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 11, the concluding chapter, Marie struggles with separation anxiety and Gabi tries to find some measure of closure.

Chapter 11

"I thought I'd never see you again," the tearful brunette said. "How is this possible?"

"My body is back on Agrin. This," Gabi said, pointing to herself, "is like a duplicate. I've been visiting Prizzaria ever since I got to Agrin, but I can only visit when my body is sleeping."

"Why didn't you say anything?!"

"It had never happened before I got to your world. At first, I thought it was just a dream, and I didn't have the vocabulary to even try to explain it to you."

"You could've said something later."

"I was preoccupied ...," Gabi blushed. "I was focused on finding a way home ... and distracted by a certain someone's cute behind."

It was Marie's turn to blush but she covered it nicely by kissing her mate gently on the lips.

"You never told me you were royalty either, your Highness," Marie said, breaking the kiss with an impish grin.

"You never asked ... and please stop with the titles."

"I don't know," Marie said, continuing to grin. "I'm not sure you should be consorting with a peasant like me."

Gabi's eyes narrowed. "I consort with whomever I please." With that, she grabbed her true love and proceeded to kiss the small woman silly.

* * *

The sex was intense for Marie, but Gabi couldn't feel anything in her astral body. The frustrated queen had be content with pleasuring herself in the morning after she woke up on Agrin, something she did just as frequently as she pleasured her mate.

Pleasuring herself wasn't nearly as good as sharing herself with her true love, but the universe had a way of compensating. Late one night, after Marie fell asleep, Gabi watched over her and thought back to something Muriel had told her. Could it be that everyone had astral bodies?

The curious queen walked over and moved her phased out hand over her lover's body. When her hand met Marie's, something interesting happened. She felt it catch on something and pulled back. As she did so, a ghostly arm rose up. She continued to pull and eventually got a completely formed astral body that looked identical to Marie down to the smallest detail, including the mole on the small woman's upper thigh.

Gabrielle quickly made a mental note to see about helping Marie fashion astral clothes as soon as possible. Then she completely phased out and tried to use her mind to speak to the ghostly duplicate of her love -- and it worked. Marie's astral eyes blinked and looked confused for a moment before she thought back a reply.

"Gabi?"

"Yes, Marie. Welcome to the astral plane."

With that, Gabrielle was too excited to hold back. She pulled her mate up into the sky and beyond, showing off the wonders of space. They looked below and saw clouds swirling over the oceans and continents that spread across the surface of Kispri. They flew past Mother Moon and Sister Sun out to see other planets and moons, and Gabi even pulled them both back to Agrin and pointed out her sleeping body.

Marie's eyes went wide, but not with fear. She was in awe.

The two astral women rose again and somewhere between their two worlds, Gabi began to brightly glow. She stopped and pulled Marie to her. Their astral bodies overlapped and fused together into one, and in that moment, they both found bliss. They'd discovered the joy of astral sex.

* * *

Months passed with many diversions to keep the two lovers busy and happy. Both had their lessons. Gabrielle learned to read the written language of Agrin while Marie learned to speak the queen's language. The small woman also worked on battle training. She was determined to be able to defend herself with all manner of weapon, including a new longsword crafted especially for her.

Though it took getting used to, Marie grew her hair out, much to Gabi's pleasure. The small brunette had thick, beautiful hair that fell in gentle waves and the queen's handmaiden's took great pleasure in styling it.

Beth and Heloise got along every bit as well with Marie as they did with their beloved queen. As far as they were concerned, the small woman was a princess and they treated her accordingly.

The queendom thrived for those many months, but there were still a couple unresolved issues, one of which was Farrott. As long as he was out there, Gabi couldn't rest. She'd already figured out that she couldn't call up her gender magic while in astral form, so she couldn't change his gender if she found him. Finding him was a problem in itself though. She had never actually met him so she couldn't use her astral magic to seek him out.

The issue of Farrott had annoyed the queen for a long time but it was elevated to a serious problem one morning after breakfast. The queen was back on Agrin and Muriel and Marie had their usual morning chat. Unfortunately, the old woman let slip how Gabrielle came to be on Agrin. She mentioned Farrott's magic power and that was all it took.

Marie became obsessed with finding the ugly little man. She planned to harass him into sending her back to her true love on Agrin. It didn't occur to her that her plan might be dangerous. Her only thoughts were being with Gabi.

The queen was afraid of Marie finding out. She'd always been vague about how she got to Agrin, saying only that it was magic. Now one of her fears came to life. Her mate left by midday to go after Farrott, escaping through the secret passage that she herself had used so many times before. The small woman was gone and untraceable with her strange stealth talent that as yet, no one had been able to figure out.

