all these blessings

[commandsthewind]

Who: Elizabeth Tudor & Echidna
What: Terrible terrible things, that involve wine, B&E and whatever follows.
When: Evening, after supper.
Where: Elizabeth's room.
Rating: ... M? Let's just go with that.

Elizabeth sat on the head of her short table, the bottle of wine and glass beside her as she read something she'd found in the library. Out of sheer habit if nothing else, she'd lit candles beside her. She really just forgot about the light switches most of the time, and candles served all the same as far as she was concerned.

Taking her eyes off the page, she idly playing with the flame, she wondered at the time and when her visitor would come. Sometime, it mattered little, and still as curious as she had been when they'd spoken earlier. It was at the least a distraction from these thoughts of home, where they tended to stray if she let them.

Sighing, she turned the page, beginning to read again.

Comments

[commandsthewind]

"It's why it unsettles me so, to claim to be my country means he has a hold on me that no one else does." She looked away though, for a moment, laughing a little. "Not that I think he bares me any ill will."

Which was a small mercy. But one she appreciated. She was consciously anxious about that, about finding that some person did in fact want her dead, and she had no guards to protect her.

Still, she couldn't think too much about that, Echidna was distracting enough. Really. There was just so much she was trying vainly to not look at. It was hard enough trying not to ask if she wanted a jacket or something similar. Was she not cold at the very least? "No, save a bit of archery, I've never held a weapon in my life." Elizabeth shook her head at that, amused. "I hate battle, point of fact. Luck has saved me more than anything else. I avoid it however I can, especially because the first time... I did so for poor reasons, and paid for it dearly. But recently I have been luckier." And she'd been defending herself. Even if she had brought it down on her own head.

[hedonic]

Poor reasons for fighting? Some might say Echidna didn't believe in those, but they would be wrong. She knew better than most how much of a mistake it was to use something like vengeance for motivation. There were others, but that would have been her first guess as to this woman's reasons. Perhaps love was another motivator, but so often those two things went hand-in-hand.

"For a queen not to like battle is rather unheard of in our lands. But then, it's the only way she can earn her crown. If you had been raised there, no doubt you would view it differently."

[commandsthewind]

"Ah do not mistake me, battle is considered the fastest way to ennoble one self. My families crown was won out of it no less, during a civil war between two vastly powerful families." Elizabeth shrugged, "but it remains the same. It is only noble if you win. Otherwise? You're an arrogant fool who reached too high."

She topped up her glass as she spoke, smiling at Echidna briefly. "My premise for disliking wars is far more calculated then most would believe. Though having innocent men's blood on my hands sickens me." Mary of Guise had taught her well. "I have a poor army and navy. I focused on trade instead to strengthen my country. I do not like wars because I cannot predict them, I cannot fix their outcome. I do not like to play chance if I don't have to. But perhaps I would be different, if I came from there."

She sat the bottle down, thinking a moment longer. "How exactly do these battles take place? With armies?"

/GIVES UP AND EDITS

[hedonic]

It really was strange to listen to a queen speak of war so distastefully. It wasn't as if all royalty in her land suffered from a lack of morals... But enough did that she was accustomed to it, and even the ones who disliked bloodshed still had to know how to fight and keep a strong army. From her clothes to her demeanor, Echidna could have dismissed this one as soft and weak.

But intrigue could be just as useful as a blade.

With a little shrug, Echidna finally leaned over to pour herself a glass, feeling comfortable enough at this point that Elizabeth wouldn't try to kick her out just for talking. Then again, she'd been on good behavior, but with just as good reason! ...Yes, the wine would make the evening worth it, even if she got nothing else out of it.

"You mean for the rights to the crown? Well, there have been group battles before..." Reminded of her own, a tickled smile touched her lips before she enjoyed another sip. "But traditionally when participating in the Queen's Blade, the fights are one-on-one. Any woman who deems herself strong enough can fight her way to the capital of Gainos, which is often hard enough. Many don't make it. Once there, it only gets more difficult. When the champion is declared, she fights the current queen herself. If she wins, the crown is hers for another four years until the next tournament. Some queens have persevered over many tournaments, but you never know when the next shining star will reign supreme."

<3

[commandsthewind]

They all had, when she had started. A daughter that was ignored, and no one ever expected anything from the child of a witch and a whore.

They'd all learned their mistakes, quickly and cruelly. She didn't waste time when it came to killing those convicted of treason. When Echidna took the wine she smiled a little. "My apologies, usually someone else just pours it. I'm a little out of living... by myself. Please help yourself, food or drink." She shook her head, amazed how you forget the little things.

"One on one? Your Queens would put themselves at such a risk?" She's a little shocked at that. Even men did not do such things. It was an older tradition, to have a champion fight for a monarch, but seldom those themselves. Though her father had gone to battle just the same. He had fought when it came to, like King's past, but that was at the host of a great many thousand men. "I see... ah, that is very different to how we battle." She drums her nails for a moment. "The way you do things at least, is cleaner for the numbers lost. No more then the person in question I suppose pays for it." She sighed. "For the most part, crowns are inherited through the male line. I happened to be the only surviving child of the previous King. My Brother, though younger, went first, then my elder sister." Not that she was going into either of their reigns. "Battle however, is down with thousands of soldiers. The one I just won was... ah, the numbers were in the tens of thousands on my enemies side."

[hedonic]

She listened with intent, information gathering useful no matter what world is brought up. In such a mixing pot of realms, can one ever know too much? Still, her expression was only one of vague interest, her languid manner of draping about her chair suggesting she could have even been asleep if her eyes weren't open and keenly on the queen when not on her wine or the snake.

Finally, with a mirthful chuckle, Echidna shook her head. "Lineage isn't ignored in our realm, either. Nobles adhere to it, though of course it is not strictly passed down through males." Thank the gods. Still too often for her liking, though. They were always the most idiotic to haggle with. "And don't misunderstand; war is war, and battle is battle. While the Queen's Blade was created to keep a certain level of balance in our realm, it is in it's very own category and not to be mistaken for anything else. Humans will always find things to fight over."

Her words were nearly tainted with a bitter aftertaste, the elf distantly retracing her last conversation with Alleyne, before it quickly warped into another smile and haughty jingle of a laugh. "No offense, dearest. I like a good fight as much as the next. What a shame that you don't, but I've no doubt you have countless other skills."