The Queen of the Dawn Ch. 01

A/N: This story has a lot of plot development and action sequences. So if you are only in the market for sex scenes, this is probably not for you. :) However, if you like sexy fantasy/adventure tales with unexpected twists and turns, I hope you will enjoy it.

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In all the West there was no kingdom more glorious than the Green Isles. Verdant hills and bountiful shores, lush fields and leafy woodlands fostered well-fed peasants, prosperous tradesmen, gallant nobles and a majestic royal court. Peace had blessed the country for many years and the people loyally supported their wise and gentle ruler, King Harold.

Yet no one in the realm was more popular than the king's only son and heir, Crown Prince Hal. Prince Hal had everything a person could wish for. He was strikingly handsome with twinkling eyes the color of the deep ocean, sandy-brown hair and a playful smile that charmed courtly ladies and village maidens alike. He was also strong and skilled in the arts of combat. As of his twenty-first year he had won the grand tournament and was the champion of the land. Nonetheless, like anyone who has everything, he grew bored.

To relieve his boredom he went on extended hunting trips away from his father's castle. One afternoon, searching for game in the hills with his men, he spied a bird with glimmering gold feathers and a scarlet crown. It was unlike any creature he had ever seen. He vowed he would have it for a trophy. Abandoning his companions, he rushed after it with his bow and a quiver of arrows.

On the edge of the King's wood he saw the bird perched on a branch. He had a clear sighting and drew his bowstring. But before he could shoot, an old man hobbled into the path of his arrow and wailed and waved his gnarled staff at the bird until the animal flew off into the trees.

The young prince angrily reproached the old man. "Peasant! I should cut you down where you stand!" Hal was incensed. He had been so close to felling his target. "How dare you disturb the King's wood and quarry!"

"My lord, I humbly beg your pardon," said the aged man. He leaned on his walking stick and bent his warped frame in deference. "But your lordship must end his chase. The golden crane is sacred to the Queen of the Dawn. He who harms it shall be cursed."

"A prince does not take orders from a villain. I shall do as I will!" seethed Hal, gripping the hilt of his sword. "Never again trespass upon the King's land. If I hear of it or discover you myself, you will suffer far worse than a curse."

"Strike me dead now, my lord, if it pleases you." The old man raised one cracked, calloused hand above the other on his cane and pulled himself to a stand. "This is the shortest way to my home from the village and my old bones are crooked from working the land for many years. I shall not take the longer route. As it is, the agony of each step is more than I can bear. Your lordship's quick blade would bring sweet deliverance."

"Do you mock me? For I am in my rights." The prince glared fiercely at the peasant.

"One day, my young sir, you may wake to find the hours have wasted your mortal shell." A smirk rent the churl's coarse features with webs of creases. "For even princes wither. Then you may seek release from the pain and ailments of age."

"I shall never grow old like you. I shall die in glorious battle. If not in this kingdom, conquering another!" The gleam of a golden feather spurred the prince to part company with the peasant and return to the hunt. "I tarry too long with you, old fool!"

Rays from the sinking Sun filtered through the leaves, kindling the crane's gilded plumage as it flitted through the forest. Prince Hal pursued it deep into the woods, yet did not succeed in taking it. The moment he launched an arrow, the creature would disappear into the impenetrable curtain of foliage. Soon night fell and it became too dark to hunt or to travel back to the castle. He lay against the trunk of an ancient elm and slept.

A primordial trill awoke him. At first he could make out nothing in the heavy darkness. Then the call of the crane drew his attention to a high bough above. He snatched his bow and sprang to his feet. The bird's golden feathers glowed, providing enough illumination to guide his aim. He released a shot but the crane fluttered away, eluding his volley.

The prince weaved through the trees, their bark dyed indigo by the thick blackness. He chased the shimmering form to the bank of a large lake. No longer veiled by the dense canopy of the forest his ability to see was enhanced by streams of stars poking through the violet night and their reflections in the still surface of the water. The brightest among all the constellations, the Morning Star, arced overhead, growing bigger and more dazzling as it climbed to the zenith of the sky. But the prince was not distracted by celestial beauty. He located his target hovering over the center of the lake and let his arrow fly.

That instant heavenly brilliance purged the dark. Blazing light surrounded the crane. The body of the creature stretched vertically as its wings lengthened and broadened. Then the burning, beating shape swept towards the prince, breaking night into fiery day.

Hal dropped to his knees. Blinded by the brightness, buffeted by the four winds, he did not dare raise his head, for he knew the being before him was the Queen of the Dawn.

He trembled as he spoke. "Great Lady." Clasping the scabbard he offered his weapon. "Take my sword... For my offense, I forfeit my life."

"How proud you are." Her words rang from the four cardinal directions. "We have no need of swords. We use other means to take our prey."

The prince bent lower to the ground, shutting his eyes against the searing radiance. "I am unworthy of your mercy. I ask only that death come swiftly, like an arrow to the heart. I do not wish to linger."

"You may not wish to live, Prince of the Green Isles, but it is not your time to die." Her voice ceased to echo and became quieter and closer. "Rise."

