentive and give her cousin a chance to help her with her rather unique learning disability. In truth, she really did want to control her turbulent thoughts.
Hebe wasn’t surprised that Danae knew about her eidetic memory. She bragged about it often enough. Flawless recall was a rare ability, after all. “Memorization comes very easily for me. I can read something once and I’ll remember it until the day I die. I can quote entire books that I read several years ago. It’s understanding what I memorize that I have trouble with, as well separating what I’m supposed to be focusing on from all the other information swirling around in my head. It often gives me headaches. I can rattle off names and dates all day, but they don’t mean anything to be because I can’t concentrate on them. That’s what I need help with.”
The first thing that Hebe noticed about Danae was the dark green cloth wrapped around her hair. It matched her chiton perfectly. Could she be starting a new fashion trend or were those rumors she had heard true? According to one, she had pulled it out herself and another one claimed that somebody else had cut it. When Danae walked over to the table where her books were, Hebe saw that there was no bulge in the back that indicated her hair had been put up, so it must be quite short. She wanted to ask what had happened, but didn’t want to bring up bad memories … or make Danae so mad that she pulled out hers too. The young girl had no idea what she would do without her long luxurious tresses. Her hair, she thought, was one of her best features and she was often complimented on it.
She followed Danae over to the corner and watched as she picked up one of the books the younger girl was having so much trouble with. If she could help her make sense of all those names and dates, then Hebe would be eternally grateful. She wondered if Danae thought it curious that she had been asked to tutor her instead of her sisters. Hebe didn’t even give them a chance, hating the fact that they were so much smarter than she was. She became so frustrated she sometimes burst into tears because she simply couldn’t understand what they were trying to teach her. The young girl didn’t think that she learned the same way that they did. Her eidetic memory made that impossible.
Her parents knew that she would be on her best behavior with Danae. She didn’t know her cousin that well and she wanted to impress her. Hebe wanted to impress everyone. Perhaps that was something that all youngest children in large families wished for. Her older sisters almost always outshone her, and she wanted to dazzle just as brightly, if not more. She also felt that they received more of their parents’ attention. All of them would marry before she did, and she supposed they wanted to make certain the girls were prepared. Hebe was three years younger than Evi, the sister closest to her in age. Hebe wasn't old enough to marry yet and there was plenty of time to groom her to be a proper wife. And she had already made an important step toward that goal by becoming a lady-in-waiting to Princess Emilia. She had royal favor and many men would be interested in her for that reason alone.
“Yes,” Hebe replied with a nod, suddenly wishing she could be anywhere other than in this room. Perhaps she could persuade Danae to go riding with her? Even a walk in the gardens would be preferable to studying. And who knew where their steps might lead from there? At the moment, though, she had to be attentive and give her cousin a chance to help her with her rather unique learning disability. In truth, she really did want to control her turbulent thoughts.
Hebe wasn’t surprised that Danae knew about her eidetic memory. She bragged about it often enough. Flawless recall was a rare ability, after all. “Memorization comes very easily for me. I can read something once and I’ll remember it until the day I die. I can quote entire books that I read several years ago. It’s understanding what I memorize that I have trouble with, as well separating what I’m supposed to be focusing on from all the other information swirling around in my head. It often gives me headaches. I can rattle off names and dates all day, but they don’t mean anything to be because I can’t concentrate on them. That’s what I need help with.”
Hebe was wise to not question her hairpiece. She may not have known it, but this particular subject was a rather poor subject for Danae. Not only was it a physical mark of her own stupidity --as it had been her idea to chase after a pirate-- but it also reminded her of the misfortunes that had befallen her family. The short strands tucked underneath was a mark of shame for the sixteen-year-old and it was one that was not to be acknowledged by the girl. Danae just couldn’t bear the shame that came with the memories of what happened. It wasn’t even something that she had discussed with her father, this was something that hurt her that deeply. The Stravos girl wasn’t ever going to discuss it with anyone, let alone a cousin she wasn’t super close with.
If the underage girl decided to backtrack on her decision, she would receive nothing, but uncouth hostility. Danae wasn’t going to talk about her hair with Hebe. Not under any circumstance.
However, the Stravosi was oblivious to the younger girl’s thoughts and instead was more focused on the task at hand. That was one of the defining traits of Danae, she was quite the go-getter. When she was set on a task, she refused to put it down before it was completed. It didn’t matter if it was an unbalanced ledger or book that had grabbed her attention. She was a completionist to the very end. This sheer, genetic determination made it more than likely that Hebe would walk away with some sort of strategy as to sorting out the thoughts in her head.
Luckily for Hebe, something was already coming to mind when the girl spoke of her problem. If it was sorting through the distractions that seemed to be the problem, then the solution would be in getting rid of them… which, of course, was easier said than done. However, Danae already knew of a strategy that she had noticed many years ago that might be of some use to the Antonis girl if they could modify it for Hebe to use.
Several years ago, when Danae was deep in her own schooling, she was growing tired of being cooped up in the library all day when it was so lovely outside. Given that the girl was being taught through the method of self-learning, she had just decided to move outside to the courtyard. However, when she was there, she couldn’t concentrate on her books. Instead, all she could think about where the snacks that were normally served during her sister’s parties, Danae’s main reason most days for being in the courtyard. When she had finally moved back into the library, she could concentrate again just on account of being in the space. It had taken Danae a while to figure out what the connection was, but now she knew that she had been able to more deftly do things in different rooms was due to the associations that room had. Certain places, smells, or objects could trigger certain memories.
Could they purposely use this to help Hebe?
Danae truthfully didn’t know. Her own realizations about this had been done purely on accident. She had never tried to purposely manipulate her associations to work yo her advantage. As far as she knew, it could even be impossible… however, the young girl who seemed to be more of a schoolmaster than a teenager was willing to give it a shot. Maybe, just maybe, it might work.
However, Danae needed to know for sure what she was working with. The girl needed a baseline for when they started this experiment otherwise she wouldn’t be able to tell if it was working. That’s what spurred the Stravos to say to the Antonis, “ I might have an idea… but I need to see how you’d normally go about recalling information before we can implement it.” Her tone was matter-of-fact as she flipped through the book, finally settling on a chapter about one of the Colchian family trees. The smallest smirk formed on her face as her eyes glanced up the lineage to see if was ideal for this test. Clearly, it was as Danae kept the book close to her chest as she asked the girl, “ Can you picture the Kotas family tree in your mind? There are two men named Silas on it. Can you tell me everything you know about them, starting with the younger one?” Danae knew that this Kotas prince was in their generation so Hebe might even be able to speak to aspects of his personality, which was more than fine by her tutor. She wanted to see how Hebe sorted through the distractions on her own and that was more important than if she couldn’t remember everything about the young Prince Silas.
However, Danae didn’t know if she made that clear, so she threw in a rather hasty, “ Don’t overexert yourself. This isn’t about getting everything right, at least, not this time.” This pulled the slightest chuckle out of Danae even though there wasn’t so much as a joke in there. The girl just found it funny for some reason.
Funny like how it was strange that Danae was the one who was summoned to tutor Danae. Wouldn’t have her sisters been the first ones that Sotiria would have looked to when faced with these issues? Especially as Danae knew for a fact that one of the older ones was a bookworm just like her. Something seemed a little off… “ Forgive me again Lady Hebe, but I have a burning question that I’m hoping to set to rest.” She said suddenly as the temptation to see why the Antonis had summoned a Stravos became too great for the girl to suppress, “ But why wasn’t your sisters summoned to help you instead of me. I don’t mean to pry, but… certainly, you must think that it’s a little odd that your mother would turn to me with everything going on at the Palati?” As much as Danae turned her nose up at the gossips of the courts, at this moment, the girl was just as bad as them as she pried into the business of the Antonis family.
Hebe could very easily take offense to the question at hand and Danae wouldn’t blame her if she did. The older girl had indeed crossed an odd sort of line. However, if the Antonis girl allowed it… there was a chance that the conversation could turn to the politics of the kingdom. Perhaps the youngest royal girls in the kingdom could discuss the events unfolding around them that they were both deemed too young to help shape?
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Hebe was wise to not question her hairpiece. She may not have known it, but this particular subject was a rather poor subject for Danae. Not only was it a physical mark of her own stupidity --as it had been her idea to chase after a pirate-- but it also reminded her of the misfortunes that had befallen her family. The short strands tucked underneath was a mark of shame for the sixteen-year-old and it was one that was not to be acknowledged by the girl. Danae just couldn’t bear the shame that came with the memories of what happened. It wasn’t even something that she had discussed with her father, this was something that hurt her that deeply. The Stravos girl wasn’t ever going to discuss it with anyone, let alone a cousin she wasn’t super close with.
If the underage girl decided to backtrack on her decision, she would receive nothing, but uncouth hostility. Danae wasn’t going to talk about her hair with Hebe. Not under any circumstance.
However, the Stravosi was oblivious to the younger girl’s thoughts and instead was more focused on the task at hand. That was one of the defining traits of Danae, she was quite the go-getter. When she was set on a task, she refused to put it down before it was completed. It didn’t matter if it was an unbalanced ledger or book that had grabbed her attention. She was a completionist to the very end. This sheer, genetic determination made it more than likely that Hebe would walk away with some sort of strategy as to sorting out the thoughts in her head.
Luckily for Hebe, something was already coming to mind when the girl spoke of her problem. If it was sorting through the distractions that seemed to be the problem, then the solution would be in getting rid of them… which, of course, was easier said than done. However, Danae already knew of a strategy that she had noticed many years ago that might be of some use to the Antonis girl if they could modify it for Hebe to use.
Several years ago, when Danae was deep in her own schooling, she was growing tired of being cooped up in the library all day when it was so lovely outside. Given that the girl was being taught through the method of self-learning, she had just decided to move outside to the courtyard. However, when she was there, she couldn’t concentrate on her books. Instead, all she could think about where the snacks that were normally served during her sister’s parties, Danae’s main reason most days for being in the courtyard. When she had finally moved back into the library, she could concentrate again just on account of being in the space. It had taken Danae a while to figure out what the connection was, but now she knew that she had been able to more deftly do things in different rooms was due to the associations that room had. Certain places, smells, or objects could trigger certain memories.
Could they purposely use this to help Hebe?
Danae truthfully didn’t know. Her own realizations about this had been done purely on accident. She had never tried to purposely manipulate her associations to work yo her advantage. As far as she knew, it could even be impossible… however, the young girl who seemed to be more of a schoolmaster than a teenager was willing to give it a shot. Maybe, just maybe, it might work.
However, Danae needed to know for sure what she was working with. The girl needed a baseline for when they started this experiment otherwise she wouldn’t be able to tell if it was working. That’s what spurred the Stravos to say to the Antonis, “ I might have an idea… but I need to see how you’d normally go about recalling information before we can implement it.” Her tone was matter-of-fact as she flipped through the book, finally settling on a chapter about one of the Colchian family trees. The smallest smirk formed on her face as her eyes glanced up the lineage to see if was ideal for this test. Clearly, it was as Danae kept the book close to her chest as she asked the girl, “ Can you picture the Kotas family tree in your mind? There are two men named Silas on it. Can you tell me everything you know about them, starting with the younger one?” Danae knew that this Kotas prince was in their generation so Hebe might even be able to speak to aspects of his personality, which was more than fine by her tutor. She wanted to see how Hebe sorted through the distractions on her own and that was more important than if she couldn’t remember everything about the young Prince Silas.
However, Danae didn’t know if she made that clear, so she threw in a rather hasty, “ Don’t overexert yourself. This isn’t about getting everything right, at least, not this time.” This pulled the slightest chuckle out of Danae even though there wasn’t so much as a joke in there. The girl just found it funny for some reason.
Funny like how it was strange that Danae was the one who was summoned to tutor Danae. Wouldn’t have her sisters been the first ones that Sotiria would have looked to when faced with these issues? Especially as Danae knew for a fact that one of the older ones was a bookworm just like her. Something seemed a little off… “ Forgive me again Lady Hebe, but I have a burning question that I’m hoping to set to rest.” She said suddenly as the temptation to see why the Antonis had summoned a Stravos became too great for the girl to suppress, “ But why wasn’t your sisters summoned to help you instead of me. I don’t mean to pry, but… certainly, you must think that it’s a little odd that your mother would turn to me with everything going on at the Palati?” As much as Danae turned her nose up at the gossips of the courts, at this moment, the girl was just as bad as them as she pried into the business of the Antonis family.
Hebe could very easily take offense to the question at hand and Danae wouldn’t blame her if she did. The older girl had indeed crossed an odd sort of line. However, if the Antonis girl allowed it… there was a chance that the conversation could turn to the politics of the kingdom. Perhaps the youngest royal girls in the kingdom could discuss the events unfolding around them that they were both deemed too young to help shape?
Hebe was wise to not question her hairpiece. She may not have known it, but this particular subject was a rather poor subject for Danae. Not only was it a physical mark of her own stupidity --as it had been her idea to chase after a pirate-- but it also reminded her of the misfortunes that had befallen her family. The short strands tucked underneath was a mark of shame for the sixteen-year-old and it was one that was not to be acknowledged by the girl. Danae just couldn’t bear the shame that came with the memories of what happened. It wasn’t even something that she had discussed with her father, this was something that hurt her that deeply. The Stravos girl wasn’t ever going to discuss it with anyone, let alone a cousin she wasn’t super close with.
If the underage girl decided to backtrack on her decision, she would receive nothing, but uncouth hostility. Danae wasn’t going to talk about her hair with Hebe. Not under any circumstance.
However, the Stravosi was oblivious to the younger girl’s thoughts and instead was more focused on the task at hand. That was one of the defining traits of Danae, she was quite the go-getter. When she was set on a task, she refused to put it down before it was completed. It didn’t matter if it was an unbalanced ledger or book that had grabbed her attention. She was a completionist to the very end. This sheer, genetic determination made it more than likely that Hebe would walk away with some sort of strategy as to sorting out the thoughts in her head.
Luckily for Hebe, something was already coming to mind when the girl spoke of her problem. If it was sorting through the distractions that seemed to be the problem, then the solution would be in getting rid of them… which, of course, was easier said than done. However, Danae already knew of a strategy that she had noticed many years ago that might be of some use to the Antonis girl if they could modify it for Hebe to use.
Several years ago, when Danae was deep in her own schooling, she was growing tired of being cooped up in the library all day when it was so lovely outside. Given that the girl was being taught through the method of self-learning, she had just decided to move outside to the courtyard. However, when she was there, she couldn’t concentrate on her books. Instead, all she could think about where the snacks that were normally served during her sister’s parties, Danae’s main reason most days for being in the courtyard. When she had finally moved back into the library, she could concentrate again just on account of being in the space. It had taken Danae a while to figure out what the connection was, but now she knew that she had been able to more deftly do things in different rooms was due to the associations that room had. Certain places, smells, or objects could trigger certain memories.
Could they purposely use this to help Hebe?
Danae truthfully didn’t know. Her own realizations about this had been done purely on accident. She had never tried to purposely manipulate her associations to work yo her advantage. As far as she knew, it could even be impossible… however, the young girl who seemed to be more of a schoolmaster than a teenager was willing to give it a shot. Maybe, just maybe, it might work.
However, Danae needed to know for sure what she was working with. The girl needed a baseline for when they started this experiment otherwise she wouldn’t be able to tell if it was working. That’s what spurred the Stravos to say to the Antonis, “ I might have an idea… but I need to see how you’d normally go about recalling information before we can implement it.” Her tone was matter-of-fact as she flipped through the book, finally settling on a chapter about one of the Colchian family trees. The smallest smirk formed on her face as her eyes glanced up the lineage to see if was ideal for this test. Clearly, it was as Danae kept the book close to her chest as she asked the girl, “ Can you picture the Kotas family tree in your mind? There are two men named Silas on it. Can you tell me everything you know about them, starting with the younger one?” Danae knew that this Kotas prince was in their generation so Hebe might even be able to speak to aspects of his personality, which was more than fine by her tutor. She wanted to see how Hebe sorted through the distractions on her own and that was more important than if she couldn’t remember everything about the young Prince Silas.
However, Danae didn’t know if she made that clear, so she threw in a rather hasty, “ Don’t overexert yourself. This isn’t about getting everything right, at least, not this time.” This pulled the slightest chuckle out of Danae even though there wasn’t so much as a joke in there. The girl just found it funny for some reason.
