Return of the Queen

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

This story has a little of everything — action, adventure, drama, tragedy, romance and comedy. It also happens to be the sequel to The Distant Queen, but I wrote this story to stand on its own. I wrote The Distant Queen several years ago and it's not my best work. I didn't want anyone to have to read my earlier story to know what's going on in this one.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the Good Story! button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 1

A tall woman dressed in dusty green and brown battle leathers slowly wove her way through numerous clumps of dry thorn bushes. Having nothing but the dim light of two tiny moons to light her way made travel difficult, but it was necessary. The scrubland forced her to travel by night, when summer temperatures were only uncomfortably warm rather than fatally hot.

With her beloved two-handed sword strapped to her back and a bag slung over her shoulder that only contained enough food and water for another three days, she braved the arid landscape to reach a small town where a certain little man currently resided. The man had seriously wronged her and she meant to pay him back — personally — as soon as possible.

"I'll kill him," she muttered. "At least I would if I could resurrect him and kill him over and over. If only...."

Thoughts of what she'd do to the man consumed most of her waking hours. Being mostly refined and civilized, she couldn't bring herself to imagine any form of torture, and a single, quick kill just wouldn't be satisfying, so her fantasies normally involved the use of magic. Her own magic talent wouldn't do though. She had to improvise in her imagination.

Her talent had saved her life on several occasions in the heat of battle, when she faced more opponents than her sword could handle. It could cover a large area and effectively disable a large number of men. It took just a few heartbeats to call forth the magic and only about twice as long to recharge. It was the ultimate weapon, and it struck fear into the hearts of men. But it would be too easy.

"If only I could have a second magic talent. And if only I could choose it. I'd choose resurrection so I could kill that little maggot once for each and every time he used his despicable talent to send someone to this strange world. If only...."

The woman never delved into any of the gory details. Just the idea of multiple murders helped to keep her moving closer to her goal. Her shallow train of thought could keep her going all night if necessary, but after only a few more footsteps, she stopped to sniff the air.

A gentle breeze brought the smell of wood smoke and human waste to her nose. The town and sweet revenge were close at hand.

She smiled for the first time in days.

~o~O~o~

A fastidious little man cleaned and puttered around his small, sparsely furnished apartment and followed his daily routine, day after day after day, fully intending to stay in town to take advantage of his good fortune for as long as he could. He never wore anything except a short tunic and leggings in dark, drab colors, and he made sure they were always clean. The biggest change in his life was his diet, since he depended on handouts, but even that didn't vary much. He was in a mostly comfortable rut and only the most severe of circumstances could knock him out of it.

He did miss having an occasional conversation. He couldn't speak the gibberish that everyone in town spoke, but he made up for his communication problem by using an age-old solution. He talked to himself.

"Another day, another bunch of fools to fleece."

He nibbled a stale crust of bread and wondered about his situation. Ever since he inadvertently banished himself with his magic talent, people had been falling all over themselves to help him out. They gave him food, clothing and a place to live... all without any expectations of payment of any kind. He even got a few coins now and then, and he couldn't figure out why. He never had to threaten anyone with his talent. He hadn't even tried to use it. He didn't have to. Life was so much better that it was back home.

Home. Memories of home led to more questions that continued to bother him. What happened to him? How did he end up in the odd town and just where exactly was he?

"It was that little bitch. Had to be."

He recounted the night a few weeks ago when a small but fierce woman showed up and attacked his partner in crime. She seemed to have some sort of crazy vendetta, fighting like a hellcat. He still shivered when he closed his eyes and pictured her intense eyes.

"Poor Weston. She got lucky with her sword so he resorted to his lightnin' magic. But then she went and made him zap himself. Fried him dead, she did. He didn't deserve that. Was a good partner, he was. Then she came after me."

He knew that the woman had to have some sort of talent to do what she did. He initially thought she controlled minds, but that didn't make sense. He felt in complete control when he tried to banish her. He evoked his magic and it somehow reflected back at him.

"Like a magic mirror, she was, reflectin' me magic back at me. Stupid, lucky cow. Now I'm stuck here, wherever here is."

Trying to figure out his current location in a vast universe was beyond the poor little man in spite of all the evidence. The two extra moons, oddly colored sun and unrecognizable star patterns in the sky gave important clues, but they wouldn't help someone who believed that the world was flat and that the universe revolved around them. Instead, he patted himself on the back for working out that he must be on the flip side of his two-dimensional world of Kispri. That provided him with a good enough explanation of why no one ever returned after he banished them.

Before the hellcat came along, he'd never been able to direct his magic anywhere but away from himself. He knew better than to try to send himself back home, not that he wanted to go back. He wasn't sure it would work anyway. It seemed to be a one-way trip, and that was fine by him.

So that left him back at square one, just as it did every day. He ended his morning with a shrug of his shoulders and prepared to go out to grab a free hot meal and a pint of water or juice. According to him, there was nothing better than a good meal to pass the time. He could sit while he drooled over his food, his only friend. Alcohol didn't interest him. Women didn't interest him. He spent far too much time on Kispri hunting for his next meal. Now it was all handed to him.

With only one more thing keeping him in his apartment, he patiently sat on a simple wicker chair and waited, and sure enough, not long after the midday bells rang, a person, usually a middle-aged woman, would knock. He'd open the door and she would hand him a small urn filled with water and a loaf of bread or a hunk of some foul-smelling cheese. He'd take a few bites of what he thought of as an appetizer, stow the remainder in a cupboard and then leave to finish filling his belly somewhere else.

"A bit strange that," he muttered as he shut the door behind him. "But food is food and drink is drink."

The gruff little man didn't bother locking the door to his apartment. He didn't have anything worth stealing and someone would likely replace anything that was stolen. All he had to worry about was taking care of his basic bodily functions, so he quickly left to wander the streets.

Wonderful spicy aromas invariably led him to a nearby bar or restaurant, where he bulled his way past the doorman who'd normally prevent unsavory characters from entering. All it took were a couple of sentences laced with curses and everyone around him got funny looks on their faces. They gave him a good look and once they saw his pale skin and thinning red hair, they transformed from hostile to kind and generous. He was shown to a small, out-of-the-way table and given a bowl of stew and a pint of ale or wine. The meal was nearly always stew but it filled his belly well enough.

He always behaved himself while he sat at his table. He contented himself with watching a very thin slice of life pass him by as he stuffed his mouth full and slurped his drink. It sounded boring but it beat running from the militia who hounded him back on his home world. He couldn't threaten large groups and they knew it. They eventually discovered that it would take him too long to send them all away with his talent. They could easily overwhelm him with numbers so he kept moving from one small village to another, hoping to use his talent to threaten his way to a better, if short-lived, life before the next angry mob caught up with him.

"Tired of runnin', I am," he muttered to a nearby potted plant. "It's kept me fit up to now, but it was wearing me down."

As always, the man stayed long enough to catch an early evening meal. Then he left his cozy surroundings for a long walk. He often complained to himself about having to walk everywhere but he figured he wouldn't sleep very well if he didn't exert himself.

He never thought to try to thank anyone. He wasn't the thankful type, and they wouldn't understand him anyway. Still, taking advantage of the town's hospitality day after day left him feeling a little guilty, giving him yet another good reason to walk. It helped clear his mind and purge his guilt. The man had a short attention span and an even shorter memory.

The walk was always along the same quiet path around the outskirts of town. It was designed to quickly get him away from people, people who all too often insisted on giving him things. He didn't like being weighed down with items, or more guilt.

"Just a few more blocks and I'm free. Stupid wankers."

Before he could escape the generosity of the townsfolk, he had to walk several blocks, and he had to pass a lot of people. Willing himself invisible never quite worked. If only that was his talent! So every fourth or fifth person he passed would smile and insist on handing him something. They'd stand in front of him, blocking his path and fish around for something in a pocket or pouch. Then they'd pull out their expendable prize and hold it out to him with a happy, expectant look on their face. The whole thing turned his stomach.

"I'm not a pet," he'd mutter, and the person's eyes would light up. Some even laughed or clapped after he reluctantly accepted his gift.

The person would walk off with a spring in their step and he'd scuff his feet along the boardwalk or through the thick dust in the street.

So it happened, day after day after day, experiencing nearly the same course of events with different faces and different gifts but ending with the same mutterings and the same lonely long walk around town.

~o~O~o~

The thing about ruts, especially pleasant ruts, is that they never last. Something or someone always comes along to spoil a good thing.

The sun dipped very near the horizon, painting long shadows along the ground. Insects buzzed about, getting ready for their nightly mischief. And an elderly woman ever so slowly walked ahead of the little man. She blocked his path on the narrow walkway in front of the last building he needed to pass before he could begin circling the town.

He grumbled and briefly considered uttering a loud curse but he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Too late.

The woman suddenly stopped. She sniffed and turned with a frown until she noticed his face. Then she smiled and rummaged around in her handbag. After an insufferable number of seconds passed, she pressed a small breath mint into his hand.

The man watched her totter away and then scowled at the candy in his hand before throwing it in the street.

"Why do these smilin' idiots keep givin' me crap?!"

It was the last straw that caused him to shout into the night, and it confirmed his identity for a certain woman who stepped out of the shadows to greet him.

"Hello, Farrott. Thanks for giving yourself away. If you didn't speak our language, I might have let you pass by. I never really did get a look at you before you sent me here."

The little man stood pale and speechless before the much taller person in front of him. He waited so long to hear speech that he could understand but now he couldn't utter a single word in response.

"Yeah. You're right," she answered for him. "I would've found you sooner or late anyway. Better to get it over with I think." A slow smirk spread across the woman's face. She wanted to toy with him and enjoy every second of his discomfort.

"We've never been formally introduced so let me remedy that. I'm Queen Gabrielle of Prizzaria. And you're Farrott... The Worm."

"How...," he nearly got two words out but Gabrielle cut him off.

"How do I know who you are? How did I find you?"

Farrott slowly nodded and she gave him a feral grin. "Marie," she informed him.

His puzzled expression frustrated the queen a little but she wouldn't let him spoil the moment.

"Let's just say it was magic for now. But first, I want to know something. Why did you ambush me in the forest near my castle? What did I ever do to you?"

She nearly growled the words and Farrott cringed. But he didn't cringe for long as his fear gave way to indignation.

"Why?! Why you ask?! Men hate you! I hate you! By sending you away, I thought I'd get me a little respect."

"Respect?! You want respect?!"

"Doesn't matter," he muttered. Then even more quietly, "No one believed me anyway."

Gabrielle laughed. "And why should they? I still have a... presence on Prizzaria. I travel back… erm… somehow… when I sleep."

"Huh?"

"Never mind, little man," she said with a sneer. "Enough talk. I want to go home. Now. Send me home."

"Huh? Is that it? You're not gonna use your talent on me?"

"I will if you don't send me home."

"No! I mean... I'll send you home. Hang on. Hang on."

Farrott worked at calling up his magic. He felt his fingertips hum with power and let it fly at the woman.

Nothing happened.

Again and again he tried, to no effect. The indigo glow of his magic surrounded its target and sputtered out every time.

"Well?" the queen asked, scowling. She was sorely tempted but she didn't want to use her talent on him if she could help it. If she changed him, he'd lose his talent and she might never get home. Maybe if she just cut him a little with her sword....

"I'm trying!" he squealed.

His voice reminded her of a wounded piglet, and strangely enough, that made her all the more homesick, and hungry. Traveling by foot far from civilization, she hadn't eaten enough for the past few weeks and it showed. She was weakened enough that she had trouble handling her large sword, and that upset her more than anything.

"You sent me here," she snarled. "Send me back home!"

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

Queen Gabrielle looked to the sky and pleaded. "Mother Moon! Give me strength!"

She had been staring at him though. She kept imagining different looks for him if she used her talent. That was a bad sign.

After his fifth failed attempt at using his magic, her compassion slowly trickled back into her brain and she suddenly had a horrible thought. If he did send her back, that would leave him to dominate the magic-free inhabitants of their current home, the world of Agrin. Could she allow that to happen? Could she live with herself if she did?

"Hey," she said. "You know what? Never mind. Welcome to my world." Then she laughed at her play on words and called forth her own magic, shooting out a glowing ray of lavender light from the palms of her hands.

Her sole magic talent had a curious effect on nearby males. It changed their gender and altered their appearance according to her wishes. The colored ray hit the man and he screamed in pain as his skeleton changed and his genitals retracted into his body. It was no wonder that he feared her so much.

After several agonizing minutes, the pain subsided and the dust settled, and the man known as Farrott stood as a woman.

"But you promised!" he screeched, looking down, horrified to see a pair of huge breasts pressing out against his tunic. "You promised you wouldn't do it!"

"I said no such thing," said Queen Gabrielle, eyeing the former man and trying not to laugh.

She'd changed many dozens of men into women before but none of them had ever turned out like Farrott. Her strange mix of hatred and mirth had played a cruel joke. She wanted to cause him as much pain as suffering as she could.

The new woman appeared a little shorter and much fatter than she had as a man, and her clothes stretched tightly around her. They must have been cutting off the circulation in her limbs, and they'd be impossible to walk in, but she was too upset to notice for the moment.

"But we had a deal!" he continued to screech.

"Don't put words in my mouth, little...." Gabrielle almost called him a little man and couldn't help herself. She laughed.

"You... bitch!"

"Takes one to know one." Gabrielle smiled, while the other woman sputtered. "You're a woman now, Farrott. I'll help you but you need to calm down."

"I was trying to send you back home. I really was, but it just wasn't working!"

"Maybe your magic talent only worked one way, from our world to this one," Gabrielle said, and paused to think.

It looked like his gender change might not have been necessary. She changed him because she couldn't bear the thought of leaving him on a world where people didn't have magic talents. He would've been able to terrorize everyone with threats of making them disappear. Her conscience wouldn't allow her to let that happen, so she forfeited the chance to get home. She changed the detestable man into a woman and thereby took away his magic talent.

Gabrielle shrugged, not letting it bother her. The former man would be less likely to cause trouble as a woman. If she didn't change him, he might have found a way to make his powerful talent work given enough time. He might've been able to transport people to different locations on or even under the surface of Agrin. She imagined him sending people deep underground, effectively burying them alive. That made her shudder.

All the noise Farrott was making made her shudder too. She needed to find a way to keep the other woman quiet. They stood on the outskirts of a small town and it was very late in the day. If the screeching continued, it might annoy a nocturnal bear-like creature called a mogron. Trying to fight off one of those would certainly bother her. She knew what that was like because she'd fought and killed a couple of them since arriving on the faraway planet.

"What?!" The large woman suddenly squawked after what the queen said had finally sunk in. "This isn't our world?! You mean we're not on Kispri?!"

"That's right. Didn't you notice the strange orange sun and extra moon here? This world is called Agrin. Now would you please calm down?"

Farrott did calm down, if only to digest the latest information. His shifty eyes focused on a single large stone in the parched dirt at his feet, allowing for a moment of concentration.

He didn't realize that he had so much power. He never knew where his talent had sent people. None of his victims ever returned to speak of their travels, and even after he'd had his magic reflected back at himself, sending him to Agrin, he didn't notice the clues that spoke of an alien world. He had no idea how far he'd traveled until Gabrielle's revelation.

To send someone to another world was very impressive, but try as he might, he couldn't quite be pleased with himself. It really no longer mattered because his talent was lost. Worse than that, a couple of other troubling issues threatened his sanity.

His huge breasts were impossible to ignore for one thing. They emphasized his new gender and created an inner conflict since he refused to think of himself as a woman. Eventually, he'd be forced to accept his new gender, but he had plenty of time before having to deal with the more unpleasant aspects of feminine hygiene. Menstruation was a distant concern compared to the immediate and much more serious problem caused by his new, much larger size.

Ever since he'd been changed, he stood in one place, and the strain was becoming unbearable, though he didn't exactly understand why. He wasn't yet aware of his obesity. His leg muscles trembled and his knees wobbled as he stubbornly held his ground and voiced his displeasure. His percentage of body fat greatly increased with no compensating increase in muscle mass. In other words, he'd have a lot of trouble getting around, and that could prove dangerous for a woman on Agrin, especially one that didn't speak the local language.

He couldn't stand in place any longer. He had to do something, and whatever that something would be, he wanted it to include violence. He'd never been much of a man of action, but now, he felt a terrible urge to wring the queen's neck. What more could she do to him, kill him?

Gabrielle would easily be able to kill him with her huge sword, but he didn't think about that. Instead, in his irrational state, he reversed the likely outcome of a battle and imagined his hands around her throat. Strangling her seemed far too tempting. He enjoyed visualizing the fear in her eyes. It would be like the look on the faces of his victims just before he sent them away with his magic talent.

Farrott worked himself into a murderous frenzy. His eyes glazed over and the muscles in his forearms twitched with anticipation. He giggled hysterically and lumbered forward to seek physical vengeance.

With his first step, his new bulk strained against his clothes. A seam ripped loudly and his leg couldn't move forward far enough to catch himself. He felt himself falling so he did what he did best. He shrieked.

Gabrielle lunged forward and tried to catch him, but Farrott weighed too much and had too much forward momentum. Both women fell back on the ground, with Gabrielle getting the worst of it by breaking the large woman's fall.

"Get off me!" the queen gasped.

"What did you do to me?" wailed Farrott. "I can't even walk!"

"I said, get off, you miserable woman!"

Gabrielle screamed, and with a burst of adrenaline, pushed the large body off of her.

Again, it took a moment for the queen's words to register, and when they did, the reality of the situation hit Farrott hard. Lying on his side, he finally let go and cried.

The queen had to force herself to be sympathetic. The former man wasn't easy to like, but she was responsible for his gender change. He needed help and Gabrielle was bound by her honor to help him.

When the large woman finally cried herself out, her self-appointed guardian knelt by her side.

"I'm very sorry about your size. I'm afraid I got a little... carried away."

Farrott sniffled but otherwise remained silent.

"It looks like you'll have trouble walking in your old clothes. They're far too tight. May I please help you with them?"

Farrott simply nodded, and Gabrielle took out a knife and started the long, tedious task of tailoring the tight clothing.

~o~O~o~

"Look at me!" the large woman gasped. "I look like a... a... whore!"

Farrott's boots had split and were fashioned into crude sandals easily enough. The rest of his clothes weren't large enough to cover much though, and there was no needle and thread to patch them together. His gray leggings were shredded to use as ties to hold together what was left of his dark blue tunic, the top part of which barely held his ample breasts, with the bottom half having been cut to serve as a short and very tight skirt. It looked ridiculous but it met the requirements for common decency.

Gabrielle slowly trudged ahead into town without looking back, and she ever so slightly shook her head so as not to be noticed. 'I've died and I'm being tortured in the afterlife,' she thought.

"Hey! Are you listening to me?"

"Please stop shouting," the tall woman said over her shoulder. "We'll get you more suitable clothes when we can buy or trade for them."

"But I've got some money!"

The queen stopped and turned to look back at her companion, narrowing her eyes. It amazed her how much shouting the large woman could do while huffing and puffing.

"How much do you have?" She wanted to know how Farrott had made the money but decided to stall as long as possible before hearing that story. She didn't think she'd like it.

When the two of them pooled their meager resources, they found they couldn't afford any ready-made clothes. They had only enough to buy a couple yards of fabric, a needle and some thread, but if they spent all their money to make an outfit, they wouldn't have enough left for food. They'd have to live off the land, and that meant Gabrielle would end up doing all the work. Life just didn't seem fair.

"I'm sorry but this isn't enough," the queen said. "We'll need most of our money for food, unless you think you can run down wild game."

Farrott scowled. "That's not very nice."

"What? I didn't mean it like that. I'm just being practical. Neither of us has the knowledge and skills we need. Back on Kispri, I was an excellent huntress, but here, I haven't learned half of what we need to survive comfortably in the wilderness. I don't know many of the plants and animals on this world. I only have a few tricks that work in certain areas."

The large woman huffed but didn't say anything more about it while the two of them put their money away.

Gabrielle thought about nigglers -- large, stupid rodents about the size and shape of a watermelon with legs and a tail -- and how easy they were to kill. She could call them out of their dens with a whistle she got from Marie, and club them in the head for an easy meal. She also thought about spear fishing in the river where she'd met Marie as a man. They'd fought over a misunderstanding and Gabrielle had used her talent out of desperation, transforming a tall, strong man into a small, beautiful woman.

She sighed.

Everything eventually reminded her of Marie, the love of her life. That made sense since she currently lived on Marie's home world. If only she'd been able to follow her mate through the magic portal back to Kispri, but that was impossible now.

Magic worked so strangely on Agrin. No natives had magic talents. Instead, they had magic devices called technology. The portal was technology. So was the giant metallic warrior that guarded it, and that giant warrior ended up destroying the portal, and itself, just after Marie dove into it.

Once again, her thoughts drifted full circle back to her mate and she sighed. She missed Marie so much. The petite brunette took her gender change so well, and the two of them were such a good match.

Gabrielle resolved to get back home one way or another. She'd eventually find more technology, but first, she had to deal with a certain annoying someone who needed her.

Farrott would take a lot of work before she could live independently on Agrin, and it took all of the queen's willpower not to curse.

"Farrott."

"What?"

"Oh. I was thinking that we should change your name. Farrott just doesn't suit you any more."

"But I like my name!"

The queen rolled her eyes and resumed walking at a faster pace, hoping to get the large woman breathing too hard to talk.

"You really need a new name," she called back over her shoulder. "Though I guess that can wait. First we need to find an inexpensive place to stay. We're going to be here for quite awhile."

"But I already have a room at an inn!"

Gabrielle stopped and turned, glaring at her companion. "Will you PLEASE stop shouting? What is WRONG with you?"

Farrott backed against a stone wall and cringed. "Don't hurt me!"

The tall woman threw her hands in the air and called to the sky. "Mother Moon! Give me strength!"

The two women discussed options for reclaiming the room after Farrott finally thought to mention that the rent was already paid for the next ten days. That was too valuable an opportunity to pass up, though it wouldn't be easy. The innkeeper where Farrott was staying would be looking for a man, not two women. They'd have to do a little acting, and much to Gabrielle's distaste, a little lying.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

Return of the Queen

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

This story has a little of everything — action, adventure, drama, tragedy, romance and comedy. It also happens to be the sequel to The Distant Queen, but I wrote this story to stand on its own. I wrote The Distant Queen several years ago and it's not my best work. I didn't want anyone to have to read my earlier story to know what's going on in this one.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the Good Story! button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 2

After devising a plan, the two of them slowly made their way through the crowded, dusty streets to their destination. Clay tiled roof tops shimmered with the late morning heat and several dogs tried to keep cool by sprawling out in the shade on the long, narrow stone slabs that surrounded several of the buildings. The temperature continued to rise, and it had a lot farther to go before it peaked for the day.

Gabrielle stripped off as much as she could of her battle leather outfit, but still felt a little uncomfortably warm. That was nothing compared to how Farrott felt though, especially after the subject of a new name came up again.

"Thelma?!" Farrott whined as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Just... shut up. Trust me. It's perfect for you."

"Okay. Fine! I'll keep it for now, but when we leave this town, I'm going back to my real name."

"No, you're not," the queen said, shaking her head.

"Why not?!"

Gabrielle patiently explained that there were other victims of Farrott's talent, some of whom might recognize the name of the man that sent them away. It didn't matter that his gender had changed because they might also know of her talent that could turn him into a woman. They'd put two and two together and figure it out, and they might get violent. With no means to defend herself, the large woman would most likely be killed.

"Is that what you want? "Do you really want to die?"

The former man blushed, looking at the ground near his feet. "No," he muttered.

"Oh," Gabrielle stopped and softened her tone. "I think I understand."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"It's really not so bad being a woman. You'll see... Thelma."

Farrott, now Thelma, blushed again. The idea of having a feminine name really did bother him. He hadn't fully accepted his new gender. There was still so much to get used to.

Gabrielle resumed walking, ahead as usual, and focused on getting to the inn, and their plan.

Thelma quietly muttered to himself and followed.

~o~O~o~

A tall, strong young woman could be seen approaching the Sneezing Niggler Inn, along with someone behind her. Mindel could see the second person was another woman, much shorter but easily broad enough to be visible. He didn't care about her though. He just wanted to feast his eyes on the leader. He could look at her all day. She was a vision, even though she looked like she could gut him like a hagfish without breaking a sweat. Being an older man, he was used to looking and not touching so he'd be satisfied with a bit of leering.

"Welcome, tall one," the man said, his eyes veering down to her chest as she approached. "My name is Mindel. Are you looking for a place to stay?"

He tucked his thumbs into the side pockets of his black leather vest and smiled, revealing several missing teeth. The teeth he did have were small and stained yellow from years of neglect. His best features were his dark mustache, his large, expressive brown eyes and his light gray pants in a thin fabric that billowed around his legs.

Gabrielle and Marie had been together on Agrin long enough for the queen to learn much of the local language from Marie, just as Marie had since learned much of Gabrielle's language. And it had been nearly a season since Marie had teleported to Kispri. The queen had spent much of her time since then learning more of the language, even quite a few written words. So she'd understood Mindel when he spoke. She'd just started to reply to him but Thelma had stopped her by tapping her on the shoulder from behind while whispering a single word in their native language.

"Innkeeper," he told the queen.

The tall woman whirled around and slapped Thelma's hand away.

"I think I could figure that out on my own," she snapped. "He asked if I wanted a place to stay."

"Oh! I didn't know what he said. I'm just trying to help!"

"Please! Stop shouting!"

The innkeeper interrupted the little spat with a deep, throaty laugh.

"Are you here as entertainers?" he asked. "You're quite funny. What's that gibberish you speak? It sounds like what one of my tenants speaks."

Gabrielle turned back to face the man. "Do you mean Farrott?"

"I think that's his name. He often pointed at himself and said that after we first met, but he doesn't seem to speak our language. The town elders took pity on him, thinking him to be feebleminded. They set him up to live here. They pay his room and board and I put him to work in exchange for a little spending money."

The queen didn't quite know how to respond to that at first. She imagined all sorts of horrible things he might have done for the little bit of money he had, even going as far as stealing from old beggars. But truth isn't always stranger than fiction. Sometimes it's a whole lot funnier.

Gabrielle snickered a few times before erupting with laughter. Her short, large companion had struck her as stupid but being kept as the village idiot was too much.

Neither Thelma nor Mindel had a clue as to what was so funny. All they could do was stare and scratch their heads.

Turning back and forth to see the perplexed looks on their faces just fueled the tall woman's laughter until tears rolled down her face.

Thelma finally moved to one side until he had a clear view of the innkeeper. He recognized the voice but wanted to see if the man had something stuck in his teeth or something.

When he noticed the other woman peeking around Gabrielle, Mindel forced himself to look away from the laughing beauty and his eyes went wide. The short woman was incredibly fat, but her pale skin, green eyes and short, thick red hair grabbed his attention. Farrott had the same hair and eye color but the innkeeper had never before seen such physical attributes on a woman. Everyone else in town, and every traveler he'd ever seen had much darker skin and darker features. Even the tall, laughing woman had a dark tan — after spending weeks in the hot summer sun on Agrin — and brown hair. Only her height, full curves and green eyes were unusual enough to catch his eye.

'If only you took better care of yourself,' he thought, his eyes lingering on the large woman's huge breasts. 'You'd capture the heart of every man in town.'

Thelma recognized the look he was receiving from Mindel, and he gasped. He didn't think any man could look at such a large woman with any amount of lust. He blushed and hid back behind his companion, hoping she stopped laughing soon so they could see about reclaiming his room.

Gabrielle slowly laughed herself out, oblivious to the exchange between Thelma and the innkeeper. She stifled a few last giggles and tried to continue with the plan.

"I'm very sorry about my outburst," she told the man. "I've had a very bad morning and was desperate for a little humor."

"It's quite alright. I won't begrudge two beautiful women a little self-indulgence."

"Excuse me?"

"Please," he said, brushing the ends of his large mustache with his thumb and index finger. "Never mind. You came here to speak with me. Please continue." His dark brown eyes sparkled with good humor so the tall woman simply shrugged and spoke.

"Yes, my name is Gabrielle," she told him. "I came to speak to you about Farrott. He had to go back to the city of Roggzer."

"Really? So that's where he came from," he said as he continued to brush his mustache with his hand. "Okay. Is that all?"

"Well, he told us we could have his room for the next ten days since it's already paid for. I hope that isn't a problem. Thelma here," she pointed behind her with her thumb, "is Farrott's sister and we both need a place to stay."

"His sister?" Mindel stopped brushing his mustache and narrowed his eyes, pretending to be suspicious. "I didn't notice a family resemblance," he added, hoping to have a good reason to give her a good, long look. She might be overweight but he wanted to ogle her large breasts and the flimsy garment used to restrain them. The poor, lonely old man could easily spend the next several weeks daydreaming of burying his face in her cleavage.

"Oh! Well there is a resemblance," Gabrielle said, moving aside and pulling Thelma closer for inspection. They'd both planned for just such a reaction, and they were confident that Thelma had enough features in common with her former male self to pass herself off as a sister. "See," the tall woman continued, facing the large woman. "She has the same small chin, same nose, same look to her eyes. Her eye and hair color are the same and she has the same fair complexion. You must know how rare that is around here."

"Quite right," he said with a huge grin on his face, though his eyes weren't on Thelma's face. Instead, he stared shamelessly at the large woman's boobs and practically drooled.

Thelma first looked up at the sky out of embarrassment when he was first dragged closer to Mindel, and Gabrielle was too busy looking at Thelma as she pointed out the woman's features. They didn't see the man's fascination with Thelma's breasts right away. When they did both turn to look at him, they happened to do it slowly at the same time, and they shuddered when they saw the look in his eye.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "Please. Forgive one of this lonely old man's few self-indulgences." He looked down at his feet with a feigned expression of sadness.

"It's okay," Gabrielle said. She just wanted to get to the room and relax. They could worry about the dirty old man later. "So then, is it okay if we stay in Farrott's room?"

"Sure!" he said. "You two lovely ladies can stay as long as you like, in whichever room you like." Then he waggled his big, bushy eyebrows at them.

Both women blushed. Thelma didn't understand one word he said, but the way he said it and the suggestive waggling of his eyebrows spoke volumes.

"Thank you, Mindel," Gabrielle said, and quickly turned to her companion to speak in her native tongue. "Okay, Thelma. Let's go to the room now and freshen up. Shall we?"

The large woman just nodded and walked ahead to lead her tall companion to the room.

Mindel watched them go and briefly wondered how they knew where the room was located.

"Such strange and beautiful creatures," he said to himself. "Just how I like them."

~o~O~o~

Thelma nervously fumbled with the loose door handle to his room, making it worse by hurrying. He'd never been so embarrassed in his life.

"I knew it!" Thelma shouted. "I just knew it!"

"What are you going on about now?"

"Did you see the way the innkeeper looked at me?"

"Huh?"

"Oh. Right. You were too busy laughing as I recall."

Gabrielle giggled as she dropped her remaining possessions on the floor.

"It's not funny!"

"I'm sorry. Yes, I couldn't help but notice that dirty old man leering at your breasts. It was annoying and rude." The tall woman said.

"Well... yeah. Of course. But what do you expect. I'm dressed like a whore. Why wouldn't he look at me? He probably wondered how much I charged."

Gabrielle laughed.

"Don't laugh! It's true."

"Well, dear Thelma. I can tell you that he looked me over quite closely too. I didn't like where his eyes lingered but that's something we women have to put up with."

The former man hung his head and sighed. Once again, he felt like he had his new gender thrown in his face. He was hot, sweaty, hungry and thirsty. He couldn't imagine being more uncomfortable, but then he gets reminded that he's a woman.

"Come on. Don't be like that," the queen soothed. "You'll feel like a new woman after a bath and some cool well water."

Thelma sighed and looked down at his sweaty clothes.

"What am I going to do about these skimpy clothes? They're all sweaty and dirty. It feels disgusting."

Gabrielle almost teased her about sounding like a woman but she thought better of it.

"Right. We really need to get you a better wardrobe. With ten days of rent already paid, it'll be a little easier, but we're still going to have to work."

"Work?"

"Yes, work. You can resume the duties you had before and I'll see what I can find."

"You mean I have to go back to sweeping and cleaning?" Thelma squawked.

"What else can you do? You don't speak the language."

The large woman looked dejected. He'd hoped for something better but the queen was right.

"Just don't bend over a lot in those clothes if you can help it," Gabrielle said with a wink.

"Why...." Thelma got a flashback of Mindel staring at him and answered his own question. He blushed and quickly turned his back to hide it.

He walked over to a wooden table in the far corner of the room and poured some water from a large clay urn into a little mug. He drained the mug and repeated the task several times before tipping up the urn and drinking directly from it. After drinking his fill, he gently set the urn back down on the table, picked up the drinking mug and threw it at the stone wall. The mug shattered along with his brave facade, and he slumped down on the floor, crying and muttering the same thing, over and over. "Why me?"

The queen rushed over and knelt down to hug the large woman.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Thelma stopped muttering and just bawled.

"There there," Gabrielle said. "I'm here for you. I'll help you. I promise."

~o~O~o~

The former man felt better after a good cry, though he mentally chastised himself for breaking down, especially since it was the second time that day. He hadn't cried since he was a boy.

The other woman's promise helped his mood too. He'd had no problem breaking promises in the past, but he felt sure that a queen would keep hers.

The tall woman quickly and gracefully got up off the floor and offered a helping hand to her companion, but the large woman stubbornly tried getting up herself.

After rolling around for several minutes in a futile struggle to stand, Thelma finally gave in and accepted help getting up, and he had to suppress the urge to cry again. Luckily, a loud rumbling sound distracted him.

"What was that?" he said, his eyes wide with fear.

Gabrielle coughed to disguise a laugh, and she had to turn away to hide a grin.

"I'm fairly sure it was your stomach," the queen said, moving towards the door. "We haven't eaten all day."

"Oh. Right," Thelma said, feeling stupid. He wasn't too enthusiastic about the idea of eating. He'd already fought off several hunger pangs that day, thinking he'd starve himself thin as quickly as possible.

"I'm quite hungry myself, so I'll go down and get us something. You just stay here and I'll bring it up. Is that okay?"

"Sure. Whatever."

The former man looked around the room for a place to sit and ended up on the bed. The chair didn't look sturdy enough to support his weight. He sat on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes, willing himself not to cry again.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle was pleased with herself. She came back with quite a load, managing to carry another urn of water and a large basket containing two drinking cups, a loaf of bread and an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables. She almost shouted excitedly when she walked into the room, but she caught herself just in time when she saw Thelma asleep, lying on her back on the bed with her feet hanging over the edge.

"Poor woman," the tall woman said quietly to herself, slowly shaking her head. "She's been through a lot, and she still has a long way to go."

~o~O~o~

Thelma woke sometime later thanks to his noisy stomach demanding food. He looked to one side and saw his companion, sitting in a chair, watching him with a pleasant smile on her face.

"Have a good sleep?" she chirped.

"What are you so happy about?" Thelma snapped.

"My my. Aren't you grumpy? Are you always so cheerful after waking up?"

"Ha ha," Thelma retorted.

"I got more water and a little food."

He stayed on his back and stared at the ceiling. "I'm not hungry," he said quietly, and was loudly contradicted by a gurgling noise.

"We both know that's not true," Gabrielle said. "Please. Eat something. It's not healthy to starve yourself."

"I'm sure I won't waste away anytime soon. Don't worry about me."

The queen got up and moved to look Thelma directly in the eye. "You lose weight more slowly when you starve yourself. Please eat."

The stubborn former man closed his eyes. "I don't care."

The tall woman lightly but firmly slapped Thelma on the cheek and the large woman's eyes snapped open.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"That was for being stupid. Eat!"

"But it'll take forever to lose all this fat! I don't wanna eat!"

"I'm serious. Starving yourself is unhealthy. Your body needs food to keep going. You'll need your strength if you're going to work."

"I don't wanna work!"

"Eat!"

"No!"

Gabrielle sat back down in the chair, fuming. She couldn't force Thelma to eat, but she fantasized about trying. Why couldn't that woman understand that she needed to eat? Perhaps it was time to try something different.

"If you're not going to help yourself, then I might as well leave."

"Fine! Go back on your promise!" the large woman shouted.

"I can't babysit you, Thelma. You're an adult and you need to act like one. If you're not going to cooperate, then I can go back on my promise."

Thelma didn't say anything. He just sniffled a little. The "tough love" act was working.

"I'm going out now. I'm going to scout around for work, price some materials to make you some new clothes and then treat myself to a long, hot bath at the town baths. I've eaten what I wanted. You can have the rest ... or not. Do as you like. I'll be back later ... much later."

"I thought you weren't going to help me? Why bother making me any clothes?"

"I said I'd help you, and I will, to a point. I'll make or buy you some clothes, but if you keep acting like a child, that's as far as I'll go."

"Fine. Go then."

Thelma sounded listless, and Gabrielle almost didn't go, but she didn't know how else to motivate the stubborn woman. Even a warrior queen couldn't do everything herself.

~o~O~o~

"I'm back!"

Gabrielle practically danced into the room wearing a clean, long tunic in her royal colors of dark gray with a single wide diagonal stripe of lavender. She also had on her one pair of dark gray leggings, all washed and ready to go. It felt good to get out of her dirty green and brown battle leathers.

Thelma lay on his back on the bed and briefly raised his head a little to answer. "Whatever."

The queen looked around and noticed some of the food had been nibbled. 'Good,' she thought, smiling. 'Any progress is better than none.'

"I'm sorry I took so long, but I figured you'd be a little shy and want to wait until dark to go for your bath."

"Whatever," Thelma said quietly. He knew he desperately needed a bath, but he didn't think he could force himself to take one.

"I did some serious thinking while I was out," Gabrielle set a couple of cloth sacks on the floor and sat on the bed, finding herself in a rare chatty mood. "And I came up with a plan, a couple plans actually."

Thelma moaned.

"Hey! Don't be like that." The queen playfully slapped her companion on the arm and Thelma flinched.

"Oh! I'm sorry."

Being away on her own for so long improved Gabrielle's mood immensely, and she forgot how sensitive her companion could be. But she plowed on ahead and described a diet and exercise plan to get Thelma in shape. The tall woman would be cheerleader, coach and trainer all in one. She was determined to help.

"And you have to eat right to have the energy to exercise," she lectured.

The former man moaned again. He saw the truth in what was said, but he also knew it meant a lot of hard work, something he wasn't looking forward to.

"Oh, you!" Gabrielle smiled. "So many people have that reaction, but after they work out long enough, they quickly find themselves with more energy, and they feel good about themselves. With me behind you, you'll get nothing but encouragement and you'll feel better in no time. You'll see. We can't fail!"

'Rah rah rah,' thought Thelma. 'I'm in cheerleading hell.' But he did appreciate the attention at least.

He felt scared and alone while the queen was out, something that was hard for him to admit. He'd never had to rely on anyone other than himself before coming to Agrin. Getting help from anyone, especially the one woman who he'd hated so much and for so long, bothered him. But he had to get over it. He had to get over a lot of things.

Being a woman changed everything, especially since he couldn't get around very well and couldn't speak the language. Recent memories of being leered at still made him shiver with fear and revulsion, and they led to other unpleasant thoughts. He thought about his intention to rape and kill a young woman just before unintentionally zapping himself to another world, and for the first time in his adult life, he felt shame.

It didn't help that he lost his magic talent, even though it seemed to be ineffective on Agrin. The important thing was that he thought he could use it if he had to. He lost his manhood and talent, and with them, he lost virtually all of his confidence.

'But I'm still a man inside, where it counts,' he thought. 'Right?'

He wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"Hey!" Gabrielle broke through the gloom surrounding the other woman. "Are you listening?"

"Yeah. Sure," Thelma said while struggling to sit up. "Go, team."

"Huh?"

"It's a school thing."

"You were in school?" The queen said, letting it slip without thinking.

"For a little while, before I had to drop out and make some money to feed myself," the former man said.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

Amazingly, Thelma let it go and changed the subject. He suddenly remembered something that happened earlier in the day that had him curious.

"It's okay. But can you tell me something?"

"Of course."

"Why did you laugh so hard when you first spoke to the innkeeper?"

That question caught Gabrielle by surprise, and she measured her words carefully.

"I don't think now is a good time to discuss it. Perhaps later, when you're able to look back and laugh about all of this."

"You're kidding, right?"

The tall woman answered with a warm smile. "Things will get better. Trust me."

~o~O~o~

If Thelma had thought about it, he'd realize things had already gotten better for him, for the most part.

When he first came to Agrin as a man, he had only the clothes on his back. His only lucky break was that he'd magically transported himself near the small town where he'd been staying ever since.

It frustrated him not being able to speak the local language, and he wandered around, hoping to find someone who spoke his language. At the very least, he thought he'd find a town official who had the translator magic talent, not knowing that no one else on Agrin had magic talents.

He spent several days sneaking water from wooden barrels and slowly starving, but he stubbornly stayed near the town square, speaking to every new face that he saw pass by. He figured he'd fare much better in town than in the wilderness, and he was right.

Someone finally realized that the strange little man who spoke gibberish to everyone he met was desperately poor, and that person took pity on him by alerting the town elders.

Late one evening, the elders found Farrott huddling in a sheltered doorway, muttering to himself. They thought him to be an idiot so they set him up with an allowance for food and a place to stay. They communicated with him by smiling and placing a friendly hand on his shoulder to show him that everything would be okay.

Farrott wasn't used to compassion, so he didn't recognize it. He didn't understand why he had a place to stay and free food, but he breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps a small part of him was even thankful, but that didn't matter. He couldn't properly thank anyone since he didn't speak the language.

Mindel, the innkeeper at the inn where Farrott stayed, tried teaching the strange man to speak properly, but he didn't have much success and didn't have the patience to keep at it. The two men ended up with a crude sign language. Farrott would point at something he'd want and Mindel would give it to him, within reason. The innkeeper also gave him easy cleaning jobs around the inn, and that's how it went for the past couple weeks.

Farrott -- now Thelma -- had been incredibly lucky, even though he didn't feel that way. Many of his victims wished him dead but the universe didn't seem to agree. Instead, he got a second chance with a very different life.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle surprised her companion with her next plan. She pulled a large robe out of one of the bags she'd brought back with her and said she bought it and some inexpensive thread. To save money, she even talked a kindly old shopkeeper into letting her borrow a dull needle so she wouldn't have to buy one.

"The robe is clean," she said. "You can wear it on the way back from your bath."

"Uh... right," Thelma said, looking a little scared.

"Don't worry. I'll go with you, and I'll wash that outfit," the queen said, pointing at her companion, "while I'm waiting. We'll save money that way."

"What about extra cloth? What are you going to sew with the needle and thread?"

"I have two tunics but I can do without a second one. I'll use the cloth from a tunic to add to your skimpy clothes. Then we'll both have two decent outfits, one for day wear and the other to wear after taking a bath and washing our day wear. It's warm enough outside that we can dry our wet clothes over night."

Gabrielle smiled proudly.

Thelma was impressed. "You thought of everything."

"I tried to. Now please. Let's get you and those clothes to the bath house!"

"Oh! Right," the large woman said, lifting his right arm to sniff his arm pit and wrinkling his nose. "I stink."

The queen frowned and shook her head. "That's not very ladylike, Thelma."

"That's because I'm not a lady!"

'You will be... when I'm through with you,' Gabrielle thought, and smiled.

In a way, Farrott the man had died. He was now a woman, and the queen wouldn't give up on turning him into a lady, someone who would make a fine addition to her queendom.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

Return of the Queen

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

This story has a little of everything — action, adventure, drama, tragedy, romance and comedy. It also happens to be the sequel to The Distant Queen, but I wrote this story to stand on its own. I wrote The Distant Queen several years ago and it's not my best work. I didn't want anyone to have to read my earlier story to know what's going on in this one.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the Good Story! button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 3

Thelma left the bath house in a good mood. There was nothing like a hot bath to relax a person and make them forget all about their troubles. Being clean helped too, and damp hair kept the head cooler, which was really nice during the current long spell of hot weather.

Gabrielle had taken a bath earlier but she was still able to wet her hair in the river when she washed Thelma's clothes. Her mood matched her companion's and the two of them chatted amiably on the walk to the inn.

Once they got back to their room, the mood changed slightly. It was a peaceful but uncomfortably warm night, with nothing except the sounds of insects, whirring and buzzing all around. The air pressed down like a heavy blanket, tempting one to sleep outside for the chance of catching a slight breeze across the face.

Even with the two small windows and door to the deck open, it would still take most of the night to cool down the room. It didn't help that they were on the top floor of the three-story inn. Mindel wasn't stupid. He gave Farrott a top floor room, favoring important guests with the ground floor rooms, especially those along the back of the building where it jutted into the side of a small hill. Those rooms were mostly underground and stayed much cooler.

It was too hot to easily fall asleep, so the two women continued to chat while Gabrielle did some sewing. After a fair amount of coaxing, Thelma spoke a little of his boyhood, though he glossed over the really bad parts.

Farrott had a mostly rotten childhood. It didn't excuse his behavior as an adult, but it made it easier to understand how he got to be the way he was.

When he was seven, his mother died. He was devastated, and he never forgave her for it. She was the only thing keeping his father and older brother under control. Without her mellowing influence, the older males gave in to every manly urge under the sun. In short, they became little better than beasts.

With wild men as role models, Farrott didn't have much of a chance of becoming a decent human being. His father slowly devolved into a miserable drunkard, spending most of his money on hard alcohol and games of chance. While drunk, the man physically and verbally abused both of his sons, with the eldest taking most of that abuse. After several years of abuse, the older son, Bannett, understandably left home, leaving Farrott at his father's mercy.

Being small helped. Farrott was able to hide or curl up under a chair for protection when his father came home drunk and kicked everything in sight. The man was a mean drunk.

Morning would come and Farrott would wake up and crawl out of whatever hiding place he'd slept in. He'd dampen a wash cloth and place it on his sleeping father's forehead in a vain attempt at cooling the man's temper. Alcohol made him mean, but hangovers were even worse.

"Oh, Thelma," Gabrielle said after the childhood history lesson ended abruptly. "I'm so sorry. That sounds awful."

