Dawning Skye

The night went on much longer than anyone had planned, making Peggy’s job of waking Skye and Tidas up in the morning much more difficult. They had been pushing themselves the past several days to tie up any loose ends before they had to leave for Sai. Skye would deny it because of her Shaman trait, but Peggy could tell that she was ready to drop.

Tidas was more obvious with his exhaustion since he couldn’t mask it like his wife could. Even after Skye had healed their physical fatigue, they both still looked like they were ready to drop. As Peggy set plates of food on their table, she lectured them about how getting enough sleep was a responsibility, too.

“If ya dinna get enough rest, then ye canna think properly. Ya miss things that would be obvious if ya were in yer right state of mind, like how flustered Shasta was last night.”

Skye quirked and eyebrow at her as she took her seat at the table; “What do ya mean? She had a great time after Marco left.”

Peggy nodded; “Aye, and until right before all of ya retired fer the night. If ya wouldna been so tipsy and tired, ya woulda caught what that merchant from Meccano said ta her..”

Tidas poked his head out of the bathroom; “What did he say, and is there bacon?”

Peggy huffed testily; “Of course there’s bacon! And the asshole basically said that she’ll make a terrible Queen, if last night was how she normally acts. But the jackass is from Meccano! Their Queen has a perpetual stick up her arse. I imagine she’ll fit right in wit a kingdom run by Lawrence.”

Tidas chuckled as he finished buttoning the vest over his undershirt, and said; “I don’t think she’d take him seriously.”

.....

Skye groaned like she had a headache; “Wit how knockered she was?! Of course she wouldna take it well! ...I feel like Ima bout ta walk into a war zone..”

Peggy placed her hand on Skye’s shoulder; “I’ll head ta her quarters while yer out doin’ yer last Shaman round. That way, she should at least be awake when ya get there.”

Placing her hand on top of Peggy’s, Skye replied with sincerity; “Thank ya, Peg. Tis gonna be a long day..”

Peggy had already eaten, so the food on the table was put out just for Skye and Tidas. She made it a point to pick out all of their favorite breakfast foods, and doubled up on the bacon just for Tidas. Skye devoured the potatoes covered in three different kinds of cheese, while Tidas ate two whole quiches to himself.

Honeyed ham with apple butter from Dragonhorn on honey oat bread was the finale, along with their morning tea. Tidas wished that they had something stronger like coffee, but it was unbelievably expensive, and he just couldn’t justify buying it himself. Magnus kept the palace supply on lockdown, and usually only used it for special occasions.

The Highlanders seemed to have a decent supply of it, but it still had to be specially grown. While Tidas was lamenting, they finished up their meal, then Skye and Tidas shared a sweet kiss before heading off to go handle their last tasks before the wedding, and their departure. Peggy headed for the kitchens first, knowing that a meal was the best thing for a hungover person to wake up to.

Thanks to having minimal patients, Skye was able to fly through her Shaman rounds, and was back in the palace by ten in the morning. The wedding was set to start at twelve-thirty, which made Skye smile out of nostalgia.. ‘That was the same time as me own weddin’, well: me first one.. Tidas looked so different from the laddie I knew..’

As both wonderful, and terrible memories filled her mind, Skye speed-walking down the hall towards Shasta and Lawrence’s quarters. Even before she was let into the room, Skye could tell that something was wrong..

Yelling and the distinct sound of glass shattering had Skye rushing in. When she saw Shasta still in her dress from the previous night, a sinking feeling filled her empty gut. As Skye looked around the room, she saw Peggy and two other servants huddled in the corner.

The surly old servant was holding the stool from the nightstand like a shield, and what looked like a curtain rod like a sword. The two women behind her were whimpering and nearly in tears as Shasta threw random objects around the room. She was scream incoherently, but Skye caught a word here and there.

With the initial shock of the scene wearing off, Skye looked around for a way to get Shasta to calm down. It was then that she saw several empty bottles of cream strewn across the floor. Irritated that Shasta allowed herself to overindulge so excessively right before her wedding, Skye immediately knew what she had to do..

“Shasta! Calm yer self now, or I’ll do it for ya!” Skye yelled, but it was in vain.

It wasn’t a rant or Shasta snapping for an actual reason; she was having some kind of breakdown. Skye could tell that it wasn’t something she could talk her out of, so she did the only thing she could think to do on the spot. Going into the bathroom; Skye turned on the faucet, then used her Water magic to manipulate a bathtub-sized amount.

Going out into the main room again, Skye promptly soaked Shasta with the cold water she was manipulating. Shasta had instantly cried out in shock and fear, then freaked out just like a house cat getting hit with water. Furious, she went to lunge at Skye with her claws out, but lost her footing on the wet carpet.

