Wincing Carina retracts her hand from the left side of her neck where a rash has started to appear. Right where she has been applying that poison oak perfume that Klaude Vale gifted her on his briefs visit, the one tainted with white snakeroot and scented with oleander.

Looking in the mirror on her dresser she scowls. She is the Viper Queen. Yet she has become weak. Plagued with more and more headaches and now damned rashes from the poison oak in that perfume. A poisoner who is affected my poison, she's almost as pathetic as Eirene these days. Even Octavia is likely stronger than she is.

Is she ill? Has the Goddess truly deserted her in Ascension Year? Perhaps even the divine being herself is sick of poisoner queens reigning.

A few tears even fall from Carina's eyes as she thinks on this and looks in the mirror. Her face looks even paler than usual and her expression is so forlorn. Carina is absolutely alone.

She hasn't even told Andrea, she's not sure how any of them would react. They would likely treat her with contempt like they do with Eirene and make her endure the harshest manner of poison training. Training. That's usually reserved for children whose gifts have not yet come. Carina is a full grown young woman and she feels ashamed.

Ashamed, upset and angry. Wiping her tears she applies some cosmetics, only very light ones. Applying a little rogue to her cheeks for some colour she does a light coat over her lips. Not that she needs it. Her lips are naturally quite red.

Her eyes still a little wet Carina practises a smile. Over and over. And it looks genuine. She has always prided herself on her acting abilities. Let people believe what they want about her, do anything but let them see your weaknesses or your true self, all those things can be used against you.

These are lessons she has taught herself. That's how Carina has survived the environment she has been brought up in.

But after a few minutes of starting and criticising herself she has decided to stop feeling sorry for herself as she spies the cloudless sunny sky through her windows. The grounds of the manor look particularly beautiful today. Smiling a little, genuinely this time, she moves towards the door.

Luckily on her way she didn't encounter any of the Arrons. She's not in the mood to talk strategy with Andrea or have Octavia either make a snide comment or a sly compliment to try and win her favour.

No. Today is her day. A simple day.

She first stopped off by the kitchens to grab some snacks, Selene helped her prepare a few non toxic bits of food and promised Carina her discretion, it wouldn't do for any of the other servants to find out, they will likely gossip which would reach the ears of the Arrons.

And there are so many Arrons in the Manor right now. Andrea, Octavia, Amara, Eirene, Silas, Adrion and Niklaus. And Vincent, his wife (Madeleine Bethal) and their children, Kol and Vincent have become frequent visitors, so eager to be apart of the queens household.

Now Carina has gone to the non toxic part of the outermost gardens, the ones that are surrounded by mostly sections of plain, well maintained green grass and freshly cut hedges, mostly done in plain circular shapes but a few are in the shape of a snake, to honour their queen and some are shaped in the letter "A" for the Arrons of course. A lot of things around their ancestral home had "A" emblems but like anyone would forget whose home this is. Despite the Arrons only returning when Queen Halia ascended, poison has already began to practically seep into the walls.

Now Carina is soaking up the suns kind rays, her raven hair in a single neat braid behind her back, tied with a small black ribbon to keep her mane of straight hair out of her face. And she even wears trousers today paired with a loose black shirt, opting for that combo over dresses. Trousers are very comfy she has to admit as is the shirt she is wearing.

She is relaxing and sitting on a wide picnic blanket with her basket of treats with a good book. A fantasy one. A lovely outing, a rare luxury.

She reads for a bit and eats but eventually she lets her eyes shut for a little while, bathing under sun.

But that relaxation didn't last of course. Queens are not born to relax and enjoy themselves, even a day is too much to ask it seems.

"Good afternoon your grace," Niklaus says and Carina opens her eyes grumpily to the bright sun above and the sheen of Niklaus' platinum blonde hair overtaking her vision.

Carina just nods, "hello Niklaus." He waits for her to make a gesture and she makes him wait for a moment before rolling her eyes and letting him sit down.

