For

All of these have been asked of me in the past in another muse group.

1 – What’s more important – self preservation or forgiveness?

I suppose that would depend upon who the question was being asked of; myself or the subjects that I rule. Of course, I will always do whatever is necessary in preserving not only myself but my hold on power as High Lady of the Fortunate Island. As for forgiveness, I deal with treachery decisively and without mercy. So, if you were to ask my subjects, they would be quick to tell you that forgiveness is a very important thing indeed. Benevolence is a pleasant thing for all parties concerned, of course. But sometimes in Fae realms, benevolence is quite hard to come by.

2 – Hearing, Sight, Taste, Touch, and Smell. The five senses. Which would be the worst one for you to lose, and why?

Only five senses? What happened to the other two? There should be seven. I can deal with the loss of any of the above. The ability to intuit, however, can make up for the loss of all of the others. Next.

3 – How do you handle confrontations?

Again, this is determined upon the situation. What Prince worth his or her salt could possibly make a blanket statement with regard to something like this? I tend to be direct. However, like every good chess game, sometimes the indirect approach, the slow, strategic advance where you take a little bit and then a little more until you have all that you want is the order of the day. I will use diplomacy or seduction or arms, depending on what I am trying to accomplish, as well as the mind and temperament of my opponent. I play to win, and I care little about how I achieve that.

4 – What makes you jealous and how do you deal with it?

Even with what I know and the obvious charms that I can work over men’s hearts, I have tasted jealousy. What is the motivation behind much magic that women, that Wytch’s wield? I would not be where I am now, if it was not for my jealousy, my lust for what I thought should be rightfully mine and for reaching out to claim it. Who then is more deserving if not me? Even though I am a sovereign, and play by different rules than most, jealousy can turn most women into creatures of unspeakable ugliness. If I resort to such, do I not also render myself ugly for having done so? However, when one is in the grips of the green-eyed dragon of jealousy, you oft do not think about such things.

I have watched scores of women who have thrown themselves at my lovers. Never mind that in some cases, the bonds between these lovers and I are ones of blood and cannot be undone by the mere glance of a simpering coquette or a temptress. I have been called Hetaera, and as such being one of those who fully own and control our sexuality, we embrace and completely understand the power and potential of that. Hetaeras make love with whomever, wherever and whenever we choose. We do this for reasons we consciously acknowledge and for results we alone skilfully control. Even living within a world that is built around sensuality of the body, mind and spirit, jealousy can come. Even when Life itself becomes an ecstatic ritual of experiencing the deepest part of what is sensuous and sensua, one can know the pangs of envy and hatred toward someone or something that is taking away from that most carefully constructed facade. Woe unto them, for these impetuous creatures know not where they play nor just whom they play with. And he, would deign to infer that he has no part in this? That would be foolish indeed.

What have I done to deal with it? Well, I have done a variety of things. I have been known to have wrought magicks both small and perhaps a bit more involved in the name of, what I would suppose, are my more jealous moments. I have at times cast a rival’s name into a mirror, so to speak, so that she and her would-be lover sees her for exactly what she is. I have been known to go as far as to make a woman’s breasts or chin melt like candle wax held too close to a flame. Pity. They really shouldn’t play with things that don’t belong to them. Perhaps such things are unworthy of a Wytch and High Lady of the Isle, but certainly they are more than appealing to my Fae blood! We do have a penchant for trickery and getting even with those whom we are jealous of.

There was one particular incident whereby my lover had been pursued by a lass that liked to feign her innocence so that she might appeal to his protective male nature. Her devisement worked and I was feeling a bit neglected. So I in turn devised to have a maid come to their chamber and snatch his breeches, and have them made a bit larger. How odd when he got dressed, it would seem that their amorous exertions caused him to shrink. The first time he most probably wrote it off to his imagination. When again they met, I again had the maid borrow his breeches and a new pair was made exactly the same way and sized larger still. Again, it would appear that he was smaller. Of course the implication was that he was either sickly, or his male attributes were in fact were waning after all. Being the kind of woman that she was, she dropped him for another. When he came to his senses and came to see me for a bit of reassurance and for a charm to win back that bit of himself which he thought that he might have lost, I have to admit, it did feel rather good to have been so successful in assuaging my jealousy upon him.

5 – Would you rather lead or follow? Why? What role do you see yourself playing out over your life, leader or follower?

I am a sovereign. I do not follow others. They follow me.