The Warrior Queen

"I know not what she really wants except to hurt people. That is what the traders say."

"Almadee, the Queen is a woman who desires other women as well as men. She desires another woman's touch more than she desires her pain, and she desires it in certain ways you have likely not been taught. Most women would find even the thought offensive. If you are to avoid great pain, you must not show disgust, but instead, give her great pleasure in those ways she enjoys most."

"How will I know the ways?"

"Begin by pleasuring her as you pleasure yourself. The Queen will teach you the rest."

Panuli held out a robe of the finest fabric Almadee had ever seen.

"The Queen is dining now. You will do the same in your quarters, and then I will come for you. Put this on so that no one will see what the Queen is about to enjoy."

[]

Breena knew she was dreaming. The sounds of battle, the same sounds she'd heard when the King's army attacked Uvil, seemed so close and so real, but there could be no army in her cavern. Breena shook herself awake, but the sounds, though muted by the trees, did not stop. She heard the clang of swords and the grunted words of men fighting. Breena strapped the short sword around her waist and stuck the dagger into the belt, then ran down the deer path.

As she neared the hidden entrance to her clearing, the sounds became louder. When she peered around one of the giant trees at the entrance, Breena saw two men in the uniforms of the King's army and one man in the clothing of a peasant. The man in the rough tunic did not fight as a peasant would, though. His sword strokes were calculated and swift, not the random swings Breena had seen most of the men of Uvil make when fighting the King's army.

He was taller than the two soldiers with a longer reach, and his lack of leather and steel plate armor made him faster. The lack of armor also made him more vulnerable. As one of the soldiers slashed at the man, the other swung his sword at the man's thigh. The blade sliced through the man's tunic and he cried out, but with one quick stroke, severed that soldier's arm at the elbow. The soldier fell to the ground screaming in pain. The other swung his sword again. The man in the tunic parried the slash, then spun and thrust his sword into the soldier's groin. As the soldier fell to the ground, the man in the tunic struck one blow to the soldier's neck. The soldier's body shuddered, and then relaxed as his blood flowed onto the grass. The soldier with no arm tried to rise and run away, but the man in the tunic slashed him across the back, then thrust his sword into the gap between the soldier's armored shirt and the skirt of steel plates that guarded his hips. The soldier went down, writhing in agony.

Breena was going to leave, afraid the man in the tunic would see her, when he sagged to his knees, then rolled onto the ground and lay still. Breena looked around, and seeing no one else, approached the scene with her short sword drawn.

The man in the tunic was bleeding badly from the gash in his thigh. She reasoned she should be content to let him die. He was neither kin nor friend, and helping him would only give away her secret sanctuary. The single thing that gave her pause was his long hair. Though lighter than her own golden tresses, the man's were not the dark brown of a Chandolay warrior, but blonde as were the people to the north. Breena's mother had come from the north, and had told her the north people were good men and women.

As she looked closer at the man's wound, the soldier who still clung to life cried out for help. Breena felt no compassion for him. He was a soldier in the army of her enemy. When she saw the insignia of the Palace Guard on his helmet, her lack of compassion became intense hatred.

"I will help you just as you helped my father", she said quietly. Drawing her dagger, Breena made one swift slash to the soldier's throat. A stream of warm blood splattered her face and dress as she slashed the other side. The soldier gurgled dark red froth and then died. Breena watched until his eyes grew blank, then turned back to the man in the tunic.

Though the cut was long, it was not so deep as she had first thought, and no blood spurted from the wound. That meant he would probably live if she could stop his lifeblood from leaking out on the ground. Thinking that if he was fighting with the Queen's Palace Guard, the man was no enemy of hers, Breena tried to stop the flow of blood. She ripped off a strip of her dress and used it to tightly wrap the gash in his leg. The cloth turned bright red and began to drip blood, so Breena tore off another piece and again bound the wound. That bandage turned red also, but after a while, no blood dripped from it to the grass. Breena was trying to think of a way to get the man to her cavern when she heard the neigh of a horse.

