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Ooh-ing and ahh-ing an appropriate amount as Emilia displayed the jewelry she made, Circenia offered her niece a smile that was warm on the surface. Part of her was even impressed that the young princess had managed to craft something so fine without any help, but that was one thing that could be said in favor of the youngest Xanthos. She had an eye for pretty things, so it shouldn’t be very surprising that she would take an interest in crafting such things herself.
“Very lovely, Your Highness,” Circenia complimented her niece’s craftmanship. “Perhaps I ought to commission you for a few pieces myself.” While she found interacting with Emilia so closely to be rather distasteful, it wasn’t a bad idea. If nothing else, it would keep Emilia busy, and Circenia would get new jewelry out of it. “The idea of network over a traditional chiton is an interesting one, as well. Perhaps it is not proper now, but you are a princess, my dear. You know you have the power to bring it into fashion.”
She supposed it was a good thing that Emilia so often forgot her own worth; it made her that much easier to maneuver. But truly, a woman in her position… if she wanted to wear a bird’s nest in her hair or spiderwebs on her fingers, who could really stop her? In Persephone’s absence, technically Emilia had more power than any other woman in the kingdom. If she wanted to start new fashions, what was stopping her? Internally rolling her eyes, Circenia idly thought of how she would have handled such a situation at Emilia’s age. She would have worn whatever she liked, then sat back and watched with satisfaction as every other noblewoman of the Court followed her example.
Ah, well. Such was the difference between the elder and younger royal.
About to answer Emilia’s next question as to whether or not there were other merchants they could visit who might have what she was looking for, her mouth closed in surprise when Danae replied instead. How would her daughter have any idea what other vendors might have such things? While she knew her youngest worked closely with her father on his business endeavors, she never would have thought she’d be involved in things like that. Opting to keep silent on it, however, she simply raised her eyebrows and let her child speak.
“Yes, we should keep looking, shouldn’t we?” the princess said once Danae was finished talking. “We came here with a purpose, and we ought not to leave empty-handed.” Flashing a smile at Emilia, she inclined her head in the younger woman’s direction. “We can’t let our lovely princess go back to the palati without what she came here for.”
Turning back to Danae, she gestured for her to lead the way. “We’ll follow you, child. Show us where you think these merchants are. And even if we don’t find them, surely we can find something along the way.”
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Ooh-ing and ahh-ing an appropriate amount as Emilia displayed the jewelry she made, Circenia offered her niece a smile that was warm on the surface. Part of her was even impressed that the young princess had managed to craft something so fine without any help, but that was one thing that could be said in favor of the youngest Xanthos. She had an eye for pretty things, so it shouldn’t be very surprising that she would take an interest in crafting such things herself.
“Very lovely, Your Highness,” Circenia complimented her niece’s craftmanship. “Perhaps I ought to commission you for a few pieces myself.” While she found interacting with Emilia so closely to be rather distasteful, it wasn’t a bad idea. If nothing else, it would keep Emilia busy, and Circenia would get new jewelry out of it. “The idea of network over a traditional chiton is an interesting one, as well. Perhaps it is not proper now, but you are a princess, my dear. You know you have the power to bring it into fashion.”
She supposed it was a good thing that Emilia so often forgot her own worth; it made her that much easier to maneuver. But truly, a woman in her position… if she wanted to wear a bird’s nest in her hair or spiderwebs on her fingers, who could really stop her? In Persephone’s absence, technically Emilia had more power than any other woman in the kingdom. If she wanted to start new fashions, what was stopping her? Internally rolling her eyes, Circenia idly thought of how she would have handled such a situation at Emilia’s age. She would have worn whatever she liked, then sat back and watched with satisfaction as every other noblewoman of the Court followed her example.
Ah, well. Such was the difference between the elder and younger royal.
About to answer Emilia’s next question as to whether or not there were other merchants they could visit who might have what she was looking for, her mouth closed in surprise when Danae replied instead. How would her daughter have any idea what other vendors might have such things? While she knew her youngest worked closely with her father on his business endeavors, she never would have thought she’d be involved in things like that. Opting to keep silent on it, however, she simply raised her eyebrows and let her child speak.
“Yes, we should keep looking, shouldn’t we?” the princess said once Danae was finished talking. “We came here with a purpose, and we ought not to leave empty-handed.” Flashing a smile at Emilia, she inclined her head in the younger woman’s direction. “We can’t let our lovely princess go back to the palati without what she came here for.”
Turning back to Danae, she gestured for her to lead the way. “We’ll follow you, child. Show us where you think these merchants are. And even if we don’t find them, surely we can find something along the way.”
Ooh-ing and ahh-ing an appropriate amount as Emilia displayed the jewelry she made, Circenia offered her niece a smile that was warm on the surface. Part of her was even impressed that the young princess had managed to craft something so fine without any help, but that was one thing that could be said in favor of the youngest Xanthos. She had an eye for pretty things, so it shouldn’t be very surprising that she would take an interest in crafting such things herself.
“Very lovely, Your Highness,” Circenia complimented her niece’s craftmanship. “Perhaps I ought to commission you for a few pieces myself.” While she found interacting with Emilia so closely to be rather distasteful, it wasn’t a bad idea. If nothing else, it would keep Emilia busy, and Circenia would get new jewelry out of it. “The idea of network over a traditional chiton is an interesting one, as well. Perhaps it is not proper now, but you are a princess, my dear. You know you have the power to bring it into fashion.”
She supposed it was a good thing that Emilia so often forgot her own worth; it made her that much easier to maneuver. But truly, a woman in her position… if she wanted to wear a bird’s nest in her hair or spiderwebs on her fingers, who could really stop her? In Persephone’s absence, technically Emilia had more power than any other woman in the kingdom. If she wanted to start new fashions, what was stopping her? Internally rolling her eyes, Circenia idly thought of how she would have handled such a situation at Emilia’s age. She would have worn whatever she liked, then sat back and watched with satisfaction as every other noblewoman of the Court followed her example.
Ah, well. Such was the difference between the elder and younger royal.
About to answer Emilia’s next question as to whether or not there were other merchants they could visit who might have what she was looking for, her mouth closed in surprise when Danae replied instead. How would her daughter have any idea what other vendors might have such things? While she knew her youngest worked closely with her father on his business endeavors, she never would have thought she’d be involved in things like that. Opting to keep silent on it, however, she simply raised her eyebrows and let her child speak.
“Yes, we should keep looking, shouldn’t we?” the princess said once Danae was finished talking. “We came here with a purpose, and we ought not to leave empty-handed.” Flashing a smile at Emilia, she inclined her head in the younger woman’s direction. “We can’t let our lovely princess go back to the palati without what she came here for.”
Turning back to Danae, she gestured for her to lead the way. “We’ll follow you, child. Show us where you think these merchants are. And even if we don’t find them, surely we can find something along the way.”
Left with little else to do within the walls of the palati she was confined in, Emilia had recently learned to appreciate the finery of her own handiwork, in a way she had never had to scrutinize before. She had always had the choice of turning for help when she needed to, yet now when she was left unable to move as freely as she could, did Emilia realize she didn't actually necessarily need the help with the right amout of determination, and the pride in which she took having completed her own pieces shone in her hazel gaze as she shook her head to Danae's inquiry.
Allowing her dress to fall again to cover just the area above her ankles, the princess turned over to Circenia and her cheeks blushed just the right amount of pink. "I shall try to make ones befitting for you, Aunt Circenia, if you so wish." she murmured, still a little awkward about taking praise. It wasn't as if Emilia did not have practice with praise. With her status, so many people lived to praise her, if only to get into her good books. To be praised for her own handiwork however, was an entirely different feeling indeed.
When Danae suggested some stalls likely to sell the items she needed, Emilia's eyes had registered eagerness, as she followed her cousin's gaze to Circenia for approval, grinning as her aunt seemed to approve Danae's suggestion.
Nodding, Emilia eagerly dogged Danae's steps as her cousin led them to the stalls which she had mentioned, eager to expand her collection of baubles and material which she could craft these fine jewelry. Money was not an issue for Emilia... she was a princess afterall. While she had ample material to create the dresses and outfits she had always done before, jewelry and finery was a new matter which Emilia wanted to do. She had little tools, and what she had so far, she made do with her own fingers and some wire here and there. What more could she do if she could actually learn from others?
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Left with little else to do within the walls of the palati she was confined in, Emilia had recently learned to appreciate the finery of her own handiwork, in a way she had never had to scrutinize before. She had always had the choice of turning for help when she needed to, yet now when she was left unable to move as freely as she could, did Emilia realize she didn't actually necessarily need the help with the right amout of determination, and the pride in which she took having completed her own pieces shone in her hazel gaze as she shook her head to Danae's inquiry.
Allowing her dress to fall again to cover just the area above her ankles, the princess turned over to Circenia and her cheeks blushed just the right amount of pink. "I shall try to make ones befitting for you, Aunt Circenia, if you so wish." she murmured, still a little awkward about taking praise. It wasn't as if Emilia did not have practice with praise. With her status, so many people lived to praise her, if only to get into her good books. To be praised for her own handiwork however, was an entirely different feeling indeed.
When Danae suggested some stalls likely to sell the items she needed, Emilia's eyes had registered eagerness, as she followed her cousin's gaze to Circenia for approval, grinning as her aunt seemed to approve Danae's suggestion.
Nodding, Emilia eagerly dogged Danae's steps as her cousin led them to the stalls which she had mentioned, eager to expand her collection of baubles and material which she could craft these fine jewelry. Money was not an issue for Emilia... she was a princess afterall. While she had ample material to create the dresses and outfits she had always done before, jewelry and finery was a new matter which Emilia wanted to do. She had little tools, and what she had so far, she made do with her own fingers and some wire here and there. What more could she do if she could actually learn from others?