Skye easily sidestepped her, and stopped her from falling over by catching her. Shasta grabbed ahold of her arm to steady herself, and accidentally cut Skye on her upper arm. While she had barely flinched from it, the two young servants immediately started to call her names like ‘beast’ and ‘animal’ when they saw the blood dripping down onto the carpet.

Peggy had instantly chided them, but Shasta had still heard what they had said. Usually she would’ve freaked out again in her state, but instead did something that no one expected: Shasta began to cry. At first it was barely audible, but very quickly turned into childish sobs.

The two servants were shocked to see Skye hugging Shasta, and petting her head like a mother did for their frightened child. After leading her distraught friend over to a small, two-person table next to the fireplace, she started to clean Shasta up as she calmed down. Every time Skye touched her, she was sending a touch of her Shaman magic into Shasta, to sober her up a bit.

Skye had barely used her trait, but she could already tell that Shasta’s body was over-stressed. She was actually shocked that Shasta hadn’t been exhibiting signs of extreme anxiety. Holding her hand in place, Skye examined Shasta’s complete state..

‘I knew she was stressed, but bloody hell! Her blood pressure is through the bloody roof!’

As the thought crossed her mind, Shasta finally realized what Skye was doing, and said; “Just leave me.. Lawrence deserves better.. I’m not meant to be a Queen.”

“What the hell kinda thing is that ya say?! Do ya love him?!”

Shasta had flinched at Skye’s harsh tone before replying; “Of course I do, but he-”

“Do ya love Victor and Anna?!”

“Yes-”

“Then what else matters?! Fuck everyone else! Yer a cat, not a monkey! Act like it!”

What? That doesn’t even make sense-”

Skye sighed heavily as she tried to organize her thoughts; “Look, Lawrence would never make ya do somethin’ that ya were uncomfortable doin’, right? If ya dinna want any responsibilities other than the kids, I dinna think Lawrence would force it upon ya..”

“He loves ya, Shasta. Me and Tidas do as well. And I know she willna say it out loud, but Peggy over there does, too. Do ya not recall the toasts last night? More people than that got yer back, lady. You’ll see at the ceremony.. And we all think that yer more than worthy ta be at Lawrence’s side.”

Shasta sniffled as she wiped the tears from her eyes; “I know, but when I think about what I might be expected of me, I feel sick.”

Skye hid a small laugh; “Have ya never been nervous before?”

“Of course! But this is different. It’s not just my life I can screw up now,” Shasta replied with folded ears.

Skye grabbed her hand, and pulled her up to her feet; “And what exactly are ya gonna screw up? Yer a good momma, Shasta. Those kids adore you, and dinna get me started on yer soon-ta-be husband.”

Shasta’s eyes grew wide; “That’s right, we’re getting married in a couple of hours..”

“Not at this rate,” Peggy quipped as she as the other servants started to pick up the mess.

Skye quickly finished healing Shasta of her drunkenness, then said; “I dinna know what those Meccano asshats said to ya, but they dinna ken ya like I do. Yer a good person, Shasta. And yer gonna make an excellent Queen. I know it.”

Tears swelled in Shasta’s eyes as she replied; “But...what if the people hate me?”

“That’s never stopped ya before,” Peggy quipped as she walked over with a now-cold tray of food; “Ya gotta sto caring what Everyone thinks of ya, and start focusin’ on why Lawrence picked ya in the first place.”

Seeing the confusion on her face, Peggy added; “Because he loves you, ya silly hairball.”

Skye and Shasta both giggled at Peggy’s blunt humor as Skye finished drying her off. Now that she was sober, the fact that she hadn’t slept all night was now hitting Shasta like a brick. All she wanted to do was sleep, but the hectic day was just beginning.

After she and Skye picked at the food that Peggy had brought earlier, the servants cleaned up, then set out Shasta’s dress. Both she and Skye stopped eating to admire it, then they finished their food as quickly as possible. Shasta still needed a trim, a real shower, and to dress, and Skye needed nearly the same.

“You go shower and dress, and I’ll take care of Mrs. Hiss here. Canna have the Maid of Honor looking like a traveling welp now, can we?” Peggy more stated than asked.

Skye grinned; “I’ll leave the bride ta you, then. I’ll be back in time ta walk to the throne room wit ya.”

“You’d better be back. I’m already feeling pukey, and I don’t want to throw up on my wedding dress,” Shasta commented as Skye headed for the door.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can!” Skye yelled, then rushed out the door.

“Ya better be! Ya got one hour, lass! Dinna be late!” Peggy yelled back, then Skye disappeared into the hallway.