When Gabrielle arrived back in Prizzaria later that day, she fretted and paced the hall outside her bedchambers. All she could do was wait and hope for the best.

* * *

Marie sat near the top of a large oak tree, lost in thought. When Muriel told her about the man who'd sent her Gabi to Agrin, she had mixed feelings. Gratitude wrestled with resentment while love battled hate. She was sure the man was a maggot but without him, she would've never met Gabi and known such happiness.

She vowed not to kill him no matter what, even though he probably deserved death for all the lives he'd disrupted. She wasn't a vigilante. No, she just wanted to get him to do to her what he did to Gabi. She'd rough him up and injure him just short of death if need be, but she'd get him to send her back to her home world to be with her true love.

It had taken several days and just as many bribes to track down her target. She found him holed up in a little farm house just outside Prizzaria. It didn't make sense to her that someone with his power would be living in a small house in the middle of nowhere but she shrugged it off. The only thing she knew with certainty was that he didn't come by the house legally. She just hoped that the true occupants were currently alive and well on Agrin.

The only reason she didn't go barging in right away was because the Farrott had a partner, someone who appeared to be a mercenary. That second man was large and not to be trifled with. Unless the large man left, she'd have a fight on her hands.

After two days of camping out in the tree tops, Marie grew impatient. The mercenary showed no signs of leaving so she began making battle plans. Her training had been thorough and she made excellent progress thanks to her background in the militia, but she wasn't certain of victory. She could very well die and she accepted it. As long as there was a chance to be with her mate, she had to try.

One thing that Gabi taught her still bothered her. The tall, strong woman insisted that it was fair for a smaller opponent to do anything possible to try to win. Kicking men in the crotch, throwing sand in their eyes and using magic were all valid tactics, but to Marie, it didn't seem honorable. She lost her manhood and lost her strength, but she wouldn't give up on her sense of honor no matter what the odds. She'd give it her all and take the consequences. Nothing less would do.

The small brunette climbed down from her tree and made her way to the farm house well after sunset. At least using the cover of darkness still held honor in her eyes. Fights happened in the dark and she needed some advantage. She was a smaller target and hoped she'd be harder to hit in the dark.

As soon as she saw the mercenary go outside to relieve himself, she charged and used her best battle cry to try to rattle him. It didn't help.

The seasoned combat veteran didn't go anywhere without his heavy longsword. The tall man had his weapon out and blocked Marie's initial strike with ease. He pushed her back and immediately thrust with all his strength, hoping to end the fight quickly.

Having a full bladder didn't exactly slow him down, but it made him quicker to anger and made him sloppy. The small woman got lucky. She jumped up and over the man's sword and came down swinging, connecting with the edge of his sword hand. It wasn't enough to break his grip but the blood would make the handle a little slippery and harder to hold.

The mercenary howled in pain and anger, finally attracting his partner. Farrott threw open the door, letting out enough light to see the two combatants going at it.

"Kick her ass, Gavin!" the little maggot shouted. "But try not to kill her. Perhaps we can have a little fun with her later."

Marie had learned enough of the language to know what the pig was suggesting and she had to bite down a retort. She had to save everything she had for the fight.

"Who in the Seven Hacks is she?" growled Gavin, stepping back and giving Marie a much needed rest.

"She's probably someone out for revenge, but who cares. She's a real looker. That's all I care about."

The two sexist pigs shared a laugh and the mercenary stepped forward to finish what his opponent had started.

She didn't have enough strength to completely block the powerful strikes, so instead she redirected them with her dagger. She was very glad she'd learned the two weapon fighting technique. If not for that, she might already be dead or worse, another notch in their bedposts.

As the fight wore on, fatigue began to slow the small woman. She'd been able to hold her own but she didn't have the stamina to keep it up. Luckily, the mercenary got overconfident and gave her an opening.

The large man tried a strong but slow horizontal backward slash and Marie blocked it sharply down into the ground with both weapons. Then she kicked the back of his knee with the toe of her boot as hard as she could. If she'd still been a man, the mercenary would've crumpled to the ground, but as it was, he only stumbled backwards and managed to keep his footing. She immediately pressed the attack though and kept the man off balance and quickly backing away out of the light of the open front door.

"Idiot!" Farrott yelled after him. "Use your magic and be done with it. We can still have fun with her corpse."

Marie didn't like the sound of that but she kept after Gavin. All he could do was feebly block her strikes with his sword as he continued to stumble backward. Then she noticed a blue glow and inwardly cringed.

From the light of the glow, she could see a grim smile on the man's face as he called forth his magic. Little sparks and tiny lightning bolts danced around his body and his sword. Occasionally, a larger spark would dance across to her sword, but so far she felt no ill effects so she kept attacking.

