Just what her parents feared. She doesn't care about the rumors and wants to keep being his friend.
It'd been over a week since I found my way to Ismene-Eirene's home. And worse than before, she seems to haunt my thoughts, mostly my dreams. She knows who I am now, yet said I could call on her if I wanted. Sure, she'd been afraid, but she didn't let the fear she felt, which she knew was only there because of what others said, decide her view of me. It was strange, and it felt nice to know someone out there wanted my company. It was a stark contrast to dealing with my father and Eugenius as they not so covert attempts to arrange my future. Such as this morning. When I entered the dining hall for breakfast, I found my father seated with Eugenius talking with General Thales at one end of the table. At the same time, Kyltië chatted away with Thale's wife, Nomiki, and daughter Daphne at the other. All conversation stopped when I entered. My eyes cut from our guests and landed directly on my father. What the hell is going on!? I don't probably want to know the answer to that. This can't
This was the most awkward my rounds have ever been. The only person who was having fun was Hypatos when he joined us, having been waiting for me at the first stop. The old one-armed soldier was having difficulty not laughing. I’m glad he finds this amusing. I think it’s a damn waste of time. At every stop, her presence created a stir. Soldiers were surprised to see a woman with me, period. They were even more surprised because she was attractive. They held their tongues well enough around me, but I saw how they looked at her and then the fear when I caught them. I don’t care that they were undressing her with their eyes. It isn’t polite, but it’s not going to offend me. She isn’t with me in that sense. I’m stuck with her till my rounds are over, and then I can dump her off at her house and never speak to her again. She can tell her parents I was rude and dismissive of her and that she’d prefer any man but me as a husband. And I can tell my father and Eugenius to talk to me when they
It had been over two weeks since I’d last spoken with Andy. I’ve been busy learning the business and getting more familiar with the house and surrounding streets. Though without Rae, I am still limited on how far I can go. My parents don’t trust many to accompany me far from the house. So, I only get to go into the market if it’s with one of them. It is getting tedious. When I could go out, I heard some news about Andy. He’s talked about much more here in the capital than he ever was in my village. But that makes sense, as he lives here. I recently heard the news that he’d been seen escorting someone named Daphne, apparently a beautiful young woman from House Apollo whose father is a general in Ares’ army. The rumors are that they are to become betrothed. I should be happy for Andy. A friend would be happy, right? But instead, I have this unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach. I don’t want him to be betrothed to this Daphne or anyone. For all I know, she is his soulmate; if not,
I smiled and walked closer, deciding to play it off that I hadn’t just been listening to their conversation. “Hello, father. I wanted to greet Lord Androkles as I heard he was here.” I greeted him. After all, it is an insult not to greet an heir or council member. And it was an excuse to see him. My father was confused that I’d called Andy by his proper name. As far as he knew, I’d yet to be told the truth. I hope he feels foolish for keeping such a secret from me. "Hello Miss Ismene-Eirene. You have good timing. If you don’t mind, Leander, she should join our conversation as it involves her.” Andy greeted me. I looked in his direction as he spoke, bowing. "Hello Lord Androkles.” I said because I had to be a good Olympian right now. “It is an honor.” I can imagine how my father must look. I’ll have to ask Andy later to describe it for me. In my mind, it is a very amusing image. My father is rarely caught off guard. So, the fact that I have managed to surprise him makes me smile. “
Before I approached Leander, I’d waited a week to investigate the idea of training a seeing-eye dog. I’d, of course, hoped to see Ismene-Eirene when I arrived. Luckily, she was coming to greet me, so she was able to be part of the conversation. The look on her father’s face was truly priceless. From the moment he saw me standing there to realizing I was there to offer help training a dog for his daughter, to finally when Ismene called me Lord Androkles making him aware she’s no longer in the dark on my identity. He will still have to answer for never telling her, but that’s not my problem. And now I had a reason to spend time with her. I’m glad it’s in the open now. As I placed her hand on my arm to escort her, I thought of how different this felt from when I was forced to accompany Daphne. I liked having Ismene’s hand on my arm and her at my side. It felt right to walk with her. I even matched my pace to hers. “I was not sure I’d see you again after your tree-cutting escapades.” Is
I should have been prepared for this. But being overrun by puppies still caught me by surprise. There were so many of them, and they were so soft. Some didn’t get as close as others. But one seemed very intent on getting as close as possible to me. So laughing, I picked the puppy up and laughed even more as it licked my face. “Okay… okay. I get it. You like me.” I said, trying to control my laughter, holding the pup away from my face. “So he does,” Andy commented. “Oh, it’s a he?” I asked as I put the pup in my lap and pet him from head to tail to get an idea of how big he was. “Does he already have a name?” I asked. “They do not get names until we begin their training.” The trainer, I’m assuming, answered. “I see,” I said, hoping someone would give me the trainer’s name. I don’t like to be rude when speaking to someone and not knowing their name or what to call them makes that challenging. “That would make sense….” “Right, I neglected to introduce myself. I am Jason. I am the l
“Ismene? Lord Androkles, I beg your pardon, but please remove your hand from my daughter.” Mother’s voice burst our bubble. Such horrible timing, mother. She sounded uneasy and a little agitated. I could feel Andy tense at her words. I sighed, straightened myself, and stepped back from Andy while he took his arm away. She didn’t need to be so rude to him. Not only because he is an heir but just out of basic etiquette. She was jumping to conclusions, and I won’t allow it. “Hello, mother. It was my fault. Alexis managed to get away from me, and I stumbled. Lord Androkles caught me, so I didn’t fall.” I explained as Alexis found his way back to my side, out of breath from his mini adventure. “I see. So this is the dog your father mentioned.” Mother said, dismissing the situation with Andy and focusing on the dog. She could at least apologize for her rude behavior. How does she expect me to follow all these social protocols and treat people of higher stations with the proper respect wh
It’s been over a month now, six weeks to be exact, that I’ve been helping Ismene-Eirene train Alexis. I’ve started to grow used to the looks we get when we walk around town. I’m even used to the looks I get each time I pick her up and return her to her house. I had hoped her parents would start to look at me with less veiled contempt. But it seems they have not changed their minds about me. Eventually, they’ll realize I mean their daughter no harm. “Lord Androkles?” Helene called, knocking gently at my office door. “Enter,” I called, putting my quill down. I’d spent so much time yesterday with Ismene-Eirene that I had a lot I needed to catch up on. I’m not neglecting my duties as an heir. Working with Ismene-Eirene is part of my duties. It just happens that spending time with her is something I also enjoy. I don’t mind having to catch up on paperwork in the early morning. There are worse ways to unwind. “Good afternoon, m’lord. Lord Ares has requested your presence immediat