Queen Yavara Ch. 60

ELENA

I stood before my army, and surveyed the wreckage of Alkandra. Even as a burnt-out husk, it was a marvel to see. The towers were built high like in Ardeni, and the riverbanks were packed with houses and shops that stretched for miles. Wide boulevards cut through the dense metropolis, spoking outward from the massive arena at its center like a wheel. In another life, I might've called it 'home,' but in this life, I would tear it down brick by brick until nothing of it remained.

"Alkandra." Dog Meat said reverently, seemingly not bothered by the fact that it was mostly rubble.

"I did not know beasts could build such things," the newly-promoted Headmaster Lucian mused next to me.

"It was built on the backs of orcs and trolls," Krakis said from my other side, "but it was Alexa Jenania who designed this city."

She had done a marvelous job. The bridge before us was spectacularly ornamented, and widened into an expansive boulevard that was lined on all sides by immense stone skyscrapers. The canyon of architecture narrowed with distance until it became the great steps of the castle. From those steps, a lone figure ran toward us. My courier. It took him five minutes to traverse the rubble-pocked boulevard and cross the damaged bridge. Headmaster Lucian cast a perception spell when the boy was fifty paces away, and nodded.

"It's just him." Lucian said.

The boy ran up to me, and held an envelope aloft. "Your Highness," he said breathlessly, "you have a message from the Dark Queen."

"Don't read it." Krakis said.

"Since when do you give me orders, Field Marshal?"

"I'm giving you advice."

I plucked the envelope from my courier's hands. "There is nothing in this letter that will shake my resolve."

"Wait," Lucian said, and cast another perception spell on the letter. "It's clean."

In truth, I dreaded reading the letter far more than I feared a deadly curse, but I kept my face composed as I opened it. The first thing I noticed, was that Yavara's handwriting had improved drastically since I'd last seen it.

Dear Queen Straltaira,

I am pleased to hear that you're alive and well. As per your request, I am delivering the last two remaining hybrids your way. I am also sending a Highland prisoner we captured. Consider it a sign of good faith.

With much amusement,

The Dark Queen.

"What the hell?" I muttered to myself. I looked up at the high tower in the distance. My eyes were keen enough to make out a tiny bronze figure standing in the window. I wished I hadn't seen her. I tore my eyes away from Yavara, and looked down the boulevard at the three approaching figures. They wore hooded robes that concealed their features, but that did little against Lucian's perception spell.

"Two hybrids; one female and one hermaphroditic." Lucian said, "The high-elf girl is a mage." He narrowed his eyes, "An extremely powerful one."

"One of yours?"

"No," he muttered, scratching his beard. "No, she's likely one of Queen Leveria's personal weapons. Your predecessor had many assassins on her payroll."

"She'll be useful then."

"If you can trust her. Your Highness, I don't think you should let her get too close."

"You shouldn't let any of them get too close," Krakis muttered.

"What do you think, Dog Meat?" I asked.

She narrowed her eyes and wiggled her stumps, shooting little blue sparkles out from them. "Two of them are like Adri and you, and one is like me."

"Are they a threat?"

She shook her head. "They're all very scared."

"That makes four of us then." I said under my breath, and watched the figures come closer.

"Halt!" Krakis yelled, "Open your robes, identify yourselves, and lie on your bellies with your arms outstretched!"

"No need for that, Field Marshal." I said, took the handles of Dog Meat's wheelchair, and walked out toward the three figures. They stood unmoving at the foot of the bridge, watching me from their shadowed faces. When I was ten feet away, I stopped. The five of us just stared at each other. The cold wind ruffled the loose cloaks of those before me, revealing wisps of platinum-blonde hair from their concealing hoods, and flashes of their blue eyes. When no one said anything, I cleared my throat.

"Good afternoon, ladies." I said.

Furia Augustinia pulled the hood from her head, revealing her half-tattooed portrait. Her expression was unreadable when she studied me, scrutinizing every surface of my face. "You look good for a dead woman," she said.

Soraya Poneria pulled her hood from her face, and smiled at me. "I wondered if I'd recognize you," she said, "I've heard so much about you, but I could never put a face to the name. Now I remember you. You were that loner who used to eat lunch by herself in the latrines back at Castle Thorum."

"And you were the creepy bald librarian who used to peek through the crack in the latrine stalls. Now look at us."

