The proud standing arena fighter was heavily intrigued by the ships or boats or... whatever they were, starting off and racing. Balius was not the most savvy on what watercraft were called, all he could really tell, was that these were smaller and more maneuverable from the one his uncle had shipped him off on, those many years ago. He knew he had once upon a time known the proper names of the boats, as he had been on a them countless times making the trips from Magnemea to Megaris during his mining days. It was pointless to try to remember, his priorities in life didn't bother with such things anymore.

It was in the middle of these thoughts and mentally cringing at the severe crash and carnage that was happening when Lady Ivra beckoned his attention to her. Dutifully, Balius went to her to see what she needed. After-all she was conversing with some relatives of hers as she watched her grand-nieces complete public duties at the main events, like she had once done many years ago with her own siblings. Most likely. He stooped slightly to so she could tell him what she needed more privately. Balius looked up as she subtly pointed towards her grandnephew, Rafail. He nodded courteously, "Yes Mistress." Acquiescing to do as asked of him.

From there, Balius made his way through the people to where Rafail of Marikas was trying to get to Princess Emilia, with no luck on his part. Once to the pretty dressed man, the gladiator cleared his throat to grab Rafail's attention, hopefully it was in time before the public actions of rejection Princess Emilia gave, could set Rafail's temper off. "Ehem. Lord Rafail, on behalf of Lady Ivra, I am to heavily suggest you to back-down from this line of pursuit. Not all fillies receive the attention of a stallion as a compliment m'lord." Balius waited for a few moments to see how Lord Rafail may react to this. "There are others here to grace with your presence too." He prayed to the loins of Zues that Rafail's temper wouldn't get the better of him. The gladiator didn't want to have to try to subtly remove the young royal, as requested by the Matriarch of Marikas, if a temper-tantrum was to arise. It would not help the Marikas reputation if such a public display was to happen.

Already there was commotion from the market stalls lining the streets by the docks, Balius was not keen to add to such. Alas he would if Lord Rafail was to become unreasonable. No matter what Rafail was to command of him, tell him to leave or something, he would stick by Lady Ivra's word first as she was head of the house. Balius, as champion of Marikas, took it upon himself to help the public image of the house and if putting a halt on a possible public embarrassment was what was needed. Even if it may upset that one individual, it at least let the rest of the household have some dignity left by the end of the day.

Hearing Dysmas greet him, Linos gave him a soft smile, "I did promise to come, Dys. Don't think I would so easily break a my word." The scholar's gaze shifted from his older brother to Cyrene and then Thalia. Oh, Thalia. He felt his smile grow wider seeing her. It was as if every second with his sister was a blessing from the Gods. He knew that she was here to stay now, but it almost felt as if she were water through his fingers, easy to slip away through the cracks, unable to be retained again. He felt as if every second with her mattered.

Mouth agape, readying to greet his sister and cousin, Linos was cut off by Cyrene speaking of needed something sweet to eat. He closed his mouth, looking down to his hands, only seeing a book and no coin purse... Again... One of these days he was sure to remember it. The image of his silk, red coin purse with white draw strings danced across his mind. Linos was never known for remembering items, in fact, he was infamous in his family for leaving things behind. Especially his coin purse. As Dysmas expressed that the youngest brother never had his coin purse on him, Linos felt the heat rise to his cheeks. He sighed, "At least I don't leave things so easy for others to find, Dys." He gave his brother a knowing smirk before turning his attention back toward his sister and cousin. However, it was then that from behind he heard an all so familiar voice.

His heart leaped into his throat as he noticed Daniil enter their group. Oh no. The scholar had yet to really work out his feelings for the lady, even if they had shared quite a um... intimate moment upon the cliffs only a few days ago. Knowing it inappropriate to ignore a greeting, he tilted his head to the side and gave a warm smile, as per his usual,"Good day, Lady Daniil! I hope the event is treating you well." It was so strange to call her with her honorifics, after they had dropped them upon the cliffside. It almost felt cold, as if she were a stranger. But to him, she seemed so far from that. She was warm, safe, and good. Not something strange or foreign. He bit his lip, reminded of their escapade.