Of course when she is alone he has sought her out. No doubt to further elaborate on his schemes to help her or to impress her.

Ah Niklaus Arron and his grand proposals and attempts to gain her favour. Well at least he's trying. Carina has almost grown to like him. He's certainly a step up from Amara and Eirene, neither of whom she trusts, especially since Eirene tried to manipulate Carina and blackmail her a few nights ago at the family dinner. Eirene's mistake and at least she now knows never to try and mess with Carina again.

At least Amara is more open in her deceit and at times, cruel, disposition. Carina knows what to expect with her. But Eirene is a lot more sly, which is almost worst.

Carina wishes she had been raised alongside Andrea's sons rather than the daughters. But then again. Arron girls' lives were never going to be easy. Eirene, a practically giftless poisoner, who upon birth was set to inherit the family's wealth and social standings to then be made to feel ashamed and forsaken in favour of the next daughter.

The family decided she wasn't strong enough and then became ashamed of her, treating her as an outcast - even Carina is guilty of that. Though with her current situation Carina has more sympathy for Eirene then she ever did before. And the poor Arron girl has no one who truly cares, they are alike in that way. Carina would feel even more sympathy for that, if the girl hadn't tried to threaten her recently.

And Amara. The heir. The strong one. But that meant pressure, immense pressure to live up to the Arrons' impossible ideals. Of course she could be both cruel and manipulative as all Arrons could be. But that's how she was raised. Andrea is many things but not a mother, not a mother the way Vivianne Westwood or Gwyneth Milone are.

All the Arron children and Carina are victims in a way. All raised the same, to value the strength of their gifts above all. The individuals themselves didn't matter.

Eirene is proof of that, quickly discarded after learning how weak her gift was. She didn't fit the deluded Arron ideals. So she was cut out and even worse, her lack of gift is hidden from everyone apart from immediate family because they're ashamed.

Who knows what Carina, Eirene and Amara could've been in different households, different circumstances. Even Andrea and Octavia. It's just a bloody never ending cycle, so callous and cold. A wheel that never breaks.

And honestly being a queen is exhausting. Treachery everywhere, even from her own.

"I'm sorry I didn't come up with a good enough plan for Beltane," Niklaus says sheepishly, "I promised I would find a way to increase people's faith and I didn't."

Ah the people's faith. Such a fickle and ever changing thing. Easier to win than it is to keep.

"You didn't," Carina agrees, faintly smiling a little, "but I did."

She tilts her head, remembering the way the people started to revere her at Beltane.

"Well I got a degree of respect if not faith," she continues, "for the way I handled the assassin."

Goddess what an odd cycle. A rare shadow and now both her and Nalani had almost fallen victim to assassination attempts. Everyone desperate to have their chosen queen on the throne. Too desperate. People may believe in the queensline again but this cycle has had too much interference in it by those plagued with insanity. For no sane person would try and kill a queen before the Ascension. Carina has no clue what madness lurks in people these days.

"It was commendable," Niklaus agrees, smiling, "but it's not enough."

"So blunt, anyone would think you're my advisor," Carina remarks with faint amusement. His perseverance never ends.

"Well I am," he says.

"Really?" She says raising an eyebrow, "and who decided that."

"I did."

"You did?" She repeats, smiling at his audacity and then laughs to herself, "you may not be the smartest but you do amuse me Niklaus."

"Even if that was double handed I'll take the compliment," he says.

"You'd better," Carina says, stroking Sheshu who is wrapped around the nearby tree branch, "I'm running low of compliments to give at the moment, especially to the likes of you."

"Enough of the bantering," he says rolling his eyes, "we need to have a serious talk."

"Sounds rather ominous," she says.

"Oh it is," he states, "we need to get you on top especially since you have limited time now the Ascension Year has officially begun."

"I know that," Carina say, her tone sharper, "but that bitch Nalani has the island sitting comfortably in her elemental pocket. They adore her and I have no idea how I can change that, especially with the prejudice that runs for our gift."