Left with little else to do within the walls of the palati she was confined in, Emilia had recently learned to appreciate the finery of her own handiwork, in a way she had never had to scrutinize before. She had always had the choice of turning for help when she needed to, yet now when she was left unable to move as freely as she could, did Emilia realize she didn't actually necessarily need the help with the right amout of determination, and the pride in which she took having completed her own pieces shone in her hazel gaze as she shook her head to Danae's inquiry.
Allowing her dress to fall again to cover just the area above her ankles, the princess turned over to Circenia and her cheeks blushed just the right amount of pink. "I shall try to make ones befitting for you, Aunt Circenia, if you so wish." she murmured, still a little awkward about taking praise. It wasn't as if Emilia did not have practice with praise. With her status, so many people lived to praise her, if only to get into her good books. To be praised for her own handiwork however, was an entirely different feeling indeed.
When Danae suggested some stalls likely to sell the items she needed, Emilia's eyes had registered eagerness, as she followed her cousin's gaze to Circenia for approval, grinning as her aunt seemed to approve Danae's suggestion.
Nodding, Emilia eagerly dogged Danae's steps as her cousin led them to the stalls which she had mentioned, eager to expand her collection of baubles and material which she could craft these fine jewelry. Money was not an issue for Emilia... she was a princess afterall. While she had ample material to create the dresses and outfits she had always done before, jewelry and finery was a new matter which Emilia wanted to do. She had little tools, and what she had so far, she made do with her own fingers and some wire here and there. What more could she do if she could actually learn from others?
When Circenia commented that perhaps she should commission Emilia to make a few pieces of jewelry, Danae could feel her face twist into a slight grimace. The noblegirl knew what would follow if her mother had the princess contribute to the cache of necklaces and bracelets in the Stravos household. First Circe would wear them, then Chara, and finally Danae would be gently encouraged to adorn her body with them as well. Even though the girl had to admit that there was a certain craftsmanship to the work that Emilia had done, she had absolutely no desire to wear the jewelry herself. It was more of a matter of principle than anything else. She might be forced to play nice and pretend that she cared for her cousin, but that would only be for a brief period of time. If she had wear the jewelry at court or at a similar function, that would be an extended period of time that she would have to be so publicly tied to the older girl. Danae would rather eat the charred remnants of the wood logs that warmed her room at night than have to wear anything that Emilia had made. She doubted that she would have much of a choice in the matter though. Danae didn't have a choice in coming here today, Circe wouldn't give her a choice in that matter either.
Luckily, she was able to force her face to relax and hide the grimace as Emilia seemingly agreed to making the jewelry. Had Danae not been wrapped up in her own thoughts of how much misery that this was going to bring her, perhaps she might have noticed how the girl seemed to shrink under the praise. Out of everyone there, she should have been the one to spot this as Danae was no stranger to not being able to handle unexpected praise, but then again Emilia had managed to accept it with so much more grace than she ever could.
She wouldn't be proud to admit this later, but once the topic turned to Emilia's fashion choices, Danae didn't pay the closest attention. It was understandable given that the differences in fabric was far from the most thrilling topic that they could choose to speak about. She just didn't care that much for matching tones or anything like that. Her mother might seemingly hate it, but there was a certain practicality to being content with whatever dress did the job. This talk about layering network on top of it seemed to be nothing short of a hassle to the girl, but she knew she had absolutely no experience in this field. It was better to just let the two princesses prattle on and hope that the subject would eventually return to the topics that Danae took an interest in.
The girl had anticipated that it would take a while, but sooner than she could have anticipated, they were once again speaking of the merchants that Danae knew. More specifically, the other women agreed to follow Danae to the other side of the market to find Emilia the supplies that were needed. She was honestly surprised that her mother didn't put up much of a fuss in regards to staying within the safer portion of the market. Especially as Danae was fairly certain that her mother would go out of her way to make her daughter miserable after this morning's rocky start... but no. Circenia was the first to agree to the girl's detour. It would have confused Danae had she not also seen how her mother had silently questioned how she had known where the metalwork had been found. Even though she couldn't know for sure, it seemed to be that Circenia was curious about what on earth could inspire her daughter to visit that side of the market often enough to be that familiar with the stalls. Surely, she likely knew the truth as there were very few secrets between the members of the Stravos family, but the stalls surrounding this one vendor would be enough to explain away why Danae had been over there so often.
She wasn't pleased with the way her mother phrased her approval, seemingly doubting Danae's knowledge of where this vendor was. As if she wouldn't know where one of the few merchants that hadn't turned their back on the little sponsorship program that she had created under her father's supervision. However, she didn't comment on it, but instead beckoned the two other women to follow her as the girl turned on her heels to lead the way. The three women weaved their way through the market passing a vast number of stalls along the way. Even though there were likely more than a few that that also carried the wares that Emilia desired, Danae did not stray from her path until they came to a rather unassuming stall with a variety of metal works laid out for customers to view. The only noticeable feature that made this particular stand was the small sash of red and gold fabric draping down from the covering overhead. Stravos colors. Even though the design could be passed off as just an interesting choice of decoration, there was another reason for it. The stall had paid for the special privilege of being able to say that they had Stravos support -- all secretly courtesy of Danae, of course.
Given the recent senate disaster, very few shops still had these sashes visible. That was why Danae had made a point to lead her mother and the princess to this one rather than some other run of the mill stall. Her father had taught her a lot about business and one of the most important lessons was about how to keep people from walking away. Rewards for loyalty were needed ever so often and what was more rewarding than being able to do business with the Princess?
The old man behind the stall practically fell out of his seat in shock when the three women approached. He was nothing short of polite as he turned his attention to Emilia and Circenia, greeting them with a certain amount of enthusiasm. Danae was sure to greet the kind man that Danae couldn't even express her gratitude for as he didn't know that it was because of her, he was able to fly those Stravos colors. "Sir Tydeides! What a pleasure it is see you again, you know my father spoke so highly of you recently." Even though her words seemed to be a friendly greeting, Danae said this purposefully to quietly pass along some information to Circenia. Her mother was a smart woman, she would undoubtedly put the pieces together and Danae needed to make sure that she knew that Tydeides was in the dark about Danae's role in how his stand was able to survive the economic troubles in the city right now. Her mother was excellent at lying in court, hopefully she could continue a little white lie here, in order to keep both Emilia and Tydeides in the dark.
Waving her cousin forward, Danae introduced the two of them with a certain level of perkiness that had not been present while they were shopping for fabrics. "I'm guessing that you haven't met my cousin, Princess Emilia? Well, she was in need of some of the delicate metals that I knew you sold." The girl said quickly before turning to your cousin to speak to her as well, "My father says that Sir Tydiedes is the best when it comes to these sorts of wares. Now what kind of metal did you need for your projects Emilia?" As she spoke, her eyes drifted to the table that was littered in small straight bands of metals that would soon be reshaped into the various pieces of jewelry that the Princess would make. All the while, she tried to avoid the gaze of her mother, nearly certain that the woman would have a word or two about the lies she was telling in order to keep her secrets hidden.
Hopefully she would save them for later, but Danae never knew when it came to these sorts of things when they involved Circenia...
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When Circenia commented that perhaps she should commission Emilia to make a few pieces of jewelry, Danae could feel her face twist into a slight grimace. The noblegirl knew what would follow if her mother had the princess contribute to the cache of necklaces and bracelets in the Stravos household. First Circe would wear them, then Chara, and finally Danae would be gently encouraged to adorn her body with them as well. Even though the girl had to admit that there was a certain craftsmanship to the work that Emilia had done, she had absolutely no desire to wear the jewelry herself. It was more of a matter of principle than anything else. She might be forced to play nice and pretend that she cared for her cousin, but that would only be for a brief period of time. If she had wear the jewelry at court or at a similar function, that would be an extended period of time that she would have to be so publicly tied to the older girl. Danae would rather eat the charred remnants of the wood logs that warmed her room at night than have to wear anything that Emilia had made. She doubted that she would have much of a choice in the matter though. Danae didn't have a choice in coming here today, Circe wouldn't give her a choice in that matter either.
Luckily, she was able to force her face to relax and hide the grimace as Emilia seemingly agreed to making the jewelry. Had Danae not been wrapped up in her own thoughts of how much misery that this was going to bring her, perhaps she might have noticed how the girl seemed to shrink under the praise. Out of everyone there, she should have been the one to spot this as Danae was no stranger to not being able to handle unexpected praise, but then again Emilia had managed to accept it with so much more grace than she ever could.
She wouldn't be proud to admit this later, but once the topic turned to Emilia's fashion choices, Danae didn't pay the closest attention. It was understandable given that the differences in fabric was far from the most thrilling topic that they could choose to speak about. She just didn't care that much for matching tones or anything like that. Her mother might seemingly hate it, but there was a certain practicality to being content with whatever dress did the job. This talk about layering network on top of it seemed to be nothing short of a hassle to the girl, but she knew she had absolutely no experience in this field. It was better to just let the two princesses prattle on and hope that the subject would eventually return to the topics that Danae took an interest in.
