Kassandra was reclined on the damp sand, her eyes closed, her face lifted towards the setting sun, and the love of her life sprawled across her torso. She wanted to savour this time - just her and Kyra against the world, because she knew that she couldn't stay forever. Before long she would be again called to adventure, whisked away to explore the Greek world at the helm of the Adrestia, Barnabas and Herodotus easily ensuring that this peace and tranquility would remain just a memory

Kassandra careessed her lover's face, deliberately running her fingers from temple to jaw, pausing to admire her peaceful expression and repeating the action. The gentle breeze sent a strand of dark hair fluttering out of place, laying flat strewn across Kyra's eyes. The larger woman took it in her fingers and relished in the shine and warm colour before she tucked it behind Kyra's ear. Kassandra sighed deeply, and tried to make a mental image of everything going around her, knowing only too well that it would all be over too soon. She ran the gritty sand between her fingers, counted the many gulls that circled above the pair, and mapped every freckle and dimple of Kyra's sleeping face into her memory.

Gently, she roused the sleeping woman, watching as her chocolate eyes flickered open.

"Kassandra?" She asked dreamily, yet she sounded worried, as if she thought that her love might have taken off as she slept

"I'm right here, beautiful" Kassandra replied softly, perching herself up on her elbows.

"I just didn't want you to miss the sunset"

Kyra arranged herself so she could be as closed to her lover as possible, and Kassandra delighted in the look of wonder that passed over Kyra's featured as she drank in the view. The pair were bathed in colour, the orange sun, the purple shadows of Kyra's arms across Kassandra's chest, the pink clouds that crowned the setting sun, but by far the most beautiful was the gold rays that shimmered across the Aegean, making all they touched dappled in golden light. Kassandra thought this effect was almost divine, and succeeded in doing what she had believed to be impossible - making Kyra look any more like a Goddess.

"It's wonderful, isn't it?" Kassandra mused, eyes out to sea

"Gorgeous" Kyra replied, studying her lover's exquisite face, a face she was not forgetting any time soon. Out of nowhere, sadness began to engulf her, a feeling of helplessness at the prospect of another eternity without Kassandra. It had been six moons since her last visit, and she didn't feel ready to cope with another six - of waking up to an empty bed, of watching all of the couples laugh and mingle at every symposium, of ruling the Silver islands without anyone to confide in - (if you'd pardon the expression) she was just a King without her Queen, and it had been ever so lonely.

Every day she awaited the fated return of the Eagle Bearer, and found herself subconsciously glancing towards the docks every evening, checking to see if one of the many ships was the Adrestia. Women had never been a mystery to Kyra, they had always been so simple, so straightforward, yet not this one, Kassandra was different, and Kyra truly felt like she wanted to spend the rest of her life with this woman. Even her presence was intoxicating, her earthy smell, her skin which was darkened by her many days at sea, her bulging muscles that were hardened by vicious battles. Kyra could never wait for all of the tales that her companion had to tell, of cultists and scraps with bandits, of snake dens and wolf packs, of Spartans and Athenians. She loved this woman fiercely, and wanted nothing more than to be with her always, but she owed it to her people to stay, the people that Kassandra had helped liberate, and there were certainly other islands still kept under tyranny.

Kyra rested her head on Kassandra's chest, interlocked her hand with her lover's and took a deep breath, letting Kassandra's woody scent wash over her.

"I love you more than you can know, Eagle Bearer"

"I love you to the moon and back, my beloved"

Their eyes met, and Kyra lifted her head so they could share a soft kiss, both knowing quite how limited their time was. Like all else, it was ephemeral, temporary, yet like all else, they savoured it, and made it last for eternity...