The Distant Queen

by Terry Volkirch

This story is mainly about a romance between two young women who are from two different worlds. It's a fantasy story with some adventure but there are no mythical creatures and there isn't a lot of magic. It's really a sweet and tender romantic comedy with a mostly happy ending.

In chapter 6 (of 11), Gabrielle continues on her quest to get home with the help of a new friend, a woman she finds increasingly attractive. Will she resist temptation and focus on her quest?

Chapter 6

The tall woman flailed, forgetting that she'd been sleeping in a rope hammock, high up between two trees. The odd sleeping arrangement was safe and offered much more comfort than sleeping on a stone ledge, but it briefly upset the queen. It would take some getting used to.

She finally got her bearings and carefully stretched out, but unfortunately, that familiar action always led to thoughts of hot cocoa. She missed her favorite warm drink terribly. It helped wake her up and yet still cooled her warrior passions. Chocolate was truly a wondrous thing and she sighed, thinking fond memories.

Once more trying to come to grips with her new reality, she flailed again, trying to escape her clingy bed. Every movement threatened to spin her upside down and fling her to the ground far below. That wouldn't improve her already foul mood.

Just when she considered hanging and dropping down, she suddenly stopped when she heard a curious sound. Gabrielle looked over to her new friend's hammock and saw the small woman trying to stifle a laugh.

"Go ahead," the queen snarled. "Laugh all you want."

Though Targ didn't understand a word of what was said, the look on Gabrielle's face finally did it. The new woman laughed.

The sound of Targ's laughter struck the queen as one of the most beautiful sounds she'd ever heard. It momentarily brushed aside the darkness that gripped her and she actually smiled. Only when her stomach rumbled did she snap out of it. She remembered she was trying to escape her bed and felt more than a little embarrassment at having so much trouble. With a slight blush, she flashed an obscene hand gesture at her friend and continued flailing.

"Ahem." Targ cleared her throat to get the queen's attention. Then the small, graceful woman proceeded to demonstrate the correct procedure for getting out of bed. She rolled out to one side while grabbing a loose rope that had one end tied to a branch. As she hung from the rope, she loosely wrapped it around one thigh and pinched it between her feet to slowly slide down to the ground.

Gabrielle mentally kicked herself. She'd forgotten about the rope. It was certainly needed to help her get into the hammock and it came in handy for getting out as well. She soon slid down to stand next to Targ and they went off to the river together to catch something for breakfast.

The small woman used a net on a long pole. It worked much better than the forked spear in the deep water where most of the fish swam so Gabrielle got rid of her spear and stayed out of the way. She just whiled away the time by watching and mentally reviewing the list of new words she'd learned.

The language lessons had gone fairly well and continued whenever one of the two didn't need to concentrate on a task. Targ still needed to use pictographs in the dirt to show objects that weren't available or to convey abstract concepts.

Gabrielle liked how the alien world kept track of time. She learned the word, "day", for a sun rotation. That was a much easier way to say the same thing. She also learned about a mechanical device that kept track of shorter periods of time called seconds, minutes and hours. They were used to divide up the day into fixed intervals, making them much better than her world's inconsistent candlemarks and heartbeats.

After building a small vocabulary, the queen began trying to put a few words together to form sentences. She often got funny looks from her teacher, but Targ was patient and always pleased with the results.

Not long after they'd finished eating their fish, while Gabrielle practiced some new words, Targ began wrinkling up her nose and sniffing. It seemed she was looking for the source of a bad odor, and she didn't stop until she realized it was coming from Gabrielle.

"You smell ...," her teacher said. "You smell bad."

Once again, the tall woman was embarrassed as she sniffed herself to confirm it. It was well past bath time.

Then Targ embarrassed her even more when she insisted on coming.

"I clean your armor," she said simply so she'd be easily understood.

"No," was all Gabrielle knew to say to try to stop her. "Please. No."

The small woman shook her head and kept following. "I go and I clean armor. Clean armor good. Dirty armor bad."

The queen considered tying Targ to a tree but she relented. It'd go much faster if Targ cleaned her armor while she bathed. Her modesty would just have to suffer.

When they got to the river bank, Gabrielle pulled her sword and set it on the ground but Targ stopped her when she started taking off her armor.

The short brunette carried a small bag and pulled out a bar of soap. That was a pleasant surprise, and it triggered matching smiles, just before Targ pushed her friend into the deep, slow moving river, armor and all.

The indignant queen surfaced and sputtered a few obscenities in her native language before trying to chastise her playful friend. "Cold water! Bad Targ! Bad!" she shrieked.

Targ laughed and answered back as she placed the bar of soap on the edge of the river bank. "Undress in river. Give armor to me. I clean armor. You wash. Use soap!"

Gabrielle did as her friend requested, noting that it saved her modesty at least.

The cold motivated her to finish quickly but Targ still had her armor ready and waiting for her when she got out. The small woman was nowhere to be seen too. That was a relief. After putting on her damp leathers and tying her long, wet hair back in a pony tail, she went to dry and warm herself by the fire.