The girl had anticipated that it would take a while, but sooner than she could have anticipated, they were once again speaking of the merchants that Danae knew. More specifically, the other women agreed to follow Danae to the other side of the market to find Emilia the supplies that were needed. She was honestly surprised that her mother didn't put up much of a fuss in regards to staying within the safer portion of the market. Especially as Danae was fairly certain that her mother would go out of her way to make her daughter miserable after this morning's rocky start... but no. Circenia was the first to agree to the girl's detour. It would have confused Danae had she not also seen how her mother had silently questioned how she had known where the metalwork had been found. Even though she couldn't know for sure, it seemed to be that Circenia was curious about what on earth could inspire her daughter to visit that side of the market often enough to be that familiar with the stalls. Surely, she likely knew the truth as there were very few secrets between the members of the Stravos family, but the stalls surrounding this one vendor would be enough to explain away why Danae had been over there so often.
She wasn't pleased with the way her mother phrased her approval, seemingly doubting Danae's knowledge of where this vendor was. As if she wouldn't know where one of the few merchants that hadn't turned their back on the little sponsorship program that she had created under her father's supervision. However, she didn't comment on it, but instead beckoned the two other women to follow her as the girl turned on her heels to lead the way. The three women weaved their way through the market passing a vast number of stalls along the way. Even though there were likely more than a few that that also carried the wares that Emilia desired, Danae did not stray from her path until they came to a rather unassuming stall with a variety of metal works laid out for customers to view. The only noticeable feature that made this particular stand was the small sash of red and gold fabric draping down from the covering overhead. Stravos colors. Even though the design could be passed off as just an interesting choice of decoration, there was another reason for it. The stall had paid for the special privilege of being able to say that they had Stravos support -- all secretly courtesy of Danae, of course.
Given the recent senate disaster, very few shops still had these sashes visible. That was why Danae had made a point to lead her mother and the princess to this one rather than some other run of the mill stall. Her father had taught her a lot about business and one of the most important lessons was about how to keep people from walking away. Rewards for loyalty were needed ever so often and what was more rewarding than being able to do business with the Princess?
The old man behind the stall practically fell out of his seat in shock when the three women approached. He was nothing short of polite as he turned his attention to Emilia and Circenia, greeting them with a certain amount of enthusiasm. Danae was sure to greet the kind man that Danae couldn't even express her gratitude for as he didn't know that it was because of her, he was able to fly those Stravos colors. "Sir Tydeides! What a pleasure it is see you again, you know my father spoke so highly of you recently." Even though her words seemed to be a friendly greeting, Danae said this purposefully to quietly pass along some information to Circenia. Her mother was a smart woman, she would undoubtedly put the pieces together and Danae needed to make sure that she knew that Tydeides was in the dark about Danae's role in how his stand was able to survive the economic troubles in the city right now. Her mother was excellent at lying in court, hopefully she could continue a little white lie here, in order to keep both Emilia and Tydeides in the dark.
Waving her cousin forward, Danae introduced the two of them with a certain level of perkiness that had not been present while they were shopping for fabrics. "I'm guessing that you haven't met my cousin, Princess Emilia? Well, she was in need of some of the delicate metals that I knew you sold." The girl said quickly before turning to your cousin to speak to her as well, "My father says that Sir Tydiedes is the best when it comes to these sorts of wares. Now what kind of metal did you need for your projects Emilia?" As she spoke, her eyes drifted to the table that was littered in small straight bands of metals that would soon be reshaped into the various pieces of jewelry that the Princess would make. All the while, she tried to avoid the gaze of her mother, nearly certain that the woman would have a word or two about the lies she was telling in order to keep her secrets hidden.
Hopefully she would save them for later, but Danae never knew when it came to these sorts of things when they involved Circenia...
When Circenia commented that perhaps she should commission Emilia to make a few pieces of jewelry, Danae could feel her face twist into a slight grimace. The noblegirl knew what would follow if her mother had the princess contribute to the cache of necklaces and bracelets in the Stravos household. First Circe would wear them, then Chara, and finally Danae would be gently encouraged to adorn her body with them as well. Even though the girl had to admit that there was a certain craftsmanship to the work that Emilia had done, she had absolutely no desire to wear the jewelry herself. It was more of a matter of principle than anything else. She might be forced to play nice and pretend that she cared for her cousin, but that would only be for a brief period of time. If she had wear the jewelry at court or at a similar function, that would be an extended period of time that she would have to be so publicly tied to the older girl. Danae would rather eat the charred remnants of the wood logs that warmed her room at night than have to wear anything that Emilia had made. She doubted that she would have much of a choice in the matter though. Danae didn't have a choice in coming here today, Circe wouldn't give her a choice in that matter either.
Luckily, she was able to force her face to relax and hide the grimace as Emilia seemingly agreed to making the jewelry. Had Danae not been wrapped up in her own thoughts of how much misery that this was going to bring her, perhaps she might have noticed how the girl seemed to shrink under the praise. Out of everyone there, she should have been the one to spot this as Danae was no stranger to not being able to handle unexpected praise, but then again Emilia had managed to accept it with so much more grace than she ever could.
She wouldn't be proud to admit this later, but once the topic turned to Emilia's fashion choices, Danae didn't pay the closest attention. It was understandable given that the differences in fabric was far from the most thrilling topic that they could choose to speak about. She just didn't care that much for matching tones or anything like that. Her mother might seemingly hate it, but there was a certain practicality to being content with whatever dress did the job. This talk about layering network on top of it seemed to be nothing short of a hassle to the girl, but she knew she had absolutely no experience in this field. It was better to just let the two princesses prattle on and hope that the subject would eventually return to the topics that Danae took an interest in.
The girl had anticipated that it would take a while, but sooner than she could have anticipated, they were once again speaking of the merchants that Danae knew. More specifically, the other women agreed to follow Danae to the other side of the market to find Emilia the supplies that were needed. She was honestly surprised that her mother didn't put up much of a fuss in regards to staying within the safer portion of the market. Especially as Danae was fairly certain that her mother would go out of her way to make her daughter miserable after this morning's rocky start... but no. Circenia was the first to agree to the girl's detour. It would have confused Danae had she not also seen how her mother had silently questioned how she had known where the metalwork had been found. Even though she couldn't know for sure, it seemed to be that Circenia was curious about what on earth could inspire her daughter to visit that side of the market often enough to be that familiar with the stalls. Surely, she likely knew the truth as there were very few secrets between the members of the Stravos family, but the stalls surrounding this one vendor would be enough to explain away why Danae had been over there so often.
She wasn't pleased with the way her mother phrased her approval, seemingly doubting Danae's knowledge of where this vendor was. As if she wouldn't know where one of the few merchants that hadn't turned their back on the little sponsorship program that she had created under her father's supervision. However, she didn't comment on it, but instead beckoned the two other women to follow her as the girl turned on her heels to lead the way. The three women weaved their way through the market passing a vast number of stalls along the way. Even though there were likely more than a few that that also carried the wares that Emilia desired, Danae did not stray from her path until they came to a rather unassuming stall with a variety of metal works laid out for customers to view. The only noticeable feature that made this particular stand was the small sash of red and gold fabric draping down from the covering overhead. Stravos colors. Even though the design could be passed off as just an interesting choice of decoration, there was another reason for it. The stall had paid for the special privilege of being able to say that they had Stravos support -- all secretly courtesy of Danae, of course.
Given the recent senate disaster, very few shops still had these sashes visible. That was why Danae had made a point to lead her mother and the princess to this one rather than some other run of the mill stall. Her father had taught her a lot about business and one of the most important lessons was about how to keep people from walking away. Rewards for loyalty were needed ever so often and what was more rewarding than being able to do business with the Princess?
The old man behind the stall practically fell out of his seat in shock when the three women approached. He was nothing short of polite as he turned his attention to Emilia and Circenia, greeting them with a certain amount of enthusiasm. Danae was sure to greet the kind man that Danae couldn't even express her gratitude for as he didn't know that it was because of her, he was able to fly those Stravos colors. "Sir Tydeides! What a pleasure it is see you again, you know my father spoke so highly of you recently." Even though her words seemed to be a friendly greeting, Danae said this purposefully to quietly pass along some information to Circenia. Her mother was a smart woman, she would undoubtedly put the pieces together and Danae needed to make sure that she knew that Tydeides was in the dark about Danae's role in how his stand was able to survive the economic troubles in the city right now. Her mother was excellent at lying in court, hopefully she could continue a little white lie here, in order to keep both Emilia and Tydeides in the dark.
Waving her cousin forward, Danae introduced the two of them with a certain level of perkiness that had not been present while they were shopping for fabrics. "I'm guessing that you haven't met my cousin, Princess Emilia? Well, she was in need of some of the delicate metals that I knew you sold." The girl said quickly before turning to your cousin to speak to her as well, "My father says that Sir Tydiedes is the best when it comes to these sorts of wares. Now what kind of metal did you need for your projects Emilia?" As she spoke, her eyes drifted to the table that was littered in small straight bands of metals that would soon be reshaped into the various pieces of jewelry that the Princess would make. All the while, she tried to avoid the gaze of her mother, nearly certain that the woman would have a word or two about the lies she was telling in order to keep her secrets hidden.
Hopefully she would save them for later, but Danae never knew when it came to these sorts of things when they involved Circenia...
The longer she followed after Danae, the more Emilia couldn't help but wonder if her cousin was simply lost, but trying to not act as such? It seemed such a long way in order to find a merchant of metal works, that when they eventually did make their way to a stall where a variety of metallic material was laid out for sale, Emilia wore a noticeable look of surprise, her eyes so enchanted by the things on sale she barely noticed the Stravos colors overhead. Instead, she was quickly wrapped upin the old man's greeting of them, quickly drawn to the possibilities she could purchase.
