Queen Yavara Ch. 29

Part Ten: Adrianna's Story

Author's note

I decided to introduce the character of Adrianna (formerly Thomas Adarian) gradually throughout the story. At first, you only hear accounts of him, then you only see him through the eyes of other characters. It is only at the beginning chapter 20 that I let the story play through Adarian's eyes. I wanted to give the reader the impression that his character was important, but I didn't want to bog down the plot by introducing him early in the story when so many characters --Yavara, Brock, Zander, Prestira, Elena and Leveria—needed to be introduced as well. But Adrianna is just as important as many of those characters, and even more important than some. Since I couldn't give him (her) the air time the others got earlier, I decided to devote an entire book to him. This takes place between Chapters 26 and 28 of the main story arc, and details the stories of Adrianna, the other hybrids, Certiok, Trenok, Arbor and Rose; all characters who I felt deserved more time than the main story would allow them. You don't have to read these next six chapters, as I will summarize the important plot points when we return to the main story arc, but I hope that you do. Thank you.

Day One

ADRIANNA, SIXTEEN DAYS BEFORE THE BATTLE OF THE TUNDRA.

In the horror stories told to misbehaving Highland children, the beasts of the Great Forest would kidnap delinquent younglings, drag them to Castle Alkandra, and drop them before the Black Throne. If the story teller had a mind for detail, he would tell of how imposing the Black Throne was, how it towered over everything and took a hundred full steps just to ascend. At the precipice, the disfigured and repulsive Dark Queen would cackle manically, then swoop down to begin her terrible torture.

"It's just a wooden chair." I mused, looking down at the unassuming piece of ebony furniture.

"And Yavara's not a wart-covered hag." Faltia added. The formerly named, 'Captain Faltius Dafian' wasn't quite sycophantic toward me, but she retained her military respect despite my insistence that she not.

"Give her time." I muttered.

"She's ageless." Soraya noted. I remembered First-Scribe Soren Poneria as a balding frail man in his late thirties, and though she was now a buxom tan beauty that most would mark at nineteen, she still retained somewhat of her pinch-faced bookishness.

"It doesn't have to be from age." Eva said, "The way she gets around, she's bound to catch some kind of super-herpes." Ah, Private Eva Alisia; the irony of her saying that was palpable. How many times had I received a notice from the castle physician that Eva Alisia had once again contracted syphilis?

"Eva!" Alexa gasped. I didn't think the former Sergeant Alexa Jenania was actually as appalled as she let on, for the moment she made the exclamation, she watched Faltia to make sure her disapproval was shared.

"If she isn't already patient-zero." Brianna giggled, "That woman is a walking evidence bag." I vaguely remembered Private Brian Dedaclia being somewhat of a walking evidence dispenser. It made sense that he (now she) and Eva linked fingers.

Eva laughed with her partner. "She takes it in the ass so much that she pollinates a flower every time she farts."

"The pussy-willows love her." Kiera sniggered, that perpetual mischief in her eyes. There were many times the MPs conducted raids on the barracks in search of drug paraphernalia, and they always seemed to find it hurriedly stashed beneath whichever woman bunked next to Corporal Kiera Lestria.

"Arbor would probably think that was infidelity." Furia mused with a small smile. I had no recollection of who Private Furia Augustinia used to be besides her name and rank. I intuited by her interaction with the other hybrids that she'd been the company baby, doted upon and protected by the other women, too young to have yet emerged from her shell. Maybe that was what drew me to her.

"Only if one of the plants was her child." Eva chuckled.

"All the plants are her children; didn't you know that?" Brianna giggled, "Every fucking time I picked a dandelion on the way here, she'd give me the evil eye."

"She looks at everyone like that." I said, "She's only been in a body for a week; interpersonal interaction is a challenge for her."

"She interacted with the four of us just fine." Eva grinned, motioning to Furia, Kiera and Alexa.

Faltia nudged me. "Hey Commander, is it true that Private Straltaira fucked Arbor so hard she became her slave?"

"It is." Arbor said from behind us, "Though I do not think it was the force of Elena's thrusts that compelled me into her servitude, but the angle with which thrusted them." She turned to me, "Governess, I have mustered the townsfolk, as you requested. They are waiting outside."

I cleared my throat, wondering how long Arbor had been there. The expressionless forest spirit inclined her head as though to study me from a different angle. "Governess?"