Pulse now beating faster, Linos glanced at his book. Was he reading? No, not really. His eyes only glazed over the words as he stared at the pages. It was an excuse to not speak. He was sure that he'd say something inappropriate or awkward if he opened his mouth in these circumstances. She was beautiful as ever today. He knew not of how to react. He wasn't even supposed to be thinking these things about her, or so others would say. Yet, he so desperately wanted to spend more time with Daniil. It was a curious feeling, a desire that was unable to be extinguished. So strange, yet so lovely. His blood ached to take her hand, to feel it's warmth in his own, but he knew better.

The young man's hand could be in hers, their fingers intertwined. Hearts in harmony, they could be gazing into the waves, watching the boats, side by side. They could be enjoying each other's company, and maybe even the event itself, just them. It could be a lovely day instead of a bothersome one, just with her.

But he knew better.

The two could have skipped the event all together, and went on a walk. Their destination could have been somewhere quiet, calm, and serene. Perhaps it could be under a tree or among several flowers. Just them, quietly whispering about anything and everything. Listening to each other's thoughts, ideas, words... Just learning about each other, with each other...

But he knew better.

Perhaps, they could be sitting somewhere warm and safe. Nothing to harm them. Nothing to hear them. Nothing to bother them. Just a small room, cozy and quaint. Sitting alone, hand in hand, eyes gazing into eyes. Maybe then, one could lean into the other, a soft kiss being placed on each other's lips. Butterflies in his stomach as they were on the cliffs from such a soft touch.

But he knew so much better.

He didn't just know better, he had to know better. He wasn't given the option to blissfully ignore social stigma. No, not when she was in such high standing. If he dared to make one false move, it wasn't only his reputation that could be tarnished. He absolutely feared the day that he would hurt her in any way, and that included socially. Things such as titles and class were never important to Linos, he thought of a commoner as equal to a king. But now... Now... It mattered. It meant something. It was a cliff in which he felt almost impossible to surmount. She was above him and that meant they wouldn't be able to spend time so easily together, not to mention spend time alone again. It felt so crushing. Thinking about it almost always soured his mood, because it was just so... Unfair. He never expected the station of his birth to ever affect him in life. He was to be a scholar, a man of knowledge. He was thankful that he was able to pursue such a thing by his class, but he easily shared such information with anyone who asked, regardless of class or social standing. However now, it was different. Matters of the heart were confusing and strange. They forced him to fit right into social standing and to act with proper etiquette: something he always had struggled with.

Not to mention, Panos put the fear of the gods in him when he visited him while he was studying, quite frankly out of nowhere. It was as if he was blessed with these overwhelming feelings that pounded in his head and made his stomach dance, but was cursed to never act on them. He wanted to so bad. He wanted to lean in and take her hand and ask her how she had been these past few days and what was on her mind. But he couldn't and so he wouldn't. He would reserve himself, as per usual. He wouldn't embarrass himself, or more importantly, her, no matter how much his heart pounded or his head told him not to.

He flipped a page in his book, the sound sobering him. He needed to focus. On what? The words... Right. He began to read his book once again. However, it was as if as soon as the words entered his head they left, flying away. His mind now stood blank, a void waiting to be filled. It wasn't long until thoughts of Daniil took over that space, her beauty ravishing through his head. It was useless to try to not think of her. She was so close, yet so far. Right in front of him she stood, but he wouldn't be allowed to take one step closer. It was unnerving, but also somewhat beautiful. Vying for her touch, but knowing it would not happen, Linos flipped the page again, giving his fingers something to do other than scream for her skin.

Daring to glance up at her, he noticed she too was looking back at him. Eyes locked for only a second, Linos quickly diverted his attention again to his book. One small look meant so much, it communicated a whole story. They had something to be kept a secret. One glance, eyes connecting, sent everything. They were in dangerous waters, and it could turn embarrassing, but it would be alright. Just as long as neither gave a hint as to anything being wrong... Right? At least he had Dysmas here. The senator could guide the conversation and Linos would just have to stand there, pretending to read. Everything would work out in the end. However, the whole encounter seemed to be cursed by the Gods themselves because it was then that he felt Dysmas set his hand upon his shoulder. The words of his older brother rang in his ears as he glanced at him. He was leaving him alone with the three women.