The two horses of the soldiers grazed on the lush grass in the valley below her cavern. After checking the man's bandage and confirming he was no longer bleeding, Breena pulled a handful of grass from the ground and slowly walked to the horses with her hand outstretched. Both looked up from their grazing at the soft voice she used to call them.

"Come here, my beautiful horses, come here. I need you."

The dark bay mare pricked up her ears and then walked to Breena. As the mare nibbled at the grass in her hand, Breena took the reins in her other hand and began walking to the second, a black gelding. He seemed to be more interested in filling his belly than the girl approaching him, and it was a simple matter for Breena to catch hold of his reins also. With both horses following behind her, Breena returned to the man's side. His eyes were open and he was trying to rise. Breena asked if he felt strong enough to get on one of the horses and he nodded.

Breena looked at the two horses and decided she'd never get the man on the black. He was taller at the shoulder than she was at the top of her head. The mare was much shorter. Breena helped the man to his feet and half-carrying, half-steadying him, they reached the bay mare's side. Breena lifted the man's foot to the stirrup, then pushed up on his hips as he swung himself into the saddle. Breena looked up to see if he was holding on to the saddle.

"You won't fall off, will you?"

The man shook his head.

Breena led both horses to the deer trail and back to the clearing. The black she left to graze. The mare she took to the entrance to the cavern. After helping the man off the mare and laying him down beside her fire, Breena took the mare back to join the black gelding. Breena found a short length of rope tied behind the saddle of each horse, and then mounted the black gelding and set out to complete the task she'd thought about while walking the horses back to the clearing.

She rode the black gelding down the deer trail again, then dismounted just inside the tree line and scanned the area for any other soldiers that might have come to look for the two dead ones. She saw none, so she led the gelding to where the two men lay. Breena tied the gelding's reins to the larger soldier's foot and then set about stripping the armor, weapons and clothing from the other.

The armor, sword and dagger she placed to the side. When she removed the man's leather trousers, she pulled them over her slender legs. They were too long and a bit too loose in the waist, but they covered her. His short tunic was next. It had his blood on it, so Breena placed it with the armor. She'd wash it in the pond later.

She stripped the clothing and armor from the second man, rolled everything into a bundle, and placed it on the ground. Using the two pieces of rope she'd found, she tied each man's legs together and then tied the free ends to the gelding's saddle. She wanted the bodies as far away from her forest as she could get them.

It was nearing dusk when Breena led the gelding up to the cavern entrance. The two soldiers were far away from the scene of the fight and deep inside some trees along a river. By morning, there would be little left to identify them. By the next day, there would be only bits of hair and a few bones cracked for their marrow.

She pulled the bundle of clothing and armor from the saddle and carried it into the cavern. The man was asleep, but he had no fever that Breena could detect. Fever would have meant the wound had been attacked by evil spirits, and evil spirits almost always meant death. Breena left him to his sleep and went to wash the blood soaked clothing from the two soldiers.

After hanging the cleaned garments beside the fire to dry, she went to check her snares, and was pleased to find three more rabbits. She soon had the rabbits spitted over the fire on sticks and was looking through the contents of the saddle packs the horses had carried. She'd found the pewter cups and bowls the soldiers carried for eating when the man's voice croaked at her.

"Water."

Breena ran to the crack in the cavern wall, filled one of the cups with water and brought it to the man. He was able to rise on one elbow, and drained the cup in one gulp. Breena ran to the crack for another cup. When she returned, the man was sitting up and untying the bandage on his leg. Breena handed him the cup, and then retied the bandage.

"If you take it off, you will start bleeding again. I did not bring you here to have you die on me, so leave it alone."

The man smiled.

"I just wanted to see how bad it was. I was going to tie it back again."

"It is not a bad cut, but it bled a lot, and it will get the evil spirits if you take off the bandage."

The man laughed.

"I've been hurt worse than this and I lived."

"Perhaps the Gods favor you in some way, or", Breena shrugged, "perhaps you were just lucky."

"I don't believe in Gods, but I do believe I was lucky today. I was found by a beautiful woman who took me to her cave. Tell me, who is this beauty who wears the trousers of my enemy under her ripped dress?"