"Just 'Adrianna' will do fine, Arbor."

"I will address you by your title, as will be expected of every citizen here." Arbor cleared her throat back at me, as if practicing the mannerism, "Shall I have Certiok bring them in?"

I looked at the ebony chair, the wood smoothed from over a millennium of existence. How it had stayed intact beneath a pile of rubble for all these years was likely a mystery answered with 'magic,' and that made me warry, but it was the history of the thing that truly kept me static. This was the Black Throne for God's sake!

"It's just a wooden chair, Adrianna." Furia said softly, "You and I can switch if you want."

"No," I smiled, turning around, "I got it."

And I, Adrianna, formerly Thomas Adarian of the Highland Ranger Corps, sat on the Black Throne. I went still, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. The other hybrids all exchanged looks, then collectively shrugged, and sat in their own chairs. Since the inside of the castle hadn't even been started yet, the throne room was nothing but a vast, empty hallway. Scaffolding laced the sides of it, leading to window slits that weren't yet carved into archways by the masons. The cathedralic ceiling could hardly be seen in the darkness above, and the floor below was just packed earth.

"You ready?" Furia whispered beside me.

"You're gonna fucking crush it." Faltia said from my other side, giving me a pat on the shoulder.

"Why did we keep on our ranger uniforms?" Soraya lamented.

"To show the people that we have nothing to hide, right Commander?" Faltia nodded.

"Yeah..." I muttered, wishing desperately that I could go back in time and slap myself for making such a stupid call. How many Protaki and Terdini had I killed in this uniform? Scores? Hundreds? Good fuck, what was I thinking?! I chewed on my lip, then reached up, and unbuttoned my shirt.

"Adrianna?" Alexa whispered from across Faltia.

"We were rangers, yes, and it's important that we address that," I said, pausing halfway down my chest so that the swell of my breasts showed clearly from my opened shirt, "but we're also Alkandrans, and we need to show the beasts here that dark blood runs hot in our veins. Kiera, Alexa, Eva, Furia; I need an experienced woman's opinion." I pulled the bottom of my shirt from my pants, and rolled it between my breasts, exposing my bronze midriff. "Is this too slutty?"

"Is there such a thing?" Eva giggled, unbuttoning her shirt.

"There never was for you." Kiera teased Eva.

"I think it's fine." Furia beamed at me.

"She said an experienced woman's opinion, Furia." Eva sneered.

Furia's lip curled. "It's possible to be overqualified, Eva."

Alexa reached across Faltia, pushed my breasts together, then tightened my impromptu bra. She adjusted the lining on my shirt so that only my cleavage showed, then nodded. "There. The governess should only show enough to draw the eye, but not enough to compel the touch."

"Is that so, Alexa?" Furia glared at the woman fondling my breasts. Alexa turned rosy, issued Furia an apologetic smile, then retreated to assist Faltia with her shirt. Kiera fussed with Soraya, who was still perplexed by the physics of her new breasts, while Eva elected to remove her shirt entirely, and with some coercing, convinced Brianna to do the same. Furia kept her top button closed, but opened the rest, presenting a tantalizing triangle of revealed flesh all the way to her waistband. My eyes were inevitably drawn to the bulge in her pants, and they lingered there.

"Adrianna?" Her soft voice beckoned me back to reality.

My eyes darted upward, an apology ready on my lips, but when I met her sapphire gaze, there was nothing there to elicit my shame; only an inviting twinkle, a curious little ocular smile. "Is this too slutty?" She winked.

"It's a brazen violation of ranger uniform codes, Private." I muttered.

"I guess you'll have to take me to the brig then."

"D'aw, they're flirting!" Eva sneered, "So cute!"

"Shut up, Private." Faltia said with her old captain's sternness, causing the lascivious hermaphrodite to straighten and raise her arm in a half salute before she caught herself.

"Alright," Kiera grinned, rubbing her palms together, "you guys ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Soraya sighed, frowning as she adjusted her oversized bosom.

"I'm right here." Furia whispered, placing a hand on my thigh, the pinky easing north. I clasped my hand over hers, squeezed it for reassurance, then took one breath, and another. I nodded to Arbor. A second later, the doors burst open, and thousands of beasts flooded through them. This was, without a doubt, the worst nightmare of every ranger. They surged right up to the platform, snarling and yelling, raising their fists and pointing fingers. Certiok was at the head of them, her arms outstretched, seeming to hold the tribespeople at bay with just her will. Behind the mass of Terdini and Protaki, the Ardeni beasts shuffled in with significantly more order, and stood in the back. I swallowed, brandished my sword, and surged to my feet.

