Chapter 1: Of Gods and Goddesses

Eist Tuirseach was a man of simple needs. Despite being born in the fiery flames of privilege and Skelligan tradition he was not one who held the desire for power or wealth. In fact, he was more than happy to hand those duties to that of his brother. For decades he served as his brother's right hand man, overseeing the safety of the isles as naval commander and did so happily. A true islander, he loved everything about the sea: the sparkle of it from a bright, sunny day, the gentle ease it would carry the ship, even its unpredictable nature captivated Eist. Upon a ship, staring at the open blue, gently rocked by the waves was where he felt most at home. At least, until the more recent years. Despite his years as a bachelor with only the sea as his mistress, all that had changed when he met her.

His wife…

Queen Calanthe was everything he ever wanted but never knew he needed. In her he found all that he loved about the sea, embodied within a woman. His Queen was of a strong ruthlessness, sheer strength, yet coupled with a gentleness that, though may go unnoticed and unappreciated by others was present nonetheless. She was everything to him and not a day went by that he failed to thank Destiny for deeming him worthy to serve her, at her side by sword and hand.

It was this duty that lead Eist to find himself where he currently stood, upon the starboard of a ship knots away from Cintra's southernmost harbor where reports of upstarts and merchant ship raids had reached the Queen, leading her to send her husband to oversee the matter, which is where he found himself for the past few weeks. With the Skellegan skill of his crew, the raids were easy enough to overthrow and the upstarts gradually crumbled as they tasted Cintran steel. He was on the last of the battles against the raiders when an unmarked ship made its way to the horizon, taking deck near the crew's encampment at the harbor. Ever the watchful commander, Eist demanded the hoist of the colors and was pleasantly surprised to find none other but the banners of Cintra to grace his battle-worn eyes with none other than his Queen at the helm, decked in armor.

"I can't leave my husband to have all the fun now, can I?" her voice called out as the ships made contact. One could have sworn Eist had sprouted wings as he quickly joined his wife's side.

"The time has come for Pavetta to begin to learn the ways of the court so she shall oversee the courtly duties while I am away. Mousesack is with her now to aid her so I thought what better time to see how the Cintran knights fare upon naval warfare. It is good for one's blood and humors, after all." the Queen had explained, the smirk ever present. Her explanation had fallen on deaf ears, however, as Eist engulfed his wife in his arms amidst the cat calls and the cheers of the men, to which the Queen only half heartedly rolled her eyes and glared at before greeting her husband in return.

That evening marked the last of the battles against the upstarts and raiders, as Eist and his Queen crushed them once and for all, together, their swords in hand back to back, ensuring none could harm the other. The battle, if it could even be called that was over almost as soon as it had begun. Cintra had been a powerful force to be reckoned with prior and with the Skellige navy alongside it the country had become what many, including the Queen believed to be invincible. The moon had just eclipsed within the night sky when the King and Queen retired to their chambers upon Eist's ship. He could still picture how Calanthe looked that night. Her hair, held in braids was slightly askew and half undone from the battle and her face was flecked with dirt and blood of the traitors they slew. Her eyes, however, was what captured Eist's attention and swelled his heart even further with love and devotion. What typically stood as hard, calculating shards of onyx were now pools of liquid chocolate, brimming with not only in delight at defeating her enemy, but also pride in keeping her country safe by her very blood and sweet. Here in this moment was when Calanthe was the most beautiful to Eist. Of course she was breathtaking adorned in fine gowns and jeweled crowns as befitting to a regal Queen, but here, standing before him decked in armor, sweat, dirt, and blood was that of a vision of the Lioness, the fiercest of warriors and a beauty that none would ever eclipse.

He could barely pry the last of the armor off of his wife before his warm hands replaced the grip of the cold metal upon her flesh and he toppled the great Lioness. At least, momentarily. Calanthe was a lioness, after all, and soon pushed him over the edge in more ways than one, repeatedly.

This was about six weeks ago. Sadly, duty soon followed and his wife had to return to the capital the morning after while Eist oversaw the capture of the last of the rabble as well as the defense fortifications of the harbor to avoid any future raidings. The days could not pass enough and the Skelligan found himself mimicking his wife's habits of working into all hours of the night in an effort to finish the work as quickly as possible. Thankfully his efforts had paid off and the fortifications were completed ahead of time, allowing him to finally be en route to return home, not to the Isles that raised him or the throne room he now found himself often times sitting, but to the arms of his wife.

Queen Calanthe sat upon her work desk of her personal chambers, willing herself to press onward and finishing the correspondence to Sodden before her. Though she still held a quill in her hand, her fingers of the other hand pressed upon the bridge of her nose. It had been several minutes since a word was last written as the Queen found herself plagued by an intense bout of fatigue. While she found delight and empowerment upon a battlefield, the administrative duties that came with her crown seemed to always seep the energy from her. What added insult to injury was that there was often very little point to it, aside from the stroking of men's egos, whether it be two nobleman whos dispute required her to resolve, or a fellow monarch requesting Cintra's aid or input in one matter or another. It was peacocking at its finest and she held no use or taste for it. These past few weeks in particular had been difficult for the Queen and it had begun to take its toll on her. She prided herself on her work ethic, but in the days of late it was getting increasingly hard for her to maintain her stamina and her normal habits of working into the late hours of the night. She was grateful more than ever that Pavetta carried both willingness and, more recently, greater ability to assist in the business of the court, particularly as lately the fatigue appeared to be accompanied by nausea and dizziness, which had only shortened her patience and worsened her mood, a fact that the castle was distinctly aware of, particularly the Temerian Nobleman who had learned the hard way that the Queen was not in the mood to be trifled with.