"Indeed, Sir Tydeides." she agreed with Danae's introduction quickly, her hazel eyes easily assesing what was laid for display so she could decide on what she wanted. But oh! There were far more things then she expected, could she perhaps even get a few to return home and do some experiments with it? She had been toying with a few idea's in her head, and simply lacked the material to bring it to fruition. "Gold, definitely." she started, when Danae asked. The material was most commonly used for jewelry, and the one's that Emilia worked with too, but she also used a mix of bronze to give a hint of depth to the solid gold of most jewelry, liking the play of hue's between the two types. She tended to use the bronze to make filligree as decoration.
Picking up almost everything that the merchant had for sale, she asked a few questions on the source and percentage of gold used in which to wrought out the piece of metal she'd use to form jewelry, Emilia quickly made her decision for a dozen strips of gold and two dozen of silver and bronze, before her eyes wandered further.
"Would you happen to have precious stones too, Sir Tydeides?" she asked, intending to inlay some of her creations with complementary rocks. Turning to look over her shoulder, Emilia caught her aunt's eye, before asking, "Do you prefer amethyst, Aunt Circenia? And Danae?"
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The longer she followed after Danae, the more Emilia couldn't help but wonder if her cousin was simply lost, but trying to not act as such? It seemed such a long way in order to find a merchant of metal works, that when they eventually did make their way to a stall where a variety of metallic material was laid out for sale, Emilia wore a noticeable look of surprise, her eyes so enchanted by the things on sale she barely noticed the Stravos colors overhead. Instead, she was quickly wrapped upin the old man's greeting of them, quickly drawn to the possibilities she could purchase.
"Indeed, Sir Tydeides." she agreed with Danae's introduction quickly, her hazel eyes easily assesing what was laid for display so she could decide on what she wanted. But oh! There were far more things then she expected, could she perhaps even get a few to return home and do some experiments with it? She had been toying with a few idea's in her head, and simply lacked the material to bring it to fruition. "Gold, definitely." she started, when Danae asked. The material was most commonly used for jewelry, and the one's that Emilia worked with too, but she also used a mix of bronze to give a hint of depth to the solid gold of most jewelry, liking the play of hue's between the two types. She tended to use the bronze to make filligree as decoration.
Picking up almost everything that the merchant had for sale, she asked a few questions on the source and percentage of gold used in which to wrought out the piece of metal she'd use to form jewelry, Emilia quickly made her decision for a dozen strips of gold and two dozen of silver and bronze, before her eyes wandered further.
"Would you happen to have precious stones too, Sir Tydeides?" she asked, intending to inlay some of her creations with complementary rocks. Turning to look over her shoulder, Emilia caught her aunt's eye, before asking, "Do you prefer amethyst, Aunt Circenia? And Danae?"
The longer she followed after Danae, the more Emilia couldn't help but wonder if her cousin was simply lost, but trying to not act as such? It seemed such a long way in order to find a merchant of metal works, that when they eventually did make their way to a stall where a variety of metallic material was laid out for sale, Emilia wore a noticeable look of surprise, her eyes so enchanted by the things on sale she barely noticed the Stravos colors overhead. Instead, she was quickly wrapped upin the old man's greeting of them, quickly drawn to the possibilities she could purchase.
"Indeed, Sir Tydeides." she agreed with Danae's introduction quickly, her hazel eyes easily assesing what was laid for display so she could decide on what she wanted. But oh! There were far more things then she expected, could she perhaps even get a few to return home and do some experiments with it? She had been toying with a few idea's in her head, and simply lacked the material to bring it to fruition. "Gold, definitely." she started, when Danae asked. The material was most commonly used for jewelry, and the one's that Emilia worked with too, but she also used a mix of bronze to give a hint of depth to the solid gold of most jewelry, liking the play of hue's between the two types. She tended to use the bronze to make filligree as decoration.
Picking up almost everything that the merchant had for sale, she asked a few questions on the source and percentage of gold used in which to wrought out the piece of metal she'd use to form jewelry, Emilia quickly made her decision for a dozen strips of gold and two dozen of silver and bronze, before her eyes wandered further.
"Would you happen to have precious stones too, Sir Tydeides?" she asked, intending to inlay some of her creations with complementary rocks. Turning to look over her shoulder, Emilia caught her aunt's eye, before asking, "Do you prefer amethyst, Aunt Circenia? And Danae?"
Had Circenia been able to hear her daughter’s thoughts, they no doubt would have confounded her. She would never understand why Danae would think she would ever humiliate her in public; after all, had she ever done such a thing? Yes, they had argued earlier that morning, the sort of knock-down, drag-out fight that would no doubt leave her child festering for at least the rest of the day, but if she knew what sort of assumptions the girl made about her, she would have been hurt. The Stravos matriarch had always emphasized the sort of image their family needed to maintain around others, and the fact that Danae thought she would simply go back on her own ideals so easily over things that were so minor would have insulted her beyond belief. While the princess was often stern and she held her children to high standards, she was not cruel to them. And she wouldn’t dream of insulting or belittling them in front of fellow royalty, especially not with so much on the line.
Luckily for them all, however, Circenia could not read Danae’s mind, merely her gestures and stance. It was obvious her daughter was carefully avoiding her, but that was fine. She had expected as much, and so long as no temper tantrums accompanied it, she would pretend nothing was amiss. She was quiet as she followed along behind Danae and Emilia at a sedate pace, letting the sights and sounds of the bustling market wash over her. It was rare she came down here herself; she didn’t care much for the crowds. But on the occasions she did, it was a pleasant diversion from her normal routine. Even with a sullen teenager in tow.
They arrived at the stand her daughter mentioned, Circenia noting silently the Stravos colors that lined the wood. When Danae subtly dropped her father’s name rather than her own, the princess understood that the man did not know of her child’s involvement. That wasn’t surprising, given Danae’s gender; Circenia hardly approved of such ventures herself. But she would not say anything, nor would she have even without such subtle hinting. Instead, she simply greeted the man with a gracious smile, eyeing his wares with polite interest, though truthfully, there was little there to capture her attention. He sold raw materials, not actual jewelry, and it wasn’t as if the princess spent much time crafting her own baubles.
Her smile was indulgent when Emilia turned to question her on her preferences, tapping her chin thoughtfully. It depended on the outfit, really; Circenia possessed all manner of jewels in every color of the rainbow, perfectly coordinated to her extensive wardrobe. Amethyst was nice, yes, as were sapphires, diamonds, rubies, emeralds…
“Amethyst is fine,” she said with a nod. “Rubies, too. I have a particular fondness for red over these past thirty years or so,” she added with the hint of a laugh. She often dressed in her house’s colors, so rubies matched with quite a bit of what she owned.
“I’ve a bit of both, Your Highnesses,” Tydeides answered happily, pulling out a tray of stones to show the younger princess. “And plenty more. Whatever you’d like is yours, of course. I’ve more I can have sent to you too, if none of this suits your fancy.”
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Had Circenia been able to hear her daughter’s thoughts, they no doubt would have confounded her. She would never understand why Danae would think she would ever humiliate her in public; after all, had she ever done such a thing? Yes, they had argued earlier that morning, the sort of knock-down, drag-out fight that would no doubt leave her child festering for at least the rest of the day, but if she knew what sort of assumptions the girl made about her, she would have been hurt. The Stravos matriarch had always emphasized the sort of image their family needed to maintain around others, and the fact that Danae thought she would simply go back on her own ideals so easily over things that were so minor would have insulted her beyond belief. While the princess was often stern and she held her children to high standards, she was not cruel to them. And she wouldn’t dream of insulting or belittling them in front of fellow royalty, especially not with so much on the line.
Luckily for them all, however, Circenia could not read Danae’s mind, merely her gestures and stance. It was obvious her daughter was carefully avoiding her, but that was fine. She had expected as much, and so long as no temper tantrums accompanied it, she would pretend nothing was amiss. She was quiet as she followed along behind Danae and Emilia at a sedate pace, letting the sights and sounds of the bustling market wash over her. It was rare she came down here herself; she didn’t care much for the crowds. But on the occasions she did, it was a pleasant diversion from her normal routine. Even with a sullen teenager in tow.
They arrived at the stand her daughter mentioned, Circenia noting silently the Stravos colors that lined the wood. When Danae subtly dropped her father’s name rather than her own, the princess understood that the man did not know of her child’s involvement. That wasn’t surprising, given Danae’s gender; Circenia hardly approved of such ventures herself. But she would not say anything, nor would she have even without such subtle hinting. Instead, she simply greeted the man with a gracious smile, eyeing his wares with polite interest, though truthfully, there was little there to capture her attention. He sold raw materials, not actual jewelry, and it wasn’t as if the princess spent much time crafting her own baubles.
Her smile was indulgent when Emilia turned to question her on her preferences, tapping her chin thoughtfully. It depended on the outfit, really; Circenia possessed all manner of jewels in every color of the rainbow, perfectly coordinated to her extensive wardrobe. Amethyst was nice, yes, as were sapphires, diamonds, rubies, emeralds…
“Amethyst is fine,” she said with a nod. “Rubies, too. I have a particular fondness for red over these past thirty years or so,” she added with the hint of a laugh. She often dressed in her house’s colors, so rubies matched with quite a bit of what she owned.
“I’ve a bit of both, Your Highnesses,” Tydeides answered happily, pulling out a tray of stones to show the younger princess. “And plenty more. Whatever you’d like is yours, of course. I’ve more I can have sent to you too, if none of this suits your fancy.”