Farrott just sniffled a little and nodded. The former man wasn't used to getting sympathy, but it did feel good to talk about it with someone. He had a lot of conflicted feelings that he needed to sort out.

If his mother didn't die, he was sure none of that abuse would've happened. So he blamed her, and he ended up blaming all women for misbehaving men. He hated men acting like jerks, but he hated women even more. It was stupid, but it was the only way he could cope. It distracted him from all the pain and misery in his life.

His past had gnawed at him for a long time, and now he suddenly found himself as a woman. Did that mean he had to hate himself? Was that why he wanted to send Gabrielle back to Kispri so badly? Was he so afraid she'd turn him into a woman that he had to get rid of her to save his own sanity?

When he searched his feelings, he found that he still hated women, and he hated beautiful women most of all. He especially hated the woman that he nearly ended up raping and killing back on Kispri, though she would've been his first rape and murder victim.

While he was on his own, he managed to control himself. He didn't really want to harm anyone. But when he teamed up with Weston for some extra protection, he found he lowered himself to the other man's level. Weston had no qualms about rape and murder and said as much quite frequently. It turned Farrott's stomach at first, and then that beautiful woman showed up.

During the night when that woman attacked, something in him snapped. The attack was unprovoked, and he suddenly wanted to take out all of his frustrations on her. He wanted to punish her for all the women of Kispri.

'Thank goodness I didn't!' he thought, and he held his face in his hands and cried.

Gabrielle had no idea of the torment that Thelma had just put himself through. She just saw a suffering woman and went to comfort her.

"Hey. It's okay now," the queen soothed. "You're safe with me now. The past is over. You've got to move on."

"You don't understand!" Thelma wailed. "I almost raped and killed a woman the night I sent myself here. I'm horrible! I'm a horrible man!"

Gabrielle gasped. Thelma didn't realize that the woman he just referred to was Gabrielle's mate, Marie.

The queen had a strange kind of link back to her home world, and through that link, Marie had talked about the incident with Farrott. The petite brunette said she'd purposely started the fight with Farrott's partner in a desperate attempt to have Farrott send her back to Agrin, but she said nothing about rape. Did she know the men's intentions? If she did, why didn't she say anything? There were so many nagging questions.

"You're not ... a man," the tall, warrior growled. "You're a woman. You've got to accept that." She tried to say that Thelma wasn't horrible, but she couldn't. An attempted rape was horrible. It was lucky that Thelma was female after that confession, or the night might have ended with one less living person.

~o~O~o~

After a third meltdown, Thelma wanted nothing more than to end his first day of womanhood with a good, long sleep, something that wouldn't be difficult in spite of the heat. He was emotionally and physically exhausted. But his companion wasn't quite finished with him.

"Just one more fitting," Gabrielle said. "Then you can sleep."

She'd concentrated on enlarging and lengthening the short, tight skirt that she'd first made early in the day. With the contrasting material from her own large tunic, it made for a strange looking result, but comfort and function overrode style for the time being.

'Style will come later,' she thought. 'I'll make a beautiful lady of you yet.'

Once she heard Thelma's confession about Marie, the queen was more determined than ever to not only make Thelma into a lady, but to get her into great shape as well. It was easy to see that the large woman would always have a voluptuous figure, even when slim. She'd attract men like moths to a flame, and then she'd come to understand the fear of rape very well.

Gabrielle helped pull the skirt up over her companion's large hips and gave it a quick inspection. It fell to mid thigh, which was good, but it looked a little loose.

"How does it feel around the waist?"

"It think it's okay. It's kind of loose but it feels much better than it did before."

"I'll gather it in a little anyway. I want you to feel the skirt getting looser as you lose weight. It'll help motivate you to keep going."

"Okay. Whatever."

The large woman shed the skirt easily on his own and flopped back on the bed. He fell asleep only a few minutes later.

Gabrielle didn't feel much like sleeping yet. She was still too hot from the night air and upset about Thelma's confession.

Sewing made a good distraction for a short time. She finished the skirt and reinforced the straps of Thelma's top with a few strips of cloth that she'd saved from her tunic, and all the while, she thought of her blonde handmaiden, Heloise. Her handmaiden's cloth mending magic talent would've come in handy, but then of course, the queen wouldn't have had much to do.

"I've been so spoiled," she suddenly said, looking over at Thelma. "And you've had such a rough life. I'll try to forgive you... but I'm still going to turn you into a beautiful lady."

She smiled at her new resolve. She'd help to make Thelma into a beautiful person inside as well as outside. If she succeeded, she'd be able to forgive, and possibly even forget.

'Besides,' she thought, as she continued to stare at her companion. 'You're no longer able to rape women, are you... Thelma.'

The queen smiled again and yawned.

Fatigue finally overcame the oppressive heat. She flopped down on the floor after making a crude bed from her pack and the bed covers that she took from the bed earlier in the evening.

"Good night, Lady Thelma," she said, and then quickly fell asleep.

~o~O~o~

As she'd done virtually every night since she arrived on Agrin, Queen Gabrielle slept and astrally traveled back to her queendom on Kispri.

Her trusted adviser, Muriel, had told her that it wasn't really magic. According to several scrolls and books, astral travel was possible for anyone, given enough time and practice. Most people didn't believe in it, hence, they didn't even try. Gabrielle got lucky though, as some do. She came by it naturally, just after Farrott sent her to Agrin. Her new ability probably had something to do with her strong sense of responsibility to her royal subjects but she didn't care about how it happened, just that it did.

Astral travel seemed like a dream come true for the marooned queen as she could still run her queendom with a little help from the only four people who knew about her true location. There was no panic in the streets and no marauding armies taking advantage of her physical absence and the inability of her astral form to change men into women. Ignorance truly was bliss for the Queendom of Prizzaria.

Long before being zapped to Agrin, it only took a few battles before the queen's magic talent became well-known, and feared. Through the strength of her magic, she maintained peace, and her subjects, the majority of whom were female, adored her. So it went for the past seven years since she'd been elected Queen, and so it would continue. Gabrielle vowed that as long as she lived, she'd keep the women of Prizzaria safe, and she still found a way to keep her vow from an impossibly long distance.

The queen grew to like her nightly ritual, and she found that she could even solidify her astral body, adding more credibility to her claim of being fully present in her queendom. She always made sure to solidify her astral body in her royal bed chamber to keep the secret of her disappearance as well as to protect her modesty. Solidifying her astral body meant she appeared naked. She could form astral clothing but so far hadn't been able to solidify any outfits.

The large, empty room disappointed her though. She was hoping for a little quality time alone with her mate, but it wasn't to be. A crisis loomed on the horizon, demanding everyone's full attention. She barely slipped on a long, dark gray robe and a matching pair of slippers before getting a sudden visit.

"There you are!" Muriel said as she burst into the room. "Your Majesty, please. We have a problem."

Just as quickly as she entered, the old woman turned and left.

Gabrielle sighed and picked up her mate's toy rabbit off the bed, giving the soft, tattered brown thing a quick kiss.

"Hello Ribbles. Miss me?"

Besides the clothes on Marie's back, the scruffy toy rabbit was the only possession the small woman had carried when she entered the portal and left her world. It'd been an odd thing to carry, but light enough that it hadn't slowed her down. That had been an important consideration at the time since she'd been trying to evade the giant metal warrior that guarded the portal. Another reason she'd clung to it was because it was a memento of her childhood and loving family.

Marie had left behind a mother and an older brother who never knew of her gender change. Having never seen magic, they wouldn't have believed it unless they'd been present when it happened, so she hadn't tried to tell them. She'd left a vague good-bye note for her brother and ran away with Gabrielle, the warrior woman who insisted on helping her. All she had left of her family were her memories and Ribbles, the toy her mother had made for her so long ago, and so far away.

Gabrielle put the rabbit back and followed Muriel out into a large sitting room to see her favorite four people, Marie, Muriel and her two handmaidens, sitting and waiting for her. They formed a half circle around her favorite padded chair, known as the "Spare Throne."

Muriel sat in a simple wooden chair to the right of the Spare Throne, wearing her usual, long black dress. It contrasted nicely with her white hair. The handmaidens sat on a small couch directly facing the Spare Throne and wore their work uniforms, consisting of tunics with wide horizontal stripes in the castle colors, lavender and dark gray, along with dark gray leggings and loafers.

"Hello," the tall astral woman said to everyone, though her eyes lingered on her mate.

Marie sat on a small, well-padded chair to the queen's left. She had a faint smile and her eyes sparkled. Her short, black hair nicely framed her oval face and went well with her outfit, a white, long-sleeved dress that hugged her curves and showed off her toned legs. She was barefoot and had her legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. Though she looked outwardly relaxed, the queen could tell that she wanted to spring up and tackle hug her, but she remained firmly rooted to the chair.

'It must be serious if I can't get my usual greeting,' Gabrielle noted to herself with a little disappointment. But at least she could appreciate the somewhat uncommon sight of her tomboy mate wearing a dress.

"Your Majesty," Muriel began. Her formality was another signal that things were indeed serious. "We have to get you home."

Rumors started that something odd was happening in Prizzaria. The queen rarely made any public appearances except either very late or very early in the day. She never went out in public during the day, and she hadn't visited the warrior training center for ages. Her sleeping habits back on Agrin limited her schedule and the people grew suspicious.

It was only a matter of time before it happened. Gabrielle's separation from Marie motivated her more than enough to get home, but the latest rumors added an even greater urgency. The whole queendom was in danger. Without her physical presence, the barbarian hordes would soon invade.

'This is crazy. What will everyone do once I die?' the queen wondered.

It was a serious question that kept coming back to haunt her. Even if she got home, she wouldn't live forever. Eventually, her queendom would be overrun after her death, and the peaceful dreams of future generations would die along with her.

She contemplated going out and hunting down every last one of the barbaric men to change them into women, but that only postponed the inevitable. More men would be born, and more of those men would lust and fight over the women of Prizzaria. She needed a more long-lasting solution. Unfortunately, that solution would have to wait. She had to first concentrate on getting home.

"Okay," Gabrielle said. "Before we start brainstorming for ideas to get me home, I've got a problem you should know about. Her name is Thelma."

"Who's Thelma?" the other four chorused.

"You know her as Farrott."

"Farrott?!" Muriel shouted. "You found him and you didn't get him to send you back?!"

"He tried, but he couldn't send me back," the queen said in an even voice. Someone had to be calm, and the responsibility usually fell to her. "It would seem that his magic only works one way, from here to Agrin."

Muriel cursed, something she rarely did, and it scared Beth, giving her the hiccups. The dark-skinned brunette handmaiden had to briefly excuse herself to get a drink of water. It was the only way she knew that could get rid of her hiccups.

"So let me get this straight," the old woman said after she calmed down. "Farrott couldn't send you home so you turned him into a woman?"

"Not exactly."

Gabrielle explained how she'd been hunting Farrott with Marie's astral help. Since Marie had seen Farrott, the petite woman could somehow locate him and identify him, so the queen pulled Marie's astral body back to Agrin. Together, they used the strange astral ability to locate him and then Gabrielle physically traveled to the small town of Marzelle. From there, it was simple.

She found Farrott soon after waking up that morning and confronted him, though she didn't have to say much. Her magic talent scared him enough to try sending her home, and try he did, but nothing happened.

The small man tried using his magic for several minutes, in between whining and making excuses, and that gave the queen time to think.

She couldn't stand the idea of leaving him on Agrin, assuming his magic talent worked. She imagined him demonstrating his talent and using it to intimidate everyone. She couldn't, in all good conscience, allow that possibility to happen. So just in case his talent did work, she changed him into a woman.

"It was the right thing to do," the queen insisted.

"Right for whom?" Muriel countered. "What about your subjects here on Kispri?"

"I didn't know about the rumors this morning."

"Would it have mattered if you knew?"

"No," the queen said in a small voice. "I'm sorry, Muriel. I had to do it. That man was a menace." She wanted to say he wanted to rape and kill Marie, but she didn't know that at the time, just like she didn't know about the rumors on Kispri. As always, she did the best she could with the information she had, and she still believed she did the right thing.

"Very well," Muriel said calmly, though her glare told how she really felt. "It doesn't really matter if Farrott could've sent you back because he can no longer do so. We'll have to find another way. There's always another way."

It always came back to magic. Everything ran smoothly on Kispri, but without magic, the world would come to a grinding halt. And without magic, Gabrielle couldn't get home.

Was magic spoiling Kisprians? The queen found herself wondering about that from time to time, and more so since she came to Agrin. The people of Agrin didn't have magic in the daily lives. They didn't need it. She didn't need it either. She did well for herself without it so far.

'But as long as you have it, you might as well take advantage of it,' she thought.

It still wasn't good to become too dependent on magic. Agrin had obviously depended heavily on great magic in its past, but that didn't stop their civilization from collapsing.

Now, people mostly avoided the great magic of technology on Agrin. It was too powerful and unpredictable. The old ways were lost, so they gave up on it. But that was okay. There still might be something more to help Gabrielle get home.

Marie had used a magic portal to get to Kispri, and there might be more portals. Some books had hinted at other possibilities too. One book that Gabrielle had seen in Roggzer described a great ship that traveled between worlds. It would take longer to get home by ship, but what a grand entrance she'd make back on Kispri if she could find one and manage to pilot it.

Few Kisprians knew of such things, and that included Marie. The petite native of Agrin didn't know magic existed until Gabrielle came into her life. She got a big introduction to magic when the queen changed her into a woman, and she traveled both by portal and then by flying craft to get to Prizzaria. She might not have known about magic before, but she'd never forget it now.

In spite of her grand adventure, or maybe because of it, Marie didn't seem to care much for magic. She rarely took advantage of anyone's talent, preferring instead to do things for herself. That was one of the many things the queen loved about her.

The tall woman sat in her spare throne and daydreamed about having a picnic with Marie. The two of them sat on a blanket in a field far from any prying eyes, and they playfully fed each other a wide variety of tasty snacks.

"Hello?" Muriel's voice suddenly interrupted. "Your Majesty? Are you still with us?"

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about ... coming home." She sighed and stared longingly at Marie, who smiled and stared back.

"Right," continued the old woman, looking up as she spoke. "I don't know about finding another portal. The huge guardian warriors that protect them are too dangerous."

"Uh huh," Gabrielle said, not really listening as her advisor kept talking.

"It sounds like the ship that sails between worlds is our best chance to get you home." Muriel turned to face the queen. "What do you think?"

"Think?"

"Yes, think! Honestly, your Majesty. This is serious."

"Love conquers all," murmured the tall woman. She got up out of her chair and walked over to Marie. Taking the small woman by the hand, she led her to the royal bed chamber and slammed the door shut behind them. Giggling could soon be heard, followed by the sounds of passionate lovemaking.

"It looks like this meeting is over," Muriel groused. "What about you two?" She turned to the two handmaidens who sat on the couch.

Beth and Heloise didn't answer. They got caught up in Gabrielle's mood and only had eyes for each other. They slowly and silently got up, with Beth leading her taller blonde beauty off to their own bed chamber, leaving the agitated advisor with no one to talk to but herself.

The old woman got up and moved to the window. Looking up at the night sky, she slowly shook her head and sighed. "Please, my Queen. Find your way home soon."

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

Return of the Queen

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

This story has a little of everything — action, adventure, drama, tragedy, romance and comedy. It also happens to be the sequel to The Distant Queen, but I wrote this story to stand on its own. I wrote The Distant Queen several years ago and it's not my best work. I didn't want anyone to have to read my earlier story to know what's going on in this one.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the Good Story! button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 4

Making love wasn't exactly fair between an astral being and a physical one. Gabrielle felt no sensations in her astral body. All she could do was give pleasure to her lover. But all that would change once she exhausted Marie.

If the small woman fell asleep before the queen had to go back to her waking body on Agrin, the two of them could once again experience something that was even better than physical sex. They'd experience the joy of astral sex.

Gabrielle could pull Marie's astral body out and the two of them would merge. They'd know each other's thoughts and emotions, and they'd hum with each other's energy. Nothing beat astral sex for strengthening the bonds of love between two people.

The two women had separated slightly in the fairly small royal bed, and the queen turned on her side and propped herself up on her elbow to watch Marie. The small woman had her eyes closed but hadn't yet started the deep, relaxed breathing that signaled sleep.

'Hurry up and sleep, my love. Please.'

It had been several days since the two lovers had astral sex. Sometimes, real life got in the way of pleasure, and sometimes, one or both parties weren't in the mood for whatever reason. The queen hoped the timing was good, because after dealing with Thelma, her spirit really needed the calming effect she got when she merged with Marie's astral body.

"Gabi?" Marie said, still keeping her eyes closed. "Are you asleep?"

The queen couldn't help herself. She giggled, as much for Marie's cute accent as for what was asked. "That's a silly question," Gabi told her. "You know my astral body doesn't sleep."

Marie opened her eyes and tried to smile but it was interrupted by a yawn.

"Are you having trouble sleeping, my Love?"

"A little I suppose. I can't stop thinking about something you said when you first got here tonight."

"You mean about Thelma being a problem?"

"Yep."

Gabrielle described her day back on Agrin after she changed Farrott into a woman. The new woman was a physical and emotional wreck, and it took all of the queen's patience not to go screaming out into the night. She couldn't do that though. Her conscience forced her to stay and help at least until Thelma could be self-sufficient.

"You are so caring and kind, Gabi." Marie sighed. "I don't know if I'd help her."

"I think you have a better reason for holding a grudge."

"Oh. She told you then."

"Yes. Thelma eventually let it slip out, not knowing who you are to me. If it's any consolation, she feels terrible about it. She called herself horrible and bawled like a baby."

Marie frowned. "That's good. She should be ashamed. But I still don't know if I'd help her."

"Well, perhaps you'll help with something else then. I haven't told you about my new project yet. It'll be a lot of hard work, but the payoff will be great ... in more ways than one. I like to think of it as sweet revenge."

"So?"

"Care to guess? It involves Thelma of course."

Marie quickly rolled over and got up on her hands and knees. She straddled Gabrielle and dangled her long hair in the queen's face.

"What is it? Come on! Stop teasing and tell me or I'll give you the hair treatment. Don't think I won't!"

"Okay! Okay! Down, girl. I'll talk."

Marie moved back to her side of the bed and laid down. "I'm down. Now talk. Please!"

Gabrielle barely got out one sentence when Marie erupted with laughter.

"Are you crazy?! Thelma?! A lady?!"

"Hey," the queen frowned. "It's not so crazy. She can't cook or sew, and she certainly can't fight. I'd say that makes her a great candidate for a Lady of my court. You know how lazy they can be."

"True." Marie giggled.

"And Thelma already has a very important skill required by nobility. She's perfected the art of whining."

Marie lost it then. She laughed until she cried, and that led to some tickling, which led to wrestling, which led nicely back to what they'd started when they first entered the bed chamber.

~o~O~o~

"Maybe you'll sleep if you have some hot cocoa," the queen suggested as she rolled out of bed and walked across the room.

"Maybe I'd sleep if you'd stop making me laugh," Marie shot back.

The small brunette remained in bed and sighed. Her eyes never left the tall woman's backside until it was covered by a robe.

"Seriously, please have some hot cocoa. If I can't have any, at least I can enjoy it through you."

As with love making and her sense of touch, Gabrielle wasn't able to enjoy food or drink. She couldn't taste or really ingest anything while in astral form and it frustrated her to no end.

"Twist my arm why don't you?" Marie said, but she still didn't budge from the bed.

"Hey! You love it too, and it does help you sleep, though I don't understand why. It always perks me up."

"You seem perky enough to me without it." Marie giggled.

"I'm little more than a ghost now. I don't get tired when I'm like this. You should know. You've been out of your body often enough." She waggled her eyebrows.

"True. But I've never been solid before. Doesn't it take more energy to do that?"

"Yes, I guess it must. I've never felt sluggish though. I wonder if I'd feel it if I faded and solidified again. Hm."

Marie gasped as the tall woman turned translucent and the robe fell to the floor. And she gasped again when the astral being turned and walked through the closed bedroom door.

"Gabi!" she hissed. "Come back! What are you doing?"

The small woman slowly slid her legs over the side of the bed to get up and follow when she heard a woman shriek. That hurried her. She threw on her robe and almost made it to the door when Gabrielle phased back through it, and through her. She shrieked with surprise.

"Don't do that!"

Gabrielle solidified again and fell on the bed, laughing. "I'm sorry," she said. "But you should've seen the face on the chambermaid. That poor woman."

"You're just lucky it wasn't a man who saw you," the small woman said. "You aren't wearing any clothes you know."

Gabrielle cursed and quickly slipped into her robe.

She'd been so used to solidifying herself and wearing real clothes, she forgot to change her appearance, something she could easily do if she thought about it. She could add clothes or make herself look a lot less distinct with just a little concentration. But she soon got over her mistake when she realized that Marie was finally out of bed.

"I'm still full of pep," the queen said. "But it makes sense. I probably just shift the same energy back and forth between my astral and physical bodies. Oh well. Let's go get you some hot chocolate."

"Wait a minute. Why did you leave? Where did you go?"

"I went to check on the hot chocolate supply. It's easier and faster to move about in astral form. So then. Are you ready for some hot cocoa now?"

"Yeah." Marie sighed. "I think I need two cups after all this excitement."

The queen slipped into her robe and practically pranced ahead of her lover. She opened all the doors to the royal pantry and even made the hot drink for her.

"Here you go," she said, holding out the steaming mug.

The small brunette took it and carefully sipped it as they went back to the sitting room outside the royal bed chamber. The queen sat down on her padded throne and Marie took the closest chair, snuggling in and holding the mug in both hands.

"This is perfect. Thanks, Gabi."

Gabrielle sat watching the look of pure contentment on her lover's face. It was the power of hot cocoa, something she knew well, and missed terribly.

"I still haven't given up on finding cocoa on Agrin," the queen said. "Are you sure you've never heard of it before?"

"I'd remember something this good, believe me."

Gabrielle pouted and consoled herself by watching Marie continue to sip the sweet, warm liquid. She watched every swallow and imagined she was tasting it.

"Oh, my. As if you and this new crisis weren't enough to motivate me to get home. Now I've got the worst craving for hot cocoa."

"I'm not surprised. From what I hear, you're addicted to it."

"Ha ha. Very funny."

The two of them sat in silence for a time after that. Marie slowly sipped her drink and Gabrielle tortured herself by watching.

The queen's steady gaze started to concern Marie. It wasn't healthy to be so obsessed with anything. 'Except maybe me,' the small brunette thought, and then giggled.

Gabrielle frowned. "Having fun over there?

"A little. But I think I'd have more fun if we had a larger bed."

"Huh? Where did that come from?"

"Honestly, Gabi. You've got such a small bed. You're Queen! Shouldn't you have a queen size bed?"

"I like my bed!"

"But it's barely wide enough for the two of us, and it's barely long enough for you with those lovely long legs."

"Well...," Gabrielle shrugged. "I guess it's a queen thing. You wouldn't understand."

Marie had taken a quick sip and almost choked on her hot cocoa.

"I'm sorry! It was just a joke."

The queen confessed that she loved being strong and tall, and having a short bed constantly reminded her of her height. It somehow made her feel more special, more regal. It also helped reinforce her belief that material possessions were relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

"There are things in this world that offer much greater rewards than mere beds."

"Like?" Marie said, raising one eyebrow.

Gabrielle winked and got up out of her chair. She slowly strolled towards her bedroom door with an exaggerated sway to her hips and stopped just short of her room. She felt Marie's eyes on her and turned to confirm it. The small brunette's eyes had locked firmly on her posterior so the tall woman vigorously shimmied her hips and continued through the open door.

Marie gulped the rest of her drink and rushed after her lover.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle woke up grudgingly that morning since she never did get an opportunity for astral sex. She spent most of the night pleasuring Marie.

'That woman is insatiable,' the queen thought, and smiled. 'And so am I.'

She thought about trying to fall asleep again, but light filtered into the room and her companion's voice reminded her that she wasn't alone.

"Oh!" Thelma said. "You're awake. Good. I'm hungry."

"So go eat something then."

"But I was waiting for you!"

"Don't! Don't shout. Not in the morning. Please."

Thelma almost smiled at that. It made the queen nervous.

"Not a morning person?" the former man said. "Need some ... hot cocoa?"

"How do you know about that?!"

"Well...."

"Come on. Tell me!"

"You talk in your sleep."

"What?!" The queen hated to think of what Thelma might have heard. 'At least I'm not the vocal one in bed,' she thought.

"You truly do talk in your sleep, but don't worry. You didn't say much."

"What... what did I say?"

"You just mumbled something about wanting hot cocoa, just before you woke up. That's all."

Gabrielle didn't like the idea of giving away her secrets while she slept, and she made a mental note to get to bed at the same time as Thelma just in case. "Okay. Shall we go find something for breakfast then?"

"They don't have any hot cocoa here," her companion said with a smirk.

"Don't push me, Thelma," the queen growled. "Especially in the morning."

The large woman turned pale and vigorously nodded his head.

Gabrielle appreciated the respect, and then she finally noticed the other woman's outfit and changed the subject.

"Hey. How does it fit?"

"Well enough I suppose," Thelma said quietly.

"I reinforced the top. It should contain those large breasts of yours."

"Yeah."

"The skirt is much longer too. You won't be flashing anyone ... unless you really want to." Gabrielle smiled, hoping a little humor would relieve some of the tension between them.

"Whatever."

The queen should've known better than to expect any thanks, but she couldn't help but hope for some. 'Maybe someday,' she thought.

~o~O~o~

The two of them went downstairs to the large central room and found several patrons sitting at the wooden dining tables, chatting and eating. Virtually all of the men turned to give the new arrivals a good look and both women shivered.

"Why do they keep staring at me?" Thelma whispered. He found it hard to accept than any men could find him attractive as a large woman.

"How soon they forget," the tall woman replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Never mind. Let's just get something to eat."

They met Mindel at the bar so Gabrielle could work out the price of a meal. Thelma hung back behind her tall companion to hide from the man's eyes.

"Greetings, beautiful ladies," the innkeeper said, managing to keep his eyes from straying too low. "I hope you slept well."

"The room was too warm but I think we got enough sleep, thank you." The queen was as gracious as ever, though if she was back home, she would've certainly found another room. She would've also considered hiring someone with an air cooling magic talent.

Never to miss an opportunity to get more money, the innkeeper suggested moving them to another room for only a small added cost, but of course Gabrielle declined. All he could get out of them that morning was money for breakfast. The tall woman slid the two required coins to him on the bar and he told them their meals would be served shortly.

The two women found a secluded table and Gabrielle immediately started talking about her work plan.

"So I don't have to sweep and clean tables then?" Thelma said hopefully.

"Not necessarily. I meant that now that you have me here to translate, I can probably get you better work here at the inn."

"Like what?"

"You could clean rooms."

"No way! I'm not cleaning up after a bunch of slobs!"

"Would you rather be on display here?" Gabrielle gestured around the room where Thelma had worked as a man. "At least if you cleaned rooms, you'd be away from the men most of the time."

"Hey. That's true."

"And you'd make more money."

"Yeah."

The food arrived and the large woman immediately reached for the greasy sausages, but her hand was interrupted by a light slap.

"Hold on, Thelma. You need to watch what you eat, remember?"

"But I love those sausages!"

"Please! Will you please stop whining?"

After dividing up the food, Thelma frowned. He only received a third of the total amount, with his portion containing only fruit and some bread. "Not even half a sausage?" he moaned.

Gabrielle just shook her head as she chewed a bite of the greasy meat. Her companion was right. They were delicious, and she happily ate all of the little sausage links.

She thought she could do with a bit more fat in her diet. Her body had become very lean after her long, hard marches to track down Thelma. She needed more muscle of course but she preferred a somewhat filled out, softer look, and she knew her mate liked her better that way.

~o~O~o~

After breakfast, the queen wasted no time finding better paying work for Thelma. She spoke to Mindel and he put the large woman to work right away.

Thelma sulked but mellowed a little when the innkeeper handed him a large apron to wear. He tied it on and happily noted that it hung below the hem of his skirt. Anything that hid more of his legs made him happy, even if it was feminine. He felt naked without something to cover his legs.

Gabrielle liked the idea of having Thelma clean rooms. The work should be safe enough, and the manual labor and strict diet should help with the woman's weight loss. Until Thelma lost a lot more weight, they couldn't go trekking off into the wilderness to find the great magic ship that would take them home. The large woman couldn't walk halfway across town without having a long rest.

'You'll slim down in no time, Thelma. And you'll have to beat the men off with a stick when you do.'

With one job taken care of, Gabrielle left to find work of her own. She leaned toward something more professional since she could read and write a little as well as speak the language of Agrin, and since professional work should pay better. Unfortunately, she couldn't find anything better than a scribe for one of the two churches in town, and scribes got paid very little money.

Sighing but not giving up, she continued on to the market area, wondering if anyone sold services as well as goods. She hoped to offer battle training to someone, as that should make her a lot more money than a scribe. The only problem was her gender. She found Agrin men to be quite sexist and not likely to accept a woman as a battle instructor. Even the few women fighters would be more than likely to snub her, thinking men to be much superior. Her job prospects didn't look good.

As she wandered around the market, she marveled at all the goods being bought, sold and traded. Many riches filled the land, and many craftsmen with scarce skills worked hard with their hands to fashion various tools and practical items. The queen had never seen such variety because back on Kispri, it was unheard of.

Her people depended heavily on magic but that magic wasn't very flexible. It produced objects with little variations or performed tasks in very limited ways. With magic being so easy, it didn't usually pay to compete against it. That meant much less variety.

Gabrielle lost track of time in the depths of the market. Everything tempted her to look at it and try it, if not buy it. She loved browsing, even if she had no intention of buying anything.

'This hunting of goods truly is addictive sport,' she thought. 'I've got to get out of here.'

She decided to escape all the tempting stalls and tents, though she took her time doing so. She walked in a lazy spiral and kept a close eye on everything nearby. When she finally got to the western edge of the market, it was late afternoon, and she came upon an interesting sight.

Inside a low, wide brick building, as well as overflowing out into the shade of that building, she saw entertainers performing all manner of amazing feats and interesting shows. She stood, mesmerized for some unknown amount of time, only snapping out of it when her stomach had loudly protested its neglect.

Her stomach continued to gurgle, and the hunger pangs hit hard as she hurried back to the inn. She forgot all about the mid day meal. She'd grown too used to skipping meals. That's how she got so lean.

She found the serving wenches serving the late meal when she arrived, and soon found out something she didn't much like. Thelma had overindulged earlier to make up for her light breakfast.

"I couldn't help myself!" Thelma cried.

"Oh, for goodness sake. Don't be such a drama queen."

'Drama?' Gabrielle suddenly had a thought. She'd watched some actors perform a play in the entertainment area of the market, and wondered if they made a living at it. Several people had donated money after watching the performance, and if enough people liked the play, the donations could pile up nicely.

Unfortunately for the actors, a decent play seemed to require too many of them. The donations would be divided up between them all so they couldn't get a decent income. They had to find the optimal balance between the number of actors and the quality of the play, something that would give Gabrielle a headache if she thought about it for too long.

Then she remembered the dancing. Dancers also got donations, but they had an advantage. The better dancers could go solo and reap all the rewards.

She vaguely remembered Marie talking about her days as a man, going out to watch women dancers in Roggzer. They sounded like they must have been very good. They could entice men to part with a lot of money in a short amount of time. Maybe, with a little training and practice, she could put her long legs and exotic looks to good use.

'After I fill out a little more,' she thought.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

Return of the Queen

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

This story has a little of everything — action, adventure, drama, tragedy, romance and comedy. It also happens to be the sequel to The Distant Queen, but I wrote this story to stand on its own. I wrote The Distant Queen several years ago and it's not my best work. I didn't want anyone to have to read my earlier story to know what's going on in this one.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the Good Story! button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 5

"Hey! That's mine!" Thelma cried after Gabrielle grabbed the last roll.

"Sorry. You're too slow. Besides, I need this more than you do."

Thelma glowered but got even by grabbing the queen's cup and guzzling the last of the juice in it.

"Thelma!"

"But I'm hungry!" He prolonged the last syllable, making Gabrielle wince.

"I'm not staying in this town and you're going to have to get in much better shape so you can travel with me."

"Why do I have to go?"

"Because I'm responsible for you and I'm not leaving you alone until I'm sure you can fend for yourself. That's going to take some time, even after you get in shape."

"That's stupid. I've been doing fine here."

"That was before you became a woman. You'll find your life will be quite different now, especially after you get into shape. Trust me on that."

"But I don't wanna leave!"

"I'll build a cart, strap you to it and wheel you away if I have to, but you're coming with me. Now will you please shut up so I can think?"

Thelma sulked but didn't say anything. He didn't have to speak. His stomach made more than enough noise to make up for the lack of conversation. The hunger pangs got bad enough that he actually considered scrounging for scraps off the other tables.

"Is that your stomach?" Gabrielle finally asked.

"Yes! It's driving me crazy. How will I ever lose weight if this keeps up?"

The queen thought for a moment about that. She knew that exercise could help suppress the appetite, and drinking lots of water after exercise would fill a person up without adding permanent weight. She'd also have to see about finding things to eat that were lean yet filling. It might be challenging, but not impossible.

'I just hope my magic didn't somehow make her perpetually hungry to keep her fat.'

"Okay, Thelma. The evening meal is over. It's time for a walk."

"But that'll just make me hungrier!"

"If you're good, I'll let you have a cluster of mung fruit afterwards," said Gabrielle. 'And lots of water,' she thought.

~o~O~o~

The two women walked on the outskirts of town, away from heavy foot traffic. They followed narrow roads lined with bricks and obvious cart paths over the baked, reddish-brown dirt. The orange sun loomed very low in the sky but the oppressive heat and dust still made the exercise uncomfortable.

They went as fast as Thelma could handle without a rest, which made for a very slow pace. Gabrielle wasn't concerned though. It wasn't much exercise for her.

"Is that the best you can do?" the queen said. She meant well. She hoped to help motivate her large companion into working harder.

"Easy... for you... to say," Thelma gasped. He wanted to say more. He wanted to complain. But he was too out of breath.

Gabrielle noticed. 'Nice,' she thought. 'It's much more peaceful this way.'

Thelma continued trudging along with her tall companion walking easily beside him. He really hated being so out of shape. Even getting up in the morning was a workout.

Sweating was the worst part. Every little action made him sweat, even getting out of bed. By the end of the day, his clothes were damp and smelly. He'd always been such a fastidious little man, but he found his preferred lifestyle to be impossible with his new body. He hated his body!

"Rest... please," he gasped. He was mentally as well as physically exhausted.

"Okay. Okay. We'll rest. But only until you get your breath back."

Thelma frowned but nodded. He really did want to lose the weight. He just hoped it was possible.

He felt enslaved by his stomach. Every sight, odor and even mention of food made it gurgle. The greedy thing was never satisfied. He tried to hold out but his hands betrayed him and he reached for every little morsel he could.

It didn't help that Gabrielle had left him alone all day. He expected her to come back for the mid day meal and ration their money and the food they bought with it. He couldn't depend on himself to do it.

'At least I gave her my money to hold for me from now on,' he thought. 'I won't be able to buy too much food again.'

Table scraps still tempted him though. His stomach and weak will would find ways to torture him.

"Okay!" Gabrielle said suddenly. "Break's over. Let's get back to it. We still have another lap around the town to do before bath time."

Thelma groaned as the two of them started walking again.

"We'll have none of that. This is good for you."

"Hey," he decided to speak before he got out of breath again. "I just had a thought."

"Oh?"

"You told me we had to stick together. That's fine. It makes sense. But why do you have to leave? We have it good here."

"Ah, yes," Gabrielle said quietly. "You don't know. How could you?"

For once in his life, Thelma decided to be patient and wait for an answer, if one was forthcoming. He needed to save his breath anyway as he'd soon be huffing and puffing again.

The queen thought about not divulging her reasons for leaving town, but she realized that Thelma had a right to know. If she insisted on staying together, everything she did would affect both of them. Besides, treating Thelma with a little respect might pay off eventually. She had to try something to start her companion down the path to becoming a lady.

"Do you realize how much men hate my queendom?"

"Uh...," Thelma stammered, wondering if that was a trick question. "Yeah. I hate it."

"Oh! Right. I should've known. Okay then," the queen continued. "You sent me here, but what if I found a way to get home, even if for only a limited time and in a limited way?"

"Huh?"

"Okay. I can see I'm being too subtle. Let's just say I found a strange way to visit home while I'm asleep -- emphasis on the word visit. I can visit but I can't stay. Okay?"

Thelma nodded.

"The only problem is, my magic talent doesn't work when I'm back on Kispri. Do you know what men would do to my queendom if they realized I was no longer a threat to their manhood?"

Thelma's eyes went wide. He'd never put all the facts together until that moment.

Just after he'd sent Gabrielle to another world, he thought he had it made. He wouldn't mention that he had the help of a little boy's camouflage talent -- a boy that he'd kidnapped. He'd only say that he caught her by surprise on one of her secret walks outside her castle, and he used his talent to send her away. He thought he'd be a hero for ridding the land of the queen that could change men into women. Things didn't turn out that way however.

At the first town he came to, a place that knew him well, they'd treated him just as roughly as ever. They'd sent out all of the town enforcers, ensuring that he couldn't send them all away before they killed him, so he fled.

As he stumbled along a cart path in the middle of nowhere, he soon figured out his mistake. It had been far too short a time for everyone to know that the queen had been sent away. He had to lay low and wait for the news to spread. Once that happened, he could step in and take credit for it. They'd have to believe him because no one else could do what he did.

So he waited. He waited a very long time. But by all accounts, the queen still ruled. It didn't make sense.

At first he thought the queen had been replaced by an imposter, and he hoped that people would soon realize it. But as the weeks rolled by, it became apparent that whoever it was, seemed to be genuine. If that was the case, it would be the first time anyone had come back after he sent them away. Impossible! Yet nothing else made sense.

"You understand now, don't you?" Gabrielle asked after seeing the knowing look on her companion's face.

Thelma slowly nodded.

"Then you realize why I have to leave this town. There's strange but powerful magic on this world and I have to find some of it to get home."

Again, Thelma nodded, and though he found himself breathing very heavily from his walk, he had to ask a quick question. "How?"

"Ah. That would take awhile to explain. But I guess we don't have much else to do for the moment."

Gabrielle told Thelma all about the great city of Roggzer, where she happened upon a bookstore and purchased a map that led to a magic portal with a ferocious giant guardian. She patiently explained that the portal was destroyed by the guardian before she could use it, but if another portal or some other great magic could be found, she could possibly get home.

Thelma grunted to show he was listening and the queen continued.

She also talked about astral projection and how she could solidify her astral body. She could do almost everything back home that she could do with her physical body, with two important exceptions. She could only do it for a limited time while she slept and she couldn't use her gender changing talent while in astral form. It was also worth noting that she normally projected home only when she had a safe place to sleep for the night, otherwise she felt it necessary to stand guard over her physical body.

Since her time back home was limited, she didn't have a full schedule, and rumors began to circulate. People wondered why their queen rarely appeared in public. She rarely showed up for battle practice and she never went hunting. Something must be wrong, and they were right.

She knew she couldn't get away with her deception forever. She just hoped she had a little more time, especially since she had to help Thelma. And after talking about her nightly travels and vulnerability, she hoped Thelma wouldn't take advantage of it. She showed the other woman trust, again, in the hopes of getting better behavior in return.

"Wow," Thelma gasped. It was all he could get out for the moment. But he'd be sure to bring up the subject after they both had their bath later that evening. Astral projection sounded truly amazing.

~o~O~o~

A string of small bathing huts lined the bank of a large stream that cascaded down a series of large rocks and small cliffs near the southern edge of town. A different owner operated each hut to offer a unique cleaning experience, most of which were private.

A few of the huts had a quick lather and rinse system that men favored. Those huts sprayed water from above after a customer used the soap. Women preferred true baths in a large clay or stone basin. The baths offered a steady supply of hot water, various soaps and soft cleaning utensils, and some of the fancier baths included being surrounded by lit candles and a musician, female of course, to play mood music.

Once again, the sheer variety of bathing experiences amazed Gabrielle. Back on Kispri, people such as her handmaiden, Beth, would use their magic talent to heat water for various purposes, including baths. There would be some standard soap and a standard wash rag, and that about covered bathing on Kispri.

She wished she could try some of the fancier baths, but they cost too much. In fact, she considered all of the private baths to be a luxury. They all required a fee, and for the time being, she couldn't justify spending money on anything except food and clothing. Sometimes budgets were a royal pain.

That left the free public bath huts that stood downstream from all of the other huts. There were three public baths, all operated by town officials. Neither Gabrielle nor Thelma liked them, even though all of the bath huts released waste water off to the side to keep the water clean downstream. The problem wasn't with the water cleanliness. The problem stemmed from the fact that the public baths were so popular. They contained several basins and allowed several people to bathe at the same time and within sight of each other. Men and older boys were kept separate from women and girls, but it still bothered the two women from Kispri. They weren't accustomed to bathing publicly.

So they did what they could to minimize their embarrassment. That meant going late, with Gabrielle insisting on going after Thelma instead of at the same time.

Thelma had been lucky the first night of being a woman. No one else occupied the public bath hut he entered. He took his bath and slowly shuffled back to his room. He wasn't so lucky that second night.

The two of them stood just outside the public bath entrance holding their towels and clean clothes. Thelma started to enter but he froze.

"What's wrong?" Gabrielle asked.

"There's someone in there!" he hissed.

"So? Just go inside and get it over with."

"Not with a woman in there. No way."

"Oh, Thelma. Please. Go take your bath."

"No!"

The urge to shout back nearly overpowered the disciplined queen and she had to pause a short time to think. She couldn't force Thelma to bathe. The large woman was too heavy to push around. Threats would work, except using them too often might reduce their effectiveness since she wouldn't allow herself to follow through on them. Reasoning was definitely out of the question too, so that only left one option.

"Fine then. Move out of the way. I'll go first this time, but only because we don't have much time before the baths close for the night."

"Good! Go!"

Thelma wore a smug grin and Gabrielle couldn't help herself. She slapped the large woman hard in the face.

Thelma held a hand to his stinging cheek and meekly moved away from the entrance. Tears started forming in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but you asked for that. You won't always get your way and you'll eventually have to fit in as a woman. Think about that while I take my bath."

With that, the queen went inside, leaving her troubled companion.

Thelma leaned back against the wall of the hut, blushing with shame as he thought about his bad behavior. From there he could hear everything that went on in the bath, and he found that his lesson hadn't ended.

"There isn't much soap left," Gabrielle called out. "But I'll try to leave you some. You should've gone first." Then the queen started speaking the strange language of Agrin to talk to the other bather, an old woman by the sound of it.

'Taking a bath with an old woman wouldn't be so bad,' Thelma thought, and he resolved to go first next time, no matter what.

~o~O~o~

Back in their room, the two women settled down to get ready for bed. A gentle breeze and light conversation made the heat more bearable so they chatted.

Thelma got his bath, by himself, but he didn't bring up the subject of baths again that night. Neither did Gabrielle. Both women laid back on their beds and stared up at the ceiling in the dark to discuss more important things.

"How did you find me?" Thelma asked. "Did you use astral projection?"

"Very good. Yes, I did."

"I'm not a complete idiot, you know."

"I'm sorry, Thelma. Most people have never heard of astral projection. They either wouldn't believe it or wouldn't understand it."

"It is... different."

"Yes, well, getting back to your first question. I used it to find you. But I had help."

Gabrielle told the story of pulling Marie's astral body out to track down Thelma as her former male self. Since Marie had met Thelma as a man, she could recognize and eventually find him. It took three weeks after he was found before Gabrielle made her way to their current location, the town of Marzelle, and there they both were, sharing a room together. If anyone had told the queen how the two of them would end up together, she would've said they were crazy.

Both women had a nervous laugh.

Thelma lapsed into silence for a short time, thinking about how nice astral travel sounded. Floating weightless all around the universe certainly beat walking and sweating buckets. But then he keyed in on something else.

"Who's Marie and where did I meet her?" he wondered aloud. "I don't remember anyone by that name."

Gabrielle knew of course, but she held her tongue, something that kept getting harder to do the longer stayed with her annoying companion. She'd relaxed her body and her guard along with it, carelessly giving away the part of the story about Marie.

As a man, Thelma had intended to rape Marie, something that any woman would find very hard, if not impossible, to forgive. The queen couldn't forgive. Not yet anyway. So rather than say anymore and say or do something she'd regret, she kept quiet.

Another awkward silence passed before Thelma got back to his previous thought.

"Gabrielle?"

"Yes?"

"Do you suppose... sometime... maybe... you could take me on an astral trip?"

That question caught the queen by surprise.

"I don't know. I'm not sure that would be a good idea."

"Why not?"

Gabrielle didn't dare give her all the reasons. It would take too long and she'd probably end up wringing the large woman's neck before she finished. In the end, she decided to give only one, hoping it would be good enough.

"Well... to be fair, you need to give me a good reason. I've been working hard to help you but you've been making things very difficult for me."

"Oh."

Gabrielle could tell that Thelma was sulking. She could hear it in the woman's voice.

"That doesn't mean I won't ever take you. I just want something in return."

"Like what?"

Asking for some good behavior might be too much to expect, but there was a more immediate goal that was well within reason.

"I'll take you on a short astral journey each time your skirt needs tailoring to a smaller size. How's that?"

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Trading astral travel for weight loss seemed fair enough to Thelma. He could use the incentive to continue the torture of Gabrielle's workout schedule. The skin on his thighs and upper arms burned from the rubbing and chafing he got when he walked. Every step was agony.

"At least it takes my mind off food," he said quietly to himself, without taking any comfort in the thought.

He'd hoped to go with Gabrielle that night. He'd desperately wanted to be free of his body, wanted to float weightlessly with none of the messy fuss and pain of the physical world. The rejection had almost killed his spirit. If he hadn't been so afraid of death, he'd have....

Thoughts of suicide popped into his head and he suddenly cried.

"Oh, Thelma." The queen couldn't help but notice Thelma's sudden change in mood.

