Irene
Dayeth had spent the past few days locked away in his quarters, suffering from a sudden bit of sickness. It struck him swift and strong, confining him to his bed. It was an awful experience involving a fever, headaches, and as if someone had forced a cat down his throat with the furry little creature scratching every chance it got on its way down. After some self medicating mixed with rest, Dayveth had sweated it out and was now on his way to the bath house.

The doctor's skin was covered with several days' worth of sweat as he entered the building, slightly surprised to find it already had another occupant. He was even slightly more surprised to discover that it was his liege. "Good evening, Your Grace." Dayveth moved to take his boots off and lay down his assorted toiletries, enjoying the warm air.
Joseph
Anyanka had intended to spend the rest of her evening in her own chambers, but a knock sounded on her door every five minutes. Privacy meant nothing if there was always someone who knew where you were. So she'd slipped from her room to head down the the bathhouse. At this time, no one should have been in there, and she managed to keep the number of guards who saw her slipping away to two. Those she sent to her chambers with threats that should anyone come asking for her and they say anything other than 'she's sleeping' they'd be fired immediately. 

As result, she'd managed nearly an hour alone in the bathhouse, enjoying the benefits of warm air and quiet before slipping into the warm waters. When the door opened, Anya glanced up to see Dayveth, who had gone missing it seemed.

"I thought you'd already tired of us, Doctor."
Irene
Dayveth smiled politely as he slipped his clothes off, not afraid of being modest in front of his queen. "I'm afraid you aren't that fortunate, Your Grace." The doctor approached the bathing pool, his feet lightly slapping against the tile before he stepped in, visibly wincing at the temperature. He slipped down and forced himself to enjoy the water, which he soon did as his arms sprawled out along the edge of the pool.

"I have merely been sick and recovering from it. Today has been the first outside of my room. Poor Mara has been forced to carry food and supplies to me for the better part of this last week, poor woman." The doctor's head was laid back against the pool as well as he sighed. "I wouldn't have abandoned this place that quickly anyways."
Joseph
She wasn't bothered when he began to undress and join her, she did, admittedly, grimace upon hearing he'd been sick. "Well I'd thank you to not give me whatever you had. I can't afford to spend my days locked away." She murmured. Truthfully, three days in bed sounded like a dream, but she wasn't inclined to take the illness that would grant that freedom. 

"But I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. And that the first patient of yours in Astoria has made a full recovery. It speaks volumes."
Irene
"As your chosen medical professional, I assure you that it was not contagious, as poor Mara was involved in several unsanitary accidents. I had a coughing fit right into her gaping mouth, poor woman. She deserves a bit more pay after what I've put her through," Dayveth stated with a nod towards the queen. "Or at least a bonus," He added with a shrug.

Anyanka's comment about the first patient confused him for several moments before realization smacked him. He rolled his eyes before saying "My first patient is actually quite an odd case, I'm actually my second patient, if you remember correctly," Dayveth teased with a nod back towards his "Test."
Joseph
"I don't consider my wrist to have been an actual illness, Doctor." She mused, and pulled her hair over her shoulder. It fanned where it hit the water, leaving a red array around her. 

"But I'll allow you to make the claim you cured me on your first night here."
Irene
"Just because it wasn't an illness does not mean you were not a patient, Your Grace." Dayveth finally turned his gaze to her, he had been too busy enjoying the water. 

"Is that so?" Dayveth asked back, raising an eyebrow.
Joseph
Anyanka gave a small smile, letting her eyes drift up to the ceiling and the smoke that swirled around it looking for an escape. 

"You may find yourself reporting to my subordinates over the next few weeks. I suggest you get acquainted with Angelica, Zane, and Eric so they can be sure that anything you might need with me provided.*
Irene
Dayveth smirked as she ignored his taunting question. "Very well, Your Majesty." He began scrubbing his arms with his cloth, enjoying the scratch of it against his arms. 

"Is there anything else I need to be aware of? Or any special assignments you wish to give me? And if not, how have you been?" It had been several days since he had spoken to anyone since Mara, so he was dying for actual social interaction.
Joseph
It had been a long while since someone asked how she was. Zane made assumptions that she was always struggling and making bad decisions. Angelica didnt talk of weakness, and, well, they were really the only friends she had anymore inside the castle. 