Funny like how it was strange that Danae was the one who was summoned to tutor Danae. Wouldn’t have her sisters been the first ones that Sotiria would have looked to when faced with these issues? Especially as Danae knew for a fact that one of the older ones was a bookworm just like her. Something seemed a little off… “ Forgive me again Lady Hebe, but I have a burning question that I’m hoping to set to rest.” She said suddenly as the temptation to see why the Antonis had summoned a Stravos became too great for the girl to suppress, “ But why wasn’t your sisters summoned to help you instead of me. I don’t mean to pry, but… certainly, you must think that it’s a little odd that your mother would turn to me with everything going on at the Palati?” As much as Danae turned her nose up at the gossips of the courts, at this moment, the girl was just as bad as them as she pried into the business of the Antonis family.
Hebe could very easily take offense to the question at hand and Danae wouldn’t blame her if she did. The older girl had indeed crossed an odd sort of line. However, if the Antonis girl allowed it… there was a chance that the conversation could turn to the politics of the kingdom. Perhaps the youngest royal girls in the kingdom could discuss the events unfolding around them that they were both deemed too young to help shape?
Hebe had feared that Lady Danae wouldn’t understand her problem. If one didn’t have an eidetic memory themselves, they couldn’t know exactly what she was going through. But the other girl had an idea that might help her, which was more than either Marietta or Evi had offered when they had attempted to tutor her. Her cousin was also known to be highly intelligent. Maybe she would be able to come up with a way to stop the thoughts running through her head all the time.
“Of course,” she agreed, so intrigued by the notion of relief that she was no longer so eager to to convince Danae that they should go outside and do something else instead of studying. I shall do whatever you ask of me.”
She watched Danae flip through the book, allowing her gaze to stray to the cloth over her hair. Hebe had been really good about not looking at it so far, but when Danae’s back was turned, she could glance at it without fear of being discovered. As her cousin had said nothing about it, she assumed that she was not trying to start a new trend. There had to be a practical reason for it. She had a sister, too. Maybe Danae had angered her and she had chopped off all of her hair while she was sleeping. Or one of those rumors she had heard could have some truth to it.
Hebe noticed Danae’s smirk and wondered how she was going to test her. She quickly averted her eyes, grabbed a book, and turned it to a random page so that the older girl wouldn’t know she had been gazing at her hair … or lack thereof. When Danae spoke again, she looked up and saw that she was holding the genealogy book to her chest, as if not letting Hebe see it would stop her from remembering. The youngest Antonis sister hoped that wasn’t her plan. She could recite that whole book word for word.
It wasn’t. Hebe blinked when Danae asked her to tell her everything she knew about the two people named Silas on the Kotas family tree. She knew precious little about either of them, avoiding gossip because she didn’t want rumors to join the other information constantly running through her mind. Tilting her head like a curious little kitten, she closed her eyes for a brief moment and then opened them again. “The younger Prince Silas of Kotas is the youngest of four brothers, but he is not the youngest child in the family. He has a younger sister named Athanasia. His elder brothers are Vangelis, Zanon, and Yiannis in that order. He also has a nephew named Dion, the son of Zanon and Evras of Thanasi. His parents are King Tython and Queen Yanni. He is a captain in the military and said to be quite handsome.”
She took a deep breath. “The elder Silas is his grandfather, the father of the current king. I don’t know much about him other than his wife was named Kaiti and he also had a daughter, Tythra, who married into the Drakos family.”
Instead of reacting to her recitation, Danae had a question for her, one that she had presumably been pondering for some time. Hebe smiled. “I know our families are at odds now, but we are kin. My mother is a smart woman and most likely believed that you were the best person to tutor me. My sisters tried, but they both had the misconception that I was able to learn the same way they did.” Her smile turned sheepish. “They became frustrated and so did I. It was an experiment that didn’t work out.
“And your brother seems to be doing a good job assisting my mistress Princess Emilia. She always speaks well of him.”
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Hebe had feared that Lady Danae wouldn’t understand her problem. If one didn’t have an eidetic memory themselves, they couldn’t know exactly what she was going through. But the other girl had an idea that might help her, which was more than either Marietta or Evi had offered when they had attempted to tutor her. Her cousin was also known to be highly intelligent. Maybe she would be able to come up with a way to stop the thoughts running through her head all the time.
“Of course,” she agreed, so intrigued by the notion of relief that she was no longer so eager to to convince Danae that they should go outside and do something else instead of studying. I shall do whatever you ask of me.”
She watched Danae flip through the book, allowing her gaze to stray to the cloth over her hair. Hebe had been really good about not looking at it so far, but when Danae’s back was turned, she could glance at it without fear of being discovered. As her cousin had said nothing about it, she assumed that she was not trying to start a new trend. There had to be a practical reason for it. She had a sister, too. Maybe Danae had angered her and she had chopped off all of her hair while she was sleeping. Or one of those rumors she had heard could have some truth to it.
Hebe noticed Danae’s smirk and wondered how she was going to test her. She quickly averted her eyes, grabbed a book, and turned it to a random page so that the older girl wouldn’t know she had been gazing at her hair … or lack thereof. When Danae spoke again, she looked up and saw that she was holding the genealogy book to her chest, as if not letting Hebe see it would stop her from remembering. The youngest Antonis sister hoped that wasn’t her plan. She could recite that whole book word for word.
It wasn’t. Hebe blinked when Danae asked her to tell her everything she knew about the two people named Silas on the Kotas family tree. She knew precious little about either of them, avoiding gossip because she didn’t want rumors to join the other information constantly running through her mind. Tilting her head like a curious little kitten, she closed her eyes for a brief moment and then opened them again. “The younger Prince Silas of Kotas is the youngest of four brothers, but he is not the youngest child in the family. He has a younger sister named Athanasia. His elder brothers are Vangelis, Zanon, and Yiannis in that order. He also has a nephew named Dion, the son of Zanon and Evras of Thanasi. His parents are King Tython and Queen Yanni. He is a captain in the military and said to be quite handsome.”
She took a deep breath. “The elder Silas is his grandfather, the father of the current king. I don’t know much about him other than his wife was named Kaiti and he also had a daughter, Tythra, who married into the Drakos family.”
Instead of reacting to her recitation, Danae had a question for her, one that she had presumably been pondering for some time. Hebe smiled. “I know our families are at odds now, but we are kin. My mother is a smart woman and most likely believed that you were the best person to tutor me. My sisters tried, but they both had the misconception that I was able to learn the same way they did.” Her smile turned sheepish. “They became frustrated and so did I. It was an experiment that didn’t work out.
“And your brother seems to be doing a good job assisting my mistress Princess Emilia. She always speaks well of him.”
Hebe had feared that Lady Danae wouldn’t understand her problem. If one didn’t have an eidetic memory themselves, they couldn’t know exactly what she was going through. But the other girl had an idea that might help her, which was more than either Marietta or Evi had offered when they had attempted to tutor her. Her cousin was also known to be highly intelligent. Maybe she would be able to come up with a way to stop the thoughts running through her head all the time.
“Of course,” she agreed, so intrigued by the notion of relief that she was no longer so eager to to convince Danae that they should go outside and do something else instead of studying. I shall do whatever you ask of me.”
She watched Danae flip through the book, allowing her gaze to stray to the cloth over her hair. Hebe had been really good about not looking at it so far, but when Danae’s back was turned, she could glance at it without fear of being discovered. As her cousin had said nothing about it, she assumed that she was not trying to start a new trend. There had to be a practical reason for it. She had a sister, too. Maybe Danae had angered her and she had chopped off all of her hair while she was sleeping. Or one of those rumors she had heard could have some truth to it.
Hebe noticed Danae’s smirk and wondered how she was going to test her. She quickly averted her eyes, grabbed a book, and turned it to a random page so that the older girl wouldn’t know she had been gazing at her hair … or lack thereof. When Danae spoke again, she looked up and saw that she was holding the genealogy book to her chest, as if not letting Hebe see it would stop her from remembering. The youngest Antonis sister hoped that wasn’t her plan. She could recite that whole book word for word.
It wasn’t. Hebe blinked when Danae asked her to tell her everything she knew about the two people named Silas on the Kotas family tree. She knew precious little about either of them, avoiding gossip because she didn’t want rumors to join the other information constantly running through her mind. Tilting her head like a curious little kitten, she closed her eyes for a brief moment and then opened them again. “The younger Prince Silas of Kotas is the youngest of four brothers, but he is not the youngest child in the family. He has a younger sister named Athanasia. His elder brothers are Vangelis, Zanon, and Yiannis in that order. He also has a nephew named Dion, the son of Zanon and Evras of Thanasi. His parents are King Tython and Queen Yanni. He is a captain in the military and said to be quite handsome.”
She took a deep breath. “The elder Silas is his grandfather, the father of the current king. I don’t know much about him other than his wife was named Kaiti and he also had a daughter, Tythra, who married into the Drakos family.”
Instead of reacting to her recitation, Danae had a question for her, one that she had presumably been pondering for some time. Hebe smiled. “I know our families are at odds now, but we are kin. My mother is a smart woman and most likely believed that you were the best person to tutor me. My sisters tried, but they both had the misconception that I was able to learn the same way they did.” Her smile turned sheepish. “They became frustrated and so did I. It was an experiment that didn’t work out.
“And your brother seems to be doing a good job assisting my mistress Princess Emilia. She always speaks well of him.”
When Hebe recited everything that she knew about the two people named Silas on the Kotas family tree, Danae watched her intently. The older girl had no qualms that the Antonis girl would be able to recall the information that she was asking her to and in truth, Danae was barely listening to the flurry of words that were tumbling out of Hebe. Instead, the Stravos girl was far more interested in how Hebe was recalling this information. She was watching the young girl’s body language and paying close attention to her tone of voice; all in the hopes that she would hear where the girl stumbled and the overwhelming flood of information came cascading in. If Danae could pinpoint when that happened, maybe they could stop it.
However, it didn’t seem as if such a thing happened. Danae frowned slightly as she looked between the girl in front of her and the book, confirming that Hebe had gotten everything right. “And I’m guessing you didn’t have any issues with that? You could sort through that easily enough?” Danae quizzed as she began to flick through the book, trying to see if she could find something that could trigger the problem that Hebe was experiencing. Maybe that was something that couldn’t be accomplished with this subject where family trees were laid out in a rather formulaic fashion. Seven Hades, Danae was fairly confident that she could recall a lot of the information that was in here given how much emphasis of knowing the entire court system was put into a noble girl’s education. Perhaps this was just far too easy for the problem they faced…
That faded away though as Danae settled on a page with a rather complicated family tree with so many members that it was a miracle that it wasn’t some sort of awful mess. The Mikaelidas family. This family tree had so many branches that intertwined within itself and other family trees that Danae was feeling a bit overwhelmed just looking at it all. Surely, this could be the piece that they needed to maybe spur a necessary reaction out of Hebe?
“Tell me everyone who is in the Mikaelidas bloodline,” Danae instructed, making sure that her words were purposely vague to confuse the girl. Did the Stravos mean just those who were currently carrying the name? Or did she want Hebe to include those who had married into other family trees? If so, did she want Hebe to mention their children as they too carried Mikaelidas blood? Either way, Danae wasn’t going to reveal what she was looking for. Not when this was precisely the sort of question she hoped would help lead them down the path towards a solution. After all, once Danae had some sort of baseline for the problem that needed to be fixed, it would make fixing it so much easier.
Before Hebe had a chance to get started though, the girls were quickly sidetracked by Danae’s not so subtle inquiry about why she of all people was summoned to aid Hebe in her studies. The sixteen-year-old was not that surprised to hear that it was probably her reputation that had encouraged Sotiria to seek out Danae’s help. Despite Athenia being known as the academic center of Greece, there weren’t very many noble girls who were known for being bookworms. As far as Danae knew there was only Elena, Hebe’s Sister, and herself. Out of the three, the Stravos girl probably seemed to be the best option as it wasn’t exactly a secret that Danae had her father’s personality. She was a hard-worker and rarely, if ever, gave up on something. It seemed far more likely that Danae would get the results than the soft-spoken Elena would never be able to do.
Danae nodded in understanding when Hebe clarified. That explanation certain;y made sense. “Ah I had just thought…” The sixteen-year-old mused almost absent-mindedly, trailing off at the end. However, Danae regretted even saying anything as the moment that she opened her mouth, she knew that it would probably bring up more questions in Hebe’s mind than the Stravos girl had intended. She was quick to cover this up though with a simple explanation, “Some people are not exactly subtle in their true intentions, let’s just leave it at that.”Danae forced out the smallest laugh to make the conversation not as stressful with the implications of Athenia’s current political status looming over their heads. Although Danae had yet to experience this, as she rarely went anywhere without some sort of guard meant to dissuade people with this intention, the girl wasn’t blind to the fact that some citizens probably saw the sixteen-year-old as an easy mouthpiece to get their opinions to Elias. This wasn’t true. Not in the slightest.
That was something that was made quite plainly clear when Hebe spoke praises of Elias and Danae’s expression instantly twisted into a grimace. She didn’t like Elias for a thousand different reasons including his treatment towards her at the last court session. He had no reservations in embarrassing her in front of everyone -- even though he was more than aware of how Danae riddled with anxiety at these meetings. He simply didn’t care that he nearly forced the girl into a panic attack and he had firmly believed that he was completely in the right for causing his younger sister that level of mental anguish; but still, be completely miffed by the fact that Danae had no interest in trusting him. It wasn’t exactly the most complicated thing to unravel, but for some reason, understanding that actions had consequences always vexed Elias.
“Well, I’m glad someone likes him.” Danae said while rolling her eyes at the notion of Emilia thinking that Eli was a swell guy. It was difficult, but Danae managed to succeed in hiding the malice that she felt for Eli in her tone. Instead, her words came off in the same exasperated manner that any younger sibling talking about their older siblings would use. Surely, Hebe would be able to relate as she was the youngest of her family too. Danae wasn’t super keen on delving deeper so she tried to deflect some of it to this topic by a simple statement with a slight grin, trying to play it all off as if it was some sort of big joke instead of the tension between Elias and Danae being the cracks in the Stravos foundation, “Older siblings… they’re the absolute worst, aren’t they?”
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When Hebe recited everything that she knew about the two people named Silas on the Kotas family tree, Danae watched her intently. The older girl had no qualms that the Antonis girl would be able to recall the information that she was asking her to and in truth, Danae was barely listening to the flurry of words that were tumbling out of Hebe. Instead, the Stravos girl was far more interested in how Hebe was recalling this information. She was watching the young girl’s body language and paying close attention to her tone of voice; all in the hopes that she would hear where the girl stumbled and the overwhelming flood of information came cascading in. If Danae could pinpoint when that happened, maybe they could stop it.
However, it didn’t seem as if such a thing happened. Danae frowned slightly as she looked between the girl in front of her and the book, confirming that Hebe had gotten everything right. “And I’m guessing you didn’t have any issues with that? You could sort through that easily enough?” Danae quizzed as she began to flick through the book, trying to see if she could find something that could trigger the problem that Hebe was experiencing. Maybe that was something that couldn’t be accomplished with this subject where family trees were laid out in a rather formulaic fashion. Seven Hades, Danae was fairly confident that she could recall a lot of the information that was in here given how much emphasis of knowing the entire court system was put into a noble girl’s education. Perhaps this was just far too easy for the problem they faced…
That faded away though as Danae settled on a page with a rather complicated family tree with so many members that it was a miracle that it wasn’t some sort of awful mess. The Mikaelidas family. This family tree had so many branches that intertwined within itself and other family trees that Danae was feeling a bit overwhelmed just looking at it all. Surely, this could be the piece that they needed to maybe spur a necessary reaction out of Hebe?
“Tell me everyone who is in the Mikaelidas bloodline,” Danae instructed, making sure that her words were purposely vague to confuse the girl. Did the Stravos mean just those who were currently carrying the name? Or did she want Hebe to include those who had married into other family trees? If so, did she want Hebe to mention their children as they too carried Mikaelidas blood? Either way, Danae wasn’t going to reveal what she was looking for. Not when this was precisely the sort of question she hoped would help lead them down the path towards a solution. After all, once Danae had some sort of baseline for the problem that needed to be fixed, it would make fixing it so much easier.