Soraya giggled. "I haven't changed much, actually. Still a glorified librarian, and still an unrepentant creep. But you..." she gestured grandly to me, "just... wow. How did this happen?"

"Chance and circumstance."

"That's life." Furia said, and looked down at Dog Meat. "Who is this?"

"Dog Meat!" Dog Meat announced happily, wiggling her little stumps.

"Dog Meat?" Soraya laughed.

"A victim of Gorlok's raiders. She was rescued and given to me to give to you."

"To me?" Furia raised her brows, "Why?"

"Because Adri made her promise!" Dog Meat exclaimed.

"Adri? As in Adrianna?" Furia's eyes shot from Dog Meat, to me, "Where is she, Elena?!"

"She's dead, Furia." I said as calmly as I could, "I killed her."

Furia and Soraya didn't react right away. They stood like statues, their faces turned cold and stony. The wind whistled between us, billowing against their cloaks, revealing the swords at their sides.

"Why?" Furia asked, her voice void of all emotion.

"She led an attack on Bentius."

"Bullshit." Soraya growled.

"No." Furia muttered, "We all knew what Adrianna was capable of." She never took her gaze off me, "How did she die?"

"Bravely and with honor."

Furia just nodded. By the look of her, she'd endured more grief today than most endured in a lifetime. They both had. Their eyes remained dry, but they seemed to stare right through me. They no longer saw a kindred soul when they looked at me, but just another outsider. The sisterhood of hybrids had shrunk down to two, and I would never be in it.

"There's a tent over there I had set up for you." I said, pointing to it, "You won't be bothered. I'll have one of my mages watch over you and keep you informed on how things progress."

They nodded mutely, still staring right through me. Soraya took Furia's hand, and they wordlessly stepped forward, took Dog Meat by her wheelchair, and walked over to the tent. I watched them go, and ruminated on what my life might've been like if Adarian hadn't captured me that fateful day.

"You Highness?" the Highland captive queried softly.

"Sorry," I sighed, rubbing at my temples, "I didn't forget about you, I was just... distracted."

"Is it true what you said about Adrianna?"

"Why, did you know her?"

"Not as well as I thought."

"None of us did." I muttered, "She always tried to do the right thing, even if it was the wrong thing. I guess that made her a good person. I don't know... Anyway, when did you get captured?"

"Months ago, near the beginning of the war."

"Were you treated well?"

She shifted uncomfortably in her robes. "The hybrids were nice to me. The Dark Queen though... she was strange."

"Did you spend a lot of time with her?"

"I never left her side."

"How was she?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't know. She seemed really sad. She tried to hide it, but you could see it pretty easily. I don't think she's very good at hiding her emotions."

"No, she's not." I muttered, "Did you ever see Queen Tiadoa while you were with her?"

"Yes." She paused, then said, "The Dark Queen wasn't as kind to her."

I swallowed. I didn't want to hear anymore, but I had to ask. "What happened to her?"

"She's gone."

I nodded, and clenched my jaw to keep my lips from quivering. "That's all I needed to know, thank you. Headmaster Lucian will take care of you from here on out."

The hooded girl bowed her head. "As you wish, my lady."

"Your Highness." I corrected, "You say 'my lady' to nobles, 'your grace' to priests, and 'Your Highness' to royalty. You'll need to remember that if you're going to work in my court."

"Ah, thank you for correcting me," her lips curved into a coy little smile, "my lady."

I scoffed at her. "Are you having a go at me? How about I send you back to the other side of that river?"

"Why would you do that, my lady?"

"I'm sorry, do I look like a little bitch to you?"

"You're kind of a big bitch, actually."

"What the fuck does that mean?!"

"Just that you've put on a few pounds."

"WHAT?!"

"You're not fat. You're just... puffy."

I was about to slap the cunt unconscious, but then the realization backhanded me across the face with such force that my jaw dropped. The girl's mouth formed a wide smile. A painfully familiar smile.

"Yavara?!" I hissed.

"Your Highness," Yavara corrected, and pulled off her hood, "you say 'my lady' to nobles, 'your grace' to priests, and 'Your Highness' to royalty. You'll need to remember that if you're going to work in my court."

Someone shouted. Someone screamed. Someone gave a command. There was a flurry of movement behind me as thousands of arrows, spells and missiles were aimed at once.

"WAIT!" I shouted and jumped in front of Yavara. Everyone went still. I could feel the accusations forming in people's minds, the connections they were making, the lies they were believing. All Krakis needed to do was yell 'traitor,' and the Highland empire would be his.