"I've been awful, thank you for asking. " She smiled, watching him run the cloth along his arms. She moved from her place on the steps and towards him, taking the cloth from him and applying a liberal amount of her favorite oils to it before starting on his shoulders. 

"Your assignment is to learn, I need educated people among my team, the further you get in your research the better off we all are in the end."
Irene
Dayveth watched her as she approached him, letting her take the cloth. A couple of seconds after she had started a thought had dawned on him. Not once in the past decade had he ever though a queen would be the one bathing him. He never really thought he would meet a queen either. "I'm sorry to hear that," He commented. Dayveth quietly reflected on his past successes and experiences before her instructions once again snagged his attention. 

"Ah, yes, the tomes. Out of the days locked in my room, when I wasn't wretching or struggling to breath, I was reading. Some interesting things your ancestors were into, that's for sure," Dayveth teased with a smirk, enjoying how close she was to him.
Joseph
The redhead paused the cloth over his shoulder blade, a brow raising at the smirk. "I would believe that." She said quietly before beginning her work again. 

"If you find anything about the amulet, you'll let me know immediately."
Irene
"Of course, Your Highness," Dayveth replied, his gaze searching for hers. "Is there anything else I may do for you? I understand you're busy, leading your country and its denizens and what not."
Joseph
"You're an eager man to serve, you know that, Dayveth?" She murmured, pressing her fingers into his shoulder to get him to lean forward so she could start the other side of his back. 

"I don't need anything but, perhaps some advice from an unbiased party?"
Irene
Dayveth smiled as he leaned forward and turned around, quite enjoying the experience. He had to refrain from laughing aloud at the situation. Dayveth knew laughing was inappropriate, and was very thankful to the queen for doing it, but it felt backwards to him. He still needed more time adjusting, he guessed. "I figured I should be. After all, I'm only just starting off. If you'd like I could be slothful and unwilling?" He put his chest against the pool wall, exposing his back to the woman.

When she asked for his opinion he raised an eyebrow. "Of course, I'll advise to the best of my abilities. And you can skip the threats about my wellbeing if I share whatever information you are about to tell me, I do understand."
Joseph
She laughed, and pressed her nails into his skin playfully. "Slothful never suited anyone, especially not a man of your qualifications." She said simply, letting him turn. 

"I find myself concerned about a potential enemy. They've reached out with an offer of truce, an alliance of sorts. And while the terms are heavily tilted in their favor, I do find myself a bit fearful of being on the opposing end of that war. But, considering I have no cock between my legs, it feels like any alliance made turns Astoria and South Feyshore into pawns."
Irene
Dayveth pondered her words for several moments as she washed his back with the cloth. "Is accepting this truce a form of surrender, or a submission?" After a few more seconds his eyebrow raised and his head was turned to look at the queen. "I am a tad confused about your cock comment, however. While women monarchs are rare, and strong ones rarer, you seem to be of the later. Is there something you are giving up in this arrangement?"
Joseph
She pressed her lips into a tight line. "Considering how the offer as made, I'd say submission. I'm the stronger of the two parties, however, they have nothing to lose, so I can see it turning nasty in a heartbeat." A moment passed and she lowered the cloth into the water, the oils leaking from it to create a sheen on the water as she rinsed it. 

"I'm not certain. Lifestyle for sure. And really, if Staffed manages to get our armies bulked, we could defend against whatever is planned. But at the moment there's a weakness in Astoria and myself and I can _feel_ eyes turning our way."
Irene
"How was this offer made?" Dayveth asked, his head still cocked as he asked in a gentler tone. He turned to face her, eyebrow still raised. In the short time he had known her, Dayveth had become rather attached to Anyanka. He wasn't sure if she felt the same way, or at least felt it in the same degree, but he didn't exactly care. He understood she had other duties and that barriers were between them, whatever would have become of their relationship. 

"And what is this weakness?"
Joseph
"My weakness is the same thing that sparked, well, everything." She paused as he turned to look at her and gave a soft smile. 

"And I'd be a fool to openly tell any man my weaknesses." Anya murmured, letting her hand raise from the water to cup his cheek, the warm water sliding down her wrist and forearm before melting back into the bath. "Even my doctor."
Irene
"And any man who is more than your doctor?" Dayveth asked, placing his hands on her hips, standing to his full height in the bath. His gaze met hers as they stood alone in the bathhouse. If there was something Dayveth hated, it was the knowledge that there was knowledge that he could not access. He knew there was plenty of things he did not know, but that was different.
Joseph
His hands found her hips and he stood, making her have to tilt her head upwards to keep his gaze. 