Linos exhaled, running his hand through his wavy brown locks, "I suppose..." His voice drew out softly as he glanced at his brother leaving. Hm. He looked at the three women in front of him, cautiously closing his book, taking note of where he left off. He glanced at them, "Apparently, I am in charge now..." His voice trailed off wistfully, wishing he had time to read. "Hm... What an interesting dilemma. I'm rarely the eldest in a group." He quietly mused what this responsibility was to entail, but it sounded rather boring. He never really was one for bossing others around or for enforcing strict rules. Laid back, and pensive, Linos would pretty much allow whatever the three women wished. However, the silence was dragging out much more than he wished. With one look at Daniil, he felt his head spin a bit. No, no, no... Don't be embarrassing. Don't let Dysmas down... C'mon, Linos... He gave a gentle smile to the three, quickly thinking up conversation. Oh, how so did he dislike public situations, "Aha... I am quite excited for my leave from the Scholieo soon. It is scheduled for the start of next month. I have matters to attend to in Colchis. I'm excited to learn more."

Linos gave a sheepish smile. It was known by both Daniil and Thalia already that this trip would take place, but honestly, he was just trying to take up the pause in conversation with anything. As he paused, he felt his gaze wander over to Daniil. The scholar gave her a warm smile, struggling to not stare at her for too long before looking at the three of them as a group. It was all too much. When was Dysmas coming back?

He quickly glanced to Thalia and Cyrene. Ah, family. He loved his family. They always took care of him and he did as well in return. He studied them, trying to ground himself in them. They were comfortable. They were kind. Taking a deep breath, and exhaling, Linos finally felt himself settling down. Even if he did something stupid, at least the people around them were those who would understand. He smiled especially at Thalia, "It's amazing to be able to spend time with you this month, Thalia. I'm happy to have you back." He hoped the heartfelt compliment would not only put him at ease, but her as well. Being kidnapped must have been terrifying and Linos was sure it had scarred her. No matter his silly problems, he should have been focused on her. "Is there anything you'd wish to do, my dear sister?"

Turning away from the actual events unfolding before her, Agathe scanned the crowd. Her interest lay not with the ship race, but with the communal juxtaposition that would be her entertainment for the day. While the young woman had many, far better ways she would have preferred to spend her time, she had to admit that Kingdom-wide events were certainly an excellent source of social fodder. Any time the lowest classes were invited to spend time rubbing elbows with royals always proved to be...interesting, to say the least.

She spotted her uncle first. He was making a scene, as was his way, attempting to capture the attention of Princess Emilia. Unfortunately for him, the Princess was not at all interested in his games. Agathe had to admit there was some satisfaction in watching her cousin dismiss Rafail so easily. As she observed the man’s irritation, she took note of Balius’s approach. The Marikas gladiator appeared ready to physically remove Rafail from the situation and Agathe huffed at the idea of her meticulously groomed uncle thrown over the shoulder of such an appreciably robust man.

Agathe shook the thought from her mind as she continued her sweep across the crowds. Her grandfather had settled himself near the edge of the dock and was intently watching the race as it unfolded. Immediately disinterested in Panos, she moved on and caught the wandering gaze of her youngest sister, Daniil. She appeared to be searching for someone, even though she was standing with Cyrene, another woman, and two men. Struck with a passive curiosity, Agathe began to make her way to the small gathering.

Agathe shouldered her way through the crowd, frustrated by the crush of people around her and their unwillingness to make way for the young royal. At once, a sickening crunch pervaded the air, turning the woman’s stomach, and a narrow pathway opened as the attendees’ attention was drawn towards the harbor. Agathe knew the sound of splitting wood and the bone-chilling screams that usually accompanied it well enough. The harbors of Athenia were notoriously dangerous, between the rocks and rapidly changing tides the sounds of shipwrecks were all too common an occurrence.

After what felt like a lifetime of shoving peasants, Agathe approached her sister. The girls could hardly be described as friends. In fact, they were more often at each other’s throats than not, but Agathe had come to find herself harboring more affectionate feelings towards the younger woman in recent months. While she would never admit it to Daniil, she had caught herself sporting a friendlier demeanor towards her sister. Part of Agathe pondered whether it had to do with Daniil’s marked effort to exhibit increasingly feminine qualities, especially in public and while attending courtly functions.

Reaching out, Agathe grasped Daniil’s arm just below the elbow in one hand and took her hand in the other, offering a gentle squeeze in greeting. Holding on to her sister, Agathe attempted to still the young woman as she shifted on her feet. It was hardly proper for a Lady to appear so nervous, whether she felt that way or not. Taking stock of what was left of Daniil’s company, she offered a warm smile before turning back to her sister, “Sister, are you going to introduce me or shall I do that as well?”