Her friend was still missing but soon showed up with their two rope hammocks.

"We go west one day," Targ pointed in the direction that the sun would set late in the day, the same direction Gabrielle had been traveling since she arrived on the alien world. "We go to place with many people called Roggzer."

That confirmed it. There really was a city and astral projection was a reality. The queen couldn't help herself. She squealed with delight.

"Why sound?" Targ asked, again keeping her speech simple to be easily understood.

The concept of astral projection was far too advanced to explain with a few simple words so Gabrielle simply shrugged. "I talk and you not understand. Sorry."

The small woman smiled and nodded, suddenly melting the queen's heart. Targ took everything, even her gender change, extremely well. She'd been a fairly sensitive and upbeat man before and saw no reason to change her ways. Her philosophy was simple. If you can't change something, don't worry about it. If you can make a change for the better, than simply do so.

The tall woman took a good look at Targ and finally noticed how truly beautiful her friend was, both inside and out. She'd always favored small, slender women with dark hair and brown eyes, and now she was alone with someone who matched her ideals perfectly. If only Targ hadn't been a man before. If only they weren't on an alien world so far from her home. Only then would she allow herself to fall in love.

Gabrielle had to shake herself to change her train of thought. If she kept thinking like she was, she was afraid she'd give in to temptation.

Muttering to herself, the tall woman stood up and started helping her friend break camp. They had a long way to travel before the day ended, and they still had some packing to do, though it broke Gabrielle's heart to watch Targ pack.

The small woman continuously added things to a large bag and cautiously tried to lift it after each item was added. She couldn't carry nearly as much as she could as a man so she thought she had to leave some things behind. It didn't occur to her to ask her new friend for help.

The pole net could be broken down into two parts. The net rolled up and the pole made a nice walking stick so it was easy enough to take. The rope hammocks and small bag of soap were necessities so they were packed. They needed the hammocks to sleep in the relative safety of the trees and Targ's delicate sense of smell was too easily offended without the soap. That just left a dozen or so other items to prioritize, something the small brunette couldn't easily do.

Finally, after getting close to tears, the tall, strong woman couldn't stand to watch Targ suffer any longer. She walked over, dumped everything but the pole in the bag and threw the bag over her shoulder, giving her small friend a wink.

"We go west," Gabrielle said. "Now!"

The concept of immediacy took her some time to learn but she thought she had it. Targ hesitated but that was only out of surprise. Then the small brunette smiled and nodded her head vigorously.

"Thank you!" she cried. "Yes. We go west now."

Targ hesitated again though. She looked back by the extinguished campfire and sighed.

Gabrielle followed her friend's gaze and noticed the large sword lying on the ground. She'd forgotten all about it. "Sword?" she asked.

Targ sadly shook her head and turned to leave her prized possession behind, but again, the tall warrior woman refused to let her friend suffer. She stalked over to the sword and slid it in with her own.

The small woman turned back to witness the act of kindness. Her eyes actually teared up and she rushed over to the tall woman to give her a fierce hug. She actually did it as much to hide her emotional state as to show gratitude.

Gabrielle dropped the bag and slowly moved her arms around her friend to hug her back. It was a tender moment that she'd always cherish.

* * *

Though the queen was very strong, the weight of her burden surprised her. Targ must have been stronger than she thought. She began to shift the bag from shoulder to shoulder but fatigue was beginning to slow her down. She helplessly watched as her friend, with only a walking stick, got farther and farther ahead.

She wanted to take a break but she didn't know how to say it in Targ's language. Instead, she ended up just shouting her friend's name and collapsed.

Targ trotted back and finally noticed the problem. She rested her right elbow on her left arm and held her chin up with her right fist. Then she looked up at the sky, lost in thought.

Gabrielle had never seen such a pose. She found it very endearing and had to look away when she remembered her promise to herself. If only her brunette friend wasn't so enchanting!

After only a couple minutes, Targ had a solution. While the queen rested, the smaller woman pulled out two of the larger pieces of her leather armor and began to fashion a crude sling. The edges of the leather pieces already had holes and ties that could be use to attach them to each other in a loop. When the creative young woman finished the sling, she hung it around her neck and filled it with several items from her bag.

One of the items was a small container that she went to fill with water from the river. She brought it back and handed it to the tired queen who drank it all without stopping. That was all it took. After resting and quenching her thirst, Gabrielle was ready to move again.

With the weight better distributed between the two of them, their pace was better matched as well. They stayed together and as they continued to walk, Targ resumed the language lessons. She also added valuable information about edible plants, picking berries and eating as they went.

* * *

It was near sunset when they arrived at the outskirts of the city. The hills had spread farther apart and weren't nearly as tall as they'd been where the pair had first met. Most of the nearby hills were covered with large houses, and farther to the west, the land flattened enough to allow a view of the taller buildings in the city.

Roggzer was huge, surrounded by many small suburbs that stretched out several leagues from its center, and it was in one of the suburbs that they'd found a reasonably priced inn.