"Any man more than my doctor would already know why I'm worried." She mused, and inhaled deeply, the scent of the oils and steam filling her lungs and making her chest expand. 

"
Irene
Dayveth neither looked or pulled away as they stood close to each other in the hot waters of the bathhouse. "And if this man had been busy knowing you in other pursuits, or had been laid up recently?" After a moment's pass between the two he continues with another question, his voice slightly quieter. "Or is this man just your doctor and nothing more, limitations or otherwise?"
Joseph
Her hand on his cheek moved to his chest, her fingers drumming softly there for a moment. "Does the answer to that question get you anything you want Dayveth? We can enjoy each other's company, we can feel whatever way we want to feel, but that does not stop a crown from resting upon my head and the well-being of _every_ person from here to Araedia falling into my lap." Her smile pulled to one side, small and sad in a way. 

"The man is a doctor, a friend, and" Her voice dipped "_for the time being_ a fine lover. But an alliance most likely means a marriage. Whether it be this one or the next or the next."
Irene
He sighed, thinking for a moment as his hand rose to rest on top of the one she had laid on his chest. "The answer was something I already knew, really. I'm merely testing out my new post," Dayveth joked, though it was stale in his mouth. 

"You royalty always did enjoy your forced marriages," Dayveth continued, letting the corners of his mouth rise in a teasing motion as he gazed down at Anyanka. He chastised himself for feeling what he did, knowing that this problem would arise. Dayveth didn't think it would come this quickly, however.
Joseph
She gave a scoff of a laugh. "Hm, I love the idea of becoming a pawn in a man's quest for power." She hummed, glancing at his hand over hers. 

"Frankly, I'd prefer to put thoughts of alliances with the north out if my mind for the time being. I've got a handsome man standing before me, I don't want to think of a frozen bastard."
Irene
Dayveth brought her hand to his lips, gently kissing it before holding it against his chest. "Marrying bastards now, hm? It seems trying times have fallen upon House Durkhan."

Dayveth knew that whoever this northern queen-thief-to-be was, he was probably not a bastard, but he teased because it was how he felt better about it. "As for this handsome man in front of you, I believe he also wishes to push some a topic else.
Joseph
"Hard times indeed, doctor." She nodded, and watched as he kissed her hand. With it, she let herself sink to her shoulders into the warm waters, pulling away from him so she could once again submerge herself into the waters fully. 

When she surfaced once more, she pushed her wet hair from her face, smoothing it down her shoulders and chest before letting her eyes fall upon him. "Will you show me what your powers entail, Dayveth?"
Irene
When she emerged from the water, Dayveth was smiling wistfully at Anyanka. As she asked him to show him his powers, it changed. His lips tightened into a line while his shoulders tensed. Dayveth grunted in an awkward manner, as if she had pricked him with a needle. He looked at her with a half pained, half annoyed expression. Dayveth's magic was not always welcomed. She had welcomed his gifts, but many had doubts after observing them. 

"I suppose I could," Dayveth replied uneasily, holding his right hand out of the water, his gaze shifting from her eyes to examine it. He looked at his own appendage as if it was some creature who had crawled from the bathhouse's drains.
Joseph
The smile he bore flickered and she felt she'd overstepped in asking. He looked down at his hand, and she pressed her lips into a tight line. 

"Allow me to remind you that you can refuse me, Dayveth. You are not now, not never will be obligated to tell me yes in regards to anything involving whatever magic you possess." She told him, letting her voice fall to a tone that sounded like midnight as she moved closer to him. 

"Would you prefer I show you something?"
Irene
Dayveth pondered over her reminder as he continued to examine his hand. He curled and uncurled his fingers, flexing them, as his mind began to itch as old synapses fired. "To hell with it," He thought. He was already naked with her, not to mention he had embarrassed himself with the confession of his feelings. 

"Only if it turns out I haven't underestimated you," Dayveth quipped with a wink. The back of his raised hand was facing her, and it shimmered for a moment, as if it were a mirage. It was normal again, however, as Anyanka approached him.