"Lucian!" I yelled so that all could hear, "Did you cast a perception spell on this woman?"

"Yes!" he replied.

I reached to my side, and pulled out the old ranger pouch I kept in my belt. Fishing into it, I found a smaller pouch, and pulled that out. I presented the magic-revealing powder to those behind me, careful not to get any on my own skin, and then I pressed it into Yavara's hand.

"Swallow!" I commanded.

"I always do," she smirked crookedly, tipped her head back, and swallowed the powder. Nothing happened. There was no change. Yavara Tiadoa stood before me as I had known her all my life; fair-haired, pale-fleshed, and blue-eyed. She said something under her breath, but I was too stunned to hear it.

"What?" I whispered.

"Kneel, Elena."

I blinked at her.

She exhaled slowly once more, and said through her breath, "Kneel right now."

"Why?"

"Because I'm the rightful queen of the Highlands, that's why!"

"You waged war against the Highlands!"

"No, the Dark Queen did that. I was an unwilling prisoner!" She said loudly, "I was captured by an evil spirit, and forced to do terrible things, but through my strength and the love of my countrymen, I was able to pull through!"

I looked around. Thousands of faces moved from Yavara, to me, and back, uncertainty and vexation writ across all their expressions. I wheeled around to Yavara, and growled, "Are you trying to get us both killed?! No, I won't fucking kneel to you! You were the goddamned Dark Queen!"

"You will kneel, Elena," she whispered, "or I'll loudly suggest that you should swallow powder."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Test me, bitch."

I growled, then took a mental step back, and assessed my situation. I judged it from every perspective and angle, and the longer I did, the more obvious it became to me that I was not standing in a moment of chance and circumstance. I was standing in the middle of a carefully crafted and meticulously orchestrated production, and I was playing out my part to perfection. I was interchangeable. I was a role that could have been played by Peter Shordian, Commander Krakis, or even King Ternias. It did not matter who played my part, for whether Yavara knew it or not, she was uttering lines that were prewritten just for her. I knew in that bone-chilling moment, that I been played for a fool. Everyone here had been played for a fool. I looked to the east, and noticed for the first time, that the Lowland ships were far too close to lay siege to the city, but were in perfect range to launch their entire payload into our ranks. I slowly drew my gaze along the tops of the towers, up the castle steps, and to the bronze figure in the high tower. Of course. Of-fucking-course. She stood there with a perfect view to watch her magnum opus play out. I could practically hear her sardonic little giggle from two miles away.

"Yavara," I whispered, my voice quivering, "don't let her do this."

"You're not strong enough to fight her."

"You're not strong enough to resist her!"

"And you are?" She snarled, "Didn't you fall in love with her?!"

"I still beat her!"

Yavara snorted. "Oh, you beat her?"

"I'm the queen of the fucking Highlands, and she's not! Yes, I beat her!"

"You got pushed off a fucking balcony trying to save her!"

"Oh, and what's your excuse?" I snapped, and gestured broadly to her, "Because last time I checked, you were the Dark Queen of Alkandra! Now you're not even... you!"

Yavara pursed her lips tightly. "Alkandi made a mistake. Leveria was always supposed to be the Dark Queen."

"Of course she was." I ran my hands through my hair, let out a long sigh, and pondered the tall masts of the Lowland navy.

"Elena," Yavara whispered, "if you don't think she'll do it..."

"Oh, I know she'll do it."

"We just need to get out of here. We have the Highland army. She won't be able to attack us for generations."

"I can't pay these men unless I take this territory, Yavara, don't you understand that? Leveria bet the wealth of the entire Highlands on securing Midland assets. If these men return home without the money they were promised, they will never pick up a sword for the Highlands again." I pointed at the Dark Queen in her high tower, "She is there right now. She will never be this vulnerable again."

"You'll be massacred. The Lowlanders are ranged for these riverbanks and the bridges that span them. Even if you do manage to cross, you'll have to assault the castle with the entire navy firing upon you, not to mention the Dark Queen herself."

"But we'll have you."

Yavara smiled somberly. "No, you won't. If you try to launch this attack, then I will press my claim for the throne until you concede what is rightfully mine, or you're forced to have me executed."