Breena felt her face and shoulders grow warm and knew she was blushing. Her father had said she was beautiful, but no man other than he had said the same. She'd also forgotten about the way she was dressed. Her voice was hesitant.

"I am Breena, daughter of Samarra and Noril of the village of Uvil."

"Breena, I am pleased to meet you. I, in turn, shall introduce myself. I am Twindle, son of Mergo and a man I never knew, and of the village of nowhere and everywhere. Tell me, why did you bring me here, and why are you wearing the trousers of a soldier?"

"Twindle is a strange name, but you seem to be a strange man. You did not know your father?"

"Alas, no, but I'm none the worse for it. There were many men in Mother's life. I learned from them all, and that has made me the man I am today, or was until that dog of a soldier slashed my leg."

He smiled again.

"You didn't tell me why you brought me here."

"You were fighting the soldiers, two of the same soldiers who killed my father. I was going to let you die, but thought you might be a friend instead of an enemy so I wrapped your leg and brought you here. Why were you fighting them?"

"It's a long story, but the essence of it is those two were displeased that I relieved them of the gold they received for serving in the King's army."

Breena grasped the hilt of her short sword.

"You stole their gold? Then you are but a common thief. I should have let you die with the other two."

The man grinned.

"I am no common thief, and I did not steal their gold. I only tricked them into giving it to me with the promise of providing them with women of, shall we say, flexible morals, to warm their bed for a night. It was not my fault the women were fat hags and not the young virgins they believed would visit them. I never said the women would be virgins, only that a young virgin would be a good bed warmer.

"I prefer to think of my trade as saving those who know no better from the actions having gold would surely cause them to commit. Had I not taken their gold, they would no doubt have used it to purchase strong drink and other women. I saved them the pain of an aching head and the sorrow of leaving a woman who would not care if they fell into a hole and died. They should have thanked me, but instead, chose to hunt me down.

"I also relieved them of a broken down nag of a horse and that was my undoing. I should know by now to tie a horse at night until I am far away from his home stable. Once the horse ran off, I could not stay ahead of them."

Breena wasn't sure she believed the man.

"I saw no gold, and I searched them and you and their saddles."

"After I worked so hard to save those two from their own stupidity, I could not just give the gold back, now could I? Their purses are safely hidden under some rocks not far from here. Perhaps tomorrow we can ride there and I can show you. Now, about those trousers? I've never seen a woman in trousers, much less a woman quite so beautiful as you."

Breena felt her face and chest grow warm again.

"I -- I tore my dress when I hid from the Queen's selection at Uvil, and it was not proper to be with you with my legs showing. I took the trousers from the smaller man to cover myself."

"Ah, I understand, though you would not offend me by showing me your legs. I have seen many in my time, long ones, short ones, thin ones, thick ones, straight ones, crooked ones, just about any type of leg you can imagine."

Twindle grinned.

"I found them very entertaining to watch as I am certain I would find yours. What is this Queen's selection of which you spoke?"

Breena related the events of that day in Uvil and how she witnessed them from her hiding place in the tree. Twindle listened intently, and as Breena spoke, began to frown. When Breena finished telling him about how her father had been killed, Twindle whistled.

"I heard of such things from a trader I met some time back, but I did not believe his story. Evil such as that should be removed from the land forever."

Breena's voice was sharp and filled with hate.

"The Queen is truly an evil woman. I know not what she will do with Almadee, but I fear my friend will suffer greatly. If I could, I would take pleasure in slitting the Queen from breasts to thighs myself. The Captain of the Palace Guards who ordered my father killed would suffer a more terrible fate if I were to choose it."

"More terrible than dying? I can't imagine a worse fate than that."

"A man who selects young girls for the Queen's pleasure deserves worse than a quick death. He deserves to be treated like the soldiers of the King's army treat those young girls when the Queen has finished with them. I would make him into a woman and throw him into the barracks."

Twindle chuckled.

"I think making him into a woman is not possible."

"I could cut off his man parts. That would do well enough."