Gabrielle got up off her bedding on the floor and laid on the bed next to the depressed woman, offering what comfort she could. The heat made hugging uncomfortable, so she lightly touched Thelma's forearm and rubbed her hair a little.

She wanted to hold firm. Giving in went against her principles of fair play as well as her dislike for the unpleasant woman. If she gave in, things might never get better! Still, a little something called compassion demanded to be added to the mix, and it melted her heart.

"Okay. Okay. Hush now. I'll give you a sample tonight. Cry yourself out. It'll help you sleep. Then I'll join you and take you for a quick trip to Roggzer."

Thelma gave a deep, shuddering sniff and managed to calm down enough to speak. "Really?" he asked in a small voice.

"Yes. Now let's get some sleep. I have a lot of astral traveling to do tonight."

The large woman trembled, fighting a rush of emotions. And as he sifted through them, he came upon something unfamiliar, something that bubbled up and forced its way out.

"Gabrielle?"

"Yes?"

"Uh... thanks."

"You're welcome," the surprised queen said, returning to her bed on the floor. "Good night, Thelma."

"Yeah. Whatever."

He tried to stay in character, but the former man rediscovered something he hadn't experienced since early childhood. He felt gratitude. It made him feel good about himself for the first time since he could remember, and it made him smile as he drifted off to sleep.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

Return of the Queen

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

This story has a little of everything — action, adventure, drama, tragedy, romance and comedy. It also happens to be the sequel to The Distant Queen, but I wrote this story to stand on its own. I wrote The Distant Queen several years ago and it's not my best work. I didn't want anyone to have to read my earlier story to know what's going on in this one.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the Good Story! button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 6

Gabrielle followed through on her promise to take Thelma for a short astral visit to Roggzer, right after she struggled to pull out the large woman's astral body.

As it always happened with Marie, Thelma's astral body had its eyes closed. She was still asleep and she seemed to be dreaming. Her astral lips moved as she tried to speak, but of course no sound came out. She wasn't solid so only thoughts could be used to communicate. A little lip reading was called for.

'I don't wanna go to school.' Gabrielle did the lip reading and smiled.

'Wake up! It's time to go to school!' she teased.

The other woman's eyes snapped open along with her mouth in a silent scream.

'Thelma. Calm down. It's just me. We're going on an astral journey. Remember?'

Thelma kept trying to speak normally and Gabrielle shook her head.

'Think. Use your thoughts, not your voice.'

'Gabrielle! Can you hear me?' the woman shouted.

'Hey! Not so loud. Yes, I can hear you.'

'You did it! I wasn't sure if you were joking... or crazy... but we're here! We're here!'

'Please. Not so loud. Your shouting is just as bad when you think as when you speak.'

'Yeah. I'm really excited. I can't wait!'

'Thelma. Please settle down or we're not going anywhere.'

'But you promised!'

Gabrielle fought the urge to leave her annoying companion far behind, and she fought an even stronger urge to drag the woman to the fiery center of Agrin and leave her there... forever.

'I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that we're not going until you settle down. I can't handle you this way.'

'Oh.' The large woman looked a little ashamed and looked down. Then he noticed his astral body.

'Hey! I'm still fat!'

Gabrielle looked up and pleaded, 'Mother Moon! Give me strength!'

'I heard that!' Thelma snapped.

'Oh.' The queen forgot herself. Astral communication with thoughts leaked out easily if one wasn't careful.

'Will I have trouble moving? I don't want to go if I'm still fat!'

'Astral travel doesn't work like that, Thelma. You'll be able to move freely. Don't worry.'

'But I don't want to be fat!'

Pleading to Mother Moon didn't work. Nothing worked. Nothing could satisfy Thelma. Keeping one's honor by helping a woman in distress had its drawbacks.

'Okay. Okay! Your astral body doesn't have to be fat. I'll help you if you just calm down.'

The large woman stopped screeching and stood there, looking like a lost child.

'Now then. It's easy. All you have to do is think yourself thin. Do you see that silver cord that attaches you to your physical body?'

Thelma nodded.

'First close your eyes. Then imagine sending the excess part of yourself through that cord, back to your body.'

Thelma did as he was asked and he could feel it working. He felt lighter somehow.

'Good,' Gabrielle told her. 'Keep going. I can see it working.'

Thelma's body slowly slimmed, and it stayed female in appearance. It also stayed in the proportion that Gabrielle imagined, with large breasts and full hips. When the slimming finished, the result was stunning. Thelma looked gorgeous. Men really would flock to her if she slimmed down as her astral body just did.

Gabrielle suppressed the urge to wolf whistle and grabbed her companion's wrist, dragging her into the sky and on towards the large city of Roggzer before she changed her mind. She ignored most of Thelma's shouted thoughts, as they went from fear to awe of the view from high overhead, but she couldn't help herself after a certain sensitive subject came up.

'Hey!' Thelma shouted. 'Why are my tits still so big?'

'Shut up!' the queen growled.

Thelma wisely obeyed and the trip to Roggzer went well from that point. Not long after they lifted off, the pair arrived and took one slow circle above the more densely populated part of the city before returning to Marzelle. The darkness washed out most color, but the view amazed both women.

Gabrielle never visited the city in astral form. She usually spent all of her night activities back on her home world, tending to affairs of state and of the heart. In spite of having to put up with her annoying companion, she was happy that she made the trip, especially since it gave her a better idea of how the city was laid out. No map could compare to the view.

Buildings of all different shapes and sizes fanned out from a central circular area that was ringed and sliced up by a tangled web of streets. Hundreds of lanterns glowed in muted warm colors, illuminating the streets along with many of the inhabitants of the city. Those people that weren't standing in small groups seemed to move at only two speeds, either rushing towards their destination or slowly staggering, obviously coming from a place with strong drink. Roggzer seemed a busy place, even on a hot summer night.

The astral tour didn't last long but it was long enough to improve Thelma's mood. She actually thanked Gabrielle again before being stuffed back inside her physical body and going back to her dreams.

'Sleep well, Thelma,' the queen told her and then rushed off to Kispri.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle arrived in her bedroom, solidified her astral body, dressed and walked out to her sitting room to find Muriel, seated alone.

"Welcome back," the old woman said. "Let's talk."

The queen looked wary as she sat in her favorite chair across from her friend. Finding Muriel alone and wanting to talk always made her wary.

"Don't worry," her friend told her. "I just want to resume our conversation from yesterday, and I want to do it without any distractions."

Gabrielle would've blushed if her astral body operated like her physical one.

"First," Muriel began. "How's Farrott doing?"

"Her name is Thelma now."

"Right. Sorry. How's Thelma? Is she able to travel?"

Gabrielle winced. She knew why Muriel asked the question. Acting more as her advisor than friend, the woman was anxious for her to begin searching for technology. But she hoped to avoid talking about her annoying companion.

"What is it?" Muriel asked when Gabrielle hesitated. "What's wrong?"

"You know the phrase, 'No good deed goes unpunished'?"

Muriel nodded and the queen went into excrutiating detail of how she'd been trying to help Thelma. The tall woman vented her frustration as much as informed, and when she finished, Muriel shook her head in sympathy.

"That's a very odd gender change. So you need a serious weight loss plan as well as a way to make some good money on that other world," her advisor stated. "It sounds like we'll need to talk to Marie after all."

Gabrielle perked up at the mention of her mate.

"Do you think you can concentrate tonight?" Muriel warned.

The queen rolled her eyes. "Yes, of course." She only half lied. She could concentrate on her mate, but that's not really what Muriel asked.

The queen's advisor reached over to a little stand and picked up a large silver bell to give it a few shakes. The ringing did its job.

"You called?" Beth said, peeking her head in through one of the huge double doors at the far end of the room.

"Please go find Marie and bring her here," Muriel told her.

"But I thought you said to keep her away tonight? Heloise took her outside the castle for a little fun in the city. They'll be gone for hours."

"Maggot dung!" Muriel exploded. "Everything's turning to crap and they're out partying!"

Beth hid behind the open door, shrinking away from the old woman's rage. It didn't help.

"Well?!" Muriel snapped at the young handmaiden. "What are you waiting for? Go find them!"

Beth starting pulling on the large door, but it was too heavy for her to close quickly. Muriel noticed and started to shout but Gabrielle stopped her with a hand gesture and interrupted.

"Beth?" the queen called. "Don't go. Wait outside the door. I can find them much more quickly in my astral form."

The brunette handmaiden didn't say anything. She just kept pulling the large door closed until the latch clicked.

"I'll be back as quickly as I can," Gabrielle told her advisor. "Try not to kill anyone while I'm gone." Then she phased out, leaving her physical clothes behind, and floated out invisibly into the night to find her mate.

~o~O~o~

For the second time that night, the queen found herself floating above a city and gaped at the amazing sight. She rarely took the time to take in the view. If she wasn't so preoccupied, she could have a good look every night when she first arrived, but she was usually too anxious to be with Marie. She normally popped into her bedroom and carried on as if she'd never left the castle. After dozens and dozens of astral trips, she finally took another nice, long look at Prizzaria, her beloved queendom.

The view varied quite a bit from Roggzer, and the contrast fascinated her. Her city state didn't generally have a very high skyline, except for her castle's outer wall and a half dozen round, flat-topped towers, but it spread farther in every direction over broad wooded hills. Conifer trees popped up everywhere, filtering lantern light and obscuring roads and most small buildings. Even at that time in late autumn, when the many small clusters of decidous trees long since shed their leaves, Prizzaria looked lush and green compared to the dry, rocky area in and around Roggzer.

Gabrielle shivered when she thought of how cold the air must be at that time of year. Luckily, her astral body couldn't feel it. The only two of her five senses that she had in her current form were vision and hearing, and even they were somewhat limited. Astral vision could differentiate colors but they didn't look as bright and vibrant as they do in the physical body. Even so, she could see well enough to find Marie, especially after what both women learned from tracking Farrott.

After several frustrating and fruitless nights, the two astral women had put their heads together, literally, for a little astral sex, and inspiration struck. They'd stopped floating and searching everywhere and instead had concentrated on the energy that links everything together. They'd realized that links were stronger between people who knew each other, so Marie had concentrated on her memories of Farrott and blocked everything else. That had led her straight to the man, and Gabrielle had followed closely behind, first astrally and then physically once Marie identified the small town of Marzelle where Farrott lived.

Gabrielle and Marie shared a very strong link. Once the queen committed herself, it wouldn't take her long to home in on her mate in Prizzaria. She just had to break away from the view of her city, which she did with a small sigh of contentment.

'Okay, Love. Where are you?'

She unfocused her astral eyes and thought of Marie, starting with last night's bedroom activities, and within seconds, the link between the two women pulled hard.

As an astral being, Gabrielle could be pulled much more easily than her mate currently could. Marie was the physical anchor, standing fast and unknowingly pulling her mate to her within seconds for what should've been another fond reunion.

Looking around her destination, the queen recognized it as a pub, a crowded pub, with Heloise and Marie sitting at a small table along one wall. Remembering her lack of clothes when she solidified her astral form, she kept her outline vague and tried silently waving to get attention.

"Whatsh that?" Marie slurred. She noticed her mate's motion but had a little trouble focusing her eyes.

Heloise frowned and kept silent, thinking her companion to be delusional with drink.

"I'm sherioush!" Then the small brunette burst into laughter, and just as quickly turned morose. "I mish my Gabi."

The blonde handmaident couldn't help herself. "You see the queen almost every night!" she blurted out. "How can you miss her?"

Gabrielle had stopped waving at Marie by that time and turned her attention to Heloise, hoping for better results. She waved her ghostly arms in front of her handmaiden and regretted it.

Heloise screamed, interrupting Marie's reply. Everyone in the place, including Marie, stopped what they were doing and stared at the blonde.

"Sorry!" she shouted after collecting herself. She remembered her queen's astral ability and realized the need to be discreet. Grabbing her companion by the arm, she quickly moved to leave the pub as the sound levels slowly returned to normal.

"Hey! I'm not finished yet!" Marie complained, looking back at her half empty mug of ale.

"We need to go see your Gabi," Heloise hissed. "Now hush!"

Hearing that, the brunette happily shut up and leaned heavily on her companion to minimize her staggering.

Once outside, communication got a lot easier. After several hand signals and pointing back towards the castle, the blonde nodded her understanding and began the long, slow walk back to the castle with Marie in tow.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle rushed back ahead to the sitting room to find it deserted. She solidified her astral body, slipped into her robe and moved slowy to the nearest window. She stared down at the main courtyard, hoping for a glimpse of her mate.

For years, the queen had denied herself the pleasure of a relationship. She'd put all of her effort into running her queendom and had built a wall around her heart. It'd worked well enough for her subjects, but it'd left her feeling quite lonely.

Once Farrott had sent her away to another world, she'd found herself with a lot more time on her hands. It'd got her into some amount of trouble, but it'd also made it possible to find Marie, and once she had, her heart had melted.

The lovesick queen couldn't get enough of the love of her life. Part of her obsession had to do with the physical separation between the two women, but another important part had to do with all the years of self-neglect. She'd been trying to make up for lost time and she had to get a grip on herself. Her queendom depended on it.

As she stood at the window, pining for her lover, her advisor slowly forced her way into the room, muttering and cursing at the heavy door she had to open.

"Ah. You're back," Muriel said as she approached the queen. "I take it you found them."

"Yes. They're on their way. I think they might take a while though. Marie is quite tipsy."

The old advisor bit back an acerbic retort and sighed instead.

"It's okay," Gabrielle continued. "I'll put her to bed and pull out her astral body so we can talk. I'll be good. I promise."

Muriel softened. "We really need to get you home, you know."

"I know. I just miss her so much. I mean, I know I'm 'here', but I'm not physically here. It's just not the same."

"I think I understand, and I think she feels the same way. She's been drinking a lot lately during the day and she talks more freely about you when she's drunk."

Gabrielle sighed, and the two good friends sat together for a little small talk while they waited for Heloise to get back with Marie.

~o~O~o~

With Marie fast asleep and safely tucked into bed, Gabrielle stood over her and smiled before reaching down and pulling out her lover's astral body to stand next to her.

'Wake up, Marie.' She gently sent her thoughts and waited for a response.

The small woman kept her astral eyes closed and thought back. 'Gabi? What? Am I dreaming?'

'No, my brave little flower. You're here with me. We need to talk.'

Marie smiled after hearing one of her many special nicknames, something that Gabrielle normally did only while they were in astral form. She opened her eyes and reached out, full of desire, wanting to merge with her lover in astral bliss.

'Sorry, my love, but no. We really need to talk.'

Marie pouted and very reluctantly followed her mate's lead, sitting on the bed.

Both women kept their astral bodies somewhat indistinct to reduce temptation and Gabrielle got straight to business. 'I need help with a couple of things before I can start searching for a way home.'

Marie shrugged, forgetting that the gesture was wasted in an indistinct body. Alcohol could no longer fog her mind but the transition to astral form often confused her.

'First,' the queen continued. 'Do you have any weight loss tips? Is there anything special on Agrin that can help Thelma lose weight?'

'Huh? Thelma? Oh. Right. How's her ladyship's training coming?'

'Well... she's progressing... slowly. I'm trying not to kill her.'

'Oh, dear.'

'Let's not talk about that, please. The more important issue is to get her fit for travel. Otherwise, I can't leave with her to look for technology magic.'

'Are you sure you won't go without her?'

'Marie! You know how I feel about that.'

'Sorry. I do know, and I love for you it.'

Marie remembered how Gabrielle stayed by her side to help her after being changed into a woman. She took her gender change fairly well but she still needed help, having lost her identity. With little or no magic in the lives of most people on her world, no one would believe who she'd once been. She couldn't go back to her family and she had no way to support herself. She couldn't properly wield her sword to maintain a position in the militia.

Memories of their time together on Agrin suddenly flooded through her mind, ending with the memory of their last passionate night together, before being separated on two different worlds. She felt desire rising up within her and barely managed to control herself. She focused her odd astral vision on the nearby nightstand where her childhood toy rabbit, Ribbles, sat. Seeing Ribbles made her think of her mother. That helped.

The two of them spent a short time discussing health and nutrition, and Marie thought to bring up a good point. She realized that most exercise, even something as simple as walking, might do more harm than good. Some of the larger men in her former militia group couldn't move well enough to get enough aerobic exercise. Their short workouts ended up increasing their appetites, making them eat far too much so they kept getting fatter. The militia officers gave the large men easy guard duty and the excess weight never came off.

'Having Thelma clean rooms is a good idea,' Marie commented. 'Her appetite shouldn't get out of control doing that. I think you should tone down the walks though.'

'But then it'll take her forever to burn off all that fat.'

'Well... there are herbs that can help.'

Marie recounted several herbs, some of which suppressed the appetite and others that helped burn fat. A couple of the overweight men in her militia got some remarkable results out of using the herbs.

'Be careful about quantities and don't mix too many together,' Marie warned. 'One of the men in my outfit was desperate to lose weight. He tried huge amounts of several herbs and I'm fairly sure they killed him. He started having trouble sleeping and complained about his heart racing out of control. A couple weeks after that, while he was on guard duty, he dropped dead.'

Gabrielle frowned. 'I think I'll have her stick with diet and exercise. Those herbs sound dangerous.'

'Normally, I'd agree, but we're in a hurry to get you home.'

'I won't endanger Thelma's life. Please don't ask me to do that.'

Marie got Gabrielle to compromise. They'd try one herb to suppress the appetite and more light exercise. That combination seemed like the safest route.

The conversation next turned to the subject of making more money. Gabrielle and Thelma would have to start paying for their room all too soon. They'd also need more clothes and possibly herbs, and they couldn't afford everything on Thelma's current meager income.

'I guess having you clean rooms isn't an option,' Marie thought.

'You guess right. Thelma barely makes enough to pay for our food on what little she makes.'

'Isn't that actually a good thing? You don't want her to be able to afford a lot of food. She'll be more likely to eat too much.'

'I... but I'm....' Gabrielle hesitated. She hated to worry her mate, but she felt it important to be completely honest. Being short on money for food might be good for Thelma, but it wasn't good for her.

'What is it, Gabi? What's wrong?'

'You can't tell from my astral body but I've lost a lot of weight.'

'Oh, Gabi! I'm sorry.'

'It's been hard living off the land. I've lost a significant amount of muscle strength. My sword is hard to handle and mogrons give me a fair amount of trouble when I encounter them now.'

Marie gasped.

She knew how dangerous a mogron could be. One had surprised and almost killed Gabi when they were together on Agrin. She had to drop on it out of a tree and finish it off with her dagger.

'Why didn't you tell me that earlier?' Marie scolded.

'I'm sorry. I didn't want to worry you.'

'Right. We'll talk about that later.' Finding her patience and self-control wearing thin, Marie concentrated on finishing up the conversation. 'So we need to increase your weight and reduce Thelma's. Is there anything else I need to know?'

'No.' By itself, the word might have been adequate to satisfy any doubt, but something more attached itself to Gabrielle's projected thought. A certain feeling somehow lurked within it, something having to do with vanity and the desire to be attractive.

Marie couldn't help herself then. She tried injecting a little fun into the conversation, finding that it had dragged on long enough. She sent the feeling of raising one eyebrow to show healthy skepticism, and received a surprising reaction.

'Don't give me that eyebrow!'

'What? How did you see that?'

'I don't know, but I did. This is odd.' Gabrielle didn't consciously send the thoughts to her mate, but they were received loud and clear anyway.

'I think we must be getting more in tune with each other,' Marie guessed. 'We've never had such a long astral conversation before.'

'That's because you always want to....'

'I want you, Gabi.'

Both women felt each other's thoughts before they could send them, just as they felt a growing need to merge their astral bodies. They hadn't had astral sex for nearly a week and their need drew them ever closer together on the bed.

'Please, Marie. I need to finish. Let me finish.'

'No.' The small woman surged forward.

'Please!'

Gabrielle held out both hands to stop her amorous mate, and barely resisted her own desire. Her arms trembled, betraying her weakening willpower.

'You want it, Gabi. I can feel it. Let me go!'

'Please! I promised Muriel. I made a promise!'

Marie suddenly stopped pushing against her mate's arms. Gabrielle took honor very seriously so the small woman backed away, once again regaining control over herself. It wasn't easy.

'Okay. I'm okay. But let's....'

'Hurry,' Gabrielle finished for her. 'I know. I was thinking of dancing.'

'What? Now?'

Marie broadcast her confusion along with a cute little frown and her mate laughed.

'I meant on Agrin... you know... for money?'

Marie gasped again. Her lover was just full of surprises.

'Are you sure about that?' the small woman asked with a hint of sexual innuendo sent along with the words.

'Hey! I'm not talking about prostitution or anything. I meant dancing at the performer section of the market. I've seen some of the better dancers there make some good money. I figure I just need a little help with some dance moves.'

It was Marie's turn to laugh before she responded. 'The only dancing I know of involves a tall, vertical pole and women who start out scantily clad and end up wearing nothing ... or next to nothing. Men go wild for it.'

Gabrielle expressed a look of shock that could easily be detected.

'Don't be so naive, Gabi. There's a huge demand for that kind of dancing, and a lot of money to be made.'

'I'm not dancing naked with a pole.'

'Not even for me?'

'Don't change the subject,' the queen growled.

'Well, dancing sounds like your best bet, and I'd be happy to teach you some of the moves I've seen. Even if you're not nude and dancing with a pole, they should be good enough to get you noticed.'

Gabrielle could almost see her mate's winking, and she could feel the sexual tension return with a vengeance. The subject matter pretty much guaranteed it.

'Now. Teach me now. Show me. Please.'

Marie understood what was happening and quickly stood up, sharpening her appearance and adding a wisp of a short white dress that hugged her curves. Then she started out by raising both arms straight above her and rubbing them against each other, and she matched the slow arm movement by gyrating her hips in slow half circles, first one direction and then reversed. With her eyes closed, her head tilted back and her lips just slightly parted, she soon went on to the next set of moves. She lowered her arms and rubbed the palms of her hands slowly up and down her torso while continuing the same hip movement. When she started lifting one leg and sliding it up and down against her other leg, her mate couldn't take any more.

Gabrielle had sat, mesmerized by the small dancing woman. She'd never seen anything like it. Sure, dancing had been fairly common in her queendom, but it'd always involved a partner and followed a long, slow set of flowing movements that might be considered beautiful but hardly sexual. What she'd been watching oozed sex.

Seeing Marie dance so slowly and sensually awoke her libido like nothing else. She launched herself from the bed and barely thought two words before merging with her mate in astral bliss.

'Lesson over.'

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

Return of the Queen

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

This story has a little of everything — action, adventure, drama, tragedy, romance and comedy. It also happens to be the sequel to The Distant Queen, but I wrote this story to stand on its own. I wrote The Distant Queen several years ago and it's not my best work. I didn't want anyone to have to read my earlier story to know what's going on in this one.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the Good Story! button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 7

"You look happy," Thelma commented when Gabrielle slowly got up that morning.

"Mmm hmm."

The tall woman glowed after a very satisfying evening with her mate. Not even her companion's worst behavior could ruin her mood, but she didn't have to worry about being tested. Thelma seemed unusually happy.

Gabrielle puzzled over the change in attitude until her morning mental fog lifted. After sifting backwards through last night's memories, she finally remembered taking her companion for an astral tour of Roggzer.

"So, Thelma. How do you like astral travel?"

"It's great!" the large woman gushed. "I loved it! How long a trip do I get after I lose enough weight to resize my skirt?"

"I don't know. I haven't thought about it. Would you like to go far above the surface of this world and look down on it? It's a beautiful sight."

"I dunno." Thelma rested his chin on the palm of his hand and thought a moment.

Gabrielle thought the gesture to be somewhat feminine but didn't say anything.

"I guess that sounds good. But aren't there any other large cities or sights we could visit?"

That question took the queen by surprise. She never thought to astrally scout around Agrin. She always focused on other things, like Marie and finding Farrott. But the idea made good sense.

She bought a map in Roggzer that led her and Marie to the magic portal that sent Marie to Kispri, but there was another area of interest to the north of the large city. It might save a lot of wasted effort if she checked out that area ahead of time in astral form.

"Thanks, Thelma."

"For what?"

"You just gave me a great idea."

"Is it good enough to get me another sample of astral travel?"

"Nice try, Thelma. But you'll still have to lose some weight before I take you on another astral tour. Besides, I have to find someplace to go first."

~o~O~o~

The pair went to breakfast and Thelma couldn't help himself. He kept after Gabrielle, wanting to know about the queen's new idea.

"I'm going to hunt for some magic to get home. I know a place that I'll be checking out tonight."

Thelma gave her a blank look.

"Aren't you interested in seeing a place of powerful magic?"

"I suppose."

"Sheesh, Thelma. Try not to sound so enthusiastic." Gabrielle rarely used sarcasm but her companion seemed to bring out the worst in her. "What kind of things would you like to see?"

"Just like I said... large cities and impressive sights, like tall mountains and waterfalls."

"That might take awhile, but I suppose it's just as well since it'll take some time for you to lose weight."

Thelma looked down at his half eaten meal and frowned. Just what he needed, another reminder of his obesity. It took all of his willpower not to cry.

Gabrielle noticed her companion's sudden change in mood and apologized, again. She chastised herself and vowed to do less apologizing and show more care in what she said. Having to contend with someone like Thelma challenged her in so many ways.

After a little thought, she decided to divulge her money making plan, hoping that would cheer up the moody woman.

It worked, though she got a little angry when Thelma laughed.

"I think men would pay money to see that," the large woman said.

"Good. That's what I'm hoping."

"So what'll you be wearing? Your tunic and armor don't show off your assets very well." Thelma heavily emphasized the first syllable of "assets" to further aggravate the queen, and he giggled when he saw the effect it had.

"Spoken like a true man," Gabrielle blurted out and regretted it when Thelma seemed to take it as a compliment.

It was a step backwards in her plan to make a lady out of Thelma but it made her even more determined.

'After you slim down, it'll be impossible for you to think of yourself as anything other than a beautiful woman. You won't be so manly then, and hopefully, my work will be easier.'

That thought brought her back to her dancing. She expected to make her own costume using a few scraps of fabric from the same shopkeeper who lent her an old sewing needle. The two of them had struck up a budding friendship after Gabrielle surprised the other woman with her desire to sew. Sewing wasn't an expected skill for a warrior.

"I'm going to be busy making a costume until the evening meal," she told Thelma. "Do you think you can stay out of trouble until then?"

"You bet," the large woman chirped. "I'll be too busy imagining you dancing."

The tall woman flipped a coin to her companion for a mid day meal and stormed off to the clothing shop. She'd finished her meal and had quite enough of Thelma's sexist remarks. Staying any longer might lead to a severe case of indigestion.

~o~O~o~

Mezzie, the petite, gray-haired owner of a small, casual clothing shop, gave away most of the small clothing scraps that Gabrielle wanted, and she graciously offered to let the queen work in the back room of her shop.

Piles of old clothing littered the creaky wooden floor, with bolts of new cloth on shelves against the two side walls and a rack with a few completed outfits near the door. A rickety wooden chair and equally shoddy table sat against the far wall.

It wasn't comfortable sitting at the table but at least it was quiet and well-lit by a skylight. The old shopkeeper rarely came back into the small room, and none of the customers did, so Gabrielle made good progress.

By mid day, she completed a first attempt at making a skimpy top and modeled it for Mezzie, who clucked with mild displeasure and shook her head. It really didn't show much more skin than the plain brown tank top that Mezzie wore. It didn't look like something that would easily entice men to part with their money. After a few half-hearted suggestions for improvement, it was pretty much back to square one.

Gabrielle sadly thanked her new friend and went off to get them both something to eat. She felt it was the least she could do for all the kindness shown to her. Besides, the tiny old woman didn't eat all that much so it wouldn't take a lot of money to feed her a simple meal.

~o~O~o~

While shopping in the market, the tall woman just about found everything she wanted, which included an appetite suppressant for Thelma. The only thing left to buy was bread, and as she looked for a place to buy some, she came across a strangely decorated booth that she'd never seen before. It sold the usual assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables but it was the unique hangers that caught her attention.

The hangers consisted of a triangle of cloth with a length of string attached to each corner of the triangle. The free ends of the three strings tied together and hung on a hook overhead, and the corners of the cloth triangle pulled up to hold various types of melons. The design seemed inefficient but it was certainly cheaper and easier to make than something like a woven basket.

Though the hangers weren't impressive, they did inspire a new idea for a dancing costume. It would require less clothing, so it would be cheaper to make and it would reveal more skin. It was perfect, at least in terms of making money. Modesty be damned. She had a queendom to get back to.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle almost forgot the bread but luckily she passed by a breadmaker on the way back to the clothing shop and picked up a medium baguette. With the clothing shop closed for the mid deal meal, she sat near the front window with Mezzie and practically inhaled her food. Then she rushed to the back room to start on her new top.

Mezzie couldn't help but notice her new friend's excitement and had to follow behind and make a comment.

"What's the hurry? Did ye think of a new design?"

"Yes, I did," the tall woman said over her shoulder as she sat at the table. "And I can't wait to try it. I don't think it'll break any of your laws but it should get me some attention."

"Oh! It sounds scandalous, woman. I canna wait ta see it."

With that, Mezzie returned to tend to her shop and Gabrielle got to work, finishing both the simple top and equally skimpy bottom in short order.

She fashioned the top out of two small triangular pieces of forest green cloth that would cover her breasts. The triangles would point up with a thin strap of gold fabric tied to both points. The thin straps, or strings as Gabrielle thought of them, would tie around the back of her neck to give her support. The bottom edge of each triangle was folded over and sewn to make a long tube through which another gold fabric string was threaded to hold the two triangles together. The two ends of the bottom string would wrap around her chest and tie in the back.

She removed her tunic and tied the strings from the triangle tops behind her neck easily enough. She had a little trouble tying the other pair of strings behind her back but her flexible arms allowed her to finish it.

"Mezzie!" she called out to her friend. "I'm ready!"

The old shopkeeper soon appeared at the door and gasped.

"Are ye serious, woman?" were the first words out of her mouth.

"Quite. If this doesn't get me arrested, I should make a lot of money I think."

"I have ta admit, it does catch the eye. I'm sure men'll go mad fer it. Are ye sure ye can defend yourself?"

"Don't worry, Mezzie. I've been trained as a warrior and I'll keep my sword handy. No one will lay a hand on me."

"If you're sure."

Mezzie asked what to call the new design and Gabrielle had to stop and think. The Agrin word for triangle was "kini" and since there was one for each breast, she added "bi" as a prefix meaning two in her own language. She just invented the string bikini top and men everywhere would be eternally grateful.

Excited about the potential for her outfit, Gabrielle quickly tried on the bikini bottom.

The bottom consisted of a single, hourglass shaped piece of cloth with gold strings at the four corners. The cloth wrapped around to hide her sex and most of her rear, and the strings tied up over her hips to hold everything in place.

Modeling the bottom got yet another gasp from her friend, who couldn't let the outfit stand as it was.

After rummaging around the shelf, the old shopkeeper pulled out a thin, sheer white fabric and held it out.

"Here," she said. "Fashion a short skirt out o' this. There's no sense leavin' so little ta the imagination. Better ta hint at some of yer curves than give everything away all at once."

"Are you sure?" Gabrielle took the fabric and ran it through her hands, enjoying the feel of it.

"Don't ye worry none. It's not expensive and I rarely sell any. It's mostly used ta make sheer curtains fer small windows."

The grateful woman thanked Mezzie and set out to complete her costume with visions of money dancing through her mind. She felt so anxious to finish she didn't even bother changing back into her tunic and leggings.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle finished making her skirt and modeled her complete outfit. She also tried a few of the dance moves that Marie had shown her last night.

Seeing her friend's wide eyes and gaping mouth, she knew she'd be a hit. The men of Marzelle wouldn't know what hit them.

"Where did ye learn ta dance like that, woman?!" Mezzie asked.

"From my mate, who's very knowledgeable about what men like."

Gabrielle wished she could explain that Marie used to be a man but doubted the old woman would understand.

"Well," Mezzie said. "I don't think it's illegal but I wouldn't be surprised if the town elders consider makin' some new laws ta change that."

"As long as they're slow and give me time to make some good money, I'll be happy."

"They are slow ta act. Townsfolk complain often about that. Ye won't have ta worry 'bout the elders fer a long while. I'm not so sure 'bout the young men though. Are ye sure 'bout not getting a bodyguard?"

"A bodyguard would cut into my profits. I can't afford that."

"You young women today and yer crazy ideas," Mezzie huffed.

"Don't worry. I'll keep the dancing shows short and my sword very close by. I'm sure I can handle any trouble."

"That sounds like a good plan. Always leave 'em wantin' more."

Gabrielle laughed and agreed wholeheartedly, and after a quick change of clothes, she rushed back to the inn for the evening meal. She couldn't wait to show off her dancing costume to Thelma. Being a former man, her companion should be able to offer a valuable second opinion.

~o~O~o~

The excited woman flew into the dining hall of the inn to find Thelma waiting at one of the tables.

"Sorry I'm a little late." Gabrielle huffed and puffed as she approached the table.

Thelma's stomach answered with a loud gurgle but amazingly enough, he didn't say anything. He didn't even roll his eyes.

The queen was impressed by her companion's restraint, and she felt encouraged to launch into a description of her costume. Unfortunately, she was still out of breath and she ended up spouting a long stream of incoherent babble. For once, she annoyed her companion instead of the other way around.

"Slow down and take your time," Thelma said, scowling. "What did you call your costume again?"

"It's a string bikini with a sheer skirt."

The sheer skirt sounded interesting but the word bikini meant nothing to Thelma, so he decided to wait and see it after they got back to their room. For the moment, he had other things on his mind, like food.

"Can we eat now please? You can show me after we eat."

"Sure. I'll go order right away." Gabrielle got up to go to the bar but paused. "I'll just get the usual. Is that okay?" she continued on a roll, having less trouble speaking now that she'd nearly caught her breath. "Did you have a good day? Did you work hard? Did you get enough to eat? Are you hungry? Oh! Never mind. I heard your stomach a little while ago."

"Just go!" Thelma interrupted. He tried not to be cranky. The day's light workload meant that he kept his appetite under control for most of the day. Everything went very well until a short time ago when the hunger pangs hit hard.

Some people seemed to enjoy complaining and shouting. They concentrated on all the negativity in the world and it fed their dark mood.

Thelma really wasn't that way. He didn't enjoy having problems. He just collected them all too easily, like some people collect pebbles in deep grooves in the soles of their shoes. He couldn't avoid trouble any more than a young, healthy person could give up walking.

Being somewhat lazy and depending on his lost magic talent hadn't helped. Threatening to use his magic to send people away was asking for a dagger in the gut, something that nearly happened with increasing frequency once his potential victims started banding together to overwhelm him.

Having low morals and bad judgement also added to his woes. They invited a life of crime and unhappiness, but with his magic gone, he suddenly felt relieved of a great burden. As long as he had it, he'd have been tempted to use it, and trouble would've followed.

It all seemed so clear to him now, and he was relatively happy, until his hunger reminded him of another burden he bore. It would take a lot of time and energy to lose weight, but doing so wouldn't hurt anyone, and it truly would benefit him. If only he could control his appetite.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle returned a short time later bearing a tray of edible delights, earning another scowl from her companion.

"Thelma? Remember what we talked about. You need to keep your energy up so you can exercise and lose weight faster."

Thelma turned her head and blushed.

"I have another idea that might help too."

That got the large woman's interest. "Oh?" he said, turning back and looking down at the plate of food that had been placed in front of him.

The queen pulled what looked like a short, thick, light brown stick from a pouch that hung from her simple, string belt. "This," she pointed with her free hand, "is teng root. It's an appetite suppressant."

Thelma gave her a dubious look.

"Really! I've been assured by multiple sources that it really works. Try it." She held it out for her companion who continued to hesitate.

"I don't know. It sounds too easy."

"What have you got to lose? Except weight?"

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"By itsellf... in the right doses... yes. Here. Allow me."

Gabrielle crumbled a small section of the root over Thelma's salad greens and waited.

"Come on," the tall woman said. "Eat your nice salad. I want to see how quickly the teng root works."

The large woman sampled a bite and almost spit it out. "Bitter!" she complained.

"That'll help you eat less then," Gabrielle said and smiled.

"Yeah. Whatever." Thelma almost cracked a smile but stubbornly held on to much of her male personality. She finished her salad and the two women sat and waited to see if a certain greedy stomach would growl for more. They had a long wait.

~o~O~o~

Back in their room for the evening, the two of them sat and waited for the sun to set for their walk. Light conversation helped pass the time and distract them from the incessant heat.

"How did you find out about the teng root?" Thelma asked.

"Marie...." Gabrielle started and then remembered that Thelma wasn't supposed to know about Marie.

"Again with this Marie. Who is she?"

"Just someone I miss very much. That's all you need to know."

"Fine. Whatever. I hope the root didn't cost too much."

"It was a little expensive but it'll be worth it if continues to keep your stomach quiet."

"Ha ha. Very funny. I just hope we can afford it."

"Well... I'm hoping to make a bit of money from dancing so I think we'll have enough money. And hey. Maybe you could even join me for dancing once you've lost a bit of weight. That might even be fun."

Thelma sputtered a little.

"Oh, come on. Dancing would be better than cleaning rooms, wouldn't it?"

"I clean rooms to avoid men, remember? I think dancing would attract more attention than I could handle."

"Oh. Right." The queen also wanted to add that it wouldn't be appropriate for a lady but held her tongue.

"Oh!" Thelma suddenly blurted out. "What about your dancing outfit? Weren't you gonna model it?"

Gabrielle smiled. "You're right. It's time to unveil the dancing queen! Right after you leave the room so I can change my clothes." She still didn't feel comfortable undressing in front of the former man.

~o~O~o~

The tall, scantily clad woman had to try out her new dance moves along with the new outfit. She copied Marie's moves and lost herself in the dance, so much so, she didn't notice Thelma scowling at her.

"Well? What do you think?" Gabrielle turned to face her companion and froze. She quickly turned away and blushed. "That bad, huh?"

"Wha? Oh! Naw. It was good enough, if a bit indecent. That dance and outfit will empty the pockets of more than a few men."

Thelma surprised herself with her reaction. Did she not have a sex drive? Shouldn't she have found the dance at least a little arousing? It bothered her a little for some odd reason but she couldn't figure out why.

"Thanks. I think," the queen muttered.

Gabrielle stood in the middle of the room, tingling with excitement. 'It's like... foreplay,' she thought. 'Marie's dancing is definitely foreplay.'

"We don't have dancing like that back home," Thelma commented. "Women would make a fortune if they did."

"I'm not sure Kisprians could handle it, Thelma. We'd have to slowly work up to it I think."

The tall woman quickly walked over to the dining room for a drink of water and a change of subject. She couldn't stop thinking about her mate and suddenly remembered how she first learned to communicate with her.

"Thelma? Why haven't you learned at least a few words of the local language by now?"

"I'm not good with words." The former man looked down at his hands.

"So you didn't really try then."

"I tried!" he whined, a little too loud as usual.

Gabrielle winced, but she persisted. She was growing tired of having to translate everything.

"More than just names then?"

Thelma just sighed.

"Come on, Thelma. Just one word at a time. It won't be too difficult. I promise."

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle wanted to pull her hair out after only a few candle marks of time went by. Teaching Thelma was that difficult. She finally declared victory after getting her companion to recite "yes," "no," "hello" and "good bye" in the native language several times.

'Only four words! Mother Moon! Give me Strength!' she thought.

Thelma felt pretty happy with herself though, so it was difficult for the queen to stay angry.

"Be sure to practice those words everyday, Thelma. Use them whenever you can."

"Yeah yeah."

The two women lapsed into a comfortable silence then. They both sat in small wooden chairs and just enjoyed the warm, quiet evening. Only sounds of insects could be heard for a short time, until Thelma suddenly stirred. Gabrielle looked over at her and could just make out Thelma's eyes, staring at her in the dim light of dusk. Neither one of them had felt particularly motivated to light a lamp.

"What is it, Thelma? Is there anything wrong?"

"No, it's just.... You're glowing!"

"What? What are you talking about?" The queen looked down at herself but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

"You're glowing! You are!"

"Okay! Fine! Just please... stop shouting. And tell me quietly and calmly exactly what you mean."

~o~O~o~

After a short walk around town — something that had gotten much easier for Thelma with her exercise and dieting — they'd determined that, so far at least, Thelma could detect a faint glow around Gabrielle but no one else. It wasn't unusual that she couldn't see herself glow. A person's magic rarely worked on themselves.

The glow matched the color of Gabrielle's magic so they figured that Thelma's new talent must be magic detection. It took several days to develop but now that it had, it meant she had a way of finding her victims, those unfortunate enough to be teleported to the world of Agrin, because only Kisprians had magic talents.

"This is fantastic, Thelma. We can take them home with us, assuming they want to go, and right a wrong. It's a way of paying them back."

The former man tried to smile but he kept imagining what his victims would do to him if they had the chance.

"Oh, no. Stop that look right now, Thelma. I know what you're thinking but don't worry. We're not going to tell them who you used to be, and there's no way to tell by looking at you. You'll be safe enough."

"If you say so."

"I do, so wipe that sour look off your face and let's go get a bath. You can look for fellow Kisprians and I can make plans for my dancing debut tomorrow evening."

~o~O~o~

Thelma hadn't found any others with magic that night but the two women didn't see all that many people. They weren't discouraged. Thelma would have a much better opportunity to spot someone near the western edge of the markets, where the main crowds settled for the late afternoon and early evening entertainment.

Gabrielle had planned on going out early for two or three short dances to see how well they worked. She would save her longer dances for the cooler evening hours when she hoped to attract a large crowd so Thelma could look for Kisprians. If only she could bring herself to start dancing.

"I can do this. I can do this. I can do this." The queen chanted to herself, trying to work up the nerve to stop hiding behind the curtain that draped across her small stage area. Thelma stood waiting outside behind a short stone wall with the rest of the audience but Gabrielle suddenly wished her companion was with her. She figured the only thing that could motivate her to go out would be Thelma's whining.

The two women used up almost all of their remaining money to rent the stage so she had to go out. And she did, doing it the only way she could. She backed out so she couldn't see the audience, and she started dancing right way, slowly turning to face everyone as she lost herself in the dance.

Several men stood nearby, mesmerized by the erotic sight of Gabrielle's dance. They'd seen similar dances before but never with the dancer wearing so little clothing. So they actually behaved themselves for a little while, long enough for Gabrielle to gain enough confidence to carry on until the bad behavior began. And begin it did. It only took one of the men to snap out of it and start the wolf whistles and raunchy cheers before the rest joined in.

The queen smiled as she thought of Marie dancing. She wasn't really worried. If things got too terribly desperate, she could always use her magic on the men. That was one of the great things about her talent. Every man within range would turn into a woman. She didn't have to single them out and recharge. The former men would be shocked at their sudden change in gender. They'd be shouting and tripping over their clothes and she could easily slip away in the confusion. It wouldn't do much for her purse though.

She almost broke her form then. But she focused on Marie again and continued to smile. The men loved it.

One young man apparently loved her more than the rest though. He couldn't help himself when Gabrielle made eye contact with him. He was sure that she gave him the come hither look so he launched himself over the little stone wall towards her.

The man took Gabrielle by surprise. It was only luck that she was currently dancing within reach of her great sword. With one graceful spin, she grabbed her sword with both hands and spun around to face her would-be suitor. He stopped just in time to keep his life as the point of the sword rested in the hollow of his exposed throat, pricking him slightly enough to draw only a few drops of blood.

The queen kept her composure the whole time and managed to handle her sword easily enough. She thanked the Goddess, Sister Sun, for her supply of food and increasing strength. Then she turned her attention to the man. He annoyed her but she planned for just such an occasion so she played it out.

"Now that's what I call eager," Gabrielle shouted out to the audience. "I bet this young man just couldn't wait to see me dance with my sword. But that will have to wait until later. It's still a little too warm for such a vigorous dance. So let's give him a round of applause as he goes back to his friends."

The audience laughed and a few people clapped. The man looked around and realized his mistake. He backed off like he was advised and rubbed at the blood that dribbled down his chest.

Gabrielle resumed her dance with renewed confidence. The eager young man might not be so eager to give her money for her performance but the rest of the men certainly would be. It was going to be a good night. She hoped Thelma did as well looking for Kisprians later that evening.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

Return of the Queen

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

This story has a little of everything — action, adventure, drama, tragedy, romance and comedy. It also happens to be the sequel to The Distant Queen, but I wrote this story to stand on its own. I wrote The Distant Queen several years ago and it's not my best work. I didn't want anyone to have to read my earlier story to know what's going on in this one.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the Good Story! button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 8

Thelma hadn't found any glowing Kisprians on the night of Gabrielle's dancing debut but after several days of dancing, he first discovered two men and soon after on the same night, a woman. While the queen continued to dance, Thelma tracked down the men and woman and quietly confirmed that they were indeed from Kispri. The small group anxiously waited for the dance to end so they could begin a private little celebration.

Paying for food and drink was made easy with all of the money that the dancing queen made. She easily made enough to pay for her stage rental and new clothes with plenty left over. She also splurged and got some oil for her beloved sword. She took great satisfaction in oiling the two-handed monster, humming a Prizzarian lullaby as she worked. Thelma wisely kept his comments to himself at such times.

The two women kept in touch with the men, Durgan and Thor, who were lucky to bump into each other early on in their magical exile from Kispri. They stayed together in a small apartment and managed to muddle through until they learned the language and slowly moved up the economic ladder. It was difficult but they were both motivated, and they helped push each other.

Durgan was a little shorter and about ten years older than Gabrielle, with black hair and dark skin. He fit in well with the residents of Marzelle. It helped that he was fairly intelligent. He picked up the language slowly but surely, though his magic talent reduced the need for language. He only needed to learn enough words to sell his art. His talent was weak stone shaping, allowing him to create figurines and small statues that he sold for a tidy profit. His costs were next to nothing because he just grabbed his materials for free from the surrounding rocky terrain.

