Achilleas was doing his duty, planned on showing his face for a respectable amount of time before he could reasonably make his exit. Having been in Vasiliadon anyway for the senate meeting the day before there was not really any excuse for him not to attend the gathering thrown by the Queen, nor would his absence have been unnoticed by his father. As such, the baron had extended his planned stay in the Capital by another day, donned attire that would be deemed appropriate for such a gathering and presented himself at the Palati as expected.

He’d accepted a cup of the Condos wine being served and drank slowly, chatting idly with Zacharias as they watched the noble families arriving and milling around against the backdrop of the beautiful gardens of the palace. Achilleas had a lot of time for his older cousin, the man who would one day become his King, and he also knew that he would not be judged for trying to keep a relatively clear head by the Crown Prince, who was not known for over indulging.

Which was why it was somewhat unfortunate that Zacharias had moved away at exactly the moment when Stephanos started grinning at him from across the gardens. It was an expression that immediately had Achilleas on his guard, and he felt that he was about to be vindicated as the Prince pushed a jug of wine into his arms that the Baron gripped on to it to save it crashing to the ground and causing a scene.
“Steph” he said, his tone betraying more than a little reserve as he glanced at his cousin. Achilleas’ eyebrows lifted in a familiar look of dismay when Stephanos spoke, because he found his cousin simultaneously anxiety-inducing and a lot of fun, and the balance was a narrow margin. He and his cousin had very different outlooks on life, a fact illustrated perfectly as the prince suggested they abandon the event that Achilleas had carefully ensured he would be present for.

“I don’t think..” he began, but there was too much history between the pair for Stephanos not to have foreseen his cousin digging his heels in as he did, and the man had come forearmed. Achilleas shut his mouth and narrowed his gaze at his cousin when Theodora’s name was mentioned. It was hardly as if he hadn’t noticed her presence. Indeed the Mikaelidas lord always noticed when she was present at these court events. Not purposefully, he told himself. It wasn’t that he looked for her. She was just….noticeable.

“She’ll talk to me anyway” he retorted, thinking he was mostly confident in that. Admittedly, they had not shared more than the odd greeting since he’d kissed her and then she’d thrown a book at his head, but that was mostly by his design. He’d gotten her out of his system, or so he thought. Staring at his cousin for a moment, Achilleas gave a long suffering sigh. He could at least make sure things didn’t get too out of hand. And he really didn’t like the idea of Stephanos going off alone with Theodora.

“Alright. But let’s be discreet about it please” The Baron glanced uneasily towards where his father stood talking some distance away. He thought he had shown his face enough that his presence would not be missed for a few minutes. Without meaning to, Achilleas attention shifted to where he knew Theodora stood with her mother, and he frowned a little, hoping this wasn’t a bad idea. “She can really be quite obstinate you know. She might not come”. But even as he said it, he realised that in his experience, the Leventi girl was equally fond of pushing the boundaries, and so would probably relish the idea of sneaking off from a court event. It was almost certainly a bad idea.

“She’ll talk to me anyway,” Achilleas retorted, to which Stephanos tipped his head back, bemused smirk on his face, and quirked his eyebrows at his cousin.

“Because she does it so often.” Not sparing his cousin the sarcasm, Stephanos did lean in, giving his most convincing grin. He could see Achilleas wavering and could practically hear the man’s thoughts. Achilleas made an amazing soldier and baron because he always, always did what he was told. Stephanos did his personal best when occasion demanded it, but his mother’s party? This wasn’t the battlefield. This wasn’t a court session. This wasn’t anything but a gossip circle. The prince was not interested in being responsible when boredom would be his constant companion and when the stakes were simply his mother’s disappointment or happiness. In cases such as these, Stephanos’s more selfish impulses guided his decisions and he waited for Achilleas to finally make the right decision.

“Alright,” Achilleas finally relented and Stephanos curled his hand into a fist, a victorious “Yessssss,” hissing from his teeth as a brilliant grin lit his features.

”But let’s be discreet about it please,” Achilleas cautioned. Stephanos was already eyeing Theodora and made absent waving gestures at his cousin.