Before Hebe had a chance to get started though, the girls were quickly sidetracked by Danae’s not so subtle inquiry about why she of all people was summoned to aid Hebe in her studies. The sixteen-year-old was not that surprised to hear that it was probably her reputation that had encouraged Sotiria to seek out Danae’s help. Despite Athenia being known as the academic center of Greece, there weren’t very many noble girls who were known for being bookworms. As far as Danae knew there was only Elena, Hebe’s Sister, and herself. Out of the three, the Stravos girl probably seemed to be the best option as it wasn’t exactly a secret that Danae had her father’s personality. She was a hard-worker and rarely, if ever, gave up on something. It seemed far more likely that Danae would get the results than the soft-spoken Elena would never be able to do.
Danae nodded in understanding when Hebe clarified. That explanation certain;y made sense. “Ah I had just thought…” The sixteen-year-old mused almost absent-mindedly, trailing off at the end. However, Danae regretted even saying anything as the moment that she opened her mouth, she knew that it would probably bring up more questions in Hebe’s mind than the Stravos girl had intended. She was quick to cover this up though with a simple explanation, “Some people are not exactly subtle in their true intentions, let’s just leave it at that.”Danae forced out the smallest laugh to make the conversation not as stressful with the implications of Athenia’s current political status looming over their heads. Although Danae had yet to experience this, as she rarely went anywhere without some sort of guard meant to dissuade people with this intention, the girl wasn’t blind to the fact that some citizens probably saw the sixteen-year-old as an easy mouthpiece to get their opinions to Elias. This wasn’t true. Not in the slightest.
That was something that was made quite plainly clear when Hebe spoke praises of Elias and Danae’s expression instantly twisted into a grimace. She didn’t like Elias for a thousand different reasons including his treatment towards her at the last court session. He had no reservations in embarrassing her in front of everyone -- even though he was more than aware of how Danae riddled with anxiety at these meetings. He simply didn’t care that he nearly forced the girl into a panic attack and he had firmly believed that he was completely in the right for causing his younger sister that level of mental anguish; but still, be completely miffed by the fact that Danae had no interest in trusting him. It wasn’t exactly the most complicated thing to unravel, but for some reason, understanding that actions had consequences always vexed Elias.
“Well, I’m glad someone likes him.” Danae said while rolling her eyes at the notion of Emilia thinking that Eli was a swell guy. It was difficult, but Danae managed to succeed in hiding the malice that she felt for Eli in her tone. Instead, her words came off in the same exasperated manner that any younger sibling talking about their older siblings would use. Surely, Hebe would be able to relate as she was the youngest of her family too. Danae wasn’t super keen on delving deeper so she tried to deflect some of it to this topic by a simple statement with a slight grin, trying to play it all off as if it was some sort of big joke instead of the tension between Elias and Danae being the cracks in the Stravos foundation, “Older siblings… they’re the absolute worst, aren’t they?”
When Hebe recited everything that she knew about the two people named Silas on the Kotas family tree, Danae watched her intently. The older girl had no qualms that the Antonis girl would be able to recall the information that she was asking her to and in truth, Danae was barely listening to the flurry of words that were tumbling out of Hebe. Instead, the Stravos girl was far more interested in how Hebe was recalling this information. She was watching the young girl’s body language and paying close attention to her tone of voice; all in the hopes that she would hear where the girl stumbled and the overwhelming flood of information came cascading in. If Danae could pinpoint when that happened, maybe they could stop it.
However, it didn’t seem as if such a thing happened. Danae frowned slightly as she looked between the girl in front of her and the book, confirming that Hebe had gotten everything right. “And I’m guessing you didn’t have any issues with that? You could sort through that easily enough?” Danae quizzed as she began to flick through the book, trying to see if she could find something that could trigger the problem that Hebe was experiencing. Maybe that was something that couldn’t be accomplished with this subject where family trees were laid out in a rather formulaic fashion. Seven Hades, Danae was fairly confident that she could recall a lot of the information that was in here given how much emphasis of knowing the entire court system was put into a noble girl’s education. Perhaps this was just far too easy for the problem they faced…
That faded away though as Danae settled on a page with a rather complicated family tree with so many members that it was a miracle that it wasn’t some sort of awful mess. The Mikaelidas family. This family tree had so many branches that intertwined within itself and other family trees that Danae was feeling a bit overwhelmed just looking at it all. Surely, this could be the piece that they needed to maybe spur a necessary reaction out of Hebe?
“Tell me everyone who is in the Mikaelidas bloodline,” Danae instructed, making sure that her words were purposely vague to confuse the girl. Did the Stravos mean just those who were currently carrying the name? Or did she want Hebe to include those who had married into other family trees? If so, did she want Hebe to mention their children as they too carried Mikaelidas blood? Either way, Danae wasn’t going to reveal what she was looking for. Not when this was precisely the sort of question she hoped would help lead them down the path towards a solution. After all, once Danae had some sort of baseline for the problem that needed to be fixed, it would make fixing it so much easier.
Before Hebe had a chance to get started though, the girls were quickly sidetracked by Danae’s not so subtle inquiry about why she of all people was summoned to aid Hebe in her studies. The sixteen-year-old was not that surprised to hear that it was probably her reputation that had encouraged Sotiria to seek out Danae’s help. Despite Athenia being known as the academic center of Greece, there weren’t very many noble girls who were known for being bookworms. As far as Danae knew there was only Elena, Hebe’s Sister, and herself. Out of the three, the Stravos girl probably seemed to be the best option as it wasn’t exactly a secret that Danae had her father’s personality. She was a hard-worker and rarely, if ever, gave up on something. It seemed far more likely that Danae would get the results than the soft-spoken Elena would never be able to do.
Danae nodded in understanding when Hebe clarified. That explanation certain;y made sense. “Ah I had just thought…” The sixteen-year-old mused almost absent-mindedly, trailing off at the end. However, Danae regretted even saying anything as the moment that she opened her mouth, she knew that it would probably bring up more questions in Hebe’s mind than the Stravos girl had intended. She was quick to cover this up though with a simple explanation, “Some people are not exactly subtle in their true intentions, let’s just leave it at that.”Danae forced out the smallest laugh to make the conversation not as stressful with the implications of Athenia’s current political status looming over their heads. Although Danae had yet to experience this, as she rarely went anywhere without some sort of guard meant to dissuade people with this intention, the girl wasn’t blind to the fact that some citizens probably saw the sixteen-year-old as an easy mouthpiece to get their opinions to Elias. This wasn’t true. Not in the slightest.
That was something that was made quite plainly clear when Hebe spoke praises of Elias and Danae’s expression instantly twisted into a grimace. She didn’t like Elias for a thousand different reasons including his treatment towards her at the last court session. He had no reservations in embarrassing her in front of everyone -- even though he was more than aware of how Danae riddled with anxiety at these meetings. He simply didn’t care that he nearly forced the girl into a panic attack and he had firmly believed that he was completely in the right for causing his younger sister that level of mental anguish; but still, be completely miffed by the fact that Danae had no interest in trusting him. It wasn’t exactly the most complicated thing to unravel, but for some reason, understanding that actions had consequences always vexed Elias.
“Well, I’m glad someone likes him.” Danae said while rolling her eyes at the notion of Emilia thinking that Eli was a swell guy. It was difficult, but Danae managed to succeed in hiding the malice that she felt for Eli in her tone. Instead, her words came off in the same exasperated manner that any younger sibling talking about their older siblings would use. Surely, Hebe would be able to relate as she was the youngest of her family too. Danae wasn’t super keen on delving deeper so she tried to deflect some of it to this topic by a simple statement with a slight grin, trying to play it all off as if it was some sort of big joke instead of the tension between Elias and Danae being the cracks in the Stravos foundation, “Older siblings… they’re the absolute worst, aren’t they?”
“No. I had no trouble at all,” Hebe replied without hesitation. “I was able to focus on the answer without becoming overwhelmed with other things.” Could it be that her desire not to embarrass herself in front of Lady Danae suppressed the knowledge that usually ran rampant through her mind? Sometimes it was easy to concentrate and sometimes it was impossible. So far, she had not found the key to controlling her thoughts. If Danae could figure it out, then she would be eternally grateful. She had heard many times that the other girl was absolutely brilliant, even smarter than Marietta and Evi combined.
Hebe fidgeted on her chair as Danae thumbed through the book again with a small frown upon her face. Maybe she should suggest that they do something else, like riding in the forest or simply walking through the garden. The manor belonging to her branch of the family had a beautiful garden. Sitting still was as difficult as dealing with the chaos in her head. Activity always helped, especially dancing. Somehow, she didn’t think that Danae would agree to dance with her.
Her next task was to name everyone of the Mikaelidas bloodline. That seemed simple enough, as she knew every word in the genealogy book by heart. She silently recited some of the names in her head, but before she could do more than that, Danae asked why she had been asked to tutor her. Hebe told the truth … her sisters became too frustrated with her, most likely because they had grown up together and expected her thought processes to be more like theirs. They should have known better, because if she was like them, their scholarly discussions wouldn’t make her head spin.
Danae started to say something and then stopped herself. What had she thought? And what did she mean by people not adequately hiding their true intentions? Did it have something to do with the position her brother currently held? Maybe the Stravos girl wondered if Hebe's parents wanted to learn more about Lord Elias and had instructed her to find out whatever it was they wished to know?
They weren’t happy with the way he was ruling Athenia, she had heard that much from picking up snippets of conversations without intending to. In Hebe’s opinion, her father should be running the kingdom in the queen’s absence, and if she never returned, should become the next king. However, he had no desire to take the throne and was happy with his life as it was. His youngest daughter didn’t understand his attitude as all, as she was quite ambitious herself, but she had resigned herself to the fact that she would never be called ‘Princess Hebe.’
Hebe had no clue how to reassure Danae that her parents wanted nothing more from her than to help their daughter with her studies, other than not to mention anything at all about what was going on at the palati. Then she would know that the Antonis family had no hidden agenda. She was a bit perplexed at Danae’s scowl when she praised Elias. Did she not get along with her own brother?
In truth, Hebe didn’t like him, He seemed an unpleasant sort and she thought that something was a bit off in the way he treated Princess Emilia. She had hardly seen her since her sister had disappeared. It was as if he was trying to keep her away from her friends for some reason. The people of Athenia were also suffering under his rule. If they had not been desperate, they would not have banded together to raid the royal manors for food. Then again, the Stravos estate had been attacked as well. Maybe he was not responsible for the lower class' lack of food.
Danae’s frown transformed into a subtle grin as she voiced her views on older siblings. “Oh, they are,” Hebe agreed. Now this was something the two girls could bond over, as they were both the youngest children in their families. “I don’t know about yours, but mine rarely take me seriously and usually treat me like a child.” She threw up her hands for emphasis. “It’s maddening! I feel that I must constantly prove myself to them.” Hebe was yet too young to realize that they were just protective of her, as older siblings tended to be.
She looked at the book in Danae’s hands. “Okay. I shall name everyone of the Mikaelidas bloodline.” Standing up, she began to pace as she contemplated the best way to answer. Should she start with the current king or the cousin that his father had usurped? Both of them were married to sisters of the Leventi family, and one had recently had a daughter. Both King Achilleas and King Stephanos (was he still considered a king now that he had been exiled?) had siblings and Achilleas’ father had two illegitimate daughters. Then there were …
Knowledge about the ruling family of Athenia rushed through her mind and she felt the pressure building behind her forehead that always signaled a headache. Rushing back to her chair, she plopped down and raised her hands to her forehead, massaging it gently. “It’s happening. Information is flooding my mind and I can’t concentrate. There is just so much to consider ...”
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“No. I had no trouble at all,” Hebe replied without hesitation. “I was able to focus on the answer without becoming overwhelmed with other things.” Could it be that her desire not to embarrass herself in front of Lady Danae suppressed the knowledge that usually ran rampant through her mind? Sometimes it was easy to concentrate and sometimes it was impossible. So far, she had not found the key to controlling her thoughts. If Danae could figure it out, then she would be eternally grateful. She had heard many times that the other girl was absolutely brilliant, even smarter than Marietta and Evi combined.
Hebe fidgeted on her chair as Danae thumbed through the book again with a small frown upon her face. Maybe she should suggest that they do something else, like riding in the forest or simply walking through the garden. The manor belonging to her branch of the family had a beautiful garden. Sitting still was as difficult as dealing with the chaos in her head. Activity always helped, especially dancing. Somehow, she didn’t think that Danae would agree to dance with her.
Her next task was to name everyone of the Mikaelidas bloodline. That seemed simple enough, as she knew every word in the genealogy book by heart. She silently recited some of the names in her head, but before she could do more than that, Danae asked why she had been asked to tutor her. Hebe told the truth … her sisters became too frustrated with her, most likely because they had grown up together and expected her thought processes to be more like theirs. They should have known better, because if she was like them, their scholarly discussions wouldn’t make her head spin.
Danae started to say something and then stopped herself. What had she thought? And what did she mean by people not adequately hiding their true intentions? Did it have something to do with the position her brother currently held? Maybe the Stravos girl wondered if Hebe's parents wanted to learn more about Lord Elias and had instructed her to find out whatever it was they wished to know?
They weren’t happy with the way he was ruling Athenia, she had heard that much from picking up snippets of conversations without intending to. In Hebe’s opinion, her father should be running the kingdom in the queen’s absence, and if she never returned, should become the next king. However, he had no desire to take the throne and was happy with his life as it was. His youngest daughter didn’t understand his attitude as all, as she was quite ambitious herself, but she had resigned herself to the fact that she would never be called ‘Princess Hebe.’
Hebe had no clue how to reassure Danae that her parents wanted nothing more from her than to help their daughter with her studies, other than not to mention anything at all about what was going on at the palati. Then she would know that the Antonis family had no hidden agenda. She was a bit perplexed at Danae’s scowl when she praised Elias. Did she not get along with her own brother?
In truth, Hebe didn’t like him, He seemed an unpleasant sort and she thought that something was a bit off in the way he treated Princess Emilia. She had hardly seen her since her sister had disappeared. It was as if he was trying to keep her away from her friends for some reason. The people of Athenia were also suffering under his rule. If they had not been desperate, they would not have banded together to raid the royal manors for food. Then again, the Stravos estate had been attacked as well. Maybe he was not responsible for the lower class' lack of food.
Danae’s frown transformed into a subtle grin as she voiced her views on older siblings. “Oh, they are,” Hebe agreed. Now this was something the two girls could bond over, as they were both the youngest children in their families. “I don’t know about yours, but mine rarely take me seriously and usually treat me like a child.” She threw up her hands for emphasis. “It’s maddening! I feel that I must constantly prove myself to them.” Hebe was yet too young to realize that they were just protective of her, as older siblings tended to be.
She looked at the book in Danae’s hands. “Okay. I shall name everyone of the Mikaelidas bloodline.” Standing up, she began to pace as she contemplated the best way to answer. Should she start with the current king or the cousin that his father had usurped? Both of them were married to sisters of the Leventi family, and one had recently had a daughter. Both King Achilleas and King Stephanos (was he still considered a king now that he had been exiled?) had siblings and Achilleas’ father had two illegitimate daughters. Then there were …
Knowledge about the ruling family of Athenia rushed through her mind and she felt the pressure building behind her forehead that always signaled a headache. Rushing back to her chair, she plopped down and raised her hands to her forehead, massaging it gently. “It’s happening. Information is flooding my mind and I can’t concentrate. There is just so much to consider ...”
“No. I had no trouble at all,” Hebe replied without hesitation. “I was able to focus on the answer without becoming overwhelmed with other things.” Could it be that her desire not to embarrass herself in front of Lady Danae suppressed the knowledge that usually ran rampant through her mind? Sometimes it was easy to concentrate and sometimes it was impossible. So far, she had not found the key to controlling her thoughts. If Danae could figure it out, then she would be eternally grateful. She had heard many times that the other girl was absolutely brilliant, even smarter than Marietta and Evi combined.
Hebe fidgeted on her chair as Danae thumbed through the book again with a small frown upon her face. Maybe she should suggest that they do something else, like riding in the forest or simply walking through the garden. The manor belonging to her branch of the family had a beautiful garden. Sitting still was as difficult as dealing with the chaos in her head. Activity always helped, especially dancing. Somehow, she didn’t think that Danae would agree to dance with her.