Had Circenia been able to hear her daughter’s thoughts, they no doubt would have confounded her. She would never understand why Danae would think she would ever humiliate her in public; after all, had she ever done such a thing? Yes, they had argued earlier that morning, the sort of knock-down, drag-out fight that would no doubt leave her child festering for at least the rest of the day, but if she knew what sort of assumptions the girl made about her, she would have been hurt. The Stravos matriarch had always emphasized the sort of image their family needed to maintain around others, and the fact that Danae thought she would simply go back on her own ideals so easily over things that were so minor would have insulted her beyond belief. While the princess was often stern and she held her children to high standards, she was not cruel to them. And she wouldn’t dream of insulting or belittling them in front of fellow royalty, especially not with so much on the line.
Luckily for them all, however, Circenia could not read Danae’s mind, merely her gestures and stance. It was obvious her daughter was carefully avoiding her, but that was fine. She had expected as much, and so long as no temper tantrums accompanied it, she would pretend nothing was amiss. She was quiet as she followed along behind Danae and Emilia at a sedate pace, letting the sights and sounds of the bustling market wash over her. It was rare she came down here herself; she didn’t care much for the crowds. But on the occasions she did, it was a pleasant diversion from her normal routine. Even with a sullen teenager in tow.
They arrived at the stand her daughter mentioned, Circenia noting silently the Stravos colors that lined the wood. When Danae subtly dropped her father’s name rather than her own, the princess understood that the man did not know of her child’s involvement. That wasn’t surprising, given Danae’s gender; Circenia hardly approved of such ventures herself. But she would not say anything, nor would she have even without such subtle hinting. Instead, she simply greeted the man with a gracious smile, eyeing his wares with polite interest, though truthfully, there was little there to capture her attention. He sold raw materials, not actual jewelry, and it wasn’t as if the princess spent much time crafting her own baubles.
Her smile was indulgent when Emilia turned to question her on her preferences, tapping her chin thoughtfully. It depended on the outfit, really; Circenia possessed all manner of jewels in every color of the rainbow, perfectly coordinated to her extensive wardrobe. Amethyst was nice, yes, as were sapphires, diamonds, rubies, emeralds…
“Amethyst is fine,” she said with a nod. “Rubies, too. I have a particular fondness for red over these past thirty years or so,” she added with the hint of a laugh. She often dressed in her house’s colors, so rubies matched with quite a bit of what she owned.
“I’ve a bit of both, Your Highnesses,” Tydeides answered happily, pulling out a tray of stones to show the younger princess. “And plenty more. Whatever you’d like is yours, of course. I’ve more I can have sent to you too, if none of this suits your fancy.”
In the hustle and bustle to reach Sir Tydeides, none of the women apparently noticed that they had left behind the slaves who were meant to carry their purchases back to the carriages for them. Surely they were around here somewhere, making their way through the crowd after the three royal women. However, Danae had led them down such a twisting path in order to reach the raw materials vendor that the youngest Stravos doubted that they would be able to catch up anytime soon. Which posed a bit of a problem as someone needed to hold the strands of precious metals that Emilia had purchased. Although Danae had to be honest and admit that her mind had been wandering off towards the other stalls that she wanted to look at and thus did not know the exact number of things that Emilia had bought, it easily looked as if she had bought sixty long thin strands of metal. Wrapped up with several layers of twine, as if it was some sparkling bundle of wheat, Danae noticed that there was an awkward moment where the merchant realized that the usual retinue that followed his well-to-do customers like this was not present for the pair of princesses and the Stravos girl.
Had Danae been her mother, she would have just instructed Tydeides to hold onto the materials to wait for someone to fetch them later. That would be the typical response given by any sort of noble in this sort of situation. But Danae really wasn’t the typical noble, was she? The girl knew that it would be a while until the slaves found them and as much as she happened to trust Sir Tydeides, a conveniently wrapped bundle of precious metals that could serve as a makeshift coin would be rather tempting to the starving populace of Athenia. This merchant was one of the few that was doing well despite the circumstances that the kingdom was under. Danae didn’t want to knowingly threaten that by running the risk of robbery or misplacement or anything like that.
So, while Sir Tydeides looked awkwardly between the three women, unsure of what to do, it was Danae that stepped forward to take the bundle and hold it until they could reunite with their designated human donkeys. After all, who else was going to do it? Emilia, as sweet as she could be, had never been expected to carry anything in her life as a Xanthos Princess and her mother would never stoop so low to let anyone think that she hadn’t once been one herself. Not wanting to put up with this foolish nonsense about princesses and other loads of garbage, Danae just quietly took the bundle for her cousin, promising silently to herself that she would ask for a curse upon her cousin later. After all, the metal was heavy and her wrist was likely to ache for days after this, if not just completely snap in half by the time they all returned to the carriage. As far as Danae was concerned, Emilia really hadn’t done anything to have the youngest member of this shopping party carry her things… but she knew this was how things were likely going to end up anyway with the servants missing. At the fiasco that was this morning, it was just easier that Danae accepted this and didn’t cause a fuss while vowing to ask for her divine justice later.
Or at least that been Danae’s hopes when Emilia handed over the coins needed to purchase the materials. The youngest Stravos had thought that they would just get the metal wires here, but she had forgotten that Sir Tydeides was a procure of gemstones as well. Even though Danae oohed and ahhed alongside her mother when the tray of precious jewels, still rough and uncut from when they had been pulled out of the ground, she internally groaned. With so many gems having equally beautiful potential, Danae knew that they were likely going be here for a while.
With her arms already aching, the girl’s head turned towards a stall nearby that was home to a bunch of scrolls. Although it was impossible to see from here, Danae knew that most of them were filled with the most amazing stories, and the temptation to wander over there while Emilia did her window shopping was horribly large. Had she been with Chara and her mother rather than the princess, she would have slipped away in a heartbeat, but she couldn’t do that here. The curiosity and longing in her expression were hard to miss when Emilia turned to the Stravos women, pulling Danae out of her thoughts as the princess asked what the women's favorite gemstones where.
In truth, this was one of the few things that Danae actually had an opinion on when it came to fashion. Sapphires. Even though Danae was rather partial to the color red for obvious reasons, there was no denying that the young girl had a certain affinity for the color blue. She just loved the cool, calmness that the shade offered rather than the bright fire that her house colors gave off. However, she knew that this wasn’t the so-called proper answer to give as all nobles were supposed to be partial to the colors of their house. Not that it really mattered anyway. Circenia offered up the typical explanation of the Stravos women needing to be partial to the color red with a joke that Danae was able to crack a small smile at. She didn’t really find the joke funny, but the young girl knew that she was supposed to laugh at such things.
“Sapphires, actually” Danae quietly explained with a small shrug as she glanced over Emilia’s shoulder at the display of gems, “But all these stones are lovely regardless. Pick whatever ones you think look best.” There, that had to be a safe answer right? Danae wasn’t sure at first if her comment would be taken as her completely brushing off the offer of the princess, but she supposed that the purples looked okay. Granted, it wasn’t like her opinion mattered anyway as red, green, purple, or blue, Danae would have to be forced into wearing anything that Emilia made, but if it made the girl happy right now, then so be it.
As Emilia picked out her gems, Danae noticed that her mother wandered off to look at a nearby stall. Her daughter didn’t know if Circenia had found something genuinely intriguing or if she was just bored by the indecisiveness of her niece, but either way, Danae wished that she had that luxury that her mother also seemed to have. Her arms hurt underneath the weight of all this metal, She really wanted to set it down somewhere so that she might have a chance to look at the things that she wanted to buy as well, but that wasn’t likely to happen. Not as long as Emilia was staying close to Sir Tydeides’s stall. Even though Danae did not want to deny this favored merchant of hers a hefty amount of profit, the girl did want to get a move on. That was why she made a suggestion as to where they would go next once Emilia was finished here, “I know a stand that sells stories from all over the world. Do you want to go there next?” Her words were kind, showing a genuine interest for one of the first times that whole day. This might have been a good thing though as the stall nearby was something that the two cousins could perhaps bond over. Danae was an avid reader and Emilia was a hopeless romantic so surely there should be something over there that would catch both of their eyes… but that, of course, depended on the Princess being done with her shopping here first and Danae didn’t have any clue how long she would have to wait for that to be complete.
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In the hustle and bustle to reach Sir Tydeides, none of the women apparently noticed that they had left behind the slaves who were meant to carry their purchases back to the carriages for them. Surely they were around here somewhere, making their way through the crowd after the three royal women. However, Danae had led them down such a twisting path in order to reach the raw materials vendor that the youngest Stravos doubted that they would be able to catch up anytime soon. Which posed a bit of a problem as someone needed to hold the strands of precious metals that Emilia had purchased. Although Danae had to be honest and admit that her mind had been wandering off towards the other stalls that she wanted to look at and thus did not know the exact number of things that Emilia had bought, it easily looked as if she had bought sixty long thin strands of metal. Wrapped up with several layers of twine, as if it was some sparkling bundle of wheat, Danae noticed that there was an awkward moment where the merchant realized that the usual retinue that followed his well-to-do customers like this was not present for the pair of princesses and the Stravos girl.
Had Danae been her mother, she would have just instructed Tydeides to hold onto the materials to wait for someone to fetch them later. That would be the typical response given by any sort of noble in this sort of situation. But Danae really wasn’t the typical noble, was she? The girl knew that it would be a while until the slaves found them and as much as she happened to trust Sir Tydeides, a conveniently wrapped bundle of precious metals that could serve as a makeshift coin would be rather tempting to the starving populace of Athenia. This merchant was one of the few that was doing well despite the circumstances that the kingdom was under. Danae didn’t want to knowingly threaten that by running the risk of robbery or misplacement or anything like that.