“Yeah, yeah.” He had what he wanted. Now all he had to do was get what Achilleas wanted. Simple enough. Squaring his shoulders, he threw one looked back at his cousin, a single, challenging eyebrow raised, smirk in place, the entire expression saying what he didn’t need to - watch and learn. Of the two of them, Stephanos thought that Achilleas was the better looking, but with supreme male beauty, the man had not inherited easy charm to go with it. Achilleas’s bearing was stiff and awkward, like he wasn’t sure how to use his enormous frame to its best advantage. Stephanos did not have this problem. Less good looking, but infinitely more sure of himself, Stephanos’s movements through the crowd gave him a languid grace and ease of motion, almost like he was dancing through life. He never stopped to consider that his plans wouldn’t work. Things always fell into place for him; his life was one of constant affirmation of himself, and so by the time that he planted himself in front of Lady Theodora, he was already so sure of her answer, that he was half certain he could simply raise his eyebrows at her, cock his head to the side in a motion for her to follow them, and off the three of them would be. Whether or not that was true, he didn’t know her enough to try it, and so took a more polite approach.

“Good evening, my lady,” he did nothing more than the shortest of bows to her, since his station was above hers.

“Prince Stephanos, Lord Achilleas. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” Theodora asked, giving them a distinctly sly look, Stephanos thought. He liked it.

Side eyeing his cousin while he spoke, he said, “We came to request the pleasure of yours.” Stephanos’s gaze left Achilleas and landed squarely on Theodora’s large brown eyes. He hadn’t ever had the chance to study her closely, but he was struck anew by how gorgeous she was. The smattering of freckles across the elegant features of her face lent her person the impression of someone who was not always indoors. She had the bearing of a high born lady of quality, regal, even, but there was an air of possibility around her that Stephanos liked at once. It was easy to see why more than half the court was besotted with her. If not for his knowledge of Achilleas feeling that way, he’d have been in quite a bit of danger of it himself.

Theodora gestured with her now empty cup toward the wine pitcher and Stephanos smirked in a bemused way as she asked him to give her more. “Alas,” he patted the jug still in his cousin’s muscular arms. “This wine is only drinkable by a certain pool. A magical pool,” he added, holding up one conspiratal finger. Placing it against his lips, he gave her a teasing grin and said, “If you’re truly thirsty, perhaps we could fill your cup for you there?” Dropping his hand away from his mouth, he gestured around them and then clasped his hands behind his back, shrugging. “Unless you’re too engaged in riveting conversation, here.”

The self-assured manner in which Stephanos approached her amused her, though it only showed in the brief quirk of the corners of her mouth as she fought off a smile. This was a man accustomed to finding that things typically worked in the way that he desired, that much she was certain of; and, rather than finding herself annoyed by it, she found herself fighting the urge to giggle. For, at his side, followed a rather reluctant looking Achilleas; who, by all means, looked as though he were doing something illegal as he trailed along in the wake of his much bolder cousin. She had no doubt that whatever the boys were up to, Stephanos had convinced Achilleas to participate, and not the other way around!

His sideways glance towards Achilleas before he answered her question caused her to quirk a single brow, curious of their intentions; and, when he replied, her smile widened. He met her eyes with the confidence of a man who rarely found his suggestions refused, and she found it to be to her liking, something that showed in the way her dark gaze glittered in her fair face.

It was only when Achilleas spoke her name that she allowed her gaze to return to the man. It was another thing she found she enjoyed; the sound of her name leaving his lips was something she might like to hear more often, she thought. Her head cocked to one side as she studied him openly; he looked uncomfortable, but there was a determination in his lovely blue eyes that told her he was going to see through whatever crazy antics Stephanos planned on getting up to.

A moment after, though, and Stephanos was speaking again, reclaiming her attention. His statement that the wine could only be enjoyed upon the banks of a magical pool had her laughing, finally; a sweet sound that turned a few eyes in their direction, though those same gazes were quickly averted when they noticed the company she kept. She doubted anyone would dare to interrupt her when she was speaking with the Mikaelidas boys.

As Stephanos touched a single finger to his lips in mock-thought, her gaze wandered, once more – though this time, not to Achilleas. Instead, she glanced in the direction of her mother, and was truly surprised to find the woman not looking at her and her company. She appeared to be deep in conversation with her own little group, and actually had her back turned away. So, if they were to slip away, she supposed now was the time to do it.

“A magical pool, hmm?”

She turned back to the boys before her, joining Stephanos as she pretended to contemplate his offer; though she could feel Achilleas’ gaze boring into her, as though he waited eagerly for her answer. So, she would pause just a moment to drain the remainder of the wine from her cup, and when she lowered it again, she was smiling.

“Well, I am rather thirsty, and as you can see, it would seem I have run out of wine. As for the conversation…” Here, she would pause, lowering her voice as she leaned in towards them both. “…I have had more interesting talks with my father’s horses. So, please, let’s go visit this pool you speak of.”