Her next task was to name everyone of the Mikaelidas bloodline. That seemed simple enough, as she knew every word in the genealogy book by heart. She silently recited some of the names in her head, but before she could do more than that, Danae asked why she had been asked to tutor her. Hebe told the truth … her sisters became too frustrated with her, most likely because they had grown up together and expected her thought processes to be more like theirs. They should have known better, because if she was like them, their scholarly discussions wouldn’t make her head spin.
Danae started to say something and then stopped herself. What had she thought? And what did she mean by people not adequately hiding their true intentions? Did it have something to do with the position her brother currently held? Maybe the Stravos girl wondered if Hebe's parents wanted to learn more about Lord Elias and had instructed her to find out whatever it was they wished to know?
They weren’t happy with the way he was ruling Athenia, she had heard that much from picking up snippets of conversations without intending to. In Hebe’s opinion, her father should be running the kingdom in the queen’s absence, and if she never returned, should become the next king. However, he had no desire to take the throne and was happy with his life as it was. His youngest daughter didn’t understand his attitude as all, as she was quite ambitious herself, but she had resigned herself to the fact that she would never be called ‘Princess Hebe.’
Hebe had no clue how to reassure Danae that her parents wanted nothing more from her than to help their daughter with her studies, other than not to mention anything at all about what was going on at the palati. Then she would know that the Antonis family had no hidden agenda. She was a bit perplexed at Danae’s scowl when she praised Elias. Did she not get along with her own brother?
In truth, Hebe didn’t like him, He seemed an unpleasant sort and she thought that something was a bit off in the way he treated Princess Emilia. She had hardly seen her since her sister had disappeared. It was as if he was trying to keep her away from her friends for some reason. The people of Athenia were also suffering under his rule. If they had not been desperate, they would not have banded together to raid the royal manors for food. Then again, the Stravos estate had been attacked as well. Maybe he was not responsible for the lower class' lack of food.
Danae’s frown transformed into a subtle grin as she voiced her views on older siblings. “Oh, they are,” Hebe agreed. Now this was something the two girls could bond over, as they were both the youngest children in their families. “I don’t know about yours, but mine rarely take me seriously and usually treat me like a child.” She threw up her hands for emphasis. “It’s maddening! I feel that I must constantly prove myself to them.” Hebe was yet too young to realize that they were just protective of her, as older siblings tended to be.
She looked at the book in Danae’s hands. “Okay. I shall name everyone of the Mikaelidas bloodline.” Standing up, she began to pace as she contemplated the best way to answer. Should she start with the current king or the cousin that his father had usurped? Both of them were married to sisters of the Leventi family, and one had recently had a daughter. Both King Achilleas and King Stephanos (was he still considered a king now that he had been exiled?) had siblings and Achilleas’ father had two illegitimate daughters. Then there were …
Knowledge about the ruling family of Athenia rushed through her mind and she felt the pressure building behind her forehead that always signaled a headache. Rushing back to her chair, she plopped down and raised her hands to her forehead, massaging it gently. “It’s happening. Information is flooding my mind and I can’t concentrate. There is just so much to consider ...”
By this point, it was common knowledge that Alehandros would not be the king before her own brother. Perhaps it wasn’t so well known outside their social circle, but Danae couldn’t remember her family ever consider the Antonis patriarch as a serious obstacle in their plans to see Elias rise. To the Stravos girl, it was just an inevitable truth that the girl across from her would never call the Palati home. In a small way, Danae almost felt bad for Hebe who clearly still had that childish naivety surrounding her that most likely had her dreaming of what it would be like to be a princess. However, between her father stepping away from his chance to be king and her being the fourth daughter in a family with no boys, her chances of ever being royal were fairly slim. But then again, Danae couldn’t feel that terrible for the girl as Hebe’s misfortune would also mean that the Stravos girls would have better chances of rising up in the world. Well, at least Danae hoped that whatever the fates had in store for the fourteen-year-old, Hebe would at least be happy. That was the least she deserved for the misfortune of being the youngest of so many girls and being denied a tiara.
This line of thought forced Danae to pause and think of what it would mean for her if Elias became the King. In truth, the Stravos girl didn’t know if she would be elevated in rank or if she would remain nothing more than a Lady of the court. Either way, Danae knew that it would open up doors for her that would have been difficult to navigate at her current rank. After all, as the sister of a king, it could mean that she could be on the shortlist for suitable brides for the last remaining Mikaelidas prince or any of the younger Kotas boys. Danae was certain that her older sister Chara was nothing short of delighted when it came to such prospects. The court’s darling had always thought herself worthy of wearing a crown -- but Danae wasn’t sure that she could say the same thing. It was practically common knowledge that the youngest Stravos was not a fan of court. She really couldn’t hide how uncomfortable she was during the course of every session even though she was surrounded by people she had known since her childhood. How on earth would she fare in a foreign court, surrounded by those she didn’t know? Not to mention that didn’t even begin to touch the things that she would lose if this terrifying reality came to pass. After all, no man of repute would want his wife secretly running a financial empire right under his nose…
Maybe this seemingly endless struggle to get Elias the throne wasn’t such a bad thing after all. If nothing else, it gave Danae more time to partake in the things that she loved, but would never be allowed to participate in outside the protection given to her by her father.
However, just like her hairpiece, this wasn’t something that Danae would be discussing with Hebe. Or really anyone for that matter. Not when the consequences that could come from any of her pastimes becoming the newest bout of court gossip. She would really have no prospects if word got out that Danae fancied herself to be a man by participating in the realm of business like one. Instead, it was far easier to talk about things like the misery it was being the youngest sibling.
Danae chuckled lightly at Hebe’s words as she knew that feeling all too well. “At least your sisters see you as a child. I’ve been regulated to the status of a baby since I was born.” The Stravos’s girl tone was light as she spoke as this was something that she had to contend with for so long that it was now easy to make fun of. The age gap between her and her siblings was rather substantial as both of the older Stravos children had the better part of a decade on her. By the time Danae was big enough to toddle after the two of them, they were already practically grown. This had always made it hard for her to connect with her brother and sister; which was only made worse when Danae’s personality drifted so far away from her siblings that they all pretty much had nothing in common. Even now that Danae was now sixteen and full-fledged woman in her own right, she was still no bigger than that toddler she once was in their eyes.
She hummed in acknowledgment when Hebe spoke of how she constantly felt as if she had to go twice the distance to earn any amount of respect in their eyes. Danae knew that feeling all too well as was sure to comment on it when she spoke next, “I know, right? Ugh if only there was something we could do to get them to see that we aren’t those little kids anymore. I’ve kind of given up at this point honestly.” Her words were punctuated with a small shrug, denoting hopeless she thought the whole endeavor really was. She didn’t know how things were in the Antonis house, but Danae was fairly certain that her siblings would never even spare her the time of day unless she changed who she was entirely. However, that would never happen as not only was Danae not willing to change, but her siblings would only be happy if her new personality had her groveling at their feet. Danae would rather die than ever do that… but again this wasn’t a sentiment that the young girl could share as it ran counter to the image that the rest of her family was trying to build around Elias. Danae wasn’t so sold on exalting him so high, but she knew that her mother would straight up kill her if the girl did anything to undermine that. So, the young Stravos girl kept her mouth shut, completely unaware that even hinting that she did not get along with her siblings was enough to for the astute Antonis girl to see the cracks that had formed in the Stravos’s foundations… If Hebe pressed Danae on her relationship with Elias, she might flounder a bit and reveal information that the Stravos girl would rather keep quiet.
She was pleased nevertheless to see the conversation shift back towards the task at hand, though. Danae watched quietly as Hebe started to consider the request that the girl had made and easily stepped into the trap that the Stravos girl had laid to try and trigger one of these episodes that seemed to be giving Hebe so much trouble. The room was eerily silent as the Antonis girl tried to sort through the information that was stored up in that brilliant head of hers and just when Danae was certain that the girl was about to begin, Hebe flopped back down complaining of a headache. Pursing her lips slightly in confusion, the young Stravos closed the book to make sure that her cousin was alright.
As they waited for the fourteen-year-old’s headaches to subside, Danae had to stop and consider what had just occurred. Hebe clearly knew the information that she was sorting through. Danae had no doubts about that. However, the girl couldn’t even get one name out before giving in to the headaches. Plus there was the whole confusing aspect of why Hebe needed to stand in the first place. Could that be causing some of the issues that the Antonis girl was facing? Danae was no stranger to the odd vertigo spell every now and then… was that what was forcing Hebe to stop whenever she was in the middle of her studies?
Danae wouldn’t know until the girl answered these questions herself. The Stravosi wasted no time in peppering Hebe with these inquiries as soon as she was certain that she was fine. “What happened? What triggered the headache?” Danae asked directly, hoping that the girl would divulge her thought process to her cousin whose own mind was rapidly racing with ideas of what the pair of them could do to hopefully bring an end to this issue, “Also why did you stand Hebe? Was there a reason for that?” Danae hoped that she wasn’t overwhelming the girl as Sotiria would not be happy if Hebe was left in a worse state than she had been in when Danae arrived, but these sorts of questions were important as they helped the Stravos girl figure out what exactly the problem was -- which was also a bit moot as Danae realized that Hebe had been right on the mark when she first described the problem. The Stravos girl had thought that Hebe had been overexaggerating when she stated that there was too much information that was floating around in her mind that got in the way of her studies. However, after seeing it first hand, Danae knew that Hebe was right. She felt a little foolish for making Hebe go through all of this, but seeing it was important for Danae to figure out what could be the best solution to the problem -- especially given that if the Stravosi hadn’t seen Hebe stand up, she wouldn’t be suggesting the particular solution that was now on the tip of her tongue.
“Hebe?” Danae gently said, calling the girl’s attention away from her thoughts and back to reality, “Have your tutors ever tried to prevent these… erm memory spells through associative behavior? Like if you feel your thoughts begin to drift, you do some repetitive behavior to get you back on track?” At this point in time, this was the best solution that Danae could come up with, though if given a chance to really consider the problem at hand, she could come up with a different plan of attack. However, if the concept was unique to Hebe, it might hold the key to preventing these memory spells. That was why Danae was spurred to cautiously ask Hebe, “If not, are you willing to try establishing one?”
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By this point, it was common knowledge that Alehandros would not be the king before her own brother. Perhaps it wasn’t so well known outside their social circle, but Danae couldn’t remember her family ever consider the Antonis patriarch as a serious obstacle in their plans to see Elias rise. To the Stravos girl, it was just an inevitable truth that the girl across from her would never call the Palati home. In a small way, Danae almost felt bad for Hebe who clearly still had that childish naivety surrounding her that most likely had her dreaming of what it would be like to be a princess. However, between her father stepping away from his chance to be king and her being the fourth daughter in a family with no boys, her chances of ever being royal were fairly slim. But then again, Danae couldn’t feel that terrible for the girl as Hebe’s misfortune would also mean that the Stravos girls would have better chances of rising up in the world. Well, at least Danae hoped that whatever the fates had in store for the fourteen-year-old, Hebe would at least be happy. That was the least she deserved for the misfortune of being the youngest of so many girls and being denied a tiara.
This line of thought forced Danae to pause and think of what it would mean for her if Elias became the King. In truth, the Stravos girl didn’t know if she would be elevated in rank or if she would remain nothing more than a Lady of the court. Either way, Danae knew that it would open up doors for her that would have been difficult to navigate at her current rank. After all, as the sister of a king, it could mean that she could be on the shortlist for suitable brides for the last remaining Mikaelidas prince or any of the younger Kotas boys. Danae was certain that her older sister Chara was nothing short of delighted when it came to such prospects. The court’s darling had always thought herself worthy of wearing a crown -- but Danae wasn’t sure that she could say the same thing. It was practically common knowledge that the youngest Stravos was not a fan of court. She really couldn’t hide how uncomfortable she was during the course of every session even though she was surrounded by people she had known since her childhood. How on earth would she fare in a foreign court, surrounded by those she didn’t know? Not to mention that didn’t even begin to touch the things that she would lose if this terrifying reality came to pass. After all, no man of repute would want his wife secretly running a financial empire right under his nose…
Maybe this seemingly endless struggle to get Elias the throne wasn’t such a bad thing after all. If nothing else, it gave Danae more time to partake in the things that she loved, but would never be allowed to participate in outside the protection given to her by her father.
However, just like her hairpiece, this wasn’t something that Danae would be discussing with Hebe. Or really anyone for that matter. Not when the consequences that could come from any of her pastimes becoming the newest bout of court gossip. She would really have no prospects if word got out that Danae fancied herself to be a man by participating in the realm of business like one. Instead, it was far easier to talk about things like the misery it was being the youngest sibling.
Danae chuckled lightly at Hebe’s words as she knew that feeling all too well. “At least your sisters see you as a child. I’ve been regulated to the status of a baby since I was born.” The Stravos’s girl tone was light as she spoke as this was something that she had to contend with for so long that it was now easy to make fun of. The age gap between her and her siblings was rather substantial as both of the older Stravos children had the better part of a decade on her. By the time Danae was big enough to toddle after the two of them, they were already practically grown. This had always made it hard for her to connect with her brother and sister; which was only made worse when Danae’s personality drifted so far away from her siblings that they all pretty much had nothing in common. Even now that Danae was now sixteen and full-fledged woman in her own right, she was still no bigger than that toddler she once was in their eyes.
She hummed in acknowledgment when Hebe spoke of how she constantly felt as if she had to go twice the distance to earn any amount of respect in their eyes. Danae knew that feeling all too well as was sure to comment on it when she spoke next, “I know, right? Ugh if only there was something we could do to get them to see that we aren’t those little kids anymore. I’ve kind of given up at this point honestly.” Her words were punctuated with a small shrug, denoting hopeless she thought the whole endeavor really was. She didn’t know how things were in the Antonis house, but Danae was fairly certain that her siblings would never even spare her the time of day unless she changed who she was entirely. However, that would never happen as not only was Danae not willing to change, but her siblings would only be happy if her new personality had her groveling at their feet. Danae would rather die than ever do that… but again this wasn’t a sentiment that the young girl could share as it ran counter to the image that the rest of her family was trying to build around Elias. Danae wasn’t so sold on exalting him so high, but she knew that her mother would straight up kill her if the girl did anything to undermine that. So, the young Stravos girl kept her mouth shut, completely unaware that even hinting that she did not get along with her siblings was enough to for the astute Antonis girl to see the cracks that had formed in the Stravos’s foundations… If Hebe pressed Danae on her relationship with Elias, she might flounder a bit and reveal information that the Stravos girl would rather keep quiet.
She was pleased nevertheless to see the conversation shift back towards the task at hand, though. Danae watched quietly as Hebe started to consider the request that the girl had made and easily stepped into the trap that the Stravos girl had laid to try and trigger one of these episodes that seemed to be giving Hebe so much trouble. The room was eerily silent as the Antonis girl tried to sort through the information that was stored up in that brilliant head of hers and just when Danae was certain that the girl was about to begin, Hebe flopped back down complaining of a headache. Pursing her lips slightly in confusion, the young Stravos closed the book to make sure that her cousin was alright.
As they waited for the fourteen-year-old’s headaches to subside, Danae had to stop and consider what had just occurred. Hebe clearly knew the information that she was sorting through. Danae had no doubts about that. However, the girl couldn’t even get one name out before giving in to the headaches. Plus there was the whole confusing aspect of why Hebe needed to stand in the first place. Could that be causing some of the issues that the Antonis girl was facing? Danae was no stranger to the odd vertigo spell every now and then… was that what was forcing Hebe to stop whenever she was in the middle of her studies?
Danae wouldn’t know until the girl answered these questions herself. The Stravosi wasted no time in peppering Hebe with these inquiries as soon as she was certain that she was fine. “What happened? What triggered the headache?” Danae asked directly, hoping that the girl would divulge her thought process to her cousin whose own mind was rapidly racing with ideas of what the pair of them could do to hopefully bring an end to this issue, “Also why did you stand Hebe? Was there a reason for that?” Danae hoped that she wasn’t overwhelming the girl as Sotiria would not be happy if Hebe was left in a worse state than she had been in when Danae arrived, but these sorts of questions were important as they helped the Stravos girl figure out what exactly the problem was -- which was also a bit moot as Danae realized that Hebe had been right on the mark when she first described the problem. The Stravos girl had thought that Hebe had been overexaggerating when she stated that there was too much information that was floating around in her mind that got in the way of her studies. However, after seeing it first hand, Danae knew that Hebe was right. She felt a little foolish for making Hebe go through all of this, but seeing it was important for Danae to figure out what could be the best solution to the problem -- especially given that if the Stravosi hadn’t seen Hebe stand up, she wouldn’t be suggesting the particular solution that was now on the tip of her tongue.