Thor was the strong silent type, perfect for him because he didn't pick up new languages very easily. He actually pretended to be deaf, pointing to his ears and shrugging and grunting. Seeing how strong he was, he was soon given manual labor jobs for the city. The townsfolk were quite kind and helped him with finances and lodging until he fell into a comfortable routine.

Once the two men met, Thor relied heavily on Durgan, but Thor still made himself useful. He could carry some of the larger stones, being taller and much younger and stronger than his partner. With his fair skin and light brown hair, he didn't blend in very well but that had made it fairly easy for Durgan to recognize him as being from Kispri. Durgan started speaking their common language to confirm his suspicion and the two of them stuck together to make the best of things ever since. Thor's talent allowed him to create a light breeze, something that wouldn't let him earn much of a living. It only made the hot nights slightly more bearable so it was lucky that Durgan found him.

That left the young woman, Dalene. Her short, slender build, dark brown hair and brown eyes made her look enough like a native to fit in. She had a little trouble with the language at first but she was able to take advantage of her magic talent to gain a foothold in the town. She could make small objects glow with a soft but fairly bright light without giving off any heat. The objects could glow for most of the night before they faded back to normal.

Dalene had been a victim of Farrott's magic so the despicable man could extort as many valuables as he could carry from her family. She was teleported to the outskirts of town and scoped out the market right away after realizing that she couldn't understand the local language. She wandered around until she found a kindly looking older woman sitting in a short, wooden chair under the tarp of an outdoor stall. The woman squinted and struggled to string small beads on a thin metal wire. The stall had no walls since they'd block any welcome breeze. There was only a tarp for shade, and with bright sunlight shining in from all directions, it was too bright for the woman to easily work with such small, finely detailed materials.

The determined Kisprian approached the woman and stood in front of her to block some of the bright light. She wore a dark green dress with a long skirt and rolled up long sleeves, looking quite out of place for the hot climate. The older woman gave her a curious look and spoke a few words, thinking she might have a customer, but it didn't yet occur to her what the young woman was trying to accomplish.

Dalene couldn't understand the woman of course, so she pointed to her ear and shook her head. The old woman looked a little confused and Dalene just smiled and looked around for a suitable object to demonstrate her talent. She ended up finding a fist-sized stone on the ground and made it glow with her magic before gently laying it in the folds of the woman's long, billowy orange skirt.

The older woman's eyes went wide with surprise, but it wasn't long before the two women traded names by speaking them and pointing at themselves. The woman, Olya, borrowed an unused chair from a neighboring stall and the two women sat closely together, facing each other to block much of the bright sunlight. Dalene helped string beads while Olya continued her own work and patiently taught her new business partner some of the language.

The glowing rock still sat in Olya's lap but she didn't really need it until the sun dipped below the roof line of a nearby building. They took advantage of the magic light to create two more necklaces each before Dalene's stomach gurgled noisily, reminding both women to eat.

The young Kisprian pointed to the stone and moved her open hand over her eyes to show that it might be a good idea to hide the glowing stone. The two women stood up with Olya slipping the stone in a large pouch that she tied on her belt. Then the older woman gently tugged on Dalene's sleeve and said, "Come," to teach yet another new word. They were virtually inseparable ever since.

The two men did well enough together, but when they relayed the story of how they came to be on Agrin, they both voiced a strong hatred for Farrott. They missed their friends and families and cursed the day they ran into the despised little man.

Dalene was just as strong in her hatred of Farrott and she voiced more than a little displeasure. She was single but she had her eye on a man that she hoped to one day marry. All of her hopes and dreams died the day she was teleported to Agrin.

Thelma kept quiet while his victims expressed their hatred for his former self. He amazed himself too, as he thought about how different he was becoming. He actually felt sympathy for his victims, and he even began to think of himself as a woman. It had happened so gradually that it snuck up on him, but he had to admit, it was inevitable. He'd stopped counting how long he'd been a woman after he reached his tenth day. It was silly because he wasn't going to turn back into a man, especially on Agrin, without magic. So he began the slow path to acceptance of his, now her, new gender. One thing she couldn't quite admit yet though, was that it was actually a good thing. Her life continued to improve in leaps and bounds.

'I wonder if Gabrielle did it on purpose,' Thelma thought. 'I wonder if she made me fat so I would be more willing to accept myself once I slimmed down. It's strange because I'm starting to take some pride in my appearance. I was such an ugly little man, ugly in so many ways. Gabrielle actually paid me a kindness that I'm not sure I can ever repay. I don't think I can ever make up for all the bad things I've done. Helping to get them back to Kispri won't make up for all the time lost with their friends and families. How could I have been so bad?!'

"I'm so sorry!" Thelma blurted out, startling the three victims but not surprising Gabrielle.

The queen added a few words for damage control, just in case. "Don't mind Thelma. She shouts a lot. She's very emotional. What she meant to say was that we're all victims of Farrott's magic and we'd like to get home if at all possible." Gabrielle tried very hard not to smirk at Thelma.

They all nodded and Dalene spoke up. "Do you think it's possible? To get home I mean."

"My mate got home from this world, and I'm working on a plan that could work. I'm not going to give up and you're all welcome to join Thelma and me."

If it was possible to get back to Kispri, the three of them would jump at the chance. They eagerly agreed to help in any way they could. In the meantime, they'd all keep to their normal routines.

~o~O~o~

"That went fairly well," Gabrielle said as she walked with Thelma back to their apartment.

"Whatever."

"Oh, come now. I watched you when Dalene told her story. You almost cried."

"I did not!"

"Thelma...."

"Okay. Maybe I got a little emotional. It's this body that done it." She blushed. Though she started to accept being a woman, she still didn't like to admit it out loud.

Gabrielle could tell Thelma's change in gender still wasn't a welcome subject so she took pity on her companion.

"That skirt is looking a little loose on you again. I think it needs to be taken in another size."

"It's not that loose, is it?" Thelma stuck her fingers between her sides and the top of the skirt to see how much give there was. She'd already dropped two sizes and couldn't believe she was close to dropping a third. Her exercise and diet were really paying off.

"Sure it is. And you know what that means."

"I'm losing weight?"

"Honestly, Thelma. Don't you remember my promise? Don't you want to go on another astral voyage?"

~o~O~o~

Two slender, curvy astral bodies flew over the northern part of Roggzer with Gabrielle searching for evidence of a road or path leading north out of the city. She wasn't having much luck. There were only three roads leading out of the large city. The south road she knew well. It led to the hot springs that she enjoyed with Marie the night before her mate slipped through the portal back to Kispri. The other two roads led directly east and west.

'How very linear of them,' the queen thought.

'What?' Thelma overheard the thought as usual. That was the normal mode of communication while they were in astral form.

'Nothing. Why don't you try flying lower and see if you can move through walls to check out some of the shops. Look for a detailed map of the area with any sort of path leading north. I once had a map of the area but it wasn't detailed enough to be helpful for areas north of the city.'

'Why? What are you going to do?'

'I was thinking of scouting north on my own.'

'What?! Don't leave me!' Thelma whined.

'Mother Moon! Give me strength!'

'I'm sorry! I'm... afraid. Okay. I admit it. I'm afraid to be left alone.'

'Yes, Thelma. That's rather obvious. But I didn't want to bore you. I haven't found anything interesting to fly over outside of the city.'

'But I'm getting a little bored with the city. This is our third trip, fourth if you count my first sample trip. Couldn't you use another pair of eyes for scouting?'

'I think you'd actually be more help looking for maps of the area. I've seen one but it's been a long time. I was hoping there'd be a road to a certain northern site that I saw on the map.'

'Well, please don't leave me. Let me help look. Please?'

'Okay, Thelma. But I'm going to be traveling very fast. No time for sight seeing. I really need to find some working technology.'

Gabrielle took her companion's silence for agreement and the two of them soon flew north.

~o~O~o~

The two astral women flew next to each other, fairly high above the ground. Gabrielle wanted Thelma to fly farther apart to cover more ground but the other woman was too afraid. They each ended up concentrating on opposite sides of their flight path.

'Hey! I see glowing!' Thelma said, pointing left.

'What? Where? Oh! I see it too. It must not be magic then.'

They slowed down and flew over a glowing pit but they couldn't get very close to it before they both felt uncomfortable.

'It kind of feels hot,' Thelma remarked, 'but not hot in a normal way. It doesn't make sense.'

'I wonder if it's an example of technology gone bad. These people used to be masters of their technology but I can see why they abandoned it if it can do things like this. Look around at the surrounding plant life.'

Thelma looked around and shrugged. 'There isn't really much around here,' she said.

'Exactly. And what there is looks stunted or just wrong somehow. Let's get out of here.'

They didn't find any technology that night. They continued north and flew over several more hot spots before Gabrielle decided she needed to get to Kispri. She led Thelma back to bed in Marzelle and hurried off to her homeworld.

~o~O~o~

"Hello again Ribbles," Gabrielle said after solidifying her astral body. She picked up Marie's toy rabbit from a dresser and stroked its fur after she slipped on her robe. "You seem to be lost. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"The bed is taken," Marie's voice came from behind her, startling her.

The queen whirled around. "Marie! Don't do that!"

Marie giggled. "Sorry. I wanted to get a bit of a head start so I decided to ambush you."

The queen sighed. "Now I'm sorry. I have a lot to report and I'm late already. I did some scouting for technology with Lady Thelma."

Marie started with a pout but couldn't help chuckling a little when she heard Thelma's unofficial title. "Okay, Gabi. You win. This time. Let's go."

The little black-haired beauty led the way back to the empty meeting room and stopped.

"I told everyone that I'd wait for you and let them know when you arrived," Marie said.

"And they trusted you?!" Gabrielle was shocked.

"Gabi!"

"Sorry! But they know how much we love each other... how tempted we are to...."

"Have sex? It's okay, Gabi. Everybody does it. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It's not dirty!"

"You are so lucky to come from a more tolerant culture. I confess we're a bit uptight about such things, more so than I like."

"You can't even say the word, Gabi. Come on. Say it for me."

"Marie!"

"Say it, Gabi! Please?" The petite woman pouted and the queen's heart melted.

"Sex." She whispered it but Marie declared victory and celebrated by jumping up on the spare throne so she could easily reach her mate's lips and steal a quick kiss.

"You are so bad," the queen said with a smile.

"You mean I'm so good, don't you?"

"So good at being bad."

Marie smirked and jumped down to go fetch the others. She called over her shoulder as she left the room. "Please have a seat in your spare throne, your Majesty. I'll be right back with your favorite royal subjects."

~o~O~o~

Muriel, Beth, Heloise and Marie took their usual places and the queen gave a quick summary of Thelma's weight loss progress, followed by a longer discussion of her scouting trip. They already knew about finding three of Thelma's teleportation victims from a previous astral visit.

Marie added what little she knew about the glowing hot spots, calling them dead zones. Nothing much grew there and the few people who made it back after checking them out got sick and died soon after returning. It was not a nice area.

"I never traveled to the north," Marie told the group. "Almost everyone avoids the dead zones now. You would too if you'd seen some of the people who came back after visiting them. I didn't actually see them but I heard they died a horrible death. It gives me the shivers just thinking about it."

"You are so girly," Heloise said. "Are you sure you were ever a man?"

Marie just answered by sticking her tongue out at the blonde handmaiden and they both laughed.

"Okay," Muriel interrupted the fun. "How big are these dead zones? Is it possible to go around them without any danger?"

Marie stopped to think before slowly speaking. "I'm not really sure. I suppose you might be able to find a guide. I know some people still risk going north since most everyone avoids the area. There are always adventure seekers or those who think they can find some way of making money."

"That sounds good to me," Muriel said.

"Oh, Gabi! Please be careful," Marie said with a tear rolling down one cheek.

Heloise rolled her eyes at Marie's sudden emotional display and Beth countered that by sighing at her mate.

"I'll be careful, Marie," the queen assured her. "But first I have to get everyone to Roggzer so we can find more of our people as well as a guide. It'll still be at least another few weeks at the rate Thelma is losing weight."

Muriel gave Gabrielle a pointed look that didn't go unnoticed. Then the advisor made a subtle brushing away motion towards the others.

"Would you please excuse Muriel and me?" the queen asked the others. "I want to talk to her about some boring politics."

"I'll be in our bedchambers," Marie said, giving her mate a loving smile. Nothing more needed to be said, especially with Marie swaying her hips as she slowly walked away. Gabrielle couldn't help but stare at her mate's derriere until the small woman left the room.

"Come on, Heloise," Beth said. "I'll make you some hot cocoa."

"Okay. Fine. But I'd rather stay and listen. I'm sure it's more bad news."

"We aren't invited so let's not be rude."

Heloise rolled her eyes.

"I can see someone is asking for the dungeon tickle treatment," Beth teased.

The blonde blushed furiously and hurried her mate along to keep her from saying any more.

"Okay," the queen said, trying not to chuckle at her handmaidens. "They're gone. Now let's have the bad news. I'm sure Heloise had it right. I can tell by that look in your eye."

"I'll get right to it then," Muriel said. "I've heard some reports of marauders in the area. They're nothing we can't handle — only small groups so far. They have to get drunk to get up enough courage to cause trouble so they obviously still fear you. But it won't be long before more try if none of the men are changed into women."

"How much time do you think we have? Have you had any of your visions?"

Muriel sighed. She did get glimpses of the future that all too often came true. It was her magic talent and it wasn't a good one. It wasn't reliable and she couldn't control it. Most of her visions were depressing too, and they seemed to be several weeks to several years in the future. That was good at least. It gave them more time to prevent the darkness from happening.

"Only one. It's been recurring and driving me crazy." The old woman looked a little disturbed so the queen waited patiently with a sympathetic look.

"You wouldn't believe it, your Majesty. It's... crazy."

"Please, Muriel. When we're alone, call me Gabi, or Gabrielle if you insist on being formal."

"Right. Sorry. You've told me before. This vision really has me rattled."

"I can see that. Go ahead then. It'll be better if you share it with me. Perhaps we can work out what it means together."

Muriel recounted the vision. It started with thousands of rainbows, something out of a fairy's dream. The rainbows smeared on the window of a great iron ship that the queen and several other Kisprians were riding in. One of those Kisprians included a fairy. That was unusual in itself. No fairy had been seen around the queendom for dozens of season cycles.

The iron ship sailed through the void between worlds at an impossible pace and made it to Kispri just in time to see hundreds of men marching to the outer castle wall. It looked like Gabrielle would be able to stop the men but just before the flying ship landed, it seemed to explode.

"That's all I got. As usual, it was very depressing."

"And crazy," Gabrielle said in a quiet voice. "You sure got that right. Are you sure the ship exploded though?"

"I saw lots of light shooting out from it. I don't know what else could it be but an explosion."

The queen frowned, still trying to make sense of it.

"There was one more odd thing I suddenly remember now," Muriel said.

"Oh?"

"The light was a lavender color."

"That is an odd color for an explosion," the queen said.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

Return of the Queen

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

This story has a little of everything — action, adventure, drama, tragedy, romance and comedy. It also happens to be the sequel to The Distant Queen, but I wrote this story to stand on its own. I wrote The Distant Queen several years ago and it's not my best work. I didn't want anyone to have to read my earlier story to know what's going on in this one.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the Good Story! button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 9

Ten long, maddening days later, Gabrielle was nearly ready to run screaming out of town. Either that or throttle Thelma to within an inch of the woman's life.

Thelma had slimmed down two more sizes over that time. She should've been happy. But all she did was complain. She complained about dieting. She complained about exercise. She complained about having to learn more of the local language, and worst of all, she complained about men. Not that the queen could blame any woman for not liking some of the pigs that passed for men in town, but Thelma could be most annoying, especially when she shouted, and she shouted incessantly about all the men who wouldn't leave her alone.

As Thelma lost weight, she became extremely attractive. Even Gabrielle had to remind herself that she already had a mate, lest she be tempted to do more than just occasionally drink in the sight of the curvaceous redhead. The queen tolerated long, lustful looks from men, especially since she actively encouraged such looks when she danced. It was the aggressive conversation and "accidental" groping that was difficult to take. The dancing queen had her sword and strength to keep men under control but Thelma had nothing for protection except Gabrielle when the tall, warrior woman was around. Even then, the men didn't slow down much. They'd come in pairs and try to pick up both Gabrielle and Thelma. Nothing short of gender changing magic would stop them. Saying that they were lesbians didn't work at all. The men would try pressuring the two women to kiss, and when the pair understandably refused, the men would usually either try to convince them they could be turned from their lesbian ways or accused them of lying about being lesbians. The drunks were the worst. Almost without fail, they'd just keep trying to get the two women to kiss.

"I've got to get out of here," the queen muttered as she sat on a wooden bench next to Thelma for the evening meal.

"Don't you mean we?" Thelma whined. "Please don't leave me!"

Gabrielle winced. "Shut up, Thelma. Just please shut up. You know I won't leave you. Are you trying to drive me crazy?"

Thelma sulked and went back to eating, trying not to make eye contact with any of the men in the dining hall. More and more men showed up at the inn where the two Kisprian women stayed and it was getting increasingly difficult to avoid annoying encounters.

"I'm sorry," Thelma said in a quiet voice. "Perhaps we should take our meals in our room. I know the men have been bothering you as much as they have me."

"Very good, Thelma. You didn't shout, and you've got me all figured out... except for one thing. I'm not letting the men force me into hiding. They're going to eventually see that they'll get nowhere with us and they'll soon leave us alone."

"You pretty much said the same thing three days ago. How much longer before it happens? I don't know how much more of these morons I can take."

Gabrielle took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She'd been on edge for far too long. It even started affecting her dances. She started taking more chances with some reckless swordplay, almost losing her grip and sending the sword into the crowd where it would likely skewer someone.

"I'm sorry too, Thelma. I'm letting them get to me. It's all getting to be a bit much. Do you feel up to traveling yet? I know you're not down to the weight goal that we set but you're able to walk five laps around the town without much trouble."

"I do feel pretty good during my walks. But do you think I'm ready? I'm not looking forward to marching across a desert."

"It's not quite a desert, Thelma. There are plenty of small trees and water sources along the way. It's just very hot and dusty. I traveled at night and did okay. With the five of us working together, I think we can make it easily. You'll lose a bit more weight along the way and be in great shape by the time we reach Roggzer."

"I'm not sure I want to get in better shape. I tried to tell myself that the men were all going after you but I can't fool myself any longer. They're really getting to me. I think I'd rather face a desert than keep having to fend them off."

"It's not a desert, Thelma. I keep telling you. And you'll likely have the same problem in Roggzer that you have here. Men are men, everywhere you go."

"Yeah. The men in my family were just as bad."

"Well, I don't plan on staying in Roggzer all that long. I really have to get back to Kispri. We'll try to find as many fellow Kisprians as we can and get a guide to take us through the dangerous wastelands."

"Ugh. At least I won't have to worry so much about men in the wastelands."

"Durgan and Thor have been behaving themselves so far. I hope any other Kisprian men we find have the same self-restraint."

"I guess we'll find out." Thelma smiled then. She actually felt happy about the prospect of finding more of her victims and helping them return to Kispri. Her happiness, and especially her rare smile, surprised herself as well as Gabrielle.

'Great Sister Sun!' thought the queen. 'What a dazzling smile! We'll never be rid of men if she keeps that up.'

~o~O~o~

The five Kisprians met in the dining hall of the inn the next day to discuss plans for traveling to Roggzer. Dalene was quite upset about walking through the scrubland instead of on the road but she calmed down after it was explained how much longer it would take on the road. The road to Roggzer actually veered away from the big city until it connected with another main road to the south. It would take at least an extra day to use the roads and they didn't want to spend any more time away from the comforts of civilization than they had to.

With their money pooled, they had more than enough to buy all the provisions that they'd need. The only problem was how to carry it all. Thor suggested a pack animal but that would cost too much. In the end, Durgan came up with the idea of using a large pack that could be strapped to their back. Gabrielle could've kicked herself for not thinking of that when she made the journey from Roggzer to Marzelle. On that trip, she tied several small water skins to the belt around her waist and slung a large bag over her shoulder. It didn't work very well. The backpack, as Durgan called it, would hold a lot more and leave the hands free. Everyone would be able to carry enough to easily make the trip.

They still might have money problems when they reached Roggzer. There wasn't much money left after they bought everything they needed and they'd need a place to stay in the big city. They'd also have to hire a guide. It helped to sell all of their things, some at a discount to at least get something out of them. But it was Gabrielle' s turn to contribute with a good idea for making some quick money.

"For our last night in Marzelle, we'll put on a real show; not just a dance but a show."

"That's stupid!" Thelma blurted out. "Even if we knew what we were doing, we'd have to rehearse."

"Very true for the most part," said the queen, smiling. "But we have our magic talents and a secret weapon that should get people to throw more money our way after the show."

"What secret weapon?" Thelma pouted and folded her arms under her large breasts, pushing them up and out, inadvertently emphasizing them to the delight of all of the men in the hall.

The queen's smile just got bigger. "You, Thelma! You're our secret weapon. You'll see."

"Ha ha. Very funny," the redhead scoffed, thinking that it was just a joke.

Gabrielle just kept smiling.

~o~O~o~

After a bit of work and a little practice of the magic talents, everyone felt good about the show, everyone except Thelma. She wasn't allowed to participate.

"This is just... stupid," Thelma sputtered after she was alone with Gabrielle. She grudgingly admitted to herself that the magic talents would greatly enhance the show. It was her own participation that bothered her.

"Just sit there and look pretty, Thelma," the queen told her. "That's all you'll be doing in the show."

"You just want me to dress up like a whore to get stupid men to throw money my way!"

Gabrielle had gone back to Mezzie to say her good-byes and ask for one last favor. She'd wanted to gather some scraps to make Thelma a bikini and sheer skirt for the show. Mezzie had been happy to help the pretty little red-haired heartbreaker, as she called Thelma, and in less than two hours, the simple outfit was complete.

It took the promise of an extra astral trip to get Thelma just to try it on, and another astral trip to agree to wear it for the show that night. But she didn't like the idea of just standing around doing nothing with hundreds of men undressing her with their eyes.

"If you still feel too uncomfortable, you can have some of Durgan's wine. He's graciously donating the last of the summer wine for your performance."

"I don't want any of that stupid wine," Thelma grumbled.

"Think of it as medicine to help you relax," the queen suggested.

"No! That's what my father called it. He needed his medicine to make himself feel better... when he kicked me." The redhead sniffled a little when she remembered the beatings she used to get from her father. Except for her father, there was nothing she hated more than alcohol and what it did to people.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Thelma. I didn't mean to remind you of that. It's not really medicinal. Forget I said that. But it will help you get through the show."

"I'm not drinking it." The stubborn woman didn't look like she could be budged but that just made the queen try harder.

"I won't ask you to drink ever again after tonight. Just please try it. You might even like the taste."

"I'm not getting drunk!"

"I didn't ask you to get drunk! Oh! Now you're getting me to shout. Please. Let's stop shouting. Thelma? I don't want you to get drunk. I just want you to drink enough to relax. As soon as you feel relaxed, you can stop and never drink anything alcoholic ever again. Deal?"

"I don't wanna."

"If you do, I'll take you on an astral voyage all the way to Kispri."

"Why would I want to go there?" She surprised herself with that question, though it shouldn't have been a surprise. Why would she ever want to go back to the environment that produced such a bitter and angry little man?

"Didn't you say you had a brother? We could find him to see how he's doing. It's easy when you're in astral form."

"Bannett." Thelma sniffled some more.

"Right. We could find Bannett."

"I don't really want to. We weren't very close."

"But aren't you at least curious? He is your brother."

"I don't know." The redhead stopped to think a moment. Did she want to go home with Gabrielle and the rest? Wouldn't it better here if she stayed? Once she learned the language, she could do... something, couldn't she? She had no skills but she'd have the same problem back on Kispri. But unlike Kispri, she had no bad reminders of her former self on Agrin. She had nothing but the promise of a bright future. She just needed to find someone to share that future with. Friends! She was sure she meant friends. More than one. Lots of friends. Then she'd have no reason to go back.

"I just realized something," Thelma said.

"Oh?"

"I don't want to go back with you. There's nothing for me on Kispri except bad memories."

"Are you sure, Thelma? Once we leave, you'll be stuck here for the rest of your life?"

"I"m learning the language. I'll manage."

"Uh... right. You've still got a long way to go. You realize that, right?"

"Yeah yeah. Like I said, I'll manage."

"Well, there's still plenty of time to think about it. We'll see how things play out in the meantime."

'Who knows,' the queen thought. 'You might surprise me. You're doing that more and more, Thelma. You've come a long way.'

~o~O~o~

With everything worked out, the group of Kisprians went back to their respective homes for a little rest. They wanted to leave right after the performance and expected to walk as long as possible during the relatively cool temperatures at night. It didn't take them long to drop off for naps. They worked hard to prepare for the show.

Thelma woke up first. Since she did the least amount of work, it wasn't surprising. She yawned and stretched, accidentally brushing a nipple with her arm. The pleasant sensation shocked her and she looked around as if someone might have seen her. Blushing in spite of the lack of an audience, she shook her head, wondering how she'd manage at the show. Perhaps she should have a little wine to relax.

Looking over on the floor, she saw Gabrielle, fast asleep, and she couldn't help herself. She moved quietly over near the queen and whispered to her.

"Your Majesty? Would you like some hot cocoa?"

Gabrielle didn't react at all.

"Hot cocoa. Get your hot cocoa. Get it while you can. It won't last long."

The queen still didn't stir. She wasn't really present in her physical body. She was off on an astral voyage so she couldn't hear anything back on Agrin.

Thelma soon lost interest in trying to tease the woman who had helped her so much. She had to admit that she was growing to like her.

The redhead decided to make herself useful then. She filled several water skins to get them ready for the hike to Roggzer. After that, she changed into her bikini outfit and sat herself down to sample Durgan's wine. It wasn't half bad.

After her second glass she did feel relaxed, so she decided to try imagining being in front of a large audience of enthusiastic young men. That was a mistake.

She immediately guzzled a third glass of wine and was well into a fourth when Gabrielle finally woke up.

"Well, Thelma. I see you decided to try the wine after all. Do you like it?"

"Oh, yesh. Ish very good."

"Um... how much have you had?"

Thelma held her thumb and index finger a short distance apart. "Juz thish much," she said before snickering.

"I think that's about enough then. Let's have it."

"No! Mine." The short redhead pouted and hugged the bottle of wine between her breasts. She looked down and giggled, then chanted, "Drunken boobies. Drunken boobies."

"Oh, no. You're drunk. Come on. Give me the bottle."

The redhead wouldn't let go and keeping it smothered in her cleavage kept the queen from fighting for it and accidentally tearing Thelma's outfit.

"Fine then," Gabrielle said. "Hold the bottle. There can't be much left anyway."

Gabrielle sighed and hoped the best for the show.

~o~O~o~

Thor hefted the large musical stone sculpture that Durgan had crafted earlier. As he carried it, he practiced blowing wind through it. He really liked the sound it made as air blew through the hollowed out chambers. Each chamber was shaped to produce a specific musical note and by pulsing the air through each chamber in order, a little melody was played. It would make a nice accompaniment to Queen Gabrielle's dancing.

When he got to the stage, he saw Dalene in the middle of using her magic to make several small, stone balls glow all different colors of the rainbow. It was a beautiful sight and many people already stood around to watch. It promised to be a very a good show. He smiled as he thought of the show as a big celebration, a going away party. He liked the townsfolk but he couldn't wait to get back to Kispri.

"How do you do that?" One young woman asked Dalene.

"They're just special lanterns. Nothing all that difficult. I'd show you but I'm leaving tonight." The young Kisprian was careful not to reveal her magic or her destination in case of bandits. She was advised to be careful. The group didn't want to leave anything to chance.

After each stone orb began to glow, Dalene handed it off to Durgan who attached it to the top of a thin stone shaft with his power. Each stone shaft was a different height with the shortest ones in front at about the length of Durgan's forearm. The shafts in back were about a head taller than Gabrielle and all together, they formed an oval around the stone floor of the stage.

Everything was running smoothly and the three Kisprians were quite enthusiastic about the prospect of making a lot of money for the show, but then Gabrielle arrived with a very tipsy Thelma and the group wondered if they had any chance at all. The redhead was singing vulgar sailing songs that would make most people blush. Luckily, she sang in her native language so none of the townsfolk understood her.

"I'm sorry," the queen said. "She started drinking before I woke up. She was already drunk so I just let her keep the bottle.

"Thish is great shtuff!" Thelma said. She held up the nearly empty bottle of wine with a belch and then started giggling.

The small group groaned and had Thelma sit on a chair near the back. The redhead finally ran out of wine with a long, last drink and quietly pouted when she realized that she wouldn't be able to drink any more. They meant to keep her somewhat out of the way but several young men already noticed the redhead. The skimpy bikini and what it barely contained held their interest, more so than the queen's equally skimpy outfit.

Gabrielle warmed up for a brief time and then nodded to Thor who started the music. Everyone nearby stopped what they were doing and turned their eyes towards Gabrielle — and Thelma — as the queen started her dance.

For a time, the men and a surprising number of women clapped and cheered after each little dance. The warrior queen always performed with her sword by this time, doing weapon katas — a series of martial arts moves with both offense and defense against imaginary foes. Thelma seemed to be forgotten except by a few young men who occasionally stole glances in her direction when they weren't distracted by Gabrielle. The clink of coins dropping into several small, stone urns was a frequent noise heard between dances.

At the beginning of the seventh dance, Thelma decided she'd sulked long enough. She suddenly felt neglected and didn't like it, so she smiled and stood up. Gabrielle almost lost the grip on her sword when she turned to see the redhead. But Thelma behaved herself. She simply closed her eyes and swayed to the music. She couldn't seem to help herself. She felt like dancing.

The other Kisprians all breathed a sigh of relief, and were very happy with the result after the dance. The coins were clinking with greater frequency. Then began the eighth dance.

Thelma opened her eyes after the seventh dance and didn't like what she saw. She got attention but most of it was young men with eyes full of lust. It sent shivers down her spine at first. She felt a little fearful. But with the start of the eighth dance, her fear turned to anger. How dare they treat her like... like... her brother and father treated women! That did it. That made her begin to recall some unpleasant memories of her childhood. The poor redhead remembered how her mother used to degrade herself to calm her foul-tempered father, performing erotic dances and more for the man while Farrott the boy hid in the shadows and quietly whimpered.

She got confused then. She couldn't decide whether she should try to punish all the men somehow or just give in to them and give them what they want like her mother did. It was touch and go for awhile until the drink pushed her over the edge, to the passive side. She imagined she wanted to help her mother out by taking her place. She thought about how her father reacted when he saw her mother's bare breasts. So that's what she did.

"Hey! All you men!" Thelma suddenly screeched, interrupting the music and the dance. She spoke in her native language so the audience didn't understand her, but that didn't stop all eyes from watching her every move. They knew something big was about to happen.

Thelma, once she was satisfied all eyes were on her, ripped off her bikini top and screeched again. "Take a look at these tits!" With her top off, she shimmied and sent her large breasts bouncing in all different directions.

The audience went wild. Men started fighting each other, trying to get to the sultry, sexy redhead and drag her off to their bed.

The Kisprians ran for their lives. Gabrielle kept her wits enough to keep her sword. The others just ran, losing sight of each other and hoping they'd all be ready at their rendezvous point so they could leave town right away. No doubt the local authorities would be after them and the queen couldn't afford any delays.

Thelma disappeared into the crowd, much to the queen's dismay, but there were too many people around to do anything about it. She briefly contemplated turning the men into women but she didn't want to be responsible for so many new women. She had to get back to Kispri at any cost.

'Mother Moon, give Thelma strength,' she thought as she ran back to the inn to get her backpack and water skins.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

Return of the Queen

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

This story has a little of everything — action, adventure, drama, tragedy, romance and comedy. It also happens to be the sequel to The Distant Queen, but I wrote this story to stand on its own. I wrote The Distant Queen several years ago and it's not my best work. I didn't want anyone to have to read my earlier story to know what's going on in this one.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the Good Story! button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 10

Four dejected Kisprians managed to get back to their respective homes and keep ahead of the angry authorities with their backpacks and water. They met up at their planned rendezvous point just outside of town and immediately started walking southwest towards the large city of Roggzer. Both small moons glowed directly overhead, giving them enough light to see where they were going. It would be a fairly easy night. They'd be able to cover a lot of ground and get far away from Marzelle.

Gabrielle gave one sad look back before she followed the others. She couldn't believe she'd lost control of the situation. She was better than that! Now they had very little money — none of them thought to snag any of the urns with the coins — so they'd have to quickly find jobs once they got to the city. They needed more money for supplies to make the journey north to the magic site, and they'd need to pay for a guide. Guiding a group of people through a dangerous wasteland had to be expensive.

'Oh, Thelma,' the queen thought. 'You were nothing but trouble, but I hope you're okay. I did what I could for you. Mother Moon and Sister Sun, I pray it's enough.'

She sighed and looked down at the small backpack she was carrying. Since her hands were free after putting on her own pack, she grabbed Thelma's pack and water skins as an afterthought, figuring that the group could use the extra food and water. Seeing Thelma's things almost made her sigh a second time. She needed to move on.

The queen's thoughts changed to Marie, her true love and the only person who could make her forget all about her troubles. She planned on losing herself in her fantasies for the rest of the trip, but she only took a few steps before the group was startled by a loud, sudden noise behind them. It sounded like someone getting sick but it could mean trouble so they found what cover they could and waited for the source of the noise to show up. Imagine their surprise when a scantily clad red-headed woman quickly shuffled into view.

The redhead moaned quietly as she walked but she maintained a surprisingly fast pace until Gabrielle gathered her wits and stopped the short woman in her tracks.

"Thelma! You made it!"

The queen dropped Thelma's things and dashed out from behind a bush. She ran to hug the short woman, embarrassing her and making her slightly more queasy.

"Oy! Please stop that or I'll get sick on you."

"But how did to escape? What happened?"

The others approached from their hiding places and gathered around Thelma to listen to an unlikely tale that could only be true. The redhead was drunk and in trouble. After being groped for the umpteenth time, she quickly snapped back to some level of sobriety and screamed at the men to stop. She actually knew that word in their native language so everyone did stop, partly from surprise and partly because they remembered that they were in public and might get into deep trouble if they continued their groping. During the pause, she put her bikini top back on, even getting one of the young men to tie it in back for her. Then she asked for water, again in the native language. She drank two large goblets of water and soon proceeded to throw up. That cooled the ardor of the young men in a hurry. Most left right away but she was able to get one of them to collect the donation urns for her. She emptied them into a large pouch that she held up and shook for her traveling companions. It jingled nicely.

"Well done, Thelma!" Gabrielle gushed.

"You didn't think I'd make it, did you?"

"No, I didn't think you had a chance. But I'm very glad that you proved me wrong. Now let's get going. We have a long ways to go."

Thelma looked a little off and quickly turned to throw up on a small bush.

"Maybe we'll take it slow for a while first though," the queen said, shaking her head.

~o~O~o~

"How did you find us, Thelma?" the queen asked as they walked together in the faint moonlight. She carried her companion's backpack and water skins, though she planned on giving them up as soon as the redhead felt better. Carrying the weight would help burn more calories.

"I just followed your footprints from the rendezvous spot. They kind of glow a little so they're easy to follow."

"Glow?"

"Yeah, like you all do. I guess it's a trace of your magic left behind or something and I can see it."

"Interesting."

Being able to track them made it easier for Thelma. She was able to lag behind with the warrior queen for protection because she could easily follow the glowing footprints of the others.

~o~O~o~

The queen and her companion walked in silence for barely a mile before the redhead had to have some more conversation. Even as a man, she always felt a need to hear people talk. She rarely talked — except to herself when she was alone — but she could sit in a pub for hours and listen to those around her talk.

Marzelle presented quite the challenge for her. She frequently went out but she couldn't understand a word of what anyone said. She didn't speak the local language. So she ended up talking to herself. It was sad. She was sad. She made a sad little man. But she hoped to make up for her past anti-social behavior. So she talked to Gabrielle.

"I suppose I was lucky to have not been spotted by Durgan or the others."

"What do you mean, Thelma?"

"When I was... you know, I was all over town but I was never spotted. I imagine all of my... the victims would remember me if they saw me. I might not remember them but they'd remember me. Right?"

"Probably," the queen agreed. "We shouldn't be talking about this though."

"The others are quite far ahead of us. They won't hear."

"That's not what I meant. It would be best if you forgot all about your... past."

"Easy for you to say. But my past made me who I am... even today."

"Yes, but you shouldn't talk about it. Something might slip."

"But I have to talk about it! It's been driving me crazy!"

The queen quickly shushed the excited redhead, warning her about mogrons, the dangerous bear-like creatures that were easily irritated and attracted by loud noises.

"I have no desire to fight and kill any more mogrons. Okay? Please... please don't shout."

"Yeah yeah," Thelma sulked and soon started sniffling.

"Are you crying, Thelma? You are. Oh, Thelma. I'm sorry. I sometimes forget how emotional you can be."

"I'm not emotional," the redhead grumbled.

Gabrielle ignored her protest.

"Okay. We can talk a bit more about your early days in Marzelle."

"Really?" Thelma snorted loudly once and wiped her nose with her forearm.

The queen winced at the display but didn't say anything.

"Yes, but let's try it with me asking questions and you carefully giving me answers. Try thinking about wording your answers so they don't give away who you were. It'll be good practice."

"Thanks, Gabrielle."

"Aw. You're welcome, Thelma. First question: Did you ever hang out around the west end of town?"

The redhead paused a good ten seconds before answering in the negative, making the queen smile with amusement as much as approval.

"Did you ever hang out at the market?"

"No. A bit boring, that."

Gabrielle didn't like that answer. She loved browsing the shops in the market.

"Have you ever tried looking around the market? All those little stalls sell a lot of interesting wares."

Thelma just looked back at her like she was crazy.

"Just please give it a chance when we get to the market at Roggzer. You might be surprised. And as for your hangout habits, you weren't around where our fellow Kisprians normally hung out. Remember that Durgan and Thor had an art business in the west end of town and Dalene spent most of her free time in the central market area. Plus, you mentioned that you mainly went out later in the day and stayed out late while the others are all morning persons. You weren't likely to bump into them."

"Oh. Right."

"Anything else you'd like to talk about, Thelma?"

The redhead blushed and mumbled something about feelings.

"Try again. I didn't catch any of that."

"I said I'm having some... odd feelings. You know?"

"This isn't about your monthly cycle, is it? I thought you handled your first one very well. You're lucky that your symptoms are so mild."

"What?! No! Nothing like that. That's one subject that I don't want to talk about if you please."

The queen rolled her eyes. "So what feelings do you mean?" Then it hit her. "Oh! Have you found someone you like?"

Thelma looked down, her blush hidden by the darkness. "Sort of. Maybe."

"I noticed you giving Durgan and Thor a couple good, long looks over the past couple days."

"Uh...."

"It's okay, Thelma. There's nothing wrong with checking out someone as long as you're not rude about it. I noticed you were fairly discreet."

"Well, yeah. I didn't want them to know."

"So you think you might like men?"

"Maybe."

"Did you like men before? You know, when you were on Kispri?"

"I'm not really sure. I didn't exactly go crazy over women, but I didn't seem to like men either. I'm so confused."

"I'm not sure I can help you figure out your sexual preference, Thelma, but I can tell you this: A lot of the men that I've changed into women do develop feelings for men. Many seem to prefer men. Many prefer women. And more still seem to like men and women equally. Anything is possible. Perhaps you just needed the right... body to get a kick start."

"You really think so?"

"I'm beginning to."

Several miles went by as both women lost themselves in thought. The queen went back to her fantasies about Marie and Thelma tried imagining herself kissing and being held by a man. Time flew by quickly with such thoughts and it wasn't long before the dawn sky showed itself. The two women caught up to the rest of the group who waited to discuss exactly how to handle the coming heat of the day.

~o~O~o~

The group had walked all night and through to mid morning before making camp in the shade of some small, thick shrubs. Four of the five laid down on lightly padded bed rolls and were out like a light. The air still felt cool enough that they could easily drop off for some much needed sleep.

Durgan sat to one side in the shade, taking first watch since he still seemed restless. He needed more time to exhaust himself for sleep. Everything seemed to be changing so fast. His mind had trouble keeping up with recent events. He was used to a hard lifestyle with little or no change, just like the rock that he shaped with his magic.

Getting teleported to Agrin by Farrott upset his life like nothing else ever had. But he wasn't weak. The experience didn't break him. He just found himself a nice rut as soon as possible and settled into it very quickly, starting with making small statues out of the rocks he found near his feet. It helped relax him, and now he found himself resorting to the same habit.

After forming his seventh statue, one with a remarkable likeness of Thelma, Durgan shook his head and slowly stood up to stretch his legs, throwing the statue into some nearby thorn bushes.

'Don't go there, old boy. The overprotective queen would have your handsome head.'

He closed his eyes and stretched his arms, pretending to reach for a few, small clouds passing overhead. And when he opened his eyes, he got a surprise. A small mogron, probably a yearling, coming up to his knee in height appeared at the edge of camp. It had the characteristic reddish-brown fur and short, stubby tail that most mogrons had though it didn't seem to have the short-tempered behavior of the adults. He'd probably prevail in a fight but it was large enough to do some damage.

"Hello there," Durgan said quietly, trying not to wake his companions. He kept his composure, not fearing animals, even when he should. "Are you lost? Hungry? What?"

The young animal cocked its head, confused but curious, never having met a person. It had recently found and fed on an underground nest of squirrel-like nigglers so luckily its belly was mostly full. Being a young mogron, it wouldn't turn down a meal if it presented itself though. It could smell something that made it drool a little. The strange living thing in front of her was obviously too big for it to eat but it wondered if it might be able to get some leftovers from its most recent kill. At least that would be the closest human approximation for the crude thoughts in its small brain.

Durgan noticed the drool and couldn't help himself. He knew the group had limited supplies but he bent down to his backpack and pulled out a packet of jerky wrapped in wax paper. He chewed a small piece to show the mogron it was okay and tossed a larger piece in front of it.

It sniffed the strange object, recognizing it as edible. The lack of blood disappointed it but it inhaled the meat, leaving it to its strong stomach to digest it. And that was that. The group got themselves another traveling companion.

~o~O~o~

The last rays of the sun stretched shadows far across the dry dirt. Everything was so peaceful and quiet, just how Dalene liked it. She sat on a wide, flat rock and watched everyone slowly wake up. She was the third on watch after Thor, leaving the queen to sleep all night; something about needing some odd meditation. The other two watchers took a little time to get used to the idea of a mogron in camp but since the animal preferred to sleep close to Thelma, they didn't mind too much.

Now that it was getting late in the day, everyone stirred, getting ready for another night march through the scrubland. Durgan had just gotten up to stretch when a loud noise pierced the silence.

Thelma screamed when she woke up and saw the mogron lying next to her. She woke it up and it quickly shuffled over behind Durgan for protection.

"Calm down, Thelma!" the man barked. "You're scaring him."

"Scaring him?! What?!"

Gabrielle grudgingly woke up to add to the chaos. As usual, she'd been spending the last part of her astral trip with Marie and didn't want it to end. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"There's a slavering beast attacking! Kill it!!"

The warrior queen rolled her eyes at the cowering mogron and thought about threatening Thelma with her sword instead. She controlled herself though. She saw Durgan throw a small scrap of jerky to the young mogron and quickly figured out what had happened.

"Durgan, please tell me you haven't been feeding that young mogron all day."

"Fritz," the man replied.

"Excuse me?"

"His name is Fritz. And no, I haven't been feeding him all day. He wandered into camp not long after you fell asleep. I gave him a few treats for being good and not attacking us and then he settled down to sleep next to Thelma. What could I do? I could tell he was young and I felt sorry for him. He seemed too young to be without his mother."

Thelma calmed down but she continued to frown and just kept quiet for once, not knowing what to say.

Gabrielle was sure what to say, and she had to correct something.

"Her," the queen said. "Your mogron is a female. And just be glad her mother isn't around or we'd all be sorry. Mother mogrons with young are the worst to fight. I know. I had to kill one. The young scattered so I didn't have to worry about them but the mother was ferocious." Gabrielle shuddered at the memory. She didn't like killing, and she hoped the young were old enough to survive on their own. She cared about the little animals but she still didn't want one joining them, even if it was a young, mild-tempered female.

"I'm still calling her Fritz," Durgan grumbled, throwing her another piece of jerky.

~o~O~o~

"Stop looking behind you, Thelma," Gabrielle said. "You're driving me crazy."

"I don't care. I don't trust... Fritz. She keeps looking at me funny."

The mogron trailed behind the group, happily trotting as close behind the redhead as she could without causing a scream.

"Oh, that stupid name. Why did he have to name her Fritz?"

"He could've named her Sweetie and it wouldn't make any difference to me," Thelma groused.

The queen laughed. "Thanks. I needed that."

"Whatever."

"Anyway, I think she likes you, Thelma. You should be honored."

"What?!"

The rest of the group all shushed the redhead in unison, making her huff a little but she did keep quiet after that. She still kept sneaking looks at Fritz though. Gabrielle just walked a little ahead of her so she wouldn't see it.

"Durgan?" the queen asked. "Have you considered what we'll do with Fritz when we reach Roggzer?"

"Um...."

"I'll take that as a no. We'll have to scare her away. If she follows us into the city, she'll likely be killed very quickly."

"I didn't think about that." The man hung his head. Even though the mogron didn't favor him, he favored her. He'd always liked animals, especially young, wild animals. He hated to think that he might be responsible for getting her killed.

"What if we leash her?" he suggested.

"In spite of her mooning over Thelma, she's still a wild animal, Durgan. She's not going to take to a leash very well."

"I could try. I'd feel awful if she ended up coming into town even after we tried to scare her away."

"True," Gabrielle mused. "It's possible that she might try to come back and follow our scent into the city. I suppose it couldn't hurt to try training her. But please stop feeding her so much. We can't afford to spare the food."

"I'm only using my own rations and I'm not feeding her all that much. Don't worry. She wanders off quite often, probably to hunt."