Then her eyes would flicker around the guests as they mingled, and she would add, “Though perhaps we best make it quick. We wouldn’t want anyone else following us there. After all, something so lovely as a magical pool ought to be kept a secret between us three, don’t you agree? Please, lead the way, Your Highness.”

Achilleas found himself half wishing that Lady Theodora would think better than to agree with Stephanos’ half-cocked suggestion, and half that she would not. She should know better than to go gallivanting off with two men without a chaperone. She should decline and be on her way. Things would be simpler then.

But when her eyes eventually left his cousin to shift onto him, Achilleas couldn’t deny the slight curl of anticipation in his gut that she would choose to favour them with her company. It wasn’t often that the elder of Irakles’ sons let himself step outside of the things demanded by duty, and whatever he might say of Stephanos, he knew that sometimes he needed the encouragement to cut loose a little. It didn’t mean it had to be anything.

The dark-haired man lifted his brows a little as the Leventi girl studied him a bit too carefully and he wondered if he had something on his face, in which case he was definitely going to possibly dunk Steph’s head in wherever this mystery magic pool was.

The promise of it, unsurprisingly, was enough to see Theodora’s curiosity piqued, and when she laughed, Achilleas knew that she’d already made up her mind even as she made a show of deliberating. His cousin knew it too, flashing that grin at him that was somehow irritating and infectious at the same time. Looking back to the girl as she spoke,he had forgotten how sassy she could be, reminded as she remarked how droll the party was, and invited Stephanos to lead them on to his destination.

He was not so confident as his cousin that the Lady Evelli would be delighted to see her unwed daughter sloping off with the two of them, but with a last glance toward his father to check the man was not paying any attention, he followed Stephanos with a much nonchalance as he was able. Out beyond the small inner garden the event had been hosted in, to the palati grounds proper, and Achilleas realised all of a sudden where they were headed. Oh. Still carrying the jug of wine, it was carried in one hand now, down by his side as he watched his progress through the long grass.

There were some girls who would balk at wading through it, in the dark nonetheless, but as he cast a surreptitious look at Theodora, he doubted it would be so with her. She had proven already that she did not have the same delicate nature as many other of the young ladies in court, who were sometimes too keen to need the strong arm of man to lean upon if it meant it won them an audience. If anything, Theodora had proved rather resistant to any attempts to mollycoddle, he thought, recalling her reaction when he had so kindly offered to escort her back to her family at the races.

Stephanos’ laugh interrupted such ruminations, and Achilleas could do little but shake his head at the young man’s exuberance and self satisfaction that his plan had come to fruition.

“Not all of us are princes and get away with everything, cousin” he retorted, but there was no bite in it, and indeed, Achilleas gave a small nod of recognition to his cousin. The evening certainly held more promise than it had a little while ago. When Steph turned his attentions towards Theodora though, the Baron tried very hard not to watch for her reaction to his cousin’s teasing. It was difficult, because whilst Achilleas might have thought he had made his peace with ignoring the undeniable attraction he felt toward her, that did not mean he wanted to watch her falling for Stephanos, as women seemed wont to do. His gaze flickered between the pair of them a moment.

“Roughians?” he said with mock affront. “ Speak for yourself. I am exceedingly well-mannered. Mothers love me”

By Artemis this night was perfect and Stephanos raised his arms, face toward the sky, laughing. It must have annoyed Achilleas more than usual because behind him, he heard the curt “Not all of us are princes and get away with everything, cousin.” It made him whip around and grin. That was true, of course. For the most part, Stephanos really did get away with quite a bit more than, say, Achilleas would. This came down to a few reasons, namely their fathers were so very different. King Zenon already had the perfect son in Prince Zacharias. He was a little more indulgent with his second son’s antics because, so long as Stephanos performed how he should in the battle field, there wasn’t much expected of him otherwise. His father seemed to expect that certain things might happen and tended to take care of them.

Prince Irakles, on the other hand, wanted absolute perfection in himself, his sons, and everyone else. He would not permit mistakes to be made and they definitely did not remain unremarked upon whenever a mistake did happen. If Irakles was to catch the three of them out here, when they were supposed to be dutifully standing around in the gardens, Stephanos would definitely come out the least scathed. But Irakles wouldn’t come out. Chances were, he was too busy regaling the entirety of the garden with his own amazing deeds that he wouldn’t notice their absence.

“Roughians?” Stephanos’s grin remained as he waved a lazy ‘come off it’ at Achilleas who was taking issue with the implication. “Speak for yourself. I am exceedingly well-mannered. Mothers love me.”