“Hebe?” Danae gently said, calling the girl’s attention away from her thoughts and back to reality, “Have your tutors ever tried to prevent these… erm memory spells through associative behavior? Like if you feel your thoughts begin to drift, you do some repetitive behavior to get you back on track?” At this point in time, this was the best solution that Danae could come up with, though if given a chance to really consider the problem at hand, she could come up with a different plan of attack. However, if the concept was unique to Hebe, it might hold the key to preventing these memory spells. That was why Danae was spurred to cautiously ask Hebe, “If not, are you willing to try establishing one?”
By this point, it was common knowledge that Alehandros would not be the king before her own brother. Perhaps it wasn’t so well known outside their social circle, but Danae couldn’t remember her family ever consider the Antonis patriarch as a serious obstacle in their plans to see Elias rise. To the Stravos girl, it was just an inevitable truth that the girl across from her would never call the Palati home. In a small way, Danae almost felt bad for Hebe who clearly still had that childish naivety surrounding her that most likely had her dreaming of what it would be like to be a princess. However, between her father stepping away from his chance to be king and her being the fourth daughter in a family with no boys, her chances of ever being royal were fairly slim. But then again, Danae couldn’t feel that terrible for the girl as Hebe’s misfortune would also mean that the Stravos girls would have better chances of rising up in the world. Well, at least Danae hoped that whatever the fates had in store for the fourteen-year-old, Hebe would at least be happy. That was the least she deserved for the misfortune of being the youngest of so many girls and being denied a tiara.
This line of thought forced Danae to pause and think of what it would mean for her if Elias became the King. In truth, the Stravos girl didn’t know if she would be elevated in rank or if she would remain nothing more than a Lady of the court. Either way, Danae knew that it would open up doors for her that would have been difficult to navigate at her current rank. After all, as the sister of a king, it could mean that she could be on the shortlist for suitable brides for the last remaining Mikaelidas prince or any of the younger Kotas boys. Danae was certain that her older sister Chara was nothing short of delighted when it came to such prospects. The court’s darling had always thought herself worthy of wearing a crown -- but Danae wasn’t sure that she could say the same thing. It was practically common knowledge that the youngest Stravos was not a fan of court. She really couldn’t hide how uncomfortable she was during the course of every session even though she was surrounded by people she had known since her childhood. How on earth would she fare in a foreign court, surrounded by those she didn’t know? Not to mention that didn’t even begin to touch the things that she would lose if this terrifying reality came to pass. After all, no man of repute would want his wife secretly running a financial empire right under his nose…
Maybe this seemingly endless struggle to get Elias the throne wasn’t such a bad thing after all. If nothing else, it gave Danae more time to partake in the things that she loved, but would never be allowed to participate in outside the protection given to her by her father.
However, just like her hairpiece, this wasn’t something that Danae would be discussing with Hebe. Or really anyone for that matter. Not when the consequences that could come from any of her pastimes becoming the newest bout of court gossip. She would really have no prospects if word got out that Danae fancied herself to be a man by participating in the realm of business like one. Instead, it was far easier to talk about things like the misery it was being the youngest sibling.
Danae chuckled lightly at Hebe’s words as she knew that feeling all too well. “At least your sisters see you as a child. I’ve been regulated to the status of a baby since I was born.” The Stravos’s girl tone was light as she spoke as this was something that she had to contend with for so long that it was now easy to make fun of. The age gap between her and her siblings was rather substantial as both of the older Stravos children had the better part of a decade on her. By the time Danae was big enough to toddle after the two of them, they were already practically grown. This had always made it hard for her to connect with her brother and sister; which was only made worse when Danae’s personality drifted so far away from her siblings that they all pretty much had nothing in common. Even now that Danae was now sixteen and full-fledged woman in her own right, she was still no bigger than that toddler she once was in their eyes.
She hummed in acknowledgment when Hebe spoke of how she constantly felt as if she had to go twice the distance to earn any amount of respect in their eyes. Danae knew that feeling all too well as was sure to comment on it when she spoke next, “I know, right? Ugh if only there was something we could do to get them to see that we aren’t those little kids anymore. I’ve kind of given up at this point honestly.” Her words were punctuated with a small shrug, denoting hopeless she thought the whole endeavor really was. She didn’t know how things were in the Antonis house, but Danae was fairly certain that her siblings would never even spare her the time of day unless she changed who she was entirely. However, that would never happen as not only was Danae not willing to change, but her siblings would only be happy if her new personality had her groveling at their feet. Danae would rather die than ever do that… but again this wasn’t a sentiment that the young girl could share as it ran counter to the image that the rest of her family was trying to build around Elias. Danae wasn’t so sold on exalting him so high, but she knew that her mother would straight up kill her if the girl did anything to undermine that. So, the young Stravos girl kept her mouth shut, completely unaware that even hinting that she did not get along with her siblings was enough to for the astute Antonis girl to see the cracks that had formed in the Stravos’s foundations… If Hebe pressed Danae on her relationship with Elias, she might flounder a bit and reveal information that the Stravos girl would rather keep quiet.
She was pleased nevertheless to see the conversation shift back towards the task at hand, though. Danae watched quietly as Hebe started to consider the request that the girl had made and easily stepped into the trap that the Stravos girl had laid to try and trigger one of these episodes that seemed to be giving Hebe so much trouble. The room was eerily silent as the Antonis girl tried to sort through the information that was stored up in that brilliant head of hers and just when Danae was certain that the girl was about to begin, Hebe flopped back down complaining of a headache. Pursing her lips slightly in confusion, the young Stravos closed the book to make sure that her cousin was alright.
As they waited for the fourteen-year-old’s headaches to subside, Danae had to stop and consider what had just occurred. Hebe clearly knew the information that she was sorting through. Danae had no doubts about that. However, the girl couldn’t even get one name out before giving in to the headaches. Plus there was the whole confusing aspect of why Hebe needed to stand in the first place. Could that be causing some of the issues that the Antonis girl was facing? Danae was no stranger to the odd vertigo spell every now and then… was that what was forcing Hebe to stop whenever she was in the middle of her studies?
Danae wouldn’t know until the girl answered these questions herself. The Stravosi wasted no time in peppering Hebe with these inquiries as soon as she was certain that she was fine. “What happened? What triggered the headache?” Danae asked directly, hoping that the girl would divulge her thought process to her cousin whose own mind was rapidly racing with ideas of what the pair of them could do to hopefully bring an end to this issue, “Also why did you stand Hebe? Was there a reason for that?” Danae hoped that she wasn’t overwhelming the girl as Sotiria would not be happy if Hebe was left in a worse state than she had been in when Danae arrived, but these sorts of questions were important as they helped the Stravos girl figure out what exactly the problem was -- which was also a bit moot as Danae realized that Hebe had been right on the mark when she first described the problem. The Stravos girl had thought that Hebe had been overexaggerating when she stated that there was too much information that was floating around in her mind that got in the way of her studies. However, after seeing it first hand, Danae knew that Hebe was right. She felt a little foolish for making Hebe go through all of this, but seeing it was important for Danae to figure out what could be the best solution to the problem -- especially given that if the Stravosi hadn’t seen Hebe stand up, she wouldn’t be suggesting the particular solution that was now on the tip of her tongue.
“Hebe?” Danae gently said, calling the girl’s attention away from her thoughts and back to reality, “Have your tutors ever tried to prevent these… erm memory spells through associative behavior? Like if you feel your thoughts begin to drift, you do some repetitive behavior to get you back on track?” At this point in time, this was the best solution that Danae could come up with, though if given a chance to really consider the problem at hand, she could come up with a different plan of attack. However, if the concept was unique to Hebe, it might hold the key to preventing these memory spells. That was why Danae was spurred to cautiously ask Hebe, “If not, are you willing to try establishing one?”
Though Hebe regularly to the gods that Lord Elias would never become King of Athenia, she wondered what it would mean for Chara and Danae if he did. Would they be princesses? Or was the title of prince or princess only to be bestowed on his children, if he ever had any. While Hebe would be happy for them both, she would feel weird addressing either of them as ‘Your Highness.’
What would happen to Emilia if Elias took the throne? Would she lose her title and be thrown out of the palace? Would she be exiled from her own kingdom or even executed? Hebe couldn’t bear to think of anything horrible happening to her friend. None of this was her fault and in truth, she should be Queen in her sister’s place. The young girl often wondered if Persephone was really dead or if she had gone into hiding. Maybe Elias had planned on usurping the throne all along and she was off somewhere building an army to take her homeland back. How Hebe wished that was true!
If Elias did prevail, who would he marry? Hopefully not one of her sisters. She would never curtsy to them and do whatever they told her to even if it meant losing her head. Hebe had no interest in marrying him either. Becoming Queen would be splenid, but putting up with Elias every day would not. Maybe he would wed some foreign princess instead. There were two in Taengea and one in Colchis. Then Hebe could keep her head. She was quite fond of it and didn’t wish it to be separated from her shoulders. The girl was short enough as it was.
She felt sorry for Danae for being treated like a baby. Perhaps Hebe didn’t really have it so bad. Danae’s siblings were a lot older than she was, while the closest of Hebe’s sisters was only three years her senior. She couldn’t even imagine what the Stravos girl went through. She might be the smartest of the three, which made it even worse to be viewed as an infant. Chara was very intelligent too. Elias obviously wasn’t, or he would have found a solution to the food shortage among the lower classes instead of ignoring their problems as if the commoners of Athenia were invisible. Hebe believed that she, as young as she was, could have come up with a way to provide food for the poor. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in a position of authority.
“Don’t give up, Danae,” she advised her companion. “I know I never will. Not too long ago, Evi asked me to teach her to dance. That’s something, I suppose. She acknowledged that my dancing skills were superior to her own. Maybe we can devise a plan together to get our siblings to see us as we really are instead of as they think us to be.”
Conspiring with her cousin would be preferable to all this scholarly nonsense. Still, if Danae could find a solution to the thoughts running rampant in her head, this tutoring session would be well worth the boredom.
Naming everybody of the Mikaelidas bloodline proved to be too much for her and she fell back in her chair and closed her eyes, hoping her headache would subside and she wouldn’t throw up on Danae’s sandals. The worst ones made Hebe so nauseous that she often retched. She always felt better after she emptied the contents of her stomach, but she hated the way her partially digested food felt when it came up.
She heard Danae’s concerned voice and when the pain began to subside, she glanced up at the other girl, blinking a few times until the blurriness in her vision went away. “My mind was flooded with too many names and positions. It was impossible to sort through all the information running through my brain. That’s how it usually starts. I try to focus on something and everything I know about the subject overwhelms me.” Hebe tilted her head to the side as she considered Danae’s second question. “I don’t know why I stood up. Maybe because I always stand when I am called upon to recite things?” The young girl shrugged.
Associative behavior? What was that? “I’ve never even heard of it.” she confessed. “If you think it will help, I'm willing to try it.”
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Though Hebe regularly to the gods that Lord Elias would never become King of Athenia, she wondered what it would mean for Chara and Danae if he did. Would they be princesses? Or was the title of prince or princess only to be bestowed on his children, if he ever had any. While Hebe would be happy for them both, she would feel weird addressing either of them as ‘Your Highness.’
What would happen to Emilia if Elias took the throne? Would she lose her title and be thrown out of the palace? Would she be exiled from her own kingdom or even executed? Hebe couldn’t bear to think of anything horrible happening to her friend. None of this was her fault and in truth, she should be Queen in her sister’s place. The young girl often wondered if Persephone was really dead or if she had gone into hiding. Maybe Elias had planned on usurping the throne all along and she was off somewhere building an army to take her homeland back. How Hebe wished that was true!
If Elias did prevail, who would he marry? Hopefully not one of her sisters. She would never curtsy to them and do whatever they told her to even if it meant losing her head. Hebe had no interest in marrying him either. Becoming Queen would be splenid, but putting up with Elias every day would not. Maybe he would wed some foreign princess instead. There were two in Taengea and one in Colchis. Then Hebe could keep her head. She was quite fond of it and didn’t wish it to be separated from her shoulders. The girl was short enough as it was.
She felt sorry for Danae for being treated like a baby. Perhaps Hebe didn’t really have it so bad. Danae’s siblings were a lot older than she was, while the closest of Hebe’s sisters was only three years her senior. She couldn’t even imagine what the Stravos girl went through. She might be the smartest of the three, which made it even worse to be viewed as an infant. Chara was very intelligent too. Elias obviously wasn’t, or he would have found a solution to the food shortage among the lower classes instead of ignoring their problems as if the commoners of Athenia were invisible. Hebe believed that she, as young as she was, could have come up with a way to provide food for the poor. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in a position of authority.
“Don’t give up, Danae,” she advised her companion. “I know I never will. Not too long ago, Evi asked me to teach her to dance. That’s something, I suppose. She acknowledged that my dancing skills were superior to her own. Maybe we can devise a plan together to get our siblings to see us as we really are instead of as they think us to be.”
Conspiring with her cousin would be preferable to all this scholarly nonsense. Still, if Danae could find a solution to the thoughts running rampant in her head, this tutoring session would be well worth the boredom.
Naming everybody of the Mikaelidas bloodline proved to be too much for her and she fell back in her chair and closed her eyes, hoping her headache would subside and she wouldn’t throw up on Danae’s sandals. The worst ones made Hebe so nauseous that she often retched. She always felt better after she emptied the contents of her stomach, but she hated the way her partially digested food felt when it came up.
She heard Danae’s concerned voice and when the pain began to subside, she glanced up at the other girl, blinking a few times until the blurriness in her vision went away. “My mind was flooded with too many names and positions. It was impossible to sort through all the information running through my brain. That’s how it usually starts. I try to focus on something and everything I know about the subject overwhelms me.” Hebe tilted her head to the side as she considered Danae’s second question. “I don’t know why I stood up. Maybe because I always stand when I am called upon to recite things?” The young girl shrugged.
Associative behavior? What was that? “I’ve never even heard of it.” she confessed. “If you think it will help, I'm willing to try it.”
Though Hebe regularly to the gods that Lord Elias would never become King of Athenia, she wondered what it would mean for Chara and Danae if he did. Would they be princesses? Or was the title of prince or princess only to be bestowed on his children, if he ever had any. While Hebe would be happy for them both, she would feel weird addressing either of them as ‘Your Highness.’
What would happen to Emilia if Elias took the throne? Would she lose her title and be thrown out of the palace? Would she be exiled from her own kingdom or even executed? Hebe couldn’t bear to think of anything horrible happening to her friend. None of this was her fault and in truth, she should be Queen in her sister’s place. The young girl often wondered if Persephone was really dead or if she had gone into hiding. Maybe Elias had planned on usurping the throne all along and she was off somewhere building an army to take her homeland back. How Hebe wished that was true!
If Elias did prevail, who would he marry? Hopefully not one of her sisters. She would never curtsy to them and do whatever they told her to even if it meant losing her head. Hebe had no interest in marrying him either. Becoming Queen would be splenid, but putting up with Elias every day would not. Maybe he would wed some foreign princess instead. There were two in Taengea and one in Colchis. Then Hebe could keep her head. She was quite fond of it and didn’t wish it to be separated from her shoulders. The girl was short enough as it was.
She felt sorry for Danae for being treated like a baby. Perhaps Hebe didn’t really have it so bad. Danae’s siblings were a lot older than she was, while the closest of Hebe’s sisters was only three years her senior. She couldn’t even imagine what the Stravos girl went through. She might be the smartest of the three, which made it even worse to be viewed as an infant. Chara was very intelligent too. Elias obviously wasn’t, or he would have found a solution to the food shortage among the lower classes instead of ignoring their problems as if the commoners of Athenia were invisible. Hebe believed that she, as young as she was, could have come up with a way to provide food for the poor. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in a position of authority.
“Don’t give up, Danae,” she advised her companion. “I know I never will. Not too long ago, Evi asked me to teach her to dance. That’s something, I suppose. She acknowledged that my dancing skills were superior to her own. Maybe we can devise a plan together to get our siblings to see us as we really are instead of as they think us to be.”