"Okay. But if we manage to keep her alive in the city, we'll have to buy her meat. I hope we can afford to feed her."

Durgan paused a few seconds in thought. "I just hope she's accepted. Even on a leash, will the citizens accept her?"

"I don't know," the queen said, shaking her head. "I hope so."

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

Please forgive this humble attempt at writing a crazy story.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story to protect my fragile ego.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 11

The group took a few short breaks for Durgan to make leashes but they still made good time walking through the night. The sky was clear and the two dim moons continued to provide enough light to see by.

After the third leash was destroyed, Durgan gave up on his idea. He tried walking the young mogron close to Thelma, but wild animals weren't meant to be leashed. The mogron chewed through each leash in short order, but at least she continued to walk close to Thelma. The frustrated man tried some extra cord from his backpack first, followed by a strip of leather. He didn't have the materials to waste so he even tried some vines. Nothing stopped Fritz from freeing herself.

"It's just as well," Durgan told the queen. "She needs to hunt anyway."

They hung back from the mogron and watched her trot behind Thelma.

"True. But what do we do when we get to Roggzer? It might be best if we just put her down ourselves. At least we'd be sure that her death would be quick and painless."

Durgan shuddered but had to agree. "If it comes to that, I'll do it. It's my fault that she's following us."

"Yours and Thelma's." Gabrielle winked.

"Hey!" Thelma turned around and squawked. "I heard that!"

The group all shushed the redhead and went back to their own thoughts. It would be another long, mostly quiet night.

~o~O~o~

Morning seemed to take a long time to arrive that day but the tired group had made good progress on their march. After setting up camp and distracting Fritz with some jerky to give Thelma some space to fall asleep, the young mogron snuggled up beside the redhead and soon fell asleep.

The queen and Danelle walked over to a small stream, taking a little time to refill their water skins and indulge in some conversation.

"They're so cute together," Gabrielle remarked after a big yawn.

"I don't know," the young woman said. "I don't trust that mogron. Wild animals scare me."

"I think we'll be safe for the short trip to Roggzer. She's still very young and she seems to have adopted Thelma as her mother. I wonder if it's one of the orphans of the mother mogron that I killed."

"Are you sure she'll behave?" Danelle didn't look convinced.

"I'm sure. But if you like, you can sleep on the opposite side of me."

"Thanks."

They settled down then, with Durgan taking the first watch as usual.

~o~O~o~

The queen didn't want to try explaining astral travel to the group. She didn't really feel the need to involve anyone else anyway. She had her hands full enough with Thelma. She still owed the redhead more astral trips and meant to repay her debt as soon as possible. She separated from her physical body and moved over to her companion.

'Wake up, Thelma. It's time to hunt for technology again.'

Thelma didn't respond right away after her astral body manifested next to Gabrielle. Instead she looked down and mentally yelped as she saw Fritz curled up next to her physical body.

'I'll never get used to that... creature! Why does it like me so much?! What did I ever do to deserve this?!'

'Please, Thelma. Stop shouting.'

'But why?!'

Gabrielle sighed. 'Her mother probably died and she thinks you're her mother. It's as simple as that.'

'How would you know?' Thelma sent waves of doubt and disgust in equal measure, almost overwhelming the queen.

'I'm fairly sure I killed her mother on my trip to Marzelle and she seems young enough to still want a mother. Why don't you try taking some pity on the poor animal?'

'Are you kidding?!'

'No! You told me your mother died when you were young and I'm very sorry about that. But think about what it might have meant to you if some other nice woman adopted you and took care of you. Think how nice that would be. Please try to show Fritz a little compassion.'

'Oh.' Thelma got very quiet. 'I guess I didn't think of that.'

'Well now you are thinking about it and I hope it helps. So can we get going now, please?'

'Sure. Yeah.'

~o~O~o~

Two astral women flew in parallel once again, but much farther apart. Thelma finally started getting more comfortable being on her own. She continued to mentally shout at the queen but at least she was farther away so it didn't seem as loud.

'See anything yet, Thelma?'

'Nope! I've got nothin' but a few glowin' spots. Doesn't look good!'

'I want to speed up to cover more ground. Is that okay?'

Thelma thought for a short time and realized it would be okay so the two of them increased their speed. It helped make up for their zigzag flying pattern that they hoped would make it more likely to find something.

It wasn't long before a tall, narrow tower appeared, along with several smaller round buildings and a very large, flat rectangular area with a metallic surface. Gabrielle noticed it just after she cleared a short ridge. She called to Thelma and they went to check it out. It looked promising.

~o~O~o~

After a good look underground, the queen felt sure that she found exactly what she needed. An iron ship stood on a platform in a huge rectangular cavern. Metal, glass and blinking colored lights were everywhere. The place reeked of technology.

'Come on, Thelma. Let's get you back to your body. I want to go back to Kispri right away. I finally have some good news to report back home!'

It was the most excited the redhead had ever seen Gabrielle. The sight of all the magic of technology drew both women in like a moth to a flame but Thelma couldn't deny her companion and protector the joy of reporting good news.

At least it was good news for the victims of her former male self. Thelma couldn't work up much excitement for it though. She wasn't going back to Kispri with the others. She really would rather stay on Agrin. She liked the much warmer climate and loved the food. There was so much more variety than there was back on her home world.

And then there were those new feelings that kept surprising her, feelings that blossomed into such wonderful, sensual experiences. She found herself increasingly attracted to the men of Agrin and it no longer bothered her at all. Lately, her attraction had even started to fuel fantasies about the men, and those fantasies led to what had to be sexual arousal. She really wasn't sure what was going on with her body but she planned to experiment at her earliest opportunity.

The ground flew by in a blur as the two women raced back to their sleeping bodies, and during the trip, Thelma finally realized how much better her life had become. Just before moving back into her sleeping body, she couldn't help taking a look at Fritz. The young mogron actually looked kind of cute as it nuzzled against her, and she decided then and there that she'd try to show it a little kindness. It might be good practice after all. The curvy redhead placed her hands over her womb and decided she might even like to try her hand at motherhood. The thought didn't bother her in the least as she merged with her physical body. Her astral body drifted off to sleep and she began the most amazing dream.

~o~O~o~

"What?! Really?!" Muriel was flabbergasted by the news. "You found an iron ship?!"

The two handmaidens were more relieved than happy, but Marie was positively giddy with joy. She bounced up and down in her chair and quickly clapped her hands together several times. Her face beamed with the brightest smile that Gabrielle had ever seen.

Heloise snorted at the display. "Oh, please. There is no way you were ever a man," she accused the petite woman.

Marie just continued to smile.

"It was kind of hard to tell," the queen said. "but the iron ship seemed more than large enough to carry a few dozen people. I'm going try to find more of Farrott's victims and bring them home. It'll be wonderful!"

Normally, Muriel wouldn't have agreed to taking more time. She wanted the queen to get home as soon as possible. But she surprised everyone with some good news of her own.

"I think that will work out fine," the old woman said, with a few jaws falling slack. "Since you've been sleeping during the day on your trek through the desert, you've been visiting here much earlier than usual and it's caused an interesting new rumor to start. You might be pleased to hear that with your lighter duties and irregular schedule, people are beginning to wonder if you might be pregnant."

"What?!" Gabrielle took a turn at being surprised.

Marie laughed and turned to Muriel. "I must be a well-kept secret then. Good. But why did you say it'll work out fine if Gabi stays a little longer on Agrin?"

"Because, my good woman," the advisor smiled. "If the queen is thought to be pregnant, it could explain away the odd behavior. People will forget the other rumors about an imposter taking her place and the barbarian hordes will be held off that much longer. They'll once again be concerned about losing their manhood."

Gabrielle shook her head and moaned.

"Of course you know what this means, right, your Majesty?" Muriel continued with a gleam in her eye.

Gabrielle nodded. "We'll have to encourage the rumors of my pregnancy. And I'll likely have to continue my odd sleeping schedule after I reach Roggzer."

"Correct, your Majesty." Muriel's smile broadened. She reached over to pat the queen's stomach and added, "I'd like to cultivate this little rumor and see it grow."

"Careful, Muriel. You're having a little too much fun with this."

~o~O~o~

The queen stood in her royal bedchambers along with Marie and Muriel. She didn't mind trying on a baggy tunic but she didn't like her advisor's suggestion for a new accessory.

"Do I have to stuff my tunic with a pillow?! I feel ridiculous!" Gabrielle was made to look to be three or four moons pregnant and neither she nor Marie were comfortable with the new look.

Marie stifled a few giggles until she realized that she could get pregnant. After that, she soon fell into lapses of daydreams involving pregnancy and caring for babies. Suddenly, the idea didn't seem humorous at all. Instead, she felt scared and excited, and she felt a strange longing that perplexed her. She'd never felt anything like it.

If the two of them wanted to raise children, they might find an orphan or two, but having their own seemed like a better idea. Even though it meant sharing a bed with a man, even if she herself were to be the one to carry the child, she couldn't get the idea out of her head.

"Gabi?" Marie said. "I think motherhood suits you. Please don't carry on so." With that said, the small woman went over to hug the queen and all complaints were forgotten... for the moment. The two women separated and stared into each others eyes.

"You want a child now," Gabrielle told her mate.

Marie simply nodded and then quickly looked at the floor, blushing.

"It's okay, my Love. I think it's a good idea too, actually. And I could use an heir to the throne."

"Does that mean you'd be the one to get pregnant?"

"Just me? That wouldn't be fair to either of us. You might be a bit envious and I'd have a more difficult time getting around. I'd like to share the experience with you if that's okay with you."

"Both of us?" Marie squeaked.

The queen smiled and nodded.

"Okay," Marie said quietly. She gave her mate a tentative smile and the two of them hugged to seal the agreement.

The rest of the Gabrielle's time that day was spent on planning a royal nursery. They had various vendors visit for quotes of materials and remodeling, and they gave the visitors good glances at the apparently pregnant queen to strengthen the rumor.

~o~O~o~

The queen and her mate sat on the royal bed, having a little quiet moment after a very busy day.

"I have to leave soon, Marie. I can feel my body calling me. Sorry."

Marie sniffed but kept herself from crying any more. It had been a very emotional day for her, in a good way though. She smiled and shyly looked up through her eye lashes at her mate. "When do you want to... you know?"

"Start?"

Marie nodded.

"You don't have to wait for me to get back. Even if we started trying at the same time, there's no guarantee we'd both get pregnant at the same time. It might take me several months to get pregnant. With all of the exercise and stress I've had lately, I've been irregular."

"Oh, Gabi. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, my brave little flower. I'll be okay. I just didn't want you to get your hopes up of getting pregnant at exactly the same time."

"But if it'll likely take you longer, shouldn't I wait?"

"Yes, I suppose that would be a good idea. I'd like you to consider cutting back or even quitting your alcohol consumption too, just to get used to it. No more getting drunk, please. It's not good for the fetus."

Marie's eyes widened.

"Truly. Our birth specialists have determined that to be a fact — sadly by trial and error."

"Okay, Gabi. I'll be good."

Gabrielle smiled and got a faraway look in her eye. "I know you will," she murmured, just before fading out and returning to her physical body.

~o~O~o~

The queen returned to an amazing sight. There, before her, sat Thelma, cooing to and even petting Fritz! But her royal training kicked in and she made sure not to show her surprise.

"You're up early, Thelma."

"Not really. You just slept a little late. You also muttered a little about babies just before you woke up, but I'll keep it to myself. No one else heard."

"Thank you, Thelma. That's very considerate of you. But there's nothing at all wrong with babies."

"Oh! I agree. But you mentioned something about getting pregnant. I thought you might want to keep that part a secret."

Gabrielle blushed a little and mentally chastised herself for staying so long in Kispri. She hated the idea of accidentally giving away any royal secrets in her sleep. She didn't want to ruin her good mood though, so she changed the subject.

"I see our earlier talk did some good. Fritz seems very happy."

"Oh. Yeah. I decided you were right. She's very docile with me, at least so far. I'm not sure what to do if she gets playful though. She could tear me to bits if she wanted to."

"I don't think that'll happen but do be careful. You'll want to make sure she's always well-fed before handling her. And speaking of that, has she been fed yet since you got up?"

"I gave her some of my jerky but she probably needs a lot more."

"Yes, she does. You'll need to shoo her away so she'll go hunting."

"Are you sure?" Thelma looked a little apprehensive.

"Yes, just do it. She needs to hunt to get enough food. Now come on and be a good mother. Shoo your child off to hunt."

Thelma raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

The queen was impressed by Thelma's silence, but the same couldn't be said for the woman's parenting skills. Thelma pushed and prodded but Fritz wouldn't budge.

"Shoo! Shoo!!" The redhead resorted to shouting and waving her arms over her head but Fritz still wouldn't leave. She just sat at Thelma's feet and whimpered.

"Okay. Enough, Thelma. You'll attract an adult mogron with that. Then we'll all be in trouble."

"But she won't leave!"

"Please, Thelma. Stop shouting. You'll just have to go hunting with Fritz."

"What?!"

"Thelma!"

The rest of the group shushed the two loud women and they both quickly stopped. Gabrielle took a couple of deep breaths and continued.

"I'll follow behind you and Fritz at a discreet distance. I won't let you get into any trouble."

Thelma got a very distressed look on her face, looking just like any worried mother. "But I don't know how to hunt. I don't know what to do."

"I'll direct you with hand signals. We'll figure something out."

The two women worked out a set of signals and then Thelma jogged off in the direction that Gabrielle indicated with Fritz right at her heels. There were some promising tracks in the dirt that should lead to a niggler burrow, something that both Thelma and Fritz could easily handle.

~o~O~o~

A very happy young mogron trotted back into camp followed by the two women. Thelma's face and bare arms were smeared with niggler blood and from the sour look on her face, it was clear that she wasn't happy. Gabrielle, on the other hand, shared Fritz's good mood. In fact, the queen snickered whenever she looked over at the redhead.

"Okay," Durgan said when he saw them return. "I have to hear this story."

"No," Thelma said quietly. "You do not."

"Come on," Durgan pleaded. "I packed up your things for you so we could leave right away when you got back. Let's hear it."

"I said, no," Thelma growled.

Fritz started growling too, following her adopted mother's lead, and Durgan stopped asking. "Ungrateful creatures," he muttered before turning and leading the group onward to Roggzer.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

Please forgive this humble attempt at writing a crazy story.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story to protect my fragile ego.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 12

The group was nearing the end of their current night march and found themselves only two more days from Roggzer. Dalene was happily daydreaming about some of the comforts of civilization and Gabrielle wished she had the luxury of daydreaming, but the third woman in the group didn't share their enthusiasm.

"What if I stay just out of town with her?" Thelma asked the queen. "Fritz and I should be safe enough then. Right?"

Gabrielle tried not to roll her eyes. "No, Thelma."

"Fritz would protect me. Come on."

"We need you to find more Kisprians in the city. I have some ideas that will help but you're still the best way to find our stranded brothers and sisters."

"Oh. Right." Thelma slumped. She really grew to like the little mogron and like the others, she didn't want to see her come to any harm.

"Truthfully, I don't know what we're going to do when we reach the city. I need to continue sleeping during the day, just like Fritz. It's going to be awkward."

Gabrielle had quietly mentioned her odd sleep schedule to Thelma, explaining about the need to change her travel times back to her queendom so roving bands of barbarian men wouldn't think she was an imposter and attack. Since she'd already talked in her sleep about pregnancy, she'd included the part about starting a rumor that she was pregnant.

Thelma amazed her once again. The redhead didn't laugh at all. She just nodded like she approved. But then she spoke and reminded the queen that she still had some roughness to smooth out.

"What if you turned another man into a woman who looks just like me?

"That's a terrible idea, Thelma. I don't turn men into women without good reason."

"But it is a good reason! It's for Fritz!"

Thelma started bawling and the group didn't have the heart to shush her. The little mogron could tell something was wrong and started nuzzling Thelma's leg, causing the redhead to drop to her knees and hug the animal.

"Thelma?" Gabrielle continued. "I'm fairly sure she knows you by scent as much as if not more so than sight. Even if I got a man to volunteer, it probably wouldn't work. I could copy features fairly well but I doubt I could duplicate a person's scent. I'm sorry."

The redhead collected herself and stood up.

"You're right, Gabrielle. It's a bad idea. I'm sorry but I'm desperate. I'm not going to let anything happen to Fritz."

The queen could see the determination in the woman's eyes and just nodded. They'd have to find a way to protect the young mogron.

~o~O~o~

After sweeping the area and rolling out their bedrolls in the shade of a particularly nasty looking bunch of tall thorn bushes, the group sat down and brainstormed for ideas about Fritz. They were all quite tired but they couldn't sleep until they figured out a way to safely get the mogron into the city.

"What about passing ourselves off as a traveling act of some sort?" Durgan suggested.

"What? Like a circus?" Dalene scoffed.

Thelma snorted amusement and Fritz took that to mean it was hunting time. The little mogron was up and sniffing around the campsite, looking for something to track.

"It's that time again," Thelma said with a smile. She actually started looking forward to the hunt. Her first hunt with Fritz hadn't gone well. The young mogron had insisted on sharing the kill with her adopted mother. But since then, Thelma managed to stall and bring back a dead animal to cook and share back at camp. The arrangement worked out nicely.

"Thor?" Gabrielle said.

The large man pointed to himself and shrugged.

"Yes, you. Would you please follow along and keep Thelma and our young one out of trouble?"

He looked uncertain.

"You can handle it. I want to stay and think about Fritz with the others. Please go with them... unless you have any ideas."

"I'll go," he said before turning to Thelma and Fritz. "Ladies?" he said to them.

That caused Gabrielle to snort amusement.

Thelma rolled her eyes and took off running, shouting back over her shoulder. "Come on, Fritz. Let's lead Thor on a merry chase."

The redhead had continued to slim down and was getting in very good shape. Fritz helped with that. The young mogron would take off after a scent and Thelma would play the worried mother and chase after her. She couldn't help but get in shape.

Thor certainly didn't mind the exercise. He was in great shape before they left Marzelle and he thought he could keep up. It also didn't hurt that he found Thelma to be very attractive. He was very motivated to keep her in sight. With Thelma's guardian queen out of the way, he might even try to flirt with the redhead — if he could catch her.

~o~O~o~

Thelma and Fritz did lead Thor on a merry chase. The woman had built up a lot of endurance as well as lost a lot of weight. Thor had strength but he didn't fare well over long distances. It was all he could do to keep up. He caught his breath when the pair of females dug out a niggler nest and then huffed and puffed as he followed them back to camp. Fritz wasn't slowed much by having to digest her large meal and, even with a dead niggler slung over her shoulder, Thelma kept up a slow jog.

The three hunters came back to a very quiet camp. The brainstorming hadn't gone well.

"Hey," Thelma said. "We're back. And I've got a little extra for our...." She looked at the rising sun and used the word breakfast instead of dinner.

"Welcome back," the queen told them.

"I take it you didn't think of anything," the redhead asked. She knew the answer even without getting a reply.

"Well... I was thinking while we were out," Thelma said.

"Oh?" Dalene seemed interested at least. Durgan and Gabrielle just hung their heads.

"Do they have anything like dogs here? Could we disguise Fritz as a dog?"

That had the rest of the group scratching their heads. Since arriving on Agrin, none of them had seen anything like a dog, a popular pet back on Kispri.

"I don't think that will work, Thelma," Gabrielle said. "I doubt they have dogs here."

Thelma wouldn't give up. "But we could just call her a dog. We could say she's from another land, far away from here. We could say we picked her up on our travels. It wouldn't be a total lie. I know how you hate lying."

Durgan looked thoughtful and finally spoke up. "It's doubtful that the majority of city dwellers has seen an adult mogron, let alone a young one. It might work, as long as Fritz behaves herself."

The group turned and looked at Thelma, absently scratching Fritz behind an ear. The mogron drooled a little but her sharp teeth weren't visible. She looked completely harmless.

"I don't see any way of disguising her as a dog but yes, Durgan. I see your point. Let's just call her a dog and hope for the best. Thelma?"

Thelma dazzled Gabrielle and the men with a smile and they all forgot about their troubles for the rest of their day. They soon settled down to sleep through the heat of the day with Durgan taking first watch. Fritz settled down to snuggle with Thelma and another day passed.

~o~O~o~

Thelma used up the last of her astral voyage gifts and that was fine with her. She'd grown a little bored with seeing the same sights. She happily snuggled with her young mogron companion and dreamed of possible futures that usually involved starting a family on Agrin.

The queen was a little disappointed but mostly relieved to travel alone. Two more solo astral trips to the iron ship confirmed that it was built to sail between worlds. Whether it was in good enough shape to actually make the journey was yet to be seen. Still, there were promising signs. All of the blinking lights and humming of great power throughout the ship signified that it could do something.

Gabrielle had hoped for the best in spite of being unnerved by the huge underground chamber. She'd caught small flashes of light moving out of the corner of her eye, but whenever she'd turned to look, the flash had disappeared.

'Must be technology,' she muttered to herself. 'But it sure is strange.'

She just had to trust in the magic of technology.

The queen continued to travel back to Kispri for regular updates and was mostly pleased to hear that the rumor of her pregnancy had the desired result of keeping the barbarian hordes at a good distance. The rumor still embarrassed her a little, and it bothered her to deceive her royal subjects, but it was all for the best. That left her to focus on the task ahead. She had Kisprians and a guide to find. Then they would all march off to the great iron ship and hopefully sail it back home.

~o~O~o~

The tired group emerged from a cluster of low hills and marched into sight of the eastern part of Roggzer a little early, while it was still dark. Several lit oil lamps hung, casting long shadows over the streets on the outskirts of the city. Only a few people stirred at that hour, mostly militia guards and those who cared for livestock.

Gabrielle scouted ahead for an inn as close to the wilderness as possible for Fritz and reported back her success. They set their backpacks on the ground and waited for the innkeeper to open the door. It wasn't a long wait.

"Greetings innkeeper," the queen said when a large, middle-aged man with a ruddy face quietly opened the front door. "Have you some rooms available?"

The innkeeper scanned the group to informally screen them. He always kept a lookout for troublemakers and could usually spot them a mile away. When he came to Thelma, it was all he could do to tear his eyes away from the beautiful sight, but tear them away he did. Then he caught sight of Fritz.

"What are you doing with a mogron?" he said with a tired voice. He ran into all sorts of people with all different tastes. He'd had animal lovers stay at his inn before, almost always with disastrous results. The animals were rarely well-trained and ended up damaging the rooms, either by tooth and claw or, more likely, with their waste.

"What? No!" The tall woman took a step back, trying to collect herself. "This is a just an exotic pet," she said, pointing to Fritz. "We picked her up in a distant land. She's completely tame and...." The innkeeper's look told her that he wasn't fooled.

"Look," she began again. "The poor young thing lost her mother and followed us. She's bonded to the redhead there," pointing to Thelma. "We didn't know what else to do but let her come with us. She's really quite harmless and we won't stay long enough for her to grow up and be truly dangerous. Can't we keep her? Please?"

Gabrielle gave him the helpless, young woman look, not easy to pull off considering that she wore her battle leathers. She hated trying to manipulate the man but it was for a good cause.

The innkeeper still didn't look ready to yield though. He'd been hardened by too many bad guests, too many unpleasant incidents. It wasn't until he noticed Thelma that he softened.

Thelma walked up next to the queen and sniffled, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Fritz followed her adopted mother, sitting at her feet and adding to the mix with some quiet whimpering.

That did it. The innkeeper couldn't withstand three sorry looking females. He threw up his hands in surrender.

"Fine," he said. "The mogron can stay, but if she causes any damage, you'd better damn well pay for it."

"Oh! She won't be any trouble," Gabrielle said. "You'll see."

"Crazy animal lovers," the man muttered as he led the group inside.

~o~O~o~

The innkeeper gave the group a ground floor room in the back. It was normally used more for storage but he figured it would be better if they stayed there. They could easily take the young mogron out for walks without disturbing the other guests or staff. He cleared out some crates and added a second bed along with a couple of thick bedrolls. He even added some straw for the mogron and was rewarded with a brilliant smile from a very grateful redhead.

"There you go," the gruff man told the group. "Now I'd best be getting back to getting this dump ready for breakfast. Give me a candle mark and I should be ready for you."

"Do you have any raw meat we could buy?" Gabrielle quickly asked him as he was leaving.

His shoulders slumped. "Right. For the mogron. Just a minute. I'll check."

The man came back a very short time later with a large slab of meat. He led a very excited Fritz just outside the back door of the inn and set it on a relatively clean stone surface, where it was quickly devoured.

"Don't worry about the meat," he told Thelma. "It would've gone bad before it could be eaten anyway."

Thelma hadn't learned enough of the native language to understand what he said but the queen translated after the man left. She added a bit more to the translation too. She knew what he said was a lie. The meat could've been salted and dried in the sun to make jerky easily enough. It would've lasted long enough then.

"I think he likes you," Gabrielle told Thelma.

"What?!" The redhead seemed shaken.

"You don't think he gave us the meat because he's soft on young wild animals, do you?" She winked.

Thelma frowned and responded with her usual comeback. "Whatever."

~o~O~o~

With Gabrielle, Thelma and Fritz fast asleep in the room, the other three members of their group forced themselves to stay awake to get back to a normal sleep schedule. They wanted to explore a little, do some shopping and look for a guide. The queen had sketched a rough map in the dirt the day before to show them the layout of the city so they knew where to go. They headed for the large, flat, wedge-shaped market area in the southeast part of Roggzer.

None of the three could read the native script, but they could speak the language well enough, and Dalene wasn't shy. She asked around and hunted down a guide in short order. She found a tall, serious man named Louis and had a short talk with him to see if he was available. He was so they set up another appointment the next day to discuss details when Gabrielle would be awake.

After making some discreet inquiries to confirm the guide's good reputation, they bought a couple days worth of food and, at the queen's request, they got pen, paper and ink and wrote some flyers in their home language. The flyers were for the eyes of their fellow Kisprians and were written to tell anyone who could read the script to meet at the top of the market at sunset if they wanted to go home. Thelma would hopefully wake up before Fritz and verify the Kisprians by their magic glow in the dim light. Then she'd have to hurry back to the room and take Fritz hunting. After Fritz was happily digesting, they could hold the young mogron in the room easiy enough so Thelma could walk around the city to look for more Kisprians who either couldn't read or hadn't seen the flyers. That was the plan.

The three of them finished their tasks in the city but they some difficulty trying to drag themselves back to the inn for a short, early afternoon nap. Dalene and Durgan had lost their way, partly from fatigue and partly from all of the distractions of the market. Luckily, Thor had paid attention as he followed his two companions and led them to the right place. He didn't have much else to do.

~o~O~o~

The queen astrally traveled back at her castle and had to take two laps around the inner wall of the city, just outside her castle. She couldn't believe her eyes. Everywhere she looked, she saw flags and banners to congratulate her on her pregnancy. It was the best — or at least the most interesting — news they'd had in a long time and they got carried away.

She rushed to her bed chambers, threw on a robe and slippers and ran out to the meeting hall to find Muriel by herself, snacking on a small bowl of nuts.

"Mother Moon! What's going on?! Has everyone gone mad?!" the queen sputtered.

"Welcome back, your Majesty," her advisor said. "It would appear that there are never any easy fixes to anything."

"What are we going to do? I'm not pregnant and when I get back, there are going to be a lot of questions."

"I suppose it's too late to bed Durgan or Thor," the old woman mused.

"Muriel!"

"What? I'm just trying to explore all possibilities here. That's what you hired me for after all."

"I'm sorry. You're right."

The queen sighed and her mind raced to think of some way to explain her slender figure when she arrived back on Kispri. She wouldn't lie to her subjects if she could help it but would they be able to handle the truth? In this case, truth was stranger than fiction. She wouldn't consider saying that she had a miscarriage. She didn't even like the idea of saying nothing and letting her subjects come up with the idea of a miscarriage on their own. She felt trapped.

If the subjects were told what was really going on at present, the truth would escape the castle walls and it wouldn't be long before the barbarian hordes invaded. But if they waited to tell the truth after the queen's return, everyone would know they'd been lied to for a long time prior to her homecoming. There could be some serious trust issues.

Muriel got up and walked over to her friend, giving the tall woman a hug and then backing away to look her in the eye. "I'm sorry but you might just have to abdicate."

Tears came to the queen's eyes. "I know! I'm trying to hard to keep everyone safe but no one likes a liar. I feel so ashamed!"

Muriel repeated the hug and whispered in her friend's ear. "You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. You're doing what must be done to keep us all safe."

Gabrielle sniffed. "They'll still be angry about the lying."

The two women separated and Muriel shook her head. "We should've known something like this would happen. We shouldn't have encouraged the rumor."

"Bad ideas happen, my friend," Gabi put her hand on Muriel's shoulder. "Let's just move on and take the consequences. Even if I abdicate, I can still stay and help defend this place, right?"

"Most assuredly, your Majesty."

"Oh. I take it you haven't had any more visions of the future; not even vague ones that might offer a smidgen of hope."

Muriel gave her friend a sad smile and shook her head no.

~o~O~o~

Sunset in Roggzer kept the group busy, but in a good way. It kept the queen from dwelling on her problems back home. Fritz hunted and behaved and Thelma identified two more male Kisprians in the market. The redhead also managed to pull herself away from the young mogron long enough to find a third male Kisprian later that night. They informed the new acquaintances about their plan and added three more to the group.

When the three men saw the beautiful redhead, they fell over themselves to agree to join the group. Thelma should've been upset by the attention but instead she was just sad to find three more victims who hated her former male self. She cut her walk short and spent the rest of the night with Fritz, waiting for the mogron to get hungry again so she could lose herself in the hunt.

The three new members of the group went back to their homes in Roggzer and enthusiastically agreed to meet in the market for daily updates and to find out when they could begin the journey to the iron ship. Thelma thought it best to not tell them that she wouldn't be going with them.

Gabrielle, Thelma and Fritz kept to themselves in the room at the inn, wallowing in a thick atmosphere of guilt. The young mogron was oblivious to the moody women and didn't care as long as she got plenty of attention and food.

"I guess we found a guide already," Thelma said.

"Yes," the queen agreed.

"And I guess we'll be meeting the guide first thing in the morning."

"Correct again."

"And I guess we'll all have a big party and dance with mogrons all day."

"Honestly, Thelma. I've been listening. I just don't feel much like talking."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm guessing you would like to talk... about the three men we found."

"Yeah. I'm... I feel so guilty about...."

"Careful, Thelma. Remember. The walls have ears."

"What?" The redhead looked around, her eyes wide with fear.

"It's just an expression, Thelma. It means someone might be listening, either through the door or in the room next door."

"Oh. Well I'm kind of back to hating myself again. I'm so bad."

Gabrielle had almost smiled. Thelma hadn't shouted or cried for almost a full day. It had to be a new record.

"You're not bad, Thelma. You're no longer your former self. You're a new person and you're helping a lot of people get back home. You're righting a wrong and that's a good thing."

"I guess. But I've only found six victims so far. I know there are a lot more than six."

"Well, dear Thelma. We're not done searching for them, are we?"

"I guess not," Thelma replied. "I guess not."

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

Please forgive this humble attempt at writing a crazy story.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story to protect my fragile ego.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 13

The queen and her redhead companion had left Fritz with Durgan and a hunk of raw meat while they'd met with the guide, a tall, sturdy man named Louis. Thelma had been remarkably quiet around the man. Her eyes had never left him and Gabrielle had seen why. She'd said as much when they'd got back to the room. After shooing Durgan out, she couldn't help herself. She had to ask about it.

"You really like Louis, don't you, Thelma?"

"What? No, I don't."

"Come on. I could see the attraction. I think he likes you too if it makes any difference. He couldn't take his eyes off of you."

"Well, good for him. I don't really care."

"It's not good to lie, Thelma. Your nipples gave you away, you know. They're perking up now just talking about him."

The redhead looked down at her breasts with a shocked look on her face and shrieked. "Traitorous nipples!" She covered her chest with her hands but it was too late.

"It's okay, Thelma. We talked about men before. It's okay to like them."

"I know! But...."

"You like him more than anyone else you've seen? A lot more? You fantasize about him? You want him?"

Thelma blushed and looked down with the most adorable pout. Fritz sat at her feet, sensing the mood. The young mogron whimpered quietly.

Gabrielle smiled and moved to hug Thelma, talking quietly into her ear.

"You should talk to him. He likes you a lot too. You remember the good deal he gave us when we hired him. He did it for you. I saw they way he looked at you. I'm sure he couldn't stand the idea of you getting sick from those deadly hot spots."

Thelma pulled away and looked up through her eyelashes. "You really think so?" she said.

"It's getting to be late morning. I need to sleep now. But I'll watch Fritz for you later so you can go and talk to him if you like."

"Thanks, Gabi. I'd like that."

At Gabrielle's request, Thelma had taken to calling the queen by her nickname. The redhead had finally become all woman in the queen's eyes, and they'd been together long enough that a quiet sort of friendship had developed between them. It helped that Thelma had taken a last big step towards embracing her new body. She'd begun to share a mutual physical attraction with someone, an attraction that looked like it just might lead to love.

~o~O~o~

Thelma had some trouble communicating with Louis at first but she'd become very motivated to learn the local language. And she'd started to pick up words rather quickly after spending so much time with the man. The new couple had often been seen talking, laughing and holding hands. The rest of the world had seemed to fade away for them when they were together.

Fritz's mood started suffering with the lack of attention and, after the mogron snapped at Gabrielle in irritation early one morning, the queen had to remind the redhead of her responsibilities.

"Perhaps you should introduce Louis to Fritz; see if they get along," the queen said.

"Hm? Perhaps," Thelma said, her eyes glazed with daydreams.

"Seriously, Thelma. You have a young one to care for. Please don't neglect her."

"What?! Me?! Neglect a young one?!"

That snapped Thelma out of her fantasies. Her maternal instinct kicked in and she reached down to pet Fritz, who sat moping at her feet. The mogron happily twitched her short tail at the sudden attention.

"You're right about Fritz, Gabi. Sorry. I did hear you. It's a good idea to introduce her to Louis. But it'll break my heart if they don't get along."

"Oh. Right. Fritz might be jealous of Louis. You'll have to be careful."

"Yeah. I think I'll have Louis feed her some meat. That always gets a person on her good side."

"Excellent idea, Thelma. Just be careful of any displays of affection in front of her. She might not like it."

~o~O~o~

Louis nervously stood in Thelma's room at the inn, holding a rib with bits of raw meat hanging off of it.

"Is this some sort of strange family ritual?" he said to Thelma.

"Ritual?" she asked. "I don't know that word."

"Never mind. I'll just shut up and do it."

"Good man," Thelma teased. "Feed my baby and win her love." Then she gave him a dazzling smile and left the room to retrieve Fritz.

Louis stayed put as he was told and dangled the meat from the rib bone, waiting for his beautiful but slightly crazy new girlfriend to return.

As soon as the little mogron entered, she sniffed a couple times and plopped down, whimpering. The tall man intimidated and confused her. She wanted her adopted mother to feed her, not some big scary man.

"Go ahead, Fritz," Thelma encouraged. "Devour the meat from the nice man."

But Fritz stayed put and continued to whimper.

"Try moving slowly towards her, Louis. I don't understand why she hasn't eaten it by now."

"I think she's afraid of me," he said. But he took a couple steps towards Fritz anyway, just to see what she'd do.

The mogron edged back against the now closed door, and with no escape, she bared her teeth and growled.

"There there, little beast," Louis soothed. "I won't hurt you. Come and get it. Eat your meat."

Thelma gulped when she saw Fritz's large teeth. "I don't think that's a good idea," she told the man but he didn't listen. He kept inching towards Fritz, gently wagging the meat in front of him. His male ego wouldn't let him back away from the challenge.

Fritz kept growling and Thelma couldn't take any more. "Stop it, Louis! She's gonna bite you if you keep going!"

Thelma's shouting made Fritz think the worst, that the man was threatening both of them, and she overcame her fear. She lunged forward, completely ignoring the meat.

Louis had amazingly quick reflexes but he wasn't fast enough to escape the mogron's wrath. As the man dropped the rib and turned to run, Fritz jumped and bit him in the rear. The room was in chaos for a while but eventually man and mogron were separated.

~o~O~o~

The next day, Thelma stood in Louis' office. Her lower lip quivered and her eyes threatened tears.

"I'm so sorry, Louis! I didn't know she'd react like that. She never had a problem taking food from anyone before."

Louis stood behind his desk, absently rubbing his bandaged backside. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I'll be fine. It only hurts when I sit." He tried to joke but it fell flat. Neither one of them laughed.

Though he still felt very attracted to her, he questioned his involvement with the redhead after getting bit. If she kept pets like mogrons, she might be more dangerous than he felt comfortable with. He'd encountered a couple of the adult beasts while guiding various clients out in the wilderness and it wasn't fun. With the help of his clients, he ended up having to kill the animals in self-defense.

"Yeah. Okay. So... I'll be going now. May you be healthy and whole," Thelma said, repeating a local parting phrase she'd learned. She felt love slipping through her fingers and she just wanted to go back to her room and cry.

"And may you also," he gave the usual reply and added, "I'll see you tomorrow at sunset. Please make sure everyone is packed and ready to go."

She slowly nodded as she shut the door behind her.

~o~O~o~

Thelma had changed her sleep schedule to optimize her time with Louis and Fritz — taking a long nap in the middle of the night and another in the middle of the day — but she'd still made time to look for her stranded victims. Over the past several days, the group had swelled to a total of two dozen Kisprians. Most were men but they found three women and two children as well. Gabrielle wanted to slap Thelma for magically sending the children to another world but she reminded herself of Thelma's new status as friend. The redhead was making up for her past as Farrott.

The queen was glad she hadn't gotten angry. It almost broke her heart to see Thelma crying her eyes out the night before they were to leave for the iron ship. She wanted to stay and try to console the redhead and she would've if Fritz hadn't sidled over to her adopted mother, alternating between nuzzling the woman and whimpering in sympathy.

"I'll be back later, Thelma," the queen said, not sure if the sobbing redhead was listening. "I want to make sure everyone will be ready to go tomorrow night."

"Whatever," Thelma said in a small voice.

Normally, the queen would remind her friend of her nightly duty to look for more Kisprians but she decided to stick with a subtle reminder of one task that the redhead would never shirk.

"I gave Fritz a small meal after I woke up; not long before you got back. She'll probably want to go hunting soon."

"Yeah yeah," Thelma said. "I'll take her out. We'll have a real girls night out. It'll be fun."

"Oh, Thelma. I'm sorry."

Gabrielle didn't know what else to say so she quietly left, hoping that a good hunt would lift her friend's spirit.

~o~O~o~

Thelma still took Fritz hunting that night even though they had access to a good supply of meat. It was cheaper for one thing. And it was good exercise. They both seemed to enjoy it so they went out. They had a chaperone when they were far from the city, but being on the outskirts, the pair was safe enough.

"Well," Thelma said, waiting for the mogron to finish eating a large, freshly killed lizard. "Here we are again, Fritz. Just you and me."

Fritz looked up and cocked her head. She was intelligent enough to know her name.

Thelma thought it was the most adorable sight, but she looked away and sniffled. "Why don't you like Louis? Why, Fritz?"

The little mogron cocked her head again when she heard her name a second time. She kept looking at her adopted mother until her hunger got the better of her.

Thelma continued on with her monologue, leaving Fritz to eventually finish eating. Neither one was satisfied after the meal though. The lizard wasn't large enough to quell the mogron's hunger and Thelma still didn't know how to get over her first love. They both trotted slowly back to the inn, where the redhead tossed meat scraps to her hungry little companion and tried not to cry.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle went over to the group's meeting place, a large pub just north of the market. It was popular with merchants who met there after a long day of selling their wares but it wasn't too crowded that night. The day had been too hot to sell much of anything. She entered through the large double doors in front and all eyes turned towards her.

"Hello!" She raised her voice so everyone could easily hear her. "Is everyone ready for tomorrow?"

A loud chorus of cheers erupted. To say they were excited to have a chance of returning home was an understatement.

The queen waited for the noise to die down and continued.

"I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of the dangers of our journey. There are many deadly hot spots that could easily kill us. Our guide, Louis, will help ensure our safety but we have to make sure we listen to him and don't go wandering off. Just walking too near a hot spot could be deadly."

The crowd murmured but the impatient woman soon interrupted them.

"We have a large group that includes a young wild animal... with sharp teeth. Please be on your best behavior as we travel."

One young, brash man named Horus sat in the back and snorted. The queen had noticed him before. His frequent bad behavior made him easy to remember. He was quickly slapped on the back of his head by a friend sitting next to him and Gabrielle took that as a mostly good sign.

The queen continued. "Louis will lead us of course, along with two or three men that I'll select to be co-leaders. The women and children will take up the rear. I, along with my redhead friend and the little beast I mentioned, will be last. Any questions?"

Horus smirked and couldn't help himself. "Yeah," he said. "Are you free for dinner?"

A hush fell over the crowd. Even Gabrielle was surprised.

"You idiot!" hissed Horus' friend, Dirk, the one who hit him earlier. "Don't you know who she is?"

"Well... yeah. She's a gorgeous babe. Duh."

The rest of the men groaned. They knew all about the infamous queen and her magic talent.

Dirk whispered into Horus' ear and the young man went pale and gulped. "Sorry, your Majesty," he said.

Gabrielle nodded to the man and sat down to join the group for a drink. She smiled, trying to show that she didn't mean to use her talent any time soon. But she made sure to single out Horus with her gaze a few times. He gulped every time their eyes met.

~o~O~o~

Thelma had finished feeling sorry for herself by the time Gabrielle got back to the room, but the redhead's rid-rimmed eyes made it obvious that she'd been crying a lot. She sat on her small bed in a numb haze with Fritz asleep at her feet.

"Hello, Thelma," the queen said. "The group is ready for tomorrow... I think. That young man, Horus, shouldn't make any more trouble. He didn't know me before but he does now thanks to one of his friends."

The small woman didn't respond so Gabrielle kept talking to stave off an awkward silence.

"You know, I'm feeling rather optimistic about all this. I think we'll be okay."

Thelma rolled her eyes and flopped back on the bed. "Whatever," she said.

"Come on, Thelma. You can't give up after one bad incident."

"Hah!"

"Would you like me to talk to him for you? I'd be happy to."

"What?!" Thelma felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. She didn't want anyone else getting involved. It was her business and no one else's. "Please, no, Gabi," she said.

"Well you can't keep moping for the rest of your life."

"Why not?"

"Honestly, Thelma. You'll be seeing quite a lot of each other during our journey. And... you'll be staying behind. You are still intent on staying behind, aren't you?"

"Yeah yeah. I'm sure about that much."

"What are you going to do after we leave? It'll just be you, Louis and Fritz. Are you going to ignore him then?"

"Sure."

"Thelma...."

"Okay. Okay. I'll greet him and answer any questions he asks me. I'll even ask him a question if I can think of any. But that's all I'm gonna do."

"And that's a fine start, my friend. Just please make sure you do. Show him you're not giving up."

"Whatever."

"Oh, Thelma. He'd be a fool to give up on you."

Thelma sniffled a little. "Thanks, Gabi."

"You're quite welcome, Thelma."

The queen couldn't think of anything else to say so she checked on their packs and tried to think of some matchmaking ideas. By the time she finished with the packs, she wanted to ask her friend a couple of questions but stopped when she heard light snoring coming from Thelma's direction. Instead of waking the woman, she shrugged and went out for a last stroll around Roggzer. She had some serious thinking to do.

~o~O~o~

The sounds of light music and evening camaraderie drifted through the warm air. The queen let it filter in a little and hummed to herself as she thought about what to do about her heartbroken friend. There really wasn't much she could do. She was honor bound to respect Thelma's wishes and not talk to Louis but she couldn't stop herself from interfering. She knew the couple would be a good match, and Thelma would need someone to talk to besides a young animal after the rest of the group left for Kispri.

Out of desperation, she stopped suddenly, looked up at the dark sky and quietly pleaded, "Why, Mother Moon? Why do you test me so?"

"Who are you talking to, lady?" a young girl said, startling the tall woman. The girl sat on the stairs in front of a tall, narrow apartment building that Gabrielle happened to be standing in front of at the moment. Two bright oil lamps hung from horizontal wrought iron spikes that jutted out from either side of the front door to cast a fair amount of light on an otherwise dark street, allowing the woman a good look at the girl.

She was just approaching puberty, her hair long, straight and black, her eyes brown and her skin dark, like the vast majority of those in the city. The look in her eyes told of a maturity beyond her years. So did her good posture and well-ironed, fine linen blouse and slacks in a bright turquoise.

Gabrielle found her interesting and switched to the local language so she could be understood. "I was talking to the moon."

"Which one?"

"Oh. Right. There are two moons here. What are their names? I never did learn them."

"The dark gray one is Hagrid and the slightly smaller pale yellow one is called Tag. It's called Tag because it's slower than Hagrid and is always trying to catch up."

"Really? That's so cute." The queen paused, suddenly remembering proper etiquette. "Oh, but speaking of names, we haven't been properly introduced. I'm called Gabrielle. What's your name?"

"My name is Lee-Anne," the girl told her, and then quickly added, "So which one were you talking to?" She could be very persistent when she was curious.

"Neither. I was talking to a different moon, very far away from here."

"That's silly. There are no other moons. I'd know if there were."

Gabrielle smiled. She liked to educate others, and she loved a challenge. The girl knew nothing beyond her world. None of the people of Agrin did.

Long ago, many clever witches and wizards had discovered wondrous and powerful magic on Agrin, and they'd been able to take full advantage of their discoveries to create some amazing technology. Unfortunately, it had seemed that they couldn't handle such great power. Some time in the past, one or more great cataclysms — war, economic collapse, a series of great natural disasters — had destroyed their civilization. They'd lost their knowledge of technology and had been forced back to a much simpler life. It had been a terrible loss.

