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.