Conspiring with her cousin would be preferable to all this scholarly nonsense. Still, if Danae could find a solution to the thoughts running rampant in her head, this tutoring session would be well worth the boredom.
Naming everybody of the Mikaelidas bloodline proved to be too much for her and she fell back in her chair and closed her eyes, hoping her headache would subside and she wouldn’t throw up on Danae’s sandals. The worst ones made Hebe so nauseous that she often retched. She always felt better after she emptied the contents of her stomach, but she hated the way her partially digested food felt when it came up.
She heard Danae’s concerned voice and when the pain began to subside, she glanced up at the other girl, blinking a few times until the blurriness in her vision went away. “My mind was flooded with too many names and positions. It was impossible to sort through all the information running through my brain. That’s how it usually starts. I try to focus on something and everything I know about the subject overwhelms me.” Hebe tilted her head to the side as she considered Danae’s second question. “I don’t know why I stood up. Maybe because I always stand when I am called upon to recite things?” The young girl shrugged.
Associative behavior? What was that? “I’ve never even heard of it.” she confessed. “If you think it will help, I'm willing to try it.”
Even though Hebe was confused about what the political shifting of power would mean for the girls, Danae was already fully aware that if her brother became a king, she would not be automatically gifted the title of Princess. That was the sort of thing that you had to be born into, after all. It wasn’t going to be wasted on girls who were soon going to be married off to some foreign kingdom anyways. There were no plans in place at the moment for either Chara or Danae to be shipped off to other places, but the youngest Stravos had read enough histories to know that this was likely to happen. With the kingdom so divided between the Stravos and the Xanthos, it was clear that if Elias took the throne he would need to make powerful allies and girls tended to be the bargaining chips in those deals. Hebe might think that there were pretty dresses and tiaras in her cousin’s future, but Danae knew that just wasn’t going to happen.
Had Alehandros not made it clear that he had no desire to become King, Hebe would have inherited the title. She would have been the child of the monarch which was an entirely different set of circumstances to just merely being the sister of one. Even though it as more than clear that Sotiria was too old to fulfill the need for a male heir, there was a good chance that any of their daughters could give their father the grandson he would need to continue the line of succession through the Antonis family. The same could not be said for the Stravos as Elias was still young and unmarried. It was likely that he would have his own heirs and Danae’s blood would never touch the throne. That’s why if the Xanthos were to be properly overthrown and either family take what was rightfully theirs, Hebe would be granted the title and Danae wouldn’t. The younger girl’s bloodline was more valuable than her elder counterpart.
Not that the Stravosi would say any of this out loud. Titles and bloodlines were a complicated subject if Hebe’s troubles were anything to go by. Danae watched carefully as her cousin stood and tried to complete the task. However, she was quick to fall back into her seat as the elder girl’s trick worked and Hebe fell into her trap. The sixteen-year-old tried to carefully take notice of what her younger counterpart did just as the nausea took over. What she saw was hard to describe as watching her cousin dry heave was so unpleasant that poor Danae could feel her own stomach twist and turn at the sight of it. However, it did give Danae a modicum of hope that she might be able to offer some sort of assistance to the girl as Hebe seemed to be fine right up until that one moment.
“Okay, so we want to avoid that…” Danae said absent-mindedly as she checked on Hebe to make sure that she was okay, but then gave her a bit of space to recover. All the while, the gears in the Stravos’s mind were turning wildly, trying to think of the best plan to combat what she had seen and give Hebe a bit of hope with her studies. Her theory about associative behavior might actually work, after all. Truthfully, Danae had no real hope for it as she knew next to nothing about Hebe’s gift and how it worked. However, now that she had a bit of insight, maybe have Hebe physically do something could counterbalance the flood of information that her cousin had to deal with.
Staying quiet as Hebe explained not only what had happened internally, but also why she had stood up in the first place, Danae could finally feel the pieces click into place. Her face light up in surprise as a sudden realization as to what could be causing the issues stuck her like a chariot going full speed in an arena. “Hebe,” Danae started to say, unsure if her question was going to seem like it was already straightforward and fairly obvious given the fact the two of them barely knew each other, “Do you think that the reason why you’re struggling so much with formal recollection is that there is too much pressure to remember everything? Not just the sheer amount of information?” This idea as a possible culprit struck Danae when Hebe mentioned that she was called upon to recite things. No one particularly enjoyed this type of task and the gods only knew how many times she had clammed up under such pressure, causing her to forget everything she had practically committed to memory. Could the same thing be happening here?
If it was, that at least would be an easy solution. Hebe would have to learn to treat these moments of recollection as something a bit more laid-back and free, not so rigid and stiff as it would be in a formal recital. She was fairly certain that this was something that the happy-go-lucky irl could accomplish as she never seemed to be the type that particularly enjoyed the rules anyway when they were stuffy and uncomfortable. This was something that Danae was rather quick to suggest as a possible solution for Hebe in her next statement, “If that’s the case, maybe you should talk to your tutor and your mother about allowing you to sit down during those moments and maybe do the recollections in a more casual manner?” Even though Danae’s confidence in this plan could be heard in her voice, she was unsure if it could be put to practical use. After all, she did not know who Hebe’s tutor was or if he was strict with his methods like some of Danae’s teachers had been. They might not be open to the idea, but she was fairly certain that this was the first right step into setting things right for Hebe.
As for the associative behavior, Danae had certainly not forgotten about that. She paused for a brief moment to collect her thoughts before offering the girl the other solution that the Stravos had in mind for bringing an end to this dizzy spells that Hebe was afflicted with. “You mentioned that your mind starts to drift when too much information begins to creep in… maybe the Associative behavior could help. It’s when you do a certain action -- say pinching your arm-- in the same situation enough times that it leaves an imprint of whatever mindset you’re in.” Danae tried to explain with a bit of difficulty. This wasn’t something that she had read about, but stemmed from her own experience, so it was difficult for her to string her experiences with it into something that was suitable for the academic environment. She hoped that she did a good enough job. “Is there something that you could do when you feel overwhelmed like that? It would have to be something that you normally don’t do under other circumstances… like twist a bracelet or close your fist, something that’s unique to recollection?” She was sure if this would actually work, but it was certainly worth a shot if it helped Hebe set her thoughts straight and not get overwhelmed like she did earlier.
“Why don’t we try both of these things together, even if it doesn’t work the first time it could be a good first step.” She suggested as she flipped through the book again, trying to find something that would be a bit easier than the Mikaelidas family tree. She didn’t need to wander too far as she found an interesting enough challenge for Hebe on a nearby page. “Alright, so while you’re sitting down and doing whatever your associative behavior will be, why don’t you name all the descendants of Nomiki of Leventi?” Given that the answer was just the five famed Leventi daughters and their mother, this should be simple enough and would hopefully save poor Hebe from losing her stomach.
Though thinking back to the earlier conversation that came up about their older sisters treating them like babies, Danae was keen to also throw a new incentive into the mix... “If you can do that, we’ll give it a break for a bit and try to figure out a way to get our siblings to see us as adults for once. Perhaps we could make something?” Danae wasn’t sure if this would be any good as she wasn’t really the craftsy type, but she doubted that her idea of locking Chara and Sanasa in a room to fight like cats and dogs, leaving the two younger girls to look perfectly well-behaved in the wake of that would go over well with Hebe, but they would have to see wouldn’t they?
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This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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Even though Hebe was confused about what the political shifting of power would mean for the girls, Danae was already fully aware that if her brother became a king, she would not be automatically gifted the title of Princess. That was the sort of thing that you had to be born into, after all. It wasn’t going to be wasted on girls who were soon going to be married off to some foreign kingdom anyways. There were no plans in place at the moment for either Chara or Danae to be shipped off to other places, but the youngest Stravos had read enough histories to know that this was likely to happen. With the kingdom so divided between the Stravos and the Xanthos, it was clear that if Elias took the throne he would need to make powerful allies and girls tended to be the bargaining chips in those deals. Hebe might think that there were pretty dresses and tiaras in her cousin’s future, but Danae knew that just wasn’t going to happen.
Had Alehandros not made it clear that he had no desire to become King, Hebe would have inherited the title. She would have been the child of the monarch which was an entirely different set of circumstances to just merely being the sister of one. Even though it as more than clear that Sotiria was too old to fulfill the need for a male heir, there was a good chance that any of their daughters could give their father the grandson he would need to continue the line of succession through the Antonis family. The same could not be said for the Stravos as Elias was still young and unmarried. It was likely that he would have his own heirs and Danae’s blood would never touch the throne. That’s why if the Xanthos were to be properly overthrown and either family take what was rightfully theirs, Hebe would be granted the title and Danae wouldn’t. The younger girl’s bloodline was more valuable than her elder counterpart.
Not that the Stravosi would say any of this out loud. Titles and bloodlines were a complicated subject if Hebe’s troubles were anything to go by. Danae watched carefully as her cousin stood and tried to complete the task. However, she was quick to fall back into her seat as the elder girl’s trick worked and Hebe fell into her trap. The sixteen-year-old tried to carefully take notice of what her younger counterpart did just as the nausea took over. What she saw was hard to describe as watching her cousin dry heave was so unpleasant that poor Danae could feel her own stomach twist and turn at the sight of it. However, it did give Danae a modicum of hope that she might be able to offer some sort of assistance to the girl as Hebe seemed to be fine right up until that one moment.
“Okay, so we want to avoid that…” Danae said absent-mindedly as she checked on Hebe to make sure that she was okay, but then gave her a bit of space to recover. All the while, the gears in the Stravos’s mind were turning wildly, trying to think of the best plan to combat what she had seen and give Hebe a bit of hope with her studies. Her theory about associative behavior might actually work, after all. Truthfully, Danae had no real hope for it as she knew next to nothing about Hebe’s gift and how it worked. However, now that she had a bit of insight, maybe have Hebe physically do something could counterbalance the flood of information that her cousin had to deal with.
Staying quiet as Hebe explained not only what had happened internally, but also why she had stood up in the first place, Danae could finally feel the pieces click into place. Her face light up in surprise as a sudden realization as to what could be causing the issues stuck her like a chariot going full speed in an arena. “Hebe,” Danae started to say, unsure if her question was going to seem like it was already straightforward and fairly obvious given the fact the two of them barely knew each other, “Do you think that the reason why you’re struggling so much with formal recollection is that there is too much pressure to remember everything? Not just the sheer amount of information?” This idea as a possible culprit struck Danae when Hebe mentioned that she was called upon to recite things. No one particularly enjoyed this type of task and the gods only knew how many times she had clammed up under such pressure, causing her to forget everything she had practically committed to memory. Could the same thing be happening here?
If it was, that at least would be an easy solution. Hebe would have to learn to treat these moments of recollection as something a bit more laid-back and free, not so rigid and stiff as it would be in a formal recital. She was fairly certain that this was something that the happy-go-lucky irl could accomplish as she never seemed to be the type that particularly enjoyed the rules anyway when they were stuffy and uncomfortable. This was something that Danae was rather quick to suggest as a possible solution for Hebe in her next statement, “If that’s the case, maybe you should talk to your tutor and your mother about allowing you to sit down during those moments and maybe do the recollections in a more casual manner?” Even though Danae’s confidence in this plan could be heard in her voice, she was unsure if it could be put to practical use. After all, she did not know who Hebe’s tutor was or if he was strict with his methods like some of Danae’s teachers had been. They might not be open to the idea, but she was fairly certain that this was the first right step into setting things right for Hebe.
As for the associative behavior, Danae had certainly not forgotten about that. She paused for a brief moment to collect her thoughts before offering the girl the other solution that the Stravos had in mind for bringing an end to this dizzy spells that Hebe was afflicted with. “You mentioned that your mind starts to drift when too much information begins to creep in… maybe the Associative behavior could help. It’s when you do a certain action -- say pinching your arm-- in the same situation enough times that it leaves an imprint of whatever mindset you’re in.” Danae tried to explain with a bit of difficulty. This wasn’t something that she had read about, but stemmed from her own experience, so it was difficult for her to string her experiences with it into something that was suitable for the academic environment. She hoped that she did a good enough job. “Is there something that you could do when you feel overwhelmed like that? It would have to be something that you normally don’t do under other circumstances… like twist a bracelet or close your fist, something that’s unique to recollection?” She was sure if this would actually work, but it was certainly worth a shot if it helped Hebe set her thoughts straight and not get overwhelmed like she did earlier.
“Why don’t we try both of these things together, even if it doesn’t work the first time it could be a good first step.” She suggested as she flipped through the book again, trying to find something that would be a bit easier than the Mikaelidas family tree. She didn’t need to wander too far as she found an interesting enough challenge for Hebe on a nearby page. “Alright, so while you’re sitting down and doing whatever your associative behavior will be, why don’t you name all the descendants of Nomiki of Leventi?” Given that the answer was just the five famed Leventi daughters and their mother, this should be simple enough and would hopefully save poor Hebe from losing her stomach.
Though thinking back to the earlier conversation that came up about their older sisters treating them like babies, Danae was keen to also throw a new incentive into the mix... “If you can do that, we’ll give it a break for a bit and try to figure out a way to get our siblings to see us as adults for once. Perhaps we could make something?” Danae wasn’t sure if this would be any good as she wasn’t really the craftsy type, but she doubted that her idea of locking Chara and Sanasa in a room to fight like cats and dogs, leaving the two younger girls to look perfectly well-behaved in the wake of that would go over well with Hebe, but they would have to see wouldn’t they?
Even though Hebe was confused about what the political shifting of power would mean for the girls, Danae was already fully aware that if her brother became a king, she would not be automatically gifted the title of Princess. That was the sort of thing that you had to be born into, after all. It wasn’t going to be wasted on girls who were soon going to be married off to some foreign kingdom anyways. There were no plans in place at the moment for either Chara or Danae to be shipped off to other places, but the youngest Stravos had read enough histories to know that this was likely to happen. With the kingdom so divided between the Stravos and the Xanthos, it was clear that if Elias took the throne he would need to make powerful allies and girls tended to be the bargaining chips in those deals. Hebe might think that there were pretty dresses and tiaras in her cousin’s future, but Danae knew that just wasn’t going to happen.
Had Alehandros not made it clear that he had no desire to become King, Hebe would have inherited the title. She would have been the child of the monarch which was an entirely different set of circumstances to just merely being the sister of one. Even though it as more than clear that Sotiria was too old to fulfill the need for a male heir, there was a good chance that any of their daughters could give their father the grandson he would need to continue the line of succession through the Antonis family. The same could not be said for the Stravos as Elias was still young and unmarried. It was likely that he would have his own heirs and Danae’s blood would never touch the throne. That’s why if the Xanthos were to be properly overthrown and either family take what was rightfully theirs, Hebe would be granted the title and Danae wouldn’t. The younger girl’s bloodline was more valuable than her elder counterpart.
Not that the Stravosi would say any of this out loud. Titles and bloodlines were a complicated subject if Hebe’s troubles were anything to go by. Danae watched carefully as her cousin stood and tried to complete the task. However, she was quick to fall back into her seat as the elder girl’s trick worked and Hebe fell into her trap. The sixteen-year-old tried to carefully take notice of what her younger counterpart did just as the nausea took over. What she saw was hard to describe as watching her cousin dry heave was so unpleasant that poor Danae could feel her own stomach twist and turn at the sight of it. However, it did give Danae a modicum of hope that she might be able to offer some sort of assistance to the girl as Hebe seemed to be fine right up until that one moment.
“Okay, so we want to avoid that…” Danae said absent-mindedly as she checked on Hebe to make sure that she was okay, but then gave her a bit of space to recover. All the while, the gears in the Stravos’s mind were turning wildly, trying to think of the best plan to combat what she had seen and give Hebe a bit of hope with her studies. Her theory about associative behavior might actually work, after all. Truthfully, Danae had no real hope for it as she knew next to nothing about Hebe’s gift and how it worked. However, now that she had a bit of insight, maybe have Hebe physically do something could counterbalance the flood of information that her cousin had to deal with.
Staying quiet as Hebe explained not only what had happened internally, but also why she had stood up in the first place, Danae could finally feel the pieces click into place. Her face light up in surprise as a sudden realization as to what could be causing the issues stuck her like a chariot going full speed in an arena. “Hebe,” Danae started to say, unsure if her question was going to seem like it was already straightforward and fairly obvious given the fact the two of them barely knew each other, “Do you think that the reason why you’re struggling so much with formal recollection is that there is too much pressure to remember everything? Not just the sheer amount of information?” This idea as a possible culprit struck Danae when Hebe mentioned that she was called upon to recite things. No one particularly enjoyed this type of task and the gods only knew how many times she had clammed up under such pressure, causing her to forget everything she had practically committed to memory. Could the same thing be happening here?