It had seemed crazy that a whole world could ever forget how to create and use such wonderful magic. They had portals that could transport people and goods from one world to another. They had great iron ships that could sail the void between worlds. They must have had the motivation and know-how to save their knowledge in some form for later use. But then the queen had discovered the deadly hot spots. And she had a very unpleasant encounter with the giant metal guardian that blew itself up along with the portal that transported Marie back to Kispri. Perhaps the bad had outweighed the good and the people of Agrin had been better off without technology.

Just as on her own world, magic wasn't always a force for good. It was only as good as the people who wielded it, and it would seem that some people weren't ready for such power. They needed to mature first.

Gabrielle looked at Lee-Anne and decided she liked what she saw. The girl had already demonstrated a maturity beyond her years, dressed in fine clothes and asking friendly questions of a stranger. The queen understood that it might be better to leave technology alone for the current age but she decided that an educated populace was better than an ignorant populace.

"Do you see all of those little points of light in the sky?" she asked the girl, pointing up at the stars.

"Yes."

"What would you say if I told you that each one of those little lights was a sun, just like the one that rises here every morning and sets every evening?"

The girl's right eyebrow raised slightly.

"I know," the queen said. "I was the same way when I learned it less than a few seasons ago, not far from here. But I know it for a fact because I come from one of those other points of light. Or really, I come from a world that circles one of those points of light."

Gabrielle had partly figured out her new location by observation of the strangely colored sun and two small moons. But she also confirmed her new view of the universe when she astrally traveled between worlds. It was quite a revelation for someone who considered herself to be very well educated.

The girl suddenly responded with a snort of amusement. "I get it now. You're a story teller, aren't you."

"Quite true, in a way. I am telling you a story; my story. But it's all true."

"How did you get here then? If it's that far away, you certainly couldn't have walked."

"Very good, Lee-Anne. You're right. I was sent here with magic."

"There's no such thing as magic," the girl scoffed.

Gabrielle called forth her magic then. She couldn't affect the girl but she could make her hands glow a bright lavender, easily rivaling the glow of the two oil lamps.

The girl's eyes widened at the display, but she recovered quickly. "It's a trick," she said. "A very good trick but a trick nonetheless."

"It's no trick." The queen released her magic straight up into the sky where it quickly shot up and disappeared from sight. "Can't you tell I'm not from around here? Look closely at the color of my eyes. Have you seen anyone with green eyes?"

The girl shook her head but still didn't look convinced so the queen continued.

"And didn't you find it strange that I didn't know the names of your moons?"

"Anyone can plead ignorance."

The queen gave the girl a shrewd glance.

"Well, Lee-Anne, you seem like a very bright girl. But try to forget facts for a moment. Look deep inside yourself and ask yourself if you think I'm lying. Ask if any of what I'm saying rings true. Imagine a candle set on the window sill of a house high on a hill. Think of what the light would look like so far away. Then think about suns like yours spaced so far apart that they reduce to points of light. Is it really so far-fetched?"

The girl shrugged and still looked skeptical so the queen beckoned her out into the street and proceeded to sketch some circles in the dusty street. She made one small circle to represent the local sun, and then a larger circle for Agrin's orbit and a small dot for the world itself. Around Agrin, she drew two tight concentric circles for the orbits of Hagrid and Tag.

"Your world, Agrin, circles your sun," the woman lectured, "just as Hagrid and Tag circle Agrin." She walked a few paces and drew another set of two circles. "My world is called Kispri. It circles my sun and my moon circles Kispri. In my... nightly travels, I found out that our suns don't move around our world. Instead, Kispri, and Agrin, rotate. They're like giant, spinning balls, and as they rotate, any one spot on the surface moves in and out of the light of their sun to create day and night. Everything spins and rotates. Nothing stays still, just as the leaves and clouds blow in the wind and rivers flow down their valleys."

The girl took it all in and graced her teacher with a half-hearted smile. "You tell a good story, Gabrielle. But I think I'll have to sleep on it and see what I think in the morning."

"Fair enough. You're a good pupil, Lee-Anne."

"Thanks," the girl said as she got up to go inside.

Gabrielle silently watched the girl walk up the stairs and then pause and turn at the top step.

"What's the name of your moon?" the girl asked.

"My moon? Her name is Selene and when she's high in the sky, she's normally a yellow-gray color, somewhere between Hagrid and Tag. She's also just a little larger than your two moons put together, and she's much slower than either of your moons."

Lee-Anne nodded once. "Good night, Gabrielle. And thanks again." She turned back, reached to open the front door and moved inside.

"Good night. And you're welcome," the queen replied, just before the large, white door slowly creaked shut.

Gabrielle continued on her way and shook her head. She was tempted to go to sleep a little early, before the sun rose, to see if she could pay the girl an astral visit and show her the truth. But first, she had Thelma to think of.

She'd tried and failed to think of ideas when she first started her walk. It frustrated her until she met and talked with Lee-Anne. The girl made a nice diversion. She also inspired an idea, something that occupied the tall woman's thoughts for the rest of her walk.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

Please forgive this humble attempt at writing a crazy story.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story to protect my fragile ego.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 14

Gabrielle spent most of her night walking and thinking, and managed to get back to her room just before sunrise. She suddenly remembered the girl she met, Lee-Anne, and decided she'd try to take her on an astral journey if it wasn't too late. It would be a wonderful last gift to bestow before returning home.

She said good night to a quiet Thelma, gave Fritz a few scratches behind her ears and crawled into bed. The long walk worked its magic and relaxed her enough that she fell asleep right away. It wasn't long after that before she astrally drifted back towards Lee-Anne.

'Hello, Lee-Anne. Remember me?' Gabrielle sent her thoughts to a sleepy but stirring astral version of the girl who she met earlier. She pulled the astral version of the girl out of her physical bodies just moments before.

'What? Am I dreaming?' the girl asked.

'No, not at all,' the queen replied, being careful to keep Lee-Anne from seeing her physical body still sleeping in bed. She learned from Marie that when startled by astral travel, some people snapped back into their bodies and woke up. Gabrielle didn't want that to happen, not until after she took the girl for a little journey.

'You! Yes, I remember you,' Lee-Anne thought. 'How did you get into my room? Do my parents know you're here?'

'I used a little more magic and traveled like a ghost. But don't worry. I won't hurt you. I want to prove that what I told you earlier was true, if that's okay with you.'

The precocious girl gave the woman the same skeptical look that she'd given earlier.

'I won't force you to come,' Gabrielle continued. 'But you might regret it if you don't. It's not likely that I'll ever be back to ask a second time.'

'Okay then,' the girl thought. 'Why not? Show me the moons and suns.'

'Stars,' the woman corrected. 'We call them stars when they're just points of light.'

'Right. Show me the moons and stars then, please.'

And show them the queen did. She gave Lee-Anne a little pre-flight lecture, wisely skipping the part about her having an astral body, and slowly took the excited girl up into the sky.

'I can fly!' the girl mentally shouted. 'This is so awesome!'

'Please, Lee-Anne. Not so loud.'

'But I'm not actually shouting, am I?' the girl observed. 'What's going on?'

'No, you're not shouting out loud. We're communicating solely by our thoughts. It's the only way we can when I... when we're like this. You're in ghost form too. But please! Please don't worry.'

'I'm not worried,' the girl smiled. 'I trust you. Something... inside tells me you're okay.'

'That'll be what the people of my world call intuition. It's a useful thing, especially when facts just can't explain everything.'

'I'm beginning to see.'

Gabrielle took Lee-Anne ever higher, and the girl mentally gasped when she saw the curvature of the surface of her world. She gasped again when they floated high above the clouds and into space, where the spherical forms of the moons and her world could easily be seen. She saw that Tag orbited farther away from Agrin than Hagrid, making it look smaller when they were actually close to being the same size. The queen explained that it was all a matter of perspective. At great distances, things looked smaller, even great suns could look like pinpoints of light when viewed from very far away.

The astral pair quickly flew once around Agrin and then slowly descended upon Roggzer. It was the trip of a lifetime for the girl, one that would influence and inspire her more than she would ever have thought possible.

Lee-Anne let out a big mental sigh and hugged her wonderful teacher once they were back in her bedroom. 'Thanks so much for showing me... everything. I saw the whole world! I just wish I could share it. No one would believe it otherwise.'

'You're welcome. But please don't give up. You've seen that it's possible. You might be able to do this on your own someday. I've been told that it's possible for anyone to do it. A lot of people actually do fly when they're asleep. They just don't remember it.'

'Really?'

'So I've been told... by a friend who I believe.'

The girl paused a short time and got a confused look on her face then. 'Why me?' she suddenly asked.

'Why did I show you all this?'

The girl nodded.

'I guess it was a combination of luck and pluck. We were lucky enough to meet when you initiated a conversation as I was passing by.'

'Do you show a lot of strangers the moons and stars then?'

'Oh. No, not really. I've only shown two others. I guess I also showed you because you helped me in a way. You gave me an idea to help a friend of mine with a little romance problem and I wanted to pay you back.'

Lee-Anne wanted to ask more but she was too polite to pry. Instead, she accepted her role and her good luck with grace. 'I hope it works out for your friend. But I guess you have to go and I have to... is that me?'

The astral girl noticed her physical body and suddenly snapped back into it. Her eyes flew open just in time to see a fading woman rise up and give her a finger wave, just before passing through the ceiling of her bedroom. She mouthed the words, "Thank you," to the woman and gently cried tears of joy on her pillow. She fell asleep soon after and dreamed of other faraway worlds.

~o~O~o~

"I'm back!" Gabrielle called out as she entered her sitting room in Prizzaria. "Anybody here?" She'd astrally traveled to her bed chambers and slipped into a robe and slippers first, as usual.

She looked around at the empty room and sighed as she settled into her well-padded spare throne. She idly wondered if she should allow an audience in her throne room sometime soon. She didn't often get a chance to sit in her true throne. It wasn't the most comfortable chair but it had a grand presence that she liked. Jewels didn't cover its surface, nor did gold or any other precious metals. Instead, two magic woodworkers crafted it out of a single huge piece of dark hardwood. The surface was polished and stained, the high back reached a good head higher than the queen. It was beautiful. If only it could be comfortable. No one could bear to cover the beautiful surface of the wood with padding or anything else.

"Your Majesty," Muriel gushed as she entered through the large double doors. "Welcome back."

"What is it this time?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all, my Queen. I'm just happy to see you." The queen's advisor moved to the couch and sat down to face her friend.

"And?"

"Well... I guess I'm a little anxious about your upcoming trip. I'm not happy with the possibility about being fried by those hot spots."

"Don't worry, Muriel. I'll be careful. And I'm sure our guide will take good care of us. He's really smitten with Thelma. He won't let any harm come to her."

"So you say."

"Yes, they had a falling out. I told you that. But I haven't told you my latest plan to get them together. Perhaps you aren't interested in such mundane matters," the queen teased.

"What? Oh, come on. Spill it! Please? Your Majesty? Your most gracious Queen?" The old woman stood up and bowed several times with her arms outstretched to the sides.

Gabrielle laughed. "Knock it off, Muriel. You make a terrible sycophant."

Muriel sat back down and gave her friend a questioning look.

"Right. I was inspired by a nice young girl who reminded me of Thelma's sudden fascination with babies. And I don't just mean young animals."

"You're going to appeal to her maternal instinct?"

"Yes, I am. And I'm willing to bet Louis wouldn't mind starting a family. I'll have a talk with him about the subject, carefully not mentioning a certain redhead's name since I promised her I wouldn't talk to him about her."

"That's...."

"Devious? Masterful? Perfect?"

"I was going to say unfair. You don't play fair."

Gabrielle laughed. "I only play for keeps. Thelma deserves a chance at happiness and I mean to see that she gets it. She's so much better than the man she used to be."

Muriel smiled and nodded.

"Anything else I need to know about? Are my royal subjects still obsessed with a pregnant queen?"

"I'm afraid so, Gabrielle. There are already several betting pools out for the child's gender and name."

"So that's it then. I'm sunk."

"We'll see. You do have that special talent that has kept us safe for so long. You have other talents too. You're one of the kindest and fairest women I know. You'll always be my queen."

"Thanks, Muriel."

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle rose back on Agrin a couple candle marks before sunset to find Thelma lying awake in bed, sulking with Fritz snoring next to her.

"Morning, Thelma. Sleep well?"

"Morning, Gabi. What's sleep?" Thelma tried to joke but there was no laughter in her eyes.

"Fritz has it down. You could learn a lot from youngsters."

"Whatever."

"Seriously, Thelma. Children aren't stupid. You really can learn a lot from them."

"Yeah? So what. What has that got to do with me?"

"Don't you want to experience motherhood someday? Don't you feel the call of the womb?"

"Call of the womb? Are you serious?"

"That's what we call it in Prizzaria when a woman wants to bear children. It's just a phrase."

Thelma paused for a moment in thought and Gabrielle got up to leave.

"I'm going out to do a little shopping now. I'll be back to get you and our things at sunset. Okay?"

"Yeah yeah. I'll see you later. I'm just going to lie here and listen to Fritz snore until she wakes up."

Gabrielle gave her friend a sad smile and slipped out.

~o~O~o~

The queen marched to the north side of the market and had a quick look around. She wanted to buy Marie a little souvenir as a surprise before she left. Since her mate had so few possessions from Agrin, she thought it might help with the homesickness that she knew her mate felt now and again.

After the second trip around the market area, all of the stalls and noise of the early evening started getting to her. And it didn't help that the merchants started closing up for the day. They had mouths to feed. They couldn't wait around for a desperate shopper to find the perfect gift for her mate. And Gabrielle didn't have much time before she had to leave the city.

'I wish I had more time,' she thought. 'Actually, I should've done this days ago but it's just as well that I didn't. Shopping is so addicting!'

She started a third loop and almost cried in frustration until she remembered something very important. Her mate had a brother! Marie told her about writing a note to her brother before the pair had left Roggzer to find the portal that sent Marie to Kispri. Gabrielle accompanied Marie when she went to the brother's apartment to slip the note under the door. The queen couldn't read the strange symbols on the note at the time but she remembered where Marie's brother lived and hurried to find him. She thought it important to let Marie's brother know that his "brother" is alive and well. Perhaps she could even get a memento from him to take back to Marie.

~o~O~o~

The queen stood in a short hallway, staring at a plain wooden door with the number 207 neatly stenciled on it in black. She took a short time to compose herself and then knocked on the door. It wasn't long before a man answered. The man bore a strong family resemblance to Marie's former male self. He was a little taller than Gabrielle, with black hair, brown eyes and dark skin. His aquiline nose and strong jaw line gave him the appearance of a strong authority figure. He might even be called intimidating — but not by a queen.

"Hello. Is your name Marcus?" she asked him.

"Yes. And who are you?"

"My name is Gabrielle. I'm a friend of your brother, Targ."

"Targ! Do you know where he is?! Do you know what happened to him?! It almost killed my mother when he disappeared."

"You'll be happy to know that he's alive and well. But he was taken very far away by the magic of technology. I'm afraid you'll never see him again. I'm very sorry."

Marcus looked a little sad as he waved her in and shut the door behind her. They moved to the center of the main room where he turned to her and sighed. "Is that all you can tell me? He leaves me his house, walks out of the city and then disappears? He didn't even say good bye in person. He slips a note under my door and runs! Why did he leave? Was it because of you?"

It was Gabrielle's turn to sigh, mostly because she refused to lie. "Yes. As I said, I'm very sorry."

"Sorry. Hah! Women!"

That raised the queen's ire. She had to suppress the urge to show him a few tricks she knew with her dagger.

"I said I was sorry. What more do you want? I didn't force him to leave but he decided it was best. I didn't want to leave him alone so I went with him. Or I should say I offered to let him travel with me. It was safer that way in the wilderness. You must know how mogrons can be."

The man looked a little ashamed but he set his jaw and his eyes continued to smolder. "I know how women can be when they want something," he countered.

"Now you're just being rude. I'm guessing you've had some bad experiences with women but your brother and I were quite happy together."

"You must have tricked him or something. Targ wouldn't leave his family. Not for you or anyone."

"No, he didn't leave for me. You're not listening. I said he decided to leave and we traveled together."

"Then why did he leave?" Marcus challenged.

"I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you."

"Shit. You're full of shit. If I didn't want some answers, I'd...."

"Just a minute, Marcus. I'm trying to tell you what I can... what I think you can handle about your brother. Can you please stop with the stupid male attitude?"

"No, I can't. What's the matter, honey. Can't handle a real man? Is that why you're here now? You destroyed my brother and now it's my turn? Is that it?"

"Oh! Men! You're so... so...."

"Right?" he smirked.

"Aggravatingly stupid!"

The queen had to calm herself. She was sorely tempted to use her talent on the man. Then he'd believe everything about his brother. But she couldn't. At least not with his mother still alive. That would be cruel to do twice. She toyed with the idea of dragging Marcus to see his mother and then changing him in front of her when he suddenly grabbed her wrist. She easily broke his grip and had a dagger at his throat before he could blink.

"I came here as a kindness," she snarled. "I'm trying to tell you that your brother had to leave and can't come back, but that he's alive and well. If that's not good enough, then you needn't try to throw me out. I'll leave on my own."

Gabrielle turned and took a couple steps before she got a response.

"Wait," he said. "I'm not finished with you." He sighed. "Please. I'm sorry. I really need to know what happened to him. It's been driving me crazy."

"Yes, I can see that," she said. "But I still don't think you can handle the whole truth."

"Try me," he told her, folding his arms and staring into her eyes, daring her to tell him.

"Okay. Follow me then." She led him over to one of the windows, opened it and called forth her magic. When her hands glowed, Marcus gasped. When she harmlessly released her magic up into the sky, he shouted.

"Whoa! What the hell was that?!"

"That is my magic talent. I used it on your brother out of ignorance, on both our parts. We were sword fighting and...."

"Wait a minute," Marcus interrupted. "You fought my brother with a sword? You must be crazy."

"I was defending myself. He challenged me out of a misunderstanding. I didn't speak your language at the time so I couldn't answer his challenge with anything but a sword."

"Hm. You do have a strange accent. But I don't get it. How did you survive a sword fight with my brother? He's awesome with a sword. And if you didn't kill him, what did you do, cut his balls off? That's the only thing I can see that would stop him from staying."

"Are you through yet?" Gabrielle glared.

"Yeah. Sure. So?"

"Yes, I fought your brother and it came to a stalemate... because I used my magic talent on him. And yes, you might have been joking, but I did effectively cut his balls off as you put it, vulgar male that you are."

Marcus laughed.

"What's so funny? There was nothing funny about it."

"You have a great trick there with the glowing hands but you're crazy if you think a little light is going to castrate some guy."

"Oh? Would you like to find out first hand?"

"You challenge me in my own home? You are crazy."

"No, just angry. I'm trying to stay focused here. I really am. By your definition, your brother is no longer a man. He hated to do it but he felt he had to leave, and I can see why if this is the way you normally act."

"Okay. I've had enough. If you're not going to tell me the truth, then you might as well leave."

"Fine. But I've told you the truth. You just can't handle it."

"Just get out."

Gabrielle turned to do just that. Then she spied the man's family sword, hanging on the wall. It was the sword that Marie, as a man, used in the battle with Gabrielle.

"That's your family sword. Aren't you using it?"

"What? No. That's none of your business."

"If you're not going to use it, I'd like to have it. I'm trying to find a way to travel to your brother and if I can make it, I'd like to give it to him."

Marcus' mouth hung open for a short time. "You are definitely crazy," he finally told her.

"Hey. You doubt my magic but what if I show you my skill with a sword... that sword," she said, pointing to Marcus' family sword.

He eyed her up and down and snorted. "I can see by your muscle tone and size that you're strong enough to wield a sword. I believe you can fight. I just don't believe that you bettered my brother."

"I didn't exactly better your brother," she confessed. "He was better than me. That's why I used my magic on him."

"So you cheated."

"No! I defended my life. I held my ground very well, probably better than your brother expected. He got really serious and I thought he might kill me."

"Yeah. I can see that happening," Marcus admitted. "But he wouldn't have killed you. I'm sure of that."

"Well I didn't know that. How could I?"

"No, I guess not."

The two stood two paces apart, an awkward silence between them. Gabrielle finally decided enough was enough and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute," Marcus said.

He went over to the wall and removed the sword, tossing it to Gabrielle who easily caught it by the handle and swished it around several times.

"Very nice," the man approved. "You can handle a sword."

"You were testing me?" she asked.

"Kind of," he agreed.

He paused in thought for a time then, leaving Gabrielle confused.

"Are you giving me the sword?" she finally asked.

"Yeah. I guess I am. Say hi to my bro... sister for me," he said, then laughed, thinking he'd made a joke. He still didn't believe the woman before him but he really did have a sister, and he'd quite possibly be an uncle before too long.

"Thanks," Gabrielle said. "I'll do that. Take care, Marcus. Sorry for turning your world upside down."

"Hey. No problem. I come from a long line of tough guys. I can take it."

Gabrielle winked at him and said, "I know." Then she opened the door and walked out with a suggestive sway to her hips.

~o~O~o~

The sun hung very low above the horizon so the queen hurried over to pick up Louis. She wanted to have a quick talk with him before joining the group of her fellow Kisprians.

'That went fairly well with Marcus,' she thought. 'I hope things go at least as well with Louis.'

As she walked, she admired Marie's family sword, testing its balance and occasionally swinging it around, oblivious to how dangerous she looked. The citizens of Roggzer gave her a wide berth when passing her on the street, though she was careful enough not to hurt anyone.

She caught Louis just as he was coming out of his office and locking up.

"There you are," he called. "I thought we were supposed to meet here before we collected everyone."

"Yes," Gabrielle agreed, suddenly thrusting to one side with the sword. "Sorry I'm late. I had to look someone up first."

"Nice sword," Louis commented since it was very hard to miss.

"Thanks. It belongs to my mate's family. I'm keeping it for her as a surprise."

"Her?" he said, looking a little puzzled.

"Is that going to be a problem?" Gabrielle said, giving the man an ominous look.

"No! Not at all. I... I was just wondering why a woman would want such a thing." Louis grimaced, realizing he just put his foot in his mouth... again.

The queen took a little pity on him. She wanted to soften him up for Thelma after all, not verbally gut him.

"I happen to be pretty good with a two-handed sword. You might want to be more careful with your words in the future." She smiled to show him there were no hard feelings.

"Right," he said, flashing her a nervous smile. "Are we ready then?"

"Almost."

"Almost? Am I still in trouble?"

"No, not at all. I just wanted to set you straight on something."

"Okay," he said, sounding a little unsure.

"Don't worry. You're partly right about the sword. It is too large for my mate to use. She has a smaller one that she uses, but I thought she might want to pass this one down to one of our children."

"Children?" he said, puzzled again.

"Oh. Right," the queen said, blushing. "She's my mate but of course we can still... have children... you know... with a little help from a friendly man."

"You're not...."

"No! Sorry. No offense, but we'll choose someone closer to home... so he can participate in raising them."

"Right," Louis said. "That makes sense." He still looked puzzled. He waited for Gabrielle to continue, not sure where the conversation was going.

"I didn't think of getting the sword until the last minute. That's one of the reasons why I was late. But I thought it important to keep the weapon in the family and have it be used. My mate's brother didn't seem too interested in carrying on the family tradition. He had it hanging on his wall; such a waste."

Louis just nodded, politely waiting for the woman to run out of words so they could start their journey.

"Pardon me for asking, but since we're on the subject of families and children, I was wondering about your feelings on the subject. Do you have any siblings? Any nieces or nephews? I'm just curious. We'll be traveling together for a while and I like to know a little about the people I travel with."

"Oh. Right. I have a younger brother. He's had a couple girlfriends but nothing serious. I... I wouldn't mind starting a family... if I found the right woman." He sighed then with a faraway look in his eyes, obviously thinking about Thelma.

"Don't you think your job is a bit dangerous? Don't you think that would be unfair to your family?"

"My job isn't so dangerous. I have everything mapped out very well. As long as everyone keeps to the map, we'll all be safe. The only hard part is the rainy season. I don't get a lot of business for a few months out of the year."

"You could let your mate work during that time and stay home with the children," she suggested.

"True," he agreed. "I like that idea."

The pair of them smile at each other and started walking to the pub where most of the others waited. Thelma remained at the inn where she and Fritz would be picked up last. They could settle their bill with the innkeeper and start their journey.

Her recent conversations with Thelma and Louis had satisfied Gabrielle. She'd planted a seed and hoped to watch it grow into a large, healthy family tree. Now she just had Fritz to deal with. She'd have to see about distracting the young mogron to give the lovebirds some time alone.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 15

The journey north had started out well. Thelma had taken Fritz hunting not long before they left so the young mogron happily trotted behind her. Gabrielle had collected all of the other Kisprians and they all marched into the scrubland with a single purpose: To get to the iron ship. Louis had planned out camps along the way that were as far from the deadly hot spots as possible and they'd reach the first camp a good candle mark before dawn. Everyone had been in a good spirits.

Their guide led the group along with Durgan and Thor. Dalene and the remaining three women trailed the large group of men and watched over the two children, a blonde boy named Max and a younger brunette girl named Dina. Gabrielle, Thelma and Fritz brought up the rear.

The children had presented a challenge. They'd been treated as orphans, though their parents were still alive back on Kispri, and Gabrielle had some trouble getting them released to her. She had to officially adopt them and if it wasn't for Louis' help, the process would've taken much too long. Luckily, he had some friends in the city government.

'Thank goodness for Louis,' the queen thought. 'It's just too bad Marie and I can't keep them. We'll have to return them to their real parents. But I'm sure they'll be happy at least.'

Gabrielle had made sure to have a serious talk with the boy and girl about their mother and father. She wanted to make sure they truly did want to go back with their parents. After being reassured by the pair, she thought back to her plans to have her own children and wondered what their lives would be like if she were no longer queen. She still had the deceit of her false pregnancy hanging over her head. The issue wouldn't leave her alone so she treated it the usual way. She ignored it and distracted herself with idle banter. She could always count on Thelma for interesting, or at least distracting, conversation.

"I had an interesting conversation with Louis earlier," the queen said.

Thelma responded in her usual fashion. "What?!"

Several of the men near the back of the group briefly turned to check on them. By then, Thelma already had a reputation for being a bit volatile. When it didn't look like anything was wrong, everyone soon ignored the women. The only problem was Fritz. Whenever Thelma seemed upset, Fritz went into protective mode, growling and ready to attack.

Gabrielle held up her hands to shush her friend. "Please, Thelma. Calm your pet... and yourself. I didn't mention your name when I spoke to Louis. But I think you'll be interested in what we talked about."

The redhead did relax, returning to her somber mood in the blink of an eye. "Whatever," she said, sending Fritz back into lovesick pet mode.

"Seriously, Thelma. The subject of children came up."

That got the short, beautiful woman's attention. She tried to temper her interest but Gabrielle could tell she wanted to hear more so she continued.

"He told me that he wants to start a family some day... if he meets the right woman."

"Oh, swell." The redhead's eyes glazed over, threatening tears.

"Oh, Thelma. Can't you tell? I'm sure he meant you. He got a wistful look on his face, showing he already had someone in mind, and that someone could only be you."

"Fritz doesn't like him, remember? And he's not too crazy about Fritz, not after getting his butt chewed."

"Then try again. Don't give up so easily. Isn't love worth fighting for?"

"I guess," Thelma said in a small voice.

"You've been miserable without him. Do you want to be miserable? Or do you want to rise to a challenge, with a grand prize if you meet that challenge and win?"

"You're doing it again," the redhead warned.

"Doing what?"

"Cheerleading."

"Actually, I think it would be better described as matchmaking. Yes, I admit it. I'm trying to get you back together. But that's only because I hate to see a friend be so miserable. Is that so wrong?"

"Naw. Thanks, Gabi."

"You're welcome."

The two women walked in silence for another few dozen steps until Gabrielle had one more thing to try.

"Thelma? If you want, I can watch Fritz for you while you talk to Louis."

"Oh. That's nice but I already have plans. I got Durgan to agree to watch Fritz so Louis and I could... discuss things."

"What?!" It was the queen's turn to be unpleasantly surprised. "And you didn't tell me this until now?"

"You didn't ask. Remember that you already told me I shouldn't give up so I didn't."

"But you've been looking so miserable. Why?"

"I'm not sure. Various reasons I guess. I'm still not that optimistic about getting back together with Louis, and I'm a little sad that I'll probably never see you again, Gabi. I owe you so much and I'll miss you so much."

Thelma started crying then, followed by Gabrielle and then some whimpering from Fritz. The females had a good cry and felt much better for the rest of the trip. It was a good night.

~o~O~o~

Just before daybreak, the group set up camp and prepared to sleep under a series of tarps. The tarps stretched out from a string of tall shrubs to poles that Louis had thought to bring. There wasn't much wind to speak of so they didn't have to worry about the tarps blowing away. There really wasn't anything dangerous to worry about. They just had to make sure they stayed in the shade while they slept.

"We don't have to worry about mogrons around here," Louis lectured after he got everyone's attention. "Because of the hot spots, mogrons wouldn't last long. There isn't much worth hunting for anyway. This land is too unhealthy to support much life."

"What about Fritz?" Thelma interrupted. "How is she supposed to hunt?"

Fritz heard her name and looked up with adoration at her adopted mother. She also drooled a little. She'd learned the word 'hunt,' forcing Thelma to spell it out to keep the little mogron from getting too excited at inappropriate times.

"Oh. Right." Louis looked a little uncomfortable. "About that. Sorry about not telling you earlier but I think I have that little problem taken care of."

Thelma frowned and put her hands on her hips to show her displeasure.

To Louis, she never looked more beautiful. He had to shake his head to get himself to focus. "Right this way please, Thelma."

He led her and Fritz over to a small cart that had been pulled along by a couple of the hardier men. Thelma didn't give it much notice before but now she wondered what was in it.

Fritz gave the air a good sniff around the cart and started drooling in earnest.

Louis opened the top and reached for one of several wooden boxes. "I gave the matter some thought before we left and came up with this," he said, opening the box and quickly holding up a niggler by its tail. "Fritz's snack cart."

The little mogron started prancing in place, but when Louis moved towards her to give her the niggler, she growled at him.

"Uh...," Thelma started to warn.

"I know. I know," Louis grumbled.

He moved back away from Fritz a little and swung the niggler low to the ground in the opposite direction. The small, nervous animal rolled a few times, stopped and then took off running with Fritz right behind. It wasn't long before Fritz had her first snack of the trip.

"How many nigglers do you think she'll need?" the man asked.

"Three more should do for now," the redhead told him, giving him a grateful look for his thoughtfulness.

He basked in her gaze for a short time and then realized that he didn't estimate Fritz's appetite very well. "Three more?!" he yelped.

"Yes, of course. She's a growing girl."

"Well...."

"You didn't bring enough, did you," she accused.

"No. Sorry. I should've talked to you about her needs before we left. But... she can have some of my rations. I brought lots of dried meats."

"Thanks," she said, smiling. "She'll need them. She'll likely need more than that though. I hope we can get some of the other men to contribute."

The other men couldn't help but listen to the conversation. They'd been fantasizing about the redhead ever since they first saw her.

Durgan was first to speak up. "She can have some of my jerky. I'm used to feeding her anyway."

Thelma laughed. "Yeah. You're the one who got her to tag along in the first place!" she said.

"Right," he confessed, looking down.

Not to be outdone in getting a beautiful woman's attention, Horus spoke up. "She can have some of mine too. I don't need it." The tall thin man patted his small stomach and the rest of the group laughed.

"She can have a bit of mine too," another said.

"Mine too!" a third man shouted.

All of the men volunteered some of their rations for Fritz, just in time for the little, blood-smeared mogron to come trotting back from her freshly eaten kill. She came back to her adopted mother's feet and gave her an expectant look.

At that moment, Thelma finally accepted that she had yet another type of magic talent. Besides seeing the glow of magic around her fellow Kisprians, she had her beauty. It wouldn't last. She'd eventually get old and gray. But she promised herself that she wouldn't abuse her good looks while she had them. She might take advantage of them now and then but she wouldn't try to get men to do anything they shouldn't.

"Thank you all!" the redhead shouted so everyone could hear. "I thank you and Fritz thanks you."

Just then, the little mogron belched, giving everyone a good laugh.

~o~O~o~

With Fritz fed and everyone getting some sleep — except Durgan, who took first watch — Gabrielle once again made her way back to her queendom. It always amazed her that whenever she wanted, she could instantly appear in her bed chambers and materialize her astral body, ready to rule. It seemed impossible, but she did it night after night. Sometimes she wished she better understood the ways of the universe, but then she came to her senses. Everyone had their specialty or niche. Hers was to run a queendom and keep it safe. That and see to her mate's happiness and well-being.

She quickly donned her favored gray robe and slippers after arriving, anxious to talk to her mate. The door to her bed chambers was left ajar and she could hear voices and laughing in her sitting room. That put her in a good mood.

"Hi everyone! I'm home!" she shouted uncharacteristically, getting caught up in the mood.

The faithful insider group of four sat in their usual seats, exchanging gossip, recipes and more. They all stopped talking and turned when their queen entered. Then Muriel did a curious thing. The queen's advisor suddenly stood up with a serious look on her face and shooed the other three out of the room. Both she and the queen stood facing each other, several paces apart.

"Your Majesty," the old woman said. "Welcome back."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and sighed. "What is it this time?" she said.

"Our good friends and neighbors, the barbarian hordes are at it again. According to my sources, they're planning on taking advantage of your pregnancy, thinking you'll be slowed down too much to do battle."

"Oh. Is that all," the queen said with a sarcastic tone. "Any other, more important matters that I should be aware of?"

"No. That about covers it I think."

Gabrielle marched across the room, flopped down on her padded chair and promptly sulked.

Muriel sat down next to her and patted the woman's arm. "There there, my Queen. The timing might be a bit close but it looks like you'll reach the iron ship and have a good chance of getting back before our good neighbors invade."

The tall woman didn't say anything to that. She just groaned.

The two women sat in silence for a while, letting thoughts come and go. Gabrielle remembered that she wanted to talk to Marie, but first she had to deal with the issue at hand. She took a deep breath and got right to the point.

"How long do we have before they invade?" the queen asked.

"Unclear," Muriel responded. "It looks like their spies are waiting for a clear sign that you're not fit for duty."

"So more battle practice in the courtyard with a pillow stuffed up my tunic then?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Can I talk to Marie first?"

"Of course, your Majesty. I'll go call fetch her back, along with your pillow."

"What would I do without you, Muriel?"

"Probably have a lot more fun. Ignorance is bliss, they say."

"Just who are 'they' and what makes them so smart?"

Muriel just shrugged and got up to leave the room. She returned shortly and shut the double doors after Marie entered, leaving the queen and her mate alone.

"Here you go," the small woman said, handing over a small, round pillow.

Gabrielle scowled at it but accepted it. She set it on her lap and motioned her mate to sit across from her on the couch.

"How's the journey going?" Marie asked.

"As well as can be expected. We have another few days before we reach the iron ship. Then it's anybody's guess how long it will take to figure out how to fly it and get home."

"Remember my experience with the portal, Gabi. There was plenty of magical writing and pictures for that portal. There should be lots of help for something as large and complicated as that iron ship must be."

Gabrielle nodded, but her mind was already drifting to another topic. She kept trying to guess how Marie would react but she didn't have a clue. Her mate was a strange and unpredictable mix of male and female. That's one of the things she loved about her.

"Right, I remember that accursed portal well," the queen muttered.

"It wasn't the portal that was bad, Gabi. It was that huge metal guardian that blew it up that separated us."

"Yes, I know all that. Sorry, but I wanted to discuss something else if that's okay."

Marie kept quiet and waited with a serious look on her face.

Gabrielle debated which way was best to start the conversation. After going back and forth several times in her mind, she decided on the quick and innocent approach. It usually worked best with the men she knew.

"Your brother says hi," she blurted out.

Marie sat there, stunned, her eyes wide. It took another dozen heartbeats before she responded. "Gabi! How could you?!"

'Wrong. Wrong. Wrong,' the queen thought to herself. 'I got it wrong again. Dang!'

The small woman threatened tears so Gabrielle went into damage control mode. Sometimes her diplomacy skills actually came in handy for something worthwhile.

"I just wanted to let him and your mother know you were okay! I didn't mention anything about you being a woman, not really."

"You told Mom too?!" Marie wailed, after already starting to cry and not hearing the second part of what her mate told her.

"Please, Marie. Listen to me." Gabrielle got up and walked over to her mate, kneeling before her. "I only talked to your brother, okay?"

Marie slowly nodded, tears running down both cheeks.

"And he really needed... closure. He needed to hear that you were okay. He didn't believe that you would ever leave your family unless you were dead or dying. Okay?"

Again, Marie nodded.

"I told him about our sword fight and told him that I won the fight."

The small woman scowled. "But you didn't win," she said.

"Not technically, no. And your brother wouldn't believe that I could beat you."

Marie nodded again, more emphatically, her jaw set.

"That's when I went just a little farther. I told him about disabling you with magic."

"But...!"

"Just hold on, please. I didn't say exactly what my magic did. I just said I disabled you... in a kind of... permanent way."

"And he believed that?!"

"No."

"Hah!"

"Now wait, Marie. I made my hands glow and...."

"You didn't! Please tell me you didn't turn him into a woman!"

"I confess I was tempted. Your brother can be a bit...."

"A bit of a prick?"

Gabrielle stifled a laugh. "Yes, that's one way to put it. But please listen."

Marie nodded again.

"I made my hands glow and shot my magic up and out of a window. It surprised him but he still had trouble believing me."

"Yes, Marcus doesn't believe much of anything unless he can see it for himself. You'd have to turn him into a woman and even then it would take him a season or so to believe it."

"Just like Thelma then," the queen joked.

Marie laughed, making her mate smile.

"By the time I left, I don't think Marcus would ever want to see me again, but I think he believed me about you being okay... just too far away to ever make it home again. I mentioned something about the portal but I tried to keep it very general."

Gabrielle got up off her knees and sat on the couch next to her mate, giving her a moment to think.

It wasn't long before Marie responded. She kept staring straight ahead as she said, "Marcus would tell Mom, of course. He wouldn't want her to worry. That's what you meant about them both knowing about me."

"Right," the queen said.

"And they know I'm okay. I'm just too far away to come back to them."

"Right again... except...."

"Yes, I know. We could go back using astral travel, but that would likely embarrass my whole family."

Gabrielle sighed. "You could change your astral body to look like your former self."

"The most I've been able to do is sharpen my form and add clothes. I doubt I could control my appearance enough to look like a man."

"With enough practice...."

"Maybe someday, Gabi. For now, let's focus on more immediate concerns, shall we?" Marie turned to face her mate and wiped her moist eyes. "Thanks for telling him though."

"You're welcome." The queen leaned over and gently kissed her mate's waiting lips.

~o~O~o~

Except for romance, nothing challenged the group as they zig-zagged their way through the dangerous scrubland north of Roggzer. They spent the nights walking and passed the days sleeping under their tarps. Fritz got her daily half ration of two nigglers and made her rounds getting treats from everyone, everyone except Louis. The hungry little beast accepted tidbits from everyone in the group including the children, but she snubbed Louis, giving him a growl if he even looked like he might try to feed her.

Louis hoped to slowly win over Fritz but despite tossing out each and every niggler for the hungry little mogron, she wouldn't let him feed her directly, and she still wouldn't allow him to get close to her. She didn't trust him after his first failed attempt to feed her. And she no longer felt intimidated by him, not after biting him and hearing him scream in pain. She had the upper hand and she used it well. She especially pressed her advantage when she saw him move close to her adopted mother. One little growl was all it took to get rid of him.

"Oh, Fritz," Thelma whined after having Louis chased away yet again.

The young mogron sat at Thelma's feet and twitched her tail, happy to hear her name.

Meanwhile, as the group continued to march roughly northward, Louis left Durgan and Thor to lead according to his careful directions and moved to the back to talk to Gabrielle. He especially had one important matter that bothered him enough that he wasn't sleeping well. But before he could ask about it, the queen spoke first.

"I estimate that we'll make it to the iron ship before daybreak. I'd like to take a small party and explore the area while the rest of our group makes camp."

She'd informed Louis about the reason for their trip when she first looked him up in the city. He'd thought it a fool's errand but he'd never turn down a job, even a low paying one. His professional pride wouldn't let him. Neither would his libido. He still couldn't get Thelma out of his head, and when he'd heard that she'd be going back to Roggzer, he'd known that he'd have to stay with her and help her get back. It would only be him, her and her little pet according to the latest plan.

"That all sounds good to me," he said, then immediately moved on to his main concern. "Do you think they serve food on this iron ship? Or could there be food in the underground room that you mentioned?"

That question surprised the queen. She hadn't really thought about it but it was a very good question. She had enough food for another seven days or so. Her current water supply would only last another five days. The group couldn't trust any water supplies in the area, not with all the deadly hot spots that might contaminate it, and they certainly couldn't hunt or forage. There was nothing really safe to eat. With her limited experience being around technology, she guessed that the longest part of the journey by far would be getting to the iron ship. She had to hope that the ship itself had to either be fast enough to not need to carry food or it had magic on board that could supply food.

"I'm not really sure about food or water," she confessed. "I'm sorry. Why do you ask?"

"It's about Fritz. I.... I didn't bring enough food for her. I underestimated her appetite... a lot. Damn but that little animal can eat. At the rate she's going through the nigglers, we won't have enough food for her on the return trip."

Gabrielle frowned and took a moment to think. "I didn't plan for a return trip to Roggzer," she said. "I've been kind of preoccupied with getting... home. But I think I have a solution. We'll most likely need a little practice operating the ship. We should be able to give you a lift back to Roggzer. We'll set down behind a hill just to the east of the city and restock supplies, mainly food and water. We can drop you off there."

"Yes," Louis said with a bright smile. "That sounds perfect. Thank you. I was worried about... Fritz."

"Of course," she said, knowing he really meant that he was worried about keeping a certain redhead happy.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 16

Just as Gabrielle had predicted, it was well before dawn when the group walked up and over a ridge to see a tall round tower and several low, round buildings, just barely visible in the dim light of the moons. Beyond the buildings, they could also just make out a large flat area that covered the underground room with the iron ship. They hurried down the slope on the other side of the ridge and headed towards the buildings, hoping to use them for shade as part of their camp. They didn't get very close though.

"Stop!" a very loud and strange voice said. The voice didn't sound quite human. It reverberated and echoed slightly, like it does when talking in a small room with no rug or other furnishings.

Everyone froze, more out of confusion than anything else.

"Who said that?" a woman asked.

"Horus? Are you playing a joke?" a man asked.

"No!" an indignant Horus screeched from the middle of the crowd.

The queen got a bad feeling about the voice. She imagined something like the huge metal guardian that had protected the portal. She shuddered to think what the guardian would've done to her mate if it had caught her before she made it safely through the portal back to Kispri.

"We're here for the ship!" she shouted. "We have authorization!"

She remembered the guardian asking for authorization in a similar type of voice. She wasn't sure what authorization was required but she hoped she could bluff her way in; anything but fight. With such a large group, they should be able to defeat a single guardian. There would likely be serious injuries though.

"Go back!" the voice boomed. "This area is closed. No one is welcome here!"

"What is going on?" Louis asked. He'd never been this far north and had never heard of anyone hearing voices. He didn't usually carry enough supplies to make such a long journey. "Where's that voice coming from?"

'Another good question,' Gabrielle thought. 'That man is very good at asking the right questions.'

"Show yourself!" the queen shouted. "Let's discuss terms for opening this place again! We need to use the iron ship!"

"This area is forbidden!" the voice boomed again. "You have been warned!"

A loud siren suddenly pierced the still night air. It wasn't loud enough to damage anyone's hearing but it did make it hard to concentrate on a plan of action. And it had one serious effect on one member of the group: Fritz. The young mogron seemed indifferent to the voice. The siren was another matter however. It hurt her ears and caused her to panic. She took off running back over the ridge.

Thelma caught movement out of the corner of her eye just in time. She shouted when she saw Fritz run off, calling her name. But it was for naught. She couldn't be heard over the din of the siren. All she could do was run after the mogron. She dropped her pack and ran, and the rest of the group soon followed, though for another reason.

Gabrielle went to each person, got their attention with some hand gestures and pointed back the way they came. Each person started marching back up the ridge as fast as they could. It wasn't long before the siren stopped and Thelma's frantic calls for Fritz could be heard.

~o~O~o~

The group set up camp just over the north side of the ridge, using a long string of rock formations to shield them from the coming sun.

"Where is she?" Thelma cried, sitting on the ground. "Why isn't she back by now? That stupid loud noise stopped. Where's my Fritzie?"

Gabrielle sat next to the redhead and held her. She wanted to tell her everything would be okay but all she could do was offer a shoulder to cry on.

Louis wisely kept his distance. He didn't want to seem like he was taking advantage of the situation so he stood on top of the ridge and kept an eye out for the mogron's return. He hoped for the best but was prepared for the worst.

Durgan noticed Louis keeping watch and went to join him.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" the Kisprian man asked.

"If she stays away from the hot spots and comes straight back to us she will be. It all depends on her."

Durgan didn't know what to say. He stood next to the guide and silently kept watch.

~o~O~o~

It wasn't long before the sun peeked over the horizon, and when it did, it reminded Louis of his responsibilities. He had a tour group to watch over and keep safe. He muttered something to Durgan about keeping watch for him and went off to organize the setting up of the sleeping tarps. The tarps might not be necessary with the rocks but he wasn't taking any chances.

Everyone worked around Gabrielle and Thelma. The small redhead wouldn't stop crying for the longest time and Gabrielle wouldn't leave her, at least not until the woman cried herself out.

With all the crying, the two women barely noticed they had a small tarp set up over them. They'd vaguely noticed a buzz of activity around them and became more aware of their surroundings after the activity slowed to a halt. Thelma managed to squeak out the one question that was on everyone's mind.

"What are we gonna do now, Gabi?"

"I don't know," the queen replied. "I honestly don't know. We can't go forward and we don't have enough water to go back to the city. I'm hoping for some ideas from the group. We need rest and hopefully, with rest will come some ideas... and Fritz."

Thelma sniffed a little but didn't respond.

Gabrielle looked down at the redhead and gave her a faint smile. "We'll get through this, Thelma."