For what felt like an eternity yet was only a few moments, Esdras and his crew were in the clear, behind a few other ships but not close enough to any that they might have had any issues. Only the warning cries of the others alerted him to the danger that they were approaching and he gave a shout to have the boat turned in order to avoid the two that had collided and were now dead ahead. They had been planning to sail through the more dangerous waters of the reefs to try to get ahead, but with this sort of crash there was little choice except to turn away and Esdras let out a cry of frustration as their ship maneuvered away from the crash and out into safer waters.

This route would take them far longer, and this route would lose them the race, he was nearly certain of it. He could see the money for his own ship fading in the distance as they set out to follow a few of the others who had decided to chance the safer but longer route instead of the mess that was taking place in the reefs of the shorter path. Perhaps if all of the other boats in the reefs crashed, or got stuck on the barely submerged rocks, those of them who’d taken the longer path would have a chance.

With visions of his own fleet dancing about in his head, a wealth of treasures and adventures on his deck as they crossed the sea from one foreign place to another, the dark haired Taengean urged on his men and they echoed back affirming calls. It was good to have worked together in such tight quarters before, the bond they had gained sailing across the Aegean before now showing as they pulled alongside and then inched past one of the other ships in safer waters. If they took the route closest to the danger, but still in the clear, they might be able to out run the others if the wind blew their way. With a prayer offered up to Poseidon and his lady Amphitrite, the sailors put their backs into the work and kept the sails sharply trimmed to keep them full on the run.

With the second harbor coming into view and their skafos closing in on yet another, hope was restored as he kept his eyes away from the more dangerous waters, trying to pretend he hadn’t seen the fin he knew full well he had in the depths. The sharks were arriving, swarming to the scent of blood from those injured in the earlier collisions, and once again Esdras prayed there were relief teams for those who had been caught, or that they would be able to swim to safety. The sea was no place for everyone, there were those who did not treat it with the cautious awe and respect it deserved, and they were the ones who would be the first to be taken by it.

The sailors were deft, save for the Condos skafos and the other which had collided straight into the Condos vessal. Both remained carnages floating on the sea, its sailor and team struggling to remain afloat amongst the currents of the unpredictable sea. In a distance, Emilia could see some of the Athenian sailors under royal coin dive in to assist in getting the sailors of the crashed vessels out of the tumultuous waters, but the princess had her attention on the race instead, along with the remainder of the sailors. What appeared as if an unsponsored skafos raced forward but made a wide berth, deft manovring getting them away from the majority of the carnage that would've proved otherwise dangerous to a speeding skafos.

While that would ultimately put them behind in terms of placings, Emilia recognized when danger was better to be avoided rather then challenged head on. As the winds picked up, the remainder of the skafos's raced on - the Marikas sponsored team seemed to be running a close head on head race with the unsponsored team, just hair's breadth ahead of vessel Emilia knew belonged to a small fisherman family from Athenia. Further behind were the ones belonging to smaller noble families from further provinces who had travelled to Athenia for the annual sailing event, and shouts could be heard even above the calls of the seagulls, as everyone tried to catch up as they approached the second harbor.

Standing at the edges of the second harbor, as Emilia watched the approach of the sailors, her eyes narrowed when the waters nearest to them suddenly swarmed. The harbor that contained the most amount of dangerous rocks and sharks to begin with, what caught Emilia's eye the most was not those dangerous matters, but the way in which the sharks swarmed so close to the surface. Sharks were usually animals that remained further below the surface, especially on days where the waters were so unrestful due to the amount of activity from the skafos race.

So when she noticed the swarm of sharks, easily a dozen or more of them, and bigger then the usual sizes, begin surfacing, her heart skipped a beat, and she unconsciously looked around her for either her sister, or Nicholai. Noting that Persephone was nowhere to be found, instead Emilia reached out to Nicholai, tugging at his sleeve for his attention, before she pointed at the stirring waters. The sailors were too close to avoid it now.

"Nicholai, the sharks." she murmured.

But Emilia's words were as good as the wind on a winter's day for cooling someone down. As if attacking as one, the ferocious sea animals suddenly dived out of the water and crashed against the sides of the boats, some of them taking huge hunks out of the bottom part of skafos's. Panic reigned suddenly in the vicinity of the second harbor as almost every skafos was attacked by the large bull sharks, their sharp teeth and strong jaws easily taking out hunks of the ships in the race. Lord Fyrios was first to go, with one of his men yelling as they fell overboard, blood immediately staining the waters when he was taken by the animals attacking them.