"Silence!" I roared.

To my surprise, they obeyed. I drove my sword into the platform boards, and strode to the edge. Even with three feet of elevation, I was barely above eye-level with some of the Terdini men. I made sure to meet their gazes one by one as I prowled the platform, my chest puffed out, my chin held high, my hands gripping each other behind my back to mask how horribly they were shaking.

"Obviously, you all know who I am." I said, my voice echoing in the chamber. "Or at least, you know who I was."

"Ranger cunt!"

I plucked the sword from the board and smashed the flat of it against the offending orc's temple. "That's Governess Ranger Cunt, you ingrate Terdini shit!" I snarled at the downed orc, his eyes blinking stupidly. I buried my sword into the boards once more, and recommenced my pacing as though nothing had happened. "I don't expect you to like me; hell, more than half of you downright hate me, but I do expect your respect. Our queen has mandated me to rule in her stead, and so a violation against me is a violation against her. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the queen's justice, but I can assure you, I am very well-versed in it. Trust me when I tell you that you do not want to test its mercy."

I stopped at the center of the platform, and pulled my sword out from the wood. "I am Governess Adrianna. I have been tasked to rebuild Alkandra, but I am just one woman. It is you all who will lay the foundations for the nation to come; your nation, your home. This moment right now is the geneses of your legacy, and it will ultimately be up to you if it will be one of glory, or one of failure. It is very easy to fall back on old habits." I gestured to the tribespeople, "Old habits of hatred." I gestured to the Ardeni immigrants, "Old habits of defeatism. Old habits will only create old results, and the world you will leave for your children will look exactly like the one your parents left for you." I sheathed my sword. "Tomorrow, we will reconvene here, and begin building our nation. I can only hope that you will not bring your old habits with you."

I clicked my heels together, and sat back on the Black Throne. There was a grumbling amongst the audience, and the Ardeni orcs turned to shuffle out the door. Certiok assisted the man I'd struck, then began ushering the tribespeople out. The energy had deflated from them -these, the old men, the women, and the children-, and I didn't doubt that if there were any warrior males here, things would have gone very differently. Even so, it had been a gamble, but showing weakness would've been a far greater risk. Only when Arbor left behind the last of the orcs, did I take my hand off my sword.

"Well," Alexa let out a breath, "that went well."

"I told you you'd crush it!" Faltia laughed, gripping my shoulder, "Short, violent, and to the point! No fat on that speech!"

"God, you're such a kiss-ass." Kiera laughed, "The commander's not going to give you a promotion, Captain."

"Actually, I am." I said, "Starting tomorrow, Faltia will be the acting commander of the watch."

Faltia was taken aback. "Commander, I... uh... why?"

"Because you're a natural-born leader, and I trust you." I smiled, "My authority won't mean much for long if I don't have a force to back it. Make sure it's an all-volunteer force with a mix of tribespeople and immigrants; we need to begin erasing the divide between them."

Faltia frowned. "I might be able to command troops, but I'm no good at recruiting them."

"Serendipitously, Eva served as a recruitment liaison to Bentius during her first years in the corps, so you'll take her with you tomorrow."

Alexa shot Eva a dark look. "I'll go with them."

Eva grinned broadly. "Have some faith in your captain, Sergeant."

"We all know why your recruitment numbers were so high, Private."

"Enough!" I said, "Alexa, you served on Castle Thorum's project team, so you'll be leading the engineering corps. Recruit carpenters, plumbers and any mechanically-minded citizens you can find. Start building repour with the trolls."

"What about me?" Soraya asked.

"You'll resume your role as Frist Scribe once we get enough records to keep." I inclined my head toward Brianna, "Since you were assistant to the requisition's officer, you'll be in charge of population logistics. I need census data before tomorrow's meeting." I looked to Kiera, "And you'll be my agricultural lead."

Kiera smiled confusedly. "Because I... like plants? Excuse me, Adrianna, but don't we have a forest spirit growing the crops already?"

"Arbor can call me 'governess' all she wants, but it doesn't mean a damn thing to her." I said, "Even Yavara can't pull rank on her. Your job is to be my liaison to the nymphs. Furia, you'll help Brianna with community outreach."