So, while Sir Tydeides looked awkwardly between the three women, unsure of what to do, it was Danae that stepped forward to take the bundle and hold it until they could reunite with their designated human donkeys. After all, who else was going to do it? Emilia, as sweet as she could be, had never been expected to carry anything in her life as a Xanthos Princess and her mother would never stoop so low to let anyone think that she hadn’t once been one herself. Not wanting to put up with this foolish nonsense about princesses and other loads of garbage, Danae just quietly took the bundle for her cousin, promising silently to herself that she would ask for a curse upon her cousin later. After all, the metal was heavy and her wrist was likely to ache for days after this, if not just completely snap in half by the time they all returned to the carriage. As far as Danae was concerned, Emilia really hadn’t done anything to have the youngest member of this shopping party carry her things… but she knew this was how things were likely going to end up anyway with the servants missing. At the fiasco that was this morning, it was just easier that Danae accepted this and didn’t cause a fuss while vowing to ask for her divine justice later.
Or at least that been Danae’s hopes when Emilia handed over the coins needed to purchase the materials. The youngest Stravos had thought that they would just get the metal wires here, but she had forgotten that Sir Tydeides was a procure of gemstones as well. Even though Danae oohed and ahhed alongside her mother when the tray of precious jewels, still rough and uncut from when they had been pulled out of the ground, she internally groaned. With so many gems having equally beautiful potential, Danae knew that they were likely going be here for a while.
With her arms already aching, the girl’s head turned towards a stall nearby that was home to a bunch of scrolls. Although it was impossible to see from here, Danae knew that most of them were filled with the most amazing stories, and the temptation to wander over there while Emilia did her window shopping was horribly large. Had she been with Chara and her mother rather than the princess, she would have slipped away in a heartbeat, but she couldn’t do that here. The curiosity and longing in her expression were hard to miss when Emilia turned to the Stravos women, pulling Danae out of her thoughts as the princess asked what the women's favorite gemstones where.
In truth, this was one of the few things that Danae actually had an opinion on when it came to fashion. Sapphires. Even though Danae was rather partial to the color red for obvious reasons, there was no denying that the young girl had a certain affinity for the color blue. She just loved the cool, calmness that the shade offered rather than the bright fire that her house colors gave off. However, she knew that this wasn’t the so-called proper answer to give as all nobles were supposed to be partial to the colors of their house. Not that it really mattered anyway. Circenia offered up the typical explanation of the Stravos women needing to be partial to the color red with a joke that Danae was able to crack a small smile at. She didn’t really find the joke funny, but the young girl knew that she was supposed to laugh at such things.
“Sapphires, actually” Danae quietly explained with a small shrug as she glanced over Emilia’s shoulder at the display of gems, “But all these stones are lovely regardless. Pick whatever ones you think look best.” There, that had to be a safe answer right? Danae wasn’t sure at first if her comment would be taken as her completely brushing off the offer of the princess, but she supposed that the purples looked okay. Granted, it wasn’t like her opinion mattered anyway as red, green, purple, or blue, Danae would have to be forced into wearing anything that Emilia made, but if it made the girl happy right now, then so be it.
As Emilia picked out her gems, Danae noticed that her mother wandered off to look at a nearby stall. Her daughter didn’t know if Circenia had found something genuinely intriguing or if she was just bored by the indecisiveness of her niece, but either way, Danae wished that she had that luxury that her mother also seemed to have. Her arms hurt underneath the weight of all this metal, She really wanted to set it down somewhere so that she might have a chance to look at the things that she wanted to buy as well, but that wasn’t likely to happen. Not as long as Emilia was staying close to Sir Tydeides’s stall. Even though Danae did not want to deny this favored merchant of hers a hefty amount of profit, the girl did want to get a move on. That was why she made a suggestion as to where they would go next once Emilia was finished here, “I know a stand that sells stories from all over the world. Do you want to go there next?” Her words were kind, showing a genuine interest for one of the first times that whole day. This might have been a good thing though as the stall nearby was something that the two cousins could perhaps bond over. Danae was an avid reader and Emilia was a hopeless romantic so surely there should be something over there that would catch both of their eyes… but that, of course, depended on the Princess being done with her shopping here first and Danae didn’t have any clue how long she would have to wait for that to be complete.
In the hustle and bustle to reach Sir Tydeides, none of the women apparently noticed that they had left behind the slaves who were meant to carry their purchases back to the carriages for them. Surely they were around here somewhere, making their way through the crowd after the three royal women. However, Danae had led them down such a twisting path in order to reach the raw materials vendor that the youngest Stravos doubted that they would be able to catch up anytime soon. Which posed a bit of a problem as someone needed to hold the strands of precious metals that Emilia had purchased. Although Danae had to be honest and admit that her mind had been wandering off towards the other stalls that she wanted to look at and thus did not know the exact number of things that Emilia had bought, it easily looked as if she had bought sixty long thin strands of metal. Wrapped up with several layers of twine, as if it was some sparkling bundle of wheat, Danae noticed that there was an awkward moment where the merchant realized that the usual retinue that followed his well-to-do customers like this was not present for the pair of princesses and the Stravos girl.
Had Danae been her mother, she would have just instructed Tydeides to hold onto the materials to wait for someone to fetch them later. That would be the typical response given by any sort of noble in this sort of situation. But Danae really wasn’t the typical noble, was she? The girl knew that it would be a while until the slaves found them and as much as she happened to trust Sir Tydeides, a conveniently wrapped bundle of precious metals that could serve as a makeshift coin would be rather tempting to the starving populace of Athenia. This merchant was one of the few that was doing well despite the circumstances that the kingdom was under. Danae didn’t want to knowingly threaten that by running the risk of robbery or misplacement or anything like that.
So, while Sir Tydeides looked awkwardly between the three women, unsure of what to do, it was Danae that stepped forward to take the bundle and hold it until they could reunite with their designated human donkeys. After all, who else was going to do it? Emilia, as sweet as she could be, had never been expected to carry anything in her life as a Xanthos Princess and her mother would never stoop so low to let anyone think that she hadn’t once been one herself. Not wanting to put up with this foolish nonsense about princesses and other loads of garbage, Danae just quietly took the bundle for her cousin, promising silently to herself that she would ask for a curse upon her cousin later. After all, the metal was heavy and her wrist was likely to ache for days after this, if not just completely snap in half by the time they all returned to the carriage. As far as Danae was concerned, Emilia really hadn’t done anything to have the youngest member of this shopping party carry her things… but she knew this was how things were likely going to end up anyway with the servants missing. At the fiasco that was this morning, it was just easier that Danae accepted this and didn’t cause a fuss while vowing to ask for her divine justice later.
Or at least that been Danae’s hopes when Emilia handed over the coins needed to purchase the materials. The youngest Stravos had thought that they would just get the metal wires here, but she had forgotten that Sir Tydeides was a procure of gemstones as well. Even though Danae oohed and ahhed alongside her mother when the tray of precious jewels, still rough and uncut from when they had been pulled out of the ground, she internally groaned. With so many gems having equally beautiful potential, Danae knew that they were likely going be here for a while.
With her arms already aching, the girl’s head turned towards a stall nearby that was home to a bunch of scrolls. Although it was impossible to see from here, Danae knew that most of them were filled with the most amazing stories, and the temptation to wander over there while Emilia did her window shopping was horribly large. Had she been with Chara and her mother rather than the princess, she would have slipped away in a heartbeat, but she couldn’t do that here. The curiosity and longing in her expression were hard to miss when Emilia turned to the Stravos women, pulling Danae out of her thoughts as the princess asked what the women's favorite gemstones where.
In truth, this was one of the few things that Danae actually had an opinion on when it came to fashion. Sapphires. Even though Danae was rather partial to the color red for obvious reasons, there was no denying that the young girl had a certain affinity for the color blue. She just loved the cool, calmness that the shade offered rather than the bright fire that her house colors gave off. However, she knew that this wasn’t the so-called proper answer to give as all nobles were supposed to be partial to the colors of their house. Not that it really mattered anyway. Circenia offered up the typical explanation of the Stravos women needing to be partial to the color red with a joke that Danae was able to crack a small smile at. She didn’t really find the joke funny, but the young girl knew that she was supposed to laugh at such things.
“Sapphires, actually” Danae quietly explained with a small shrug as she glanced over Emilia’s shoulder at the display of gems, “But all these stones are lovely regardless. Pick whatever ones you think look best.” There, that had to be a safe answer right? Danae wasn’t sure at first if her comment would be taken as her completely brushing off the offer of the princess, but she supposed that the purples looked okay. Granted, it wasn’t like her opinion mattered anyway as red, green, purple, or blue, Danae would have to be forced into wearing anything that Emilia made, but if it made the girl happy right now, then so be it.
As Emilia picked out her gems, Danae noticed that her mother wandered off to look at a nearby stall. Her daughter didn’t know if Circenia had found something genuinely intriguing or if she was just bored by the indecisiveness of her niece, but either way, Danae wished that she had that luxury that her mother also seemed to have. Her arms hurt underneath the weight of all this metal, She really wanted to set it down somewhere so that she might have a chance to look at the things that she wanted to buy as well, but that wasn’t likely to happen. Not as long as Emilia was staying close to Sir Tydeides’s stall. Even though Danae did not want to deny this favored merchant of hers a hefty amount of profit, the girl did want to get a move on. That was why she made a suggestion as to where they would go next once Emilia was finished here, “I know a stand that sells stories from all over the world. Do you want to go there next?” Her words were kind, showing a genuine interest for one of the first times that whole day. This might have been a good thing though as the stall nearby was something that the two cousins could perhaps bond over. Danae was an avid reader and Emilia was a hopeless romantic so surely there should be something over there that would catch both of their eyes… but that, of course, depended on the Princess being done with her shopping here first and Danae didn’t have any clue how long she would have to wait for that to be complete.