Targ had a small bag of coins that she'd almost considered leaving behind because of its weight. That made the queen all the more glad that she'd carried everything for such a long distance. After lugging her heavy burden so far, she wouldn't settle for anything less than sleeping in a nice, soft bed.

"Stay one night and go," Targ warned. "Need many coins for bed."

Gabrielle nodded. She didn't care about tomorrow. Only the present evening and two things concerned her. Her stomach came first and then sleep.

The pair entered the inn and caught a fair number of men staring at them. Targ's strange outfit and Gabrielle's unusual size didn't deter them as they only saw two beautiful young women.

The staring made both women uncomfortable, though for different reasons. Targ didn't like the lustful looks in the men's eyes. She knew exactly what they wanted and knew some would most likely get it if it wasn't for her large friend's protection. She was ashamed to admit to herself that she'd stared at more than a few women in the same way when she was male.

Gabrielle had similar thoughts. She recognized the lust, though she wasn't afraid of it. It simply disgusted her. It was the potential for violence that bothered her the most. She knew she could defend herself well enough with her sword but she didn't want to have to resort to violence. She was too tired. She'd prefer to just change them all into women and be done with it.

Luckily, the two of them walked through the dining area to the reception room without incident. Targ did all the talking to the innkeeper as they agreed before entering and they were soon safely in a small room with two beds, a table and two plain wooden chairs.

They had their dinner delivered to the room and ate at the table. The hot stew was most welcome and went down well along with the fresh bread and bitter ale. Actually, almost anything would've tasted good after the long hard day.

Before sleep overcame them, Gabrielle had one thing she wanted to ask Targ about. It concerned magic. They'd discussed magic after she learned the word for it in the native language. She knew it was rare on this world and she just wanted to know if the city contained any powerful sources of magic that could possibly send her home. If there wasn't any, she didn't plan on staying long.

Trying to frame her question was difficult with her limited vocabulary but she thought about a way to do it earlier in the day. With no dirt for pictographs, she used a fingertip to leave the faint outline of a large circle on the cream-colored bedcovers. She meant the circle to represent Agrin, which she found out was the name of Targ's world. Then she drew a smaller circle that represented Roggzer.

"Magic here?" she asked Targ as she pointed to Roggzer.

Targ shook her head.

"Magic here?" she then asked while moving her finger within the circle of Agrin but outside Roggzer.

Targ nodded and pointed to three points near the city.

"We go to place of magic tomorrow?" Gabrielle asked hopefully.

The small brunette shrugged. She wasn't sure exactly where to find magic. Then she frowned when she saw the resulting sad look on her friend's face, and found herself fighting an urge to hug the tall, sad woman. Such blatant shows of affection were still so very foreign to her. Was this what it meant to be a woman? Was she to be so emotional for the rest of her days? If so, she hoped she'd get used to it soon.

The pair sat and looked at each other for several minutes until Gabrielle finally yawned to break the spell, allowing them to turn away. They extinguished the candles, shed their clothes and quickly fell asleep in their beds.

* * *

The astral queen soon found herself back in Prizzaria with Muriel and her loyal handmaidens waiting for her. They were anxious to hear more about their queen's adventures now that the royal healer was neutralized for awhile. So after some very satisfying hugs, the storytelling began.

Gabrielle worked hard to make her astral form speak but still couldn't manage more than a rasping sound. It didn't matter though. She grabbed a quill and paper and wrote out a long description.

She confessed that she first thought she was dreaming about her castle visits. It wasn't until she arrived in the city of Roggzer that she confirmed her astral ability. She also told them about the inn where she was sleeping and how her new friend was teaching her the local language.

The queen wasn't the best of writers and wasn't happy with the quality of her tale. It was a little disjointed and mostly in reverse chronological order but Muriel and the young women were fascinated. They encouraged and very nearly demanded that she continue, so she did.

The astral queen ended with her brief battle with Targ, and she had to pause several times when the guilt became too much to bear. She still felt so badly about changing Targ into a woman. The whole incident was based on a bunch of silly misunderstandings. It might have been easier if Targ had been more difficult but the new woman had been nothing but gracious and helpful. Gabrielle couldn't get enough of her.

Muriel moved to offer a comforting hug but was prevented from doing so when her young friend lost concentration and was no longer solid. The old mystic had to settle for words.

"Gabrielle, you can't change what happened. All you can do is make the best of things and move on."

The sad queen looked down, her lower lip quivering.

"From what you've told us, it sounds like Targ has moved on. Why can't you?"

Muriel's advice was slow to sink in but it eventually helped. Gabrielle looked up and mouthed the words, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," the old mystic replied. Then she had a sudden thought. The rarity of magic in Targ's world had been mentioned and nearly forgotten. She wondered if there might be more information about the subject somewhere in Roggzer.

"Check for a library," Muriel advised. "A large city like you've described should have a library."

The queen nodded.

"And please consider giving your companion a new name. Targ just doesn't seem to fit the woman you've described."

Gabrielle laughed at that as she faded from view. It was time to go back to Roggzer. She and her new friend had a lot to do and she hoped to get an early start.