~o~O~o~

Several members of the group took some initiative while the queen watched over Thelma who eventually cried herself to sleep. They went around asking everyone about their magic talents, seeing if any of them might be useful to either find Fritz or get to the buildings without being detected. After hearing them all, no one was the least bit optimistic about their chances of success in either endeavor. They went to Gabrielle anyway and relayed the information to her. She thanked them and promptly went to sleep, finally realizing that she could be of much more use asleep than awake. She had some astral scouting to do, though she had a little indecision about which to try first.

Searching for Fritz just barely beat out looking for the source of the ominous voice in the dark. The mogron's life was at stake with all of the dangerous hot spots in the area.

The queen was happy that Thelma didn't think of the idea. She didn't want to try to deal with the redhead in case the worst happened to Fritz. She felt it best to go alone, and it didn't take her long. Actually, as with her long journeys to Kispri, finding the lost mogron was nearly instantaneous. But it definitely wasn't as pleasant as trips back home.

Gabrielle found Fritz, lying on her side in the sun not too far from a hot spot, and the mogron didn't look good. Besides signs of dehydration, she noticed clumps of hair falling out and blood oozing out of sores on the hairless patches of skin.

Without a thought, especially since she knew she was safe from whatever afflicted Fritz, she solidified her astral body and spoke quietly to the young mogron.

"Fritz. Fritz. Fritz. What have you done? I'm going to pick you up now. I'll get you back. Don't you worry, little Fritzie."

The mogron responded with a little tail twitching and then lost consciousness. She was still breathing but her breaths were irregular.

The warrier queen wasted no time. She still couldn't create realistic looking astral clothes but she could change her body slightly, smoothing over her curves and coloring her body, face and hair a light gray. She changed her appearance and then carefully picked up the mogron and jogged as fast as she could back towards the camp. She somehow knew which way to go in her solidified form. She just wished she could move more quickly. She had to moderate her pace to keep from shaking Fritz too much.

~o~O~o~

The sun had reached about twenty degrees above the horizon by the time Durgan spotted the queen. Her gray clothes looked a little strange but her size was unmistakable, being so tall for a woman, and he recognized her face when she got closer.

"Gabrielle's coming back!" he shouted, waking up most of the camp and causing more than a little confusion since the queen's body was fast asleep under a tarp with a slowly wakening Thelma.

Louis quickly picked himself up and ran over to Durgan to get a look down from the top of the ridge. He noticed that the queen was carrying something and he didn't understand how the woman was still standing. He warned her and everyone else to keep away from Fritz if the mogron looked the least bit sick. He briefly explained how the illness was contagious and would likely kill anyone who came into contact with the ill mogron. He also shouted out to the queen to make sure she didn't bring the mogron into camp.

Gabrielle stopped a safe distance away and gently set Fritz down in the shade of a short, thick thorn bush. "I'll be okay! I'm actually in a duplicate body that's immune to whatever Fritz has."

Louis turned back to see the queen sleeping and scratched his head. Then he spied Thelma getting ready to run down to Fritz. "No!" he shouted as he ran after and caught her. He held her tight to keep her safe. She'd die for sure if she went down to the mogron. He knew she'd be hugging the animal to comfort her and then she'd soon get sick and die right along with her, just like what happened to far too many of the good people of Roggzer.

"Let me go! Fritz! Momma's coming, baby!" Thelma thrashed and kicked and tried everything she could to get free but Louis held her firmly in place. In the course of the struggle, the redhead was able to get a glimpse of Fritz. She saw the young mogron, motionless with large patches of fur missing. She screamed in anguish and rage then, her volume exceeding that of the voice that scared Fritz away and rivaling that of the siren. If any adult mogrons were nearby, they'd have run away from the sound.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle knew she had to act quickly if Fritz had any chance of living, and she knew there was really only one hope. She had to brave the iron ship. It wouldn't require too much bravery though. From what the voice said, she suspected the real source behind it. It wasn't a metal guardian. She knew that much for sure. First though, she had to see what more she could do for Fritz.

To save time, she changed back to her insubstantial astral body so she could move more quickly between the camp and the mogron. Everyone watched by this time, and a good many of them were unnerved by the sight. Gabrielle would disappear from Fritz's side, reappear almost instantly back under her tarp, grab some things and run down to Fritz far faster than any human being could move. The woman didn't need to slow down since she wasn't carrying the delicate young animal.

Thelma soon realized what her friend was doing and watched without any problems. She actually cheered her on to save the young mogron. Nothing else mattered at the moment.

The children found the whole experience to be fascinating. And they got caught up in Thelma's cheering. They soon joined in, knowing that something serious was happening but not being able to keep from getting excited.

With some direction from Louis, Gabrielle took all of her remaining water and washed the young animal, trying to rinse away the harmful substance that was killing her. Fritz didn't stir the whole time, but at least she was still breathing. After the bath, she moved Fritz a good distance away and set up small tarp for shade. When she finished everything, the queen stood up and shouted out her intentions to the group. "I'm going to the iron ship now. There might be something there that can help Fritz. It's her only chance."

"Is she okay?" Thelma shouted back, no longer being held in Louis' arms but still being closely watched, just in case.

"She's still breathing but she's very sick. I'll be back as soon as I can."

The queen disappeared as she'd done before and popped back into her solid gray body. She stood facing the single tall stone tower with several low, round, yellow-brown buildings scattered around behind her.

"Whoever you are," she shouted, using the native tongue of her queendom, "know that you have caused grave harm to one of our group. Fritz was scared by your siren, entered a hot spot and is now dying."

"I care nothing for humans," the voice responded in the same language, then added. "How did you get so close without me seeing you? And why are you all gray? Are you some sort of golem?"

"Please!" Gabrielle continued. "I know you're one of us now! You're speaking the language of our home world! Please help us!"

The voice remained silent.

"You should know that Fritz isn't human!" the queen added. "She's a young mogron, a bear-like animal, only a few seasons old!"

"What?!" the voice said. "Not human? A baby animal?! Just a moment...."

Within a few dozen heartbeats, an outer door of one of the nearby short round buildings slid open and out came a relatively short metal guardian, about the same height as the queen, along with an unusual companion.

"I'm very sorry about... Fritz," the companion said, facing Gabrielle at eye-level though she was only about the size of one of the queen's hands. Her golden yellow hair and ice blue eyes stood out in glaring contrast from the mottled beige and olive green jumpsuit she wore. From the buzzing sound around her, it was apparent that she was flying. Her wings moved quickly enough that they couldn't easily be seen. Only when the sun hit them could a faint glimmer of a reflection be seen.

"A... fairy?" Gabrielle said, not believing her eyes. Fairies hadn't been seen in her queendom for hundreds of seasons. To see one now, on another world, was quite a surprise, even for a warrier queen.

"We prefer the term, fae. My name is Trillian, your Majesty. I recognize you now in spite of your odd disguise and lack of an aura. That's quite a trick!" The fairy giggled then, though it sounded a little forced to the tall woman.

"You're correct, Trillian. I am Queen Gabrielle of Prizzaria. And I'm very surprised to see one of your kind here. Please forgive my rudeness."

"Of course! Now then. You said we had a baby mogron to save?"

The queen nodded.

"Then let's get to it!" Trillian giggled again. "I love animals, especially baby animals. They're so cute and cuddly!"

The giggling sounded more genuine but Gabrielle still raised an eyebrow. She controlled her curiosity though. "I'm going to pop back to the others to let them know you're coming," she said. "Fritz is under a small tarp directly over on the other side of that ridge," she said, pointing. "See you soon."

The tall woman disappeared, leaving the fae to gasp and mutter, "How did she do that?! I happen to know her one magic talent and that ain't it!"

She hovered for a short moment, finally shrugging her tiny shoulders and calling on her metal companion, "Come on, Doc. We've got a patient to save. It's a female mogron named... Fritz? Yuck! What a name." She quickly flew in the direction that Gabrielle had pointed with the metal man managing to keep up, leaving a trail of dust.

~o~O~o~

The queen finished informing everyone about Trillian and the metal man just as the odd pair rounded the top of the ridge and hurried down the far side towards Fritz. They didn't stop for introductions. They knew there might not be time.

Thelma watched from the shade of a long tarp along with everyone else, gently biting her lower lip with worry.

Louis ignored the scene below. He only had eyes for the upset redhead. He wished there was something he could do but even putting an arm around her to comfort her was too much contact in the fierce heat of the day.

"I'm sorry," was all he could think of to say.

Thelma turned to look at him. Tears welled up in her eyes and she favored him with a slight smile.

Meanwhile, the metal doctor had reached Fritz, with Trillian being warned to stay back by Gabrielle. The doctor injected the mogron with something and then sprayed her with a fine mist. The mogron's skin twitched several times and then the doctor began wiping the remaining fur from her body. She looked bad but it made sense. She'd be a lot cooler without all of her hair, most of which was likely contaminated by toxic waste anyway.

The queen led Trillian over to meet the group while the doctor worked.

"Everyone, this is Trillian," Gabrielle said. "Just in case you don't know the term, she's a fae," the queen added, trying to keep any risk of insult to a minimum. Then she turned to Trillian and gestured towards Louis. "Except for our guide, Louis here, these people are all from Kispri."

"Hiya! Pleased ta meetcha!" the fae said, followed by a loud giggle.

Everyone in the group stared at least a little before responding with a greeting. The children continued to stare but they smiled too, and Gabrielle noted that they didn't seem to bother Trillian.

Thelma slowly approached and wiped a few tears away before she spoke. "Thank you so much, Trillian. I hope my Fritzie will be okay but I'm sure you're doing your best."

Trillian smiled at first, until she got a good look at the redhead. A scowl soon replaced the smile though. "You!" she screeched. "I... I can't believe it...," she sputtered.

The queen guessed the worst and quickly separated Trillian and Thelma from the others to talk privately. Once they were out in the sun, far enough away from anyone who might listen in, she went into emergency diplomacy mode.

"Trillian? Do you recognize Thelma here from somewhere?"

The fae glared at the queen but kept silent.

"Thelma? Do you recognize Trillian?"

"Nope. Never seen her before. I'd remember if I saw a fairy."

"Oh! How dare you?! I'm not a fairy! I'm fae!"

"Oops," Thelma looked down. "Sorry. I've never seen a... fae before."

"Not 'a' fae," Trillian fumed, "just fae, thank you very much. And what do you mean you never met me? You're the one who sent me here!"

Gabrielle rolled her eyes, having guessed what upset the fae, but Thelma turned pale.

"I.... I'm.... What do you mean?" the redhead stammered.

"I know your aura, putrid man," Trillian hissed. "It's a little softer around the edges but it's still there like a giant festering wound." The fae turned to the queen. "How could you?! How could you befriend this... this... fiend?!"

"She's no longer who she once was," Gabrielle said. "She's virtually all woman now, and she's more than made up for her past by helping to find these victims. We found who we could and we brought them along to take them home."

"Home," the fae spat. "Hah! There is no home, just this stupid hot rock with weird metal magic."

"Some of that metal magic is going to get us home. I'm sure of it. It looks like you're familiar with some of it already so you could probably help."

"What do you mean?" Trillian asked, her voice suddenly tinged with hope.

"There's a giant iron ship in a large underground cavern and that ship can get us home."

"Really?" the fae sounded like a lost little girl and the queen had to remind herself of the fae's potential danger. "You're not just saying that?"

"Back to Thelma here for the moment, please," Gabrielle said. "I need you to keep quiet about her, in the interest of getting us home if nothing else."

"Why should I?" Trillian sneered, causing Thelma to wince.

"Because I'm asking nicely? Because Thelma is trying to atone for her past misdeeds and is doing a good job of it so far? Because that little mogron down there has bonded to Thelma and if the sickness doesn't kill the animal, losing her adopted mother might?"

"Ridiculous," the fae said, then paused a moment in thought. "Okay. Here's the deal. I keep quiet about him but he has to stay behind, here on this shitty rock. Take it or leave it."

Thelma and Gabrielle looked at each other, the surprised looks on their faces slowly turning into smiles. "Okay," they chorused. "It's a deal."

"Huh?" Trillian squeaked. "No fair! You tricked me... or something. That was too easy."

The queen and redhead stood looking at the fae with smug looks.

"She was going to stay behind the whole time, wasn't she," Trillian stated as the other two nodded. "I should've known with that mogron. Shit."

"A deal is a deal," Gabrielle said. "Now can we get back to more important matters, like Fritz?"

They all turned and watched as the doctor pulled out a sling and placed the small mogron in it. The metal man then lifted Fritz in the sling and walked as quickly and gently as it could back the way it came.

"It looks like Fritz has saved you, Thelma," Trillian almost choked on the redhead's name, "for now. I'll deal with you later."

Thelma wisely didn't say anything. She just gulped and watched as the fae flew off after the doctor, remaining a respectful distance to one side.

"Thelma," Gabrielle said as the two of them walked back to the shelter of the tarps. "You stay here and help pack. I'm going ahead to help with Fritz if I can. I'll be okay in this form as you well know."

Thelma nodded.

"The rest of you," the queen said in a loud commanding voice to address the others, "pack up and be ready to move. I'll let you know when and exactly where to go as soon as I can." With that, she blinked out again and appeared next to the metal doctor, already on its way down the other side of the ridge and moving quickly towards the round buildings.

~o~O~o~

The two Kisprians followed the doctor inside the same round building that it originally came out of. They waited far off to one side as Fritz was placed inside a metal and glass chamber easily large enough for two or three people laid side-by-side. The fae sat on the front edge of a cabinet along one wall with the queen standing nearby.

"I don't pretend to know what's going on here," Trillian remarked, gesturing towards the metal doctor and other technology. "But I know that it's powerful magic and I've been trying to learn about it. I haven't gotten very far though."

"I agree," Gabrielle said. "It is powerful, and sometimes dangerous as you can tell by the hot spots that made Fritz sick. I just hope she can be cured."

"Radiation neutralized," a loud hollow voice interrupted. "Repairing cellular damage."

The queen gave Trillian a questioning look but the fae just shrugged.

"How and why did you end up here?" Gabrielle asked, deciding to change subjects since it looked as if Fritz was in good hands.

"That despicable little man did it! What else do you need to know? Didn't he send you here too?"

"Yes. He got sick of scraping by for a living and thought he'd get some respect by sending me away. It didn't work out for him, as you can tell." The queen snickered.

"I don't find this the least bit funny. It's been a nightmare here for me, the only one of my kind with no cool rain, no rainbows." She shuddered with pleasure as she said the last word, causing the queen to raise an eyebrow. "The only reason I've kept my sanity is by busying myself with this technology crap."

"I'm sorry, Trillian. At least I had other humans to deal with. I even found my mate here on this world."

"Let me guess," Trillian said with a smirk. "You turned a man into your dream girl."

Gabrielle blushed.

"I thought so," the fae said. "To each their own. No big deal."

They both watched Fritz in silence for a short time but Gabrielle wasn't finished with the fae.

"Why doesn't Thelma recognize you? Were you wearing a disguise or something?"

"Oh. Right," Trillian said, looking down. "I shapeshifted into a human woman and tried to chase him away from my home. I was afraid he was going to do something stupid. I guess he wouldn't be able to recognize me. I was a little too upset to think straight once I recognized his aura."

Gabrielle thought about that before she responded. "And you had no idea who he was and what his magic talent would be at the time. You just saw a threat and reacted while he did the same. That doesn't sound so bad. Not for Farrott."

"Fine for him," Trillian said, the bitterness evident. "But I lost everything. I lost my world and everything... everyone on it." She sniffled a little, trying to fight back the tears one-by-one as they dribbled off her chin.

"What's your mate's name?" Gabrielle asked in a soft voice, having guessed the main problem.

"Burdock," she replied. "He was so good to me. I miss him so much!" She almost started bawling then, but the anger returned stronger than ever. "That's why that little shit must suffer, like I've suffered."

"I'm so sorry, Trillian. I know how you feel. My mate escaped back to Kispri without me. She found a magic portal that was destroyed before I could use it." She didn't add that she could at least visit her mate using astral projection. She wanted to see about forming a bond with the tiny woman.

"So what's the deal with you and Thelma then? You both seem so... friendly. You should hate that bitch too."

"Like I've been trying to tell you, Thelma is a new woman. I changed Farrott and then felt honor bound to help him. Now, as a woman, Thelma has a new chance at life and she's taking it. She wants to stay here and raise a family. I just ask that you leave her alone. Please. Let it go."

"You're crazy, and you tricked me. I am so gonna hurt her."

Gabrielle didn't like the sound of that. But she had one more thing to try to diffuse the fae's anger.

"That sounds so odd," the queen remarked.

"What do you mean?"

"After hearing how bubbly and carefree you sounded when you addressed everyone earlier."

"Oh, that. That's just an act. Humans are menaces... no offense... and we fae play tricks and act silly to make humans think twice before harassing us. We've tried meeting them as equals in the distant past but they never respected us. They always tried to take advantage of us in one way or another. We couldn't really stand up to them physically and our magic has its limits, so we tried psychological warfare. Humans only stay away when we act a bit crazy and unpredictable."

"Ah. I see," Gabrielle said. "That's pretty smart. But what would happen if your secret got out? And what if I decided to... start formal relations with your people?"

"You wouldn't dare!" Trillian screeched.

"I would if you hurt Thelma. She's my friend now. I've forgiven her and so can you."

"No!" the fae screamed, her hands glowing red. She let loose with a tiny ball of flame right at the queen's head.

Fae were an exception on Kispri. They were often born with multiple magic talents, and they could learn more if they had the aptitude and the right teacher. Trillian might be truly dangerous if the fae weren't also limited by their small size. Magic scaled with the size of the magic user so the effects of their magic might be painful but they were rarely fatal to humans. It didn't matter to the queen though.

Gabrielle phased out and the small fireball passed harmlessly through her. She solidified again and shook her head. "That wasn't very nice. But I'd advise you to save your magic. You can't harm me."

"That can't be technology! There's no metal! How are you doing that?! You stupid humans only have one magic talent!"

"If I told you and helped you learn how to do it, would you control yourself?"

Trillian sat and fumed for a few dozen heartbeats before she cooled off enough to answer. "Maybe."

"Seriously, Trillian. That includes Thelma as being off limits. No harm. No pranks."

"But...!"

"No exceptions! I keep my silence about your people and teach you a new type of magic in exchange for you leaving Thelma alone. That's the deal."

The fae still looked more than a little angry. "That can't extend to verbal harassment," she muttered.

"What was that?"

"I wanted to know what you meant by a new type of magic before I agree," she said, lying to make sure the deal wasn't changed.

Gabrielle proceeded to tell her about talents and technology, both of which Trillian knew about. But then she explained how she discovered a new type of magic. It must be new because she couldn't do it otherwise. Humans only had one normal magic talent. That was always the case. There were never any exceptions in recorded history.

"So how does it work?" Trillian was curious in spite of her anger. Curiosity was a very common trait among the fae.

"I'm not sure, but I've been able to help two others experience it with me. If you experience it, you might just be able to learn to do it for yourself."

"Fair enough, your Majesty. I accept your deal."

Gabrielle would keep a close eye on the fae to make sure she didn't do anything rash, but she felt sure enough that the deal would be honored. With that out of the way, the two of them went back to watching the long slow process of trying to bring Fritz back from the edge of death. It wasn't a pretty sight.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 17

The queen popped back to the ridge at around midday to give Thelma and the others a quick update and let them know it was safe to approach the area. She then returned to her body, being safely guarded by Durgan and Thor, and shook herself awake. She grabbed her things, muttered under her breath about not having any water and looked for Thelma. At least she knew the mogron was safe to cuddle again so it didn't matter if Thelma got to Fritz first. The young animal was very weak but the metal doctor assured her that she would be healthy again after getting enough rest and food.

Thelma did move quickly ahead of the others, having left her pack with Louis. She slid down the ridge at a dangerous speed, hit the bottom at a jog and soon broke into a run. It wasn't long before she raced into the only building with an open door. She ran looking for Fritz and instead found an angry fae, buzzing just in front of her face.

"I don't like you, bitch," the fae snarled. "Just thought you'd like to know that." She followed with a fairly loud, echoing laugh that might have been called a cackle if her voice wasn't so high.

The redhead cringed back away from Trillian but didn't stop looking around. Nothing would stop her from finding Fritz. In her desperation, she even spoke to the scary fae. "Where's Fritz?" she asked in a small voice.

Trillian glared but she did point and Thelma ran in that direction. It wasn't long after that the fae got a sick look on her face from the sappy reunion of Fritz and her nemesis.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle concentrated on reassuring everyone that the area was safe and the group followed behind Thelma at a much more sedate pace. They arrived at the building just as Trillian shot out the door.

"Trillian!" Gabrielle called, noticing the sour look on her face. "Are you okay?"

"What? Oh! Yeah. Sure! I'm fine," the fae said, quickly recovering. "Hiya everybody! Long time no see." She quickly added a giggle to make sure she stayed in character.

"Did Thelma find Fritz?" the queen asked.

"Oh, yeah," the fae replied, all smiles. "I think they're having a party or something. Go see for yourselves!"

The group left their supplies in the shade and filed into the building, following Gabrielle. A few of them realized they moved down a slight incline as they walked. The whole complex connected underground but it made sense to have several exits to the outside window for safety reasons. The short, round buildings made sense anyway. The tall skinny tower kept its own secrets. The group moved about a hundred paces before entering a room just large enough to hold the entire group, and there they saw a recovering young mogron and a very happy young woman.

Fritz was lying on her side and looked odd without her hair. Her skin was a little pale but the sores were completely healed. She'd be very weak and would have to be carefully nursed back to health, something that Thelma initially thought would be her responsibility... until she got a great idea.

"Louis?" she called. "Please go fetch a niggler for me. Carve it up into small strips first though. Okay? Please?"

"Sure!" he said as he rushed back up and out of the building. He didn't think about the hazards of feeding a dangerous animal. He only had visions of Thelma's beautiful green eyes and sweet lips making a very reasonable sounding request.

In the short time that Louis was gone, several people asked about Fritz's state of health and were assured all was safe and that the young mogron would be fine. She just needed food and rest. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

When he returned, he hurried towards Thelma but stopped when he heard a familiar though fairly weak sounding growl.

"Don't worry, Louis," Thelma said. "She's too weak to hurt you now. Please. Come closer and try feeding her. I think she'll be much more receptive now."

Though Fritz remained on her side and did look quite weak, the large man was intimidated by the large teeth being displayed as a warning that was directed solely at him. He tried moving forward but his feet wouldn't move. Thelma noticed and asked for one small piece of meat.

"Fritzie, be nice now. Here's a small sample of what Louis has for you." She fed the meat to the young animal and rubbed the side of her belly.

Fritz snapped up the meat and drooled a little as she looked up at her adopted mother for more.

"Now, Louis," Thelma whispered. "While she isn't looking, Quickly!"

Louis glided forward quickly and silently, swung a strip of meat into Fritz's mouth and took a step back.

Fritz chewed a couple times and swallowed the meat, not noticing where it came from, though she did notice a certain familiar scent tainting the meat. Her nostrils twitched in irritation but her gurgling stomach took priority.

"Again, Louis!" Thelma whispered. "Now!"

He stepped forward again and slung another piece of meat into the mogron's mouth, and again Fritz inhaled it after barely chewing. The feeding continued and involved much less stepping back by Louis after only a few bites. Fritz didn't really notice who was feeding her until the meat was almost gone. By then, she didn't care. She just wanted, and needed, more.

"Oh, Louis," Thelma gushed. "It's working. I knew it would. Now how about another two or three nigglers?"

"I only have five more left but I'll go get two of them. You'll have to figure out other feeding arrangements while I'm gone though. Fritz will certainly need more than five."

Thelma frowned and looked around. "Gabi? We have a problem!" she shouted.

~o~O~o~

After consulting with Trillian and checking out some of the technology, the group found access to a large enough supply of fresh water. They also found a limited source of food that could be manufactured into small chewy bars. The food had all of the essential nutrients but it wasn't very palatable.

Fritz had been well-fed by that time. She wouldn't need anything more for several hours at least but the young mogron still wouldn't turn down a treat if it was offered. That led Thelma to try giving her a food bar. Of course Fritz turned her nose up at it.

"She won't eat it!" Thelma whined, making everyone cringe.

"That's no surprise, Thelma," Gabi said. "She needs meat. You can have my dried meat if you like. If it's a little too tough for Fritz, you can chew it a little to soften it up."

"That's a great idea! Thanks, Gabi."

Most of the rest of the group offered at least some of their dried meat, enough to last until they could get Thelma, Fritz and Louis back to Roggzer assuming they could fly the great iron ship. They didn't really need the meat anyway. Their water skins had all been refilled and they had enough food bars to keep them going another couple weeks. They wouldn't have to restock at Roggzer. That would save precious time.

"Another crisis averted," Gabrielle said, smiling. "Now we just have a ship to fly," Gabrielle said. "Trillian?"

"Aye, aye, Captain!" the fae said, giving the queen the Prizzarian salute with a fist over her heart and then swinging her arm forward as she opened her hand, palm facing down. Then the fae flew over to a wall panel and pressed a small recessed part of the panel.

"Mister Computer?" she asked. "Are you awake?"

"I am always functional, Trillian," the computer replied in a clear tenor voice. "How are you today?"

"Oh! I'm fine. Thanks for asking." The fae tried following up with her usual giggling but was interrupted by an impatient queen.

"Trillian? Enough of the pleasantries please."

"Right you are, your Majesty!" She giggled and turned back to the panel. "Computer, we need access to your iron ship. We want to take it out for a spin. Can you help us? Please oh please oh please?"

"Do you have authorization?" the computer asked, causing Gabrielle to growl in frustration.

"You want authorization?" the queen asked. "We're the only people here. If you don't do it, we can smash everything except the ship until nothing works. How's that for authorization?"

"Destruction isn't necessary. Your point is taken." A rectangular area on the panel lit up, showing the ship's instrument panel. "Flying the ship requires knowledge of this panel. Do you need instruction?"

Gabrielle and Trillian looked hard at the display and couldn't understand most of it. Gabrielle could read most of the writing but it was all too technical for her. Trillian never did learn to read the local language so she was completely lost.

"Instruction would be nice," the queen said. "How long would it take to learn?"

"There's a ten day tutorial you could access," the computer offered.

"That would take too long. Isn't there anything simpler?"

"The ship is a very complicated vessel. I don't recommend anything less than ten days."

"I don't think I can wait ten days," Gabrielle muttered. "Mother Moon! Give me strength!"

Trillian rolled her eyes and addressed the computer. "Can you help us fly the ship? Or perhaps fly it for us?"

"Yes. My programming can be transferred to the ship. That's an acceptable alternative."

"Your Majesty?" Trillian asked.

"Make it so!" the queen said, a large silly smiled plastered on her face.

And made it so they did. At the computer's direction, the group left the room and walked down to a large room that gave access to the ship. Harsh blue-white lights switched on as they entered to reveal the middle and upper part of the shiny gray metal ship. The ship stood on end with its nose straight up in the air. As they got closer, a door silently slid open on the ship.

"Welcome aboard," the computer said from just inside as they started to enter one-by-one.

~o~O~o~

Once everyone was on the ship, the door closed and the computer directed everyone to various areas of the ship. Most of the group was divided up into small living quarters with instructions. Only Trillian, Thelma and Gabrielle went to the bridge, where they could participate in the flying of the ship.

By that time, Louis had gotten on Fritz's good side. The young mogron even let the man carry her to their quarters as long as he had plenty of meat snacks to keep her happy. Thelma hated to leave Fritz's side but the computer insisted on the redhead's presence, saying something about needing her for navigation.

The bridge was fairly small, only allowing enough room for two human sized occupants. Gabrielle and Thelma sat down with Trillian settling on the queen's left shoulder, away from Thelma but still bending forward occasionally to keep an eye on her nemesis.

The fae glared at Thelma whenever she got the chance and Thelma soon tired of the bad treatment. The redhead started fighting back by sticking out her tongue. The bad behavior didn't go unnoticed.

"That's enough you two," Gabrielle advised. "Thelma will be leaving quite soon so try to be civil."

"Mister Computer?" Trillian said. "We're ready to go!" She started to giggle and then stopped when she realized she didn't have to keep up her act in front of the only two who really knew better.

"Please state the destination," the computer said.

"Roggzer," Gabrielle said.

"Please be more specific," the computer added.

"Just a little east of Roggzer, out of sight of everyone in the city?"

"Please be more specific," the computer repeated.

Trillian interrupted. "Can you display an image of the area as we fly?"

"Yes, Trilian. Activating the forward display now."

A large rectangular panel light up in front of them, showing what looked to be an area above the top of the ship. More harsh lighting lined the rim of a large, round metal area. As they watched, the metal slowly slid to one side, revealing the bright glare of the sun.

"That is so cool!" the fae said. "Can you show other parts of this world... like parts that have some rain once in awhile?"

"That isn't possible. But rain is not uncommon here during the rainy season."

"I'm assuming that's not gonna happen for quite some time. Am I right?"

The computer paused before replying, "On average, the rainy season begins in fifty three days for this area."

Trillian sulked. "I'll never get to see one," she said.

"What are you referring to, Trillian?" the computer asked.

"I think I know," Gabrielle said, having remembered Trillian's strong reaction to a certain word. "I believe she's hoping to see... a rainbow."

The fae didn't say anything. She just lowered her head and gave a heavy sigh. Bowing her head hid the fierce blush on her face.

"I believe you are correct, your Majesty," the computer said. "Trillian has mentioned rainbows before."

"Please!" Trillian suddenly shouted, then whispered, "Please stop saying that word. I... I can't take it."

An awkward silence followed until the computer reminded them that they needed to specify a destination.

"Fly towards the area east of Roggzer," Gabrielle said, "just out of direct line of sight from everyone in the city. We'll direct you once we get closer."

"As you wish," the computer said, before a barely perceptible shudder ran through the ship. "Please forgive any vibration. Actual flying of this ship varies slightly from the simulations."

Gabrielle and Thelma sat wide-eyed as they watched the display view brighten. The ship slowly lifted up and out of the hangar into the bright sunlight. They were finally on their way.

~o~O~o~

After the ship had leveled off and flew towards Roggzer, Gabrielle was puzzled. Her position in her chair hadn't changed.

"Mister Computer?" she asked.

"Yes, your Majesty?" he replied.

"How is it our sense of up and down doesn't change as the ship tilts?"

"I have activated the ship's artificial gravity."

"Gravity? What's that?"

"Would you like a tutorial?"

"Never mind," the queen said, not even wanting to hear how long that would take. She preferred to leave the serious magic to those who studied it for a living.

Thelma sat rigid in her chair the whole time, her knuckles white as she firmly gripped the armrests.

"Hey. Relax, Thelma," Gabrielle said after having noticed.

"Boom!" Trillian suddenly shouted, purposely trying to rattle the redhead. It worked but she also startled and angered the queen, who swatted at her. Trillian avoided the queen's hand, flying up and forward to land on the dashboard of the ship. Gabrielle ended up slapping herself.

"Is the poor former man scared?" the fae continued.

"Trillian," Gabrielle warned. "She's suffering enough as it is. You don't have to add to it."

"Why is she even sitting up here with us?" the fae asked.

"Let's find out. Remember that Mister Computer requested her presence."

The computer had been listening in and volunteered the information right away. "I need to scan Thelma's brain. Her memories and residual traces of what you call magic will help me plot a course to your home world. Trillian told me how Thelma, also known as Farrott, also known as Scumbag, sent you all here from a planet called Kispri."

"Trillian," the queen growled.

"What?! I thought Mister Computer needed to know so I told him."

"When was this?"

"When everyone was splitting up. I had a private conversation. I think he's sweet on me." She couldn't help herself then. She giggled, and quickly followed with a frown.

Gabrielle smiled. "Old habits die hard, don't they."

The fae blushed but didn't say anything.

"Mister Computer? You might want to scan my brain as well. I accessed a portal and was able to direct it to send my mate to Kispri."

"That would suffice," the computer said. "Please turn and look into the small glass window to your left while you actively try to remember your experience with the portal. And hold very still. This won't hurt a bit."

Gabrielle did as asked, feeling a slight tingling but no real discomfort for a very brief time until the computer told her it was finished.

"Home world course plotted. When would you like to proceed?"

"Right after we drop off Louis, Thelma and Fritz."

"As you wish," the computer said.

~o~O~o~

The great iron ship flew at great speed, nearing its first stop in a very small fraction of a day. Thelma remained silent for the duration of the very short trip, leaving it up to Gabrielle to point out a landing site for the ship. They touched down and the redhead hurried to find Louis and Fritz so she could get off the ship as soon as possible.

Louis and his soon-to-be wife soon stood a good distance away from the ship, with Fritz fast asleep, lying in the cart that originally held the nigglers.

"Good bye, Gabi," said a tearful Thelma. "I'll miss you!"

Of the rest of the group that was going back to Kispri, only the queen remained outside the ship. She gave her friend a good long hug. "I'll miss you too, Thelma," she said. "I truly will. You've come a long way. I'm very proud of you."

They separated and Thelma's lower lip quivered. "Thanks, Gabi," she said. "I couldn't have done it without you."

The queen smiled, suppressing the reflex to tell her that it was her pleasure. It would've been a lie and she didn't like to lie. Initially, Thelma had been very difficult to deal with. It was only because of years of training that that Gabrielle was able to tolerate such a difficult situation. That and her strong sense of honor.

"I'll be back to check up on you, so be good," the queen added, implying that she'd be astrally traveling back to Roggzer.

"You better," Thelma said, smiling. "I want to show off my children." She turned and slipped an arm around Louis' waist.

Gabrielle nodded and smiled. Then she turned and walked back to the ship, which was settled with its nose in the air at the base of a large hill. Just beyond the hill, Roggzer waited for the redhead and her family.

A few steps before she arrived at the base of the ship, the bottom door panel slid open to reveal a very impatient fae, flying even with the queen's head.

"C'mon, Gabi! Time's a wastin'!" she said, barely suppressing a giggle after speaking.

Thelma and Louis still stood close enough to hear and see the exchange, and the redhead couldn't help herself. "Hey, Trillian!" she shouted in her original language. "I fart rainbows!" Then she laughed. So did Louis, though he didn't understand what was said.

The fae snarled at the insult and looked about ready to fly out and attack the redhead.

Luckily, Gabrielle noticed and reached out, grabbing and holding the tiny woman against her stomach. She turned once more to give a little finger wave and then disappeared into the belly of the great iron ship. The ship silently rose a short distance off the ground and slowly accelerated off to the east, away from Roggzer. Louis and Thelma watched it go until it suddenly shot up and away from Agrin.

"There they go," Thelma said quietly.

"Do you wish you could go with them?" Louis asked.

"No. Not really. I have no life back on my home world. My life is here, with you."

"And Fritz," he added.

"And Fritz," she agreed. "And speaking of Fritz, she'll need something to eat when she wakes up. I better get started."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I need to hunt down something to feed her."

Louis looked puzzled. "We can get her something in the market," he suggested. "We're not far from the city. It won't take very long. We'll take Fritz home, to our home, and I'll go get something while you watch over her."

"Really?"

"I wouldn't worry about it. We can certainly afford it. I wasn't paid much to guide your group but this might help." He pulled a pouch off his belt and dumped several large, gold coins into his hand.

Thelma's eyes went wide. "Where did you get that?" she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"It's a wedding gift. Your group gave us all of their leftover money. They can't use it back on your home world so they gave it to us. Wasn't that nice of them?"

Thelma playfully swatted her beloved's arm. "And you didn't tell me till now?!"

"It was supposed to be a surprise. Sorry about giving it away."

"That's okay. I forgive you." She stretched up on her tip-toes and invited him down for a kiss by parting her lips and closing her eyes. He quickly obliged.

It took a long while to break the kiss. It was only the heat of the day and the exertion of too much toe curling that caused them to separate.

"Shall we go then?" Louis said.

He started pulling the cart with Fritz and their remaining supplies and the two of them made their way around the base of the hill, on towards their happy home.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 18

Gabrielle sat in her chair on the bridge and reminisced as she stared at the unmoving stars on the view screen. She really would miss Thelma. In spite of all the trouble that the redhead caused, she turned out to be quite a sweet young woman. Sure, she was rough around the edges, but she easily made up for it. You just had to get to know her.

The queen looked over at Trilian, asleep in the other chair. 'Misunderstandings are so easy to come by,' she thought. 'If only people could get to know one another better.'

There were no recognizable timepieces but it seemed as if they'd been flying for the good part of a day. By then, boredom had set in, and with nothing better to do, Gabrielle finally decided to talk to the computer.

"Mister Computer... uh... are you awake?"

"I am always functional, your Majesty," the computer responded.

"Please, call me Gabrielle."

"As you wish, Gabrielle."

The queen smiled, happy to just hear her name being spoken.

"I'm curious about something," she said. "Back on my world, we name our ships. Does this ship have a name?"

"Accessing.... This ship's name is 'The Cetus.' According to the records, that means whale."

"You have whales on Agrin?"

"If by whale you mean a very large aquatic mammal that evolved for life in the sea, then yes."

"That sounds like a whale alright," the queen said, unsure of what else to talk about. Then she remembered the reason for her journey.

"How long will it take us to reach Kispri?" she asked, suddenly aware that she might not have the luxury of a long, leisurely cruise.

"At the current rate of speed, I estimate it will take us roughly three thousand four hundred and sixteen days."

"What?! Are you serious?!"

"Is that not satisfactory? We can go faster if you like. You never specified a speed."

"Yes! Yes, of course I'd like to go faster. Much faster. How fast can this ship go?"

"We can reach several multiples of the speed of light."

"What? Light has a speed?"

"Yes. Would you like a tutorial?"

"No! No, thank you."

The queen paused to think, barely noticing that her shouting had woken up Trillian. The little fae rubbed her eyes and squeaked with indignation. "Hey! I was trying to sleep! What's with all the shouting?"

"Sorry, Trillian. I just found out we've been traveling much too slowly. We need to speed things up... a lot."

Just then, Durgan showed up. He'd been part of a group who'd been wondering much the same thing. They were all anxious to get home and wanted to know if they had time for some sleep. He finally decided to go up and ask about it.

"Hey," he said. "I heard shouting. Is everything okay?"

"Hi, Durgan," Gabrielle said. "Yes, everything is fine. As I was telling Trillian here, I just found out we've been traveling much more slowly than this ship's top speed. I was about to speed things up."

"Ahead, full speed, Mister Computer," Gabrielle commanded. "If you please."

"As you wish, your Majesty," the computer said. "Preparing for hyperdrive. Please direct your attention to the view screen. You might be interested in the spectral effect of jumping into hyperspace."

Gabrielle looked at Durgan and Trillian, both of whom shrugged. Then they all turned to watch the screen.

It wasn't long before the computer said, "Entering hyperspace," and two very curious things happened. First, every star on the screen suddenly smeared into narrow streaks that contained all the colors of the rainbow. The second curious thing to happen was Trillian's reaction to the colorful affect. She squealed out, "Rainbows!" and promptly fell back in the chair, writhing and moaning.

Gabrielle and Durgan looked at Trillian, looked at each other and then looked back at the fae.

"Shouldn't we... you know... throw a sheet over her or something?" Durgan asked.

"Let's just leave her alone for a while. Oh, but just a moment.... Mister Computer? How long will it take to reach Kispri at our current rate of speed?"

"We'll enter orbit in seventeen hours, eleven minutes and thirty seven seconds," the computer replied.

"What? How long is an hour?" Durgan asked.

"And what's an orbit?" Gabrielle wondered aloud.

"There are twenty four hours in a day, sixty seconds in an hour and sixty seconds in a minute. We arrive at Kispri in less than a day."

"That's better," Gabrielle said, smiling and pumping her first. "Now let's go."

"Please wait," the computer spoke up. "I have a question. Will Trillian be needing medical attention?"

"Oh, no," Gabrielle answered. "She just really loves rainbows."

The two Kisprian humans quickly left to give Trillian some privacy and went to relay the good news to the others.

~o~O~o~

The queen found her way to the living quarters shared by Dalene and one of the other women. She muttered something about being desperate for sleep and collapsed on the bed. It wasn't long before she ended up back in her royal bed chamber back on Kispri. She slowly solidified her astral body, slipped into her robe and slippers and wandered out into the sitting room.

The sitting room was empty but the large double doors were slightly ajar and the queen could hear plenty of activity outside. She peeked her head out and jumped when a woman screamed and then blurted out a quick succession of words.

"Your Majesty! Where have you been?! The hordes are advancing! Everyone is scrambling to defend the castle! Muriel has been absolutely frantic... well... you know what I mean. She never really gets truly frantic, does she? Maybe just a little frayed around the edges. I don't know how she can stay so calm. It's a disaster out there," the woman said, not stopping to breathe. She was one of the royal maids, dressed in the usual dark gray uniform with a diagonal stripe of lavender.

"Wait! Wait a moment!" Gabrielle interrupted. "Where's Muriel? Please call Muriel right away."

"At once, your Majesty, the maid curtsied and ran off down the hall.

The queen muttered and walked back into the center of the room, slumping down in the spare throne. "I'm only away for a couple days and those idiots attack?! This is ridiculous."

After much muttering and shaking of her head, Muriel arrived, looking as if she was ready to rattle off several sentences just as the maid had done. But before the older woman could say anything, Gabrielle held up a hand to command silence.

"Muriel, please tell me this is all a dream. Tell me the barbarians haven't done something stupid like get themselves drunk and worked up the courage to attack the castle. Please?"

"I wish I could, Gabrielle. But we both know that would be a lie. Please tell me you're on your way and will be here shortly."

"At least I can truly say that much."

Muriel visibly relaxed at the news. "How long until you arrive?" she asked.

"About two thirds of a day."

The advisor did some mental calculations and shook her head. "I'm not sure we can hold them off that long."

The queen got a wicked look on her face then. "Perhaps I can stall them. You distract Marie while I make a personal appearance. Where's my pregnancy pillow?"

~o~O~o~

The city of Prizzaria was built atop a long, wide ridge that defined the east side of the Columbia River valley, with the castle towering over the outer city wall, looking very majestic in the light of the late afternoon sun. Few trees were left in the area, having been harvested long ago for lumber to build houses and some interior portions of the castle. Normally, lush meadows of grass and wildflowers covered the ridge and surrounding area, but currently, the only natural features consisted of hard-packed dirt with a few, widely-spaces patches of trampled grass. The barbarian hordes moved in, camping in their beige, brown and dark green tents that dotted the landscape. They devastated the land.

Large and mostly unorganized but still highly dangerous bands of scantily clad men ran or staggered around just outside the outer wall near the south gate. When they weren't throwing up or blacking out, they swung their swords and cursed in equal measure. The air ran foul with swear words and body odor.

Many of the citizens close to the outer wall could hear the men and complained about not being able to protect the innocence of their children but the queen largely ignored them, marching by in full battle gear with a two-handed sword and a hint of pregnancy thanks to the pillow she had stuffed underneath her armor. She was too busy trying to think of a way to stop the men from doing much worse than scandalizing everyone with indecent language. She figured if nothing else, she could try fighting them. She might not have the energy to be able to last long in full battle mode but at least she couldn't be harmed. She'd already tried stabbing herself to various degrees and hadn't felt a thing. After pulling the dagger out, there'd been no wound. Her astral body had just reformed and filled in the hole left by the blade. She continued marching to the front gate and hoped for inspiration.

The scene just outside the front gate was worse than ever. A makeshift battering ram had been cobbled together out of clubs and large splinters of rocks. It was laughable, but with the strength and determination of the men, it might eventually pound its way through the heavy wooden gate, allowing the hordes to invade the castle.

The queen stood looking over the wall to the east side of the gate and shouted out. "Hold, barbarians! I'm here to put a stop to this. Leave now or forfeit your manhood!"

All of the men immediately stopped whatever they were doing and squinted up at the queen. One of them shouted, "Hah! Yer a fake. Come out here and fight if ya dare. I'll pop yer womb like a pimple!"

Some of the citizens of Prizzaria had gathered in the streets near the gate and gasped when they heard the man's response.

Gabrielle narrowed her eyes. "How about just you and I fight? No magic. Just swords."

Those men that were sober enough to follow the conversation muttered when they heard that. They didn't like the idea of having one man fight the queen. If he lost, and he very well could considering how drunk he was, they might lose their motivation and slink back off into the wilderness with their tails between their legs.

One of the more intelligent and still somewhat sober men took control of the situation and interrupted with his own challenge. He was their leader. "Bring out the gimp!" he suddenly shouted.

The leader startled the men but many of them soon got into the spirit of the occasion and started chanting, "Gimp! Gimp! Gimp! Gimp!"

Before long, two burly men emerged from a tent, frog-marching a tall, skinny young man in a toga. The man had long, well-combed tresses on his head and well-groomed eyebrows but otherwise no visible body hair. As he moved, he stumbled several times, obviously favoring his left leg. "Here now!" he shouted. "What's this?! I'm trying to have my tea! I haven't got time for stupid man tricks!"

"Shaddup, ya ducky ponce!" the leader said to the indignant young man. Then he turned and looked up to face the queen. "If you are who you say you are, come down 'ere and change this... man into a woman. He actually wants it so you wouldn't be doin' him any harm. You do that and we all go home."

'Well-played,' the queen thought. 'But I think I like my plan better.'

"Bring him closer to the gate," Gabrielle blustered. "I don't trust you."

"Fine," the leader said, turning to the men holding the young man. "Do as the witch asked."

The queen moved down to ground level and and unlatched a small access door in the gate. She peeked out through a peep hole to make sure it was relatively safe and opened the door.

"Closer," she said to the burly men. "Bring him closer."

The two men holding the young man looked a little nervous but they slowly edged forward, not wanting to lose face in front of their comrades. When they closed the distance to within a sword's length, they stopped and waited, still holding their prisoner.

"Do you two also wish to be changed into women?" the queen asked the two burly men.

"No, ma'am!" The nervous men let go of the young man and quickly backed away.

The young man in the toga stood his ground, looking a little nervous but a little hopeful as well. It appeared as if the loud-mouthed leader wasn't lying about this man wanting to be a woman.

