There was no denying the tension in their relationship. It was always there, and there was only one mediator. But then she died. and they were left at odds, constantly battling each other, until the final, explosive battle between them.

He had never wanted his son to be a thief, to take after his mother and grandfather. Their older children had been respectable, but his wife had recognized in their youngest the potential to be a great thief. He had seen in the child a possibility of being a soldier, with his dedication and determination. He had named the boy after the god of thieves to appease his wife, but he drilled the him in the art of warfare, until he was as proficient with a sword as he was going to get. He also demonstrated a strong grasp of tactics, giving his father hope. But then he noticed how the child merely endured his lessons, while devouring those given him by his mother and grandfather. The minister of war despaired.

Eugenides never wanted to be a soldier. He could handle a sword, and well enough to please his father, but his true passion lay in the art of thievery and deceit taught him. Soon enough he was pocketing small objects wherever he went, and lies flowed off his tongue like water. He argued with his father over it, with his mother soothing tempers on both sides. But then she fell to her death, the fate of thieves, from the palace roof, and there was no mediator, no one to stop the escalation. Gen told his father that he was going to be the next Queen's Thief, upsetting the man who had so hoped his son would become a soldier. Eugenides tore up his enrollment papers, igniting a spark that reached full force with a sword duel in front of the entire court, including the young new queen. Finally, Eddis intervened, forcing the two to sit down and reconcile.

Later, several years later, Eugenides vanished, and Eddis noted her uncle's silent worry.

Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high

Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I'm dreaming,
I can hear them say...

"Eugenides has been captured in Attolia." Eddis met her uncle's gaze with an apologetic look. They both knew that there was very little chance of getting the Thief back alive. Attolia would almost certainly hang him, both to eliminate an important political threat and to cripple Eddis, both the country and the queen.

When Gen was returned, alive but broken, his father took him carefully, carrying him like the babe he no longer was, and worried over his health. The boy's stubbornness irritated him, but he took it well, took it as best he could. Being a Thief had given Eugenides purpose, and now he was no more than an empty husk, a shadow of the man he used to be.

Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man,
Well, it surely means that I don't know

On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about, I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune,
But I hear the voices say

Eugenides had kidnapped the queen of Attolia, forcing the lowland queen to become his bride. Eddis worried over her cousin, now her rival ruler, but she worried nowhere near as much as the minister of war. The minister knew the danger posed to his son by Attolia. She had already cut his hand off, and while Eugenides was now king and ruled beside her, he was in no less danger.

Always the minister of war worried, proving just how much he cared for his youngest, his wayward son.

Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more