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.