"You," Gabrielle addressed him. "What's your name?"

"Julian," he barely squeaked out. Then, more forcefully, "Julian Moore."

"Well, Julian, today's your lucky day. Do you know why?"

He slowly shrugged his shoulders and gave her a faint smile.

"You're going to live!" she shouted. And with that, she grabbed the young man and pulled him towards the access door. She quickly pushed him through it and yelled for her guards to close and lock it behind her. Then she screamed a battle cry and ran towards the man who threatened to pierce her womb. She had a score to settle.

~o~O~o~

The first target went down easiest. In the queen's solid astral form, her armor and sword barely slowed her down at all. She was on the man before he could get his sword all the way up to parry. She simply ran her sword along the upper edge of his and used it to guide her blade up into his neck for a quick, clean kill. She ran past him and threw herself into the nearest large group of men, spinning and hacking like a buzz saw.

There were nearly two dozen men dead or dying on the blood-soaked ground around her before the leader countered the queen's attack. But he didn't attack her. He knew that was suicide. He knew strong magic when he saw it so he fought magic with magic. He began throwing large balls of fire while shouting to encourage one other fire thrower and three lightning strikers to attack the guards, mostly women, along the top of the outer wall. The screams and smell of seared flesh filled the air, sickening all but the hardiest of barbarians.

With the power of magic, there was no strong motivation to invent bows or gun powder. Primitive weapons weren't needed and wouldn't be as effective. Arrows, spears and even lead shot would be destroyed or turned away by the fire and lightning, as would a weaker magical attack. That meant that the castle guards had no good way to counter the current attack. There were several with significant magical fire power but they were held in reserve where they could hit large numbers of attackers at one time, hopefully after the stronger barbarians had exhausted their magic. They had no good way of fighting back against the concentrated offensive magic being thrown at them by only a strong few. All they could do was try to defend.

The fireballs expanded and spun as they flew up to hit near the top of the wall, and when they hit, they slowly rolled over the top of the wall and stayed there, engulfing everyone in the area. Then they quickly dissipated, the roar of the fire dying down to allow the screams to be heard more easily.

The lightning was worse. The lightning strikers sent out one large lightning bolt to hit the fireballs, actually charging them so they'd later send out dozens of smaller lightning bolts in all directions. The city dwellers nicknamed them electric fireballs and shivered in fear. The barbarians just laughed.

The defenders had a few among their ranks with the power to control the movement of water but it wouldn't be enough to counter the attack. The resulting steam would be just as deadly and they also knew how water could spread the effects of lightning. All they could do was put out fires after the fact.

Gabrielle noticed the carnage. She stopped fighting except to block the occasional attack by those few with enough liquid courage to continue. "What are you doing?!" she screamed. "Stop! Stop at once!!"

Fireballs and lightning took tremendous amounts of magical energy to create and unleash. The leader did stop, but only because he was exhausted after a half dozen fireballs. His comrades stopped too, also running out of energy for the moment. They all wisely kept quiet about that however.

"I call a truce!" the leader shouted, backing away from the castle wall. "Meet me now to discuss terms!" Much more quietly, to his nearest comrade, he said, "Have Barlow prepare a trap for this witch while I keep her busy. Signal me when it's ready."

The other man nodded and ran off.

Gabrielle noticed the exchange. She knew the men couldn't be trusted but she felt confident enough to fend them off. Fire and lightning couldn't hurt her any more than weapons. With a grim look on her face, she marched towards the leader and met him halfway across the battlefield. Together they turned and headed towards a large, square beige tent with a black pennant flying from the center pole. They entered the tent with one extra guard and everyone watching from the city wall held their breath.

~o~O~o~

A single small oil lamp lit the inside of the tent, making it just bright enough to see the squalor of wine-stained cloth, rotting food and general filth. The stench would overpower most people, but the leader didn't seem to mind. The queen didn't care either. Her sense of smell didn't work at all in her astral body. If the leader thought he'd gain an advantage through odor, he was sadly mistaken.

One other man followed the leader into the tent and stood just inside the entrance while the leader motioned Gabrielle to a far corner.

"We can sit there," the leader pointed to the only cleared spot on the floor. It was small but it could fit both of them if they hunched up.

"I'll stand," the queen replied. "And I'll go first."

She listed the only terms she'd accept: unconditional surrender. And she wanted all of the men gone by the next morning. Baths were optional but highly recommended.

"Be reasonable, Queen. We've come a long way and we only want some of what you got."

"If you need food and water, I might see fit to part with some. I don't like the idea of anyone going hungry."

"We're not be needin' any food or water. We came for the women and gold."

Gabrielle scowled. "That isn't going to happen," she said.

"Then we are at what you would call an impasse. I ain't goin' anywhere without a good woman."

The queen sighed and decided to try a different tack. "Do you know what my record is for changing men into women?"

The man at the entrance gulped but otherwise remained silent. The leader just shrugged.

"Seventy three. In one battle, I changed seventy three dangerous men into law-abiding citizens of my domain. And you know what?"

The large smelly man in front of her rolled his eyes and spoke in a bored voice, "What?"

"I am so going to enjoy breaking my record."

"Right. Why haven't you changed any of us so far then? Run out of magic, did ya? Or maybe you somehow traded one kind of magic for another. I ain't never seen anyone move like you did. It ain't natural."

The queen smirked. "I tried giving you a chance to change your ways, to do the decent thing and go home. But it looks like I'll have to change you. Sure, most of you will probably escape me and run back home after I start changing you. But I'm confident I can break my record."

"Yer all talk, Queenie." The man sneered. "You couldn't change the Gimp and you can't change us. You can fight like a she-devil all night if you like, but you won't stop us. We got numbers on our side."

"Ah, by the Gimp you mean Julian. I imagine your men are going to miss Julian."

The man at the entrance nodded.

"We ain't gonna miss him," the leader said, "not after we get inside your prissy castle." He leered as he spoke and wiped a bit of drool from the right corner of his mouth.

The queen just smiled. "What would you do if I changed you? Would you take advantage of the safety of my queendom? Or would you go back home and brave the men who returned with you?"

"It's gettin' late and yer wastin' my time. We will have us some rest tonight, and if you can't change a single one of us by mornin', we'll be attackin'."

Someone opened the tent flap and did a short series of hand signals that only the guard inside could see, then the visitor left as quickly as he came. The guard cleared his throat immediately after.

"Time for you to leave," the leader said.

"Fine," the queen said. "Just think on this. I'll be watching for you in the morning." With that, she turned and walked out, right into their trap. After only a few steps away from the tent, the ground gave way underneath her and she fell a long distance, hitting the bottom hard. It didn't injure her but it did give her a surprise, even more so when men lined the edge of the pit and began dumping dirt and rocks on her, quickly burying her alive.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled.

This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 19

Gabrielle stood at the bottom of a deep pit, getting pelted and pummeled with rocks and dirt. The larger rocks hit often enough and with enough force to keep her from climbing above the rising mound, causing her to be buried alive. To make matters worse, she also received a fair amount of taunting. Most of the words held little sting, but a few managed to upset her. As her head was covered, she vowed that she'd see the entire encampment of men turned into women... at least those who weren't killed. They'd simply gone too far.

She felt some measure of satisfaction that she hadn't screamed or cried out during her ordeal. The men seemed rather disappointed about her silent treatment and that made her smile. Of course she realized early on that she could go back to her insubstantial astral body to fly out of the pit but then she'd lose her armor and sword. Most importantly, she'd also give away a surprise that she was planning. She didn't want to do that.

Doing some quick calculations in her head, she realized that the iron ship wouldn't arrive until late morning at the earliest, so her work wasn't quite done. She succeeded in preventing the men from attacking for the night. She just needed to get them to have a nice, late sleep in.

'I'll be back for you, armor and sword,' she thought as she phased out through the dirt and rocks. 'You'll be displayed in a public place in honor of this night's battle victory. And tomorrow I'll have an even more impressive monument to the coming battle. I'll have a giant iron ship, settled next to my castle.'

The queen turned back into pure energy and floated invisibly back to the surface, looking for the first victim of her latest plan.

~o~O~o~

The men were having a great party up until the queen's appearance. They were working themselves up to a frenzy to overcome their waning fear of the queen and her magic talent. But after her burial, they changed. That concerned Gabrielle. The time for partying had come to an end. Their leader had stopped the flow of alcohol to his men so it looked like they'd go to sleep fairly early and be up with the dawn to wreak havoc.

The barbarians' attack plan was workable, if a bit crude. The situation was as serious as Muriel believed. The joke of a battering ram was just a ruse to give them a false sense of security. The earth moving magic talent that created the pit would allow the men to easily break through the outer wall. They'd pour into the town square to pillage and plunder at will. Even if they didn't get into the castle itself, breaching the outer wall would be a disaster.

'They're not as stupid as they look,' the queen thought. 'Mother Moon! Give me strength!' But her plan was sound.

She waited until well past sunset, when it was completely dark except for the numerous oil lamps and campfires scattered among the tents. Then she floated to a campfire with a large number of boisterous men sitting around it and started her plan.

Solidifying her hand and arm but keeping the rest of herself invisible, she reached into the fire and pulled out a small burning log. She tossed the log into the lap of the nearest man, causing him to yelp and fall over backwards.

"What the f...," was all he managed to say before the heat of the log burned through his loincloth and into the skin on his upper thighs. Then he screamed in pain. It was a good start.

The queen floated from campfire to campfire, from tent to tent, throwing her own kind of magical fire, randomly burning off loincloths and burning down tents as the mood struck her. She left the leader's tent alone. She wanted him in good shape when she turned him into Thelma's twin; the original overweight version. But she did pay him a visit.

The leader shook his head as he tore into a large, charred drumstick. Men could be heard shouting and cursing all throughout the encampment. They sounded more deranged than anything else. 'Someone must have smuggled some drugs into camp,' he thought. 'They better be ready at first light.'

The same guard that stood inside during the truce watched as his leader ate. His stomach growled and he drooled a little but the large seated man didn't like sharing. The hungry man would have to wait until someone came to relieve him. He turned away from the sight and that's when he saw what looked like a woman slowly fade into view next to the center tent pole.

"G... g... ghost!" the guard sputtered. "Ghost!!"

"Wha...?!" the leader sputtered. "Shaddup, ya gormless git or I'll have yer nads fer me puddin'. There's no such things as ghosts."

The guard looked around the tent, his eyes wide with fear.

Gabrielle faded out before the leader looked in her direction. She wanted to be alone with the pig before she put on her full show. But first she needed to rattle the guard enough to make him run out into the night. She didn't have long to wait. All it took was some whispering in the guard's ear. She solidified her mouth and throat just enough to be heard. Practicing with her astral body really paid off.

"I'm so hungry," she whispered, having noticed the guard's hunger. "I sure could use a nice, big, juicy arm to gnaw. Can I gnaw your arm? Give me you arm...." She extended the sound of the last word to make it sound like she was moaning.

The man ran out of the tent, screaming, leaving an annoyed leader.

"Bollocks," he muttered with his mouth full. He didn't slow down his eating though.

Gabrielle faded into view just in front of him then, being careful to make her body shape somewhat indistinct and translucent, and she solidified just enough to wail.

The man dropped his drumstick and immediately scooted back on his butt. He eventually stopped when he got to the wall of the tent. "Who... what are you?" he gasped.

"I am justice! I will have justice!" she shrieked.

"Queenie?" he asked, finally recognizing her voice and indistinct face.

"Yes!" she hissed. "And you can't stop me!" She went back to pure energy form and rushed towards him, passing through him and the wall of the tent. Once outside, she floated up above the leader's tent and clung to the top of his flagpole for support as she solidified enough to wail again.

Men scrambled around the area, bumping into each other and looking like a pack of crazed dogs. Some looked for a place to hide, some were brave enough to hunt for the source of the noise, though they couldn't home in on it. They couldn't see Gabrielle clinging to the top of their leader's tent pole. The fires had caused enough damage to upset them and keep them awake for some time, but the queen didn't want to leave anything to chance. She kept up the wailing until her physical body called her back. Muriel would have to wait for an update. But the older woman would find out soon enough whether or not the queen's actions would save the queendom.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle groaned as she slowly woke up on the ship. She had a rough night. The very dim light in the cabin barely allowed her to see that the other two women were still asleep in their bunks. She got up, drank a little water and dragged herself to the bridge of the ship.

"Mister Computer?"

"Yes, Gabrielle?"

"How much longer until we reach Kispri?"

"A little over six candle marks now I believe. That's equivalent to about six hours."

"Candle mark? You know about candle marks?"

"Trillian recovered from her rainbow appreciation after a little over a candle mark. She explained to me how you measure time. It's an inexact science but I want to help."

"Thanks, Mister Computer. That does help."

"You're welcome, Gabrielle."

The queen frowned. "Please. Call me Gabi. I feel like we're... almost friends now."

"As you wish, Gabi. Please call me... Mister Wizard. From the conversations we have held, I believe you can relate to me much better as a wizard than a computer."

"Ah, thanks, Mister Wizard. You're right about that. I don't even know what a computer is."

Gabrielle watched the view screen for a short time, marveling at the little rainbows still smearing themselves on it.

"Mister Wizard? Where is Trillian?"

"She excused herself from the bridge soon after she recovered her composure. We had a short discussion about time and then I believe she went to sleep on deck C, room five."

"Ah. Might as well let her sleep then."

The tall woman sat in the captain's chair, quite bored and just a little anxious. She knew six hours might be enough rest for the barbarians to recover and attack. The ship might be cutting it close but she didn't think she could fall back asleep to discuss tactics back in Prizzaria. She decided that she might do better to learn more about the capabilities of the ship. It had to have weapons of some sort that could prove useful. She just had to wake up a bit more before she felt good enough to discuss the subject with Mister Wizard.

~o~O~o~

After nearly three hours of fascinating conversation, Gabrielle had all but given up on the idea of using the ship's weapons. They were too powerful. She couldn't stop the barbarians without leveling most if not all of her queendom. They moved on to other subjects like magic, something that just might prove useful.

"Wait a moment," Gabi said. "Are you saying you can mimic my magic talent?"

"Not mimic," the computer corrected. "Reproduce. Recreate. If I sampled your DNA and its quantum fluctuations, I could in fact change men into women, just as you do."

"Dee-in-ay? Quantum what?"

"Would you like a tutorial?"

"No! Excuse me. I mean, no, thank you. Can you sample... me here? Now? I could use all the help I could get when we get to Kispri. I have some men that are... that can't stop misbehaving. The only way to stop them is to either kill them or change them into women. I'd rather not kill them so...."

"Do you want me to help you change men into women?"

"Yes, please."

"Then you'll have to move to sick bay. The equipment I need is in sick bay."

"Where exactly is that?"

The computer directed her into the safest, central area of the ship where she laid back on a hard bed and was scanned. After less than half a candle mark, the computer was ready to test its new ability.

"Who should I test it on?" the computer asked her.

"That's a good question. I'm not sure if we can test it on any of the men in this ship."

"What about the boy?"

Gabrielle nibbled her lower lip. She wouldn't force any of the males to be turned into females. She had a hard time even asking for a volunteer. But she had to ask. She needed the help and she wanted to be sure.

~o~O~o~

The queen eventually had the computer request all males including the boy to show up in sick bay — after giving them directions — for a special meeting.

Scanning the men's faces, Gabrielle tried looking for a softer, feminine look. Other than the boy, she didn't see any likely subjects and her optimism faltered. She decided to just jump right in and get it over with. "I'm asking for a volunteer...," she started.

"I volunteer!" Horus piped up.

"Me too!" his friend, Dirk said.

"I'm asking for a volunteer to be changed into a woman," she said.

"Uh... can I take it back?" Horus asked. His friend suddenly couldn't speak. He just nodded agreement.

"I'm hoping that at least one of you here would rather have been born female. If so, we desperately need you to stay to see if Mister Wizard can turn you into a woman."

"Mister who?" Horus asked.

"Not Mister Who, Mister Wizard, also known as Mister Computer. He's been able to... copy my magic talent."

"What?!" all of the men chorused.

"If you're not going to volunteer, then just leave now. That way, if any of you stay, there will be little or no embarrassment."

The queen turned her back on the group and listened to the sound of fading footsteps. The men hurried out and when the room grew silent, she turned around. And amazingly enough, she found a single volunteer.

"Max?" she squeaked.

"Yes, your Majesty," the blonde boy said. "I want to be a girl, please."

"Are you sure about this?"

"I've never been more sure, your Majesty. Ever since I was little, I've wished I could be a girl. My parents don't understand, and I don't know how to explain it. I just want to be a girl with all my heart. Please change me. Please?"

"Oh, Max. Why didn't you ask me earlier?"

"Like you said, it can be a little embarrassing. I did try but you were always busy when I worked up the nerve to ask about it." The little blonde sighed and looked at her with much the same look that Julian had.

The queen's heart melted when she saw that look on his, no her, face. She bent down to hug her and whisper in her ear. "Thank you, Max. Thank you very, very much. We'll change you into a girl, and it won't hurt a bit."

The trans-girl couldn't have been more than eight sun cycles old, but she seemed old enough to know her true gender. Most people took their gender for granted, never questioning how they came to accept their bodies. It just came naturally to all but a minority. But when the body didn't match the mind, it had to be torture. She saw it in the faces of some of the women that had been victims of her magic. She helped them as much as she could but many of them couldn't or wouldn't accept their gender. Those women became more than tom boys. They became men with women's bodies, making the best of what fate dealt them. If Gabrielle could help someone become their true gender, she might even feel better about changing those men, even though she acted in self-defense.

The computer directed Gabrielle to have the boy enter a small chamber. Once inside, the familiar lavender glow of her magic filled the room and the former boy emerged from the chamber as a very happy girl. The copied magic talent worked.

~o~O~o~

After taking Maxie back to the women and making sure that the new girl would be accepted — she was, and she seemed to be an especially nice surprise for the other girl, Dina — the queen headed back to the bridge. There were some important details to work out with Mister Wizard. The chamber in sick bay wouldn't be very practical to use against the barbarians. There was no way they could get the men on board and change them quickly enough to do any good. They'd have to be changed in large groups, like Gabrielle had done in battle on many occasions.

"I'll have to analyze the problem," Mister Wizard said. "I'm sorry but I estimate that it will take all of my resources to find and implement a solution in addition to flying the ship. I'm over ninety seven percent certain that I can find Prizzaria from my earlier scan of your mind so I'm disengaging verbal mode now." The computer went quiet, leaving the queen to wonder what else Mister Wizard and the amazing iron ship could do.

~o~O~o~

Another anxious couple of hours passed. Metal men like the kind that helped Fritz showed up a couple times in the bridge, but the ship was otherwise quiet. Everyone stayed in their rooms with most listening to the strange and wondrous music that they happened to find after playing with the various knobs and buttons. Dalene also discovered the music and then found even more pleasure helping Maxie build a new wardrobe by tailoring some of her boy clothes.

While everyone else enjoyed what the ship had to offer, Gabrielle struggled to focus on trying to strategize. It was difficult because visions of what would happen to her after she got back to Kispri haunted her. She kept imagining that she saved the day and then had a heroine's welcome turn into a nightmare once her royal subjects find out she wasn't pregnant. She cried when she thought about losing the throne after all of her hard work and dedication.

'If only Marie was here,' Gabrielle thought. 'She'd know just the right thing to say.'

The queen sighed and gave up on strategy. Instead, she focused on the view screen and discovered an interesting change. The star that they seemed to head towards had gotten a lot brighter since she last looked. And it looked like the right yellow color of Kispri's sun. She frantically looked around for a countdown of some sort to show how much longer they had before they arrived but couldn't find a thing.

She left the bridge in a hurry, stopping at her room to drink some water and pick up and start choking down some ration bars for energy. Then she went from room to room, letting everyone know it was time to start getting ready to arrive. Farrott's victims were coming home.

~o~O~o~

As stated earlier, the computer remained silent as the Cetus entered orbit around Kispri. Prizzaria was identified and a landing vector was computed. When the ship circled far enough around the planet, it slowed and lowered itself into the atmosphere. It would land in a little less than one hour.

Meanwhile, not far from the outer walls of Prizzaria, the barbarian men were just waking up, and they weren't happy. The leader began barking orders almost immediately after crawling out of his tent. When he couldn't wake someone up, he'd drag them out and throw water on their face. Each person he woke up was tasked with waking up another until everyone in the encampment was awake. Then they'd have a very fast and light breakfast while receiving orders. The attack had effectively begun. It was a race to see who would pass through the gate first, Gabrielle or the leader of the barbarians.

Muriel stood with Marie at the large window in the queen's sitting room. They tried to keep their eyes on the sky, watching for any sign of the iron ship, but they couldn't help shift their gaze back down to see the men stirring themselves into battle mode.

"This is it," Muriel said. "I didn't get an update from Gabrielle last night. That worries me... a little. But those barbarians worry me even more. They must have worried Gabrielle last night too, considering she never reported back to me. I heard a report of several tent fires and some loud wailing last night. I'm guessing that she was trying to keep them awake to give her time to get here before they attacked."

Marie frowned but stayed silent. She didn't like that Gabi went off to fight the men without even saying hello first. She worried too of course, but she was more angry than anything else. She blamed the men and she wanted a piece of the action when the fighting started.

"She certainly did stall them yesterday," Muriel continued. "She was amazing according to the reports I got. We lost one guard last night and dozens were injured but it could've been much worse."

"Someone died?" Marie asked in a quiet voice.

Muriel slowly nodded. "A guard named Misty. She used to be a very nasty man who never took well to her new body. I heard she atoned for her past though. She shielded a young mother and baby from one of those dreadful electric fireballs."

"We'll have to have a memorial for Misty."

"Yes. I think that would be appropriate."

"Muriel?"

"Yes?"

"What are we gonna do if Gabi doesn't make it back in time?"

"We'll do the best we can. Our queen had enough war meetings with her generals. They know what to do. It might have been awkward too without the rumor of her pregnancy. That rumor helped deter the barbarians and it helped handle our own forces. The generals inferred that she couldn't fight because of her pregnancy, and actually, I think they enjoyed the challenge of having to make due without our queen. A couple of them are former men. Fighting is in their blood."

Marie could relate to that. She never shied away from a fight. She even went off looking for one the night that she first discovered her magic talent. She wanted Farrott to send her back to Gabi on Agrin but her magic reflected Farrott's magic back at him to send him to that other world.

'Oh, that man!' she thought, as she remembered that night.

She wanted to hate Farrott. She did hate him. She just couldn't bring herself to continue hating his new self, as Thelma. She had Farrott to thank for meeting her true love after all, since he sent Gabi to Agrin. And Thelma pretty much made up for her past. She found her own victims and helped send them home along with Gabi. They were coming home. If only they'd make it in time to stop the barbarian hordes.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.

A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

NOTE: Comments have been disabled.

Here it is! Here's the last chapter. With this, the story is complete. I hope you enjoy.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 20

Fire burned along the sharper edges of the ship as it slipped through the upper atmosphere at dozens of times the speed of sound. It looked like a giant fireball, impressive enough to stop the barbarians in their tracks if they'd had the inclination to look slightly above the eastern horizon. The barbarians didn't look east though. They only had eyes for the south city wall and what waited for them beyond. Some just wanted the gold. Some just wanted the women. Most wanted both.

The barbarian leader had some great difficulty and a fair amount of stress assembling his army. Only through blood, sweat and alcohol could he pull it off. That and his relatively high intelligence. He bullied and mentored as necessary to get everyone into place and ready for the attack. He just needed to give the order, right after he took a brief moment to stroke his own ego.

'Did a great job, I did,' he thought. 'This is gonna be the best battle in history. I'll be a legend!'

Even if he did pull it off, historians wouldn't give him more than a footnote in any text book. There was no grand change of ownership of any significant tracts of land. There was no defeat of any large nation or monstrous villain. It was just a simple, desperate pillage and plunder operation. It might be impressive for barbarians to achieve, but it wouldn't impress anyone else. It would just upset a lot of people in one city. That didn't stop the leader though.

When he was done, he did his little superstitious pre-battle ritual of throwing a perfectly good drumstick of meat over his right shoulder with his left hand. Then he opened his mouth to sound the call to battle... but he was interrupted.

Loud screams erupted from his right. They sounded like his men at first, but ended up sounding more like his mother when she was angry at his father. He turned to his right and saw the cause. A huge iron monster trailing wisps of black smoke appeared, looking like something from his worst nightmare. It flew low at them, shooting out lavender rays of light that exploded around groups of his men, turning them into women.

"Impossible," he muttered. Then, with more force, he shouted, "Impossible!!"

But it wasn't impossible. The ship's fore weapons had been converted to emit a copy of Gabrielle's magic. The magic shot out and turned any men it hit into women, just as the queen had done so many times.

"Forward!" the leader shouted. He was never one to give up, and actually, he was fairly good at improvising. The attack would go ahead, just not quite how it was originally planned.

The leader and his advanced force continued ahead with about a third of his men following. Another third had begun to run away in the opposite direction and the remaining men had already been changed into women. The new women sat on the ground with stunned looks on their faces, their armor too large and their weapons too heavy to effectively wield for the majority of them.

The ship slowed and gave chase to the deserters, making sure each and every one of them were turned into women, just as Gabrielle had requested. Then the great ship slowly turned and moved up from behind the attacking force, focusing the lavender beam to pick them off one-by-one without the leader realizing it, again just as Gabrielle requested.

The queen sat on the bridge appraising the battle displayed before her on the ship's view screen. She didn't smile yet, but she liked what she saw. It was a good day to feminize.

~o~O~o~

The two most important women in Gabrielle's life still stood at the window in her sitting room when the ship flew into view. Marie didn't miss the queen's grand entrance. But she missed most of what followed as she hurried to join the battle. Muriel gave a half-hearted attempt to stop her but soon turned back to the window to enjoy the show.

'There's the iron ship and there's the lavender explosion,' the older woman thought, 'just like in my vision. Welcome home, your Majesty.'

Marie continued running until she got to the inner castle wall, where guards stopped her from opening the inner gate. One of them didn't know about Marie's talent though. The guard tried to use her magic talent to put Marie to sleep but the small woman's talent reflected the magic back and put the guard to sleep instead. In the confusion, the small determined woman slipped past the remaining guards and ran through the city.

By the time she made it to the south gate in the outer wall, she was breathing quite hard. With all of the activity at the gate, she knew she didn't have a chance of getting out so she grabbed the first bit of rope she found, ran up the stairs to the top of the wall and quickly tied one end of the rope to a merlon on the crenelated wall. She rappelled down the other side before anyone could stop her. They weren't expecting anyone trying to get out of the city.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle had begun to get impatient. There were still a lot of men remaining. It would take too long to pick them off one-by-one and if the ship changed them all at once, the leader would change too. Gabrielle didn't like that. She wanted the leader for herself.

Mister Wizard set the magic to approximate what the men would look like as their own sister. There was no conscious attempt to control the gender change any more than that. Gabrielle did the same thing whenever she changed large groups at one time. But she had something special planned for the leader. She had one final score to settle.

"Set the ship down," Gabrielle said. "I want to talk to them."

"You could use the ship's sound system instead," the computer offered.

"Oh! You mean like Trillian did back on Agrin, the night she scared Fritz?"

"Correct."

The computer set up a microphone and the queen spoke into it. Her amplified voice rang out, freezing the men's blood cold.

"Hold, men! I, Queen Gabrielle, command you to stop. Move aside and reveal your leader to me."

The men stopped and turned but they all just muttered in confusion.

"Don't stop now!" the leader yelled. "Follow me to women, gold and glory!"

At first, none of the men budged. But then a few started parting to give a clear line of sight to the leader, with more and more following their lead. They divided into two groups of men with the leader alone between them.

"Okay, Mister Wizard," Gabrielle said. "How many men are in the left group?"

"One hundred thirty seven."

"And how many men are in the right group?"

"One hundred sixty eight."

The smaller group bunched closer together, limited by how far they could move by a cliff that overlooked the river valley. The slightly larger group had no such restriction so they were quite widely spaced. The queen didn't think she could change them all at the same time. She wanted a record but she contented herself with the potential for a new personal best. The ship could have the honors of an absolute record. She wanted to make sure they were all changed as quickly as possible, just in case. Her queendom was more important than setting records.

She rubbed her hands together when she was finally ready to proceed. "When I use my magic talent, you zap the group on the right. I'll get the group on the left. And, like I requested, I get the leader."

"As you wish, Gabi."

The queen hurried out in her battle leathers with her trusty two-handed sword. She ran to within about thirty paces of the men before she stopped and called forth her magic.

"Now, Mister Wizard!" she shouted as she zapped the group on the left. The ship took the other group as agreed and all but one man now appeared as a woman. A few stood but as before, but the majority flopped to the ground on their butts with stunned looks on their faces.

Then it was time for the leader.

The last man standing had a scowl that could scare even the meanest dog away from its last meal. He didn't think he'd be fast enough but he wasn't about to go out without a fight. He just started to call forth his magic when a scream interrupted him.

"Gabi!! Gabi!! You're back!!"

It was Marie, running between the leader and the larger group of new women. She distracted both Gabrielle and the leader, causing him to wonder what was going on. But it didn't take him long to recover. Just after Marie reached her mate, his scowl returned.

"You and your little slut ain't gonna stop me!" the leader blustered. He took advantage of Marie interfering with the queen and called forth his magic, shooting out a large fireball that was aimed directly at Gabrielle and Marie.

Gabrielle's reflexes almost kicked in. She was ready to dive for cover but Marie stopped her by fiercely clinging to her mate.

"No!" the small woman shouted. The fireball approached but it warped and swirled around the two women without harming them. Then it slowly started rebounding, picking up speed as it sailed back at the leader. Marie's magic talent saved them.

The leader stood frozen in the path of his own deadly creation. "Impossible," he muttered, over and over.

The fireball began to dissipate as it flew, but it was still very dangerous by the time it hit him. Without any form of protection, since he never needed it before, he was hit and burned very badly by his own magic. He collapsed with his hair still burning and mercifully lost consciousness.

Gabrielle took action immediately, slipping from her mate's grasp and turning to shout back at the ship. "Get a metal doctor out here at once! I'm not losing him!"

Marie was confused until Gabrielle explained her plans for the barbarian leader. They spoke as they trailed behind the metal doctor that carried the badly burned man back into the ship.

~o~O~o~

The leader lived, thanks to the advanced medical capabilities in the ship's sick bay. He looked terrible but he'd recover. A metal doctor used more of its magical technology to start a new, healthy layer of skin. The man just needed some drug induced rest while he sloughed off his outer layer of badly burned skin.

Gabrielle and Marie stood by the man's bed, looking at him for a short time, with Marie finally voicing what her mate was already thinking.

"Do you really have to change him, Gabi? He doesn't have any more men to lead. He won't be getting into any more trouble."

The queen nodded agreement. "I'm still upset about what he did but yes, I think he's rendered harmless enough. I'm sure many of the new women won't be accepting Prizzaria as their new home. They'll likely end up back at their old homes and this one man won't be able to force himself on them. They'd kill him in his sleep if he did."

Marie cringed.

"Actually," Gabrielle continued, "I think it's more likely that they'll improve his manners. If he wants to get anywhere with any of them, he'll have to be on his best behavior."

"Ew!" the small woman gasped. "How could they even think of bedding him?!"

"Marie. Marie. Marie. You know how my talent works. Some of the new women will likely be attracted to men, and many will want children. Who else will they have to get them pregnant? I guess there might be boys and older men where they came from but this unlikely specimen is the only real alternative for the near future."

"Dang. I hate the idea of continuing his bloodline but I guess it can't be helped."

Gabrielle laughed. "I wonder if we can get some more help from Mister Wizard for that," she said.

"Mister Wizard?"

"Yes?" the computer answered, not realizing that the question wasn't addressed to it.

Marie's eyes went wide. "Who said that?" she squeaked.

The queen smiled but otherwise kept her amusement to herself. She introduced her mate to the computer and talked a little about how they met before the computer reminded them they had a question.

"Right," Gabi said. "Can you tell if this man is able to sire children?"

"Scanning…. Yes. His viable sperm count exceeds average levels for Agrin men."

Marie wrinkled her nose. "Gabi, I know we talked about getting pregnant but you can't mean to use him, can you?"

"Oh, please. You know me better than that. I'm just taking advantage of some things that I've learned about technology." The queen turned to the computer display behind the bed. "Is it possible to change this man so that he can only sire girls?"

The small woman looked a little confused.

"Scanning…. Yes. I can reduce his chances of conceiving a male child to negligible levels. Would you like me to proceed?"

"Oh, yes," the queen said. "Please proceed."

"Working…."

"Gabi?" Marie said. "Are you serious? Mister Wizard can really do things like that?"

Her mate nodded. "He copied my magic talent. He had to… scan me to do that but it didn't take him long to figure it out. I figured that if he can do that much, as well as heal normally fatal injuries, he could affect fertility."

"But what if he does only have girls? He'll eventually get old and die. Then what will they do?"

"Like I said before, they'll likely have young boys back home. There will always be men somewhere in any case. Men and women will always find each other and keep their bloodlines going. They'll just have an excess of women for a long, long time, and that can only improve their behavior."

Marie nodded and then remembered something important. "Oh! Gabi! It just finally occurred to me. If Mister Wizard can heal, we can use his help. There were dozens of badly burned guards from the earlier attack."

The queen chastised herself more than her mate. She should've thought of that herself. She immediately sent two metal doctors back to the castle with Marie. Then she turned to leave. She still had other passengers on board to deal with. They were all home and should be packing up their few possessions and getting ready to leave the ship. She also had hundreds of new women to help. But before she left the sick bay, the computer brought up yet another interesting subject.

"Gabi?"

"Yes, Mister Wizard?"

"Did I hear correctly? Did your mate say you wished to conceive children?"

"Oh. Yes, of course we do. But that can wait. I have a lot to do." She turned to leave again but froze when she heard the computer's next words.

"I can impregnate you," it said. "I can impregnate you both."

~o~O~o~

With the last of the Kisprians except for Trillian and the queen off the ship, Gabrielle paced anxiously in sick bay, waiting for her mate. She'd tasked Danelle with finding Marie and sending her back to the ship as fast as possible. She didn't have long to wait.

"What is it, Gabi? What's wrong?" the small woman managed to get out between gasps of breath.

"Nothing's wrong. I just found out that we're going to have a baby."

"What?!"

The queen patiently explained how not only can they both get pregnant, their children would be related to both of them. Mister Wizard could mix their bloodlines. And not only that, the development of the unborn baby could be accelerated into the second trimester. Women of Agrin used to take advantage of their advanced technology to skip past the unpleasant symptoms of the first and last trimester. Skipping ahead meant that the queen wouldn't have to contradict the rumors of her pregnancy. She could remain queen without anyone questioning her honesty! She was overjoyed. The only limitation with mixing their DNA was that they could only bear girls but that wasn't really an issue with either women.

"This is wonderful!" Marie gushed as she watched Gabrielle lying on the bed next to the barbarian leader. The queen's womb slowly swelled and within less than a candle mark, she was halfway into her second trimester. And after that, it was Marie's turn.

"Are you sure about this?" Gabi asked her mate as she slowly got up off the bed.

Marie slowly nodded, looking a little nervous but determined. She helped Gabrielle up and looked with awe at her mate's abdomen.

"And you don't mind starting at the first trimester? Too many people have seen you and know you're not pregnant. We can't have you showing."

Again, Marie nodded. She laid down on the same bed that Gabrielle just vacated and closed her eyes. "Do it," she said, setting her jaw. There was no going back.

Gabi pressed her hands lightly against her womb and smiled down on her mate. She was so happy and proud of her brave little flower.

~o~O~o~

The two pregnant women left the ship with Marie quite excited.

"I don't feel any different," the small woman said. Are you sure it worked?"

"You felt our baby kick in my womb, Marie. You know it's real."

"Oh! But what about when you were outside earlier? What if someone saw you when you weren't pregnant?"

"Don't worry, Marie. I was dressed in my bulky battle leathers, and I was too far away with lots of… women in between. Let's not talk about that any more. Please?"

"But what about…?"

Gabrielle held up a hand. "No more questions, my Love. It's time to help these women." She pointed to the hundreds of confused women still sitting on the ground in a daze. Many of the earliest victims had wandered back to their tents but the only conversation in the area took place between the two pregnant women.

~o~O~o~

As predicted, several dozen of the new women wouldn't have anything to do with Prizzaria. They packed up their tents and trudged back south to their homelands. The queen managed to get them to accept a little help in the form of some food and clothing but the barbarian women held their heads up proudly and moved on.

The leader would heal within a few days and be sent on his way. The women were warned about him but they knew they had the advantage. They'd keep him in his place.

The rest of the barbarian women wisely accepted the queen's hospitality. They'd be given temporary housing, food and clothing until they discovered the new magic talents that came with their change in sex. And once they found their talents, they'd be helped to get a job. Some were afraid, many were angry but nearly all of them were at least happy to still be alive. They'd find their niche in Prizzaria and eventually accept their new lives, even if they didn't accept their womanhood.

After packing away their tents and helping to clean up their encampment, they entered the outer wall of the city and were welcomed with open arms. It surprised them to be accepted when they had such ill intentions and many of them were overcome with emotion, the tears rolling down their smooth cheeks. It was a good start.

~o~O~o~

With all of the activity going on, one small person had been overlooked. She made her presence known by mid afternoon though.

"Attention, Queen Gabrielle! Attention, Queen Gabrielle!" a voice from the ship called. "Your presence is requested in the iron ship." The voice was loud enough that it shook the front wooden gate and scared many of the citizens of the city.

The queen hurried back to the ship. She'd left the barbarian leader in the care of Mister Wizard in the ship but she'd forgotten all about Trillian. She was a little annoyed that she had yet to see Muriel but at least she had her mate shadowing her.

"What is it, Trillian?" she shouted as soon as the main door closed behind her and Marie.

"Your Majesty," Trillian said, appearing out of thin air. Invisibility was yet another of her magic talents. "I humbly request that I be allowed to remain in the ship and study its magic. I've been listening in on all of your conversations with Mister Wizard and I am in awe. Please allow me to stay."

Marie was speechless — more from seeing a tiny flying woman appear out of thin air than anything else — and even Gabrielle was shocked. The queen never expected such a request. She thought Trillian would disappear back to her home without even saying good bye. "What about your mate?" she managed to ask.

"Ah, yes. I would also like to request that Burdock can join me here. I plan to sneak back to my home and bring him here, with your gracious permission."

The queen had to think about it for a moment. She didn't think it would be a good idea to let everyone have free access to the ship. Some tours might be a good idea but not unlimited access. But then she remembered that the ship wasn't really hers. She was as much a passenger as everyone else.

"Mister Wizard?"

"Yes, Gabi?"

"What do you think of Trillian's request? What do you think of the idea of staying here?"

"Trillian's request is acceptable. I find her existence to be interesting. I'll help her to understand technology in exchange for studying her, if she agrees."

The queen looked at the fae, who vigorously nodded her head.

"It looks like it's a deal then," Gabi said. "And I guess that means you don't mind staying. You didn't exactly say. You don't plan on taking Trillian and her mate back to Agrin, do you?"

"No, Gabi. Trillian has expressed her negative view of Agrin. I believe it to be in everyone's best interest if I remain here in any case. The people of Agrin couldn't handle technology. They weren't ready for it and it almost destroyed them. Here, I believe I can help explore the possibility of mixing magic and technology. Perhaps that would be best for humans, and if so, at some later date I can go back to Agrin and help them develop both magic and technology.

"I believe that to be a wise decision, Mister Wizard. I welcome the iron ship and your presence in it. May we have a long and beautiful friendship."

"Thank you, good Queen Gabi."

Marie cheered then. She didn't really understand what was going on but she was caught up in the grand moment.

Gabrielle laughed good-naturedly at her mate. Trillian just cocked her head.

"Is this your mate that you talked about, your Majesty?" the fae asked. "Another former man?"

The tall woman made introductions and Marie bounced a little on the balls of her feet. She was so excited to meet the tiny flying woman.

Trillian raised an eyebrow but kept her doubt about Marie being born a man to herself.

~o~O~o~

Everyone was accounted for and taken care of, including Julian — he'd wandered back outside the city wall and finally got the queen to grant his life-long wish. Gabrielle's fellow shipmates would take care of the children and themselves but there was still a lot left to do. The queen remembered her armor and sword that was buried by the barbarian men and left to retrieve them. She did ask Mister Wizard if he could help but digging was one task he wasn't suited for. That was just as well for Gabrielle. She realized that she felt it her duty to dig them up. She wanted to dig them up. She hadn't had enough true physical exercise for too long. She wanted to make sure she could collapse for a good night's sleep after all the excitement.

Being hindered by her pregnancy didn't occur to her but she compensated nicely once she forcefully chased away all those who offered help. She took her time, wearing a comfortable, slightly over-sized forest green tunic and dark gray leggings, humming as she worked. It only took her three hours of slow digging in the fairly loose dirt, with several short breaks for water and a little to eat. She dug off to one side to create a ramp down to the bottom so she could get out, otherwise it wouldn't have taken her quite so long. Pregnant warrior queens weren't known for being delicate.

She let others clean up her battle gear with instructions for setting up a special cabinet and plaque, explaining that she wanted the gear on display for its part in preventing the barbarians from attacking the city. The guards looked a little confused and she realized she needed to give a short speech very soon, once she got back into the city.

For the moment, she was too tired from the digging and let Marie take her by the arm back into the city. She didn't make it very far past the outer gate though.

"Your Majesty!" shouted an older woman in a long black dress. She slowly walked forward until she was only a few paces from the queen before she continued.

"Welcome home, your Majesty." Her eyes dropped to Gabrielle's abdomen and nearly bugged out of her head when she realized that a pillow couldn't possibly be stuffed under the queen's thin tunic. "Great Sister Sun!" she shouted, before quickly recovering her composure. "How could you dig for so long in your condition?" she admonished.

"I'm fine, Muriel," the queen answered. "And I believe I have a victory speech to give, just as soon as I clean myself up and get a little rest."

The citizens cheered as they watched their beloved queen slowly walk back to her castle.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle sat on her spare throne with quill and paper, having just finished her speech. She could explain away her wild battle the day before by saying she had discovered a new type of magic that she'd soon be sharing with others as she had time. And the iron ship was just part of a secret mission she was on to aid her in her defense of the city. It was all true, even if it wasn't exactly the whole truth. She'd give her speech and she'd keep her queendom. The barbarian men were no longer a threat. Prizzaria would thrive.

The walk back to the castle was interesting. Gabrielle quietly explained her pregnancy as well as some of the other wonders of the great iron ship. And Muriel told the queen about Misty, the only casualty of yesterday's battle. The pair made plans to give the guard a grand memorial service, something that Gabrielle would mention in her speech. But the speech could wait a candle mark or so. That just left one small task for the queen, one that she could finish thanks to Durgan's thoughtful delivery of a certain item from the ship.

"Thanks, Durgan."

"Thank you, Gabrielle. It was a wild ride, almost worth being stuck on that other world for so long."

"Well, at least Farrott won't be sending anyone else there ever again."

"What? Did you take care of him then?"

"In a manner of speaking."

Durgan gave her a stern look.

"Yes, Durgan. I changed Farrott into a woman."

"When? How? You were marooned along with the rest of us. I don't get it."

"Thelma was Farrott," Gabrielle said, smiling.

"What?! That's crazy."

"I'm trusting you with keeping quiet about the details of our little adventure so I might as well tell you the whole story. You've been a lot of help and you deserve to get the whole story."

Durgan just nodded and listened with amazement as Gabrielle told him about Marie's talent and how it caused Farrott's talent to backfire, sending the man to the same world they just left. Gabrielle hunted him down and tried to get him to send her home but his magic talent only seemed to work one way. He couldn't send her home and she didn't want to take the chance that his talent might still be able to somehow threaten the people of that other world so she changed him into a woman. That woman was Thelma. She explained how she felt honor bound to help Thelma and the rest is history.

"She paid her dues, Durgan. She suffered from her change and with her new magic talent, she helped find you and the others so we could all get back home together. She's a completely different person now, so I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive her."

Durgan thought a moment and then surprised the queen with a hearty laugh. "I forgive her," he said after he finished laughing.

"Excellent. Then I guess it's good bye, Durgan. May the goddesses smile upon you."

"Good bye, your Majesty. Rule well."

The two of them hugged and when they separated, Durgan had a puzzled look on his face.

"You really are pregnant?" he asked.

"Yes… half way through my second trimester thanks to a little magic."

Durgan just shook his head and smiled. Then he was gone. Gabrielle stood there for a short time and then remembered Durgan's delivery.

She sent for Marie and had her stand with her eyes closed and her arms out. Then she gently set Marie's family sword on her mate's arms.

The small woman opened her eyes and squealed with joy before smothering Gabi with kisses.

"Yes," Gabrielle said. "Marcus actually gave me the sword. I asked for it when I noticed it was hanging, unused, on his wall. I thought we might be able to give it a better home."

"Oh, Gabi. It's wonderful. Thank you!"

"You're quite welcome, my Love."

Marie smiled and then decided it was time for another surprise. "Now it's your turn," she said. "Sit down and I"ll be right back."

She left the room and soon returned holding a steaming mug. She walked over to her mate and handed her the mug.

Gabi held the mug in one hand while absently rubbing her abdomen with her other hand. She raised the mug to her mouth and took a small sip, her eyes half closed with pleasure.

"We're together at last," the queen muttered.

"What? Do you mean me or the hot chocolate?" Marie teased.

"Both, and more. We have two wee ones on the way after all. I'm talking to my wee one as much as I am you."

"Can they hear us? Marie asked, her eyes wide.

"Of course."

"Oh!" Marie paused a short time before asking, "What should I say to mine?"

"Well, when you're farther along, tell her how much you love her. Send her your love. Even if they can't understand the words, I like to think they can feel the love."

Marie stared at her mate in wonder for a short time before saying, "I love you, Gabi."

"I love you too, Marie."

"Oh, and Gabi?"

"Yes?"

"Welcome home."

* The end *

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.