"And what will you be doing tomorrow?" She asked.

"I'll be meeting with the local leaders before the assembly. Whoever represents the Ardeni faction, and then Certiok."

"She's so fucking hot." Eva muttered.

"Oh my god, right?!" Kiera exclaimed like it had been on her mind for a while, "It's like my dick is a compass, and that ass points north!"

"She is savagely alluring." Furia confessed with a small smile.

"My compass must be broken, because it points at everyone!" Eva giggled.

"A surprise to no one." Soraya snorted.

Eva stuck her tongue out. "I might've been the castle carousel, but I don't remember ever giving you a ride, Sullen Soren."

"The culmination of diseases that live inside you would've literally melted my dick off."

Eva narrowed her eyes. "Well it's good you don't have it anymore; Ashley told me you fucked like you learned how from a textbook."

"Maybe if you'd ever read a textbook, you wouldn't have been forced to choose between whoring and becoming a ranger. Good thing you covered your bases with both."

"If I wasn't such a chivalrous shemale, I'd slap the bitch right off your face."

"That's enough, Eva!" Kiera growled, putting a protective arm around her partner.

Eva leaned closer. "Ashley told me you were a two-pump-chump."

"That's twice as long as you'll ever last." Soraya hissed back. Her eyes flitted down, then drew slowly back up. "Your compass is pointing a little east right now, Eva." She whispered.

Eva's blue irises topped her whites. "It's pointing right where it's supposed to, you fucking slut."

Soraya's eyes fluttered, her face flushed, and she drew in a sharp breath through her nose.

Kiera groaned. "Oh shit, I just lost you, didn't I?"

Soraya gave her an apologetic look. "It's... I don't know why... I guess I just..."

"It's OK," she smiled sadly, "I've been a woman much longer than you; I understand. I hoped we'd be each other's firsts, but..." She guided Soraya to her feet, then looked to Eva, "Take care of her, you home-wrecking whore."

Eva yanked Soraya against her, and smacked her hard on the ass. Soraya yelped, then giggled, then melted into Eva's arms. Eva smirked over her shoulder at Kiera. "Oh, I'll take real good care of her." And the two walked away, their hands sneaking into each other's waistbands.

"Huh," Brianna mused, watching the couple stroll out the door, "I guess I'm single again." She turned to Kiera, "You wanna..."

"Yes." Kiera smiled, standing up to take Brianna's hand. They followed Eva and Soraya out the door.

"Commander." Faltia said with a nod, and walked hand-in-hand with Alexa.

Furia's little finger linked with mine, then the rest followed suit. It was dusk when we left the castle, and the sky was a brilliant violet over Alkandra Bay. We walked along the moat with our hands entwined, and watched Yavara's new city bustle with life. The townspeople mulled about the day's end, sitting on chairs outside the tents and huts and chatting amongst their neighbors, roasting meat over fires and sharing their food with one another. It was strange to see civility amongst those I'd deemed savage. It disturbed me a little, if I was being honest.

"I knew Brianna and Eva would never work out." Furia said.

"Why?"

"They were too much alike." Furia shrugged, "When we were high-elves, Brian was always trying to get into every girl's pants, and Eva was much the same with the men."

"You think opposites attract?"

"Only for some kinds. Brianna and Eva share themselves with everyone, so they need an exclusive other to find intimacy. Alexa and Faltia are a lot like each other, and I think they'll stay together." She looked up at me curiously, "Do you think we're alike?"

"I don't even know who I am anymore."

"Sometimes we need other people to help us figure that out." She stopped, and stepped in front of me. "I had a crush on you, you know." She smiled up, "I was always too nervous to say anything to the commander. Besides that, there was a rumor..."

"...everyone thought I was gay."

"But you never refuted it. Why?"

"I never confirmed it either. It was convenient to prevent advances from my female subordinates. The men however... I had to put them down hard."

"And now?" Furia asked, stepping a little closer.

I stopped her gently with my hand. "How is it so easy for you? For all of you?" I asked, "She destroyed us."

"She remade us too." She put hand over mine. "I can't explain the new feelings I have, but I'm also not compelled to. Does a bird wonder why it flies? Does a fish wonder why it swims? I desired you because you were a man, and now I desire you because you are a woman. Should I wonder why?"

"What about the ones we left behind?"

"What about them?" Furia touched me over my heart, "What they were lives here. Now, they are only what they made of you."