Her blood drained from her face, but princess that she was, Emilia took a steeling, steadying breathe, and remained standing, even as the spectators around them surged forward for a closer look. Trusting her guard to keep the people away from her, Emilia waved at them. "Lets go to the third harbor. Quickly." It was widely known that this was a dangerous event. She could only hope the Athenian relief team was on hand to help whoever that got themselves in the greatest danger from the unprecedented shark attack in the second harbor. Whoever it was, they had definitely incited the anger of the Gods, to have the sharks in such a ferocious mood.

It was supposed to be a calm, lighthearted day. A serene afternoon by the water to watch the boat races. But what Thalia could only barely tolerate of a social situation was spiraling out of control. There were too many people in attendance and it was playing with her mind. First, she was seeing Lukos, and now her cousins were joining.. Which.. She could tolerate much more than most of society. Her brothers and now Lady Danill.

She did her best to smile awkwardly at each person who joined them and greet them in kind.. Even if her words were automatic. Well practiced from years at court. Nothing at court was ever sincere unless someone was sincerely intent on ruining someone's reputation. As of late, that was hers. But the looks she received from her family could almost be considered worse. Not a minute went by that she wasn’t thankful for them. That she didn’t remember every night she spent staring up at the inside of a boat in the middle of the Aegean Sea.. or on the steps of the abandoned temple on the island where she didn’t wish to see them again. She needed her family like she needed oxygen. ...But they stared at her differently now; as if expecting her to crack. As if the weight of the world would break her at any moment. They glanced around fervently expecting her to succumb to another pirate and then the relief that blanketed their features when their eyes alighted on her only made her stomach twist in guilt.

Guilt for what? For fate? In the situation, she’d done all that she could. In the situation, she’d fought to survive and she’d buried everything afterward under the justification that it’d worked. If she hadn’t done everything as she did she’d likely be dead now.

They held her close; drawing her attention back to the group even as she tried to find Lukos in the crowd again. Clearly, it’d been a trick of her mind and so she turned back to the conversation; just barely comprehending what they were speaking of as Dysmas separated himself to get something to eat for Linos and Cyrene. ...She furrowed her brow but bit her tongue. Had they been hungry they were welcome to the leg of mutton she’d handed off to a street urchin moments ago. She was famished, but she would have shared.

Linos drew her attention and expressed his gratitude at having her back and her mouth quirked up. She was glad to be home.. But she’d been home for months. When would the memory fade for them? How much harder would it be when she left with Lukos again? “Oh… No, Linos.. Thank you.” She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m fine, really.. Just. ...There’s.. So many people here.” Her face seemed to flush and then pale immediately after. “Cyrene… as to not risk scaring my brothers by disappearing, would you walk with me to the pier for some fresh air?”

Further down the line and away from where the boats had launched and the princesses were speaking, there was a bit of a break in the crowds. And without giving her much time to answer, she pulled her away so that they could stand at the back, much to the younger girls consternation, and watch the ships and the chaos of the events unfold from afar.

Even on her day off, Dianthe seemed to find things to do in the palace. She felt like her work was never done. She knew she should be down at the boat races enjoying her day off but there was just a few more things that needed to be finalized. Once they were done, she went to her room and began rummaging around in her clothes. What was good to wear at a thing like this? One of her nicer peplos grabbed her attention. It was a pale blue in color and had silver clasps on the shoulders. Would this work? Should she dress nicely for it? Deciding that she might as well, she quickly shimmied out of her other clothing and slid the peplos on. Around her neck was the God Apollo necklace that she was given when she was very young. It seemed to be the only thing she had of her mother.... or maybe it was her fathers. She wasn't really sure.

Sandels strapped securely to her feet, she made her way down to the boat harbors. There was a cart there to carry her down to the main area and she graciously thanked the man that helped and gave him a couple drachmae. The older man gave her a toothy smile and went about his business. Dianthe gave him a nod and dip of the head of thanks and went about her way down the harbor to where there was a rather large crowd gathering. Things must have been getting rather intense, for she could hear cheering and ooo'ing and ahhh'ing as she got closer.

Dianthe had no idea of what was really going on in the water but from the look on some of the people's faces, it didn't look good. Quickly looking around, the redhead tried to find someone whom she had known. However, so far, there was no luck. Sure, there were familiar faces but none that she actually knew or had spoken to before.