It irritates Carina to no end. Some people will not even give her chance just because she's a poisoner as if she choose this life. Life would've been easier if she had just been born a naturalist or perhaps even another war queen, the people would've liked that because of the success of Queen Halia's reign. Or perhaps she should've been born an oracle and never even lived at all, then she wouldn't have this complicated life.

"Nalani's clever," Niklaus says with a nod, "she's been doing small things to win the people's favours for months, at first it wasn't that noticeable but it all adds up and word travels, even to Prynn though I learnt that Queen Nalani made special efforts to try and prevent news from her little events from spreading to our ears."

"How interesting," Carina muses, "she is smart I'll give her that, though I still hate her guts."

Carina hates her on principle. Nalani is a rival and Carina is also jealous of her. She wants what the Fire Queen has. The undiluted power, the popularity, family and friends who actually care about her unconditionally. It would be nice to experience love.

"She's strategic, beautiful and powerful," Niklaus says and Carina's grumpy disposition increases.

"Unfortunately yes," she says, "though I'm just as much of a match."

Well a match to a certain degree. Carina can and will rival her for cunningness and sheer will.

"Well you're certainly shrewd, powerful and well, someone would have to be blind not to see your exquisite beauty," he remarks locking eyes with those piercing blue eyes of his.

"Ever the flatterer you are," she says, fanning herself with her black lace fan that she brought in her basket, "but do you have an actual plan?"

"Funnily enough yes," he jokes before his tone turns more serious, "we need to play Nalani at her own game, Arwen is so isolated in Umbra that we don't have to worry about competing with her on the popularity front but she can rely more on the allure of the rare shadow gift and her Beltane performance to capture the island's attentions," he pauses, staring at her more intently as his hands gesture,

"But Carina, you are the underdog, a poisoner on an island who is tired of poisoner queens and though I think your gift is strong, I've witnessed firsthand how temperamental it can be," he says and Carina flushes, remembering how he once had to make her empty her stomach of those belladonna berries that caused her to sicken. When her gift was being particularly weak. To her embarrassment. It's even worse considering that her gift has reached that level yet again.

"Nalani and Arwen show no such signs of their gifts fluctuating, so it can't be the only thing you rely on, you need to gain favour and soon, before either of your sisters make a move against you, seeking to claim an early win this year," he says,

"I had intended to try and score an early victory this year, everyone knows powerful queens can poison their sisters in less than a month, at least the island could see my strength," Carina admits, interrupting Niklaus.

"Hear me out but I don't think you should do that," he says, "I think you should focus the first month on your reputation and obviously, avoiding any attacks from your sisters and I have a proposal are you ready to hear it?"

Carina nods, not sure if she's happy with his plans but she will allow him to say his piece before she makes a decision.

"I propose you make a few visits to various towns around the island, heavily guarded of course, ones that Nalani has not yet travelled to, perhaps they can be swayed," he says thoughtfully, "we can bring them supplies, only the necessities so they commend us rather than rejecting us for trying to bribe them but most importantly, you will need to make speeches, very convincing ones, those will be difficult as for the best effect you will need to be utterly truthful and genuine, your words will need to come straight from the heart, you will need to allow them to see you behind the mask for a little bit," he says and Carina looks skeptical, she doesn't like showing her true self to people, it feels too vulnerable, it frightens her a little.

"so anything you say to these people," Niklaus continues, "any promises made in those speeches will need to be fulfilled when you are queen crowned and sometimes promises can be hard to keep when you ascend the throne, it can be complex."

Complex indeed. Who knows what the rest of the islands people will demand. She dreads to think.

Niklaus leans closer to her as he continues, "We need to play a different angle to the ones people expect us to portray," he says and that captures Carina's attentions, "let's focus more on the ancient healing side of the poisoner gift, have you take care of the wounded, visit infirmaries, orphanages and the supplies you provide could be cures for any ailments, rather than poison," Niklaus says, his voice becoming more passionate, "show them that there are more to poisoners than death and sabotage show them that you could be a different poisoner queen than any of your predecessors, show them hope."