Nott at all noticing the tension between mother and daughter, Emilia was blissfully in her own world as she nodded happily with Circenia's information on her preferred gems, and then smiled at Danae, before turning back to the vendor to pick and choose barely even noticing her aunt wandering off. Picking a few rubies, sapphires and amethyst, she added in her sister's favorite and then picked her own water emerald's for a new idea she wanted to test out. The vendor was obviously beyond pleased at the amount Emilia was buying, her patronage likely enough to feed him for a month.
Not noticing time pass as Emilia was wont to do when she was neck deep in shopping (a fact Lesley would attest to with much impatience on his end), she finally mentioned to the vendor to send the gems she had picked out to the palati (her servants were well trained to receive her shopping at anytime), before turning to Danae with a pleased smile, just as the breeze turned balmy to signal the day starting to wind down to the evening, losing some of it's afternoon heat.
"Stories?" she murmured, curiosity perked. "Do they sell the ones of Goddess Aphrodite?" she asked. Often, the 'stories' her tutors pitted at her was boring and dry, and more often then not Emilia would fall asleep before they were even a quarter of the way into the retelling of whatever historical event it was they were trying to recount to the princess. Many people thought of Emilia's romantic flights of fancies to mean she liked 'stories' - but honestly, Emilia only liked it when it happened to her, or when she had pretty eye candy to look at. Otherwise, she'd much rather be tinkering her hands on creating pretty accessories or dancing.
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Nott at all noticing the tension between mother and daughter, Emilia was blissfully in her own world as she nodded happily with Circenia's information on her preferred gems, and then smiled at Danae, before turning back to the vendor to pick and choose barely even noticing her aunt wandering off. Picking a few rubies, sapphires and amethyst, she added in her sister's favorite and then picked her own water emerald's for a new idea she wanted to test out. The vendor was obviously beyond pleased at the amount Emilia was buying, her patronage likely enough to feed him for a month.
Not noticing time pass as Emilia was wont to do when she was neck deep in shopping (a fact Lesley would attest to with much impatience on his end), she finally mentioned to the vendor to send the gems she had picked out to the palati (her servants were well trained to receive her shopping at anytime), before turning to Danae with a pleased smile, just as the breeze turned balmy to signal the day starting to wind down to the evening, losing some of it's afternoon heat.
"Stories?" she murmured, curiosity perked. "Do they sell the ones of Goddess Aphrodite?" she asked. Often, the 'stories' her tutors pitted at her was boring and dry, and more often then not Emilia would fall asleep before they were even a quarter of the way into the retelling of whatever historical event it was they were trying to recount to the princess. Many people thought of Emilia's romantic flights of fancies to mean she liked 'stories' - but honestly, Emilia only liked it when it happened to her, or when she had pretty eye candy to look at. Otherwise, she'd much rather be tinkering her hands on creating pretty accessories or dancing.
Nott at all noticing the tension between mother and daughter, Emilia was blissfully in her own world as she nodded happily with Circenia's information on her preferred gems, and then smiled at Danae, before turning back to the vendor to pick and choose barely even noticing her aunt wandering off. Picking a few rubies, sapphires and amethyst, she added in her sister's favorite and then picked her own water emerald's for a new idea she wanted to test out. The vendor was obviously beyond pleased at the amount Emilia was buying, her patronage likely enough to feed him for a month.
Not noticing time pass as Emilia was wont to do when she was neck deep in shopping (a fact Lesley would attest to with much impatience on his end), she finally mentioned to the vendor to send the gems she had picked out to the palati (her servants were well trained to receive her shopping at anytime), before turning to Danae with a pleased smile, just as the breeze turned balmy to signal the day starting to wind down to the evening, losing some of it's afternoon heat.
"Stories?" she murmured, curiosity perked. "Do they sell the ones of Goddess Aphrodite?" she asked. Often, the 'stories' her tutors pitted at her was boring and dry, and more often then not Emilia would fall asleep before they were even a quarter of the way into the retelling of whatever historical event it was they were trying to recount to the princess. Many people thought of Emilia's romantic flights of fancies to mean she liked 'stories' - but honestly, Emilia only liked it when it happened to her, or when she had pretty eye candy to look at. Otherwise, she'd much rather be tinkering her hands on creating pretty accessories or dancing.
Danae had to resist the urge to roll her eyes when Emilia asked if the stories would center on the Goddess of Love. Of course, her cousin would only take an interest in the ones where Aphrodite brought beautiful mortals together and Eros wreaked havoc with his arrows. Emilia had always been a little boy crazy, much to Danae’s confusion. She didn’t understand what the big deal was when it came to this sort of thing and why Emilia always wanted to catch the eye of whatever cute visiting lord was visiting this week. After all, it wasn’t as if any sort of passing fancy was actually going to matter in the end once other people decided how noble girls were going to spend their life. If Danae couldn’t escape the inevitable confines of an arranged marriage, how did Emilia think that she was going to be given a choice?
She didn’t voice any of this out loud though. The two girls had had enough spats in their history to know where both of them stood on this matter. While the princess was a hopeless romantic at heart and found the subject to be the only one worth talking about -- Danae was far better at compartmentalizing the subject and removing herself from the confusing subject of crushes. Even though the Stravos girl would never admit this to her cousin as she knew that Emilia would likely make it her personal mission to find the so-called ‘one’ for Danae; part of the reason why the Stravos was so quick to dismiss this whole subject was that she had never experienced it as Emilia had. She never had that boy crazy phase and the few hormone-fueled crushes that she did have? Well, those had been on other girls. But Danae was fairly certain that they didn’t count as they happened when she was younger. She hadn’t had one since turning fifteen, so she was fairly confident that those were over. Either way, her not knowing what it felt like most likely had a major influence on why she didn’t ‘get’ Emilia’s fascination with the subject. It didn’t make sense to her outside perspective with a grim taste of what reality held in store for young high-ranking girls with powerful families as they did.
However, this was supposed to be Emilia’s first day outside the Palati walls in a long time and even though Danae did not think that she was capable of sympathy when it came to the Xanthos, of all people; a small part of her was willing to indulge… even if her only motivation was getting to finally take a look at the wares that she was interested in instead of staring at gems all day.
Nodding to Emilia, she mused on the question as she adjusted the various wares that the Princess had handed to her in her arms (something that she was still not pleased with, by the way), “I mean, I don’t see why they wouldn’t? Their narratives cover just about every subject you could think of.” She gave a small shrug at this before leading the way to the stall that she had been eyeing ever since they made it to this section of the market. In truth, Danae was a little doubtful that they would have stories about Aphrodite specifically. The Stravos’s girl’s literary tastes skewed more towards contemporary histories about events that occurred in other far off places. This stall mostly catered to that by bringing news of places from far away by translating scrolls from foreign lands into the Greek language for Athenians with a thirst for knowledge to enjoy. They might have an odd retelling of Venus or Hathor, but Danae wasn’t exactly going to hold her hopes up or even tell Emilia this right away as she knew that her cousin would want to find a stall that did.
After setting the things that Emilia wanted down, Danae stepped forward to greet this merchant with a simple hello and an eager smile that had not been present throughout the day thus far. The man who stood behind this counter was fairly different from Tydeides as he was younger, probably just a few years older than the two girls themself. Plus not to mention his darker complexion made him stand out a bit from the other fairer Athenians. He was clearly from some far off land, which explained how his family was able to get these stories. He was fairly handsome as well with a kind smile, which Danae was pretty sure would make her poor cousin swoon. Oh boy, this was going to be interesting, wasn’t it?
“Hello Shadmehr,” Danae said as she greeted the man, looking at the labeled scrolls to see if there was anything that she hadn’t already looked through before, “Have you met my cousin, Princess Emilia?” Knowing that the merchant was not from Athenia, Danae had made the assumption that he would not know the princess at first glance, so she was trying to save him the embarrassment of not addressing her cousin properly. It was a good thing too as soon as Shadmhr heard the word ‘princess’ he grew visibly flustered and sank into a short bow to greet the royal woman. Danae allowed the two of them a moment or two to exchange pleasantries -- if for nothing more to hopefully get the boy craziness out of Emilia’s system before the Stravos woman spoke again.
“My cousin was looking for stories about Aphrodite, but looking at these tags it doesn’t look like there is any... ” She quietly noted as she shuffled a few of the scrolls around before she came across two at the bottom of a pile of other religious tales from far off places. Pulling them free, Danae was able to look more closer and see that one was a Trojan version of the events of the Illiad while the other focused on Hathor, the Egyptian equivalent of Aphrodite. She handed the two scrolls to her cousin with an apologetic wince as this wasn’t exactly what the older girl had wanted, but they were still at least romances. Maybe that might pique Emilia’s attention for a bit?
Handing over the scrolls, Danae turned her head back to the pile and started pulling out some of the ones that focused more on financial matters, which was where her interests lie. However, Danae should have probably been more careful in such a selection as even though it had been a long time since Danae and Emilia had met in the Palati’s library and the Princess got a hold of one of the Stravos’s girls most precious documents, she had still seen a list that might correlate to the tales that Danae was choosing. If the princess could remember that day and make the connections… well that could be quite an awkward conversation, wouldn’t it?
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Danae had to resist the urge to roll her eyes when Emilia asked if the stories would center on the Goddess of Love. Of course, her cousin would only take an interest in the ones where Aphrodite brought beautiful mortals together and Eros wreaked havoc with his arrows. Emilia had always been a little boy crazy, much to Danae’s confusion. She didn’t understand what the big deal was when it came to this sort of thing and why Emilia always wanted to catch the eye of whatever cute visiting lord was visiting this week. After all, it wasn’t as if any sort of passing fancy was actually going to matter in the end once other people decided how noble girls were going to spend their life. If Danae couldn’t escape the inevitable confines of an arranged marriage, how did Emilia think that she was going to be given a choice?
