Having expected to be faced with the stone-cold businessman her father had initially introduced her to, it came to a shock to the young blonde when her persistent suitor dropped to his knees before her, a lone rose extended to her in offering. With the uncomfortable weight of her parents' watchful eyes resting upon her, she offered a small smile and took the rose, her fingertips stroking the delicate petals in appreciation before turning her gaze toward him once more. Refusing to admit to the fluttering of her heart, she placed a kind hand on his arm as he rose from his kneeling position, "I do not do your words justice, Orion. How is it a man with such poetic language could become a tradesman? Surely you would feel more at home in Athens where academia flourishes and great men walk the streets?"<br/><br/>As she spoke Daphne turned her head ever so slightly to catch sight of her parents watching them carefully, satisfied smiles curling their lips. Although too far away to hear what passed between the two it was clear they had visions of marriage in the near future. Surely expected her to accept a marriage to be made between them, gods knew her parents were already planning the celebration all of Athens would be talking about but what of her own desires? There was no doubt Daphne was fond of the man; his presence alone made her heart skip a beat but what of her love for Eirene? What of the woman who held her in her arms, taught her all she knew, brought her to the brink of madness with a blinding pleasure? Could she turn her back on the only person she had ever loved with all of her heart and soul?<br/><br/>Brought out from her spinning thoughts by Orion's request to see the rest of Eirene's impressive estate, Daphne was led not quite unwillingly from her place at the door to travel from room to room. She paused him long enough to view the masterpieces of art that littered each room, telling him what she knew about the artists and how she viewed the subject in hopes of drawing him into an intelligent conversation now that they were out from beneath her parents' mindful eyes, however, she soon found herself standing before an intimate gathering. She recognized a handful of the men and women that had gathered but when her eyes fell upon Agamemnon she struggled to school her features lest her lip curl in the disdain she felt towards the pompous man.<br/><br/>During the first few months of her father's tireless search of a man for her his daughter he had brought home several possible suitors, one of which now stood directly before her. Agamemnon stayed with her family for dinner during which time his sense of self-importance and disrespect towards her and earned him a firm no to any further arranged meetings. A solid year had passed since the disaster of that night and yet it appeared to her nothing more then a few added admirers had changed about him. Daphne raised her chin high at the man's pathetic snub and offered a warm smile, although the warmth did not manage to make it to her sapphire eyes. "You must have been mistaken, sir. Any man would have been good enough to stand by me, simply none of your ilk."<br/><br/>Turning her attention once more to the man beside her, she bites her lip gently, fearful that perhaps she had said too much in speaking her mind but, although his defense of her did not put these worries at rest, his words left her breathless. What man would defend not only herself but truly that actions of all women in such a way? Agamemnon was hardly the only man with such ideas concerning the slowly growing freedom of women, many saw it as weakness of men in this generation but Orion tackled such thoughts willingly. For the briefest of moments, Daphne contemplated remaining silent. This was no her fight after all and a single wrong step could all too easily diminish her marriageability in her suitor's eyes. Yet raising her eyes she believed for a moment she saw a flash of brunette waves so much like those of her love, Eirene surely had not taken her as her student for Daphne to merely watch while others argued a topic she and Eirene had discussed extensively.<br/><br/>"If I may," she began, standing tall beside Orion, "you speak of the unrestrained desires of women yet what of those of men? How many can honestly claim they have not fallen weakness to their desires? The gods themselves have fallen beneath the strength of their own desires so how can we be seen at fault for our own? Agamemnon, you alone have been seen slipping in and out of the doors of several well known brothels; should we not speak of your unrestrained desires? The only difference between the needs of man and woman is a man flaunts his hunger for all to see while a woman has spent her life developing ways to hide her hunger so that only a select few will ever see it."