After several more of her blows, the magic power hit its peak and a large lightning bolt flew from his chest. Both fighters staggered to a stop and watched as the jagged bolt immediately branched out and surrounded her. She thought she was as good as dead but it never got closer then an arm length away. Instead, it danced around her as it had him, and within only a few heartbeats, it shot back in the direction it had come. It struck the man and burnt a large hole in his chest. He fell to the ground, dead.

"Shit!" Farrott shrieked behind her. "You little bitch! You killed him!"

Marie was stunned for a moment, too stunned to speak, but not too stunned to act. She turned and silently marched towards the little maggot. Her eyes burned from her adrenaline rush and she hoped he was quick about sending her away, because if he wasn't, she'd very likely gut him where he stood.

Farrott backed away, muttering to himself. He had to force himself to remain calm so he could use his power. Lucky for him, the crazed woman hadn't increased her pace. With a final deep breath, he managed to call forth his magic and released it at the woman.

Marie closed her eyes and smiled. She wouldn't get to gut the maggot but she'd get something much better. She felt the magic hit her and gasped at the cold, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes just in time to see a glowing ball of energy fly back at Farrott. It hit the surprised man and he began to shrink away, caught by his own magic. He just sent himself to Agrin!

'What is going on?' the confused woman said to herself. It didn't quite sink in yet but she'd just witnessed her own power taking effect. She could reflect any magic back to its source. It was the ultimate defense against magic. No one could touch her except by ordinary means.

Marie got back to the castle late the next day and told Muriel all about her adventure. She managed to get a pretty good idea of what her power was too. It was no wonder no one could figure it out with magic. Any magic they used on her wouldn't work.

The tired brunette had just enough energy to take a bath with the help of the handmaidens. Then she crawled into her beloved's bed and fell asleep for a very long time.

* * *

Gabrielle arrived that night to check for an update and was greatly surprised when Muriel relayed the information about Marie's little adventure. The queen had to suppress a dark laugh too. It was only fitting that the little man got hit with his own magic.

The astral queen spent some time catching up on the affairs of state before she made her way back to her bedchambers. Once there, she found her mate still fast asleep in their bed but she couldn't resist pulling out Marie's astral body. They were long overdue for a little fun and stress relief.

The two astral women floated high above Prizzaria and merged into oneness as they had so many times before. The experience never got old, never felt forced. Sharing one's soul with another could only be beautiful. Even if they never met again on the physical plane, they'd always have their astral trysts to keep them happy.

They separated after a time and snuggled together, just reveling in each others' presence until it was time for each to go back to their bodies. However, just before they did so, Gabrielle had an inspired thought and whispered it along with a few sweet nothings in Marie's cute little astral ear.

* * *

After nearly three weeks, the determined queen caught up with her quarry in a small town to the northeast of Roggzer, all thanks to Marie's astral tracking. Since the small woman had met Farrott once before, she was able to find him and lead her mate to his location.

"Hello little man," smirked Gabrielle as she stepped out from the early morning shadows.

"You!" Farrott's eyes went wide with fright. "Stay away from me," he whined, backing away. "If you change me I won't send you home."

"If I change you," she snarled, "you won't be able to send me home. My talent will change your magic talent as well as your gender. You'll most likely gain a minor power related to homemaking and end up making some man a wonderful wife."

"Okay! Okay! You win! I'll send you back. Just don't change me. Please!"

The frightened man twitched and muttered to himself. It wasn't clear if he could send someone back. His power had only sent his victims from his home world to this one. Would it be possible to reverse the direction? He desperately hoped so he could because his manhood depended on it.

The angry queen stopped to consider his offer and glared at him, imagining she could burn a hole through his head with her eyes. That would be a useful talent, though not likely to happen, and not likely to solve her problem. If she really wanted him dead, she could cleave him in two with her sword, but that wouldn't get her home either. She really wanted to get home so she momentarily lost herself in her fantasies and kept them to herself.

The man's obvious discomfort amused Gabrielle almost as much as her mental diversion, but after several minutes of waiting, her patience began to wear thin. Something was wrong.

"Well?" she finally asked.

"I'm trying! You're making me too nervous. Stop staring at me!"

Gabrielle looked to the sky. "Mother Moon! Give me strength!" Then she had a horrible thought. If he did send her back, that would leave him to dominate the magic-free inhabitants. Could she allow that to happen? Could she live with herself if she did?

"Hey," she suddenly said. "You know what? Never mind. Welcome to my world." Then she laughed at her play on words and called forth her magic.

* * * The End * * *