If it was, that at least would be an easy solution. Hebe would have to learn to treat these moments of recollection as something a bit more laid-back and free, not so rigid and stiff as it would be in a formal recital. She was fairly certain that this was something that the happy-go-lucky irl could accomplish as she never seemed to be the type that particularly enjoyed the rules anyway when they were stuffy and uncomfortable. This was something that Danae was rather quick to suggest as a possible solution for Hebe in her next statement, “If that’s the case, maybe you should talk to your tutor and your mother about allowing you to sit down during those moments and maybe do the recollections in a more casual manner?” Even though Danae’s confidence in this plan could be heard in her voice, she was unsure if it could be put to practical use. After all, she did not know who Hebe’s tutor was or if he was strict with his methods like some of Danae’s teachers had been. They might not be open to the idea, but she was fairly certain that this was the first right step into setting things right for Hebe.
As for the associative behavior, Danae had certainly not forgotten about that. She paused for a brief moment to collect her thoughts before offering the girl the other solution that the Stravos had in mind for bringing an end to this dizzy spells that Hebe was afflicted with. “You mentioned that your mind starts to drift when too much information begins to creep in… maybe the Associative behavior could help. It’s when you do a certain action -- say pinching your arm-- in the same situation enough times that it leaves an imprint of whatever mindset you’re in.” Danae tried to explain with a bit of difficulty. This wasn’t something that she had read about, but stemmed from her own experience, so it was difficult for her to string her experiences with it into something that was suitable for the academic environment. She hoped that she did a good enough job. “Is there something that you could do when you feel overwhelmed like that? It would have to be something that you normally don’t do under other circumstances… like twist a bracelet or close your fist, something that’s unique to recollection?” She was sure if this would actually work, but it was certainly worth a shot if it helped Hebe set her thoughts straight and not get overwhelmed like she did earlier.
“Why don’t we try both of these things together, even if it doesn’t work the first time it could be a good first step.” She suggested as she flipped through the book again, trying to find something that would be a bit easier than the Mikaelidas family tree. She didn’t need to wander too far as she found an interesting enough challenge for Hebe on a nearby page. “Alright, so while you’re sitting down and doing whatever your associative behavior will be, why don’t you name all the descendants of Nomiki of Leventi?” Given that the answer was just the five famed Leventi daughters and their mother, this should be simple enough and would hopefully save poor Hebe from losing her stomach.
Though thinking back to the earlier conversation that came up about their older sisters treating them like babies, Danae was keen to also throw a new incentive into the mix... “If you can do that, we’ll give it a break for a bit and try to figure out a way to get our siblings to see us as adults for once. Perhaps we could make something?” Danae wasn’t sure if this would be any good as she wasn’t really the craftsy type, but she doubted that her idea of locking Chara and Sanasa in a room to fight like cats and dogs, leaving the two younger girls to look perfectly well-behaved in the wake of that would go over well with Hebe, but they would have to see wouldn’t they?
It didn’t take long for Hebe to recover. Danae didn’t push her like her tutors did. She had never actually explained what happened to them like she did to her cousin. Why, she wasn’t sure. Maybe they would think she was just making excuses to get out of her lessons. They knew that she loathed them. They just didn’t know why.
Danae seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Her tutors did put a lot of pressure on her to memorize names and theories and concepts and recite them on demand. “That might be part of it,” she mused thoughtfully. “It’s no struggle to remember everything I know about a certain subject. That comes naturally to me. My tutors expect me to remember things the way they taught me and that often conflicts with the information I have read or even what I've heard in passing. They don't give me the time to sift through all the knowledge in my head so that I can give them what they ask of me.
“The problem is not just reciting. The same thing happens when I am supposed to answer a question or asked to explain something. They expect me to behave just like my sisters did, but because of my flawless memory, I can't learn like they do. One would think I would be the smartest because of how much information I carry around in my head, but that’s not the way it works. I don’t understand everything I can recall, and that results in even more confusion. I think you are right, though. I need to tell my parents what I told you and they can make my tutors give me time to think before I answer. I don’t believe that will solve the entire problem but it might help.”
Danae than explained the meaning of associative behavior. It seemed rather odd to Hebe that performing a certain action could stop her from being overwhelmed by knowledge. But what if it could? What if it could help her focus on only one thing? She would be grateful to her cousin forever if either of her approaches helped even a tiny bit. The petite brunette hated having devastating headaches that made her vomit and confined her to bed for days at a time. Anything, however strange it might sound, was worth a try.
She didn’t want to pinch her arm. That would hurt too much, particularly if she had to do it often. And she never wore the same jewelry two days in a row. It had to be something she always had with her … like the part of herself that she was most proud of. “I can twirl a lock of my hair.” Pulling a long silky curl over one shoulder, she demonstrated. “Like this.”
Hebe was as eager as Danae to find out if the two processes worked. “Very well,” she agreed. Taking a break sounded like a good idea too. If they put their heads together, they should be able to figure out a way how to get their siblings to quit treating them like children. She wasn’t sure if making something would be the best way to do that and she didn’t have any art supplies in her chambers. They could always raid Marietta’s room as long as her sister was not at home. Or they could …
First, she needed to recite the descendants of Nomiki of Leventi. Hebe took a deep breath and envisioned the Leventi family tree exactly as it was written in the book. There were so very many of them. Names and relationships sped through her mind. Grabbing the curl that was dangling over her shoulder, she twirled it, reminding herself that she did not have to answer right away. The knowledge slowed down but did not disappear completely. But it was enough that she could concentrate on just one line of the family without her head exploding.
The names finally fell into place and she recited them with confidence. As soon as she finished, she jumped up and impulsively hugged Danae. “Your methods are working! It was easier this time,” she declared as she stepped back. “I think I will improve the more I do it.”
The young girl grinned. “As to how to get our siblings see us as adults, perhaps we should go riding. They will be impressed if we can beat them in a race. We can practice galloping and jumping over hurdles. What do you say?” Riding was also the kind of energetic activity that Hebe liked most.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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It didn’t take long for Hebe to recover. Danae didn’t push her like her tutors did. She had never actually explained what happened to them like she did to her cousin. Why, she wasn’t sure. Maybe they would think she was just making excuses to get out of her lessons. They knew that she loathed them. They just didn’t know why.
Danae seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Her tutors did put a lot of pressure on her to memorize names and theories and concepts and recite them on demand. “That might be part of it,” she mused thoughtfully. “It’s no struggle to remember everything I know about a certain subject. That comes naturally to me. My tutors expect me to remember things the way they taught me and that often conflicts with the information I have read or even what I've heard in passing. They don't give me the time to sift through all the knowledge in my head so that I can give them what they ask of me.
“The problem is not just reciting. The same thing happens when I am supposed to answer a question or asked to explain something. They expect me to behave just like my sisters did, but because of my flawless memory, I can't learn like they do. One would think I would be the smartest because of how much information I carry around in my head, but that’s not the way it works. I don’t understand everything I can recall, and that results in even more confusion. I think you are right, though. I need to tell my parents what I told you and they can make my tutors give me time to think before I answer. I don’t believe that will solve the entire problem but it might help.”
Danae than explained the meaning of associative behavior. It seemed rather odd to Hebe that performing a certain action could stop her from being overwhelmed by knowledge. But what if it could? What if it could help her focus on only one thing? She would be grateful to her cousin forever if either of her approaches helped even a tiny bit. The petite brunette hated having devastating headaches that made her vomit and confined her to bed for days at a time. Anything, however strange it might sound, was worth a try.
She didn’t want to pinch her arm. That would hurt too much, particularly if she had to do it often. And she never wore the same jewelry two days in a row. It had to be something she always had with her … like the part of herself that she was most proud of. “I can twirl a lock of my hair.” Pulling a long silky curl over one shoulder, she demonstrated. “Like this.”
Hebe was as eager as Danae to find out if the two processes worked. “Very well,” she agreed. Taking a break sounded like a good idea too. If they put their heads together, they should be able to figure out a way how to get their siblings to quit treating them like children. She wasn’t sure if making something would be the best way to do that and she didn’t have any art supplies in her chambers. They could always raid Marietta’s room as long as her sister was not at home. Or they could …
First, she needed to recite the descendants of Nomiki of Leventi. Hebe took a deep breath and envisioned the Leventi family tree exactly as it was written in the book. There were so very many of them. Names and relationships sped through her mind. Grabbing the curl that was dangling over her shoulder, she twirled it, reminding herself that she did not have to answer right away. The knowledge slowed down but did not disappear completely. But it was enough that she could concentrate on just one line of the family without her head exploding.
The names finally fell into place and she recited them with confidence. As soon as she finished, she jumped up and impulsively hugged Danae. “Your methods are working! It was easier this time,” she declared as she stepped back. “I think I will improve the more I do it.”
The young girl grinned. “As to how to get our siblings see us as adults, perhaps we should go riding. They will be impressed if we can beat them in a race. We can practice galloping and jumping over hurdles. What do you say?” Riding was also the kind of energetic activity that Hebe liked most.
It didn’t take long for Hebe to recover. Danae didn’t push her like her tutors did. She had never actually explained what happened to them like she did to her cousin. Why, she wasn’t sure. Maybe they would think she was just making excuses to get out of her lessons. They knew that she loathed them. They just didn’t know why.
Danae seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Her tutors did put a lot of pressure on her to memorize names and theories and concepts and recite them on demand. “That might be part of it,” she mused thoughtfully. “It’s no struggle to remember everything I know about a certain subject. That comes naturally to me. My tutors expect me to remember things the way they taught me and that often conflicts with the information I have read or even what I've heard in passing. They don't give me the time to sift through all the knowledge in my head so that I can give them what they ask of me.
“The problem is not just reciting. The same thing happens when I am supposed to answer a question or asked to explain something. They expect me to behave just like my sisters did, but because of my flawless memory, I can't learn like they do. One would think I would be the smartest because of how much information I carry around in my head, but that’s not the way it works. I don’t understand everything I can recall, and that results in even more confusion. I think you are right, though. I need to tell my parents what I told you and they can make my tutors give me time to think before I answer. I don’t believe that will solve the entire problem but it might help.”
Danae than explained the meaning of associative behavior. It seemed rather odd to Hebe that performing a certain action could stop her from being overwhelmed by knowledge. But what if it could? What if it could help her focus on only one thing? She would be grateful to her cousin forever if either of her approaches helped even a tiny bit. The petite brunette hated having devastating headaches that made her vomit and confined her to bed for days at a time. Anything, however strange it might sound, was worth a try.
She didn’t want to pinch her arm. That would hurt too much, particularly if she had to do it often. And she never wore the same jewelry two days in a row. It had to be something she always had with her … like the part of herself that she was most proud of. “I can twirl a lock of my hair.” Pulling a long silky curl over one shoulder, she demonstrated. “Like this.”
Hebe was as eager as Danae to find out if the two processes worked. “Very well,” she agreed. Taking a break sounded like a good idea too. If they put their heads together, they should be able to figure out a way how to get their siblings to quit treating them like children. She wasn’t sure if making something would be the best way to do that and she didn’t have any art supplies in her chambers. They could always raid Marietta’s room as long as her sister was not at home. Or they could …
First, she needed to recite the descendants of Nomiki of Leventi. Hebe took a deep breath and envisioned the Leventi family tree exactly as it was written in the book. There were so very many of them. Names and relationships sped through her mind. Grabbing the curl that was dangling over her shoulder, she twirled it, reminding herself that she did not have to answer right away. The knowledge slowed down but did not disappear completely. But it was enough that she could concentrate on just one line of the family without her head exploding.
The names finally fell into place and she recited them with confidence. As soon as she finished, she jumped up and impulsively hugged Danae. “Your methods are working! It was easier this time,” she declared as she stepped back. “I think I will improve the more I do it.”
The young girl grinned. “As to how to get our siblings see us as adults, perhaps we should go riding. They will be impressed if we can beat them in a race. We can practice galloping and jumping over hurdles. What do you say?” Riding was also the kind of energetic activity that Hebe liked most.
Despite the fact that Danae could be just as cold and callous as the rest of her family, she was capable of true compassion that wasn’t afforded to the other Stravos’s due to their own myopic interests. If it had been Elias or even Circenia called to the Antonis household, their first thoughts would have been how to utilize this situation to their own advantage. After all, Hebe was close with Princess Emilia and it was vital that the anchors kept the youngest Xanthos in line. It wouldn’t have surprised Danae if they completely disregarded Hebe’s struggles with her lessons and instead focused on tearing her down just a bit more so that she might not put any ‘childish’ ideas in Emilia’s head. Danae could most certain see her mother doing that. However, the youngest Stravos? She just wasn’t capable of it. Her exterior might be rough and she might have a hardened reputation of being unapproachable as well as awkward due to her own anxieties, but she wasn’t yet cold enough to be needlessly cruel. At least not yet.
Even though her family would not like be as happy with seeing Hebe overcome these obstacles that had been in her way, Danae didn’t fight back the slight grin when she saw Hebe suggest reasonable action for her associative behavior. The older girl had to bite her inner cheek a bit though when the movement that Hebe chose was twirling a lock of hair, suddenly self-aware again of the fact that her own locks were tucked up beneath a head scarf so that Hebe would not know how shockingly short it was. If this conversation had happened a few months ago, back when Minas was alive and before Elias had even talked to that wretched pirate in the first place, Danae would not have been so self-concious of her own hair. But that had also been back when she had been so certain that nothing bad was going to happen to it… or her. Then, of course, it had been forcibly cut by a pirate so Danae was forced to learn that hair was not something you could count on having. It didn’t matter that it was a part of you, that it was attached to your skin and it should be only your choice what should be done with it. Other people could touch it, mess with it, and even decide to cut it. Had this been Teleos, Danae might have even suggested twirling a lock of hair to her cousin, but not in Panamos. Not when she still was struggling with the mental wounds that came from that day.
She was getting off topic.
Realizing quickly that she was loosing her focus on the situation at hand and instead turning her thoughts to things that did not matter at that moment, Danae attempted to shake these horrible memories away as she confirmed to Hebe that this was probably a better idea than pinching oneself. “Yes, that might be easier. It would look more natural in a formal recitation.” Danae mused with a quiet nod, hoping to fully chase those awful thoughts away. Maybe one day she would be comfortable with telling Hebe, if these faint flickers of friendship that was forming between them today were fostered a bit more and Danae finally grew comfortable with the idea of actually having a friendship that was not marred with her own anxieties and ineptitudes at court life. Maybe then she might warn Hebe of the dangers of what it’s like to have a brother.
In the meantime though, they had to see if the method that Danae had suggested would actually work. As highly as she praised the plan to Hebe, the Straovs girl still had her doubts, but she was more than happy to see them be proved wrong. Even though it took the younger girl a moment to sort through the information as she twirled her hair, Hebe did not seem to be afflicted by any sort of dizzy spell as she correctly listed the branch that followed the Leventi woman. A genuine smile slipped across Danae’s face when the Antonis girl completed the recitation. Her lips started to form words of congratulations for Hebe, however, they were cut short when the wind was completely knocked out of her by the tight hug her cousin wrapped her up in.
Momentarily taken aback and not used to such physical displays of affection, Danae stiffened instinctualy. It was an action taken not from any sort of distaste, but merely from unfamiliarity. The Stravos were not the touchy-feely type from the get-go and the self-concious, anxiety-riddled youngest child was even less so. However, after a moment, Danae was able to get a grip of herself and relax the tense posture. She even went as far as returning the hug as Hebe celebrated the victory over her struggles. After all, this was a happy moment, why not take joy in it? This was a sentiment that Danae tried to convey with her next statement to her cousin, but in truth, she was still a bit flustered by the hug so it could just as easily come off in a very different tone if Hebe did not recognize how naturally standoffish her cousin was to physical touch. “Yes! This is amazing, Hebe! Hopefully between this method and the tutors, everything should be sorted out and you won’t have to deal with this problem anymore.” Would Danae normally be that optimistic about one lesson changing everything? No. In an odd sort of way, she really wasn’t, but Hebe’s joy was utterly infectious so it was easy to feed off of the joyous energy in the room. It seemed to be that with a little creativity, the girls had managed to come up with a game plan that would actually work for Hebe.