A knock on the door halted the Queen's thoughts. Quickly, removing her hand from her face, she straightened her posture. Regardless of how she felt, she could not and would not show weakness. "Enter" she called out, expecting yet another courtier or nobleman to press her further.

To her relief it was Pavetta entering with a smile on her face and a two year old Ciri on her hip. Calanthe returned the smile, visibly relaxing at the sight of her beloved cubs. She opened her arms in greeting for the toddler, allowing Pavetta to place her child in her arms.

"Hello, little one" Calanthe greeted, pressing a kiss to the child's forehead.

"I heard you and the Timerian ambassador had quite the discussion" Pavetta said as she took a seat next to her mother. News had been bustling throughout the castle about the Queen's fury at an ambassador, yet another display of the Queen's exceptionally short temper. Pavetta had the sense to not add that many castle occupants were eagerly counting the days to King Eist's arrival, lest the King be able to soothe the ill mood of their Queen. One Knight even had the gaul to comment on the Queen needing some "Skelligan Sausage" as a remedy for her temper.

Calanthe scoffed, bouncing Ciri lightly on her lap, leading to a gurgle of happiness from the child. "I have no use for idle gossip. I've always made that abundantly clear but it seems others require reminding" The Timerian Ambassador had been sent by the Dowager Queen Sancia who had claimed to have urgent business to discuss with Queen Calanthe. Out of courtesy for the Dowager Queen of a neighboring Kingdom Calanthe had granted the ambassador an audience only to lose an hour of her life to his foolishness. Apparently the ambassador felt that Cintra ought to be aware of Temeria's current scandal of its incestuous rulers, a fact that Calanthe personally and politically held no interest in, which only fueled Calanthe's irritation further. When the nobleman finally finished his overly long description, Calanthe wasted no time in expressing her displeasure, chastising the lord on wasting her time on useless gossip. As such, the Ambassador was left scurrying back to Temeria in both sheer terror and shame.

Pavetta quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "What happened to diplomacy and keeping that 'mask of neutrality'?"

"My courtesy doesn't extend to fools who have no courtesy for my time. Because of that cretin I lost nearly an hour of my noon. I'll likely be working til midnight to finish the rest of my correspondence. Can you manage the entertainment of the other ambassadors at dinner tonight?"

"Of course. Duny has struck up quite the friendship with the Nilfgaardian ambassador so between the two of us and Mousesack we should be able to manage what is left of them. Shall I have dinner sent here for you?"

The thought of food lead the Queen to grimace. "No, don't bother. I have no appetite for food"

Pavetta frowned. "Are you certain? You didn't eat at breakfast and barely ate at the midday meal".

"Mmm. The loads of shit upon these parchments have taken my apetite" the Queen replied, handing the baby back to her mother, smoothing the golden locks as she did so, before picking up her quil and returning to her correspondence once more.

The frown on Pavetta's face deepened, her cerulean eyes studying her mother's appearance. While her mother kept on her mask as the invincible Lioness for court, Pavetta knew better. She could see her Mother's paler complexion, the dark circles beginning to appear underneath her eyes, and the fatigue that would flicker on her face behind closed doors. She pondered the reasonings why before settling one. "I do wish you would try to have something. I wouldn't want Eist to be cross with me for allowing you to waste into nothing. He returns in a fortnight, does he not?"

Though Calanthe did not make eye contact with her daughter, a flicker of a smile appeared on Calanthe's face at the mention of her husband, a fact that did not go unnoticed to Pavetta and coaxed a wider smile from her as well.

"Hardly. The smile is as ever-present on the man's face as the parchments at my desk. What could ever pull the smile asunder from him?" She would never admit it and always hide it beneath disapproving looks but Eist's unwavering optimism and good nature was one of several reasons she loved the man so deeply.

"An ill wife!" Pavetta replied. She dropped her tone lower so that only the Lioness could hear her. "Mother… you aren't well. I can see it, Duny can see it, the Kingdom can see it, and Eist will see it."

Calanthe opened her mouth to protest but was beaten by Pavetta.

"Please." she pleaded. "Have a bite of dinner and let Mousesack look over you, just to be sure all is well." despite the strength the last few years as a Mother and experience as a more tenured member of the Royal Family had given her, the sensitive part of Pavetta couldn't stop the tears to well in her sapphire orbs, leading to Calanthe conceding. Fierce as she may be, even a Lioness would defer and give in, for her cubs.

"Very well, enough with the waterworks. Have the servants bring something light and I shall visit Mousesack this evening" she sighed.

Pavetta smiled in relief. "Thank you, Mother" giving her Mother a kiss Pavetta left, infant in tow, much more relieved than when she first entered.

As the door closed signalling Pavetta's exit, Calanthe sighed, leaning back in her chair, the dizziness still present, with nausea creeping at the mention of food. Pavetta did have a point. She was getting worse, rather than better and something needed to be done, especially if her state was now noticed by her subjects. With a sigh, she tossed the parchment aside, rising and exiting her rooms. Sure enough, a swarm of courtiers engulfed her, to which she dismissed with a simple "Away!". The rest of the room blurred out of focus until the Queen reached her destination. With a knock on the door, she waited. It was not long before her knock went answered.

"My Queen!" Mousesack bowed. "How may I be of service to you?"