“How many mothers’ love have you earned in your exploits?” Stephanos teased, walking backwards so that he could keep the two of them in his sights. “And do their daughters know?”

“Ruffians? You? I rather think I’m the ruffian here,” Theodora asserted, to which Stephanos raised his brows and looked from her to Achilleas. “Maybe this was all my little ploy, and you just played right into it.”

“I bow to the master, then,” Stephanos swept his arm out and dipped into his most formal bow. He looked at her from beneath his brows, the smile curving upon his lips again, growing into the grin that was never gone for long. His gaze flicked to his cousin to see how Achilleas bore this. He rather suspected that his cousin thought Lady Theodora more proper than they were finding her at present. For his part, he was mightly glad she wasn’t as stuffy as her reputation made her out to be.

She and Selene were so perfect all of the time. Stephanos had written them both off as gorgeous and boring some time ago, though, to be fair to Selene, she was reported to be after his brother. As for Theodora, she’d only been at court for a short time. Stephanos was willing to amend his current opinion and was fast doing so as the three of them walked companionably through the field.

“So, Your Highness, what sort of magic does this pool hold, hm?” Theodora asked. Stephanos glanced at Achilleas. He hadn’t thought quite that far yet. “Will we look in the water and find our true loves? Riches beyond our wildest imagination?” Theodora pressed on in the few seconds that it took for Stephanos to come up with something. “This better be good, or I’m telling everyone how you forced me to come and dragged me the whole way.”

“Well,” Stephanos feigned Theodora’s mannerisms, putting a hand to his chest and holding the edge of his knee length chiton like he was trying to keep it out of the grasses. “My Lord Achilleas, I feel positively threatened by this roughian!” Dropping the mocking a moment later, he shrugged. “I don’t know. I said whatever it’d take to get you out of that party. You looked so bored.”

Stephanos shrugged and continued on as the field began to slope downward. Bushes encroached and now there was a clear path that they were to follow as they were abruptly swallowed by forest. “They say you see your true self,” he said. “But I like to swim in it. You like swimming, don’t you? Achilleas says you do.” Why that flew out of his mouth, he didn’t know, because Achilleas had literally never said any such thing, but Stephanos was blurting out whatever came into his head at the moment and he gave a quick look to his cousin to see if he was going to get decked.

Charmed in spite of herself at the prince’s antics, Theodora looked down and bit her lip to hide her smile. “You ought to feel threatened,” she teased in return, looking back up when she had her face under control. “I’m quite terrifying, you know. Ask Lord Achilleas.” A sly smile was slid his way, glancing at the young man in question out of the corner of her eye. “I’ve quite the aim with certain projectiles.”

She didn’t elaborate any further, but she knew Achilleas, at least, would know exactly what she was referring to. The look on her face turned deceptively innocent as they continued to walk, her expression only changing when Achilleas mentioned the real reason for the positioning of the pool. Her glance slid his way again but with decidedly less mischief, wondering if he even knew what a joke was. “Fascinating,” she said, though she sounded a bit less than fascinated.

You like swimming, don’t you? Achilleas says you do.

Her eyebrows lifted at that, glancing between the two of them as she tried to hide another smile. “Oh, he did, did he? Does his lordship talk about me often?” Idly, she wondered if maybe he did, but Achilleas was soon denying it, looking appropriate flustered. “I do like swimming, though. Whether he said it or not, it’s true.” Theo coughed to cover a laugh just as they broke within view of the reflection pool.

As soon as they stepped through the grass, her laughter fell away at the vision before them, the shimmering surface of the water reflecting the silvery light of the moon and stars overhead. It was like an amorphous mirror, ripples distorting the reflection with each brush of the wind. Truly, it was a breathtaking sight of tranquil beauty, and the young lady of Leventi brushed past both of her companions so she might get a closer look.

“It’s gorgeous,” she murmured, sinking to her knees at the edge of the pool and looking down into it. The full curve of the moon was bright enough that she could see her own face staring back at her, and for a moment, she thought she might see something further. Was there any truth to the legends? Would she see her true self staring back at her from the water? She paused for a few seconds as the wind went still, then sighed in mild disappointment. No, it was nothing more than a tangle of brown curls and pale freckled cheeks. The same thing she saw in her looking glass every day.

Granted, she hadn’t expected anything truly extraordinary to happen when they came, so her disappointment did not last long. Instead, she turned to look back at Stephanos and Achilleas, mischief returning to her expression.