She didn’t voice any of this out loud though. The two girls had had enough spats in their history to know where both of them stood on this matter. While the princess was a hopeless romantic at heart and found the subject to be the only one worth talking about -- Danae was far better at compartmentalizing the subject and removing herself from the confusing subject of crushes. Even though the Stravos girl would never admit this to her cousin as she knew that Emilia would likely make it her personal mission to find the so-called ‘one’ for Danae; part of the reason why the Stravos was so quick to dismiss this whole subject was that she had never experienced it as Emilia had. She never had that boy crazy phase and the few hormone-fueled crushes that she did have? Well, those had been on other girls. But Danae was fairly certain that they didn’t count as they happened when she was younger. She hadn’t had one since turning fifteen, so she was fairly confident that those were over. Either way, her not knowing what it felt like most likely had a major influence on why she didn’t ‘get’ Emilia’s fascination with the subject. It didn’t make sense to her outside perspective with a grim taste of what reality held in store for young high-ranking girls with powerful families as they did.
However, this was supposed to be Emilia’s first day outside the Palati walls in a long time and even though Danae did not think that she was capable of sympathy when it came to the Xanthos, of all people; a small part of her was willing to indulge… even if her only motivation was getting to finally take a look at the wares that she was interested in instead of staring at gems all day.
Nodding to Emilia, she mused on the question as she adjusted the various wares that the Princess had handed to her in her arms (something that she was still not pleased with, by the way), “I mean, I don’t see why they wouldn’t? Their narratives cover just about every subject you could think of.” She gave a small shrug at this before leading the way to the stall that she had been eyeing ever since they made it to this section of the market. In truth, Danae was a little doubtful that they would have stories about Aphrodite specifically. The Stravos’s girl’s literary tastes skewed more towards contemporary histories about events that occurred in other far off places. This stall mostly catered to that by bringing news of places from far away by translating scrolls from foreign lands into the Greek language for Athenians with a thirst for knowledge to enjoy. They might have an odd retelling of Venus or Hathor, but Danae wasn’t exactly going to hold her hopes up or even tell Emilia this right away as she knew that her cousin would want to find a stall that did.
After setting the things that Emilia wanted down, Danae stepped forward to greet this merchant with a simple hello and an eager smile that had not been present throughout the day thus far. The man who stood behind this counter was fairly different from Tydeides as he was younger, probably just a few years older than the two girls themself. Plus not to mention his darker complexion made him stand out a bit from the other fairer Athenians. He was clearly from some far off land, which explained how his family was able to get these stories. He was fairly handsome as well with a kind smile, which Danae was pretty sure would make her poor cousin swoon. Oh boy, this was going to be interesting, wasn’t it?
“Hello Shadmehr,” Danae said as she greeted the man, looking at the labeled scrolls to see if there was anything that she hadn’t already looked through before, “Have you met my cousin, Princess Emilia?” Knowing that the merchant was not from Athenia, Danae had made the assumption that he would not know the princess at first glance, so she was trying to save him the embarrassment of not addressing her cousin properly. It was a good thing too as soon as Shadmhr heard the word ‘princess’ he grew visibly flustered and sank into a short bow to greet the royal woman. Danae allowed the two of them a moment or two to exchange pleasantries -- if for nothing more to hopefully get the boy craziness out of Emilia’s system before the Stravos woman spoke again.
“My cousin was looking for stories about Aphrodite, but looking at these tags it doesn’t look like there is any... ” She quietly noted as she shuffled a few of the scrolls around before she came across two at the bottom of a pile of other religious tales from far off places. Pulling them free, Danae was able to look more closer and see that one was a Trojan version of the events of the Illiad while the other focused on Hathor, the Egyptian equivalent of Aphrodite. She handed the two scrolls to her cousin with an apologetic wince as this wasn’t exactly what the older girl had wanted, but they were still at least romances. Maybe that might pique Emilia’s attention for a bit?
Handing over the scrolls, Danae turned her head back to the pile and started pulling out some of the ones that focused more on financial matters, which was where her interests lie. However, Danae should have probably been more careful in such a selection as even though it had been a long time since Danae and Emilia had met in the Palati’s library and the Princess got a hold of one of the Stravos’s girls most precious documents, she had still seen a list that might correlate to the tales that Danae was choosing. If the princess could remember that day and make the connections… well that could be quite an awkward conversation, wouldn’t it?
Danae had to resist the urge to roll her eyes when Emilia asked if the stories would center on the Goddess of Love. Of course, her cousin would only take an interest in the ones where Aphrodite brought beautiful mortals together and Eros wreaked havoc with his arrows. Emilia had always been a little boy crazy, much to Danae’s confusion. She didn’t understand what the big deal was when it came to this sort of thing and why Emilia always wanted to catch the eye of whatever cute visiting lord was visiting this week. After all, it wasn’t as if any sort of passing fancy was actually going to matter in the end once other people decided how noble girls were going to spend their life. If Danae couldn’t escape the inevitable confines of an arranged marriage, how did Emilia think that she was going to be given a choice?
She didn’t voice any of this out loud though. The two girls had had enough spats in their history to know where both of them stood on this matter. While the princess was a hopeless romantic at heart and found the subject to be the only one worth talking about -- Danae was far better at compartmentalizing the subject and removing herself from the confusing subject of crushes. Even though the Stravos girl would never admit this to her cousin as she knew that Emilia would likely make it her personal mission to find the so-called ‘one’ for Danae; part of the reason why the Stravos was so quick to dismiss this whole subject was that she had never experienced it as Emilia had. She never had that boy crazy phase and the few hormone-fueled crushes that she did have? Well, those had been on other girls. But Danae was fairly certain that they didn’t count as they happened when she was younger. She hadn’t had one since turning fifteen, so she was fairly confident that those were over. Either way, her not knowing what it felt like most likely had a major influence on why she didn’t ‘get’ Emilia’s fascination with the subject. It didn’t make sense to her outside perspective with a grim taste of what reality held in store for young high-ranking girls with powerful families as they did.
However, this was supposed to be Emilia’s first day outside the Palati walls in a long time and even though Danae did not think that she was capable of sympathy when it came to the Xanthos, of all people; a small part of her was willing to indulge… even if her only motivation was getting to finally take a look at the wares that she was interested in instead of staring at gems all day.
Nodding to Emilia, she mused on the question as she adjusted the various wares that the Princess had handed to her in her arms (something that she was still not pleased with, by the way), “I mean, I don’t see why they wouldn’t? Their narratives cover just about every subject you could think of.” She gave a small shrug at this before leading the way to the stall that she had been eyeing ever since they made it to this section of the market. In truth, Danae was a little doubtful that they would have stories about Aphrodite specifically. The Stravos’s girl’s literary tastes skewed more towards contemporary histories about events that occurred in other far off places. This stall mostly catered to that by bringing news of places from far away by translating scrolls from foreign lands into the Greek language for Athenians with a thirst for knowledge to enjoy. They might have an odd retelling of Venus or Hathor, but Danae wasn’t exactly going to hold her hopes up or even tell Emilia this right away as she knew that her cousin would want to find a stall that did.
After setting the things that Emilia wanted down, Danae stepped forward to greet this merchant with a simple hello and an eager smile that had not been present throughout the day thus far. The man who stood behind this counter was fairly different from Tydeides as he was younger, probably just a few years older than the two girls themself. Plus not to mention his darker complexion made him stand out a bit from the other fairer Athenians. He was clearly from some far off land, which explained how his family was able to get these stories. He was fairly handsome as well with a kind smile, which Danae was pretty sure would make her poor cousin swoon. Oh boy, this was going to be interesting, wasn’t it?
“Hello Shadmehr,” Danae said as she greeted the man, looking at the labeled scrolls to see if there was anything that she hadn’t already looked through before, “Have you met my cousin, Princess Emilia?” Knowing that the merchant was not from Athenia, Danae had made the assumption that he would not know the princess at first glance, so she was trying to save him the embarrassment of not addressing her cousin properly. It was a good thing too as soon as Shadmhr heard the word ‘princess’ he grew visibly flustered and sank into a short bow to greet the royal woman. Danae allowed the two of them a moment or two to exchange pleasantries -- if for nothing more to hopefully get the boy craziness out of Emilia’s system before the Stravos woman spoke again.
“My cousin was looking for stories about Aphrodite, but looking at these tags it doesn’t look like there is any... ” She quietly noted as she shuffled a few of the scrolls around before she came across two at the bottom of a pile of other religious tales from far off places. Pulling them free, Danae was able to look more closer and see that one was a Trojan version of the events of the Illiad while the other focused on Hathor, the Egyptian equivalent of Aphrodite. She handed the two scrolls to her cousin with an apologetic wince as this wasn’t exactly what the older girl had wanted, but they were still at least romances. Maybe that might pique Emilia’s attention for a bit?
Handing over the scrolls, Danae turned her head back to the pile and started pulling out some of the ones that focused more on financial matters, which was where her interests lie. However, Danae should have probably been more careful in such a selection as even though it had been a long time since Danae and Emilia had met in the Palati’s library and the Princess got a hold of one of the Stravos’s girls most precious documents, she had still seen a list that might correlate to the tales that Danae was choosing. If the princess could remember that day and make the connections… well that could be quite an awkward conversation, wouldn’t it?