With the scholarly matters settled, the conversation then shifted to the subject of what they were going to do to show their siblings that they weren’t exactly babies anymore and Hebe’s suggestion that came with it. Danae thought that her cousin’s idea was pretty good, but thought that it would work better with the Antonis girls than it would with the Stravos siblings. Elias was a better rider than Chara and he wouldn’t care if Danae could beat him in a race. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, he would be more than a little upset, but it wouldn’t change his opinion on her. However, Danae wasn’t going to outright dismiss it just for that reason. If she was going to turn down every idea just because Elias wouldn’t be impressed, then the two of them would ultimately be doing nothing as he was so self-centered that he would seemingly never change his opinion on his youngest sister.
However, that didn’t even touch upon Danae’s own reservations about the idea. She was not much of a rider, but that was from her own lack of an interest in the subject. As the Stravos family had access to a litany of carriages that could take the women anywhere that they needed to go, it wasn’t a skill that was heavily fostered in the Stravos household. Danae didn’t want to utterly embarrass herself in front of her cousin! She just knew that she was likely to be bucked off of the beast and thrown into the dirt which would not end well for her when she would have to ultimately explain the soiled state of her clothing to her mother. The Stravos girl had a thousand reasons to say no, which was why she was utterly surprised by her own actions when she actually nodded her assent to this plan.
“I don’t know if it will work with my siblings, but that does sound like fun! I hope you don’t mind that I am not very skilled though…” Danae admitted with a slight embarrassed blush filling her cheeks as she thought about when she had last rode a horse. It must have been years ago, when she was little and first learning because she could not quickly recall it. She could only hope that her cousin was of a similar skillset as her, but given that Hebe was the one to suggest it, it seemed to be that it wouldn’t be the case. Oh, Danae could only hope that she would not make an utter fool of herself when it was time for this riding lesson.
Luckily, though that moment was not right now as it was time for the Stravos to head back to her own home as the hour was growing late and the original reason she had come to the Antonis manor was now concluded. Standing up from the table, Danae gathered the few things that she had brought with her, all of which had proved to be ultimately useless in the end, and made her way towards the door. “You did great Hebe. Jus remember to talk to your parents about the tutors and I’ll keep an eye out for an invitation.” Her words were accompanied with a faint smile, an odd sort of positivity that had started to come out in Danae as she had first started the long road to recovery that came after one’s life had been flipped upside down. But at least it also meant that Danae was now not closing herself off as fiercely as she might have in the past. Who knew? Maybe she would even enjoy herself in the next difficult task that was thrown these cousin’s way. Danae had her doubts, but Hebe had already proven her wrong once already, so whose to say that she couldn’t do it again?
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Despite the fact that Danae could be just as cold and callous as the rest of her family, she was capable of true compassion that wasn’t afforded to the other Stravos’s due to their own myopic interests. If it had been Elias or even Circenia called to the Antonis household, their first thoughts would have been how to utilize this situation to their own advantage. After all, Hebe was close with Princess Emilia and it was vital that the anchors kept the youngest Xanthos in line. It wouldn’t have surprised Danae if they completely disregarded Hebe’s struggles with her lessons and instead focused on tearing her down just a bit more so that she might not put any ‘childish’ ideas in Emilia’s head. Danae could most certain see her mother doing that. However, the youngest Stravos? She just wasn’t capable of it. Her exterior might be rough and she might have a hardened reputation of being unapproachable as well as awkward due to her own anxieties, but she wasn’t yet cold enough to be needlessly cruel. At least not yet.
Even though her family would not like be as happy with seeing Hebe overcome these obstacles that had been in her way, Danae didn’t fight back the slight grin when she saw Hebe suggest reasonable action for her associative behavior. The older girl had to bite her inner cheek a bit though when the movement that Hebe chose was twirling a lock of hair, suddenly self-aware again of the fact that her own locks were tucked up beneath a head scarf so that Hebe would not know how shockingly short it was. If this conversation had happened a few months ago, back when Minas was alive and before Elias had even talked to that wretched pirate in the first place, Danae would not have been so self-concious of her own hair. But that had also been back when she had been so certain that nothing bad was going to happen to it… or her. Then, of course, it had been forcibly cut by a pirate so Danae was forced to learn that hair was not something you could count on having. It didn’t matter that it was a part of you, that it was attached to your skin and it should be only your choice what should be done with it. Other people could touch it, mess with it, and even decide to cut it. Had this been Teleos, Danae might have even suggested twirling a lock of hair to her cousin, but not in Panamos. Not when she still was struggling with the mental wounds that came from that day.
She was getting off topic.
Realizing quickly that she was loosing her focus on the situation at hand and instead turning her thoughts to things that did not matter at that moment, Danae attempted to shake these horrible memories away as she confirmed to Hebe that this was probably a better idea than pinching oneself. “Yes, that might be easier. It would look more natural in a formal recitation.” Danae mused with a quiet nod, hoping to fully chase those awful thoughts away. Maybe one day she would be comfortable with telling Hebe, if these faint flickers of friendship that was forming between them today were fostered a bit more and Danae finally grew comfortable with the idea of actually having a friendship that was not marred with her own anxieties and ineptitudes at court life. Maybe then she might warn Hebe of the dangers of what it’s like to have a brother.
In the meantime though, they had to see if the method that Danae had suggested would actually work. As highly as she praised the plan to Hebe, the Straovs girl still had her doubts, but she was more than happy to see them be proved wrong. Even though it took the younger girl a moment to sort through the information as she twirled her hair, Hebe did not seem to be afflicted by any sort of dizzy spell as she correctly listed the branch that followed the Leventi woman. A genuine smile slipped across Danae’s face when the Antonis girl completed the recitation. Her lips started to form words of congratulations for Hebe, however, they were cut short when the wind was completely knocked out of her by the tight hug her cousin wrapped her up in.
Momentarily taken aback and not used to such physical displays of affection, Danae stiffened instinctualy. It was an action taken not from any sort of distaste, but merely from unfamiliarity. The Stravos were not the touchy-feely type from the get-go and the self-concious, anxiety-riddled youngest child was even less so. However, after a moment, Danae was able to get a grip of herself and relax the tense posture. She even went as far as returning the hug as Hebe celebrated the victory over her struggles. After all, this was a happy moment, why not take joy in it? This was a sentiment that Danae tried to convey with her next statement to her cousin, but in truth, she was still a bit flustered by the hug so it could just as easily come off in a very different tone if Hebe did not recognize how naturally standoffish her cousin was to physical touch. “Yes! This is amazing, Hebe! Hopefully between this method and the tutors, everything should be sorted out and you won’t have to deal with this problem anymore.” Would Danae normally be that optimistic about one lesson changing everything? No. In an odd sort of way, she really wasn’t, but Hebe’s joy was utterly infectious so it was easy to feed off of the joyous energy in the room. It seemed to be that with a little creativity, the girls had managed to come up with a game plan that would actually work for Hebe.
With the scholarly matters settled, the conversation then shifted to the subject of what they were going to do to show their siblings that they weren’t exactly babies anymore and Hebe’s suggestion that came with it. Danae thought that her cousin’s idea was pretty good, but thought that it would work better with the Antonis girls than it would with the Stravos siblings. Elias was a better rider than Chara and he wouldn’t care if Danae could beat him in a race. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, he would be more than a little upset, but it wouldn’t change his opinion on her. However, Danae wasn’t going to outright dismiss it just for that reason. If she was going to turn down every idea just because Elias wouldn’t be impressed, then the two of them would ultimately be doing nothing as he was so self-centered that he would seemingly never change his opinion on his youngest sister.
However, that didn’t even touch upon Danae’s own reservations about the idea. She was not much of a rider, but that was from her own lack of an interest in the subject. As the Stravos family had access to a litany of carriages that could take the women anywhere that they needed to go, it wasn’t a skill that was heavily fostered in the Stravos household. Danae didn’t want to utterly embarrass herself in front of her cousin! She just knew that she was likely to be bucked off of the beast and thrown into the dirt which would not end well for her when she would have to ultimately explain the soiled state of her clothing to her mother. The Stravos girl had a thousand reasons to say no, which was why she was utterly surprised by her own actions when she actually nodded her assent to this plan.
“I don’t know if it will work with my siblings, but that does sound like fun! I hope you don’t mind that I am not very skilled though…” Danae admitted with a slight embarrassed blush filling her cheeks as she thought about when she had last rode a horse. It must have been years ago, when she was little and first learning because she could not quickly recall it. She could only hope that her cousin was of a similar skillset as her, but given that Hebe was the one to suggest it, it seemed to be that it wouldn’t be the case. Oh, Danae could only hope that she would not make an utter fool of herself when it was time for this riding lesson.
Luckily, though that moment was not right now as it was time for the Stravos to head back to her own home as the hour was growing late and the original reason she had come to the Antonis manor was now concluded. Standing up from the table, Danae gathered the few things that she had brought with her, all of which had proved to be ultimately useless in the end, and made her way towards the door. “You did great Hebe. Jus remember to talk to your parents about the tutors and I’ll keep an eye out for an invitation.” Her words were accompanied with a faint smile, an odd sort of positivity that had started to come out in Danae as she had first started the long road to recovery that came after one’s life had been flipped upside down. But at least it also meant that Danae was now not closing herself off as fiercely as she might have in the past. Who knew? Maybe she would even enjoy herself in the next difficult task that was thrown these cousin’s way. Danae had her doubts, but Hebe had already proven her wrong once already, so whose to say that she couldn’t do it again?
Despite the fact that Danae could be just as cold and callous as the rest of her family, she was capable of true compassion that wasn’t afforded to the other Stravos’s due to their own myopic interests. If it had been Elias or even Circenia called to the Antonis household, their first thoughts would have been how to utilize this situation to their own advantage. After all, Hebe was close with Princess Emilia and it was vital that the anchors kept the youngest Xanthos in line. It wouldn’t have surprised Danae if they completely disregarded Hebe’s struggles with her lessons and instead focused on tearing her down just a bit more so that she might not put any ‘childish’ ideas in Emilia’s head. Danae could most certain see her mother doing that. However, the youngest Stravos? She just wasn’t capable of it. Her exterior might be rough and she might have a hardened reputation of being unapproachable as well as awkward due to her own anxieties, but she wasn’t yet cold enough to be needlessly cruel. At least not yet.
Even though her family would not like be as happy with seeing Hebe overcome these obstacles that had been in her way, Danae didn’t fight back the slight grin when she saw Hebe suggest reasonable action for her associative behavior. The older girl had to bite her inner cheek a bit though when the movement that Hebe chose was twirling a lock of hair, suddenly self-aware again of the fact that her own locks were tucked up beneath a head scarf so that Hebe would not know how shockingly short it was. If this conversation had happened a few months ago, back when Minas was alive and before Elias had even talked to that wretched pirate in the first place, Danae would not have been so self-concious of her own hair. But that had also been back when she had been so certain that nothing bad was going to happen to it… or her. Then, of course, it had been forcibly cut by a pirate so Danae was forced to learn that hair was not something you could count on having. It didn’t matter that it was a part of you, that it was attached to your skin and it should be only your choice what should be done with it. Other people could touch it, mess with it, and even decide to cut it. Had this been Teleos, Danae might have even suggested twirling a lock of hair to her cousin, but not in Panamos. Not when she still was struggling with the mental wounds that came from that day.
She was getting off topic.
Realizing quickly that she was loosing her focus on the situation at hand and instead turning her thoughts to things that did not matter at that moment, Danae attempted to shake these horrible memories away as she confirmed to Hebe that this was probably a better idea than pinching oneself. “Yes, that might be easier. It would look more natural in a formal recitation.” Danae mused with a quiet nod, hoping to fully chase those awful thoughts away. Maybe one day she would be comfortable with telling Hebe, if these faint flickers of friendship that was forming between them today were fostered a bit more and Danae finally grew comfortable with the idea of actually having a friendship that was not marred with her own anxieties and ineptitudes at court life. Maybe then she might warn Hebe of the dangers of what it’s like to have a brother.
In the meantime though, they had to see if the method that Danae had suggested would actually work. As highly as she praised the plan to Hebe, the Straovs girl still had her doubts, but she was more than happy to see them be proved wrong. Even though it took the younger girl a moment to sort through the information as she twirled her hair, Hebe did not seem to be afflicted by any sort of dizzy spell as she correctly listed the branch that followed the Leventi woman. A genuine smile slipped across Danae’s face when the Antonis girl completed the recitation. Her lips started to form words of congratulations for Hebe, however, they were cut short when the wind was completely knocked out of her by the tight hug her cousin wrapped her up in.
Momentarily taken aback and not used to such physical displays of affection, Danae stiffened instinctualy. It was an action taken not from any sort of distaste, but merely from unfamiliarity. The Stravos were not the touchy-feely type from the get-go and the self-concious, anxiety-riddled youngest child was even less so. However, after a moment, Danae was able to get a grip of herself and relax the tense posture. She even went as far as returning the hug as Hebe celebrated the victory over her struggles. After all, this was a happy moment, why not take joy in it? This was a sentiment that Danae tried to convey with her next statement to her cousin, but in truth, she was still a bit flustered by the hug so it could just as easily come off in a very different tone if Hebe did not recognize how naturally standoffish her cousin was to physical touch. “Yes! This is amazing, Hebe! Hopefully between this method and the tutors, everything should be sorted out and you won’t have to deal with this problem anymore.” Would Danae normally be that optimistic about one lesson changing everything? No. In an odd sort of way, she really wasn’t, but Hebe’s joy was utterly infectious so it was easy to feed off of the joyous energy in the room. It seemed to be that with a little creativity, the girls had managed to come up with a game plan that would actually work for Hebe.
With the scholarly matters settled, the conversation then shifted to the subject of what they were going to do to show their siblings that they weren’t exactly babies anymore and Hebe’s suggestion that came with it. Danae thought that her cousin’s idea was pretty good, but thought that it would work better with the Antonis girls than it would with the Stravos siblings. Elias was a better rider than Chara and he wouldn’t care if Danae could beat him in a race. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, he would be more than a little upset, but it wouldn’t change his opinion on her. However, Danae wasn’t going to outright dismiss it just for that reason. If she was going to turn down every idea just because Elias wouldn’t be impressed, then the two of them would ultimately be doing nothing as he was so self-centered that he would seemingly never change his opinion on his youngest sister.
However, that didn’t even touch upon Danae’s own reservations about the idea. She was not much of a rider, but that was from her own lack of an interest in the subject. As the Stravos family had access to a litany of carriages that could take the women anywhere that they needed to go, it wasn’t a skill that was heavily fostered in the Stravos household. Danae didn’t want to utterly embarrass herself in front of her cousin! She just knew that she was likely to be bucked off of the beast and thrown into the dirt which would not end well for her when she would have to ultimately explain the soiled state of her clothing to her mother. The Stravos girl had a thousand reasons to say no, which was why she was utterly surprised by her own actions when she actually nodded her assent to this plan.
“I don’t know if it will work with my siblings, but that does sound like fun! I hope you don’t mind that I am not very skilled though…” Danae admitted with a slight embarrassed blush filling her cheeks as she thought about when she had last rode a horse. It must have been years ago, when she was little and first learning because she could not quickly recall it. She could only hope that her cousin was of a similar skillset as her, but given that Hebe was the one to suggest it, it seemed to be that it wouldn’t be the case. Oh, Danae could only hope that she would not make an utter fool of herself when it was time for this riding lesson.
Luckily, though that moment was not right now as it was time for the Stravos to head back to her own home as the hour was growing late and the original reason she had come to the Antonis manor was now concluded. Standing up from the table, Danae gathered the few things that she had brought with her, all of which had proved to be ultimately useless in the end, and made her way towards the door. “You did great Hebe. Jus remember to talk to your parents about the tutors and I’ll keep an eye out for an invitation.” Her words were accompanied with a faint smile, an odd sort of positivity that had started to come out in Danae as she had first started the long road to recovery that came after one’s life had been flipped upside down. But at least it also meant that Danae was now not closing herself off as fiercely as she might have in the past. Who knew? Maybe she would even enjoy herself in the next difficult task that was thrown these cousin’s way. Danae had her doubts, but Hebe had already proven her wrong once already, so whose to say that she couldn’t do it again?