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.

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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 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.