“His Highness mentioned swimming, didn’t he?” she asked, her tone coy as her fingers trailed through the water and sliced through her moonlit reflection. Casually unpinning the delicate himation she wore over her chiton, she removed it and set it to the side to avoid it being ruined. Part of her considered removing her chiton along with it, but the wiser part of her stopped her before she did it. Theodora was mischievous, yes, but perhaps swimming in the buff with not one, but two men was a little too risky, even for her.

Though when she laughed and tumbled into the water, she might as well have been nude, for all the good the delicate fabric did in hiding what lay underneath. Unmindful of the way her gown clung to her curves, Theo backstroked a few feet before righting herself and treading water. “Well, come on then,” she urged them, swimming back toward the edge. “Unless you’re too scared!” Grinning, two quick splashes soaked both the fronts of their chitons before Theo ducked underwater and swam for the other side.

Achilleas almost tripped over his feet when Theodora made such casual reference to the book throwing incident. That particular day had already earned him his cousin’s amusement, and the Lord had no desire to add to it in having that story retold. He decided if he just ignored it, and that too sweet tone the Leventi girl had taken on, then it would be for the better.

And what did he even care if she couldn’t see the merit it knowing the truth about where Stephanos was leading them.? Her lack of fascination was hardly well-hidden, and Achilleas merely pressed his lips together and gave a half shrug. Let her and his cousin concoct their own little stories about the pool then if they so wished.


Only the thought made him unhappy because he honestly didn’t know if he could bear it if Stephanos decided he wanted Theodora. Mulling that over, he broke off only to try and save face and mitigate the idea that he stood around talking about the Leventi girl all the time, glowering at his cousin the moment Theodora’s back was turned.

Though when they reached the pool and she went into raptures about how gorgeous it was, his attention had lingered on the pale circle of the moon’s reflection for only a moment, settling on the girl admiring it instead. Perhaps, and it was a begrudging realisation, he had not done such a good job of squashing any attraction he held for Theodora after all.

Which was why, when she stood and begun to unpin the himation from about her shoulders, Achilleas couldn’t bring himself to point out that it was early in the year yet and that the water would not be warm. And he wondered if he could speak at all when Theodora slipped into the water and emerged like some naiad with the thin filmy fabric of her chiton doing nothing to disguise every dip and curve of her body. He swallowed, drawing the amphora he still carried closer as if might somehow protect him from such a vision, not even flinching when Theodora sent a cascade of water their way.

Gods he shouldn’t be looking, and yet he was and only dimly aware of his cousin calling his name. It was the little squeak that Stephanos emitted that had him blink and tear his eyes away, his expression caught somewhere between panicked and hungry as he turned to his cousin.

‘The lady wants to take a dip. Think you should…’

“Me?” He only just managed to prevent himself using the wine as an excuse as to why that was a terrible idea because it might tip, mightn’t it, if he set it on the grass?

Because really, the alternative to Theodora feeling lonely was him cavorting around with a wet and nubile Leventi girl and that just had bad idea written all over it. As well as a good idea. And only an idiot would say no.

He paused and looked from his cousin to the water and back again, befuddled as Stephanos set himself down and got comfortable, grinning at him in a slightly unhinged way. Achilleas laughed nervously. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea”

But his cousin had other ideas apparently, that smile growing a little more strained so that Achilleas thought Stephanos considered this a great sacrifice as he ground out the ‘Get your butt in the water’ that had the dark-haired man hover a moment as he warred with his sense of propriety, and..other senses. He was only a man, after all.

“Gods damnit” Achilleas muttered, pushing the jug of wine at his cousin and then shaking his head at the very notion of what he was about to do. Did he want to strangle Stephanos or hug him? It was a close cut thing.

Being a practically-minded man, Achilleas was not about to go back into the Palati in a sopping wet chiton, and so as soon as he had gotten rid of the wine, he made deft work of stripping off everything. He had no reason to be modest after all, a body honed through rigorous physical training since he was a boy was not one made to be hidden away. Not that he gave his company much chance to appreciate it, diving into the water in a fluid arc.

When he surfaced it was with a sharp breath, because it was cold, bracingly so after the mild and balmy air.

“Its hardly..warm..” he spluttered as he trod water, throwing a glance over at Theodora. She was all silver in the moonlight and he wondered again at the wisdom of this. He pushed wet curls off his forehead and gave a dismissive snort as he asked “Did you find your true self yet? Stephanos had found his lounging in the grass with an amphora of wine”