Airy fingers lifted his chin; currents funneled around him, unbending his spine until he stood.

"Your arrow hit its mark," she said. "But such a wound cannot kill us. We are immortal."

Hal sensed arms enfolding his ribs. Whistling feathers whipped the wind as the Earth beneath him fell away. He unclenched his eyes and saw his father's kingdom shrink to a clump of turf jutting into the sea. Countless ports and towns blurred below, followed by marshlands and rivers, ice-capped mountains and a wide ash-gray desert. Abruptly the land ended. A single village clung to cliffs that crumbled into a blue emptiness that stretched to forever.

He was scared he would plummet to his destruction as the Queen's golden wings bore him higher and higher. Then her speech warmed his ears, "See our kingdom." Shining turrets divided rose-colored clouds. A glittering palace crowned a magnificent citadel so vast it spanned the horizon. Prince Hal's vision brimmed with sights so fantastic his blood surged and his breath faltered.

Beyond titanic walls of translucent marble, horses with manes of fire galloped across verdant meadows. Silver treed orchards yielded crimson gem-like fruit. Alabaster terraces supported crystal flowing fountains girded by gardens bursting with prismatic blooms.

"There is our tower." The Queen's melodic chords made the prince's sinews hum. His gaze scaled the tallest spire. Silks billowed from a brilliant chamber. Inside were two gleaming thrones. The chairs' luster outshone the Sun.

"We can see eternity," said the Queen, "the threads of time, the fate of empires, the shift of epochs." Suddenly eyes burning with flames eclipsed the palace. "Here is your arrow to the heart."

A stabbing sensation inflamed Hal's breast.

"The strike will not kill you." The vicious beauty of the Queen's stare and the rending music of her voice sharpened the pain. The prince felt his chest splitting apart. "You will fill with longing for what you cannot have," she intoned. "You shall have no rest, no succor, until you enter our realm that drifts off the edge of the world."

Arms released him. The whirling winds dispersed. Golden wings soared away into the heavens. He fell, flailing as he hurtled downwards, and was swallowed by a gaping abyss. He was horrified he would fall endlessly, sinking through the bowels of the Earth to forever plumb the limitless depths of the underworld.

But something hard broke his descent. His head hit dirt. He pushed himself up off the forest floor and squinted at the morning Sun. Familiar smells and sounds informed him he'd returned to his father's dominion. The elm he'd used for shelter was as solid as the previous night. There was no evidence proving his harrowing adventure was anything other than a dream, until one of his arrows crunched beneath his boot; he found beside it a golden feather.

Shouts of joy resounded when the prince emerged from the forest. A search party of a thousand men had been scouring the land for any sign of the kingdom's sole heir since first light. Upon his safe return the royal court celebrated with a fête in his honor. Yet not one of the noble maidens at the dance captivated him. Later that night, alone in his chambers, he pulled out the feather he'd kept secretly in his tunic. It glittered in the candlelight.

Hours before Sunrise Prince Hal stole away from the castle, disguised as a commoner with a rough woolen cloak concealing his sword and finely wrought mail. He carried also gold coin and his bow and arrows in a leather sack. By midday he was sailing east on a merchant ship. Patting the golden feather, tucked within his underclothes next to his heart, he gazed out at the sea. The song of the crane chimed in his thoughts as he yearned to glimpse the citadel of the Queen of the Dawn glinting through the clouds.

But he was far from the edge of the world. When the boat laid anchor in a port city on the eastern side of the sea he leapt onto the shore. He hired horses and a veteran guide and tore up dusty roads in his hurry.

At night, unable to sleep, he marveled at the feather. Often after less than an hour's rest, he would hold it up to catch Aurora's first rays. The barbs blazed brighter day by day as the prince and his guide traveled further east.

They trudged over marshlands and braved steep passes through the mountains. The hired scout complained rarely, despite the relentless pace Prince Hal demanded. But he did wonder what compelled his master to venture such a long way from his homeland. One evening the rugged man asked, "My lord, why do you journey so far from the Green Islands? Why seek the end of the Earth?"

"I must find the realm of the Queen of the Dawn," answered the prince.

"But no man can reach her kingdom. It is said her palace is in the clouds."

"It is. I have seen it. She came to me and carried me on her wings."

"You have looked upon the Queen of the Dawn? Yet you live?" The seasoned scout was incredulous.

"I saw only her eyes." The prince produced the golden feather. It sparkled in the Moonlight. "They burn before me, even now as I speak, and her curse tears my heart. She waits for me within those shining towers. I must get there somehow. I shall have no rest until I do."

Once the grassy plains became dry desert the guide told the prince he could go no further. The desolate sands were uncharted. The scout claimed no one who set off to cross them ever came back. Hal was undeterred. He moved on with just one horse and less than a week's worth of food and water.

The heat during the day was blistering; the prince feared he would melt in his mail. With nightfall came little comfort. The Moonrise brought a chill that froze tiny icicles on his horse's nose. His supplies quickly dwindled and his steed succumbed to frothing spasms. He lost track of time and could not tell Dawn from Dusk. Then he collapsed, clutching the golden feather.

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