It was restlessness of the mind that finally forced Daphne from her bed to robe herself in a delicately thin covering, the sides tied together at the full curve of her right hip. Down the same empty hall her parents had led her, she momentarily flinched. Never had her father raised his voice in her lifetime instead choosing the quiet intimidation he had perfected from years of wheeling and dealing in transactions to run his household with a firm hand. Undoubtedly the same tactic Orion had born witness to during their meetings where they spoke of marriage and fidelity, despite how he strayed on several occasions from her mother. As a child this had been enough to send her tearfully wailing to her mother's arms and even in adulthood was enough to cause tears to prick her eyes, only encouraged by the ravaging disappointment in her mother's gaze.<br/><br/>Although the short walk home was done in silence the same could not be said once they passed their gate into the privacy of their own home. Her mother refused to acknowledge her, her blue eyes - so similar to her daughter's - wandered about their home before simply closing as if the night's events had been too much for her to handle. Daphne's father, however, as soon as the door shut behind them began the rant he had surely been practicing during their walk. Even now her shoulders ached from where he had grabbed her when she moved to turn away as he told her firmly how she would cease contact with Eirene immediately and prepare to marry Orion, for who else would take her now?<br/><br/>Rolling her shoulder gently, she pushed her hair behind her ear with annoyance for having left it to spill naturally down her back before placing her hands upon the gate. What would happen to her beloved now? The night, having begun so peacefully, had taken a turn for the worst. Eirene was surely threatened with social ostracism at the very least and Orion... Her heart pounded beneath her breast, leaping with a force that left her gasping for breath. The man faced trial for doing no more than defending her. But then why treat her so coolly as she made to leave? Could he not see beyond her careful actions to the intense gratitude and slowly budding infatuation she guarded fiercely? Truth be told, did she want him too see?<br/><br/>"Aphrodite, I implore you, you whose heart has strayed from the man you pledged yourself to, give me strength. My love. She is so strong but I fear what may come from tonight's affairs and Orion..." Exhausted and with angry tears threatening to overflow, she lay her forehead upon the gate as she prayed to her deities. "Damn you, Eros, for twisting my desires so wickedly."<br/><br/>Fleeing her family's grounds, she rushed past the gate and down the narrow drive, her bare feet making not a sound as she flew with quickened, sure steps across the dirt road. The ties at her hip loosened to eventually trail behind her, revealing the pale hand-stitched shift she had worn to repel the night's crisp air yet she hardly noticed, merely taking the time to silently hope her nosy neighbors were far too busy telling and retelling the night's story in a gossiping frenzy as she raced down the road. It was as she rounded the last curve that she could see the two figures within the pateo, their silhouettes cast upon the wall behind them by the dim lighting making Daphne pause just out of sight.