I rubbed at my temples, and raced through the closing avenues of my mind. The deadly sword on my hip seemed to whisper to me louder and louder until my psyche was screaming with it. Can't launch an attack. Can't retreat. Only one option left. It had to be me. I had once pressed a knife to Yavara's throat, knowing with every fiber of my being that I was oathbound to kill her, and in the next moment, I was making love to her. I had once pressed a knife to Leveria's throat, knowing down to the marrow that she was pure evil, and in the next moment, I was making the exact same mistake. Somewhere in the great cosmos above, fate was laughing hysterically at its sick joke, and I just stood there like a fucking punchline.

"Yavara," I hissed, "why the fuck didn't you kill her when you had the chance?!"

"I was getting around to it, then I got interrupted. Besides, I could ask you the same."

"Because she wasn't the fucking Dark Queen!"

"But I was."

"It doesn't matter now, OK? We need to think of a way out of this!"

Yavara let out an existential sigh, and smiled. "Elena," she said softly, "I think we lost."

"No."

"There's no way out of this. Every move is check, check, check, and check. You know what that means."

"So Leveria's been giving you her fucking chess metaphors now?" I snapped, "This is real life, goddamn it! This isn't a fucking game!"

"It is to her. Everything is a game to her. It's why she always wins."

I squared my jaw, and assessed the ranks of vexed men behind me. I turned back to Yavara, and said, "There's only one thing to do then."

"What?"

"I'm going... to go talk with her."

Yavara's face scrunched up. She choked, pitched forward, and burst into hysterical laughter. "You're..." she waved her hand frantically, trying to catch her breath, "you're... you're going to have a little chat with her?!"

"What other choice do I have?!"

She laughed even harder. "How... about... how about you just surrender the Highlands right now, and skip a step?"

"I've beaten her in court before!" I growled, and even as I said it, I realized how feeble a claim it was.

"Elena, Elena, Elena," she sighed, wiping the tears from her eyes, "you don't understand. If you go into a room with that woman, you will never come out of it. I'm a high-elf; I don't have any succubus in me, and I can barely resist her. She will have her fat cock stuffed so far up your ass you'll be talking with its tip."

I raised my brows. "She has a cock now?"

"And two juicy balls. Is your mouth watering yet?"

"Fuck you."

"You see my point though."

I balled my fist in my hair, and stared across the smoldering city. I couldn't see the bronze figure anymore; the window was empty. But as I peered across the great distance, the dark window seemed to grow larger in my vision, beckoning me to it. I didn't know if it was a trick of the light, but I swore I saw two blazing orange dots glinting from the blackness.

"I have to go, Yavara," I muttered, "she's not leaving me another choice."

"I'm going with you."

"You shouldn't."

"But I am anyway."

I nodded. "Let me explain the situation to my men."

Thankfully, Yavara didn't try to pull rank on me again. Still, Krakis and Lucian glanced at her from above my shoulder, and I had to forcefully keep their attention on me as I explained our predicament.

"So..." Lucian tapped his lips contemplatively, "...Leveria Tiadoa is up there?"

"That's right."

"The former queen of the Highlands, who raised this army to destroy the Dark Queen, is now the Dark Queen." Lucian reiterated.

"Yes." I glared at him, "Don't you dare mention the line of succession."

"I'm simply trying to understand the state of things, Your Highness. And Yavara Tiadoa, she is completely cured of her... curse?"

"Lucian, can you give me one fucking day before you try to oust me?"

"The army will never follow Yavara." Krakis growled, "Not after what she did to us. I don't care if she was 'cursed.' You should have her executed right now!"

"That would be treason, Field Marshal." Lucian said, "If Leveria relinquishes her right to rule by becoming the Dark Queen, then why does Yavara not regain her right by rebecoming a high-elf? She is the first in line now."

"Lines of succession don't matter anymore." Krakis insisted, "We're in a new age of empire! An empress's power comes from the loyalty of the military!"

"Enough, both of you!" I snapped, "I'm not giving up my seat to a woman who waged war on us, and I'm not executing a former princess of the Highlands! We'll figure out what to do after we deal with the threat at hand!"

The two men shut up, assuring me at least for the moment that I was still in charge. Lucian glanced back at Yavara, then glanced at the sword on my hip. Does Yavara know? Was the thought he conveyed with his eyes, and I shook my head. The next thought he conveyed was, can you do it?

I nodded.

Lucian cleared his throat. "Well then, Your Highness," he said, giving Krakis a furtive look, "I can't say I agree with your choice, but it is your choice."