Carina is silent for a moment as she contemplates it all. Niklaus is smarter than she has given him credit for. Everything he has said is brilliant. She is a little uncertain but she thinks she can do it.

"They're all good ideas," Carina admits and he smirks.

"I thought you'd ran out of compliments for the 'likes of me'," he says cheekily.

"Yes well don't let it go to your head Niklaus," Carina says in mock sternness though a smile twinkles in her obsidian eyes.

"How did you become such an adequate strategist?" Carina asks.

"Well I had to find something to do with my time growing up with the Vends," he says, "I spent a lot of time visiting various libraries and temples, to read every manner of book and scripture on queens, their gifts, their Ascensions, their strategies, I wanted to do more with my life than travel, drink and visit brothels," he says and they both smirk as they think of wild Adrion and his tendencies, "and more than just sit around, inherit money, marry and simply wither away in an estate." That description matched Vincent and Silas more, both very aristocratic.

"I wanted to prove myself, rise up in station and aid my monarch," he says, "which will be you if everything goes to plan."

"Speaking of plans, I'm not sure on parts of yours, I'm a little uncertain about showing my true self to the people but I can promise to give it a shot," she says and Niklaus nods, "I have an idea for something I can offer people, perhaps the idea of me having a more inclusive council will help increase my favour."

She pauses and then continues as Niklaus watches her closely, "for centuries poisoner queens have had a practically all poisoner council and if we go down the road of presenting a new angle with the healing idea, showing there is more to me than they think then they just might be more inclined to support me or at least respect me."

"My mother will hate that idea," Niklaus remarks then his face breaks into a wicked smirk, "but I think it's a great idea."

"Thank you," she replies with a wicked smile of her own, "Andrea and the rest of the Arrons will just have to deal with it, I don't like most of them anyway, they're foolish indeed if they just assumed they were automatically getting a place on my Black Council, perhaps having a more diverse Council with lots of different gifts will give me an opportunity to learn new things, be more open minded," she pauses, her expression darkening a little,

"truth be told I haven't really enjoyed being raised and surrounded by poisoners my entire life, I've always felt like something has been missing, I know it's the way things are and that this is my duty but if I didn't have foolish wishes then I would just be a shell, that's not what I want to be."

"I'm not the best person," Carina admits, "I've been manipulative, mean and even at times, cruel, but I think I want to be better."

She can at least try. For the sake of her people. Carina does feel a responsibility for them after all.

"Better than us poisoner lot," Niklaus notes, "we aren't all that bad you know."

Carina looks at him for a while, "you're not too bad I suppose."

"Another compliment, it's a miracle," he says and she almost laughs at that, "but I do think a more diverse Council could be beneficial, it would set you apart from both Nalani and Carina, it is breaking from the norm of poisoner queens but maybe that's a good thing, perhaps you can be a different kind of queen crowned."

She nods, contemplating all the plans they have spoke of, "perhaps," she says wistfully, "though I know a lot about poison and the art of poisoning in itself I can't say I'm apt at healing."

Niklaus thinks for a moment before clicking his finger, "I'm not a healing expert myself but I know who is," he says, excitement dancing in his pale eyes, "with your permission I will send word to a friend I have in Sunpool, she is one of the best healers on the island."

"Is she a poisoner?" Carina asks, wondering who this friend could be.

Carina doesn't know many people from Sunpool, formerly the city of oracles but now is more diverse. Sight gifted residents are still the majority but other gifts are welcomed to keep their city moving forward with trade, money and business. It has become a hive for merchants.

"Not exactly," Niklaus says with a smirk.

"What does that mean?"

"Well her father was a poisoner and a renowned healer, one of the few poisoners who practised the ancient and rarer side of our people's culture but her mother is an oracle, a strong one at that," he says, pausing as his smirk grows wider.

"I believe you're familiar with the name Cressida Lermont."