Áine

They have her eyes, her laughter, her desire to travel far and wide, loving deeply and purely, just as they learned from their mother.

Each midsummer, Áine was celebrated not just by her children, but by those throughout Ireland who prayed to her, who understood her divine powers and knew if they wanted a good harvest come Lunasa, they would need to honor her.

They would need to light the bonfires for her and seek her blessing.

singing to her, offering gifts to her, traveling to her hillside on Cnach Awnia in Limerick, and performing the rituals honoring her there on Solstice Eve.

And so, silence plugging up their ears, their eyes keen, and their footsteps light behind them, they slowly followed them.

And then the king, feeling them close, feeling his anger bubbling up, bubbling over him, he cannot help himself, and he begins to shout at them.

He begins to push at them and shove them from behind the druid's eyes wide, watching all this, for here is Egoveil of the Tuatha Dé Danann and his daughter, beautiful Áine, tall and radiant, and the king pushes the father to the side, and seeing Áine throws himself upon her like an animal, But she will not have it, for she is fierce, and her father is on the ground, and the druid is standing by watching, and the king is pawing at her and pulling at her.

And so she grabs his head in her two hands, and in one swift motion she bites off his