Twindle chuckled again.

"I must remember to never cause you to be so upset with me. I rather value my man parts."

"Twindle, your man parts are safe, though I am not certain a thief deserves to keep his. Now, you need to eat and then sleep to rebuild your strength."

They ate in silence, but this man made it difficult for Breena to concentrate on eating. His smile, his grin, his casual laugh, all caused her mind to become cluttered with thoughts she could not explain. Her body seemed to tingle all over when he smiled at her, and she felt his strong, low voice resonating inside her chest as well as in her ears.

Twindle respected the silence the girl seemed to prefer, but his thoughts were racing around in his mind as quickly and randomly as a moth flitting over a candle flame. This girl, no, this woman was the most beautiful woman he'd seen in a long time, and seemed to have more courage than some men he knew. He regretted misleading her about who he was, but that was necessary for at least the near future. Had his mission been less important, he might have interrupted their meal and explained everything, but he could not.

That she had told him the truth about how she came to be here was evident in her facial expression and in the tone of her voice. That she was sincere about her desire to kill the Queen he also had no doubts, nor did he doubt her ability to do so. He had opened his eyes and had seen her slash the throat of the soldier just before he fell into the blackness of unconsciousness. Breena had been cold and methodical, and her voice when she spoke to the soldier chilled even him. This young woman was no ordinary country wench. Tomorrow, when he took her with him, he would explain.

Twindle finished his rabbit and realized he felt very tired. Certain the fatigue was the result of the fight with the two soldiers and the blood he'd lost from the cut, he stretched out beside the fire, and quickly went to sleep. Breena watched him until his breathing became slow and regular before lying down beside him. She felt a need to help him get well and wanted to be close in case he woke during the night. She told herself it was because he might help her free Almadee and extract revenge for her father's murder. Deep down inside her thoughts, another voice was saying other things, things Breena forced back into the depths of her mind.

[]

Almadee woke at the sound of a voice calling her name. Panuli was setting a tray of food on the table.

Wake up, girl. The Queen says you should eat. You must have pleased her, for this is the same meal she is eating."

Almadee heard the door bolt slide home when Panuli left. Though the bed was comfortable, and the food on the tray more fancy than she had ever seen, she was still a prisoner. As she ate, Almadee thought about her first night with the Queen, and smiled at how the Queen had seemed awed at her actions.

Though Almadee was from a small village, that did not mean she was lacking in the ability to think. While the advice given her by Panuli did indeed cause her disgust, Almadee had realized the futility of fighting the Queen. The Queen had an army she could direct toward any end through her husband. Almadee had only her wits and body. She had decided to do as the Queen wished her to do, and hoped that would spare her most of the pain and suffering she'd heard about from traders.

Panuli had taken her to the Queen's bedchamber after she finished eating. The Queen was not yet there. Panuli cautioned her about trying to flee, saying doing so would only cause her immense suffering. Almadee did not attempt to escape, She spent her time alone studying the furnishings of the bed chamber and thinking of what she might do to please the wicked desires of the Queen.

The Queen entered sometime later, dressed in a gown of the same material as the one Panuli had given Almadee. She smiled at Almadee and asked if she had been treated well. Almadee said she had.

"Almadee, you have no doubt heard of the ways I have to convince young girls to follow my wishes. I can cause you great pain if that is your wish, or I can give you great pleasure. I, of course, expect the same pleasure from you, and if you do not consent to such, more pain shall follow. I promise you will regret resisting."

Almadee began the ruse she had planned as she ate her supper.

"My Queen...is that the name by which I should address you?"

"It will suffice for the moment."

"My Queen, I do not know how to give you pleasure. Such doings are not something I have been taught, for the giving of pleasure by one woman to another is said to be an offense to the Gods."

"It would sound as if you have had such thoughts?"

Almadee turned away from the Queen and hid her face.

"I have tried and tried not to have them, but they keep coming to me when I see another girl. I am not a proper woman, for a proper woman would think only of a husband and children."

"It is possible to be both what you call a proper woman and a not so proper one. Did you not know this?"