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.

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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.