The Witcher: Aethan of Cidaris

Chapter 13: Pilgrimage to Skellige, Part 2

(Royal Council of Cidaris Chamber, Castle Cidaris, County of Cidaris, Duchy of Cidaris, Kingdom of Cidaris, The Dragon Coast, The North, Witcher-Verse)

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(Queen Adda ‘’The Red’’ Dezmoiden of Cidaris POV)

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Sitting in the Royal Council of Cidaris Chamber, Adda was reviewing the reports Lucia had given her. Clarisse de Chille was an excellent candidate to start with, and her resume was a good indication of what to expect. But that wasn’t what drew her eye, Clarisse de Chille was drawn up on Insubordination charges by Colonel Julio Grotelul. She didn’t know the full story, but he was just one of a handful of people Aethan sent into early retirement for what was officially listed as battlefield fatigue and war wariness.

But she, like everyone else, had heard the whispers in the court, she knew that in truth they'd been retired for bigotry and sexism. More than half of the generals who had served King Ethain were retired for this reason. Their replacements were younger and hungrier for the validation of why Aethan’s trust and favor were granted to them. She expected most to lose their first battles. She knew that it would be in their explanation of why and how they lost that the question of validation would be answered.

Aethan was weird like that, he cared very little for the failure itself as opposed to how one failed and how they interpreted it and their subsequent explanation. Everything would be tested and examined before the ones who bore the blame for the failure would be called to account, her husband liked to have the facts before any one opinion was seen as the truth, it let him make an informed decision when dealing with someone who was content laying their failure at another's feet. Which was why she was calling on Cantarella.

She had heard stories passed around her father’s court of the legendary Nilfgaardian Spy, including the fact she’d one day just vanished. As both the Queen and the acting ruler of Cidaris, one of Aethan’s mandates was that she be apprised of all active intelligence agents and operations currently active within Cidarian borders. Cantarella, known as Nightshade within the Cidarian NIS, was an officer within the Cidarian Intelligence Service who answered directly to her husband, not Lucia. But with Aethan on a Pilgrimage, Cantarella answered to her now.

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(POV Shift: Carthia ‘’Cantarella’’ Van Carten)

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Queen Adda was a curious woman.

Or rather the Queen was both a curiosity and naturally curious herself. Many within Cidaris and beyond assumed that Aethan married Adda for the politics or the alliance gains. Yet just as was the case with King Esterad, Aethan did not have separate chambers for the two of them. He seemed to genuinely care for his Queen.

He cared enough that he sought to help his wife in her studies and healing process and also enable her growth. Carthia’s job now was to keep a close watch on the Queen and report back to King Aethan. Unbeknownst to the Queen, Aethan was aware of her plans and did not oppose it. But he did not actively support her either. As much as he’d been helping her already,  his decision was clear, as were her orders.

‘Keep my Adda safe, but do not make things easy for her unless it will destabilize the regency’. Those had been his orders to her and Madam Lucia.

He wanted her to make her own way in court, Lucia would aid her as was the Madam’s duty as the Royal Spymistress. But Carthia’s duty was less clear. She was to report back to King Aethan regularly, but she was also to only aid the queen if the regency was at risk. As it stood, things were stable right now. But Adda was already making moves. The Queen was trying to build a faction. Her starting point had been offering a royal pardon and the promise of a title to Antso Garrin. Something that although technically within her power as King Aethan’s Regent, could only be acknowledged and ratified by King Aethan upon his return.